/• 
 
'm 
 
EVIDENCE 
 
 FROM 
 
 SCRIPTURE AND HISTORY 
 
 OF THE , 
 
 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, 
 
 ABOUT 
 
 THE YEAR 1848; 
 
 IN A COURSE Of/lEC^TUIIEB, 
 
 By WILLIAM MILLER. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 1PUBLISHED BY B. B. MUSSEY. 
 
 18 40, 
 
/ ";■ ^-6 
 
 »%» » <»^w«<»»< 
 
 Entered according to Act of CongresS; in llie year 1840, 
 
 By William Miller, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 » »»%%V«»«A»»*H 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In presenting these Lectures to the pubUc, the writer is only 
 complying with the solicitations of some of his friends, who have 
 requested that his views on the Prophecies of Daniel and John 
 might be made public. The reader is therefore requested to give 
 the subject a careful and candid perusal, and compare every part 
 with the standard of Divine Truth ; for if the explanation the writer 
 has given to the scriptures under consideration should prove correct, 
 the reader will readily perceive that it concerns us all, and becomes 
 doubly important to us, because we live on the eve of one of the 
 most important events ever revealed to man by the wisdom of God 
 — the judgment of the great day. 
 
 In order that the reader may have an understanding of my man- 
 ner of studying the Prophecies, by which I have come to the fol- 
 lowing result, I have thought proper to give some of the rules of 
 interpretation which I have adopted to understand prophecy. 
 
 Prophetical scripture is very much of it communicated to us by 
 figures and highly and richly adorned metaphors 5 by which I mean 
 that figures such as beasts, birds, air or wind, ioater,Jire, candlesticks, 
 lamps, mountains, islands, &c., are used to represent .things proph- 
 esied of — such as kingdoms, warriors, principles, people, judg- 
 ments, churches, word of God, large and smaller governments. It is 
 metaphorical also, showing some peculiar quality of the thing proph- 
 esied of, by the most prominent feature or quality of the figure used, 
 as beasts — if a lion, power and rale j if a leopard, celerity 5 if a 
 bear, voracious ', an ox, submissive 5 a man, proud and independent. 
 Fire denotes justice and judgment in its figure ; in the metaphor, 
 denotes the purifying or consuming up the dross or wickedness j as 
 Jire has a cleansing quality, so will the justice or judgments of God. 
 ^' For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the 
 world will learn righteousness." Therefore almost all the figures 
 
 ^1^3923 
 
4 *: ' • • •* • • JNTkojDUCTION. 
 
 • ••• • V : ;• : %.- 
 
 used^m gPQphecy,ljE^VQ their litereJ and metaphorical meaning ; as 
 Acfl»*s»d5H0te, hieraOy* a k{ng,dmn/ s6,metaphorically good or bad, 
 ' aslhe»case niaj be^TtoC l^a iJiiiJerSlood'by the subject in connection. 
 To understand the litered meaning of figures used in prophecy, I 
 have pursued the following method: — I find the word ''Z>ea5i" 
 used in a figurative sense j I take my concordance, trace the word, 
 and in Daniel vii. 17, it is explained to mean " kings or kingdoms." 
 Again, I come across the words " bird or fowl^^ and in Isa. xlvi. 
 11, it is used, meaning a conqueror or warrior,— Cyrus. Also, in 
 Ezekiel xxxix. 4 — 9, denotes armies or conquerors. Again, the 
 words " air or wind" as used in Rev. ix. 2, and 16, 17, to under- 
 stand which I turn to Eph. ii. 2, and 4—14, and there learn that it 
 is used as a figure to denote the theories of worldly men or vain 
 philosophy. AgEiin, ^^ water or rivers" are used as figures in 
 Rev. xvii. 15, it is explained to mean " people or nations." 
 *' Rivers " of course mean the nation or people living on the river 
 mentioned, as in Rev. xvi. 12. " Fire " is often used in a figurative 
 sense j explained in Num. xxi. 27 — 28, Deut. xxxii. 22, Psal. Ixxviii. 
 21, Heb. xii. 29, to mean justice and judgment. 
 
 As prophecy is a language somewhat different from other parts 
 of Scripture, owing to its having been revealed in vision, and that 
 highly figurative, yet God in his wisdom has so interwoven the 
 several prophecies, that the events foretold are not all told by one 
 prophet, and although they lived and prophesied in different ages of 
 the world, yet they tell us the same things ; so you take away one, 
 and a link will be wanting. There is a general connection through 
 the whole ; like a well-regulated community they all move in uni- 
 son, speaking the same things, observing the same rules, so that a 
 Bible reader may almost with propriety suppose, let him read in 
 what prophecy he may, that he is reading the same prophet, the 
 same author. This will appear evident to any one who will com- 
 pare scripture with scripture. For example, see Dan. xii. 1, Matt, 
 xxiv. 21, Isa. xlvii. 8, Zeph. ii. 15, Rev. xviii. 7. There never was 
 a book written that has a better connection and harmony than the 
 Bible, and yet it has the appearance of a great store-house full of 
 all the precious commodities heart could desire, thrown in promis- 
 cuously 5 therefore, the biblical student must select and bring to- 
 gether every part of the subject he wishes to investigate, from every 
 part of the Bible ; then let every word have its own Scripture mean- 
 ing, every sentence its proper bearing, and have no contradiction, 
 and your theory will and must of necessity be correct. Truth is 
 
INTRODUCTION. O 
 
 one undeviating path, that grows brighter and brighter the more it 
 is trodden j it needs no plausible arguments nor pompous dress to 
 make it more bright, for the more naked and simple the fact, the 
 stronger the truth appears. 
 
 Let it be noticed that God has revealed to his prophets the same f 
 events in divers figures and at different times, as he has to Daniel * 
 in the second, seventh, and eighth chapters concerning the four 
 kingdoms J or to Peter, (see Acts x. 16 j) also Isaiah and John. .; 
 Then, to get the whole truth, all those visions or prophecies must f 
 be concentrated and brought together, that have reference to the \ 
 subject which we wish to investigate ; and when combined, let every 
 word and sentence have its proper bearing and force in the grand 
 whole, and the theory or system, as 1 have before shown, must be 
 correct. I have likewise noticed that in those events, visions, and 
 prophecies which have had their fulfilment, every word and every 
 particular has had an exact and literal accomplishment, and that 
 no two events have ever happened, that I can learn, which will ex- 
 actly apply or fulfil the same prophecy. Take, for instance, the 
 prophecies concerning the birth, life, and crucifixion of our Savior, 
 and in his history we find a literal fulfilment j yet in the birth, life, 
 or death of any other individual it would be in vain to find a paral- 
 lel. Again, take the prophecies which have been admitted, by 
 Protestants at least, to apply to Cyrus, Alexander, Julius Caesar, 
 destruction of Jerusalem, and the church of Rome, and I have never 
 been able to trace even a resemblance to the prophecies in question 
 in any historical events except the true ones. If this is true, may 
 we not suppose that the unfulfilled prophecies in their accomplish- 
 ments will be equally as evident and literal ? 
 
 There are two important points to which all prophecy seems to 
 centre, like a cluster of grapes upon its stem — the first and second 
 coming of Christ j the first coming to proclaim the gospel, set up . 
 his kingdom, suffer for sinners, and bring in an everlasting right- 
 eousness. His second coming, to which the ardent faith and pious 
 hope of the tried and tempted child of God centres, is for complete 
 redemption from sin, for the justification and glorification promised 
 to all those who look for his appearing, the destruction of the wicked 
 and mystical Babylon, the abomination of the whole earth. 
 
 His first coming was as a man, his human nature being only visible, 
 
 his Godhead known only in his miracles. His second coming will 
 
 be as God, his divine Godhead and power being most visible. He 
 
 comes first, like the " first man of the earth, earthy j " his second 
 
 1 * 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 coming is " the Lord from heaven." His first coming was literally 
 according to the prophecies. And so we may safely infer will be 
 his second appearance, according to the Scriptures. At his advent, 
 his forerunner was spoken of — " one crying in the wilderness j " the 
 manner of his birth — ''a child born of a virgin 5 " the place where 
 — " Bethlehem of Judea ; " the time of his death — " when seventy 
 weeks should be fulfilled j " for what he should suffer — " to make 
 an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and lo bring in 
 everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and 
 to anoint the Most Holy." The star that appeared, the stripes he 
 received, the miracles he performed, the tauntings of his foes — all 
 « were literally fulfilled. Then, why not suppose that all the prophe- 
 K cies concerning his second coming will be as literally accomplished 
 as the former 1 Can any man show a single reason why it will 
 not 1 If this be true, we can obtain much light by reading the 
 Scriptures. We are there informed of the manner of his second 
 coming — " suddenly, in the clouds, in like manner as he ascend- 
 ed 5 " the majesty of his coming — " on a great white throne, with 
 power and great glory, and all his saints with him j " the object of 
 his coming — " as the Ancient of Days, to send his angels into the 
 four winds of heaven, gather his elect, raise the righteous dead, 
 change the righteous living, chain Satan, destroy anti-Christ, the 
 wicked, and all those who destroy the earth, judge, justify and 
 glorify his people, cleanse his church, present her to his Father, live 
 and reign with her on the new heavens and new earth," the form of 
 the old having passed away. 
 
 The time when these things shall take place is also specified, by 
 some of the prophets, unto 2300 days, (meaning years 3) then shall 
 the sanctuary be cleansed, after the anti-Christian beast has reigned 
 her " time, times, and a half 3 " after the two witnesses have 
 prophesied " a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed 
 in sackcloth 3 " after the church captivity in the wilderness, " forty- 
 two months 3 ' after the " gospel should be preached in all the 
 world for a witness, then shall the end come." The signs of the 
 times are also given, when we may know, he is near, even at the 
 door. When there are many ^' lo here's and lo there's 3 " when the 
 way of truth is evil spoken of 5 when many seducers are abroad in 
 the land 3 when scoffers disbelieve in his coming, and say, " Where 
 is the promise of his coming 3 " when the wise and foolish virgins 
 are called to trim their lamps, and the voice of the friend of the 
 bridegroom is, " Behold, he comelh 3 " when the city of the nations 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 is divided into three parts 3 when the power of the holy people is 
 scattered, and the kings of the east come up to battle j when there 
 is a time of trouble, such as never was before, and the church in 
 her Laodicean state 5 when the seventh seal opens, the seventh vial 
 is poured out, the last woe pronounced by the angel flying through 
 the midst of heaven, and the seventh and last trumpet sounds 5 — 
 then will the mystery of God be finished, and the door of mercy be 
 closed forever 3 then shall we be brought to the last point, his sec- 
 ond coming. 
 
 Again, prophecy is sometimes typical j that is, partly fulfilled in 
 the type, but completely only in the antitype. Such was the 
 prophecy concerning Isaac, partly fulfilled in him, wholly so in 
 Christ 5 likewise concerning Israel, partly fulfilled in them as a na- 
 tion, but never fully accomplished until the final redemption of 
 spiritual Israel. Likewise the prophecies concerning the Jewish 
 captivity in Babylon, and their return, are only partly accomplished 
 in the histbry of past events. The description of those things in 
 the prophets is so august and magnificent, that if only applicable 
 to the literal captivity of the Jews and their return, the exposition 
 would be weak and barren ; therefore I humbl}- believe that the 
 exact fulfilment can only be looked for in the captivity of the church 
 in the wilderness, under the anti-Christian beast, destruction of 
 mystical Babylon, and glorification of the saints in the New Jeru- 
 salem state. 
 
 There are also m the 24th chapter of Matthew many things proph- 
 esied of, which were not fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem 5 
 such as the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds, the gathering 
 his elect from the four winds of heaven, his taking one and leaving 
 another. This shows a typical meaning in this prophecy, and that 
 it will not all be fulfilled until the end of the world. Also, the 
 transfiguration of Christ on the mount, prophesied of by himself 
 eight days before, is noticed by Peter, 2d Epistle, i. 16 — 18, as 
 being a type or figure of his second coming. 
 
 Who, that has read the prophecies with any degree of attention, 
 will not acknowledge the great agreement between the Old Testa- 
 ment prophecies and the New? Almost every prophecy given 
 by Christ and his apostles may be found, in the Old Testament 
 prophets, represented by figures, which were familiar to the writers 
 and readers of those times. The foregoing rules are some of the 
 principal ones which I have observed in attempting to explain the 
 prophecies of Daniel and John, and to give the time when the 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mystery of God will be finished, as I humbly believe it is revealed 
 to the prophets. 
 
 If I have erred in my exposition of the prophecies, the time, being 
 so near at hand, will soon expose my folly 5 but if I have the truth 
 on the subjects treated on in these pages, how important the era in 
 which we live ! What vast and important events must soon be 
 realized ! and how necessary that every individual be prepared, 
 that that day may not come upon them unawares, while they are 
 surfeited with the cares and riches of this life, and the day overtake 
 them as a thief! " But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that 
 day should overtake you as a thief," 1 Thess. v. 4. In studying 
 these prophecies, I have endeavored to divest myself of all pre- 
 possessed opinions, not warranted by the word of God, and to 
 weigh well all the objections that might be raised from the Scrip- 
 ture*s 5 and after fourteen years' study of the prophecies and other 
 parts of the Bible, I have come to the following conclusions, and 
 do now commit myself into the hands of God as my Judge, in 
 giving publicity to the sentiments herein contained, conscientiously 
 desiring that this little book may be the means to incite others to 
 study the Scriptures, and to see whether these things be so, and that 
 some minds may be led to believe in the word of God, and find an 
 interest in the ofiering and sacrifice of the Lamb of God, that their 
 sins might be forgiven them through the blood of the atonement, 
 '' when the refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, 
 and from the glory of his power," " when he comes to be admired 
 in all them that believe in that day." 
 
 And now, my dear readers, I beg of you to lay aside prejudice 5 
 examine this subject candidly and carefully for yourselves. Your 
 belief or mibelief will not affect the truth. If it is so, whatever you 
 may think or do will not alter the revealed purposes of God. " Not 
 one jot or tittle of his word will fail ; " but you may, by your obe- 
 dience in the faith, secure you an interest in the first resurrection, 
 and a glorious admittance into the New Jerusalem, and an inher- 
 itance among the justified in glory, and you may sit down with 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. May this be 
 your lot— is the prayer of your servant, 
 
 WM. MILLER. 
 
 Hampton, Washington County, N. Y. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page; 
 Introduction 3 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 The Second Appearing of Christ. Titus ii. 13. — Looking for 
 that blessed liope, and glorious appearing of the great God, and our 
 Savior Jesus Clirist 11 
 
 LECTURE IL 
 
 The First Resurrection. Rev. xx. 6. — Blessed and holy is he that 
 
 hath part in the first resurrection : on such the second death hath 
 
 no power — shall reign with him a thousand years 28 
 
 LECTURE in. 
 The Two Thousand Three Hundred Days. Dan. viii. 13, 14. 
 — And he said unto me, Unto two thousand three hundred days : 
 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed, 39 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 Daniel ix. 24. — Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and 
 upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make air end 
 of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in 
 everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, 
 and to anoint the Most Holy 59 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 Pagan Rome numbered. Rev. xiii. 18. — And his number is six 
 
 hundred threescore and six 76 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Daniel's Vision of the Latter Days ; or. An Exposition of thb 
 
 Eleventh Chapter of Daniel. Dan. x. 14. — Now I am come 
 
 to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter 
 
 days 86 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 Daniel's 1260, 1290, and 1335 Days explained. Daniel xii. 8.— 
 
 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what 
 
 shall be the end of these things ? 100 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 The Three Woe Trumpets. Rev. viii. 13. — Woe, woe, woe, to 
 the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the 
 trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound., 113 
 
10 INDEX. 
 
 LECTURE IX. and X. 
 The Epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia, considered as 
 APPLYING TO Seven Periods of the Gospel Church. Rev. 
 i. 20 127,145 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 The New Song. Rev. v. 9. — And they sung a new song, saying, 
 Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for 
 thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, &c 161 
 
 LECTURE XIL 
 The Seven Seals, as representing Events to the End of Time. 
 Rev. V. 5. — Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed 
 to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 176 
 
 LECTURE XIII. 
 The Tveo Witnesses, as having been slain in the French 
 Revolution. Rev. xi. 3. — And I will give power unto my two 
 witnesses, and they shall prophesy 1260 days, clothed in sack- 
 cloth 190 
 
 LECTURE XIV. 
 The Woman in the Wilderness. Rev. xii. 6. — And the woman 
 fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that 
 they should feed her there 1260 days 204 
 
 LECTURE XV. 
 
 The Seven Last Plagues, or Seven Vials. Rev. xvi. 17. — And 
 
 the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air ; and there came a 
 
 great voice out of the tepiple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 
 
 It is done 219 
 
 LECTURE XVI. 
 The Parable of the Ten Virgins. Matt. xxv. 1. — Then shall the 
 kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their 
 lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom 233 
 
 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 On the Punishment of the People of God Seven Times for 
 
 their Sins. Lev. xxvi. 23, 24 250 
 
 LECTURE XVIII. 
 Solomon's Song, viii. 5. — Who is this that cometh up from the wil- 
 derness, leaning upon her beloved.? 264 
 
 LECTURE XIX. 
 Signs of the Present Times. Matt. xxvi. 3. — But can ye not 
 discern the signs of the times? , 283 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 TITUS li. 13. 
 
 Looking for that blessed hope, and glorious appearing of the 
 great God, and our Savior Jesus Christ. 
 
 When we take a view of the trials, pains, afflictions, 
 persecutions, poverty, and distress, which the people of 
 God suffer in this world, we are almost led to exclaim 
 with the apostle, " If in this life only we have hope, we 
 are of all men most miserable." But no ; we will not 
 complain ; for to suffer the short period of threescore 
 years and ten, at most, will only give a greater zest to 
 tlie glory which shall follow at the appearing of our 
 Lord and Savior the great God and Jesus Christ 1 
 know the world are taunting us with the inquiry, 
 " Where is the promise of his coming ? for, since the 
 fathers fell asleep, all things remain as they were, even 
 from the creation of the world ; " for they will pretend 
 to be ignorant (as the apostle Peter expresses himself 
 m the deluge) that the world that then was, being over- 
 flowed with water, perished ; and still more do they pre- 
 tend to be ignorant, that the same earth is in like man- 
 ner to be destroyed by fire, " reserved unto fire against 
 the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 
 Peter iii. 7. Also, my brethren, there are some even 
 among us, who "are spots in your feasts of charity, 
 feeding themselves without fear ; clouds without water, 
 carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth; 
 twice dead, plucked up by the roots ; raging waves of 
 the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering 
 
12 LECTURE I. 
 
 Stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness 
 forever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, 
 prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh 
 with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment 
 upon all ; and to convince all that are ungodly among 
 them of all their ungodly deeds which they have, un- 
 godly committed, and of all their hard speeches which 
 they have spoken against him. These are murmurers, 
 complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their 
 mouth speaking great swelling words, having men's 
 persons in admiration, because of lldvantage. But, 
 beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken 
 before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ ; how 
 that they told you there should be mockers in the last 
 time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 
 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having 
 not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves 
 on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 
 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the 
 mercy (or glorious appearing) of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 unto eternal life." Jude 12—21. Or, as Peter says, 
 2 Pet. iii. 12, " Looking for and hasting unto the coming 
 of the day of God." And again, Paul says, in Heb. 
 ix. 28, "And unto them that look for him shall he 
 appear the second time without sin unto salvation." 
 And Paul further saith, to his Philippian brethren, " For 
 our conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we 
 look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
 change our vile body, that it may be fashioned lil^e 
 unto his glorious body." 
 
 Having thus proved that the apostles directed onr 
 hope to tiie coming of Christ for the fulfilment of all 
 our trials and persecutions, and the completion of our 
 faith, 1 shall now take up our subject in tlie following 
 order: — I. I shall endeavor to prove that it is yet 
 future ; viz., the coming of Christ, spoken of in the text. 
 n. The certainty of his coming. IIL The object of 
 his coming. 
 
 I. We are, according to our design, to show that 
 the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, spoken of in 
 the text, is yet future. 
 
CHRISt'S SECOND COMING« 13 
 
 Some teach us that he came at the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, and quote to the 24th chapter of Matthew 
 as proof. Let us examine their evidence. As Jesus 
 went out of the temple, his disciples came to him for 
 to show him the buildings of the temple, where Christ 
 delivered his memorable prophecy, which was exactly 
 fulfilled in little more than thirty-six years afterwards, 
 " There shall not be left here one stone upon another 
 that shall not be thrown down.'* 
 
 And it appears that, afterwards, as Jesus sat upon the 
 Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, 
 having, as may reasonably be supposed, been rumi- 
 nating in their minds, or conversing among themselves, 
 on the prophecy, and had, perhaps, supposed that no 
 power on earth could destroy those strong buildings, 
 and concluded that, when this was accomplished, it 
 would be the judgment-day. They therefore inquire 
 of him, " saying. Tell us, when shall these things be ? " 
 that is, what he had prophesied of; "and what shall 
 be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the 
 world ? " They might not have intended to ask more 
 than one question ; yet they did ask three, and Christ 
 answered them accordingly. He had before told them 
 of the . destruction of Jerusalem, 4th, 5th, and 6th 
 verses ; he cautions them against being deceived with 
 false Christs, and not to be troubled at wars and rumors 
 of wars, — and yet Jerusalem was destroyed in the 
 first war of any note after this prophecy, — and then 
 says plainly, " The end is not yet" Now, if this end 
 was the destruction of Jerusalem; then where are those 
 wars, spoken of by Christ? This cannot mean any 
 thing less than the end of the world. From the 7th 
 to the 14th verse, inclusive, he gives a prophetic history 
 of the trials, afflictions, and persecutions of his people, 
 and also of the success of the gospel immediately 
 previous to the end, and says, "Then shall the end 
 come." 
 
 Now, it must be evident that this cannot mean the 
 
 end of Jerusalem, because, if so, he that endured unto 
 
 the end was to be saved from all the troubles which 
 
 Christ had been speaking of; and it was not true that 
 
 2 
 
14 LECTURE I* 
 
 the disciples of Christ did not suffer afterwards the 
 same things which Christ said they would. From the 
 15th to the 28th verse, Christ instructs his disciples 
 into their duty during the siege of Jerusalem, and also 
 down to the coming of the Son of Man. This, you 
 will see, must mean Christ in person ; because neither 
 the Holy Spirit nor Father is any where called Son 
 of Man. He likewise speaks of the signs which should 
 K)llow the destruction of Jerusalem. From the 29th 
 to the 35th verse, inclusive, Christ explains the signs 
 in the heavens and on the earth immediately after the 
 tribulation of the people of God, which had been 
 spoken of as the common lot of all his followers, and 
 which he had promised to shorten for the elect's sake, 
 and of his coming in the clouds with power and great 
 glory ; the gathering of his elect from the four winds of 
 heaven ; gives his disciples the parable of the fig tree, 
 as an illustration of the end ; and then says to his disci- 
 ples, " Verily, 1 say unto you. This generation shall not 
 pass till all these things be fulfilled ; heaven and earth 
 shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." 
 
 Here is the great stumbling-block to many. Christ 
 is talking about his elect, his children, and his gene- 
 ration ; and not, as some will have it, about the genera- 
 tions that then lived on the earth ; for they did un- 
 doubtedly pass off, a large share of them ; for it was 
 about thirty-six years before the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem. But his kingdom has never been taken from 
 the earth. Although they have been hunted from one 
 part of the earth to another ; although they have been 
 driven into caves and dens of mountains; have been 
 slain, burnt, sawn asunder ; have wandered as pilgrims 
 and strangers on the earth; — yet the "blood of the 
 martyrs has been the seed of the church ; " and Christ 
 has had, and will have, a people on the earth, until his 
 second coming. 1 Peter ii. 9 : " But ye are a chosen 
 generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar 
 people," &c. The Psalmist says, " A seed shall serve 
 him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a genera- 
 tion." Psalm xxii. 30. I humbly believe that Christ 
 has quoted the sentiment contained in the 102d Psalm, 
 
Christ's second coming. 15 
 
 25th to last verse : *' Of old hast thou laid the founda- 
 tion of the earth ; and the heavens are the work of 
 thine hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure ; 
 yea, all of them shall wax old like a g-arment ; as a 
 vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be 
 changed ; but thou art the same, and thy years shall 
 have no end. The children of thy servants shall con- 
 tinue, and their seed shall be established before thee.*' 
 Here we see the Psalmist has expressed the same 
 sentiment that I understand Christ to have given 
 in these two verses, which I conclude is the prop- 
 er explanation. And then the parables which fol- 
 low in the remainder of the 24th and 25th chap- 
 ters, are easily understood as having reference to 
 the end of the world ; and in that way will exactly 
 compare. See tlie 31st verse of the 25th chapter: 
 " When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and 
 all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
 throne of his glory ; and before him shall be gathered 
 all nations," &c. This verse was not fulfilled at the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, for the " Son of Man " was 
 not seen in the clouds with power and great glory ; 
 and yet the words are, " every eye shall see him ; " and 
 as sudden and as visible " as the lightning, that shineth 
 from the east even unto the west, so shall the coming 
 of the Son of Man be." Can this have passed, and the 
 history of the world have been silent ? No. Could all 
 nations be gathered before him, and there be divided, 
 the righteous from the wicked, and the one part sent to 
 everlasting punishment, while the other is received to 
 life eternal, and none know it ? No. Were the elect 
 gatliered from the four winds of heaven at the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem? No; they were commanded to 
 flee to the mountains ; and history *says they did leave 
 that devoted city when the Romans encompassed it with 
 their armies. Then, could the prophecies contained in 
 these chapters have been fulfilled, and the world remain 
 ignorant of some of the most important events ? I 
 answer. No. Then the " Son of Man" did not come to 
 the destruction of Jerusalem. If he did, where is the 
 evidence ? None, none, not a particle. But if he did 
 
16 LECTURE I. 
 
 come to the destruction of Jerusalem, then it must have 
 been his second coming" ; for Paul says, Heb. ix. 28, 
 "And unto them that look for him shall he appear the 
 second time without sin unto salvation." Can this be 
 true if he came to Jerusalem ? The passage certainly 
 implies that his people would have no more sin, or 
 afterwards would be "without sin." Experience teaches 
 us to the contrary. Again it is said, 1 Thes. iv. 16, 17, 
 ** For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with 
 a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the 
 trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall arise first ; 
 then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up 
 together witli them in tlie clouds to meet the Lord in 
 the air ; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Who 
 saw tliis great transaction at Jerusalem ? Were there 
 no witnesses ? Yes, the apostle John lived many years 
 after this, and wrote his Gospel, his Epistles, and his 
 Revelation, long after the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 And what does he testify ? In his Gospel, 14th chapter, 
 3d verse, " And if I go and prepare a place for you, I 
 will come and receive you to myself, that where I am 
 there ye may be- also." Again, 28th and 29th verses, 
 " Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and 
 come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would re- 
 joice, because I said, I go unto the FalJier; for my 
 Fatlier is greater than I. And now I have told you 
 before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye 
 might believe." Again, 1 John ii. 28, " And now, little 
 children, abide in him, that, when he shall appear, we 
 may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him 
 at his coming." And iii. 2, " Beloved, now are we the 
 sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be ; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall 
 be like him; for we shall see him as he is." And, 
 again, in Rev. i. 7, " Behold, he cometh with clouds, 
 and every eye shall see him; and they also which 
 pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth, shall wail 
 because of him." Many more places might be men- 
 tioned in John's testimony, but not one word that he had 
 already ci^me again, as some supposed. Let this, then, 
 suffice to prove, that the ^^ glorious appearing,^^ spoken 
 of in our text, is still future. 
 
Christ's second coming. 17 
 
 And now we will examine some of the evidence of 
 the certainty of his coming, which is our second 
 proposition. 
 
 II. The certainty of it : 
 
 1st. Because the ancient prophets all spake of it 
 Jude tells us that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, 
 prophesied, saying, Behold the Lord cometh, with ten 
 thousands of his saints, &c. Balaam was constrained 
 to admit, " Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have 
 dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the 
 city," plainly referring to the judgment-day ; for he 
 says, "Alas! who shall live when God doth this?" 
 See Numbers xxiv. 17 — 23. And Moses as plainly 
 refers to this day in Deut. xxxii. 43, " Rejoice, O ye 
 nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of 
 his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversa- 
 ries, and will be merciful to his land and to his people." 
 David says. Psalm 1. 3, 4, " Our God shall come, and 
 shall not keep silence ; a fire shall devour before him, 
 and it shall be very tempestuous round about him ; he 
 shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, 
 (that he may judge his people." ) And Isa. xl. 5, " And 
 the glory of tlie Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh 
 shall see it together ; for the mouth of the Lord hath 
 spoken it." In the 39th chapter of Ezekiel, you will 
 see the same day of judgment prophesied of in a clear 
 and plain manner. In Dan. vii. 9, 10, " I beheld till the 
 thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did 
 sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of 
 his head like the pure wool : his throne was like the 
 fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery 
 stream issued and came forth before him : thousand 
 thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times 
 ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, 
 and the books were opened." Joel iii. 14, " Multitudes, 
 multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the 
 Lord is near in the valley of decision." Zeph. i. 14, 
 "The great day of the Lord is near; it is near, and 
 hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord ; 
 the mighty men shall cry there bitterly." Zech. xiv. 5, 
 " And the Lord thy God shall come, and all the saints 
 
18 LECTURE I. 
 
 with thee." Mai. iv. 2, " But unto you that fear my name 
 ehall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his 
 wings, and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves in 
 the stall." And Christ himself says, in Matt, xvi. 27, 
 " For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his 
 Father, with his angels ; and then shall he reward every 
 man according to his works." The angels that stood 
 by the disciples at the time Jesus ascended up, and a 
 cloud received him out of their sight, said, " Ye men of 
 Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This 
 same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, 
 shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go 
 into heaven." Let us take particular notice of the 
 phrase this same Jesus, and compare with other parallel 
 passages, as, our God sludl come, and it will prove 
 to our satisfaction that Jesus Christ is God, as well as 
 man, and we may have strong consolation for our hope 
 in his appearing, for his promises can never fail. 
 "Heaven and earth may pass away, but not one jot 
 or tittle of his word shall fail." Also take notice of 
 the words " like manner^^ which agree with the often 
 expressed sentence, " He shall come in the clouds of 
 heaven.''^ We shall be led to admire the general har- 
 mony of the Scriptures, and the agreement of the 
 prophets in their descriptions of future events. Again, 
 Christ says to the church of Philadelphia, Rev. iii. 11, 
 " Behold, I come quickly : hold that fast thou hast, that 
 no man take thy crown." " For yet a little while and 
 he that shall come will come, and will not tarry," Heb. 
 X. 37. And will not the evidence I have brought from 
 the word of God be sufficient to prove the certainty of 
 his future coming? And if I should argue the tradition 
 of nations that never saw the word of God, the convic- 
 tion on the mind of men generally, that there must be 
 a day of retribution ; could I open the breast of the 
 reader, and show the thundering of your conscience ; 
 yes, could I see and expose the tremblings and failings 
 of heart, which you have had, while you have been 
 looking with fear for those things that are coming on 
 the earth — of what use would it be ? Would you be- 
 lieve it if I could raise a dead friend who would tell 
 
Christ's second coming. 19 
 
 you to prepare to meet your God? No. If they be- 
 lieve not Moses and the prophets, neither would they 
 though one rose from the dead.. How foolish, then, 
 would it be for me to try to prove in any other manner 
 what God has revealed or promised, than by the means 
 which God has appointed. By his word you will be 
 judged ; and if this condemns you now, (unless you be- 
 come reconciled,) it will condemn you hereafter. 
 
 III. The object of his coming. 
 
 1st He comes to raise and gather his saints to him 
 in the air. " As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all 
 be made alive ; but every man in his own order — Christ 
 the first fruit, afterwards they that are Christ's at his 
 coming," 1 Cor. xv. 22, 23. Again, "For if we be- 
 lieve that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 
 which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For 
 this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we 
 which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the 
 Lord, shall not prevent them that are asleep. For the 
 Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, 
 witii the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
 God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, 
 which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together 
 witii them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air ; 
 and so shall we ever be witii the Lord," 1 Thess. iv. 
 14 — 17. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the 
 coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering 
 together unto him," 2 Thess. ii. 1. " Blessed and holy 
 is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such the 
 second death shall have no power," Rev. xx. 6. In 
 Psalms we have the same account of the gathering of 
 his people. " Gather my saints together unto me, those 
 who have made a covenant witii me by sacrifice," 
 Psalm 1. 5. Again, see Isaiah Ixvi. 18, "It shall come 
 that I will gather all nations and tongues ; and they shall 
 come and see my glory." " For thus saith the Lord God, 
 Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek 
 them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the 
 day that he is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will 
 I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all 
 places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and 
 dark day," Ezekiel xxxiv. 11, 12. 
 
20 LECTURE I. 
 
 And now I refer you to one more passage, and then 
 pass on. " Behold, I show you a mystery ; we shall not 
 all sleep, (that is, die,) but we shall all be changed, in 
 a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; 
 for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this cor- 
 ruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must 
 put on immortality. So when this mortal shall put on 
 immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying 
 that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory." These 
 texts, to which I have called your attention, will apply 
 only to the people of God, or those who are in Christ 
 Jesus. I have, therefore, only been proving to you the 
 object of Christ's coming, as it respects his people. And 
 I think I have plainly proved that when Christ shall ap- 
 pear in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
 glory, he will raise the righteous dead, change the 
 righteous living, gather them from among all nations, 
 where they have been scattered during the ages of per- 
 secution arid trial, " in the dark and cloudy day," and 
 receive them unto himself in the air, when they will ever 
 be with the Lord. — I will, 
 
 2dly, Show that the wicked will be destroyed from 
 the earth by fire, and the world cleansed from the curse 
 of sin by the same means, and prepared for the recep- 
 tion of the New Jerusalem state, or the glorious reign 
 of Christ with his people. That the wicked will be de- 
 stroyed by fire, at his appearing, we prove by the follow- 
 ing texts : Deut. xxxii. 22, " For a fire is kindled in 
 mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall 
 consume the earth, with her increase, and set on fire the 
 foundations of the mountains." 2 Samuel xxii. 9, 10, 13, 
 "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out 
 of his mouth devoured : coals were kindled by it. He 
 bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was 
 under his feet. Through the brightness before him 
 were coals of fire kindled." Psalm xcvii. 2, 3, " Clouds 
 and darkness are round about him, righteousness and 
 judgment are the habitation of his throne. A fire goeth 
 before him, and burneth up his enemies round about" 
 Isa. Ixvi. 15, 16, " For, behold, the Lord will come with 
 
Christ's second coming. 21 
 
 fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his 
 anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 
 For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with 
 all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many." 
 Dan. vii. 11, "I beheld then, because of the voice of the 
 great words which the horn spake ; I beheld even till 
 the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to 
 the burning flame." Again, Nahum i. 5, "The moun- 
 tains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is 
 burnt at his presence ; yea, the world and all that dwell 
 therein." Habakkuk iii, 3 — 5," God came from Teman, 
 (south) and the Holy One from Mount Paran, {from 
 glory.) Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the 
 earth was full of his praise : and his brightness was as 
 the light ; he had horns coming out of his hand ; and 
 there was the hiding of his power. Before him went 
 the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet 
 He stood and measured the earth ; he beheld and drove 
 asunder the nations, and the everlasting mountains were 
 scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are ever- 
 lasting." Also, Malachi iv. 1, " For, behold, the day com- 
 €th that shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud, yea, 
 and all that do wickedly, shall be Ftubble ; and the day 
 that Cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, 
 that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Matt 
 iii. 12, " Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thor- 
 oughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the 
 garner; but he will burn up the chaflT with unquenchable 
 fire." Matt. xiii. 30, " Gather ye together first the tares, 
 and bind them in bundles to burn them ; but gather the 
 wheat into my barn." 40, " As therefore the tares are 
 gathered and burnt, so shall it be in the end of the 
 world." 49th verse, " So shall it be in the end of the 
 world; the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked 
 from among the just." Again, Paul to the church of the 
 Thessalonians writes, "And to you who are troubled, 
 rest with us; when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
 from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, tak- 
 ing vengeance on them that know not God, and that 
 obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall 
 be punished with everlasting destruction from the pres 
 
22 LECTURE I. 
 
 ence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.'' 
 2 Peter iii. 10, « But the day of the Lord will come as a 
 thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass 
 away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt 
 with fervent heat ; the earth also, and the works that are 
 therein, shall be burned up." Rev. xviii. 8, " Therefore 
 shall her plagues come in one day — death, and mourn- 
 ing, and famine ; and she shall be utterly burned with fire ; 
 for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her." These 
 passages are but a part of the word of God which prove 
 the destruction of the wicked— of the anti-Christian 
 beast — and the cleansing of the world by fire. Yet if 
 Scripture proof can be sufl[icient, surely I have brought 
 enough ; and where that can have no bearing on the 
 Inind of men, how vain should I be to search the ar- 
 chives of natural philosophy to give you more evi- 
 dence ! for He who hath all wisdom in heaven and in 
 earth, and who knows what is in the mind of man, hath 
 used the best arguments, the most persuasive means (I 
 had like to have said) in the power of a God to use ; and 
 indeed he says, "What could I have done more than I 
 have done for my vineyard." He has taught us by his 
 own word, by the mouth of his prophets, and by exam- 
 ples : witness his word on Mount Sinai, where the peo- 
 ple heard his voice and saw the fire ; witness all the dec- 
 larations of the prophets which I have read; witness 
 Jesus Christ himself, in the parable of the tares and 
 wheat, and the harvest ; witness, also, the destruction of 
 the old world by water, and Sodom and Gomorrah by 
 fire ; Jerusalem by famine, sword, and fire. These are all 
 set forth as samples to warn us of the approaching judg- 
 ment. And yet who believes the report ? Who is will- 
 ing to examine the evidences — to reason candidly and 
 to reflect seriously on these things ? Who among us 
 puts implicit coniidence in the word of God, especially 
 in that which is unfulfilled ? Any may believe in so 
 much as has been accomplished ; but where is the virtue 
 in such faith ? Where is the blessedness of our hope 
 in the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ ? If we are 
 ** looking for that blessed -hope, and the glorious appear- 
 ing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ," we 
 
Christ's second coming. 23 
 
 shall examine the word of God faithfully; we shall 
 compare scripture with scripture ; we shall take notice 
 of the signs which Christ has given us of his coming. 
 That the day may not overtake us as a thief, we should 
 live with a steady reference to that day, and rejoice 
 more and more as we see the day approaching. 
 
 3d. I will now give some of the evidences concerning 
 the glorious reign which must follow his coming. The 
 earth, being cleansed by fire, will, like the phoenix, be 
 revived from its own ashes. The destruction of the 
 wicked, the end of death, sin banished, it will lighten 
 the world of a load of crime which has made it reel to 
 and fro like a drunkard; the internal fires will have 
 spent their force on all combustible matter, and have 
 gone out ; volcanoes will cease ; earthquakes, tornadoes, 
 and whirlwinds can no more be experienced or needed, 
 for the cause is gone ; the earth or the heavens can 
 no more be shaken, " that those things that cannot be 
 shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a king- 
 dom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby 
 we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and 
 godly fear; for our God is a consuming fire," Heb. xii. 
 27 — 29. Then, when this earth shall become new, by 
 being cleansed and purified, the New Jerusalem will 
 " come down from God out of heaven, prepared as a 
 bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great 
 voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of 
 God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they 
 shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them 
 and be their God," Rev. xxi. 2, 3. " And he carried 
 me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and 
 showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descend- 
 ing out of heaven from God, having the glory of God," 
 10th verse. " And the city had no need of the sun, 
 neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God 
 did lighten it, and the liamb is the light thereof." 
 " And I saw thrones and they that sat upon them, and 
 judgment was given unto them ; and I saw the souls of 
 them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and 
 for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the 
 beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark 
 
24 LECTURE I. 
 
 in their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived 
 and reigned with Christ a thousand years ; but the rest 
 of the dead lived not again until tlie thousand years 
 tvere finished." 
 
 Much more evidence might be brought to prove the 
 personal reign of Jesus Christ with his people ; but this 
 is enough to prove the glorious and personal reign after 
 the resurrection ; but few dispute it But, say some, do 
 you not believe in a spiritual reign of a thousand years 
 before the resurrection ? I answer, I believe in a reign 
 of grace, by the influence of the divine Spirit, for more 
 than 1800 years past ; but when you speak of a thou- 
 sand years, I suppose you mean the same time that 1 
 call the glorious reign after the resurrection of the 
 righteous, and before the resurrection of the wicked. 1 
 know of *no spiritual reign, mentioned in the word of 
 God, and especially of that duration. We argue that 
 there cannot be a reign of peace and glory until the 
 world is cleansed from all wickedness, Satan is chained^ 
 and righteousness fill our world ; nor until " the glorious 
 appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ," 
 even the anti-Christian beast will not be destroyed, (ac- 
 cording to the texts we have already quoted,) until they 
 are destroyed by " the brightness of his appearing." All 
 those passages which speak of this happy period of rest 
 to the people of God, or which in any manner allude to 
 it, describe it as being after the resurrection of the 
 saints, or after righteousness fills the earth, and after the 
 anti-Christian beast is destroyed. And even our text 
 more than implies that we shall not realize any great or 
 glorious results from our hope, or collectively in a body 
 8ie church will not receive any important deliverance 
 until the " glorious appearing of the great God and our 
 Savior Jesus Christ" Is this true ? I say the passages 
 of Scripture already named fix it beyoiid a doubt* 
 And any one who will examine the scripture for himself, 
 will find that the second coming of Christ is the point 
 to which Jesus Christ, the prophets, and the apostles di- 
 rected their disciples, as the termination of their trials, 
 persecutions, and afflictions ; and Jesus Christ says, " In 
 the world ye shall have tribulation*" I say, I can find 
 
Christ's second coming. S5 
 
 nothing in the word of God to warrant me to believe 
 that we ought to look for or expect a happier period 
 than we now enjoy, until he who has promised to come 
 shall come the second time without sin unto salvation, 
 and cleanse us, the world, and make all things new. 
 These things are abundantly proved in the unerring 
 word of God. And now, Christians, if these things are 
 so, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy 
 conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto 
 the day of God, " looking for that blessed hope and the 
 
 florious appearing of the great God and our Savior 
 esus Christ " ? Then let our conversation be in heaven, 
 from whence . we expect our Savior, and stir up each 
 other's pure minds by way of remembrance of these 
 things ; for the time of the promise draweth nigh, when 
 he will come and receive us to himself, that we may be 
 with him. How necessary, my brethren, we should 
 examine the word of God diligently ; see if it does not 
 
 five some indications, some signs, by which we may 
 now the " Son of Man is near, even at the door," and 
 our "blessed hope" is about to be realized in the 
 " glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior 
 the Lord Jesus Christ" If he comes and finds us, or 
 some of us, in this lukewarm state, hardly having looked 
 into his word, and, making our want of talents an excuse, 
 have neglected to trim our lamps, and have been very 
 spare in holy conversation, and are crying peace and 
 safety when sudden destruction cometh, and perhaps 
 have sneeringly mocked and laughingly ridiculed the 
 idea of Christ being near at the door, and perhaps 
 have joined the infidel and unbeliever in their unholy 
 remarks on this subject, and although we have heard 
 the midnight cry, " Behold, the bridegroom cometh," yet 
 we treat it with neglect or disdain, or some of us, per- 
 haps, with reproach, — I ask, if the Lord of such servants 
 come and find us so doing, what will he do with us ? 
 He will come in an hour that we think not, and cut us 
 oiF, and appoint our portion among hypocrites and un- 
 believers, where shall be weeping, wailing, and gnashing 
 of teeth. But we will suppose that he will not come in 
 so short a time as your speaker believes ; still what do I 
 3 
 
26 LECTURE r. 
 
 ask of you, my brethren? Nothing but what Jesus 
 Christ and the apostles required 1800 years ago. I ask 
 you to compare these views with the Bible. Is tliis 
 wrong? JVo, I ask you for holy conversation. Is 
 this wrong ? JVo, I ask you for heavenly-mindedness. 
 Is this wrong? No, no. I ask you to stir up each 
 other's pure minds, to make improvement on your one 
 talent if no more ; to come out of this cold and lukewarm 
 state ; to trim your lamps and be ready. Are these re- 
 quirements wrong ? Certainly not ; no, no. I ask you 
 again to compare scripture with scripture ; to read the 
 prophets ; to stop your revilings ; to take warning by the 
 old world ; to flee from sin and the wrath which is to 
 come ; to hide yourselves in Christ, until the indignation 
 be over and past ; to look " for that blessed h-ope and the 
 
 florious appearing of the great God and our Savior 
 esus Christ" Is this wrong ? Then be the wrong on 
 my head. 
 
 And now, my impenitent friends, what say you ? " We 
 say, 'You know nothing about it' " Do you believe the 
 old world was deluged ? " Why, yes." What makes you 
 believe it ? " Because our philosophers tell us there are 
 a great many signs remaining of the flood, and we can 
 believe them." And are there no signs of the near ap- 
 proach of the Judgment Day ? What say the prophets, 
 apostles, and Jesus Christ ? Are they not equal to your 
 philosophers? Examine your Bibles, and see; weigh 
 well the evidence ; your eternal happiness, the salvation 
 of your immortal souls, may depend on your decision. 
 But what say you more ? " We say, ' You were very un- 
 wise to fix on the year 1843, or sooner, for this day to 
 come ; for it will not come ; and then you will be 
 ashamed." And I hope I may be able, by the grace of 
 God, to repent But what if it does come ? You can- 
 not with any propriety say positively it will not come, 
 for you make no pretence to divination. But I say, 
 What if it does come ? Where will you be ? No space 
 then for repentance. No, no — too late, too late; the 
 harvest is over and past, the summer is gone, the door 
 is shut, and your soul is not saved. Therefore it can do 
 you no harm to hear, and believe, and do those things 
 
Christ's second coming. 27 
 
 which God requires of you, and which you think you 
 would do, if you knew he would appear. First, I ask you 
 to repent of your sins. Would this be right? Yes. 
 Next, I ask you to believe in God. Is this right .^ Yes. 
 And I ask you to be reconciled to his will, love his law, 
 forsake sin, love holiness, practise his precepts, obey his 
 commands. Would these things be right? Yes, yes. 
 And last of all, and not least, I ask you to « look for that 
 blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great 
 God and our Savior Jesus Christ" Amen, 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 REV. XX. 6. 
 
 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection ; on 
 such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests 
 of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 
 
 The term "blessed and holy^ is often used in Scrip- 
 ture, and in many places is applied to man ; but in no 
 place without giving some characteristic mark of his 
 being born of God, or inheriting the fruits of the divine 
 Spirit ; and very often the word blessed is used standing 
 in immediate connection with the resurrection and 
 coming of Christ, either expressed or implied, as in Isa. 
 Ixii. 11, 12, " Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the 
 end of the world. Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, 
 thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, 
 and his work before him. And they shall call them The 
 holy people. The redeemed of the Lord ; and thou shalt 
 be called. Sought out, A city not forsaken." Isa. xxx. 
 18, " And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be 
 gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that 
 he may have mercy upon you ; for the Lord is a God of 
 j u dgment Blessed are all they that wait for him." Dan- 
 iel says, xii. 12, " Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to 
 the 1^335 days." John says. Rev. xiv. 13, " Blessed are 
 the dead which die in the Lord." ."Write, -B/e^^cri are 
 they which are called to the marriage supper of the 
 Lamb." "Behold, I come quickly; blessed is he that 
 keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." 
 " Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 
 
CHRlST^S SECOND COMING. 29 
 
 may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in 
 through the gates into the city." By these passages I 
 show you that all the children of God are included in 
 this blessing, and not the martyrs only, as some will 
 have it. The next thing which will claim our attention 
 will be to explain the resurrection spoken of in our 
 text, called the first resurrection. The word resurrection 
 signifies to revive, or resuscitate, or bring to life agaiuy 
 one now dead, who was once alive. It nowhere in the 
 word of God conveys an idea of a new creation, and 
 the word is nowhere used in the Bible expressing any 
 thing less or more than a union of soul and body, and 
 deliverance from natural death. The word resurrection 
 is nowhere used in a figurative sense ; it in all places 
 has its own simple meaning, unless our text is an ex- 
 ception. And without the objector can show some rule 
 of interpretation by which we shall be warranted to 
 understand the word in a diflTerent sense, we must beg 
 leave to attach to it the simple meaning, coming to life 
 from the grave. I know some have supposed that regen- 
 eration is resurrection ; but 1 cannot believe this unless 
 they show some rule. I know some pretend to show us, 
 in John v. 25, " Verily, verily, I say unto you. The hour 
 is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the 
 voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live," 
 as a rule ; but in order to make this a rule, they must 
 prove that Christ meant regeneration ; until tliis is shown^ 
 we cannot admit it as any proof. 
 
 We shall, therefore, consider the word resurredion 
 as coming up out of the grave^ and pass to the word 
 Jirst, " The first resurreciion." The resurrection of the 
 saints is first as it respects order and time. Wherever 
 the word resurrection is used in connection with life or 
 damnation^ the one unto life always comes first ; as in 
 Daniel xii. 2, " Some to everlasting life, and some to 
 shame and everlasting contempt ; " John v. 29, " They 
 that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and 
 they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of 
 damnation." Here are two samples as it respects order. 
 One or two as it respects time : 1 Cor. xv. 23, " Christ 
 the first fruits, then afterward they that are Christ's at 
 3* 
 
so LECTURE 11. 
 
 his coining. Then cometh the end." And agfain, 
 1 Thess. iv. 16, " For the Lord himself shall descend 
 from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch- 
 angel and the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ 
 shall rise first." And then our context and text shows 
 that the blessed and holy are raised a thousand years 
 before the rest of the dead. If we are correct, then, 
 Christ will come before the millennium instead of after- 
 wards, as some believe ; and the millennium is a state of 
 personal, and glorious, and immortal reign on the nevr 
 earth, or this earth cleansed by fire, as it was once 
 by water; and it will be a new dispensation, new 
 heavens, and new earth. This will be our next propo- 
 sition to prove. And, first, we will examine the SOth 
 chapter of Revelation, 1st verse: ^^And I smo an 
 angel come down from heaven ; " — this angel I consider 
 no less a being than the Lord Jesus Christ ; for it only 
 can be said of him ; — " having the key of tfte bottomless 
 pit and a gi-eat chain in his handP See Rev. i. 18 : 
 "I am he that liveth and was dead ; and behold, I am 
 alive for evermore, amen, and have the keys of hell and 
 of death." And Christ only has power to bind Satan. 
 "That he might destroy him that had the power of 
 death, that is, the devil," Heb. ii. 14. 2d verse : ^^And 
 he laid hold on the dragon^ that old serpent, which is the 
 devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.^^ I 
 suppose this verse needs no explanation. It can only 
 be understood in a literal sense, for it explains itself in 
 the figures used ; as dragon and serpent, often used 
 as figures, are explained to mean the devil and Satan, 
 If the thousand years had been used, in this chapter, 
 or any where else in the word of God, in a mystical 
 or figurative sense, it would have been somewhere ex- 
 plained ; but, as it is not, I consider we are to place 
 upon it the most simple construction, and I shall there- 
 fore understand it literally. 3d verse : " And cast him 
 into the bottomless pit;^^ — by bottomless pit, I have 
 shown, by the proof on our first verse, that it is hell ; 
 see Rev. i. 18 ; — " and shut him up and set a seal upon 
 him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the 
 thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must 
 
Christ's second coming. 31 
 
 be loosed a little season.''^ This passage must be under- 
 stood in its simple, plain meaning ; no mystery in this. 
 4th verse : " »^nd I saw thrones, and they sat on them, 
 and judgment was given unto them ; " — here we have 
 a prophecy of the fulfilment of a promise that Christ 
 made to his disciples, in Matt. xix. 28: "And Jesus 
 said unto them. Verily, I say unto you, that ye which 
 have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son 
 of ]\Ian shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also 
 shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
 of Israel ; " — " and I saw the souls of them that were 
 beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of 
 God, and which had not ivorshipped the beast, neither his 
 image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, 
 or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ 
 a thousand yeai's^ In this description we have the 
 whole family of the redeemed; for all that had not 
 worshipped the beast or his image, or received a mark, 
 and, in one word, all that were not the servants of Satan 
 or sin, lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
 5th verse : " But the rest of the dead lived not again 
 until the thousand years were finished. This is the first 
 resurrection.^'' The rest of the dead means the wicked 
 dead, who do not have part in the first resurrection ; 
 lived not again, showing conclusively that it is a natural 
 life and death spoken of. The first resurrection is the 
 resurrection of the saints at his coming. Then comes 
 in our text, which has and will be explained in the 
 lecture. 7th verse : " ^nd when the thousand years are 
 expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison?^ We 
 may reasonably expect that, when Satan is let loose, 
 all the damned spirits are let loose with him ; and it 
 has been strongly implied they were to live again in 
 the body, at the end of the thousand years. 8th verse : 
 "w^nrf shall go out" — that is, Satan — "io deceive the 
 nations ivhich are in the four quarters of the earth " — 
 " ashes under the feet of the saints," as Malachi tells 
 us : " And ye shall tread down the wicked ; for they 
 shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day 
 that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts " — " Gog 
 and Magog'''' — the armies of the wicked that were , 
 
32 LECTURE II. 
 
 slain at the commencing of the thousand years, or 
 coming of Christ, at the supper of the great God, and 
 battle of Armageddon ; see Ezekiel xxxviii., xxxix. — 
 " to gather them together to battle ; " — this is their 
 design, but there is no battle, for God himself is with 
 his people to defend them ; and he destroys the wicked 
 host, " the number of whom is as the sand of the sea ; " 
 evidently including the whole number of the wicked ; 
 for the figure, sand of the sea, is never used, only to 
 express the whole class of the people named ; as, the 
 children of Israel, the whole host of Jacob. 9th verse : 
 " And they ivent up on the breadth of the earth ; " — that 
 is, this army of Gog and Magog were raised up out 
 of tlie surface of the earth, that only being the breadth 
 of a globular body ; — " and compassed the camp of the 
 saints about, and tJie beloved city ; " — plainly showing 
 that the New Jerusalem, the beloved city, is on the 
 earth during the thousand years, or how could this 
 wicked host encompass it about ? they have not climbed 
 the celestial walls of heaven — no; for it says, "anrf 
 fre came down from God out of heaven and devoured 
 them.^^ This is the second death, represented under 
 the figure of fire coming down from God out of heaven ; 
 not the conjlagration of the world, — for that was in 
 the commencing of the thousand years, when Christ 
 came and cleansed the world from all the wicked, and 
 the works of wicked men, — but the justice of God, 
 under the figure of fire ; " for our God is a consuming 
 fire." Heb. xii. 29. 10th verse : " And the devil that 
 deceived them ivas cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, 
 where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tor- 
 mented day and night forever and ever,"*^ In this verse, 
 the final condemnation of the wicked, soul and body, 
 is given ; and the last that God has seen fit to reveal 
 concerning them to us is, that they are cast into ever- 
 lasting torment. In the next verse, John has another 
 vision of the same things which he had before told us, 
 only in a different point of view, or some circumstance 
 not before clearly described. And I saw always im- 
 plies a new view, or another vision. 11th verse : ^^And 
 I saw a great white throne, and him thai sat on it, from 
 
Christ's second coming. 33 
 
 whose face the heavens and earth fled away ; and there 
 was no place found for them.''^ This is the same throne 
 that Daniel saw, vii. 9 — 14 : " I beheld till the thrones 
 were cast down and the Ancient of days did sit, whose 
 garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head 
 like the pure wool : his throne was like the fiery flame, 
 and his wheels as burning fire." 12th verse : " And 
 I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; and 
 the books were opened; and another book was opened, 
 which is the book of life ; and the dead were judged out 
 of those things which ivere ivritten in the books, according 
 to their works.^^ This is the same as Daniel saw, vii. 
 10 : "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before 
 him ; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten 
 thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The 
 judgment was set, and the books were opened." It is 
 very evident that this is the beginning of the judgment, 
 when Christ comes in the clouds of heaven, with power 
 and great glory, to raise and judge his saints, and to 
 reward every man as his work shall be. 1st, because 
 it is when the judgment first sets ; 2d, because the book 
 of life is there, and open ; and, 3d, because it was at 
 the time or before antichrist was destroyed; and no 
 one c|,n believe that the antichristian beast can be on 
 the earth during or in the millennium. 13th verse: 
 ^^ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and 
 death and hell delivered up the dead which were in themP 
 I conclude the apostle, after he had seen the righteous 
 dead raised, small and great, and stand before God, 
 and saw the book of life open to justify them, and saw 
 them judged and rewarded, he then glides down to the 
 end of the thousand years, and beheld the wicked dead 
 given up by those elements and places wherein they 
 had been confined during the millennial period, to be 
 judged in the flesh, every man according to his works. 
 
 This only can reconcile some of those conflicting 
 passages (or seemingly so to us) concerning the resur- 
 rection ; and I cannot see any impropriety in thus under- 
 standing these prophecies ; for it is the common manner 
 of the prophets, a little here and a little there. In all 
 the descriptions of the resurrection of the righteous 
 
34 LECTURE II. 
 
 dead, they are represented as being: gathered by the 
 angels of God, from the four winds of heaven, when the 
 seventh or last trump shall sound ; and it is equally as 
 evident that their works are brought into judgment 
 Although they may not be justified by their works, but 
 out of the book of life, yet the apostle Paul says, speak- 
 ing of his brethren, " We must all stand before the 
 judgment seat of Christ" Rom. xiv. 10. And again, 
 2 Cor. V. 10, " For we must all stand before the judg- 
 ment seat of Christ ; that every one may receive the 
 things done in his body, according to tliat he hath done, 
 whether it be good or bad." And, 1 Cor. iii. 13 — 15, 
 "Every man's work shall be made manifest; for the 
 day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by 
 fire ; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what 
 sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath 
 built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any 
 man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: yet 
 he himself shall be saved, so as by fire." We see, by 
 these texts, that the books of every man's works will 
 be open, as well as the book of life, in the first resur- 
 rection; but, in the second resurrection, there is no 
 book of life open in that part of the judgment, neither 
 are they gathered by the angels of God ; but the sea, 
 death, and hell, delivered up the dead which were in 
 them, and they were judged every man according to 
 their works ; and Satan is the means of gathering them 
 around the beloved city, where they are judged in the 
 flesh. By the sea, death, and hell, I understand the sea, 
 grave, and place of punishment. The sea and the 
 grave would give up the dissolved particles of the body, 
 and hell (or Hades) would give up their departed 
 spirits ; this would constitute the second resurrection. 
 **w2wc? they were judged every man according to their 
 works,^^ They had chosen, in this life, to stand on their 
 works ; they had refused to believe in a Mediator ; they 
 had not followed his commands, neither had they pro 
 fessed his name before men, or suffered persecution 
 for the sake of his testimony. They had treated his 
 word with total neglect, or called his grace tyranny. 
 They had said he was a hard master, and buried their 
 
chrmt's second coming. 35 
 
 talent in the earth. They had placed their supreme 
 affections on the world, and made fine gold their trust. 
 They had persecuted the children of God in this world, 
 and showed that they were the children of that wicked 
 one who slew his brother. They had prostituted their 
 bodies to whoredom, and sacrificed to Bacchus and 
 Venus their first-fruits. They had professed damna- 
 ble heresies, and filled the world with their delusive 
 schemes and sects. They had worshipped the creature, 
 and neglected prayer to the Creator. They had filled 
 the world with their lies and abominations, and gloried 
 in their shame. 14th verse : " And death and hell were 
 cast into the lake of Jire. This is the second deathP By 
 death and hell I understand the body and spirit 15tti 
 verse : " And whosoever was not found loAtten in the 
 LarnVs hook of life, ivas cast into the lake of fir e.^"^ " But 
 the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and 
 murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idol- 
 aters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake 
 which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the 
 second death." Rev. xxi. 8. " Blessed are they that 
 do his commandments, that they may have right to the 
 tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the 
 city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whore- 
 mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever 
 loveth and maketh a lie," Rev. xxii. 14, 15. Then our 
 text says, ^'Blessed and holy is he that hath paH in the 
 first resurrection.''^ This we have proved is the resur- 
 rection of the righteous dead, who died in faith in 
 Jesus Christ, and who should live with him at his 
 coming; on them the second death should have no 
 power, " but they shall be priests of God and of Christy 
 and shall reign ivith him a thousand years^ 
 
 To be priests unto God and unto Christ, is to be holy ; 
 to be a kingdom of priests of a peculiar people, that 
 should show forth his praises by declaring to the uni- 
 verse that out of nature's darkness they had been re- 
 deemed by his blood, called by his grace unto his 
 glorious, happy, and holy kingdom, and that they 
 should dwell on the earth. See Rev. v. 9, 10, " And 
 they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take 
 
30 LECTURE II* 
 
 the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast 
 slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out 
 of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; 
 and hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and 
 we shall reign on the earth.'* See, also. Rev. i. 6, "And 
 hath made us kings and priests unto God, and his 
 Father." Again, 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9, "Ye also, as lively 
 stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priest- 
 hood." "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal 
 priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people." The 
 passages to which I have cited your minds, prove, be- 
 yond a reasonable doubt, that the thousand years sp'>- 
 ken of in the text is between the two resurrections • i 
 state of happiness, of glory, of holiness, and that it 
 shall be on the earth. It is a state of immortality, as 
 abundant scriptures evidently prove. Where, then, you 
 may inquire, is the spiritual millennium which our theo- 
 rists, in the present age, are teaching us to expect ? I 
 answer. There is not a thousand years spoken of in 
 Scripture, except in 2 Pet, 3d chapter, and in which the 
 judgment day is. the subject of discussion, and in the 
 chapter of which our text is a part ; and in neither of 
 these places is any thing said about spiritual reign; 
 neither can we find any thing in the word of God by 
 which we could fairly draw the conclusion of such a 
 reign ; and as it is not proper for me to show the neg- 
 ative, I call on all of you to show where we may find 
 the evidence, that is, all of you who believe in a 
 spiritual reign. If there is such a reign, it must be 
 before the second coming of Christ ; for when he comes, 
 he will receive us to himself, that where he is there we 
 may be also; no more away from his people, for he 
 says he will be with them, and make his abode with 
 them, and he will be their light, and will dwell with 
 them, and make his abode with them, and they shall 
 dwell on the earth. Where, when, or how the idea of 
 a spiritual reign of a thousand years should or could 
 obtain a place in our faith, having the word of God 
 as our evidence, I cannot tell. Some say that the 
 prophets speak often of times or things which have not 
 been fulfilled in our day, or under the present dispensa- 
 
Christ's second coming. 37 
 
 tion, and which would be too gross to be admitted into 
 a state of immortality* There may be such — yet I 
 find no difficulty in understanding all those passages 
 which have been presented, or come under my con- 
 sideration, to refer to the gospel day. But how long do 
 the prophets say that time shall be r Do tliey designate 
 any time ? No ; neither one, ten, one hundred, or one 
 thousand years are mentioned in any of those passages- 
 Why then call it a millennium ? Because Peter and 
 John have mentioned a thousand years. This cannot 
 be admitted to mean any state this side of the state of 
 immortality ; for Peter says plainly, " Yet, nevertheless, 
 we look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness." This would be a new state, 
 surely — nothing gross or vile in this kingdom, whoever 
 may be king ; and John expressly says, " They lived and 
 reigned with Christ a thousand years," and says, " This 
 is the first resurrection." Now, admit there is such a 
 time, how or by what rule shall we call it a thousand 
 years ? 
 
 Again, where, in all the prophecies, can any one show 
 me that the church will be blessed and holy, or happy 
 and righteous, as it may be rendered, until he comes, 
 that is, at Christ's second appearance ? And where in 
 the word are we to learn that the kingdoms of this world 
 are to be destroyed before the coming of the Ancient of 
 days ? Do we believe that the anti-Christian beast, or 
 mystical Babylon, will be on the earth during this mil- 
 lennial reign ? No, it cannot be ; yet all must acknowl;^ 
 edge that she is only destroyed by the brightness of 
 his coming. Who can read the 19th chapter of Rev- 
 elation, without being convinced that the marriage sup- 
 per of the Lamb, the treading of the wine-press of the 
 fierceness and wrath of Almighty God, and the supper 
 of the great God, are events which must take place 
 before the millennium ? And if so, who can believe that 
 after the marriage of the Lamb to the bride ; after she 
 is arrayed in linen clean and white, which is the 
 righteousness of the saints ; after they have received a 
 crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall 
 give to all them who love his appearing in that day, — 
 4 
 
38 LECTURE If. 
 
 Christ will not be with her in person? None. But 
 our text tells us he will live and reign with them, and 
 they shall be priests to God. 
 
 Again : while in this state of mortality and trial, we 
 are called the servants and ministers of Christ; but 
 then, in the millennial blessedness, we shall be called 
 priests of God and of Christ You may ask, " Why this 
 distinction in the language?" I answer, There is a 
 great difference between the kingdom of Christ, as it 
 was established when Christ was here on earth, and the 
 kingdom given up to God, even tlie Father. The subjects 
 of Christ's kingdom, in this state of things, may be, and 
 in fact are, imperfect Hypocrites and false professors 
 may and do obtain an entrance into it ; for an enemy 
 hath sown tares. But the kingdom of God, no man, 
 says Christ, can see, or enter, without being born of 
 God. Here they may deceive the sentinels which 
 guard the kingdom of Christ ; but in the kingdom of 
 God " there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that 
 defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or 
 maketh a lie ; but'they which are written in the Lamb's 
 book of life." Here the children of the kingdom are 
 persecuted, tormented, perplexed, cast down ; but in the 
 kingdom of God their enemies are all slain ; they are 
 corSbrted, glorified, justified, exalted ; and not a dog to 
 move his tongue. Here they weep, but there will re- 
 joice : here they sin and repent ; they there will be holy 
 without fault before his throne. " Blessed and holy is 
 he that hath part in the first resurrection." Ameru 
 
LECTURE III. 
 
 DANIEL viii. 13, 14. 
 
 ''Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that 
 certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concern- 
 ing- the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to 
 give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot ? 
 And he said unto me. Unto two thousand three hundred days : 
 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed}" or justified, as it might 
 have been translated. 
 
 The hearer will, at the first view of our text, perceive 
 that there is something very important communicated in 
 the question and answer given ; or why are saints com- 
 missioned (as we may reasonably suppose) from the 
 courts of heaven, to ask and answer the question con- 
 tained in the text, in presence of the prophet? And 
 tliat it concerned Daniel, and us for whom the prophet 
 wrote his prophecy, to understand, is evident from the an- 
 sw^er being given to Daniel — " and he said unto me" — 
 instead of being given to the " saint," who made the in- 
 quiry. Then we are not treading on forbidden ground, 
 my dear hearer, to search to understand the meaning and 
 truth of our subject. 
 
 I shall then treat our subject in the following manner: 
 
 I. Explain some of the figures and expressions used 
 in the text. 
 
 II. Show what the " daily sacrifice vision " is, and, 
 
 III. The time or length of the vision " unto two thou- 
 sand three hundred days : then shall the sanctuary be 
 cleansed." 
 
 I. I am to explain some of the figures used in the 
 text; and, 
 
 :ik 
 
40 LECTURE III. 
 
 1st, the " daily sacrijke,^^ This may be understood, 
 by some, to mean the Jewish rites and ceremonies ; and 
 by others, the Pagan rites and sacrifices. As both Jews 
 and Pagans had their rites and sacrifices both morning 
 and evening, and their altars were kept smoking with 
 their victims of beasts, and their holy fire was preserved 
 in their national altars and temples devoted to their sev- 
 eral deities or gods, we might be at a loss to know which 
 of these to apply this figurative expression to, did not our 
 text and context explain the meaning. It is very evi- 
 dent, when we carefully examine our text, that it is to 
 be understood as referring to Pagan and Papal rites, for 
 it stands coupled with *' the abomination of desolation," 
 and performs the same acts, such as are ascribed to the 
 Papal abomination, "to give both the sanctuary and 
 host to be trodden under foot." See, also. Rev. xi. 2, 
 " But the court which is without the temple leave out, 
 and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; 
 and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and 
 two months." This last text only has reference to the 
 Papal beast, which was the image of the Pagan ; but the 
 text in consideration has reference to both Pagan and 
 Papal. That is, How long shall the Pagan transgression 
 and the Papal transgression tread under foot the sanc- 
 tuary and host ? This must be the true and literal mean- 
 ing of our text; it could not mean the anti-Christian 
 abomination alone, for they never desolated the Jewish 
 church; neither could it mean Antiochus, the Syrian 
 king ; for he and his kingdom were made desolate and 
 destroyed before Christ; and it is evident that Christ 
 had an allusion to this very power, when he told his 
 disciples, Matt. xxiv. 15, " When ye therefore shall see 
 the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the 
 prophet, stand in the holy place." I believe all com- 
 mentators agree that Christ meant the Roman power — 
 if so, then Daniel has the same meaning ; for this is the 
 very passage to which Christ alluded. Then the " daily 
 sacrifice" means Pagan rites and sacrifices, and the 
 transgressioi! of desolation, the Papal ; and both together 
 shall tread under foot the " sanctuary and host," which 
 brings me to show what may be understood by " sane- 
 
Christ's second coming, 41 
 
 tuary and host" By sanctuary^ we must understand the 
 temple at Jerusalem, and those who worship therein, 
 which was trodden under foot by the Pagan kingdoms 
 ' of the world, since the days of Daniel, the writer of 
 our text; then by the Chaldeans; afterwards by the 
 Modes and Persians ; next by the Grecians ; and lastly 
 by the Romans, who destroyed the city and sanctuary, lev- 
 elled the temple with the ground, and caused the plough 
 to pass over the place. The people of the Jews, too, 
 were led into captivity and persecuted by all these king- 
 doms successively, and finally by the Romans were ta- 
 ken away and destroyed as a nation. And as the proph- 
 et Isaiah, Ixiii. 18, says, "The people of thy holiness 
 have possessed it but a little while : our adversaries have 
 trodden down thy sanctuary." Jeremiah, also, in Lam. 
 i. 10, " The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all 
 her pleasant things ; for she hath seen that the heathen 
 entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that 
 they should not enter into thy congregation." The word 
 host is applied to the people who worship in the outer 
 court, and fitly represents the Christian church, who are 
 said to be strangers and pilgrims on the earth, having no 
 continuing places, but looking for a city whose builder 
 and maker is God. Jeremiah, speaking of the gospel 
 church, says, iii. 19, "But I said. How shall I put thee 
 among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a 
 goodly heritage of the Iwst of nations ? " evidently mean- 
 ing the church from the Gentiles. "Then shall the 
 sanctuary be cleansed or justified," liieans the true sanc- 
 tuary which God has built of lively stones to his own ac- 
 ceptance, through Christ, of which the temple at Jeru- 
 salem was but a type, the shadows having long since 
 fled away, and that temple and people now destroyed, 
 and all included in unbelief So whosoever looks for 
 the worldly sanctuary to be built again, will find them- 
 selves as much mistaken as the unbelieving Jews were, 
 when they looked for a temporal prince in the Messiah. 
 For there is not a word in the prophets or apostles, after 
 Zerubbabel built the second temple, that a third one 
 would ever be built ; except the one which cometh down 
 from heaven, which is a spiritual one, and which is the 
 4 * 
 
4Si LECTURE III. 
 
 mother of us all, (Jew and Gentile,) and which is free : 
 and when that New Jerusalem is perfected, then shall 
 we be cleansed and justified; for Paul says to the 
 Phillippians, iii. 20, 21, "For our conversation is in 
 heaven ; from whence also we look for the Savior, the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who shall chancre our vile body, that 
 it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, accord- 
 ing to the working whereby he is able to subdue all 
 things to himself; " that is, " they that are his at his 
 coming." We see by these texts — and many more 
 might be quoted — that the spiritual sanctuary will not 
 be cleansed until Christ's second coming ; and then 
 all Israel shall be raised, judged, and justified in his 
 sight 
 
 II. We shall now try to understand what is meant by 
 the " vmow," in the text 
 
 77ie vision^ spoken of in the text, alludes to three 
 separate times in which God revealed unto Daniel all 
 that may be considered a prophecy in the book of Dan- 
 iel, which vision was explained to Daniel by a heavenly 
 messenger, called Gabriel, at three separate times, the 
 last of which closes the book of Daniel ; which last 
 instruction will be the subject of a future lecture. 
 
 Daniel's first vision was the dream which Nebuchad- 
 nezzar had, and which troubled him; but when he 
 awoke, the dream was gone from him. He then called 
 for the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men 
 of Chaldea, to show him his dream, and the interpreta- 
 tion thereof; but they could not The king, being 
 angry, commanded that all the wise men of Babylon 
 should be destroyed. Then Arioch, the captain of the 
 king's guard, went forth to execute the king's decree ; 
 and among the rest he sought for Daniel and his three 
 friends, young captive Jews, to execute the purpose of 
 king Nebuchadnezzar upon them also. Daniel then, for 
 the first time, being made acquainted with the decree, 
 went in unto the king, and desired time, and promised 
 that he would make known the dream, and the interpre- 
 tation thereof. Time being granted, he and his three 
 Hebrew friends held a prayer-meeting, (not a cold and 
 formal one, as we may, reasonably suppose,) for their 
 

 Christ's second coming 
 
 lives and the lives of their fellow-creatures were in 
 danger. They cried for mercies from the God of heaven. 
 God heard and answered their prayers, and revealed to 
 Daniel the dream and interpretation. After rendering* 
 suitable thanksgiving, Daniel went in unto the king and 
 told the dream and visions of the king. " As for thee, O 
 king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, 
 what should come to pass hereafter ; and he that reveal- 
 eth secrets maketh known to thee what should come to 
 pass ; but as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for 
 any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for 
 the intent that the interpretation may be made known 
 to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts 
 of thy heart. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold, a great 
 image. This great image, whose brightness was ex- 
 cellent, stood before thee, and the form thereof was 
 terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast 
 and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 
 his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 
 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, 
 which smote the image upon his feet that were of 'iron 
 and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, 
 the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to 
 pieces together, and became like the chaff* of the sum- 
 mer threshing-floors, and the wind carried them away, 
 that no place was found for them ; and the stone that 
 smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the 
 whole earth," Daniel ii. 29—35. 
 
 This was the dream, and the interpretation was clear 
 as given by Daniel ; and the history of the world proves 
 it to be true, a large share havmg already been fulfilled. 
 All that remains to be accomplished is for the stone to 
 smite the image upon his feet, and to become a great 
 mountain, and fill the whole earth. " The head of gold " 
 represented the Chaldean kingdom; "the breast and 
 arms of silver" represented the Modes and Persians; 
 " the belly and thighs of brass, which were to bear rule 
 over all the earth," the Grecian. Alexander, a Grecian 
 king, conquered the world ; the legs of iron, and the feet 
 part of iron and part of clay," fitly represent the Roman 
 kingdom, which still exists, although in a broken state, 
 
44 LECTURE III. 
 
 like iron and clay. This kingdom has been divided be- 
 tween Pagan Rome, the head wounded to death, and 
 Papal Rome, the deadly wound healed, both " mixing 
 themselves with the seed of men," that is, uniting church 
 and state, ecclesiastical and civil, in the government. 
 The stone denotes Christ, the God of heaven ; and the 
 mountain the kingdom of God. His breaking the image 
 to pieces, shows that all the kingdoms of this world are 
 to be utterly destroyed and carried away, so that no 
 place can be found for them. And the kingdom of God 
 filling the whole earth teaches us that the beloved city, 
 the New Jerusalem, will fill |Jie world, and God will 
 dwell with his people on the earth. Read Dan. ii. 37 — 
 45. This dream was in the second year of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's reign, 603 B. C. Forty-eight years afterwards, 
 in the first year of Belshazzar's reign and 555 B. C, 
 Daniel had another dream, yet the same in substance. 
 " Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and 
 behold, the four winds of heaven strove upon the great 
 sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse 
 one from another. The first was like a lion, and had ea- 
 gles' wings ; I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, 
 and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand 
 upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to 
 it. And behold, another beast, a second, like unto 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. After this I 
 beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, which had upon 
 tlie back of it four wings of a fowl ; the beast had also 
 four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I 
 saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, 
 dreadful, and terrible, and strong exceedingly, and it had 
 great iron teeth ; it devoured and brake in pieces, and 
 stamped the residue with the f^et of it ; and it was di- 
 verse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had 
 ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there 
 came 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. I beheld 
 
Christ's second coming. 45 
 
 till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days 
 did sit, whose garment was wliite as snow, and the hair 
 of his head like the pure wool ; his throne was like the 
 fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery 
 stream issued and came forth from before him ; thousand 
 thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times 
 ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, 
 and the books were opened I beheld, then, because of 
 the voice of the great words which the horn spake. I 
 beheld, even till the beast was slain, and his body de- 
 stroyed and given to the burning flame. As concerning 
 the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken 
 away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and 
 time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like 
 the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
 came to the Ancient of (ilays, and they brought him near 
 before him. And there was given him dominion and glo- 
 ry, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages 
 should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting do- 
 minion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom 
 that which shall not be destroyed," Daniel vii. 1 — 14. 
 This ends Daniel's night vision, except the instruction 
 he received from some one standing by. " So he told 
 me, and. made me know 'the truth of all this,' or the 
 interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which 
 are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the 
 earth. But the saints of the most high shall take the 
 kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever 
 and ever." We see in this instruction that this vision 
 and Nebuchadnezzar's dream agree in the most prom- 
 inent parts ; the four beasts representing the four king- 
 doms, and the saints possessing tlie kingdom, the same 
 as the stone becoming a great mountain and filling the 
 whole earth ; " forever and ever" shows us that it is an 
 immortal state in everlasting life ; "the saints" evidently 
 includes all saints, " for they shall live and reign with 
 him on the earth," Revelation v. 10, 20. iv. 6. "Then," 
 Daniel says, vii. 19, 20, " I would know the truth of the 
 fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, 
 exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his 
 nails of brass, which devoured, brake in pieces, and 
 
46 LECTURE III. 
 
 Stamped the residue with his feet ; and of the ten horns 
 that were in his head, and of the other which came up, 
 and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had 
 eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose 
 look was more stout than his fellows." 
 
 In these verses we learn that the fourth beast would 
 be diverse from the others. This was true with Rome ; 
 that kingdom first rose from a small colony of adven- 
 turers settled in Italy. Rome, also, had seven different 
 forms of government, while the others had but one. 
 We learn that this kingdom would devour, break in 
 pieces, harass and perplex the people of God, whether 
 Jew or Gentile ; that it would be divided into ten king- 
 doms, and afterwards there would arise another power 
 which would swallow up three of the ten kingdoms. 
 This was all true with the Roman government. In A. D. 
 476, tlie Western Empire fell, and was divided into ten 
 kingdoms by the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, — " France, 
 Britain, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Tuscany, Austria, 
 Lombardy, Rome, and Ravenna. The three last were 
 absorbed in the territory of Rome," (E. Irwin,) and be- 
 came the States of the Church, governed by the Papal 
 chair, the little horn that had eyes and a mouth that 
 spake very great things, whose look was more stout than 
 his fellows. This description cannot apply to any other 
 power but the church of Rome. " Had eyes," showing 
 tliat they made pretence at least to be the household 
 of faith ; " eyes " meaning faith, and " mouth that spake 
 very great things," showing that the church would claim 
 infallibility ; " whose look would be more stout than his 
 fellows," showing that he would claim authority over all 
 other churches, or even the kings, the other horns. See 
 Rev. xvii. 18 : " And the woman which thou sawest is 
 that great city which reigneth over the kings of the 
 earth." That the little horn is a part of the fourth 
 kingdom is evident, for it was to come up among the ten 
 horns which were upon the head of the beast ; and there 
 cannot be a shadow of a doubt, even in Scripture itself, 
 but that Rome is meant by this fourth beast; for what 
 power but the Roman will answer the description here 
 and elsewhere given in Daniel.^ *'I beheld, and the 
 
Christ's second coming. 47 
 
 same horn made wai* with the saints, and prevailed 
 against them, until the Ancient of days came, and judg- 
 ment was given to the saints of the Most High ; and the 
 time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." 
 Daniel vii. 21, 22. In these verses we are taught clearly 
 that anti-Christ will prevail over the church of Christ 
 until the first resurrection and the first judgment, when 
 the saints are raised and judged, which utterly destroys 
 the modern idea of a temporal millennium, a thousand 
 years before the dead are raised and judged. This also 
 agrees with the whole tenor of Scripture ; as, "judgment 
 must first begin at the house of God," and " whom he 
 shall destroy with the brightness of his coming ; " when 
 the Ancient of days shall come in the clouds of heaven 
 with power and great glory, " to give reward to his ser- 
 vants, the prophets, and them that fear his name, small 
 and great, and destroy them who destroy the earth," 
 described next verse, 23. " Thus he said. The fourth 
 beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which 
 shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the 
 whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in 
 pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten 
 kings that shall arise ; and another shall arise after them, 
 and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall sub- 
 due three kings. And he shall speak great words 
 against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of 
 the Most High, and think to change times and laws ; and 
 they shall be given into his hand until a time and times, 
 and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, 
 and they shall take away his dominion to consume and 
 to destroy it unto the end," 24—26. In these verses 
 we have the history of the fourth beast, or Roman power, 
 during 1260 years of the close of this kingdom, which 1 
 shall, in some future lecture, show is the meaning of 
 time, times, and a half. We have also another clear de- 
 scription of the Papal power: "He shall speak great 
 words," &c. — the blasphemies against God, in the pre- 
 tensions of the Roman clergy to divine power, work- 
 ing of miracles, canonizing departed votaries, changing 
 ordinances and laws of God's house, worshipping saints 
 and images, and performing rites and ceremonies too 
 
48 LECTURE III. 
 
 foolish and ridiculous to be for a moment mdulged in, 
 and which any unprejudiced mind cannot for a moment 
 believe to be warranted by divine rule, or example of 
 Christ or his apostles. And we are again brought down 
 to the time when the judgment shall sit: "And the 
 kingdom, and the dominion, and the greatness of the 
 kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the 
 people of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlast- 
 ing kingdom, (not temporal, as some say, or a thousand 
 years, but an immortal and eternal,) and all dominions 
 shall serve and obey him." It is very evident that this 
 verse brings us down to the time when the kingdom of 
 Christ will be complete " in the greatness of the king- 
 dom." Every word in Scripture has a meaning, and its 
 own proper meaning, unless used figuratively, and then 
 explained by Scripture itself. " Hitherto is the end of 
 the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much 
 troubled me, and my countenance changed in me ; but I 
 kept the matter in my heart." 
 
 This ends Daniel's night vision. Two years after- 
 wards, in the year 553 before Christ, Daniel vii., he had 
 another vision in the day-time, at the palace of Shushan, 
 like the one which we have just described, and Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's dream. 
 
 " Then I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold, 
 there stood before the river a ram which had two horns, 
 and the two horns were high ; but one was higher than 
 the other, and the higher came up last I saw the ram 
 pushing westward, and northward, and southward, so that 
 no beast might stand before him, neither was there any 
 that could deliver out of his hand ; but he did according 
 to his will, and became great." In the 20th verse, the 
 angel Gabriel explains to Daniel what kingdom was rep- 
 resented by the " ram with two horns," and says, " The 
 ram which thou sawest, having two horns, are the kings of 
 Media and Persia." We see by this that the Chaldean 
 kingdom is left out, for the reason that that kingdom was 
 then crumbling to ruin, and the glory of the Babylonish 
 kingdom had faded ; therefore he now begins his vision 
 with the Mede and Persian kingdom, and that, too, when 
 at the height of their power and conquests. The higher 
 
Christ's second coming. 49 
 
 horn denoted the Persian line of kings, under and follow- 
 ing tlie reign of Cyrus, the Persian, son-in-law to Darius 
 the Mede. " And as I was considering, behold, a he- 
 goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, 
 and touched not the ground; and the goat had a nota- 
 ble horn between his eyes." In the 21st verse the an- 
 gel says, "And the rough goat is the king of Grecia : 
 and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first 
 king." This king was Alexander, that conquered the 
 Persians. He was not the first king of Macedonia, but 
 the first that had all Grecia under his control, and that 
 conquered the world. " And he came to the ram that 
 had two horns, which I had seen standing before the 
 river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. And 
 I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved 
 with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake 
 his two horns ; and there was no power in the ram to 
 stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, 
 and stamped upon him, and there was none that could 
 deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he-goat 
 waxed very great ; and when he was strong, the great 
 horn was broken, and for it came up four notable ones, 
 towards the four winds of heaven." We have in these 
 verses a plain description of Alexander's life, conquests, 
 death, and division of his kingdom into four parts, to- 
 wards the four points of heaven — Persia in the east, Syria 
 in the north, Macedon and Europe in the west, Egypt 
 and Africa in the south. And the angel, when he gives 
 Daniel instruction, says, 22d verse, "Now that being 
 broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall 
 stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Then 
 the vision seems to slide down to the little horn. " And 
 out of one of them (that is, out of Europe) came forth a lit- 
 tle horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, 
 and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And 
 it waxed great even to the host of heaven; and it cast 
 down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, 
 and kamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself 
 even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sac- 
 rifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary 
 was cast down, and a host was given him against the 
 5 
 
50 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast 
 down the truth to the ground, and it practised and pros- 
 pered." Twp or three things in the above description 
 clearly show that, by the little horn, in this passage, we 
 are to understand the Roman power, viz., Its conquering 
 to the south, and east, and pleasant lands, stamping on 
 the host, magnifying himself against Christ, and destroy- 
 ing Jerusalem, the place of his sanctuary, and his prac- 
 tising and prospering. All this description agrees with 
 the history of Rome, and cannot apply to Antiochus, as 
 some writers have supposed. But let us see what Ga- 
 briel says, 23: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, 
 (that is, the four kingdoms,) when the transgressors are 
 come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and under- 
 standing dark sentences, shall stand up, and his power 
 shall be mighty, but not by his own power ; and he shall 
 destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, 
 and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And 
 through his policy, also, he shall cause craft to prosper in 
 his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and 
 by peace shall destroy many ; he shall also stand up 
 against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken 
 without hand. And the vision of the evening (in the first 
 year of Belshazzar, Daniel vii.) and the morning (in the 
 third year of Belshazzar, Daniel viii.) which was told, is 
 true ; wherefore shut thou up the vision, for it shall be 
 for many days." How many days? Our text answers, 
 "Unto two thousand three hundred days ; then shall the 
 sanctuary be cleansed. And it came to pass, when f, 
 even I, Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the 
 meaning, then, behold, tliere stood before me as the ap- 
 pearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between. 
 the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make 
 this man to understand the vision. So he came near 
 where 1 stood, and when he came, I was afraid, and fell 
 upon my face ; but he said unto me, Understand, O son 
 of man, for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 
 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep'isleep 
 on my face toward the ground ; but he touched me, and 
 set me upright. And he said, behold, I will make thee 
 know what shall be in the last end of the indignation ; 
 for at the time appointed the end shall be." 
 
Christ's secoxXD coming. 51 
 
 Then comes the instruction of Gabriel, which we have 
 before given. 
 
 III. Tke time or length of the vision — the 2,300 days. 
 
 What must we understand by days"^ In the prophecy 
 of Daniel it is invariably to be reckoned years ; for God 
 hath so ordered the prophets to reckon days. Numb, 
 xiv. 34, " After the number of days in which ye searched 
 the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall you 
 bear your iniquities, even forty years." Ezek. iv. 5, 6, " For 
 I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, accord- 
 ing to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety 
 days ; so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Is- 
 rael. 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." In these passages we prove the com- 
 mand of God. We will also show that it was so called 
 in the days of Jacob, when he served for Rachel, Gen. 
 xxix. 27: "Fulfil her week (seven days) and we will give 
 thee this also, for the service which thou shalt serve with 
 me yet other seven years." 
 
 Nothing now remains to make it certain that our vis- 
 ion is to be so understood, but to prove that Daniel has 
 followed this rule. This we will do, if your patience 
 will hold out, and God permit 
 
 Now turn your attention to the ninth chapter of Dan- 
 iel, and you will there learn that fifteen years after Dan- 
 iel had his last vision, and sixty -five years after Daniel 
 explained Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and 538 years B. C, 
 Daniel set his face unto the Lord God by supplication and 
 prayer ; and by confession of his own sins, and the sins 
 of the people of Israel, he sought God for mercy, for him- 
 self and all Israel. And while he was speaking and 
 praying, as he tells us, Daniel ix. 21, " Yea, while I was 
 speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had 
 seen in the vision at the beginning, Daniel viii. 16, 17, 
 beinff caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time 
 of thPfevening oblation. And he informed me and talked 
 with me, and said, O Daniel, 1 am now come forth to give 
 thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy 
 supplication the commandment came forth, and I am 
 
53 LECTURE III. 
 
 come to show thee ; for thou art greatly beloved ; there- 
 fore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 
 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and 
 upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to 
 make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for ini- 
 quity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to 
 seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most 
 Holy. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the 
 going forth of the commandment to restore and build 
 Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven 
 weeks, and threescore and two weeks ; the street shall 
 be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 
 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be 
 cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the Prince 
 that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary ; 
 and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the 
 end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall 
 confirm the covenant with many for one week ; and in 
 the midst of the week, (or last half, as it might have 
 been rendered,) he shall cause the sacrifice and the ob- 
 lation to cease, and for the overspreading of abomination, 
 he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, 
 and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." 
 What do we learn from the above passage ? We 
 learn our duty in prayer, and God's goodness in an- 
 swering. We learn that the angel Gabriel was sent to 
 instruct Daniel, and make him understand the vision. 
 You may inquire what vision ? I answer, The one Dan- 
 iel had in the beginning, for he has had no other. We 
 also learn that seventy weeks, which is 490 days, (or 
 years, as we shall show,) from tlie going forth of a certain 
 decree to build the streets and walls of Jerusalem in 
 troublous times, to the crucifixion of the Messiah should 
 be accomplished. We also learn that this seventy 
 weeks is divided into three parts ; seven weeks being 
 employed in building the streets and walls in troublous 
 times, which is forty-nine years, sixty-two wee^, or 
 four hundred and thirty-four years to the preachwg of 
 John in the wilderness, which two, put together, make 
 sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three 
 years, and one week the gospel was preached ; John 
 
Christ's SECo^fD coming. 53 
 
 three and a half years, and Christ three and a half 
 years, which makes the seventy weeks, or four hundred 
 and ninety years ; which, when accomplished, would seal 
 up the vision, and make the prophecy true. We also 
 learn that, after the crucifixion of Christ, the Romans 
 would come and destroy the city and sanctuary, and 
 that wars will not cease until the consummation or end 
 of the world. "All that may be true," says the objector; 
 "but where have you proved that the seventy weeks 
 were four hundred and ninety years ? " I agree I have 
 not yet proved it, but will now do it. 
 
 We shall again turn your attention to the Bible. 
 Look at Ezra vii. 11 — 13 : " Now this is the copy of the 
 letter that the king, Artaxerxes, gave unto Ezra, the 
 priest, the scribe, a scribe of the law of God : perfect 
 peace, and at such a time. I make a decree that all they 
 of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites 
 in my realm, which are minded of their own free will 
 to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee." This is the 
 decree given when the walls of Jerusalem were built in 
 troublous times. See, also, Neh. iv. 17 — 23. Ezra and 
 Nehemiah being contemporary, see Neh. viii. 1. The 
 decree to Ezra was given in the seventh year of Ar- 
 taxerxes' reign, Ezra vii. 7, and that to Nehemiah in the 
 twentieth year, Neh. ii. 1. Let any one examine the 
 chronology, as given by Rollin or Josephus, from tlie 
 seventh year of Artaxerxes to the twenty-second year 
 of Tiberius Csesar, which was the year our Lord 
 was crucified, and he will find it was four hun- 
 dred and ninety years. The Bible chronology says 
 that Ezra started to go up to Jerusalem on the 12th 
 day of the first month, (see Ezra viii. 31,) 457 years 
 before the birth of Christ ; he being 33 when he died, 
 added to 457, will make 490 years. Three of the 
 evangelists tell us he was betrayed two days before the 
 feast of the passover, and of course was the same day 
 crucified. The passover was always kept on the 14th 
 day of the first month forever, and Christ being crucified 
 two days before, would make it on the 12th day, 490 
 years from the time Ezra left the river Ahava to go 
 unto Jerusalem. 
 
 5* 
 
54 LECTURE III. 
 
 If this calculation is correct, — and I think no one 
 can doubt it, — then the seventy weeks was fulfilled to a 
 day when our Savior suffered on the cross. Is not the 
 seventy weeks fairly proved to have been fulfilled by 
 years ? And does not this prove tliat our vision and the 
 2300 days ought to be so reckoned ? Yes, if these seventy 
 weeks are a part of the vision. Does not the angel say 
 plainly, I have come to show thee ; therefore understand 
 the matter, and consider the vision ? Yes. Well, what 
 can a man ask for more than plain positive testimony, 
 and a cloud of circumstances agreeing with it ? 
 
 But one thing still remains to be proved. When did 
 the 2300 years begin ? Did it begin with Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's dream ? No. For if it had, it must have been 
 fulfilled in the year A. D. 1697. Well, then, did it be- 
 gin when the angel Gabriel came to instruct Daniel 
 into the 70 weeks ? No, for if then, it would have 
 been finished in the year A. D. 1762. Let us begin it 
 where the angel told us, from the going forth of the 
 decree to build the walls of Jerusalem in troublous 
 times, 457 years before Christ ; take 457 from 2300, and 
 it will leave A. D. 1843 ; or take 70 weeks of years, 
 being 490 years, from 2300 years, and it will leave 1810 
 afler Christ's death. Add his life, (because we begin 
 to reckon our time at his birth,) which is 33 years, and 
 we come to the same A. D. 1843. 
 
 Now let us examine our subject, and see what we 
 have learned by it thus far. And, 
 
 I. We learn that there are two abominations spoken 
 of by Daniel. The first is the Pagan mode of worship, 
 which was performed by the sacrificing of beasts upon 
 altars, similar to the Jewish rites, and by which means 
 the nations around Jerusalem drew away many of the 
 Jews into idolatry, and brought down the heavy judg- 
 ments of God upon idolatrous Israel ; and God permit- 
 ted his people to be led into captivity, and persecuted by 
 the very nations that they, the Jews, had been so fond of 
 copying after in their mode of worship. Therefore were 
 the sanctuary and place of worship at Jerusalem trod- 
 den down by Pagan worshippers ; and the altars, erected 
 by the command of God, and according to the pattern 
 
Christ's second coming. 55 
 
 and form which God had prescribed, were broken down, 
 and more fashionable altars of the heathen erected in 
 their room. Thus were the commands of God diso- 
 beyed, his laws perverted, his people enslaved, the 
 sanctuary trodden down, and the temple polluted, until 
 at last God took away the Jewish rites and ceremonies, 
 instituted new forms, new laws, and set up the gospel 
 kingdom in the world. 
 
 This, for a season, was kept pure from the worldly 
 sanctuaries and policy of Satan. But Satan, an arch 
 enemy, found his Pagan abominations could have but 
 little or no effect to draw the followers of Christ into 
 idolatry, for they believed the bloody rites and sac- 
 rifices had their fulfilment in Christ. Therefore, in 
 order to carry the war into the Christian camp, he suffers 
 the daily sacrifice abomination to be taken out of the 
 way, and sets up Papacy, which is more congenial to 
 the Christian mode of worship in its outside forms and 
 ceremonies, but retaining all the hateful qualities of 
 the former. He persuades them to erect images to 
 some or all of the dear apostles ; and even to Christ, 
 and Mary, the « Mother of God." He then flatters them 
 that the church is infallible. (Here was a strong cord 
 by which 4ie could punish all disputers.) He likewise 
 gives them the keys of heaven, (or Peter, as they call 
 it.) This will secure all authority. He then clothes 
 them with power to make laws, and to dispense with 
 those which God had made. This capped the climax. 
 In this he would fasten many thousands who might 
 protest against some of his more vile abominations ; yet 
 habit and custom might secure them to a willing obe- 
 dience to his laws, and to a total neglect of the laws of 
 God. This was Satan's masterpiece ; and, as Daniel says, 
 " he would thinli to change times and laws, and they should 
 be given into his hand for a time, times, and a half; but 
 they shall take away his dominion to consume and de- 
 stroy it unto the end." Therefore, when this last abom- 
 ination of desolation shall be taken away, then shall the 
 sanctuary be cleansed. 
 
 n. We learn that the vision which Daniel saw was 
 revealed at three separate times — 1st In Nebuchad- 
 
56 LECTURE ni. 
 
 nezzar's dream, which carried us down through four 
 great kingdoms, until they should all be swept away 
 like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor before the 
 wind, and no place found for them, and the glorious and 
 everlasting kingdom of Christ fill the whole earth. The 
 next vision Daniel saw was similar to this ; he saw four 
 great beasts, representing four great kingdoms, as before ; 
 and he saw the fourth beast to be diverse from all the 
 others, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong; 
 he had great iron teeth, and nails of brass, which de- 
 voured, brake in pieces, and stamped the people of God 
 and the whole earth under foot This beast contained 
 the two abominations which we have before spoken of; 
 the last, under the figure of a little horn, he saw until all 
 these thrones were cast down, till the little horn was 
 destroyed, and his body given to the burning flame. 
 Daniel saw until the Ancient of days did sit. The Son 
 of Man came in the clouds of heaven, and came to the 
 Ancient of days. He saw thousand thousands minis- 
 tering unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand 
 stood before him ; the judgment was set, and the books 
 were opened. He saw the dominion, and glory, and king- 
 dom given to the Son of Man, and to the people of the 
 saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlast- 
 ing kingdom. In the third vision, which Daniel has 
 coupled with the former, by saying that it was after (or 
 like) the one which appeared unto him at the first, ne 
 saw the three last kingdoms ; gave a particular description 
 of the two first, even naming them — the Modes and 
 Persians, and the Grecian. He then gives a short 
 account of the little horn, (having given a more general 
 view of the fourth kingdom in the other vision,) how he 
 would cast down the host of heaven, and the stars, and 
 stamp upon them ; also that he would magnify himself 
 against the Prince of the host, Jesus Christ, and cast 
 down the place of his sanctuary, and practise and 
 prosper, but shall be broken without hands, showing 
 that the stone cut out without hand should break him to 
 pieces. Daniel, then, in the 26th verse, couples the 
 two visions, the one in the evening, 7th chapter, and 
 the one in the morning, 8th chapter, and says, "The 
 
Christ's second coming. 57 
 
 vision of the evening and morning, which was told, is 
 true." 
 
 in. We learn that this vision is two thousand three 
 hundred days long" ; that days are to be reckoned years 
 — 1st, By the command of God ; 2d, By the example of 
 Jacob ; and 3d, By the fulfilment of the seventy weeks 
 of this vision, at the crucifixion of the Messiah. We 
 learn by the instruction of Gabriel that the seventy 
 weeks were a part of the vision, and that Daniel was 
 commanded to begin the seventy weeks at the going 
 forth of the decree, to build the streets and walls of 
 Jerusalem in troublous times ; that this decree, given to 
 Ezra, was exactly 490 years, to a day, before the cruci- 
 fixion uf Christ ; and that there is no account, by Bible 
 or any historian, that there was ever any other decree 
 to build the streets or walls of Jerusalem. We think 
 the proof is strong, that the vision of Daniel begins 457 
 years before Christ ; take which from 2300, leaves 1843, 
 after Christ, when the vision must be finished. But the 
 objector may say, "Perhaps your vision does not begin 
 with the seventy weeks." Let me ask two or three 
 questions. Does not the angel say to Daniel, ix. 23, 
 " Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vis- 
 ion " ? " Yes." Does not the angel then go on and give 
 his instruction concerning the seventy weeks ? " Yes." 
 Do you believe the Bible is true ? "We do." Then if 
 the Bible is true, Daniel's 70 weeks are a part of the 
 vision, and 490 years were accomplished when the 
 Mesiah was cut off", and not for himself. Then 1810 
 years afterwards the vision is completed ; and we now 
 live about 1803 years after; of course it must have 
 begun within seven years of that date. But it is very 
 reasonable to suppose it began with the seventy weeks ; 
 for the- angel said it would establish the vision, that is, 
 make it sure ; for if the 70 weeks were exactly fulfilled 
 at the death of Christ, then would the remainder be in 
 1810 years after, which would be fulfilled A. D. 1843, 
 as we have before shown. 
 
 And now, my dear hearer, are you prepared for this 
 great and important event ? Are you ready for the 
 judgment to set, and the books to be opened? Let this 
 
58 LECTUTE III. 
 
 subject sink deep into your hearts ; let it follow you to 
 your bed-chambers, to your fields, or your shops. Not 
 one jot or tittle of the word of God shall fail. If he 
 has spoken, it will come, however inconsistent it may 
 look to us. Be admonished, then, and see to it that you 
 are prepared. Compare the vision with the history of 
 the kingdom, and where can you find a failure ? Not 
 one. Then, surely, here is evidence strong that the re- 
 mainder will be accomplished in its time, and that time 
 but seven years. Think, sinner, how good God is to 
 give you notice, and prove it a thousand fold. Remem- 
 ber the old world ; they thought Noah was a maniac ; 
 but the flood came, and they were reserved in chains 
 of darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Re- 
 member the cities of the plain. Lot was unto them 
 like one that mocked ; but the same day God rained fire 
 and brimstone upon them, and they are suffering the 
 vengeance of eternal fire. Be warned, then ; fly to the 
 ark, Christ Jesus, before the door is shut ; escape to the \ 
 mountain of the house of the Lord before the Lord 
 shall rise up to the prey, and you be driven away in 
 your wickedness. Amen. 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 DANIEL ix. 24. 
 
 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy 
 holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end oi 
 sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in 
 everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision, and prophe- 
 cy, and to anoint the Most lloly. 
 
 Our text is one of the many found in the word of 
 God, which prove the authenticity of the Scriptures, 
 gives us a powerful weapon against Judaizing teachers, 
 and meets the infidel on nis own ground —the history of 
 the world. 
 
 It sets a seal to prophecy that it is true, and shows 
 that the prophets were inspired. 
 
 It gives incontestable evidence against the Jew, and 
 proves that Jesus of Nazareth was the true Messiah. 
 
 It unlocks the wonderful vision of Daniel's four king- 
 doms ; also the vision of the ram, the he-goat, and the 
 little horn. 
 
 It brings to view the great blessings of the sacrifice 
 of Jesus Christ, reveals the exact time of its accom- 
 plishment, and shows the source of the gospel, pro- 
 claiming good news to lost man, even in anticipation of 
 that important era when the Gentiles should be fellow- 
 heirs with the Jews in faith. 
 
 It establishes the wavering, and gives hope and con- 
 fidence to the tried and tempted child of God, that he 
 will fulfil all his promises, according to the letter and 
 spirit of his word. 
 
 This text furnished Simeon, Anna, Nathaniel, and 
 
60 LECTURE IV. 
 
 others, with a strong faith tliat they should see tlie con- 
 solation of Israel. 
 
 By this text the high priest convinced the council 
 of the necessity of putting to death Jesus. " Then 
 gathered the chief priests and Pharisees a council, 
 and said, What do we ? for this man doth many mira- 
 cles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on 
 him ; and tlie Romans will come, and take away both 
 our place and nation." 
 
 " And one of them, named Caiaphas, being high priest 
 that same year, said unto them. Ye know nothing at all, 
 nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man 
 should die for the people, and that the whole nation per- 
 ish not. And this spake he not of himself, (not his own 
 prophecy ;) but, being high priest that year, he prophe- 
 sied (from Daniel's seventy weeks ; for there is not 
 another prophecy in the Old Testament which shows 
 what year Christ should suffer) tliat Jesus should die 
 for that nation ; and not for that nation only, but that, 
 also, he should gather together in one the children of 
 God, that were scattered abroad," John xi. 47 — 53. 
 
 The high priest argues that Jesus must die for the 
 people. 
 
 The seventy weeks shows that the Messiah must be 
 cut off at the close of the last week, and not for himself. 
 Also Peter had occasion to say in his epistle, " Of which 
 salvation the prophets have inquired and searched dili- 
 gently, who prophesied of the grace that should come 
 unto you, searching what, or what manner of time, the 
 spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it 
 testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the 
 glory that should, follow," 1 Peter i. 10, 11. 
 
 Where was the exact time of Christ's sufferings 
 prophesied of but in Daniel's seventy weeks ? Again, 
 to this Christ alludes when he says, " My time is not yet 
 fully come ;" and, "Then they sought to take him, but 
 no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet 
 come : " that is, the seventy weeks were not yet ful- 
 filled, John vii. 8, 30. Mark tells us, xiv. 41, "The 
 hour is come ; behold, the Son of Man is betrayed 
 into the hands of sinners." 
 
Christ's second coming. 61 
 
 The seventy^ weeks were now being fulfilled. And 
 then, at last, when Jesus had completed his work, when 
 the fulness of time had come, he finished transgression, 
 and made an end of sin : he then cried, " It is finished, 
 and gave up the ghost." The seventy weeks ended, our 
 text was fulfilled; Christ had now become the end of 
 the law for righteousness, to every one that believeth ; 
 he that knew no sin had become sin for us, and Death 
 had struck his last blow that he would ever be able to 
 give the Son of God. Daniel's vision is now made 
 sure — the Messiah cut off, the time proved true, as given 
 by the prophet Daniel. 
 
 Now, ye infidels, can this be priestcrafl? And, ye 
 Judaizing teachers, is not this the Christ ? Why look 
 ye for another ? 
 
 I shall now take up the text in the following manner : 
 
 I. I shall show what is to be done in seventy weeks. 
 
 TI. When the seventy weeks began, and when they 
 ended. 
 
 I. The text tells us, ^^ Seventy weeks are determined 
 upon thy people and upon thy holy city ; " that is, upon 
 the Jews, who then were the people of Daniel, and also 
 in Jerusalem, which then was called the " holy city." 
 The first question which would naturally arise on the 
 mind, would be. What for to do ? The text and its con- 
 text must tell us. 
 
 1st " To finish the transgression,^^ When was trans- 
 gression finished ? 1 answer, At the death of Christ 
 See Heb. ix. 1.5, "And for this cause he is the Mediator 
 of the new testament, that by means of death, for the 
 redemption of the transgressions that were under the 
 first testament, they which are called might receive the 
 promise of eternal inheritance." Isaiah liii. 8, " For he 
 was cut oflf out of the land of the living ; for the trans- 
 gression of my people was he stricken." 
 
 2d. " JJnd to make an end of sins*'^ This was also 
 performed at his death. See Heb. ix. 26, "But now 
 once in the end of the world hath he appeared, to put 
 away sin by the sacrifice of himself." And 1 John iii. 
 5, " Ye know that he (Christ) was manifested to take 
 away our siris." 
 6 
 
63 LECTURE IV. 
 
 3d. " And to inake reconciliation for iniquity. ^^ Was 
 this also performed at his death? Yes. See Col. L 
 20, " And having made peace through the blood of his 
 cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself." Heb. 
 ii. 17, " Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be 
 made like unto his brethren ; that he might be a mer- 
 ciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, 
 to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." 
 
 4tli. ^^And to bring in everlasting i-ighteousness,^^ 
 ** This must be by Christ's obedience," says the objector, 
 " and cannot be at his death." Not so fast, dear sir ; let us 
 hear the testimony. Romans v. 21, " That as sin hath 
 reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through 
 righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our 
 Lord." And, " By the obedience of one shall many be 
 made righteous." Again, see Phil. ii. 8, " And being 
 found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and be- 
 came obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." 
 Paul says, " I do not frustrate the grace of God ; for if 
 righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in 
 vain;" evidently showing, that by Christ's obedience 
 unto death, he brought in everlasting righteousness. 
 
 5th. " To seal up the vision and prophecy,''^ What 
 does "to seal up" mean? I answer, It means to make 
 ^ure, certain, unalterable* Consult Esther iii. 12, viii. 
 8. Solomon says, " Set me as a seal upon thine heart, 
 as a seal upon thine arm ; " that is, make me sure in 
 thy love, and certain by thy power. John says, " He 
 that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that 
 God is true." John iii. 33. Paul to Rome, xv. 28, 
 *' When I have performed this, and sealed to them this 
 fruit;" that is, made sure the contributions. Again, 
 to Timothy, 2 Epistle, ii. 19, " Nevertheless, the founda- 
 tion of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord 
 knoweth them that are his." Therefore the death of 
 Christ would make Daniel's vision sure ; for if a part of 
 the vision should be exactly fulfilled, as to time and 
 manner, then the remainder of the vision would be ac- 
 complished in manner and time, as literally as the 
 seventy weeks had been. 
 
 6th. " And anoint the Most Holy.^^ The Most Holy, 
 
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING. G3 
 
 in this passage, must mean Christ ; for no human beingf 
 can, or ought to claim this appellation, save him whom 
 God hath anointed to be a Savior in Israel, and a King 
 in Zion. See Acts x. 38, " How God anointed Jesus 
 of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power." 
 Also, Acts iv. 27, " For of a truth against thy holy child 
 Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pon- 
 tius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, 
 were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy 
 hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." 
 Heb. i. 9, " Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed 
 thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 
 
 It will next be requisite to inquire, When was Christ 
 anointed ? 
 
 I answer. When the Holy Ghost descended upon him, 
 and when he was endued with power from on high to 
 work miracles. See Isa. Ixi. 1, " The Spirit of the Lord 
 God is upon me ; because the Lord hath anointed me to 
 preach good tidings unto the meek : he hath sent me to 
 bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the 
 captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are 
 bound." 
 
 After Christ was baptized by John, and after being 
 tempted of the devil forty days in the wilderness, he 
 went in the spirit into Galilee, and on the Sabbath day 
 he went into the synagogue, as his custom was, and he 
 stood up to read. They gave him the book of Isaiah. 
 When he opened the book he found the passage which 
 I have just quoted. After reading it he shut up the 
 book and sat down. He then began to say unto them, 
 " This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears," Luke 
 iv. 1 — 21. This passage plainly proves that Christ was 
 anointed on or before this day. 
 
 Other things were to be done in the seventy weeks, 
 such as, The cutting off of the Messiah, but not for 
 himself. This can mean nothing less than the cruci- 
 fixion of Christ See Luke xxiv. 26, 46, " Ought not 
 Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into 
 his glory ? " " Thus it is written, and thus it behooved 
 Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day." 
 Rom. V. 6, " For when we were without strength, in due 
 
61 LECTURE IV. 
 
 time Tor according to the time of seventy weeks) Christ 
 died for us." 
 
 " And he (Messiah) shall confirm the covenant with 
 many for one week." What covenant is this to be con- 
 firmed? I answer, It caimot be the Jewish covenant, 
 for that was confirmed by Moses many hundred years 
 before Daniel lived. There being but two covenants, 
 it must of necessity be the new covenant of which 
 Christ is the Mediator ; Moses having been the media- 
 tor of the old, and Christ afterwards of the new. If 
 these things are so, and the gospel covenant is meant 
 by Daniel, then the time the gospel was preached by 
 John and Christ is here called a week ; for Christ him- 
 self preached more than seven days. Christ kept three 
 passovers with the Jews after he began his ministry, 
 and oefore he nailed the ceremonial law to his cross. 
 This is strong evidence that a week is seven years, and 
 that Daniel's 70 weeks are to be understood as meaning 
 490 years. 
 
 Again, " In the midst of the week he should cause 
 the sacrifice and oblation to cease," or, as all Hebrew 
 sclioiars agree, " In the last half of the week," &c., is 
 the more proper translation ; and it is evident that this 
 translation would harmonize with the other parts of the 
 passage, " the sacrifice and oblation to cease." 
 
 What sacrifice and ofiering is this, which the Messiah 
 was to cause to cease ? I answer. It must of course be 
 that one offering and sacrifice for sin of which all other 
 offerings and sacrifices were but types. It could not 
 be the Jewish sacrifices and offerings, for two good 
 reasons. 
 
 1st. This is but one sacrifice, and the Jews had many. 
 It does not say sacrifices; therefore it cannot mean 
 Jewish sacrifices, nor offerings. 
 
 2d reason. The Jewish sacrifices and offerings did not 
 cease in, nor even very nigh, the last half of the week 
 in which tiie Messiah confirmed the covenant with many; 
 and, even to the present day, they make oblations, if not 
 sacrifices. It must mean that sacrifice and oblation 
 which the Messiah was to make to God for sin, once for 
 all. It must mean that sacrifice which is the antetype 
 
Christ's second coming. 65 
 
 of all the legal sacrifices from the days of Abel to the 
 days of the Messiah. Let us hear what Paul says, Heb. 
 vii. 27, " Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, 
 to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for 
 the people's ; for this he did once when he offered up 
 himself." 
 
 See also Heb. x. 11, 12. "And every priest standeth 
 daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacri- 
 fices, which can never take away sins ; but this man, 
 after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat 
 down on the right hand of God." Many more passages 
 might be brought to show that all sacrifices and obla- 
 tions which could take away sin, or in which God the 
 Father could be well pleased, ceased in Christ's one 
 sacrifice and oblation. But I have given enough to sat- 
 isfy every candid, unprejudiced mind ; therefore I shall, 
 
 II. Try to prove when the seventy weeks began, and 
 when they ended. 
 
 The angel Gabriel tells Daniel, ix. 25, " Know, there- 
 fore, and understand, that, from the going forth of the 
 commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto 
 the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and three- 
 score and two weeks ; the street shall be built again, 
 and the wall, even in troublous times." 
 
 In this passage we have a plain declaration when the 
 seventy weeks began : " from the going forth of the 
 commandment." But what commandment? we may 
 inquire. I answer, A command that will finally restore 
 the Jews from their captivity under which they then 
 were held in bondage ; also to prepare the way for them 
 to rebuild their city, repeople the same, and raise up 
 the decayed walls, settle the streets, and cleanse the 
 city of Jerusalem ; and these things would be done in 
 troublous times. So much is expressed or implied in 
 the declaration of Gabriel, which I have just quoted. 
 
 Who would give the command ? is the next question. 
 I answer. It must be a king who had power over the 
 Jews to release and restore them. It must of necessity 
 be a king over the Medes and Persians, or it would not 
 be in agreement with the vision in the 8th chapter of 
 Daniel ; for he is expressly told by Gabriel tliat ttie ram 
 
66 LECTURE IV. 
 
 he saw, and which was the first thing he did see in the 
 vision, were the kings of Media and Persia. And now 
 this same angel Gabriel has come the second time, and 
 tells Daniel, plainly and distinctly, that he has come to 
 make him " understand the vision." What vision? The 
 one Daniel had in the beginning, in the 8th chapter. 
 See Daniel ix. 21—23. 
 
 Then Gabriel begins his instructions by giving him 
 seventy weeks of the vision, and then shows him, verse 
 24, when his seventy weeks begin ; or, which is the 
 same thing, " the vision,''^ To read and understand the 
 matter thus far, infidelity itself must blush to deny the 
 premises. 
 
 Then, if we have settled this question, the next ques- 
 tion would be. Which king of Persia, and what com- 
 mandment ? I answer. It must be the fifth king of Persia 
 noted in the Scripture of truth ; for the angel Gabriel, 
 the third time he visited Daniel to give him skill and 
 understanding into " tlie. vision^'* says, " But I will show 
 thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth," Dan. 
 X. 21. This shows that he was instructing Daniel into 
 a vision which he before had seen, and written in the 
 Scriptures. See Dan. vii. 1, "Then he wrote the 
 dream, and told the sum of the matters." Dan. x. 14, 
 " Nov/ I am come to make thee understand what shall 
 befall thy people in the latter days ; for yet the vision ia 
 for many days." What vision ? The one noted in the 
 Scripture of truth, says Gabriel. Then, in Dan. xi. 2, 
 he begins his instruction to him of the vision, which he 
 was commanded by the voice between the banks of Ulai 
 to make him understand, by saying, " And now will 1 
 show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet 
 three kings in Persia ; and the fourth shall be far richer 
 than they all." This fourth king was the ram pushing, 
 and was the fiftli king of Persia, being the fourth from 
 Cyrus, who was then standing up. See Dan. x. 1. 
 
 The kings, as Ezra has named them in his 4th chap- 
 ter and 7th chapter, were, 1st, Cyrus ; 2d, Ahasuerus ; 
 3d, Artaxerxes, (the first ;) 4th, Darius ; 5th, Artaxerxes 
 (Longimanus ;) this last being the king who gave a com- 
 mandment to Ezra to restore all the captive Jews who 
 were willing to go to Jerusalem. 
 
Christ's second coming. 67 
 
 What commandment ? is our next question to answer* 
 The decree given by Cyrus (see Ezra i. 1 — 11) cannot 
 be the decree meant by the angel, for the four following 
 reasons : — 
 
 1st. Cyrus was the first king of Persia, and of course 
 cannot be the fifth king, as we have already shown. 
 
 2d reason. The decree of Cyrus was two years be- 
 fore the angel gave his last instruction to Drujiel, and 
 he would not have spoken of it as being future, if it had 
 already passed: " There shall yet stand up three kings," 
 &c. 
 
 3d reason. Cyrus's decree was not given to build 
 Jerusalem, but " the house of God which was at Jerusa- 
 lem ; " neither were tlie walls built in troublous times, 
 under the decree by Cyrus. 
 
 4th reason. This decree by Cyrus was given 536 
 years before the birth of Christ, or 569 years before his 
 death. Therefore no rules of interpretation given in 
 the Scriptures could possibly show how those things 
 were accomplished in seventy weeks, which Gabriel 
 has shown, in our text and context, were determined to 
 be done. This, then, cannot be the commandment, and 
 harmonize v/ith either Bible or facts. 
 
 Again : the decree given by Darius, Ezra vL 1 — 14, 
 cannot be the commandment to which the angel alluded, 
 for the same reasons we have shown that Cyrus's decree 
 could not be the one ; for this was only a renewal of the 
 former, and this decree was issued 552 years before 
 Christ's death. 
 
 The next decree or command of any king of Persia 
 we find in the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Longima- 
 nus.) See Ezra vii. 6 — 28. In tliis decree we find the 
 last command of any king of Persia to restore the cap- 
 tive Jews. We learn that, in this decree, the king fur- 
 nished them with money and means to beautify and 
 adorn the temple which had been built by Darius's order 
 a number of years before. We find that the interdict, 
 Ezra iv. 21, in which the Jews were commanded not to 
 build Jerusalem, is now removed by its own limitation, 
 *' until another commandment be given from me." This 
 decree, therefore, took off this command. We learn by 
 
68 LECTURE ir. 
 
 Ezra's prayer, ix. 9, that Ezra understood that the decree 
 to which we allude did give them the privilege of build- 
 ing, in Judah and Jerusalem, the wall which had been 
 broken down. After Ezra had been high priest and 
 governor in Jerusalem thirteen years, Nehemiah was 
 permitted to go up to assist Ezra in building Jerusalem 
 and repairing the walls ; which was done in troublous 
 times, under Nehemiali's administration, which lasted in 
 all 39 years. See Nehemiah, 4th to the 7th chapter ; 
 Ezra and Nehemiah, both of them having served as gov- 
 ernors 49 years. 
 
 Here, then, we find the fulfilment of what the angel 
 told Daniel would be done under the command that 
 would begin the seventy weeks, and which is the same 
 thing — " the vmo7i." This decree was given 457 years 
 before Christ: the seventy weeks began, and if they 
 ended at the death of Christ, which we have proved did 
 end them, then the seventy weeks ended after Christ 33 
 years, making, in all, 490 years, which is 70 weeks of 
 years. 
 
 But it is evident that Gabriel has divided the seventy 
 weeks into three parts, and I think clearly explains the 
 use of iiiis division. 
 
 " Shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two 
 weeks." Then, as if you should inquire. What is seven 
 veeks for? he explains, "The street shall be built 
 again, and the wall, even in troublous times," Ezra and 
 Nehemiah were 49 years, or seven weeks of years, per- 
 forming these very things, which ended before Christ 
 408. See large edition of Polyglot Bible. What is 
 sixty-two weeks for ? The angel has already told us, 
 "Unto the Messiah, the Prince;" that is, to the time 
 Christ was anointed to preach, the meaning of Messiah. 
 Sixty-two weeks are 434 days ; or weeks of years would 
 ^ be 434 years, which, beginning where the seven weeks 
 ended, 408, would end 26 years after Christ, the year 
 John began to preach as forerunner of Christ. Then 
 " he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week," 
 making in all the seventy weeks. Thus the seven 
 weeks ended with the administration of Nehemiah, B. 
 C. 408. Then the sixty-two weeks ended when Jolin 
 
CHRIST- S SECOND COMING. 69 
 
 began to preach the gospel, A. D. 26; and the one 
 week was fulfilled in A. D. 33, when Christ offered him- 
 self upon the cross, as an offering and sacrifice for sin ; 
 " by which offering we are sanctified once for all." For 
 he need not offer himself often, as the high priest did, 
 under the law. " But now, once in the end of the world, 
 hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of him- 
 self." Heb. ix. 26, Therefore, " he shall cause the sac- 
 rifice and oblation to cease." That is the only and last 
 sacrifice and oblation that will be ever offered in our 
 world, which can take away sin ; " for there remaineth," 
 says the apostle, " no more sacrifice for sin." Then let 
 me inquire, What is the sum of the instruction of the an- 
 gel to Daniel.^ 1 will sum it up in as few words as 
 I can. 
 
 After Daniel had a certain vision, commonly called 
 " the vision of the ram, the he-goat, and the little horn," 
 Daniel heard one saint inquire of another, how long that 
 vision should be. The answer was given Daniel, that 
 it should be unto 2300 days, when the sanctuary should be 
 cleansed or justified. Daniel then heard a man's voice 
 between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Ga- 
 briel, make this man to understand the vision. Accord- 
 ingly, Gabriel came to Daniel, and informed him that at 
 the end of the world, or time appointed of God, the vis- 
 ion should be fulfilled. He then tells him that the ram 
 represented the Mede and Persian kingdom ; and that 
 the rough goat represented the Grecian kingdom ; gives 
 a short history of that kingdom, and its four divisions ; 
 then shows, at the close of these kingdoms, that another 
 king would arise, (meaning the kingdom of the little 
 horn, or Roman,) describing him exactly as Moses had 
 described the Romans many centuries before. See Deu- 
 teronomy xxviii. 49, 50. " The Lord shall bring a na- 
 tion against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as ./x 
 swift as the eagle flieth ; a nation whose tongue thou ?> 
 shalt not understand ; a nation of fierce countenance." 
 This, no person will dispute, means the Romans. Then 
 why not a similar description in Daniel, viii. 23 ? " When 
 the transgressors (meaning the Jews) are come to the 
 full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding 
 
70 LECTURE IT. 
 
 dark sentences, shall stand up, and his power shall be 
 mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy 
 wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, and shall 
 destroy the mighty and the holy people." 
 
 I think the reader, divested of" prejudice, cannot ap- 
 ply the description given in the above quotation to any 
 other nation but the Romans. " And through his policy, 
 he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand." This de- 
 scription agrees with Paul' s man of sin, the mystery of 
 iniquity which worked in his day, and which would be 
 destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. See 2 
 Thess. ii. 3—8. " So that he, as God, sitteth in the 
 temple of God, showing himself that he is God." Ga- 
 briel says, " And he shall magnify himself in his heart, 
 and by peace shall destroy many ; he shall also stand up 
 against the Prince of princes ; " that is, against God ; 
 the very same character which Paul has described. " But 
 he shall be broken witliout hand," that is, " by the bright- 
 ness of his (Christ's) coming," as says Paul. But as Dan- 
 iel has said, " By the stone cut out of the mountain with- 
 out hand ;" or, as he says, Daniel vii. 21, 22, "I beheld, 
 and the same horn made war with the saints, and pre- 
 vailed over them, until the Ancient of days came, and 
 judgment was given to the saints of the Most High ; and 
 the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." 
 
 After Gabriel had instructed Daniel thus far, he left 
 him. Sixteen years afterwards, Gabriel came again to 
 Daniel, and informed him that he had come to instruct 
 him, and give him skill and understanding into the vis- 
 ion, of which we have been speaking. He -then gives 
 him the seventy weeks, shows what would be accom- 
 plished in that time, the cutting off of the Messiah, and 
 the ceasing of the sacrifice and oblation. He men- 
 tions the destruction of Jerusalem, and the war of the 
 little horn ; the desolation of the people of God, and 
 overspreading of abominations. He carries us to the 
 consummation, destruction of the little horn, called here 
 the desolator. See marginal reading. Gabriel, after 
 giving the history of the seventy weeks, dwells not ia 
 detail on the remainder of the vision, but reserves a more 
 detailed account for the next visit,which is given unto 
 
Christ's second coming. 71 
 
 tts in tlie lOth to the 12th chapter of Daniel inclu* 
 sive. 
 
 But the seventy weeks, of which we are more partic- 
 ularly speaking, the angel Gabriel has told us when 
 it began : at the going forth of the commandment to re- 
 store and build Jerusalem, &c. We have found no com- 
 mand that will apply in all its bearings, but the one given 
 to Ezra, which was given in the 457th year before the 
 birth of Christ ; and 33 years afterwards Christ was cru- 
 cified ; which two numbers, if added, make 490 years, 
 exactly seventy weeks of years. We learn that Gabriel, 
 in order to make the vision doubly sure, divides the 
 seventy weeks into three parts, seven, sixty-two, and 
 one, making in all seventy. He then tells us plainly 
 what would be accomplished in each part separately. 
 
 1st. Seven weeks. " The street shall be built again, 
 and the wall, even in troublous times." No man can 
 dispute but tliat this was accomplished under the ad- 
 ministration of Ezra and Nehemiah. And it is very 
 evident that these two were governors over J erusalem 
 49 years, which makes the seven weeks of years, and 
 carries us down the stream of time to the year 
 408 B. C. 
 
 2d. Sixty-two weeks. "Unto the Messiah, the 
 Prince;" that is, unto the time that Jesus was 
 anointed with the Holy Spirit and power to preach 
 the gospel, either in himself or forerunner John. See 
 Mark i. 1. Sixty-two weeks of years would be 434 
 years. This would carry us down to twenty-six years 
 after Christ's birth, and brings us to the very year of 
 "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ^ the son 
 of God." Marki. 1. 
 
 3d. One week. " He shall confirm the covenant with 
 many for one week." One week would, of course, be 
 seven years, which, added to twenty-six, would make 
 thirty-three years after Christ Here, too, we find an 
 exact and literal accomplishment of the angel's declara- 
 tion. The gospel of Jesus Christ preached by John 
 three and a half years, and by Christ three and a half 
 years, making seven years, called one week, and then 
 Messiah cut off, and not for himself, Christ crucified, 
 
72 LECTURE IV, 
 
 ends the seventy weeks, proves Daniel's prophecy trae,- 
 establishes the vision, confounds the Jew, confutes the 
 infidel, and ought to establish the mind of every be- 
 liever in the remainder of the vision. 
 
 Here, then, is a combination of facts and circum- 
 stances, together with dates and times, which throws 
 tipon the mind such strong array of testimony, that it 
 would seem no rational being could withstand the proof. 
 And methinks I bear some say, Why all this argument ? 
 No one but a Jew ever disputed, but tliat the seventy 
 weeks were fulfilled at the death of Christ, and that a 
 day in this prophecy was a figure of a year. 
 
 1 should not have been tlius particular, and have tres- 
 passed so much on your time to prove a given point in 
 Christendom, had 1 not recently met with more than one 
 Christian professor, and even teachers in Zion, who deny 
 that the seventy weeks ended with the death of Christ, 
 or that a day in this prophecy means a year. Some have 
 gone so far in infidelity as to deny that " Most Holy," in 
 our text, and " Messiah," in our context, means Christ* 
 This surely would make a Jew blush. I agree that 1 
 never anticipated that any objection could be raised on 
 those points, without a wilful perversion of language, 
 and a total disregard of the word of God. 
 
 But man, in his fallen state, is an unaccountable, 
 strange being ; if his favorite notions are crossed, he 
 will, to avoid conclusions, deny even his own senses. 
 Therefore it becomes necessary for me to prove, what 
 has been considered by many, even of the objectors 
 themselves in previous time, given points in theology. 
 
 It is not more than four years since many of the 
 clergy and D.D.'s in the city of New York met a dele- 
 gation of the Jewish patriarchs from the East, and in 
 flieir conference the clergy and doctors brought forward 
 the seventy weeks in Daniel, as proof positive of Jesus 
 of Nazareth being the true Messiah. They explained 
 the seventy weeks in the same manner I have to you, 
 and asked the Jews how they could avoid the conclu- 
 sion? and I understood they could get no answer. 
 Now, suppose these same clergy and D.D.'s should 
 meet me on the question now pending ; I should not be 
 
Christ's second coming. 73 
 
 greatly disappointed if they should deny my premises. 
 «* Why would they do thus ? " say you. I answer, For the 
 same reason that the lawyer hesitated, when he learned 
 that it was his bull that gored the farmer's ox. 
 
 " But might we not understand the seventy weeks to be 
 so many literal weeks, that is, 490 common days ? " say 
 you. I answer. If so, then the command to build Jeru- 
 salem must have been given only a year and a third 
 before Christ's death; and it would have been very 
 improper for Gabriel to have said, " Unto the Messiah, 
 the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and 
 two weeks," when he had already come, and had been 
 preaching more than two years before the weeks began. 
 No, my friends ; every reasonable controversialist must 
 acknowledge there is no possible way to get rid of 
 our conclusion but to deny that Most Holy, and 
 Messiah, means Christ, in our text and context And 
 I pity, and leave the man in tlie hands of him who 
 knows all hearts, that is forced on to ground so un- 
 tenable as this. 
 
 If I have got a right understanding of the seventy 
 weeks, tliat a day stands for a year, — and I have never 
 been able to find a Christian expositor who disagrees 
 witli me on this point, either modern or ancient, — then 
 the conclusion is, as far as I can see, unavoidable, that 
 the vision of Daniel is 2300 years long, and that the 
 490 years before Christ's death is not only the key to 
 unlock the commencing of the vision, but shows con- 
 clusively how and when, and manner and time, the king- 
 doms of this world will be broken to pieces and carried 
 away, and no place found for them, by the stone which 
 will become a great mountain and fill the whole earth. 
 
 For the seventy weeks must seal up the vision and 
 make tlie prophecy of Daniel true. Then, if 2300 days 
 is the length of the vision, and 490 days of that vision 
 were fulfilled in 490 years ending with Christ's death, 
 so must 1810 days end the vision, which, upon precisely 
 the same rule, will be fulfilled in 1810 years after 
 Christ's death, or in 1843 after his bulh, which is the 
 same thing. 
 
 But, say some, " Daniel did not understand the vision 
 7 
 
74 LECTURE IV. 
 
 nor end." Then the angel Gabriel was not obedient to 
 the heavenly command ; for he was commanded to make 
 Daniel " understand the vision," and the vision and end 
 are connected by the angel himself. He says, " At the 
 time of the end shall be the vision." 
 
 Again : if Daniel did not understand, the angel must 
 have been disappointed ; for the angel says, " Behold, I 
 will^ake thee kpow what shall be in the last end of the 
 indignation ; for at the time appointed, (2300 days,) the 
 end shall be." 
 
 Again : if Daniel did not understand the vision and 
 time, then his own words cannot be taken as evidence. 
 " A thing was revealed unto Daniel, and the thing was 
 true, but the time appointed (2300 days) was long.'* 
 This shows that Daniel understood the time ; for he says 
 it was long. For no man would have called 2300 com- 
 mon days (not quite seven years) a long time for so 
 many great and important events, as are noticed in the 
 vision, to transpire in. " And he understood the thing, 
 (tiiat is, the time,) and had understanding of the vision.** 
 Daniel x. 1. 
 
 Now, let the objector quarrel with Gabriel and Daniel 
 if he pleases. I have their testimony, and shall give 
 them itie preference. Some say, " God has not revealed 
 the time." I ask, then, Who revealed this vision to 
 Daniel? By whose command was the answer given, 
 2300 days? Who revealed the seventy weeks, the 
 ** time, times, and a half" ? How came Daniel by his 
 1290 and 1335 days? Who said to Daniel, "But go 
 thou thy way till the end be, for thou shalt rest and stand 
 in thy lot at the end of the days " ? Read Daniel ii. 20, 
 23, and 28th verses, and let the objector lay his hands 
 upon his mouth and be silent. Has man become so bold 
 in sin that he will contradict angels, defame the proph- 
 ets, deny the word of God, that we may cry peace 
 and safety, when sudden destruction cometh ? " But 
 if ye wiU not hear Moses and the prophets, neither 
 would you though one rose from the dead." Peter says, 
 "There shall be scoffers in the last day, saying. Where 
 is the promise of his coming ? " God has not revealed 
 the time of the end, say you ; therefore it will be no 
 
Christ's second coming. 75 
 
 harm for you to " say in your hearts, My Lord delayeth 
 ais coming." 
 
 Who shall tell the friend of the bridegroom when 
 to give the midnight cry, "Behold, the bridegroom 
 Cometh " ? For this must be before he comes — no time 
 then to cry ; for it will be as sudden as the lightning, 
 says the dear Savior. 
 
 Let the objectors look to it, that they do not reject the 
 council of God against tliemselves. 
 
 " But ye, brethren, are not m darkness, (ignorant of 
 the revelation of God,) tliat that day shall overtake you 
 as a thietl" Ameiu 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 REV. xiii. 18. 
 
 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath miderstanding count the num- 
 ber of the beast ; for it is the number of a man 5 and his number 
 is six hundred threescore and six. 
 
 This text has caused as much speculation as any 
 text in the whole Bible ; rivers of ink have been shed 
 to explain its meaning , brains have been addled in 
 trying to find some great mystery which the wisdom of 
 this world, as was supposed, could only discover ; an4 in 
 trying to be wise above what was written, men have 
 lost their balance, and fell into absurdities too ridiculous 
 to mention. Some have searched through all the vo- 
 cabulary of Greek names, to find one whose numerical 
 letters would make the number 666, and they have been 
 wonderfully blest, for they found a number ; but here 
 again there remained a difficulty to surmount, which 
 required as much ingenuity as the former; but to 
 remedy the evil, every Greek scholar chose the one his 
 fancy dictated, wrote his book on the number 666, and 
 then diedj and his wonderful name died with him ; for 
 every wise Greek had his own favorite name. Also, the 
 Latin book-worms, not wishing to be outdone by their 
 Greek brethren, rummaged all the old goatskin parch- 
 ments and musty books in the cloisters of all the monks 
 in Christendom ; and behold, a much greater harvest was 
 the fruit of their labor ; for now every Latinus had three 
 or more names to his share ; and in all this wisdom, all 
 other nations were left without any wisdom, except 
 
Christ's second coming. 77 
 
 what they borrowed from their neighbors, the learned 
 Greeks and Latins. But I hope, my dear hearers, that 
 you have learned that if there is any mystery of God not 
 explained by the Bible, it is not for us to understand. 
 Therefore, in treating upon this subject, I shall en- 
 deavor to present the Scripture on the point, and then 
 leave you to judge whether we have light or not. 
 
 I. Show what wisdom this is spoken of in the text. 
 
 II. Speak of the beast numbered, and show what 
 beast. 
 
 III. The number, and what we may understand by it. 
 I. The wisdom spoken of in the text. 
 
 1st. Is it the wisdom of men, or of this world ? I 
 answer, No. For Paul says, 1 Cor. ii. 4,13, "And my 
 speech and my preaching was not with enticing words 
 of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and 
 of power ; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom 
 of man, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak 
 wisdom among them that are perfect ; yet not the wis- 
 dom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that 
 come to nought But we speak the wisdom of God in a 
 mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained 
 before the world unto our glory." Now, if Paul would 
 not preach the wisdom of men or the world, surely the 
 angel would not instruct John to use the wisdom of 
 man or of this world, " for the wisdom of this world is 
 foolishness with God," 1 Cor. iii. 19. And if Paul said 
 our faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, neither 
 would John have given any thing that depended on the 
 wisdom of men for a foundation of our faith. But Paul 
 has taught us what true wisdom is, by saying, " Christ, 
 the power of God, and the wisdom of God ; " " But God 
 hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit 
 searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." And 
 Paul tells us how we may exercise this wisdom, 1 Cor. 
 ii. 13, " Which things also we speak, not in the words 
 which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost 
 teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." 
 Here, then, my dear hearer, is the great secret of wis- 
 dom, to compare spiritual things with spiritual ; and then 
 
 we have the mind and will of the Spirit, and shall not be 
 
 7* 
 
 ♦ 
 
78 LECTURE V, 
 
 veiy liable to err. Let us, then, follow this rule whiJe 
 we try to explain. 
 II. The beast numbered in the text. And, 
 1st. Let us inquire what beast it is. I answer, It is 
 the first beast. See our context, 12th verse, " And he 
 exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him ; " 
 that is, the beast which John saw come up out of the 
 sea, {the Roman government,) having seven heads and 
 ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his 
 head the name of blasphemy ; and the beast which I saw 
 was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet 
 of a bear, and his mouth as tlie mouth of a lion ; and the 
 dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great 
 authority." By this beast, I understand the same as 
 Daniel's fourth kingdom, the Roman government; by 
 ** names of blasphemy," I understand a mode of worship 
 which would be idolatrous or blasphemous ; by the 
 dragon, we must understand the civil power of the same 
 government giving its power to the ecclesiastical beast, 
 whether Pagan or Papal. 3d verse, " And I saw one 
 of his heads, (of blasphemy. Pagan) as it were, wounded 
 to death; and his deadly wound was healed, (by the 
 substitution of the Papal blasphemous head ;) and all the 
 world wondered after the beast." 
 
 John then goes on to describe the civil power of this 
 Roman government under this last head, and shows the 
 length of time they would exercise this last power — " for- 
 ty-two months " — which is the same as Daniel's time, 
 times, and a half, or John's 1260 days, mentioned Rev. 
 xi. 3, xii. 6. His power to make war and overcome the 
 saints is foretold. In the tenth verse he shows us how 
 this civil power should be destroyed, by captivity and 
 the sword ; and this was fulfilled m 1798, when the pope 
 was carried a captive into France, and the states of Italy 
 were conquered by the sword of the French army. In 
 the 11th verse he gives us a discovery of the same beast 
 in his ecclesiastical power; Pagan Rome in the first 
 beast, and Papacy in the image beast ; and it will be evi- 
 dent to any one who will examine the chapter carefully, 
 that John was not commanded to number the image 
 beast — for the civil power of that beast was before 
 
Christ's second coming. 79 
 
 numbered in the 5th verse, — but the beast which existed 
 before him, which the Papal ecclesiastical beast is an 
 image of, or Daniel's daily sacrifice abomination, (Dan. 
 xii. 11,) the one which Paul said, "he who now letteth 
 will let, until he be taken out of the way." 
 
 In this passage it is evident the apostle alludes to the 
 same power, although he calls it the " working of Satan." 
 John also gives a similar description in Rev. xii. 9, 
 " And the dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called 
 the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: 
 he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast 
 out with him." But I have another evidence that the 
 beast numbered was Pagan Rome, and I think it must 
 be conclusive testhnony, in Rev. xvii. 3. In this chapter 
 one of the seven angels that had the seven. vials came to 
 instruct John, and to show him "the judgment of the 
 great whore with whom the kings of the earth had com- 
 mitted fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have 
 been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." 
 " So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilder- 
 ness, and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, 
 full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten 
 horns." 
 
 Here the same idolatrous beast, having seven heads 
 and ten horns, is described; the woman sitting upon 
 this beast is the same as Daniel's little horn which came 
 up among the ten horns, and shows plainly that it was 
 that part of Roman power which was prior to the woman, 
 and was of course called the Jirst beast. When John 
 saw this woman on the scarlet-colored beast, he wondered 
 with great admiration, and says. Rev. xvii. 7, " And the 
 angel said unto me. Wherefore didst thou marvel ? I 
 will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast 
 that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten 
 horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not ; and 
 shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdi- 
 tion, and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, 
 whose names were not written in the book of life from 
 the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast 
 that was, and is not, and yet is." " That was," Pagan 
 Rome before John saw his vision, " and is not," yet in 
 
80 LECTURE V. 
 
 its last stage of Papal Rome, " and yet is," an the same 
 spirit, for Papal Rome is but an image of Paganism, as 
 says the Apostle, 2 Thess. ii. 6, 7, "And now ye know 
 what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time, 
 for the mystery of iniquity doth already work." And, 1 
 John ii. 18, "Little children, it is the last time, and as 
 ye have heard that anti-Christ shall come, even now are 
 there many anti-Christs, whereby we know it is the last 
 time." And again. Rev. xvii. 9, " And here is the mind 
 which hath wisdom;" evidently referring John right 
 back to our text, " Here is wisdom ; let him that hath 
 understanding," the same as mind in the above quotation. 
 "The seven heads are seven mountains on which the 
 woman sitteth, and there are seven kings ; five are fallen, 
 one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he 
 Cometh, he must continue a short space, and the heast 
 that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the 
 seven, and goeth into perdition." These texts explain 
 the whole matter ; for it is evident that the beast here 
 alluded to was the seven-headed monster who was then 
 in existence when John wrote, for five of its executive 
 forms of government (of which kings and mountains are 
 figures) had fallen. Republican Rome had five different 
 offices under that particular form of government — her 
 senatojial, tribunate^ consular, decemmr, and triumvirate. 
 These were fallen. One is, (that was when John wrote 
 his prophecy,) Impenal, and the other had not yet come, 
 Kingh/, which is the same as the ten horns. For when 
 the Western Empire fell, Rome was divided into ten 
 kins^doms, " And the ten horns which thou sawest are 
 ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet ; but 
 receive power as kings one hour with the beast." These 
 have one mind, (that is, were all converted to the Catho- 
 lic faith,) and shall give their power and strength unto 
 the beast, Papal Rome. " These shall make war with 
 the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them ; for he is 
 Lord of lords and King of kings ; and they that are with 
 him are called, and chosen, and faithful." And although 
 this beast, whatever form it may assume, whether 
 Pagan or Papal, may for a season tyrannize over and 
 trample on the followers of Christ, through the agency 
 
Christ's second coming. 81 
 
 of the evil power of empires, kingdoms, states, or repub- 
 lics, yet He who rules over all, will, in the end, destroy 
 all these powers, and himself reign King of kings and 
 Lord over all. " And the ten horns which thou sawest 
 upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall 
 make her desolate and naked, and cut her flesh, and burn 
 her with fire." 
 
 This text has been literally accomplished within a few 
 years ; and those kingdoms which were of the ten, king- 
 doms which first gave power to the beast, have of late 
 persecuted and destroyed her, who is the abomination 
 of the whole earth. Witness the transactions of Great 
 Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Naples, and 
 Tuscany, the Seven Kingdoms which were not plucked 
 up by the little horn ; each of these nations have in their 
 turn resisted the power and pretensions of the Pope of 
 Rome, until his civil authority is reduced to a cipher in 
 all these kingdoms. " For God hath put in their hearts 
 to fulfil his will, and to agree and give their kingdom 
 unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." 
 Then must the Papal beast, the image of Paganism, be 
 numbered and finished, and like a weighty mill-stone 
 sunk in the deep, he must with the Pagan beast sink 
 forever and ever. 
 
 Thus we see the two beasts, although supported by the 
 same power, " the great red dragon or Roman kingdom," 
 exercising the same authority over the bodies and souls 
 of men, partaking of oie same spirit of Satan, made like 
 each other, one being but an image of the otlier, having 
 the same names of blasphemy on their heads, and both 
 having, at the close of their times, the same ten horns, 
 and both have, and are to have, their civil power 
 destroyed by the same ten horns. Yet we see them kept 
 separate and distinct Pagan Rome must reign his 
 time, and then the ten horns, or kings, would take away 
 the " daily sacrifice abomination," and place in his stead 
 the "abomination that maketh desolate." The last 
 abomination was numbered in the same chapter where 
 our text is found, " forty and two months." And why 
 not give us the number of the first beast ? He has : 
 "Let him that hath understanding count the number of 
 
82 LECTURE V. 
 
 the beast ; for it is the number of a man ; and his num- 
 ber is six hundred threescore and six." This brings us 
 to our next proposition. 
 
 III. To show what we may understand by the num- 
 bering of the beast. And, 
 
 1st. What may we understand by numbering any 
 thing of this kind in Scripture ? For the Scripture must 
 be our guide, as we have before said. 
 
 I answer. It is to count, to finish, or to destroy, when 
 used in a figurative sense, or in prophetic Scripture, as in 
 Isa. xxii. 10, " And ye have numbered the houses of Je- 
 rusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify 
 the wall." They were accused by the prophet of de- 
 stroying houses, by numbering them or counting them 
 for destruction. Also see Isa. Ixv. 12, " Therefore will 
 I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to 
 the slaughter." Here again it is used in the same sense : 
 I will reckon or count you to the sword. Again, Dan. 
 V. 25, 2G, " And this is the hand-writing that was written : 
 Mene, iiENE, TEKEL, upHARsiN. This is the interpreta- 
 tion of the thing : mene, God hath numbered thy king- 
 dom and hath finished it." 
 
 As, therefore, the idolatrous and blasphemous king- 
 dom of Babylon was numbered and finished by God, 
 whose decree was conveyed by the hand-writing on the 
 wall to the knowledge of Daniel and others, so was 
 John commanded, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 
 to write in this last book of prophecy, the mene, tekel, 
 of this last idolatrous Pagan beast. " Here is wisdom." 
 Let a wise Daniel, or him that hath the wisdom of 
 God like a Daniel, or " let him that hath understanding " 
 in the word of God, or him that will compare scrip- 
 ture with scripture, " count the number of the beast," 
 or the number of his name. 
 
 Let us inquire what is the name of this beast His 
 name is blasphemy, because he causes all, both high and 
 low, rich and poor, bond and free, to worship stocks and 
 stones, idols of gold, and silver, and wood, that can nei- 
 ther see, hear, nor talk. See the 1st verse of our con- 
 text, " and upon his head the name of blaspheinyj'^ which 
 teaches us what the name of this beast is, and shows us 
 
Christ's second coming. 83 
 
 that we are to count, or reckon, how long before the 
 blasphemies of this Pagan power will be finished ; " for 
 it is the number of a man." And what, you may inquire, 
 is the number of a man ? I answer again, We must apply 
 to God's word " the number of a man." 
 
 Moses says. Exodus xxiii. ^6, " The number of thy 
 days I will fulfil." Job, speaking of man, says, xiv. 5, 
 "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his 
 months is with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that 
 he cannot pass." David says, Ps. xc. 12, " So teach us 
 to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto 
 wisdom." Therefore, we may reasonably conclude that 
 the " number of a man " is the number of his days ; and 
 the Scriptures often speak of man in connection with his 
 time' of sojourn on the earth, calling it days ; as, " few and 
 evil have been the days of my pilgrimage ; " " died, being 
 old and full of days ; " " length of days is in her right 
 hand ; " " all the days of thy life ; " " I will wait all the 
 days of my appointed time until my change come." If 
 this is the understanding of this part of our text, which I 
 cannot see any reason to doubt, then our text has this 
 plain meaning. Here is need of spiritual wisdom. Let 
 him that hatli understanding count the number of his 
 days ; for his days are numbered as a man's ; they are 
 six hundred threescore and six. This power (Rome 
 Pagan) would be taken away when his six hundred and 
 sixty-six prophetic days should end ; and this brings us 
 to show when those days began, and of course when 
 they ended. 
 
 They must have begun when the Jewish rites and 
 ceremonies were in being ; for this was the sole object 
 of Paganism, to counteract the Jewish rituals and draw 
 the .Tewish worshippers into idolatry, and to blend the 
 heathen rites with theirs. They must have begun be- 
 fore Christ was born, for the great red dragon having 
 seven heads and ten horns was to stand before the woman, 
 (the Jewish Church,) ready to devour the man child as 
 soon as it was born. They could not have begun before 
 they became connected with the Jews, for the reason 
 that no nation is prophesied of, or noticed in the proph- 
 ecies, except they are somehow connected with the 
 
91 LECTURE V. 
 
 people of God ; and for the very reason that this beast 
 was to tread down the Jews, and finally, by cunning, de- 
 ceit, and intfigue, destroy the city and nation of the Jews, 
 then 1 think tlie fairest conclusion is, that when they be- 
 came connected with the Jews by league, and when they 
 had conquered Daniel's third kingdom, the Grecian. 
 Then, and not until then, had the Romans any part in 
 this prophecy. This agrees with the angel's statement, 
 Dan. xi. 23, " After the league made with him, (that is, 
 Romans,) he shall work deceitfully, and become strong 
 with a small (republican) people." This league was 
 made between the Romans and the Jews, ratified and 
 carried into effect when the Greeks under Bachides left 
 besieging Jerusalem, upon the command of the Romans, 
 and, as Josephus and Maccabees tell us, never returned 
 to trouble them (the Jews) any more. This league, 
 then, took effect when the third kingdom in Daniel's 
 vision ceased harassing the Jews, and the fourth king- 
 dom began its rule over the Jews and the world. This 
 was in the year B. C. 158. Let those who wish to be 
 satisfied of the correctness of the foregoing statements 
 read the 8th and 9th chapters of the 1st Maccabees, 
 and Josephus, B. XII. chapter x. sec. 6, of his Antiquities. 
 Then, if this be correct, that Pagan Rome began his 
 power in the year B. C. 158, and was to continue 666 
 years, when would Paganism fall in the Ecman kingdom; 
 and the " daily sacrifice abomination " be taken out of 
 the way to make room for the abomination of desolation ? 
 I answer, Take 158 from 666 and you will have 508. 
 Then in the year A. D. 508 Paganism ceased. 
 
 What is the history of that time ? I answer, that 
 about the year A. D. 476 the Western Empire of Rome 
 crumbled to pieces, and the Pagan nations of the north, 
 crossing the Rhine and the Danube, established ten 
 kingdoms in what was considered the Western Empire. 
 France was the principal kingdom of the ten. These 
 kingdoms were all governed by Pagan kings ; and his- 
 tory informs us that in the city of Rome and other places 
 in the empire these Pagan conquerors sacrificed men, 
 women, and children to their supposed deities; and 
 that in the year 496 Clovis king of France was converted 
 
Christ's second coming. 85 
 
 and baptized into the Christian faith ; and that the re- 
 mainder of these kings embraced the religion of Christ 
 shortly after, the last of which was Christianized in the 
 year 508, and of course Paganism ceased, having lost 
 its head by the power of the sword, or kings who wield 
 the sword. Here, then, was the accomplishment of two 
 important prophecies — the daily sacrifice abomination 
 taken out of the way, and the Pagan beast receiving 
 its deadly wound by a sword ; since which time we have 
 no account of any Pagan rites or sacrifices being offered 
 within the bounds of ancient Rome. How exactly haa 
 the word of God been accomplished I How just and 
 true are all the ways of the God of heaven! And how 
 blind are mortals that they cannot see their own destiny 
 in the rise and fall of others ! I am astonished sometimes 
 when I reflect on the simple truths of the word of God, 
 the exact fulfilment of the prophecies, that more do not 
 believe, repent, and turn to God. 
 8 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 DANIEL X. 14. 
 
 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy 
 people in the latter days 3 for yet the vision is for many days. 
 
 This is the third time the angel Gabriel came to in- 
 struct Daniel. The first time was when Daniel had the 
 vision of the he-goat, Daniel viii. 16. This was 553 
 years before Christ. The second time he came was 
 when Daniel was praying for the deliverance of his peo- 
 ple from their Babylonish captivity, fifteen years after 
 the first visit, when he instructed him into the seventy 
 weeks, and crucifixion of the Messiah. Now he has 
 come in the third year of Cyrus the Persian, in the 534 
 B. C, 21 years after Daniel had his vision of the four 
 beasts, nineteen after the he-goat, and four years after 
 the seventy weeks' instruction. 
 
 After informing Daniel his purpose, as in our text, 
 and making some preliminary observations concerning 
 the vision in the remainder of the tenth chapter, he be- 
 gins his teachings to Daniel, and through him to us, 
 with the first of the 11th chapter. 1st verse, he tells 
 who he, the heavenly messenger, is — the same who 
 confirmed Daniel in the seventy weeks. See Daniel 
 ix. 1, 21. And in the second verse he begins with the 
 fifth king of Persia, the very same king who issued the 
 decree to Ezra to go up and build the walls of Jerusa- 
 lem, which began our seventy weeks, Daniel ix. 25 ; 
 Ezra vii. 1 — 14. For the first Persian king was then on 
 the throne, Daniel x. 1, which was the third year of the 
 
Christ's second coming. 87 
 
 reign of Cyrus, king of Persia. This was the same 
 Cyrus who was general and son-in-law to Darius the 
 Mode, that conquered Babylon. Besides whom " there 
 should be yet three kings," which three kings were 
 Artaxorxes, Darius, and Ahasuerus, as they are named 
 in Scripture. See Ezra, iv. v. and vi. chapters. I am 
 aware that history has named four where Scripture has 
 only named three. History names, 1, Cambyses ; 2, 
 Smerdis, same as Artaxerxes above named in Scripture ; 
 3, Darius, son of Hystaspes, same as above ; 4, Xerxes, 
 same as Scripture calls Ahasuerus. Why the Scripture 
 did not name Cambyses, if there was such a king, I am 
 not able to tell, unless his reign was so short (which all 
 historians agree in) that he had no hand in building or 
 hindering the building of the temple at Jerusalem, as 
 the other three kings had, which Ezra has named. But 
 as Gabriel did not come to tell Daniel any thing which 
 was not " noted in the Scripture of truth," (see Daniel 
 X. 21, " But I will show thee that which is noted in the 
 Scripture of truth,") therefore the language of our 
 text now under examination will be this — " There shall 
 stand up yet three kings in Persia, (noted in the Scripture 
 of truth,) and the fourth shall be far richer than they 
 all," &c. This.fourth king was Artaxerxes Longimanus, 
 and is the same king rtoted in Ezra vii., and the first and 
 only king of Persia " noted in the Scriptures," who ever 
 gave a decree to rebuild the walls and streets of Jeru- 
 salem, especially in troublous times. We may therefore 
 reasonably and conclusively determine that the mes- 
 senger Gabriel begins his instruction with this king's 
 reign, the 5th king noted in Scripture. And if so, we 
 have another strong and forcible evidence that Daniel's 
 vision of the ram and he-goat began with the seventy 
 weeks, 457 years before the birth of Christ, and 490 
 years, or 70 prophetic weeks, before his death, Dan. xi. 
 3, 4. We have the plain history of Alexander, the con- 
 queror of the world, his death, and division of the king- 
 dom into four great empires. Hear what Gabriel says 
 of him more than 200 years before the event happened, 
 and learn, ye skeptics, the evidence that this prophecy 
 is of divine origin. " And a mighty king shall stand up 
 
88 LECTURE VI. 
 
 that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to 
 his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom 
 shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four 
 winds of heaven, and not to his posterity, nor according 
 to his dominion which he ruled ; for his kingdom shall 
 be plucked up, even for others besides those," (that is, 
 his posterity.) 
 
 Need I, then, tell my hearers that history tells us that 
 Alexander conquered the then known world in about six 
 years, and that he died 323 years B. C. at Babylon ; that 
 his kingdom was divided among his greatest generals, 
 from which division arose four great kingdoms, Egypt in 
 the south, Persia in the east, Syria in the north, and 
 Macedonia in the west, which kingdoms lasted until 
 conquered by the Romans ? Between the years 190 and 
 30 B. C. nearly all these kingdoms became Roman prov- 
 inces. From Daniel xi. 5, 13, inclusive, we have a 
 prophecy of the two principal kingdoms out of these four 
 — Egypt and Syria ; and any one who may have the cu- 
 riosity to see the exact agreement between the prophecy 
 and history, can read RoUin's Ancient History, where he 
 has not only given us the history, but applied this proph- 
 ecy. And as I see no reason to disagree from him in his 
 application of these texts, I shall, therefore, for brevity's 
 sake, pass over these texts, and examine the text, Dan. xL 
 14, " And in those times there shall many stand up against 
 the king of the south ; also, the robbers of thy people 
 shall exalt themselves to establish the vision ; but they 
 shall ft 11." The king of the south, in this verse, without 
 any doubt, means king of Egypt ; but what the rohhers 
 of thy people means remains yet a doubt perhaps to some. 
 That it cannot mean Antiochus, or any king of Syria, it is 
 plain ; for the angel had been talking about that nation for 
 a number of verses previous, and now says, " also the 
 robbers of thy people," &c., evidently implying some 
 other nation. I will admit that Antiochus did perhaps 
 rob the Jews ; but how could this "establish the vision," 
 as Antiochus is not spoken of any where in the vision as 
 performing any act of that kind; for he belonged to what 
 is called the Grecian kingdom in the vision. Again, " to 
 establish the vision^^ must mean to make sure, complete, 
 or fulfil the same. And if it cannot be shown that the 
 
Christ's second coming. 89 
 
 Grecian kingdom was to rob the people of God, 1 think 
 it must mean some other nation which would do these 
 acts, to which every word will apply. And to this we 
 need not be at a loss ; for at this very time of which the 
 angel is speaking, Rome, the least kingdom in Daniel's 
 vision, did exalt itself, and this kingdom did have the very 
 marks in the vision, and in the events following. This 
 kingdom was to have great iron teeth ; it was to break in 
 pieces, and stamp the residue with the feet of it. The 
 vision also says, " He shall destroy wonderfully, and 
 shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty 
 and holy people, and that he should magnify himself," 
 &c., the same as exalt himself, Daniel vii. 7, 23 ; viii. 
 10 — 12, 24, 25 verses. And it cannot be denied but that 
 the Jews have been robbed of their city and sanctuary 
 by the Romans, and the Christian church has been per- 
 secuted and robbed by this dreadful beast, the Roman 
 kingdom. It is evident too that when this kingdom falls, 
 the vision will be completed, fulfilled, established : " but 
 they shall fall," says the angel in the verse under our 
 present examination ; " they shall fall ; " that is, the ten 
 horns in this fourth kingdom, when the vision is fulfilled 
 or established, and when the stone cut out of the moun- 
 tain without hands shall grind them to powder. We 
 will take the 15th, " So the king of the north " (Rome 
 is now the king of the north, because they had conquered 
 the Macedonian kingdom, and had become masters of the 
 countries north and east before they attacked Egypt) 
 " shall come and cast up a mount, and take the most 
 fenced cities ; and the arms of the south shall not with- 
 stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be 
 any strength to withstand." This was about fifty years 
 before Christ, when Pompey, a Roman general, con- 
 quered Egypt, and made that kingdom tributary to the 
 Romans, and afterwards entered Jerusalem, and made 
 them subjects of the Roman government. See verses 
 16 and 17, " But he that cometh against him " (Pompey 
 coming against Egypt) " shall do according to his own 
 will, and none shall stand before him, and he shall stand 
 in the glorious land which by his hand shall be con- 
 sumed. He shall also set his face to enter with the 
 8* 
 
90 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with 
 him," (or men of equal conditions, as it might have been 
 rendered.) The Roman army, of which Pompey had the 
 command, when he went into Egypt and Palestine, were 
 composed of the sons of all the principal citizens of 
 Rome, who were, according to the laws of the republic, 
 to serve ten years in the service of their country before 
 they were admitted to receive the high offices which 
 they might afterwards be candidates for. This accounts 
 for the language just read in the text — "upright ones 
 witii him." And *' thus shall he do : he shall give him 
 the daughter of woman, corrupting her ; but she shall 
 not stand on his side nor be for him." When Pompey 
 went into Egypt, he found that country divided between 
 Ptolemy and Cleopatra. Pompey, after he had made 
 them tributary to the Romans, compelled them to settle 
 their differences by marriage. Afterwards, when Julius 
 Csesar came against Pompey with his western veterans, 
 with whom he had conquered tlie west part of Europe, 
 and in the battle fought between these two contending 
 rivals, Pompey and Julius Cassar, Cleopatra had the 
 command of the Egyptian fleet on the side of Pompey ; 
 but in the midst of the action she deserted over to Ccesar 
 with her whole fleet, which turned the fortune of the 
 day in favor of Julius Cassar. Pompey then fled into 
 the Grecian isles, where he compelled many of them to 
 declare in his favor. But Caesar soon followed him, and 
 at the battle of Pharsalia completely defeated Pompey, 
 who was slain by a band of pirates or robbers. This 
 part we have in the 18th verse, " After this shall he 
 (Pompey) turn his face unto the isles, and shall take 
 many ; but a prince (Caesar) for his own behalf shall 
 cause the reproach offered by him (Pompey) to cease; 
 without his own (Caesar) reproach he shall cause it to 
 turn upon him, (Pompey :) 19th verse, " Then he (Caesar) 
 shall turn his face towards the fort of his own land ; 
 but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found." The 
 history of Caesar's death is familiar to every school-boy. 
 After he had conquered Pompey, he returned to Rome, 
 entered the city in triumph, and a few days after, when 
 he was about to be crowned Emperor, he was slain in 
 
Christ's second coxMINo. 91 
 
 the senate-house, before Pompey's pillar, by his own 
 friends ; *' he stumbled and fell, and was not found." 
 20th verse, ** Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser 
 of taxes, in the glory of the kingdom ; but within a few 
 days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger nor in 
 battle." This verse describes Octavius Caesar, who first 
 taxed the Roman provinces, Judea being taxed (see 
 Luke ii. 1, 5) when our Savior was born ; but Octavius 
 Caesar, afterwards called Auo^ustus CsBsar, was not 
 slain like his uncle Julius, nor like his successors ; but 
 died peaceably in his bed. 21st and 22d verses, " And 
 in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they 
 shall not give the honor of the kingdom ; but he shall 
 come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 
 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overthrown 
 from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also, the 
 prince of the covenant'' In these two verses we have 
 the history of Tiberius Caesar, who was the successor of 
 Octavius Caesar in the Roman empire ; and was one of 
 the most vile, profligate, bloody tyrants that ever sat 
 upon the Roman throne. History gives us the same 
 account, that he obtained by flatteries the kingdom, and 
 afterwards ruled it by tyranny. He also assumed the 
 name of Augustus. In his reign Christ was crucified, 
 " the Prince of the covenant was broken." Here ends 
 the history of the seventy weeks. This prophetic his- 
 tory being divided into four divisions, the first part is 
 the history of tlie seventy weeks, to which we have been 
 attending, which began in the seventh year of Arta- 
 xerxes' rei^n, and ended in the 22d year of Tiberius 
 Caesar's, being four hundred and ninety years ; the second 
 part will be the history of Pagan Rome, which begins 
 with the first league made between the Romans and the 
 Jews, and will carry us down six hundred and sixty-six 
 years. You will likewise observe that the angel goes 
 back and begins this history with the league. 22d verse, 
 " And after the league made with him he shall work 
 deceitfully : he shall come up, and shall become strong 
 with a small people." 
 
 Let us in the first place inquire. Between whom is this 
 league made ? The Romans must be one of the contract- 
 
92 LECTtJRE VI. 
 
 ing parties, from the fact that the angel is talking ahout 
 that government before and afterwards, and that the 
 fourth or Roman kingdom was to work deceitfully, " and 
 through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in 
 his hand." See Daniel viii. 25. And also from the cir- 
 cumstance of their being a small or republican people at 
 first, Rome, too, was small in territory at this time, al- 
 though many nations and kingdoms were tributary unto 
 them ; but who was the other contracting party in this 
 league? T answer. It must have been some people whom 
 the angel had in view ; and he, Daniel, had the same in 
 view, or he would have given some mark by which Dan- 
 iel or the reader could have come to a just conclusion. 
 Yes, this was the case ; for he had told Daniel in the 
 very outset, " Now I am come to make thee understand 
 what shall befall thy people in the latter days." See our 
 text. This, then, is the key that unlocks the whole sub- 
 ject, and explains two important points in the vision. 
 First, it teaches who are the subjects of this vision; and, 
 secondly, when and how the Roman kingdom became 
 connected with the vision. If I am thus far correct, then 
 the angel has reference to the league made with the Ro- 
 mans 158 years B. C, when the Grecian general Bachi- 
 des withdrew his army from before Jerusalem, and never 
 returned to vex the Jews any more, as says 1 Maccabees 
 ix. 72. For the history of this league, you can read 1 
 Maccabees viii. and Josephus B. XII. chap. x. sec. 6, 
 This league was the first ever made between the Romans 
 and the Jews, according to Josephus. It took effect 
 158 years B. C, when the Grecian kingdom, at the 
 command of the Romans, ceased to trouble the Jews, and 
 the Romans began to work deceitfully. Then began the 
 Pagan beast to exercise his influence over the people 
 of God. And now let us pursue his history as given by 
 the angel Gabriel, 24th verse, " He shall enter peace- 
 ably, even upon the fattest places of the province ; and 
 he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his 
 fathers' fathers ; he shall scatter among them the prey, 
 and spoil, and riches ; yea, he shall forecast his devices 
 against tlie strong holds even for a time." This verse 
 
Christ's second coming. 93 
 
 is a true history of the rise of the Roman power ; they 
 did scatter the prey and spoil among the provinces, and 
 conquered more nations by their munificence and be- 
 nevolence in the outset, than by their arms or battles. 
 Rome bought more nations by riches and intrigue than 
 she conquered in war ; and she compelled the Jews to 
 submit for about two centuries to that which no nation 
 before had been able ever to do, viz., to be ruled by kings, 
 governors, and high priests, appointed by the Romans, 
 and not chosen by themselves. 25th verse, " And he 
 shall stir up his power and his courage against the king 
 of the south with a great army ; and the king of the 
 south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and 
 mighty army ; but he shall not stand ; for they shall 
 forecast devices against him." This is a description of 
 the war in Egypt, under the government of Mark Antony 
 and Octavius Caesar. " Yea, they that feed of the por- 
 tion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall 
 overflow, and many shall fall down slain." When An- 
 tony went into Egypt with a great army, Cleopatra, then 
 queen of Egypt, deserted her husband's standard, as she 
 had before Pompey's, and went over to Mark Antony 
 with all the forces she could command, by which means 
 Egypt became an easy prey to the Romans ; so that a 
 part of the Egyptian army, that fed of the portion of the 
 king's meat, were the means of destroying the kingdom. 
 " And both of these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, 
 and they shall speak lies at one table ; but it shall not 
 prosper ; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed." 
 These two kings are Antony and Octavius, their char- 
 acters agreeing with the description given in this pas- 
 sage ; history agreeing that they ruled over the Romans 
 for a season jointly, and that they were both of them 
 great deceivers and liars. History also informs us that 
 after Antony had conquered Egypt, he and Octavius 
 quarrelled ; Octavius Caesar declared war against An- 
 tony, marched an army towards Egypt, and at the bat- 
 tle of Actium defeated Antony and Cleopatra's forces, 
 afterwards took Alexandria in Egypt, and Antony and 
 Cleopatra put themselves to death, and Egypt becomes 
 a Roman province. This was thirty years before the 
 
94 LECTURE VI. 
 
 birth of Christ. 28, " Then shall he return into his land 
 with great riches ; and his heart shall be against the 
 holy covenant ; and he shall do exploits and return to 
 his own land." Then Octavius returned to Rome. 
 And the next exploit that this fourth kingdom would do 
 would be against the holy covenant. They, by their 
 authority, crucified our Savior, persecuted the saints, 
 and destroyed Jerusalem ; and this fills up the acts of 
 this Pagan history until towards the close of the reign 
 of the Pagan beast. 29, " At the time appointed, he 
 shall return, and come toward the south ; but it shall not 
 be as the former, or as the latter." The time appointed 
 must mean the length of the reign of this beast, whose 
 history the angel is now giving, which I have shown, in 
 a former lecture, is 6G6 years. " He shall return, and 
 come towards the south," not as the former or latter. 
 Not as the Romans going into Egypt, the latter ; nor 
 the Syrians going into Egypt, as the former ; but Italy 
 must now take her turn to be overrun by the northern 
 barbarians. Therefore the angel says, in the next verse, 
 see 30, ( " For the ships of Chittim shall come against 
 him ; ") the meaning of which is, that the Huns, which 
 lived on the north of the Adriatic Sea, the place where 
 it was anciently called Chittim, under their leader Attila, 
 (surnamed the Scourge of God,) should ravage the Ro- 
 man empire. This was fulfilled 447 years after Christ. 
 " Therefore he shall be grieved and return, and have in- 
 dignation against the holy covenant ; so shall he do ; he 
 shall return, and have intelligence with them that for- 
 sake tiie holy covenant." 
 
 About the time that Attila ravaged the Roman empire, 
 Christians conceived it to be a judgment of God upon 
 the Romans for their idolatry and wickedness, refused 
 to bear arms in favor of the Roman emperors, which led 
 to a bloody persecution of Christians, and a renewal of 
 Pagan rites and sacrifices, which had been partially sus- 
 pended during the reign of Constantino and succeeding 
 emperors, except in the case of Julian the Apostate. 
 " And arms shall stand on his part," that is, the force of 
 the empire would be on the side of Paganism " And 
 they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength." They^ in 
 
Christ's second coMma. 95 
 
 this passage, mean the governments or kings, established 
 on the fall of the Roman empire in the west, by the 
 Huns, Goths and Vandals of the north. " By sanctuary of 
 strength," is meant Rome. And it is said that at the 
 time that Rome was taken, men, women, and children 
 were sacrificed to their Pagan deities. " And shall 
 take away the daily sacrifice." The angel is giving us 
 a history of what these kings would do, when Rome 
 should be divided into its ten toes, or when the ten horns 
 should arise, which the angel has heretofore explained 
 to mean ten kings, Daniel vii. 24. This is evident by 
 his using the plural pronoun instead of the singular, as 
 before, or as he will following, when the little horn ob- 
 tains tlie power. To " take away the daily sacrifice," 
 means to destroy Paganism out of the kingdom. This 
 was done by those ten kings who now ruled the Roman 
 empire, and would for a little season, until they should 
 give their power to the image beast. " And they shall 
 place the abomination that maketh desolate." They, 
 meaning the ten kings, slmll place, shall put in the room 
 or plcice of the daily sacrifice or Pagan beast which would 
 now receive its death wound by the sword, that is, by the 
 civil power of this fourth kingdom, under the reigning 
 power of these ten kings ; for John tells us. Rev. xvii. 
 ]2, 13, " And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten 
 kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but 
 shall receive power as kings one hour with tlie beast ; 
 these have one mind, (being all Pagans,) and shall give 
 their power and strength unto the beast ;" that is, to sup- 
 port Paganism. Now, this was evidently fulfilled ; for 
 after the fall of the Western Empire, A. D. 476, and be- 
 fore A. D. 490, ten kings had risen upon the ruins, and 
 formed ten separate kingdoms, the names of which I 
 have before given; they all being Pagans, of course 
 they supported that form of worship, until they were con- 
 verted to the Christian faith, which happened within the 
 space of twenty years, Clovis, the king of France, having 
 been converted and baptized in the year A. D. 496. By 
 the year A. D. 508, the remainder of the kings were 
 brought over and embraced the Christian religion, which 
 closes the history of the Pagan beast, whose number 
 
96 LECTURE VI. 
 
 was 666; which, beginning 158 years B. C, would end 
 the beast's reign A. D. 508, having reigned but a short 
 time, (one hour, says John,) with the ten kings. We 
 have now gone through with the angel Gabriel's second 
 part of the history, as we promised. 
 
 I shall now go on with the illustration of the third 
 part of his prophetic history, which is the history of the 
 image beast, the deadly wound healed, or what Daniel 
 calls " the abomination that maketh desolate," This 
 beast would rule over the kings of the earth, and tread 
 the church of God under foot forty-two months, or time, 
 times, and a half, which is twelve hundred and sixty 
 years, in common time, or, as the angel tells us in Daniel 
 xii. 11, from the taking away the daily abomination to 
 set up the abomination that maketh desolate, should be 
 a thousand two hundred and ninety days, showing a 
 difference of thirty years from the statement of the 
 actual reign of the image beast and the other, which in- 
 cludes all the time from taking away down through the 
 setting up or reign of the image beast. Therefore, to 
 reconcile these two statements, we must conclude there 
 were 30 years from A. D. 508, when Paganism ceased, 
 before the image beast, or Papal Rome, would begin her 
 reign. If this is correct, then the 1290 began 508, and 
 would end us in 1798. But the reign of Papacy would 
 not be set up until A. D. 538, and would end us in the 
 same year, A. D. 1798, being 1260. This, then, is the 
 history the angel will give us next. 32, " And such as 
 do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupted by 
 flatterers; but the people that do know their God shall 
 be strong, and do exploits." The ecclesiastical histori- 
 ans tell us that in the beginning of the sixth century, 
 about A. D. 538, a number of writers in that day under- 
 took to prove that the Papal chair, together with coun- 
 cils of his approval, were infallible, and their laws Avere 
 binding on the whole church. These writers were 
 highly honored and flattered with promotion by the reign- 
 ing powers ; while on the other hand there were many 
 who opposed this power of the Pope and clergy, who 
 were denounced as schismatics and Arians, and driven 
 out of the kingdoms under the control of the Romish 
 
Christ's second coming. 97 
 
 church. 33, "And they that understand among the 
 people shall instruct many ; yet they shall fall by the 
 sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many 
 days." Those who instructed the common people, and 
 opposed the worshippin,^ of images, the infallibility of 
 the Pope and councils, tlie canonizing of departed saints, 
 were persecuted by the civil power, (the sword,) were 
 burned by order of tlie ecclesiastical courts established 
 by the laws of Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, 
 whose code of laws, published about A. D. 534, gave 
 unto the bishop of Rome power to establish courts for this 
 purpose, and many in the sixth century and subsequent 
 down to a late period, ^hnany days,''^ suffered death, im- 
 prisonment, and confiscation of goods, in consequence 
 of a difference of opinion in matters of religion, by tlie 
 tyranny of this abomination, " the bloody city which has 
 reigned over the kings of the earth," 34, "Now, when 
 they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; 
 but many shall cleave to them with flatteries." This 
 text agrees with one in Revelation xii. 16, " And the 
 earth helped the woman." " But many shall cleave to 
 them ; " that is, many men of the world would cleave to 
 them, and professedly would flatter the true people of 
 God that they were friendly at least to them, and by 
 these rrieans Satan carried on his wars against the chil- 
 dren of God. 35, " And some of them of understanding 
 shall fall, to try them, and to purge and to make them 
 white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for 
 a time appointed." This verse shows us that even Chris- 
 tians would be led into some of the errors of Papacy, 
 and would be tried and purged, even to the end of this 
 image beast's reign, which time is appointed, as I have 
 already shown, to be " time, times, and a half," 1260 years, 
 ending A. D. 1798. 36, " And the king shall do accord- 
 ing to his will ; and he shall exalt himself and magnify 
 himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous 
 things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the 
 indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined 
 shall be done." The king here spoken of is the same 
 as Daniel's little horn, which came up among the ten 
 horns. It it the same that blasphemed the God of 
 9 
 
98 LECTURE VI. 
 
 heaven. It is mystical Babylon. Isa. xiv. 12—15; 
 Rev. xiii. 5, 6. The same Paul has described in his 
 Epistle, 2 Thess. ii. 1 — 9 ; the same image beast which 
 we have been examining the history of; and one thing 
 is evident, that this beast will continue until the day 
 that God pours out his indignation upon a guilty world 
 in some form or other. 37, " Neither shall he regard 
 the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor re- 
 gard any god ; for he shall magnify himself above all." 
 In this passage we have a plain description of Papacy ; 
 they do not worship the same gods the Pagans did — 
 " their fathers.'*^ And their clergy are forbidden to 
 marry ; the Pope calls himself the vicegerent of God, or 
 God on earth, having the keys of heaven, &c. 38, " But 
 in his estate shall he honor the god of forces ; and a god 
 whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, 
 and silver, and precious stones, and pleasant things." 
 It is true that the Pope, for ages past, has had large 
 armies at his command, and always a body-guard to at- 
 tend him in his capital ; also, that they adorn their 
 pictures with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and 
 pleasant things, and that the gods they worship, such as 
 the images of Christ, apostles, and Virgin Mary, and 
 canonized saints, were not known to Pagan worship- 
 pers. 39, " Thus shall he do in the most strong holds 
 with a strange god whom he shall acknowledge and in- 
 crease with glory ; and he shall cause them to rule over 
 many, and shall divide the land for gain." 
 
 These patron saints, which the Pope divided among 
 the several nations of the earth, and in almost every 
 family, each one having their patron saint to rule over 
 them, by the appointment of the Pope, were strange gods 
 indeed ; and rational beings might truly wonder when 
 they beheld the power of this last abomination over the 
 minds and judgments of mankind. And then, again, to 
 see the number of kingdoms, provinces, states, and ter- 
 ritories, which the Pope has sold to enrich his coffers, 
 without any more right or title to them than we have to 
 the land in the moon, must convince every one that the 
 description given must apply to the church of Rome or 
 
Christ's second coming. 99 
 
 the Pope, who claims to exercise this great authority by 
 his crazy title to St. Peter's chair. 
 
 We have now arrived to the end of the third division 
 of the angel's history ; for the next verse tells us, *'• and 
 at the time of the end^'* meaning the end of his power, to 
 tread on the church by his civil authority, or reign over 
 the kings of the earth, and to dispose of lands for gain. 
 1 have brought you down, my kind hearer, through a 
 long prophetic history of more than 2200 years, and 
 landed you to the year A. D. 1798, when the Pope of 
 Rome lost his civil power. In the beginning of the 
 year 1798, on the 15th of February, a French general, 
 Berthier, entered Rome with a French army without 
 resistance, deposed the Pope, abolished the Papal gov- 
 ernment, and erected the republic of Italy. The Pope, 
 being taken prisoner, was carried a prisoner by them 
 first to Sienna in Tuscany, from thence to Florence, 
 afterwards to Grenoble, and then to Valence, in France, 
 where he died on the 19th of August, 1799, since which 
 time the Pope of Rome has exercisetl no more of his 
 former power over any of the kings in Europe, or the 
 Protestant church. We shall now close our lecture on 
 this history for the present, reserving the remainder of 
 Gabriel's interesting history for anoSier lecture. 
 
 # 
 
LECTURE VII. 
 
 DANIEL xii. 8. 
 
 And I heard, but I understood not : then said I, O my Lord, 
 what shall be the end of these things 1 
 
 Previous to Daniel's asking the question contained 
 in our text, he had been taught, as we have seen in our 
 former lecture, not only the history of future events as 
 they would succeed each other down to the end of the 
 world, but he had the regular order of time speci- 
 fied in the duration of the little horn, " timej times, and a 
 Jialf,^^ as in Daniel vii. 25, and xii. 7. But he had been 
 informed of many events which should transpire after 
 his " time, times, and a Jialf^^ should be finished, and not 
 having the length of the Pagan beast, or daily abomina- 
 tion, given to him at all, he could not tell or understand 
 whereabouts in his grand number of 2300 days, the 
 end of the civil power of the little horn, or Papal Rome, 
 carried him: there was no rule given Daniel yet by 
 which he could tell when or how long after the cruci- 
 fixion of the Messiah before the daily sacrifice abomi- 
 nation would be taken out of the way, and the power of 
 the little horn be established, and the abomination of 
 desolation set up. Be sure, Daniel had heard the whole 
 history down to the resurrection, and had the whole vision 
 specified in his 2300 days. But as he saw there were 
 evidently three divisions of the time after the crucifixion 
 or cutting off* of the Messiah at the fulfilment of his 
 490 years, or 70 weeks, down to the end of his 1810 
 years, which would be the remainder of his total number 
 of 2300 years, after his 70 weeks should be fulfilled j 
 
CHRIST 3 SS:C0N3D^ COMIHG; 101 
 
 and having only 1260 of those years accounted for by 
 the reign of his little horn, leaving five hundred and 
 fifty years to be applied on the Pagan beast, and for the 
 events which we are to attend to after the Papal beast 
 lost his civil power, — therefore the propriety of Daniel's 
 saying in our text, " Then I heard, but I understood not." 
 He understood not how this time was divided, and espe- 
 cially, how much time would be taken up in the last 
 division of the angel's history, beginning with the 40th 
 verse of the lltli chapter, where our last lecture ended, 
 and finishing with the context of the 12th chapter, the 
 verse previous to our text That this is the plain and 
 significant meaning, is evident from what follows our 
 text, viz., the angel's answer to Daniel's question, " What 
 shall be the end of these things?" And he said. Go 
 thy way, Daniel ; for the words are closed up and sealed 
 till the time of the end ; " that is, my mission is closed, 
 the words are finished, and registered in the roll of God's 
 word, they are sealed, that is, made sure, unalterable, 
 will stand until every word has its fulfilment, which in 
 the end shall be accomplished ; not, as some suppose, 
 that Daniel's prophecy is sealed, closed up, out of sight, 
 and cannot be understood. This is not the way of God's 
 dealings with us ; for if this had been the angel's mean- 
 ing, he would have said to Daniel as he did to John in 
 similar circumstances. Rev. x. 4, " Seal up those things, 
 and write them not." But it is the reverse ; for he says 
 in the next verse, 10, " Many shall be purified, and made 
 white, and tried ; but the wicked shall do wickedly, and 
 none of the wicked shall understand." None of the 
 wicked shall understand what ? Why, the things before 
 spoken of — Daniel's vision and instruction. Very well, 
 then the wicked do right for once. Certainly, if your 
 exposition of the former text is correct, that it is hid, and 
 cannot be known, they are obeying the command of the 
 angel, close up and seal the words ; and surely they will 
 not be condemned for obedience. " But tlie wise shall 
 understand," says the angel. What shall the wise 
 understand ? They shall understand the vision ; or the 
 words before spoken by the angel at least. But say you, 
 "Daniel was commanded to seal up and close the words, 
 
102 
 
 L/.cTUJiE vn. 
 
 BO that they may never Know them till the end, and the 
 wise understand them. How can these things be ? " I 
 answer, These texts explain each other. There is a close 
 connection in the word of God which must always be 
 kept in view, and if our exposition of one contradicts 
 another of tlie same connection or of like import, we may 
 know there is a wrong in us. Now, one thing is certain, 
 ■ — " all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is 
 profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in- 
 struction in righteousness, that the man of God may be 
 perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 
 And "secret things belong to God; but things revealed, 
 to us and our children." And when I see pretended 
 servants of God, men of great pretence to piety and 
 knowledge, disputing long and sharp on some metaphys- 
 ical point in tlieology which they nor their hearers can 
 never understand, and when they are asked to explain the 
 plain declarations of God, put it off, by saying, it is sealed 
 up, and we ought not to try to understand it, it makes me 
 think of iEsop's fable of the dog in the manger; of 
 Christ's reproof to the scribes and Pharisees, "Woe unto 
 you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites !* for ye shut up 
 the kingdom of heaven against men ; for ye neither go 
 in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to 
 go in ; " and this passage in Daniel, " The wicked shall 
 do wickedly ; and none of the wicked shall understand ; 
 but the wise shall understand." You may depend upon 
 one thing, when you hear such declarations as the above 
 from the pulpit, that the speaker does not love his Bible 
 as well as he loves his own popularity, and studies to 
 support his faith, the popular writers and standard au- 
 thors of the day, more than the divine revelation of God. 
 But God is now trying his people ; he is now giving them 
 a great rule to know their love for his word. If the 
 word of God is to tliem foolishness, and they take more 
 delight in the popular writers of the day, they may de- 
 pend upon it they are stumbling at that stumbling-stone. 
 But the angel tells us that many shall be purified and 
 made white. This was good news to Daniel, and ought 
 to be so to us ; for it is the declaration of God through 
 the medium of GaJbriel, his messenger. " And from the 
 
Christ's second coming. 103 
 
 time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the 
 abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 
 a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he 
 that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred 
 and five and thirty days : but go thou thy way till the 
 end be, fi^r thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the 
 end of the days." Now Daniel had all he could ask for ; 
 now he could understand the time, and the length, and 
 part of every division which the angel had given him in 
 his instruction, so far as to fill up his vision of 2300 
 years, (as we shall call them, having proved in a former 
 lecture that they ought to be so reckoned, and have been 
 so fulfilled.) He has ' now learned that, to begin and 
 reckon back from the resurrection, which he well knew 
 would be 1810 years after Christ's crucifixion, he might 
 find out when the daily sacrifice abomination would be 
 taken away. Therefore take 1335 years from 1810 
 years, would leave 475 years ; and he could reckon from 
 the end of the 70 weeks, or 490 years, to the end of Pagan 
 Rome, would be 475, from thence to the time he should 
 stand in his lot, would be 1335 years. Then by adding 
 
 490 
 
 475 
 
 1335 
 
 would make the sum total of his whole vision 2300 years. 
 And now, let us suppose he wished to know when the 
 abomination of desolation would end, and when it would 
 begin. He has only to take his number, one thousand 
 two hundred and ninety, as given him by his angel, frqm 
 his 1335, thus,— - 1335 
 
 3.290 
 
 45 
 
 and he finds that 45 years before the resurrection the 
 little horn would lose his civil power. Now, let him 
 take his time, times, and a half, and add, say 1260 years 
 to 45 years, and he will find that the little horn began 
 his reign 1305 years before the resurrection, and 30 
 years after the daily sacrifice abomination was taken 
 away. And now he is prepared to* give his vision and 
 
104 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 the instruction of the angel all their proper bearings, 
 and prove it thus : — 
 
 1st The seventy weeks or 490 years to the cruci- 
 fixion of Christ, 490 
 
 From crucifixion to taking away daily abomination, 475 
 
 From taking away Pagan rites to the setting up 
 
 abomination of desolation, 30 
 
 From setting up Papal power [time, times, and a 
 
 half) to the end of his civil reign, . . . 1260 
 
 From the taking away the Papal civil rule to the 
 
 resurrection, 45 
 
 Now add these together, and you will have the whole 2300 
 years of Daniel's vision. Do you not, kind hearer, 
 see by this mode, and by these last numbers given him, 
 Daniel could learn every part and division of the whole 
 history down to the time when he should stand in his 
 lot ? But now, for his instruction, we will suppose Dan- 
 iel understood our mode of reckoning time ; he might 
 have given it to us in this way : — " The 70 weeks, or 
 490 years, will be accomplished A. D. 33. The pagan 
 abomination will be taken away 475 years afterwards, 
 which will be A. D. 508. The papal abomination will be 
 set up 30 years after, A. D. 538, and will continue 1260 
 years, A. D. 1798. After this 45 years, I shall stand in 
 my lot, and all that come forth to this resurrection will 
 be blessed, A. D. 1843." " Blessed is he that waiteth 
 and Cometh to the thousand three liundred and five 
 and thirty days." Rev. xx. 6. " Blessed and holy is he 
 that hath part in the first resurrection." 
 
 We are now prepared to give you the remainder of 
 the angel's instruction to Daniel, beginning where we 
 left off in our last lecture ; and you will likewise now 
 take notice that it is the last division, and what we now 
 shall read to you must all take place in 45 years, be- 
 tween the years 1798 and 1843, So that you may, al- 
 most all of you, judge for yourselves, upon your own 
 observations, whether these things are so or not. 
 
 We therefore begin at the 40th verse of the 11th 
 chapter of Daniel, " and at the time of the end " of the 
 papal civil power. Now, another person has obtained 
 
Christ's second coming. 105 
 
 this civil power : this was Bonaparte, the ruler of the 
 French nation. This year of which we are now treat- 
 ing was the very year that the French destroyed the 
 power of the pope, and Bonaparte began his extraordina- 
 ry career in conquest and authority ; and it was evident, 
 by his success and fortune, that he was raised up by 
 God himself for some great and special purpose ; and 
 through him, as an instrument, and by means of the 
 French revolution, the shackles that had bound more 
 than half of Europe in bigotry, superstition, and tyranny, 
 were burst asunder, and the inquisition and Papacy lost 
 their power and terror over the bodies and minds of 
 men. At this time, then, our prophecy begins, and Bo- 
 naparte is the person designated by the pronouns he and 
 him in the prophecy : " And, at the time of the end, shall 
 the king of the south push at him ; and the king of the 
 north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with 
 chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships." 
 This is a description of an alliance entered into by the 
 king of Sardinia, Italy, and Spain, in the south, and 
 Great Britain, in the north, for six years. England en- 
 gaged, in this treaty, to pay the king of Sardinia 200,000?. 
 per annum to furnish an army of horse and a large fleet. 
 The command of the fleet was given to Lord Nelson. 
 Various was the success of the allies in the south. 
 Spain had to recede, and finally joined the French. The 
 king of Sardinia had to leave his territories on the con- 
 tinent, and shut himself up in the island of Sardinia. 
 The king of Naples fled to the island of Sicily, after 
 making a vigorous push at the French, in November, 
 1798, and getting possession of Rome, while Lord Nelson 
 took and destroyed the French fleet, near ilxe mouth of 
 the Nile, the same year. But the French soon retook 
 Italy ; and this broke up this league, and the French 
 remained masters of almost all that belonged to the 
 Western Empire of Rome, except Great Britain. " And 
 he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow, and 
 pass over," was literally accomplished. " He shall enter 
 also into the glorious land," (or land of delight, as it 
 might have been translated.) This, I have no doubt, 
 means Italy. Bonaparte fought some of his most bril- 
 
106 LECTURE VII. 
 
 liant battles in this delightsome country. The battle 
 of Marengo was fought, if I mistake not, in June, 1800, 
 after crossing the Alps, an impassable barrier between 
 France and Italy, as it was supposed by his enemies. 
 " And many countries shall be overthrown." It is said 
 that Bonaparte conquered three kingdoms at the battle 
 of Marengo. " But these shall escape out of his hands, 
 even Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of 
 Ammon." Bonaparte, when he went into Egypt, calcu- 
 lated to march into the East Indies : he advanced into 
 S3n'ia, where, after gaining some advantages, he re- 
 ceived a decisive check before St John d'Acre, when 
 he was obliged to raise the siege, and retreat back to 
 Egypt with the shattered remains of his army. So the 
 country once inhabited by the Edomites, Moabites, and 
 Ammonites, " escaped out of his hands." 42 , " He shall 
 stretch forth his hands also upon the countries ; and the 
 land of Egypt shall not escape." " Hands " signifies 
 power ; and what country on the globe did not more or 
 less feel the effects of Bonaparte's power? Egypt, 
 surely, did not escape ; for all Lower Egypt was con- 
 quered by his arms. 43, " But he shall have power 
 over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and over all the 
 precious things of Egypt" Bonaparte, in his conquest 
 of Egypt, levied contributions upon tlie inhabitants of 
 the country sufficient to support and pay his troops, and 
 brought away much with him. " And the Lybians and 
 Ethiopians shall be at his steps." When he first went 
 into Egypt, he landed his army on the coast of what was 
 anciently called Lybia, and his last battle was fought in 
 Upper Egypt — what the ancients called Ethiopia. So 
 both of these places were at his steps, although neither 
 of them was fairly conquered, as was Egypt 44, " But 
 tidings out of the east, and out of the nortii, shall trouble 
 him." This was what was at that time called the Holy 
 Alliance. This was composed of most of the kings on 
 the north and east of France, which finally proved the 
 overthrow of the power of Bonaparte, and the restora- 
 tion of the Bourbons on the throne of France. 
 
 The news of this alliance caused him much trouble, 
 and also his immediate return to France. " Therefore 
 
Christ's second coming. 107 
 
 he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly 
 to make away many." This is a plain description of 
 Bonaparte's campaign into Russia. He went forth with 
 an army of 400,000 men, with fury, in order to break up 
 the Holy Alliance. He did utterly destroy Moscow, 
 and laid desolate the country through which he passed. 
 He made away with more than 200,000 of his own army, 
 besides the destruction of his enemies, say many thou- 
 sands more. Such a destruction of life and property in 
 one campaign was never known since the days of the 
 Persians and the Greeks. 45, " And he shall plant the 
 tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious 
 holy mountain," (or mountain of delight) This was lit- 
 erally fulfilled, in May 26, 1805, when Bonaparte was 
 crowned king of Italy at Milan, — Italy lying between 
 two seas. To " plant the tabernacle of his palace " 
 would be to establish him as king. " Yet he shall come 
 to his end, and none shall help him." This closes the 
 history of one of the most powerful monarchs — the most 
 ambitious and fortunate of warriors, and a man of un- 
 bounded sway — that modern times had ever produced. 
 He had destroyed, perhaps, more than 3,000,000 lives ; 
 he had dethroned more than one half of the kings of 
 Europe ; he had disposed of kingdoms at his will ; all 
 nations had been under the control of his decrees ; he 
 had commanded more than two millions of veteran sol- 
 diers ; the treasures of the four quarters of the globe lay 
 at his feet " Yet he shall come to his end, and none 
 shall help him." How soon the tale of his end is told ! 
 A breath, and his end is come ; a vapor, and he is gone. 
 O God ! the breath of kings is in thy hand ; thy word 
 goeth forth, and it is done ; thy decree passeth, and it 
 stands fast " He shall come to his end, and none shall 
 help him." Where are those kings that courted his al- 
 liance? Where the twenty millions of French who 
 idolized him as a god ? Where are those two millions 
 of veteran soldiers whose bodies had been used as ram- 
 parts to mount him to glory ? Where are his five breth- 
 ren who sat in the seat of kings by his power ? Where 
 is his mother, made a rich dowager by his munificence ? 
 Where, O where is the empress Maria Louisa, and the 
 
M 
 
 LECTURE VIT. 
 
 young king of Italy ? " And none shall help him.** 
 Yes, Bonaparte was by the British, after he had resigned 
 himself into their hands, carried a prisoner to the island 
 of St. Helena, in the Atlantic Ocean, where he died 
 in exile. " He shall come to his end, and none shall 
 help him." 
 
 By this history the kings of the earth may learn, that 
 God can, with perfect ease, when the set time shall come, 
 break them and their kingdoms to pieces, so that the wind 
 may carry them away like chaff, that no place shall be 
 found for them. 
 
 1 shall now examine the remainder of Gabriel's mes- 
 sage, contained in Daniel xii. 1, " And at that time shall 
 Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for 
 the children of thy people." Michael, in this passage, 
 must mean Christ ; he is the great Prince, and Prince 
 of princes. 
 
 The time here spoken of is when Bonaparte shall 
 come to his end, and none to help him. This was in 
 the latter part of the year A. D. 1815. There are two 
 things for which Christ stands up for his people to ac- 
 complish ; one is tlieir faith, and the other their judg- 
 ment, Jer. iii. 13. Now, it is evident he did not then 
 stand up in judgment ; therefore I shall choose the 
 former, that he stood up to pl6ad the cause of his 
 people, to restrain backsliders, and to add to the church 
 of God many who should be saved. And blessed be 
 his holy name, he accomplished his purpose ; for in the 
 years 1816, 17, 18, more people were converted to the 
 faith of Jesus than had been for thirty years before. 
 Almost, and I know not but every town in these states 
 was visited with a shower of mercy, and hundreds and 
 thousands, yea, tens of thousands, were born into the 
 invisible kingdom of the dear Redeemer, and their 
 names recorded among the members of the church of 
 the first born. This has lasted in a great measure for 
 20 years, and has spread over a large share of the 
 Christian world ; even the islands of the sea have lifted 
 up their voices to God, and the wilderness has bloomed 
 like the rose, and the heathen have seen of his salva- 
 tion. The grace of God has distilled upon us like the 
 
Christ's second coming. 109 
 
 morning dew^ and like showers upon a thirsty soil* 
 Surely this must be by the power of Michael, the 
 great Prince of the covenant " And there shall be a 
 time of trouble, such as there never was since there 
 was a nation, even to that same time*" This time of 
 trouble is yet in futurity ; but is hanging, as it were, 
 over our heads, ready to break upon us in tenfold 
 vengeance, when the angel of the gospel, who is now 
 flying through the midst of heaven, shall seal the last 
 child of God in their foreheads* And when the four 
 angels, who are now holding tlie four winds, that it 
 blow not on the sea nor on the land, shall cease their 
 holding ; when the angel, standing on the sea and land, 
 shall lift his hand to heaven and swear by him that 
 liveth forever and ever, that time shall be no longer, or, 
 as it might, and, perhaps, ought to have been translated, 
 "that there should be no longer delay ;" that is, God 
 would wait no longer for repentance, no longer to be 
 gracious ; but his spirit would take its flight from the 
 world, and the grace of God would cease to restrain 
 men* He that is filthy will be filthy still. Mankind 
 will, for a short season, give loose to all the corrupt 
 passions of the human heart No laws, human or 
 divine, will be regarded ; all authority will be trampled 
 under foot ; anarchy will be the order of governments, 
 and conf\ision fill the world with horror and despair. 
 Murder, treason, and crime, will be common law, and 
 division and disunion the only bond of fellowship* 
 Christians will be persecuted unto death, and dens and 
 caves of the earth will be their retreat All things 
 which are not eternal will be shaken to pieces, that 
 that which cannot be shaken may remain. And this, if 
 I am right in my calculations, will begin on or before 
 A. D. 1^39. " And at that time thy people shall be 
 delivered, every one that shall be found written in the 
 book." Now is come salvation indeed. The people 
 of God are now to be delivered from outward foes and 
 inbred lusts, from the corruptions of the grave and the 
 vileness of the flesh. Every one, the poor and despised 
 chllc^of God, will then be delivered when he makes up 
 his jewels. " And many of them that sleep in the dust 
 10 
 
110 LECTURE VIL 
 
 of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and 
 some to shame and everlasting contempt" This verse 
 brings us down to the resurrection of the dead, when 
 the dust will give up the bodies of the saints, and they 
 shall awake to everlasting life, when death shall be 
 finally conquered, and the grave resign up her captive 
 saints to victory and glory. The angel also mentions 
 the resurrection of the wicked, and speaks of their 
 shame and everlasting contempt He dwells not in 
 detail on this second resurrection, as though it was too 
 painful for thought, yet tells enough to let the wicked 
 unbeliever know his awful doom, and is silent. " 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 ever." This verse needs no 
 comment ; it is a beautiful figure of the righteous in 
 glory, and the durability of that happiness in the in- 
 visible and immortal kingdom of God. " But thou, O 
 Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to 
 the time of the end." Some have taken occasion, from 
 these words, to say, that this prophecy was to be shut 
 up and sealed, that none might understand it until the 
 end. If it was so, why give it to Daniel at all ? Why 
 note it in the Scripture of truth ? Why give to us the 
 same instruction which made Daniel understand what 
 should befall the people of God in the latter day ? But 
 the plain and obvious meaning of the first part of this 
 verse is. But thou, O Daniel, close up your prophecy^ 
 and set your seal to the truth of it, for at " the time of 
 the end many shall run to and fro ; " that is, at the time 
 of the end the means of travel would be greatly ex- 
 tended, so that many would travel into all parts of the 
 earth, and would increase in knowledge of places, men, 
 and things. " And knowledge shall be increased." Can 
 any prophecy be more literally fulfilled than this ? The 
 increase of travel, and the means of conveyance, and the 
 improvement in the arts and sciences at the present day, 
 have astonished the projectors themselves. But if it 
 should mean holy things, then look at the great number 
 of missionaries sent into all parts of our world. There 
 are but few nations, civilized or barbarous, Christian or 
 
Christ's second coming. Ill 
 
 heathen, but what are visited by the professed ministers 
 of Christ, and knowledge of the word of God has in- 
 creased. And within thirty years, the Bible has been 
 translated into one hundred and filly languages, more 
 than three times the number of all languages that had 
 received a translation during 1800 years before. Mil- 
 lions of copies of the Bible have been circulated within 
 the thirty years past, where thousands only had been 
 circulated before. "Then I, Daniel, looked, and be- 
 hold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the 
 bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank 
 of the river, and said to the man clothed in linen, which 
 was upon the waters of the river. How long shall it be 
 to the end of these wonders ? " Here Daniel saw the 
 two holy ones inquiring of the man clothed in linen, 
 which stood upon the waters of the river. This man is 
 the same as Michael standing up for the children of thy 
 people. The reason I assign is, he is clothed in linen, 
 which shows he is tlie high priesi for the people of 
 God. It is the same angel that John describes. Rev. 
 X. 1 — 6. This angel is represented as being the mes- 
 senger of the covenant, by having a rainbow on his head. 
 He was clothed with a cloud pure and white like linen. 
 He, too, had a little book open, showing what he should 
 <lo, agreeing with our explanation, spreading the gospel 
 for the last time through the world, standing one 
 foot on the sea, and the other on the earth, to keep 
 -down the power of anti-Christ, who sits on many waters 
 Rev. xvii. 1, 15, and the power of the kings of the earth, 
 until the whole elect should be sealed. See Rev. vii. 
 1 — 3. And that this Angel is the Mediator is evident 
 And now he closes up the mediatorial kingdom, when 
 he says. Rev. x. 6, "That there should be time no 
 longer," or, as some translate it, that there should be no 
 longer delay, which must of course havo one of two 
 meanings — either God will no longer delay his judg- 
 ment, or he will no longer wait to be gracious. See 
 next verse, and 2 Peter iii. 9. Take either one or both 
 positions, and it proves my object, that a part of the 
 45 years, the history of which we are now considering, 
 is taken up in spreading the gospel, and bringing the 
 
tii 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 last remnant into Christ's fold. " For this gospel of the 
 kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness 
 unto all nations ; and then shall the end come ; " Matt 
 xxiv. 14. But the question, How long to tlie end of 
 these wonders ? means to the end of the reign of the 
 beast, which the world wondered after. Rev. xiii. 3, 
 7th verse, "And I heard the man clothed in linen, 
 which was upon the waters of the river, when he held 
 up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven." This 
 language shows us plainly, that it is the same angel 
 which John saw in Rev. x. i. 1 — 7, And the same time 
 is indicated in Revelation as in Daniel. Here in 
 Daniel it is in the last 45 years, and in Revelation 
 immediately preceding the time when the mystery of 
 God shall be finished, all that had been declared by his 
 servants, the prophets, the whole prophecies would be 
 accomplished. "And sware by him that liveth forever, 
 that it shall be for a time, times, and a half." This is 
 the same length of time given in Daniel vii. 25, which 
 is there given as the reign of the little horn. It is also 
 the same time which is given in Rev. xi. 2. Forty-two 
 months, (three years and a half,) to give the holy city to 
 be trodden under foot. Again, the same time is given, 
 Rev. xi. 3, for the two witnesses to prophesy, clothed in 
 sackcloth, 1260 days. Also, Rev. xii. 6, 14, for the 
 church in the wilderness, and, again, in Rev. xiii. 5, 
 where the anti-Christian beast had his delegated power 
 to continue forty-two months. All these times ended in 
 A. D. 1798, as we may hereafter show; when the 45 
 years began to accomplish the things which I have been 
 attending to in tliis lecture. "And when he shall have 
 accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, 
 all these things shall be finished." 
 
 This brings us down to our text, and gives us another 
 important and conclusive sign by which we may know 
 we live on the eve of finishing the prophecies, and on 
 the threshold of the immortal and eternal state. Let us 
 be wise, then, and secure an interest in the inheritance 
 among the just, that when we fail on earth, we may be 
 received into everlasting habitations prepared for tiiose 
 who love Christ 
 
Christ's second coming. 113 
 
 But the last si^n, " the scattering of the holy people ; " 
 a part of the perilous times. How are they to be scat- 
 ered? 1 answer, By the errors of the anti- Christian 
 abomination, and the lo heres and lo theres, by dividing 
 the people of God into parties, divisions and subdivisions. 
 And methinks I hear you say, "Surely these things 
 are already accomplished." Yes, you are right, in part, 
 but not to its extent ; the sects are all divided now, but 
 not crumbled to pieces ; some are subdivided, but not 
 scattered. The time is soon coming when father will 
 be against the son, and son against the father. Yea, the 
 sects are all divided now. Presbyterians are divided 
 into Old and New School, and then again into Perfec- 
 tionists. Congregationalists are divided between Or- 
 thodox and Unitarian, old and new measures. Union- 
 ists, &c. Methodists are divided between Episcopal 
 and Protestant. Baptists are divided between old and 
 new measures, Antimasons, Campbellites, open and 
 close communion, &c. &c. Quakers are divided be- 
 tween Orthodox and Hicksites ; and thus might we go 
 on and name the divisions and subdivisions of all sects 
 who have taken Christ for their captain. 
 
 And now let me sum up in short what we have proved 
 to you in this discourse. And firft, I showed the length 
 of time our history would take up, viz., 45 years. By 
 the numbers given in Daniel xii. 11 — 13, his 1290 days, 
 beginning when the ten kings, represented by the ten 
 toes in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and ten horns in Dan- 
 iel's vision, should be converted to the Christian faith, 
 and the daily sacrifice abomination taken out of the 
 way, viz., A. D. 508, which would end us in 1798, when 
 the Pope lost his power to reign over the kings and 
 trample on the holy people, and the abomination of 
 desolation ceased his civil reign, by being deprived of 
 his civil power by Bonaparte. I then showed you that 
 the number 1335 days, beginning at the same time as 
 the 1290 days, viz. A. D. 508, would end in 1843, at the 
 resurrection, for Daniel would stand in his lot at the end 
 of these days. And you have undoubtedly noticed that 
 this brought us to the same year that Daniel's whole 
 number, 2300, brought us, which is forty-five years, the 
 10* 
 
114 LECTURE VII. 
 
 difference between the two numbers, 1290 and 1335. I 
 then began at Daniel xi. 40, and gave you the history of 
 Bonaparte, his wonderful career of conquest and power, 
 and his final end. I then gave you the history of Michael 
 standing up, and the reformation that followed in the 
 years 1815, 16, 17, even down to the present time. 
 Then the unfulfilled prophecy which must come soon 
 upon us, the troublous times. Next we came to the 
 time of the deliverance of the people of God, every 
 one that sleep in tlie dust of the earth, and the resurrec- 
 tion. Then the angel gave us a few signs which would 
 happen in the course of this time, such as the running 
 to and fro, the increase of knowledge, the nations being 
 restrained from preventing the gospel being preached, 
 and scattering the power of the holy people, all which 
 you have many of you witnessed, and can judge for 
 yourselves whether these things are so. 
 
 I shall now leave you for the present ; and may you 
 reflect candidly and seriously on the subject ; for many 
 of you who are now on the earth may live to witness 
 this fulfilment ; and if unprepared then, with what regret 
 will you look back on your present opportunity, and 
 wish you had improved these precious moments for 
 the salvation of your souls, and for the glory of God ! 
 
 Be wise, O ye inhabitants of the earth, for the Lord 
 will come and will not tarry, and the day of vengeance 
 will overtake you as a thief in the night ; " but the wise 
 shall understand." 
 
LECTURE VIII, 
 
 REV. viii. 13. 
 
 And I beheld and heard an ang;el flying through the midst of 
 heaven, saying, with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the in- 
 habitants of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trum- 
 pet of the three angels which are yet to sound. 
 
 In prophetical scripture, the sounding" of trumpete ia 
 always used to denote the downfall of some empire, na- 
 tion, or place, or some dreadful battle, which may decide 
 the fate of empires, nations, or places. At the fall of 
 Jericho, the trumpet was the instrument, in the hands 
 of the priest of the mighty God of Jacob, which cast 
 down her walls, destroyed the city, and a curse pro- 
 nounced against the man that should ever build up her 
 walls again. Again, the trumpet was the instrument by 
 which Gideon put to flight the armies of the aliens. 
 And the prophet Amos says, " Shall a trumpet be blown 
 in the city, and the people not be afraid ? " Therefore 
 we may reasonably conclude that a trumpet is the 
 harbinger of destructive wars, and the dissolution t>f 
 empires, states, or the earth, as tlie case may be. The 
 seven trumpets mentioned in Revelation, the three 
 last of which are mentioned in our text, indicate the 
 final overthrow of the powers spoken of in the prophecy. 
 The four first had their accomplishment in the destruc- 
 tion of the Jews and their dispersion, in the fall of im- 
 perial Rome, in tlie overthrow of the Asiatic kingdom, 
 and in the taking away of Pagan rites and cere- 
 monies. 
 
 The last three trumpets will claim our attention in 
 
116 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 this discourse ; the first four having their accomplish- 
 ment under Rome Pagan ; to the last three under Rome 
 Papal. These three trumpets and three woes are a 
 description of the judgments that God has sent and will 
 send on this Papal beast, the abomination of the whole 
 earth. Therefore we see the propriety of the language 
 of our text, " Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the 
 earth," meaning the worshippers of this Papal beast, the 
 followers of this abomination. The fifth trumpet alludes 
 to the rise of the Turkish empire under Ottoman, at the 
 downfall of the Saracens. Ottoman uniting under his 
 government the four contending nations of Mahometans, 
 which had long contended for the power during the 
 reign of the Saracen empire, viz., the Saracens, Tartars, 
 Arabs, and Turks. These, all being by profession Ma- 
 hometans, were ready to follow any daring leader to 
 conquer and drive out from Asia (and even make excur- 
 sion into Europe) all who professed the Christian faith. 
 They, having embraced the errors of that fallen star, 
 Mahomet, whose principles were promulgated by con- 
 quest and the sword, became one and perhaps the only 
 barrier to the spread of the Papal doctrine and power in 
 the eastern world. Here the Roman Church had long 
 held a powerful sway over the minds and consciences of 
 tli8 Christian or Greek church in the east, by the aid of the 
 eastern emperor at Constantinople. But the Turks or 
 Ottomans, whom the Lord suffered to rise up in Bithynia, 
 on or near the head waters of the Euphrates, as a scourge 
 against this Papal abomination, now became a check to 
 the Roman power; and from this time we may reason- 
 ably date the declension of Papal authority. Therefore 
 on the sounding of the fifth trumpet, Rome Papal began 
 to shov/ a weakness which in every succeeding age has 
 been more and more manifested, until her civil power 
 has crumbled to ruin, and her ecclesiastical assumptions 
 must sink, at the sounding of tlie seventh trump, to rise 
 no more forever. 
 
 In tlie description of these trumpets we shall be able 
 to apply the prophecy, as the writer believes, to those 
 events designed by the vision which John saw. 
 
 Rev. ix. 1. " And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw 
 
Christ's second coming. 117 
 
 a star fall from heaven unto the earth ; and to him was 
 given the key of the bottomless pit." After the down- 
 fall of Pagan Rome, and the rise of the anti-ChristiaD 
 abomination, Mahomet promulgated a religion which 
 evidently came from the bottomless pit ; for it fostered 
 all the wicked passions of the human heart, such as war, 
 murder, slavery, and lust 
 
 2d verse, "And he opened the bottomless pit, and 
 there arose a smoke out of tlie pit as the smoke of a 
 great furnace ; and the sun and the air was darkened by 
 reason of the smoke of the pit" The figures used in 
 this text are, the hottomless pit, which denote the theo- 
 ries of men or devils, that have no foundation in the 
 word of God. Smoke denotes the errors from such doc- 
 trine, which serve to blind the eyes of men, that tliey 
 cannot see the truth. »^s the smoke of a great furnace 
 shows the great extent or effect of this error over the 
 world. IVie sun denotes the gospel, which is the great 
 luminary of the moral world. The air denotes the 
 moral influence on the mind, which is commonly called 
 j^ety. As air supports or gives to the lungs animation 
 m the physical world, so does the piety of the heart to 
 the moral. 
 
 This, then, is the true sentiment of this passage. And 
 by reason of the Mahometan errors which would be be- 
 lieved or followed by a great multitude, the gospel and 
 the pious influence of the same would be in a great 
 measure hid or lost to the world. 
 
 3d verse, " And there came out of the smoke locusts 
 upon the earth ; and unto them was given power, as the 
 scorpions of the earth have power." By tiiese locusts I 
 understand armies. See Joel, 1st and 2d chapters. 
 Therefore I should read this text thus : And th.3re came 
 out from these Mahometan followers large armies, which 
 should have great power to execute the judgments of 
 God on this anti-Christian beast,, which had filled the 
 earth with her abominations. 
 
 4th verse, " And it was commanded them that they 
 should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green 
 thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have 
 not Qie seal of God in their foreheads." By grass, green 
 
118 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 things, and trees, Ps. Ixxii. 16, Hosea xiv. 8, 1 under- 
 stand the true church, or people of God. By those men 
 having not the seal of God, &c., I understand the anti- 
 Christian churcli, or Papal Rome. Then this would be 
 the sense : And it was commanded them that they 
 should not hurt the true church, or people of God, but 
 only the anti-Christian beast, or powers subject to her. 
 
 5th verse, " And to them it was given that they should 
 not kill them, but that they should be tormented five 
 months; and their torment was as the torment of a 
 scorpion, when he striketh a man." To kill is to de- 
 stroy. Five months is in prophecy 150 years. To tor^ 
 ment as a scorpion, &c., is to make sudden incursions 
 and irruptions into the country, &c. Then this is the 
 sentiment to me conveyed in the text : And the Turkish 
 armies would not have power to destroy the Papal pow- 
 ers for 150 years, but would make sudden and quick 
 incursions into their territories, and harass and perplex 
 the nations under the Papal control. 
 
 6th verse, " And in those days shall men seek death, 
 and shall not find it ; and shall desire to die, and death 
 shall flee from them." About this time the Greek 
 church, in Constantinople, was so harassed by the Pa- 
 pal authority, that it gave rise to a saying among them, 
 that they " had rather see the Turkish turban on the 
 throne of the Eastern Empire, than the Pope's tiara." 
 And any one who has read the history of the 14th cen- 
 tury, will see that this text was literally accomplished. 
 
 7th verse, " And the shapes of the locusts were like 
 unto horses prepared unto battle ; and on their heads 
 were, as it were, crowns like gold, and their faces were 
 as the faces of men." In this verse we have a descrip- 
 tion of the Turkish armies. In the first place they are 
 represented as being all horsemen. This was true with 
 the Turks, and no other kingdom since Christ's time, 
 that we have any knowledge of, whose armies were all 
 horsemen. They wore on their heads yellow turbans, 
 which can only apply to the Turks, looking like crowns 
 of gold. 
 
 8th verse, " And they had hair as the hair of women, 
 and their teeth were as the teeth of lions." They wore 
 
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING. 119 
 
 long hair attached to their turbans, and they fought with 
 javelins like the teeth of lions. 
 
 9th verse, "And they had breastplates, as it were 
 breastplates of iron ; and the sound of their wings was 
 as the sound of chariots of many horses running to bat- 
 tle." By their breastplates 1 understand shields, which 
 the Turks carried in their battles ; and history tells us 
 that when they charged an enemy, they made a noise 
 upon them like the noise of chariot wheels. 
 
 10th verse, " And they had tails like unto scorpions, 
 and there were stings in their tails ; and their power was 
 to hurt men five months." The Turkish horsemen had 
 each a cimeter which hung in a scabbard at their waist, 
 that they used in close combat after they had discharged 
 their javelins, with which they were very expert, sever- 
 ing a man's or even a horse's head at a blow. And 
 from the time that the Ottoman power or Turkish em- 
 pire was first established in Bithynia, until the downfall 
 of the Greek or Eastern Empire, when the Turks took 
 Constantinople, was five prophetic months, or one hun- 
 dred and fifty years. 
 
 11th verse, " And they had a king over them, which is 
 the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the He- 
 brew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath 
 his name ApoUyon." The Turkish government had a 
 king when they began, as before mentioned, and he was 
 a follower of the Mahometan faith, and truly a servant 
 or messenger of this doctrine of the bottomless pit. The 
 name of their first king, who is styled in history the foun- 
 der of the Turkish empire, was Othoman or Ottoman, 
 from whom the empire took its name, and has been call- 
 ed to this day the Ottoman empire. And great has been 
 the destruction which this government has executed upon 
 the world ; and well may this empire be styled Destroyer^ 
 in prophecy the signification of Abaddon or Apollyon. 
 
 12th verse, " One woe is past ; and behold, there come 
 two woes more hereafter." This closes the fifth trumpet 
 and the first woe, commencing at the foundation of the 
 Turkish empire in Bithynia, in the year A. D. 1298, and 
 lasting five prophetic months, or 150 years, which carries 
 us down to the year A. D. 1448. When we take into 
 
190 LECTURE vnu 
 
 view the object and design of God in sending this judg* 
 ment or scourge upon the men who have not the seal of 
 God on their foreheads ; the anti-Christian beast, who 
 profess to be Christians, but are not ; when we compare 
 the history of those times with the prophecy — we have 
 been examining, and the events which have transpired 
 concerning the Ottoman empire, with the descriptive 
 character given of them in this prophecy, — we cannot, I 
 think, hesitate for a moment to apply the fulfilment of 
 this trumpet and woe, to these events^ time, SLiid place; and 
 must be led to admire the agreement between the proph- 
 ecy and fulfilment, and to believe tliis book of Revela- 
 tion to be indited by the unerring wisdom of the Divine 
 Spirit; for no human forethought could have so exactly 
 described these events, dress, manners, customs, and 
 mode of warfare 1200 years beforehand, except the wis- 
 dom of God had assisted him. And if these things are 
 revealed by God himself unto us, surely no one will dare 
 to say that it is non-essential whether we believe this 
 part of the revealed will of God or not. Shall God 
 Bpeak and man disregard it? Forbid it, O Father; and 
 let us have " ears to hear what the Spirit saith to the 
 churches." 
 
 We shall now follow the revelation of God into the 
 sixth trumpet and second woe ; and may we have the 
 Spirit of God to assist us and lead our minds into the 
 truth of these things. 
 
 13th verse, " And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard 
 a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is 
 before God," 14th verse, " Saying to the sixth angel 
 which had the trumpet. Loose the four angels which are 
 bound in the great river Euphrates." By the sounding 
 of the trumpet, I understand the commencing of those 
 judgments which were to be poured out upon the earth 
 under this trumpet; and by the "voice from the four 
 horns of the golden altar," the agreement of all the pow- 
 ers of heaven and earth to execute the design of God in 
 this thing. By loosing the four angels which are bound 
 in the great river Euphrates, I understand that God was 
 now about to sufier the four principal nations of which 
 the Ottoman empire was composed, which had in vain 
 
Christ's second coming. 121 
 
 attempted to subdue the Eastern Empire at Constantino- 
 ple, and made but little progi*ess in conquering Europe, 
 now to take Constantinople, and to overrun and subdue 
 one third part of Europe, which Was the fact about the 
 middle of the fifteenth century. 
 
 15th verse, " And the four angels were Iposed, which 
 were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and 
 a year, to slay the third part of men.*' The four angels, 
 we may reasonably conclude, are a representation of the 
 four nations that had embi-aced the Mahometan religion, 
 and were now under the control of the Ottoman, viz., 
 Turks, Tartars, Arabs, and Saracens. The time ex- 
 pressed in the last-mentioned verse is 391 years and 15 
 days. " To slay the third part of men," is to destroy and 
 conquer one third part of the governments or kingdoms 
 of which the Papal beast had the control, which was true 
 in the end. 
 
 16th verse, " And the number of the army of the horse- 
 men was two hundred thousand thousand ; and I heard 
 the number of them.'' In this verse the precise number 
 of the army of horsemen is given, for John tells us "ho 
 heard the number of them." And if we should under- 
 stand the prophet to mean, as some suppose he does, 
 i>00,000, multiplied by a 1000, then the sum total would 
 be 200,000,000, which would be more men than were 
 ever on our earth at one time capable of bearing arms ; 
 therefore I believe this is not the meaning of the prophet, 
 neither do I think that it was a succession of armies dur- 
 ing the whole period of 391 years, making the sum total 
 of 200,000,000, for this, too, would be incredible ; for al- 
 lowing a standing army of 15,385,000 to be recruited 
 every 30 years, it would only make the two hundred 
 millions ; and this sum would be more than five times the 
 number of all the standing armies in the known world. 
 And from these considerations I have for myself given 
 this construction, that the prophet John heard the num- 
 ber of 200,000 repeated, or twice told, which would 
 make an army of 400,000 horsemen ; and this would not 
 be incredible. And what is to me strong proof of the 
 fact is, that the history informs us that Mahomet II. came 
 against Constantinople about the year A. D. 1450, with 
 
122 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 an army of 400,000 * horsemen, and after a long siege 
 took the city in the year 1453, and destroyed the East- 
 ern Empire, which had stood more than ten centuries 
 from its foundation by Constantine. 
 
 17th verse : " And thus I saw the horses in the vision, 
 and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, 
 and of jacinth and brimstone ; and the heads of the 
 horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their 
 mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone." 18th 
 verse, " By these three was the third part of men killed, 
 by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, 
 which issued out of their mouths." 19th verse, " For 
 their power is in their mouth, and in their tails ; for their 
 tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with 
 them they do hurt." In these verses which we have 
 now read, we are plainly informed that it was an army 
 of horses, and men on them, which John saw in the vis- 
 ion. And the implements and manner of fighting, such 
 as the trapping of their horses, and the instruments of- 
 fensive and defensive, gunpowder and guns, are as ex- 
 actly described as any person could describe it without 
 knowing the name by which we describe it at the pres- 
 ent day. Fire, smoke, and brimstone, would be the 
 most visible component parts of gunpowder. Fire and 
 smoke we should see, and brimstone we should smell. 
 And who ever saw an army of horsemen engaged in an 
 action but would think of John's description, " out of 
 their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone," and 
 in the breech of the guns were bullets, " like heads, 
 and with these they do hurt"? Every part of this de- 
 scription is exactly applicable to an army of horsemen 
 with fire-arms ; and what is equally strong in the evi- 
 dence is, that guns and fire-arms were invented but a 
 short time previous to this trump-sounding, and the 
 Turks claimed the honor (if honor it can be called) of 
 inventing gunpowder and guns ; and it is equally evi- 
 dent by the history that guns were first used by the 
 Turks at the taking of Constantinople, they h iving one 
 single cannon that took 70 yoke of oxen to draw it at 
 the siege, as says Dr. Gill on this passage. 
 
 * Some authors say SOO^OOO. 
 
Christ's second coming. 123 
 
 20th verse, " And the rest of the men which were 
 not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the 
 works of their hands, that they should not worship dev- 
 ils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, 
 and of wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk;" 
 21st verse, '^Neither repented they of their murders, 
 nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of 
 their thefts." In these verses, we have the character 
 of the persons or government on whose account these 
 plagues were sent. In the first place, they are repre- 
 sented as idolaters, as worshipping devils, idols of gold, 
 &c., full of murder, sorceries, fornication, and theft. 
 This exactly agrees with the description John has given 
 of the " woman sitting on the scarlet-colored beast, full 
 of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten 
 horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scar- 
 let color, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and 
 pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abomina- 
 tions and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her 
 forehead was a name written. Mystery, Babylon the 
 Great, the Mother of Harlots, and the abominations of the 
 eart}u^ So we see that the fifth and sixth trumpets, and 
 the two first woes, were sent as the judgments of God 
 upon this anti-Christian beast, and clearly shows the 
 decline of the power which she had exercised over the 
 kings of the earth and the people of God for more than 
 eight centuries, to the commencing of the sixth trumpet, 
 when the Turks were let loose upon those kingdoms un- 
 der the control of Papacy, conquered all Asia and about 
 one third part of Europe, and were in the end the means 
 of opening the eyes of many of the inhabitants of the 
 world to see that the Pope's pretension of being the vice- 
 gerent of God was not well founded ; for, if he could 
 not foresee and resist the inroads of the Turks, — that 
 infidel nation, — surely he could not perform those great 
 miracles which he pretended to perform in order to sup- 
 port his ecclesiastical and civil power: and individuals, 
 and afterwards nations, began to disregard his authority, 
 excommunications, and bulls, until his power is now but 
 a little more than a bishop of Rome. 
 
 Here we see the wonder-working ways of our God, 
 
124 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 who, in wisdom and providence, suffers the corrupt and 
 infidel nations of the earth to pull down each other, and 
 to hring about his purposes and designs, and will event- 
 ually destroy all the kingdoms of the earth, by such 
 means, and in such ways, as the prophets have foretold ; 
 and whoever lives until the year 1839 will see the final 
 dissolution of the Turkish empire, for then the sixth 
 jrumpet will have finished its sounding, which, if I am 
 correct, will be the final overthrow of the Ottoman 
 power. And then will the seventh trump and last .woe 
 begin, under which the kingdoms of the earth and the 
 anti-Christian beast will be destroyed, the powers of 
 darkness chained, the world cleansed, and the church 
 purified. 
 
 See the 10th chapter of Revelation, 5th, 6tli, and 7th 
 verses, " And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea 
 and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven." This 
 is the angel of the covenant, the great Mediator. See 
 the first verse, " And I saw another mighty angel come 
 down from heaven, clothed with a cloud." So is Christ 
 to come in the clouds with power and great glory. 
 "And a rainbow was upon his head." This shows 
 plainly that it is Christ ; for the rainbow is a token of 
 the covenant " And his face was as it were the sun." 
 The same as when he was transfigured. Matt. xvii. 2, 
 " And his feet as pillars of fire." See Rev. i. 15, " His 
 feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." 
 Surely this must be Christ. " And he had in his hand 
 a little book open." None could open the book but the 
 lion of the tribe of Judah — another strong proof that 
 the angel in Rev. x. 5 is Christ And who but Christ 
 could stand upon the sea and upon the earth, and lift 
 " up his hand to heaven, and swear by Him that liveth 
 forever and ever, who created heaven and the tilings 
 that therein are, and the sea and the things which are 
 therein, that there should be time no longer"? that is, 
 gospel or mediatorial time should cease. No more time 
 for mercy ; no more Spirit to strive with you, sinner ; no 
 more means of grace ; no more repentance unto life ; no 
 more hopes of heaven ; for Jesus has sworn by himself, 
 because he could swear by no greater, that your day of 
 
Christ's second coming. 125 
 
 probation " should be no longer." For " he that is filthy 
 shall be filthy still." The Bridegroom has come, and shut 
 to the door. I know, sinner, you will then cry. Lord, Lord, 
 open unto us ; but he will say unto you. Depart from 
 me, ye workers of iniquity, for I know you not : when I 
 called to you to open the door of your hearts, that 1 might 
 come in and sup with you, ye refused ; when I stretched 
 out my arm all the long day of the gospel, ye regarded 
 it not ; I will now laugh at your calamity, and mock 
 when your fear cometh. Then will the angel, flying 
 through the midst of heaven, cry, with a loud voice, 
 Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth ; for, 
 when the last woe is pronounced, and "in the days of 
 the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to 
 sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath 
 declared to his servants the prophets." " The second woe 
 is past, and behold the third woe cometh quickly. And 
 the seventh angel sounded ; and there were great voices 
 in heaven, saying. The kingdoms of this world are be- 
 come the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and 
 he shall reign forever and ever," Rev. xi. 14, 15. By 
 these passages we learn that, when the sixth trumpet 
 has done sounding, when the second woe is past, then 
 the third woe comes quickly. The seventh trump be- 
 gins to sound ; the mystery of God is finished — all that 
 has been spoken by the prophets, that is, all that con- 
 cerns the kingdom of Christ ; for then will be brought 
 to pass the saying. Death is swallowed up in victory ; 
 for, when the last trumpet shall sound, the dead in 
 Christ shall be raised : " For as in Adam all died, even 
 so in Christ shall all be made alive." " But every man 
 in his own order. Christ the first fruits, afterwards they 
 that are Christ's at his coming." " The first man is of 
 the earth, earthy ; the second Man is the Lord from 
 heaven." " As is the earthy, such are they also that are 
 earthy ; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that 
 are heavenly." " And as we have borne the image of 
 the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 
 Now, this 1 say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot 
 inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption in- 
 herit incorruption." « Behold, I show you a mystery : 
 11* 
 
126 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a 
 moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; 
 for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
 incorruptible, and we shall be changed ; for this cor- 
 ruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must 
 put on immortality." " Then will be brought to pass the 
 saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory," 
 1 Cor. XV. 2i^-54. 
 
LECTURE IX, 
 
 Rev. i. 20. 
 
 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand; 
 and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the an- 
 gels of the seven churches ; and the seven candlesticks which 
 thou sawest are the seven churches. 
 
 It has generally been believed that the seven churches 
 to whom the angel instructed John to write, were seven 
 different and distinct churches in Asia, and by almost 
 all of our commentators at the present day are under- 
 stood to mean seven literal churches. But your speaker 
 is forced, from the reasons which will hereafter be pro- 
 duced, to believe that these seven churches of Asia are 
 to be understood in a figurative sense, alluding to seven 
 periods of the church militant, during the Christian dis- 
 pensation, down to the first resurrection, and the com- 
 mencing of the glorious reign of Christ on the earth, com- 
 monly called The Millennium. If this view of the subject 
 should prove to be the correct exposition of the text, how 
 important and interesting is the subject to us who live in 
 the last stage of the church! Then we who live at thi8 
 day, are particularly, and solemnly and awfully j admon- 
 ished in what is said by Christ to the church of the Laod- 
 iceans, that church corresponding with our stage of 
 the church immediately previous to the commencing of 
 the millennial glory ; .and how necessary that we should 
 know that these admonitions do most deeply concern us ! 
 
 This view of the subject will then claim our first at- 
 tention. Were the seven churches used as a figure of 
 the whole Christian dispensation, or were they not ? I 
 
128 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 answer, In my humble opinion, they were. Because, 
 first, the book of Revelation does evidently contain a 
 prophecy of things which did not concern those seven 
 literal churches in Asia ; for those churches have long 
 since passed away and become extinct ; yet the book of 
 Revelation contains prophecies which are daily fulfil- 
 ling, and have been for eighteen centuries. It is also 
 said to be a revelation of things which must shortly come 
 to pass. "The revelation of Jesus Christ which God 
 gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which 
 must shortly come to pass." Not things that have been. 
 Yet if Christ is only giving admonitory advice to those 
 seven literal churches, then he is only relating their char- 
 acters as they then were, and so far as these churches 
 were concerned it would cease to be a prophecy, and the 
 very first verse in Revelation would be violated. Again, 
 3d verse, "Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear 
 the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which 
 are written therein ; for the time is at hand." We see 
 that it is called a prophecy in this verse, and must al- 
 lude to the whole book ; but who will pretend that the 
 three chapters in the beginning of Revelation are a 
 prophecy, if we understand them as relating the char- 
 acter of seven literal churches in Asia only? None, 
 none. 
 
 Again : the word seven is often used in the word of 
 God as a mystical number, meaning the whole, as seven 
 spirits, seven stars, seven angels, seven candlesticks, 
 seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, seven thun- 
 ders, seven plagues, seven mountains, seven heads, seven 
 eyes, seven horns, seven crowns, seven kings, and seven 
 ■ churches. All these are used in Revelation and apply to 
 or concerning the whole Gospel period. If, then, tlie 
 number seven is used so often in this book in a figurative 
 sense, may we not reasonably suppose that it is so used 
 in the dedication of this book to the seven churches in 
 Asia, and the history of those seven churches be pro- 
 phetic ? for no scripture is given for any private inter- 
 pretation, and surely the instruction in the introduction 
 of the book carries us down to the coming of Christ in 
 the clouds — " Behold, he cometh with clouds ; and every 
 
Christ's second coming. 129 
 
 eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him ; and 
 all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him; even 
 so, amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and 
 the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to 
 come, the Almighty." And why all this descriptive gran- 
 deur in the address to these seven churches, if they only 
 were meant ? Surely there were other churches of equal 
 importance at that day. Where were the churches at 
 Corinth, Cappadocia, Galatia, Thessalonica, Philippi, Col- 
 losse, Rome, Jerusalem, Bithynia, &c. ? Our text shows 
 that the seven churches were to be understood in a fig- 
 urative or mystical sense. " The mystery of the seven 
 stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven 
 golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of 
 the seven churches ; and the seven candlesticks which 
 thou sawest are the seven churches." These seven 
 churches are represented by " seven lamps." See Zach. 
 iv. 2, " And said unto me. What seest thou ? And I said, 
 I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with 
 a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, 
 and seven pipes to the seven lamps which were upon the 
 top thereof." These seven lamps are called " the eyes 
 of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole 
 earth." See Zach. iv. 10. If this is true, then it readily 
 follows that the seven churches of Asia are only used as 
 a figure representing the church "through the whole 
 earth." Again : the seven lamps, which are the seven 
 churches, are called the seven spirits of God. Rev. iv. 
 5, " And there were seven lamps of fire burning before 
 the throne, which are the seven spirits of God." I have 
 clearly proved, and I think it will be admitted by all, that 
 the " seven eyes of the Lord," and " the seven spirits of 
 God," are the seven churches to whom John was di- 
 rected to write or dedicate his book, the Revelation of 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 And I will now show that these comprehended the 
 whole church through the whole earth. See Rev. v. 6, 
 " And I beheld, and lo ! in the midst of the throne and 
 of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a 
 lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven 
 eyes, which are the " seven spirits of God sent forth into 
 
130 LECTURE IX, 
 
 all the earth." Again: when we compare the several 
 characteristic marks or events, upon opening the seven 
 seals, with those marks and instructions to the seven 
 churches, we shall be led to admire the beauty, harmony, 
 and consistency of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to his 
 people. And I think the mind will rest satisfied that this 
 view of the subject is tlie truth, because it so exactly 
 agrees with Christ's manner of teaching by parables 
 when he was with us in the flesh. 
 
 Some may inquire, " Why were those seven churches 
 in Asia used as figures to represent the church militant 
 in her several conditions to the end of her militant state ? " 
 I answer, ) if we may be allowed to answer the ivhys or 
 wherefores,) Because the signification of the names of 
 those seven churches describe the spirit and qualities of 
 the several periods of the Christian church, which they 
 are brought forward to represent, which we shall attempt 
 to show in its proper place. 
 
 I shall now endeavor to take up the churches in the 
 order in which they are laid down to us in Revelation. 
 (Read Rev. ii. 1 — 7, inclusive.) 1st The word Ephesus, 
 desirable chief, This is true concerning the first age of 
 the church, in the apostles' days, when the Holy Ghost 
 was given the power to work miracles, and the power to 
 distinguish between good and evil spirits, and when all 
 were of one heart and one mind, and the canon of the 
 Holy Scriptures were filling up, and the mspired apostles 
 were setting things in order, and establishing churches 
 through the world. Yes, my brethren, these were desirable 
 times surely. But to proceed : This church is addressed 
 by the character "that holdeth the seven stars," the 
 ministers and servants of him who holdeth them " in his 
 right hand," under his immediate care and control, " who 
 walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks," 
 and has said, where two or three are gathered together 
 in his name, there will he be in the midst of them, and 
 has promised that whatsoever they should ask in his name 
 it should be granted unto them. He says, " I know thy 
 works." In that day they brought forth fruits meet for 
 repentance, and they went every where preaching that 
 men should repent ; and Paul said, when preaching at 
 
CHRIST'S SKCOND COMING* 131 
 
 Athens, " But now commandeth all men every where to 
 repent." Yes, all, saint or sinner, high or low, rich or 
 poor ; all, all must repent. And O ! my brethren, how 
 much we need these works at the present day ! " Re- 
 member, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and re- 
 pent and do thy first works." Again he says, " 1 know 
 thy labor." Did not the apostles labor night and day ? 
 2 Thess. iii. 8, " Neither did we eat any man's bread for 
 nought, but wrought with labor and travail night and day, 
 that we might not be chargeable to any of you." See 1 
 Thess. ii. 8, 9, " So being affectionately desirous of you, 
 we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gos- 
 pel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were 
 dear unto us. For ye remember, brethren, our labor and 
 travail ; for laboring night and day, because we would 
 not be chargeable to any of you, we preached unto you 
 the gospel of God." Again he says, " And thy patience." 
 This, too, will apply to the apostles' days. For Paul says, 
 2 Cor. vi. 4, " But in all things approving ourselves as 
 the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in 
 necessities, in distresses." Also, xii. 12, "Truly the 
 signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all pa- 
 tience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. And 
 again the apostle says to Timothy, " But thou hast fully 
 known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long- 
 suffering, charity, patience,'''' And who can read the his- 
 tory of the first age of the church, but will admit that 
 works, labor and patience, were prominent features of 
 that age, and virtues which adorned the Christian church 
 in its infancy, more than any age since ? " And how 
 thou canst not bear them which are evil." Who can 
 read Paul's instructions to his Corinthian brethren, in 1 
 Cor. V. 11, without seeing this text fulfilled ? " But now 
 I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man 
 that is called a brother [as though such a one could not 
 be a real brother, but only called so] be a fornicator, or 
 covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an 
 extortioner ; with such a one no not to eat." And had 
 the servants of Christ at the present day the power of 
 the apostles to discern the spirits by which we are gov- 
 erned, how many in this congregation would blush when 
 
nt LECTURE IX. 
 
 *^ fornicator ^^ is mentioned! How many ^^ covetous^ 
 would hide tlieir faces ! How many " idolaters " would 
 bow their heads, or ^^railers^^ would begin to murmur at 
 the plainness of the speaker I How many " drunkards '' 
 would not have staggered into this house! And how 
 many " extortioners "would have staid at home ! O God, 
 thou knowest Or who can read the 2d chapter of the 
 2d epistle of Peter, and John's first epistle, Jude, and 
 others, and not be convinced that the apostles could not 
 bear with them that were evil ? Again : " Thou hast 
 tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and 
 hast found them liars." This sentence was fulfilled in 
 the apostles' days. Simon Magus, after he was profess- 
 edly a disciple of Christ, was found out by Peter to be 
 in the "gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity." Hy- 
 meneus and Alexander, whom Paul delivered to Satan, 
 that they may learn not to blaspheme. 1 Tim. i. 20. 
 Also Philetus, Demas, and Alexander the coppersmith, 
 were all found to be liars, and many others who went out 
 from them, as the apostle says, because they were not of 
 them. And how many are tliere now, my brethren, amonff 
 us, who, when tribulation cometh, will be offended, and 
 go out from us ! Lord, is it I ? " And hast borne, and 
 hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and 
 hast not fainted." Yes, my brethren, it was for the name 
 of Jesus, that the primitive Christians bore the persecu- 
 tions of their day. Acts xv. 25, 26, " It seemed good 
 unto us to send chosen men unto you, with our beloved 
 JBarnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives 
 for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts ix. 10, 
 " For I will show him what great things he must suffer 
 for my name's sake." Verse 41, " And they departed from 
 the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were 
 counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." And, 
 may I not inquire, how many of us are willing and would 
 rejoice to suffer shame for the name of Christ ? Perhaps 
 none. We had rather be called Rabbi, Rev., Dr., &c. 
 We are contending for our names at the present day ; for 
 Baptists, Congregational ists, Presbyterians, Methodists, 
 Free- wills, Campb el lites, &c. If we do not contend earn- 
 estly for our sect, they will decrease, and we shall come 
 
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING, 133 
 
 to nought And I say, May God speed it ; so that you 
 all may fall on the word of God, and rally again under 
 the name of Jesus. But we will proceed with our sub- 
 ject 4th verse, " Nevertheless I have somewhat against 
 thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Can this be 
 true ? Did the apostolic church, in its purity, so soon 
 depart from the first principles of the gospel ? Yes, in 
 Acts XV. 24, " Forasmuch as we have heard that certain 
 which went out from us have troubled you with words, 
 subverting your souls, saying, ye must be circumcised, 
 and keep the whole law, to whom we gave no sucli com- 
 mandment" Gal. i. 6, " I marvel that ye are so soon 
 removed from him that called you into the grace of 
 Christ unto another gospel." 1 Timothy, i. 19, " Hold- 
 ing faith and a good conscience, which some having put 
 away, concerning faith, have made shipwreck." 2 Tim* 
 i. 15, " This thou knowest, that all they which are in 
 Asia are turned away from me." And Paul further says, 
 iv. 16, " At my first answer no man stood with me, but 
 all men forsook me. I pray God lay not this sin to their 
 charge." 
 
 Many more evidences might be brought, to prove that 
 many, in that early state of the church, did fall away from 
 the doctrine of grace, which Paul and the apostles taught. 
 And now, my brethren, how is it with us? Are we 
 built on the truth ? Have we a " Thus saith the Lord," 
 for all we believe and do ? Are we built on " the proph- 
 ets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
 comer-stone"? Look well to your foundation — the . 
 day is coming that will try every man's works. 
 
 Verse 5, " Remember, therefore, from whence thou 
 art fallen, and repent and do the first works, or else I 
 will come unto thee quickly, and will remove the candle* 
 stick out of his place, except thou repent" In this verse 
 the great Head of the church admonishes the Christians 
 of their former sins in neglecting the doctrine of grace, 
 and falling into the popular errors of the day, which 1 
 have before noticed, and warns them of their duty to 
 repent, which is the first and great command under the 
 gospel. He also gives them notice, that, except they 
 repent, he will remove the "desirable" state of the 
 12 
 
134 LECTURE IX. 
 
 church into the next, which would be a state of trial, 
 persecution, and poverty. , , \ 
 
 6th verse, " But this thou hast, that thou hatest the 
 deeds of the Nicolaitans, which 1 also hate." What the 
 deeds of the Nicolaitans were, we are not able, from the 
 word of God, to determine ; but from some thmgs hmted 
 at by some ancient authors, we have good reason to be- 
 lieve that Nicolas, one of the seven deacons, departed 
 from the doctrine which the apostles taught, and preached 
 a doctrine which was repugnant to the gospel of Christ, 
 viz., a community or plurality of wives, which led Paul 
 in his instructions to say, "Let the deacons be the hus- 
 band of one wife," 1 Tim. iii. 12. "He that hath an 
 ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. 
 Here we have another evidence, that the branch of the 
 church at Ephesus was not the only church addressed 
 in this epistle and prophecy ; for, if so, what propriety 
 in using the word churches, in the plural, when only one 
 church in Asia was spoken of? No, it could not be 
 proper, neither would it have been, as it is so used in 
 every epistle through the whole seven, had not Christ 
 designed it for all the churches in a certain age. There 
 is also an admonition contained in these last-quoted 
 words, to read, hear, and observe the prophecy now 
 given by the Spirit to John, the inspired servant of Christ ; 
 and for all the churches of the age spoken of, to be care- 
 ful to apply to themselves the admonitions, designed by 
 the Holy Spirit for their immediate benefit. " To him 
 that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, 
 which is in the midst of the paradise of God. How 
 precious is this promise to the faithful and tried soul, 
 who places all his hope, and strength, and dependence, 
 on one who is mighty to save, and on one who has prom- 
 ised to bring him off conqueror ovOr all the enemies 
 of grace, and the powers of hell ! Yes, and, more than 
 all, he has overcome and entered within the veil, as a 
 forerunner for us who believe. May we all, by faith, 
 have a right to this tree of life, this paradise of God. 
 
 I will now examine the prophecy to the second church, 
 which I understand to commence about the close of the 
 first century, and lasted about two hundred years, unUl 
 the days of Constantino, A. D. 312. 
 
Christ's second coming. 135 
 
 8th verse, « And unto the angel of the church in 
 Smyrna, write." The signification of the word Smyrna, 
 IS myrrh ; denoting that the church in this age would be 
 a sweet-smelling savor to God, while she was passing 
 through the fiery ordeal of persecution and affliction, 
 which always has served to weed out those obnoxious 
 plants of pride, popularity, self-dependence— the bane 
 and poison of true faith, piety, and devotion. And O, 
 my brethren, could we learn wisdom, by what the church 
 has already suffered in the days of our forefathers, we 
 should be more humble, the more worldly peace and 
 prosperity we enjoyed. For it is only in the midst ot 
 persecution and trial, that the church manifest great pu- 
 rity of doctrine or life. How well, then, might this age 
 of the church be compared to myrrh, when she must 
 have been separated from worldly honors, avarice, pride, 
 popularity, and hypocrisy, when the hypocrite and world- 
 ling had no motives to unite with and destroy the union 
 of the brotherhood, and when the hireling shepherd could 
 expect no fleece, that would suit his cupidity, to filch 
 from the lambs of Christ ! " These things saith the first 
 and the last, which was dead and is alive." In these 
 words we learn the character speaking to the church. 
 It is no less than the mighty God, the everlasting Fa- 
 ther, the Prince of Peace. " I know thy works, and trib- 
 ulation, and poverty." Now, their works were about to 
 be tried ; although God knew them tliat were his, yet he 
 designed to manifest to a world who would be faithful 
 even unto death, and to show that pure and undefiled re- 
 ligion would burn with a brighter flame m tribulation 
 and poverty, and the richness of that faith, which would 
 bring off" the true Christian conqueror over the powers 
 of the world, the temptations of Satan, and corruptions 
 of the flesh. "But thou art rich." Yes, brethren, the 
 true and genuine Christian is rich. For charity can suf- 
 fer long in tribulation, and the spirit of Christ will make 
 us forsake all for his sake, and endure poverty for the 
 name of Jesus. " And I know," says Christ, "the blas- 
 phemy of them which say they are Jews, (that is, people 
 of God,) and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan, 
 Although Christ knew the hypocrites and false proles- 
 
18^ LECTURE IX. 
 
 eors that had rushed into his visible kingdom during a 
 time of prosperity that the church had experienced in its 
 Ephesian state, or apostolic age, yet now the time had 
 come, when that candlestick must be removed, and the 
 next age of the church or candlestick be set up ; and the 
 same means used by God to purify the silver would 
 purge out the dross, so that the kingdom would again be 
 cleansed of its worldly, hypocritical, and false professors. 
 
 10, " Fear none of those things which thou shalt suf- 
 fer." The true child of God need not fear to suifer for 
 Christ's sake, for the sufferings of this present evil world 
 will work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory. "■ Behold, the devil shall cast some of 
 you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have 
 tribulation ten days." The devil in this verse means Pa- 
 gan Rome. See Rev. xii. 9, 17, « And the great dragon 
 was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil." " And 
 the draj^on was wroth with the woman, and went to make 
 war witli the remnant of her seed, which keep the com- 
 mandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus 
 Christ" How exactly was this prophecy fulfilled in the 
 days of Nero, Domitian, and other Roman emperors, and 
 how faithful has history been to record the ten persecu- 
 tions between the days of John's prophecy and the em- 
 peror Constantino ! In these ten persecutions of the Ro- 
 man government, in the text called ten days, we learn hy 
 the history of those days the church suffered a great di- 
 minution in numbers by apostasy and fear ; yet those 
 that remained steadfast made up in graces what they lost 
 in numbers ; and it was truly a time of trial, for many 
 were cast into prison, and many suffered torture and 
 death, rather than to offer sacrifices to their Pagan gods. 
 «Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a 
 crown of lif^." Yes, my brethren, if we can believe the 
 history of those days, many of the dear disciples of Christ 
 were faithful unto death, and have long enjoyed the 
 crown of life promised in this prophecy. 
 
 11, " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit 
 eaith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be 
 hurt of the second death." Here, then, we find some of 
 those characters who will have part in the first resurrec- 
 
Christ's second coming. 137 
 
 tion, the blessed martyrs who were slain for the witness 
 of Jesus. See Rev. xx. 4. And in this passage we are 
 again commanded to hear what the Spirit saith to the 
 churches — all, all who have ears; not the branch in 
 Smyrna only, but all who have ears. We have long been 
 in the habit of giving away Scripture to others when it 
 belongs to us and our children ; let us therefore apply it 
 home. 
 
 12, " And to the angel of the church in Pergamos 
 write." Very earthy elevated is the signification of the 
 word Pergamos ; and this church represents the age of 
 Constantino, which lasted more than two hundred years, 
 until the rise of anti-Christ, from A. D. 312 until A. D. 
 538. During this age the church became very earthy, 
 having her worldly policy, and, like the church in the 
 present day, attending more to the outward concerns, 
 and the worldly part of religion, than to inward piety 
 and graces of the spirit, looking more for forms and cere- 
 monies, than for the life, power, and spirit of the religion 
 of Jesus, spending much of their time in building elegant 
 chapels, gorgeous temples, high places to educate their 
 ministry, and adorning them with pictures and pleasant 
 things, and filling the hearts of their worshippers with 
 high, popular, and haughty notions. Yes, my brethren, 
 the age of trial was gone ; the holy and secret aspirations 
 of piety fled away, and, now she had obtained an earthly 
 emperor, her divine Master was forgotten. And here 
 was the falling away mentioned by Paul, 2 Thess. ii. 3, 
 " Let no man deceive you by any means ; for that day 
 shall not come except there come a falling away first, 
 and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." 
 This, then, was the age that prepared the church to re- 
 ceive that monster, the man of sin, the son of perdition, 
 into her bosom, which stung the church with the poison of 
 asps, and filled the temple of God with image worship, 
 and the church with idolatry, selfishness, avarice, and 
 pride. 
 
 " These things saith he which hath the sharp sword 
 
 with two edges." By the sharp sword with two edges, 
 
 we must understand the word of God, which denounces 
 
 heavy judgments on the wicked, and cuts off the corrup- 
 
 12* 
 
138 LECTURE IX. 
 
 tions and errors from the church. The Psalmist saya, 
 cxlix. 5 — 7, "Let the saints be joyful in glory; let 
 them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises 
 of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in 
 their hand, to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and 
 punishments upon the people." Paul says, Heb. iv. 12, 
 " For the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper 
 than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 
 asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 
 row, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of 
 the heart. And John saw. Rev. i. 16, "And he had in 
 his right hand seven stars ; and out of his mouth went 
 a sharp two-edged sword." Then this is the meaning 
 of the passage under consideration, " These things saith 
 he," which hath the word of God, and showing us the 
 importance of attending to the subject following, by the 
 importance of the speaker, " He that is Christ." And 
 now, while we read or hear, let us keep in memory that 
 it is no less a personage speaking, than Him of whom 
 the prophets did write; who holdeth the stars in his 
 right hand, and created and preserves all things by tlie 
 word of his power. Hear him. 
 
 " I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even 
 where Satan's seat is. Here, again, we have an evidence 
 that this church is mystical, " dwelling in Satan's seat," 
 the fourth kingdom, the great red dragon, imperial 
 Rome, whereon the great mystical whore of Babylon 
 sitteth. The church, in this age, became immediately 
 connected with this power called Satan, which is the 
 devil. Pagan Rome. "And thou boldest fast my name, 
 and hast not denied my faith." In this time of popular 
 religion, and when many, from political and worldly 
 motives, united their names to the people of God, still 
 there were some who held to the doctrine of Christ, and 
 did not deny the faith. 
 
 " Even in those days, wherein Antipas was my faithful 
 martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwell- 
 eth." It is supposed that Antipas was not an individ- 
 ual, but a class of men who opposed the power of the 
 bishops or Popes in that day, being a combination of 
 two words, Anti^ opposed, and Papas, father or Pope, 
 
chkist's second coming. 139 
 
 and many of them suiFered martyrdom, at that time, in 
 Constantinople and Rome, where the bishops and Popes 
 began to exercise tlie power which soon after brought 
 into subjection the kings of the earth, and trampled on 
 the rights of the church of Christ. And, for myself, I 
 see no reason to reject this explanation of the word 
 JlTdipas in this text, as the history of those times are 
 perfectly silent respecting such an individual as is 
 here named. Yet many, who opposed the worship of 
 saints and pictures, and the infallibility of the bishop of 
 Rome, were excommunicated, persecuted, and finally 
 driven out from among men, and in the next age of the 
 church had to flee into the wilderness. All this hap- 
 pened in the kingdom of Rome, " where Satan dweU- 
 eth." 
 
 " But I have a few things against thee, because thou 
 hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, 
 who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the 
 children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, 
 and to commit fornication." The world have always 
 been endeavoring to draw the church of Christ into 
 fellowship with them, and to a mixed communion of 
 idolatry, as Balaam taught Balak to draw the children 
 of Israel from their God and his commands, by mixing 
 with the Jews in their worship, and, at the same time, 
 by degrees, introduce their priests, their altars and 
 idol worship into their camp. In Constantino's day this 
 mode of warfare was introduced with great success by 
 Pagan worshippers, so that in little more than two cen- 
 turies the greater part of the professed Christian church 
 became the image of the beast of which we are now 
 speaking, viz.. Pagan Rome. Here, then, we see the 
 rise of Papacy on the downfall of Pagan Rome. Who- 
 soever will take the pains of comparing the Pagan 
 manner of worship, forms, and ceremonies with Papacy, 
 cannot help being forcibly struck with the similarity of 
 the two. One deified their departed heroes and poets, 
 the other her departed saints and votaries. The one 
 consulted her oracles and priests for laws and instruc- 
 tions, the other her Popes and cardinals. The one 
 had her altars, images, and statues, the other her chap- 
 
140 LECTURE IX. 
 
 els, pictures, and crosses. Both had them erected in 
 every public place, for the multitude to fall before and 
 worship. Both had their holy fire, holy water, and both 
 claimed to perform miracles ; the one by the response of 
 her wooden oracles, and the other by her carnal priest- 
 hood. Here, then, we see how the church, in the fourth 
 and fifth century, was led over the stumbling-block of 
 Paganism, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to com- 
 mit fornitiation. 
 
 " So, also, hast thou them that hold the doctrine of the 
 Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." This doctrine was 
 promulgated in the fourth century. See the church his- 
 tory, and our former observations. 
 
 "Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and 
 will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.'* 
 Again the Lord calls for repentance, and threatens the 
 judgments of his word upon them that obey not O! 
 may we take warning, my brethren, and tempt not the 
 heavy judgments of God upon us, for our idolatry and 
 fellowship of that which is not the religion of Jesus. 
 
 " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit 
 saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will 
 I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a 
 white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which 
 no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Again, 
 all that have ears are commanded to hear, and those 
 who remain faithful, that do not fall away, receive a 
 promise of spiritual food, and a name and righteousness 
 which none can know but they who receive it. 
 
 18, "And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira 
 write," The signification of Thyatira is, a "sweet 
 savor of labor or sacrifice and contrition," and is a de- 
 scription of the church, after shQ is driven into the wil- 
 derness by the anti-Christian beast. This church lasted 
 until about the tenth century; and little of her history 
 is known to the world ; but some authors have pretended 
 to trace her into the north-west part of Asia, and in the 
 north-east part of Europe, where they lived until about 
 the tenth century, unknown unto the rest of the world, 
 or taking but little concern with the nations around 
 them. Yet it is said they retained religion in its puri 
 
Christ's second coming. 141 
 
 ty, and held to the doctrines of the word of God. At 
 any rate this church is represented as being in a state 
 of heavy trial, and subject to seduction by some power 
 represented by that woman Jezebel, of which I shall 
 speak in its place. "These things saith the Son of 
 God, who hatli his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and 
 his feet are like fine brass ; " representing, as in all 
 the other declarations to the churches, that the character 
 addressing them is no less than the mighty God, the 
 omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent Jehovah, who 
 says, " I know thy works, and charity, and service, and 
 faith, and patience, and thy works ; and the last to be 
 more than the first." When this church existed, which 
 was when anti-Christ began her reign, there was great 
 need of the exercise of those graces of the spirit which 
 in this passage are enumerated. 1st. In works they had 
 to, and without doubt did, combat the anti-Christian 
 doctrines which began in the sixth century to over- 
 whelm the Christian world, such as worshipping angels, 
 departed saints, subjection to councils and bishops, 
 infallibility of the Pope, &c. They, in charity, too, 
 had many of their brethren to sustain while combatting 
 these errors against the power of this beast They did 
 much service in holding up the hands of their pious 
 teachers and pastors who were not led away by this 
 wicked one. How much faith, too, must they have 
 been in possession of to have withstood the power 
 of their councils, the excommunications of the Pope, 
 and a majority of their brethren who had fell into 
 Papal errors! how much "^ah'ence" to have re- 
 mained unwavering amidst persecution when driven 
 from their homes, their country and friends, into the 
 wilderness, where God prepared a place for her ! and 
 how much more necessary were their last works to sup- 
 port each other in exile, poverty, and distress, the natural 
 consequence of being driven from among men! But 
 these things were so, according to the best account we 
 can obtain of those times. 
 
 20, " Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, 
 because thou suiFerest that woman Jezebel, which call- 
 eth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my 
 
1^ LECTUR£ IX. 
 
 servants to commit fornication, and to eat things 
 sacrificed to idols." In this verse we have strong 
 testimony that the exposition we have given of the 
 seven churches is correct ; for no character given the 
 woman Jezebel will apply so exactly, as the woman 
 sitting on the scarlet-colored beast, full of names of 
 blasphemy, " having a golden cup in her hand full of 
 abominations and filthiness of her fornication." 
 
 Jezebel is a figurative name, alluding to Ahab's wife, 
 who slew the prophets of the Lord, led her husband into 
 idolatry, and fed the prophets of Baal at her own table. 
 A more striking figure could not have been used to de- 
 scribe the Papal abomination. See 1 Kings xviii. xix. 
 xxi. chapters. It is very evident from history, as well as 
 from this verse in Revelation, that the church of Christ 
 did suffer some of the Papal monks to preach and teach 
 among them. See the history of the Waldenses. 
 
 5l, "And I gave her space to repent of her fornica- 
 tion, and she repented not." 22, " Behold I will cast her 
 into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into 
 great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds." 23, 
 "And I will kill her children with death; and all the 
 churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the 
 reins and hearts, and I will give unto every one of you 
 according to your works." We cannot be mistaken in 
 the character given to this mystical Jezebel, when we 
 compare the descriptions here used, and the judgments 
 tlireatened, with other passages of like import in Revela- 
 tion, where mystical Babylon is described and threat- 
 ened. See Rev. ix. 20, 21, "And the rest of the men 
 which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not 
 of the works of their hands, that they should not worship 
 devils and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, 
 and of wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk : 
 neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sor- 
 ceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." 
 
 If these last texts mean anti-Christ, of which I believe 
 none have any doubt, that is, no commentator that I have 
 been able to consult, then it is equally evident that this 
 woman, called Jezebel, in this prophecy of the church in 
 Thyatira, means the same ; and the conclusion is strong 
 
Christ's second coming. 143 
 
 that the Thyatira church represents the churches in 
 Bome age of anti-Christ, and the prophecy contained in 
 the verses we have already quoted are the judgments God 
 has and will pour out on that great city that rules over 
 the kings of the earthj and has for ages past trodden the 
 church under foot, and contaminated the people of God 
 by her seductions, sorceries, and fornications. 
 
 " 24, " But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thya- 
 tira, As many as have not this doctrine, and which have 
 not known the depths of Satan as they speak, I will put 
 upon you none other burden." 25, " But that which ye 
 have already, hold fast till I come." In these verses the 
 church which have not fellowshipped the anti- Christian 
 doctrine, and have not followed the practices of the Sa- 
 tanic blasphemies of their abominations, are here prom- 
 ised to experience no other persecution except what they 
 may experience from this beast or woman Jezebel, which 
 is another proof of this being anti-Christ; for the church 
 in Thyatira has long been extinct, if there ever was such 
 a church, and was when the man of sin was revealed ; 
 and yet they are promised to have none other burden un- 
 til he come, as it is more than implied ; and this power is 
 to stand until he comes. For Paul says, " Whom he shall 
 consume with the spirit of his mouth and destroy with the 
 brightness of his coming." This is Daniel's fourth king- 
 dom, which was to be broken without hand, and to be 
 carried away like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor 
 before the wind, that no place be found for it. 
 
 26, " And he that overcometh and keepeth my works 
 unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations," 
 27, (•' And he shall rule them with a rod of iron ; as the 
 vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers,) even 
 as I received of my Father. And I will give him the 
 morning star." 29, "He that hath an ear, let him hear 
 what the Spirit saitii to the churches." 
 
 In closing the prophecies to the churches, our divine 
 Instructor carries them down to that day when he shall 
 come to be admired in all them that believe, or to glorify 
 his saints, to crown them his in his kingdom of glory, to 
 break in pieces all the kingdoms of the earth as a potter's 
 vessel is broken to shivers, as the last text says, which 
 
144 tfiCTtJRE It, 
 
 proves that when Christ comes, he will bring all the saint* 
 with him, and this too when the kingdoms of this world 
 and anti-Christ will be destroyed. And this proves an- 
 other important point in which many good and pious peo- 
 ple are greatly mistaken, viz., that there will not be a 
 thousand years' happy reign previous to Christ's coming 
 the second time without sin unto salvation. What happy 
 reign can there be while the kingdoms of the earth stand 
 as they now do ; while the anti-Christian beast has power 
 to seduce and draw the servants of God into idolatry, and 
 lull to her serpentine folds thousands and tens of thou- 
 sands human beings yearly, and deceive the nations by 
 her siren song of mother church ; while by means of her 
 poison, subtle, secret, and deep, she is un<iermining and 
 sapping the foundation of every religious sect but her 
 own ; of every civil government but such as will resign 
 their power unto her control ? And now, while I am 
 speaking, she is exerting an influence in this once favored 
 land, by means of her Jesuits, that will set father against 
 son, and son against fatlier, and drench our country in 
 blood. Can this monster of mi rder, iniquity, and blood, 
 retain her life, her standing in society, and we have a 
 liappy reign ? No. She must and will sink like a mill- 
 stone in the mighty deep, and God will avenge the blood 
 of his servants. Her flesh must be eaten by dogs ; yea, 
 the kings of the earth shall eat her flesh, and God shall 
 consume her with fire before the happy reign comesv 
 •* Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly J^ 
 
 J- 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 REV. i. 20. 
 
 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right 
 hand, and the seven golden candJesticks. The seven stars are 
 ihe angels of the seven churches j and the seven candlesticks 
 which thou sawest are the seven churches. 
 
 In my former lectures I have given my views of four 
 of the churches spoken of in the text Three more re- 
 main, which will complete the prophetic history of the 
 church through all the ages of the New Testament times 
 until the state of trial shall be fulfilled, and the church 
 shall enter her glorified kingdom in triumph. You have 
 undoubtedly been led, by the comparison of the churches 
 with the history thus far, to admire the agreement of the 
 prophecy of the four churches with the history of the 
 times ; and truly this is one of the greatest evidences we 
 have of the truth of the divine inspiration of revelation, 
 and this evidence fixes the authenticity of the Scriptures 
 beyond a reasonable doubt. I shall now claim a few 
 moments' indulgence while I attempt to show where and 
 when the other three churches have been or will be ful- 
 filled. See Rev. iii. 
 
 1, " And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write." 
 Song of joy, or that which remains, is the signification 
 of Sardis. The last signification is the one which the 
 heavenly Instructor has affixed himself to this church in 
 the second verse, "Be watchful, and strengthen the 
 things which remain." The church preceding this 
 had passed a long, dark, and benighted age of the world, 
 13 
 
145 LECTURE X, 
 
 and every writer of these times calls them the dark 
 ages ; and truly it was an age of superstition, bigotry, 
 and ignorance ; therefore we must reasonably suppose 
 that but few were the true worshippers of God, and 
 those few enjoying but a faint knowledge of divine 
 things. But we will pursue our course. " These things 
 saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the 
 seven stars, I know thy works, that thou hast a name, 
 that thou livest, and art dead." The same character 
 that has addressed the other churches, still gives him- 
 self a quality by which we may know that it is he who 
 is called God man, having the spirit of God, and as man 
 governing his church as the star of Bethlehem. This 
 church began about the tenth century, and lasted untd 
 the Reformation under Luther, Calvin, and others. 
 They had a name, were called Waldenses, Valdenses, 
 &c., " and art dead ; " that is, she was or would 
 be of little use to the rest of the world, hiding her influ- 
 ence within her own sphere, and of course did not mani- 
 fest her light to the world, was inactive, idle, not per- 
 forming the work which God had commanded them to 
 perform, to set their light on the candlestand, that it 
 might give light to all. This was the case with the 
 church in the valleys of Piedmont during the time of the 
 crusades to the Holy Land ; and while the Pope had the 
 command of all the armies of Europe, the church lived 
 in these valleys of the Pyrenees, nearly in the centre of 
 JSnrope, unknowing and unknown, 
 
 2d verse, " Be watchful, and strengthen the things 
 which remain, that are ready to die ; for I have not found 
 thy works perfect before God." Although the church 
 in this age retained some of the leading principles of the 
 gospel, the ordinances were in part retained among 
 fliem, yet towards the close of this Sardis age, the Papal 
 monks and priests were sent in among them, and many 
 of the Waldenses became corrupted by the Papal beast 
 and her doctrine. Therefore the admonition, " Be watch- 
 ful, and strengthen the things which remain." 
 
 3d verse, "Remember how thou hast received and 
 heard, and hold fast and repent. If, therefore, thou 
 Shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou 
 
Christ's second coming. 147 
 
 shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." The 
 judgment threatened in this verse, " I will come upon 
 thee," is undoubtedly a prophecy of tlie persecution of 
 the Waldenses and Lollards, by the Papal authority, and 
 through the inquisition, as an instrument, about the close 
 of the fourteenth century, when, for their departure from 
 the true doctrine of the gospel, and the commands of 
 God, they were persecuted and scattered among all 
 nations, so that by the judgments of God, for their trans- 
 gressions, they were made instruments in the hands of 
 God of spreading tlie knowledge of the gospel among 
 the nations, which they ought to have done in obedience 
 to his word, and for the love of souls. And these judg- 
 ments served the double purpose of punishment for sin, 
 and opening a door for a more general display of sal- 
 vation. 
 
 4th verse, " Thou hast a few names even in Sardis 
 which have not defiled their garments, and they shall 
 walk with me in white, for tliey are worthy." There 
 were a few even in this age of moral darkness who fol- 
 lowed Christ in his laws and ordinances, and they 
 receive the promise of justification before God, '^ walk 
 with me in white." 
 
 5th verse, " He that overcometh, the same shall be 
 clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his 
 name out of the book of life ; but I will confess his name 
 before my Father and before his angels." Whenever 
 the phrase, " he that overcometh," is used, it always im- 
 plies, I think, in the Scriptures, that the persons addressed 
 are, or will pass through a time of persecution ; and in 
 this text the church in this age is shown that those only 
 who can endure tribulation and persecution will be 
 acknowledged at the bar of God as the children of faith. 
 And then ihis church is again warned to hear and be- 
 lieve what the Spirit saith to the churches. 
 
 6th verse, " He that hatli an ear, let him hear what 
 the Spirit saith to the churches." 
 
 I shall now attempt to show to what age we may cal- 
 culate the Philadelphia church should answer, and when 
 tJiis prophecy was fulfilled. 
 
 7th verse, " And to the angel of the church in Phila- 
 
1^ LECTURE X. 
 
 delphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that 
 is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth 
 and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.'* 
 This verse is a description of the character addressing 
 the church and gives an accountof his holiness, his vera- 
 city, authority, and power, and leaves us without a doubt 
 that it is Jesus the son of David, the Holy One of 
 Israel, the faithful and true witness, he that hath all 
 power in heaven and in earth. And he thus addresses 
 them, 8th verse, " I know thy works : behold, I have set 
 before tliee an open door, and no man can shut it, for 
 thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and 
 hast not denied my name." The signification of the 
 name of this church, Philadelphia^ is brotherly love, and 
 this age began about the time of the Reformation ; for 
 then God opened an effectual door for the gospel to be 
 spread which no man or set of men has been able to 
 shut. And the early reformers displayed a zeal and 
 fearlessness in their cause which astonished their friends 
 and confounded tiieir enemies. At this time, too. Chris- 
 tian love and fellowship was evidently one of the 
 strongest marks of tlie day and manifested that the work 
 was of God. 
 
 9th verse, " Behold, 1 will make them of the syna- 
 gogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not, 
 but do lie." The characters here spoken of are the 
 same as those who sit in Satan's seat, who profess to be 
 Christians, but are anti-Christians ; they are worshippers 
 of the Papal beast, professing to be the mother churchy 
 but are only that part which are fallen away, as Paul 
 has told us, "there should come a falling away first, and 
 then the man of sin should be revealed, who opposeth, 
 (or is ami,) and exalteth himself (calling themselves Jews, 
 a figurative expression, or name for Christian) above 
 all that is called God." " Behold, I will make them to 
 come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I 
 have loved thee." This sentence shows that anti-Christ 
 would be humbled in this age of the church and brought 
 to take tlie back ground, or in some measure lose her 
 civil power over the Protestant church and be humbled 
 at her feet. Has not this prophecy been accomplished 
 
Christ's second coming. 149 
 
 strictly according to the letter ? Witness Great Britain, 
 Germany, and other nations. And to this day she has 
 not been able to bring into subjection any of the Protes- 
 tant states, and is only permitted to dwell among them by 
 toleration. And although within a few years past she 
 seems to be making an effort to regain her lost power 
 and authority, yet it is but a last struggle, a dying gasp ; 
 for soon she must and will fall, to rise in civil power no 
 more forever. 
 
 10th verse, " Because thou ha^t kept the word of my 
 patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of tempta- 
 tion which shall come upon all the world to try them that 
 dwell upon the earth." This part of the prophecy was 
 fulfilled on or before the French revolution, when Athe- 
 ism and Deism made such rapid progress through 
 Europe or the Roman government, which in prophecy is 
 called the earth. See Rev. xii. 9. And it is a fact, that 
 through this age of profligacy and corruption, the church 
 retained her principles as pure and with as little defec- 
 tion as any age in modern times ; although men of the 
 world were led away by the plausible . writings of Vol- 
 taire, Hume, Tom Paine, and others, yet it had no effect 
 on the Christian church : and the promise, " I will keep 
 thee from the hour of temptation," was fully and faith- 
 fully accomplished ; and the very means that Satan used 
 to destroy the religion of Jesus Christ, or " the twelve 
 fishermen," was the means of bringing the church out 
 of the wilderness. And those governments of the world 
 which had for more than twelve centuries persecuted 
 the children of God, now granted free toleration for all 
 men to worship God according to the dictates of their 
 own conscience. And from this period we may see the 
 " angel flying through the midst of heaven having the 
 everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the 
 earth." Now the church began to awake to the subject 
 of missions ; and while the world was tempted and tried, 
 the kingdoms of the earth shaken to their centre, (yet 
 not destroyed ;) while the civil power of the mother of 
 harlots, the inquisition of Spain, and the horrible means 
 of torture, persecution, slavery, and cruelty, were all 
 swept away in one revolution, — the church, by the power 
 13* 
 
150 LECTURE X, 
 
 of Him who had promised to "keep them," passed 
 tlirough the fiery ordeal without the smell of fire on her 
 garments. 
 
 11th verse, " Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast 
 which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." In this 
 verse we have notice of his second coming, and tliat it 
 would be quickly ; by which I understand that the age 
 of the seventh church, which was yet to come, would be 
 short, and the second coming of him, who will overcome 
 and subdue all things, would be quickly. He likewise 
 admonishes us to hold fast that which we have, giving 
 us, as I understand, warning that the next age of the 
 church would be an age of invention ; of lo heres, of 
 departure from the true faith, of denying the crown of 
 the church, the twelve stars, the apostles' doctrine. And 
 amidst tlie confusion of the doctrines and revelations of 
 the present day, if any one should inquire of me what 
 sentiment it would be best for them to embrace, I would 
 first point them to the Bible, and second, back to the 
 fathers and teachers of the last century, and say, Hold 
 fast that they held ; let no man take thy crown. Let us 
 tlien, my brethren, be watchful, and remember " him that 
 overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my 
 God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write 
 upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city 
 of my God, which is New JFerusalem, which cometh 
 down out of heaven from my God ; and I will write upon 
 him my new name." The blessings promised in this 
 text are to be realized when tlie New Jerusalem comes 
 down from God out of heaven ; then shall the spiritual 
 born child of heaven be a pillar in the temple of God, in 
 that building made without hands ; then, too, will he 
 receive that rich inheritance that is laid up in heaven for 
 those that love God, and there obtain that eternal crown, 
 that immortal life which is now hid with Christ in God, 
 and then and there realize that " blessed hope at the 
 
 florious appearing of the great God and our Savior 
 esus Christ" " And he shall go no more out " of that 
 glorious temple ; no tempting devil there, for he will be 
 chained; no persecuting kingdom, for they will "all be 
 destroyed and carried away like the chaff of the summer 
 
Christ's second coming. 151 
 
 threshing-floor." Then will he receive the new name, 
 « The Lord our righteousness," for the Lord is there. 
 Then, too, a citizen of the glorified kingdom, the New 
 Jerusalem, married to the Lamb, and shall live and reign 
 with him forever and forever. " He that hath an ear, 
 let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." 
 This closes the prophecy to the sixth church ; and now- 
 let us see to it that we do not lose the blessings promised 
 by refusing to hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. 
 Hear, and your souls shall live ; disobey, turn a deaf 
 ear, refuse the offered grace, and you will die ; for the 
 soul that sinneth shall die. 
 
 It now remains for me to show the age of the seventh 
 or Laodicean church, and the characteristic marks of 
 that church or age. And if I am right in considering 
 these churches in a mystical sense, as our text more 
 than implies, and our arguments and references strongly 
 prove, in my humble opinion, then, this part of our sub- 
 ject becomes doubly interesting to us, who live in the 
 very age of the fulfilment of this prophecy. Yes, my 
 brethren, we live at the very time when the great head 
 of the church says, 
 
 14th verse, " And unto the angel of the church in 
 Laodicea write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful 
 and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." 
 Laodicea signifies the judging of the people, and may 
 have reference to the church in its last stage, when God 
 would pour out his justice and judgment upon a guilty 
 world, and upon a haughty, proud, and self-exalted 
 church, and spue them out of his mouth. This idea may 
 be warranted from the subject in connection. The ad- 
 dress to this church begins by showing that it is the 
 closing up of this dispensation, by saying, " These things 
 saith the Amen." It also teaches us that it commences 
 the judgment, or prepares for a judgment, by bringing 
 forward " the faithful and true witness." It also shows 
 the universality of this judgment by the knowledge of 
 the witness being "the beginning of the creation of 
 God." 
 
 15th verse, " I know thy works, that thou art neither 
 cold nor hot : I would thou wert cold or hot" To be 
 
152 LECTURE X. 
 
 neither cold nor hot in religious things implies a pro- 
 fession of religion without a spiritual life, or the middle 
 way between tlie world and Christ ; taking much pains 
 after worldly things, to the neglect of spiritual things ; 
 endeavoring to move between the doctrine of Christ and 
 the doctrine of men ; taking the middle ground, as I have 
 often heard it expressed. 
 
 . 16th verse, " So then, because thou art lukewarm, and 
 neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.** 
 For this cause, that is, because they are engaged more 
 for show, Ijonors, or profits of this world than for God, he 
 would spue them out of his mouth. The word spue is 
 used in three places in Scripture, besides the one under 
 consideration ; in Levit. xviii. 28, xx. 22, Jer. xxv. 27 ; 
 and in all these places stands connected with the judg- 
 ments of God upon Israel, or the nations spoken of, and 
 implies a shaking out or driving from their present 
 standing, either among nations or in the kingdom of 
 Christ, as the case may be. And this passage, I suppose, 
 alludes to the time when God hath promised, saying, 
 "Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also 
 heaven," Heb. xii. 26. So we may expect a shaking 
 of the church of Christ, if this is the age spoken of, that 
 those things which cannot be shaken may remain. This, 
 too, is the age when the wise and foolish virgins are 
 sleeping and slumbering together. 
 
 17th verse, " Because thou sayest, I am rich, and in- 
 creased with goods, and have need of notliing, and know- 
 est not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, 
 and blind, and naked." Our heavenly Instructor has 
 given us in this verse the reason why they are lukewarm; 
 " because thou sayest, I am rich." The church in this 
 Laodicean state, like the rich man, will be laying up 
 goods, or making great calculations for the outward or 
 worldly concerns of the church for many years to come, 
 building places for worship, establishing colleges, high 
 schools, academies, theological institutions, to raise up 
 a popular ministry, that the world may be pleased, the 
 ministry well supported, and they become the most popu- 
 lar sect of the day, " increased with goods." This, too, 
 is the church. What shall be called the goods of the 
 
Christ's second coming. laS 
 
 church ? It is those contributions which are deposited 
 for charitable and pious uses, such as Paul informed his 
 brethren to lay by them in store on the first day of the 
 rveek. These will be increased to a great and astonish- 
 ing degree in this age of the church. Theological 
 writings and publications, too, are the goods of the 
 church : there will be a great increase of these. " Come, 
 eee what great things we are doing," will be the general 
 language of the church, and the names of donors and 
 the sums they contribute will be published through the 
 world. " And knowest not that thou art wretched. " 
 The corruptions of the church will be kept out of sight ; 
 and pride, popularity, self-righteousness, depravity, will 
 be the besetting sins of tlie members and great body of 
 public professors, and few, very few of the ministers of 
 the churches will be valiant or bold enough to tell them 
 the truth. « And miserable." Real piety will be very 
 little enjoyed ; the hopes of a large body of professors 
 will be but the hope of a hypocrite. " And poor." With- 
 out a tried faith, suffering but little or no persecution, 
 the church will lack those riches which are more precious 
 than fine gold, the trial of their faitli. " And blind," 
 without faith, living by things seen more than on the 
 promises of God. " And naked," having on their own 
 righteousness. " I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried 
 in the fire." That is, the Amen, the faithful and true 
 witness, counsels the Laodicean church to buy the gold 
 tried in the fire, which may mean either that faith which 
 will stand the fiery trial of temptation and persecution, 
 or that truth which is like " apples of gold in pictures 
 of silver;" ''that thou may est be rich;^^ rich in faitli or 
 in the knowledge of the truth ; " and tvhite raiment that 
 thou mayesi he clothed,^^ that raiment which John saw 
 the saints in heaven clothed with, which is the righte- 
 ousness of the saints, the imputed righteousness of 
 Christ, " the Lord our righteousness.^^ If it is not so, why 
 counsel the church to buy of him ? Yes, my brethren, 
 we are counselled to buy a raiment without spot or 
 wrinkle, " and that the shame of thy nakedness do not 
 appear." Truly, when Christ comes, and we find we have 
 been trusting in self, although we have called ourselves 
 
154 LECTURE X. 
 
 by his name, we have worn our own clothing, and eat 
 our own bread, and instead of being clotlied upon, we 
 shall find ourselves naked. Shall we not be ashamed 
 before him at his coming, if we are in this situation 
 when he comes ? O, what an awful thought ! There- 
 fore let us now receive the further admonition, " And 
 anoint tliine eyes with eye-salve, that thou may est see." 
 To anoint the eyes, in a figurative sense, is to examine 
 the truth and evidences of Scripture, that we may see 
 clearly our state and standing as it respects our charac- 
 ter towards God and our hope in his future aid, promises, 
 and blessings. It is to see our sins, and feel the need 
 of help, to know our weakness, and trust in his strength 
 — in one word, it is to repent and believe in the gospel 
 of Jesus Christ For he says, "As many as I love I re- 
 buke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent" 
 Here, then, is one comfortable promise to this lukewarm 
 church. If there is any tried, chastened, penitent soul 
 in this church, this Laodicean state or age of the church, 
 they have the promise of his love, his everlasting love, 
 his unchangeable love ; his loving kindness he will not 
 take from him, although he should " visit their trans- 
 gressions with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes." 
 Be zealous, therefore, brethren, and repent 
 
 20th verse, " Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 
 He that is the " Amen " is now at the door. In this La- 
 odicean age of the church he comes ; he knocks by his 
 judgments, by the fulfilment of the signs, by his word, 
 by all the means of grace that God has ever used to 
 alarm the sleepy, slumbering virgins of his approach. 
 He gives the cautionary word, " Behold, I stand at the 
 door and knock ; if any man hear my voice and open the 
 door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and 
 he with me." In this passage of prophecy we are brought 
 down to the marriage supper of the Lamb — another 
 and a strong testimony that the churcJies are to be con- 
 sidered in a mystical sense, and the language or subject . 
 prophetical. For this is certainly the saying of Jesus, 
 the faithful and true witness ; " for the testimony of Jesus 
 is the spirit of prophecy." Rev. xix. 7 — 9, " Let us re- 
 joice and be glad, and give honor to him ; for the mar- 
 
Christ's second coming. 155 
 
 riage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made 
 herself ready. And to her was granted that she should 
 be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white ; for the fine 
 linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto 
 me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the 
 marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, 
 These are the true sayings of God." We see, my friends, 
 by the similarity of the sentiments given in the marriage 
 supper, and those admonitions and prophecies to the 
 Laodicean church, that they must mean one and the 
 same event. To hear the voice of the bridegroom, and 
 to open the door, and go out to meet him, is the way 
 which the bride makes herself ready ; and his supping 
 with them and they with him, shows that it is when 
 Christ shall come, and live, and reign with them. 
 
 " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me 
 in my throne, even as 1 also overcame, and am set down 
 with my Father in his throne." Here is another expres- 
 sion which proves we are brought down to the end of 
 time, " to him that overcomethJ^ What can the faithful 
 and true witness mean by this expression ? He explains 
 himself, " even as I also overcame,''^ How did Christ over- 
 come when he sat down with his Father ? I answer, By 
 bursting the bands of death, by conquering the grave, he 
 arose a glorious conqueror, and was seated at the right 
 hand of God. Then this is the true meaning of the text, 
 to him, that hath part in the first resun*ection, will I grant 
 to sit with me in my throne. " Blessed and holy is he 
 that hath part in the first resurrection ; on such the sec- 
 ond death hath no power ; but they shall be kings and 
 priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him." 
 What light may we not receive from the word of God, 
 when taken together, when explained by its own lan- 
 guage, when kept unbroken! "He that hath an ear, 
 let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." 
 This closes what 1 call, and what Christ, I think, calls, 
 a prophecy. " Blessed is he that readeth, and they that 
 hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things 
 which are written therein ; for the time is at hand." 
 
 This Laodicean church began about A. D. 1798, and 
 will last the forty-five years. When this dispensation 
 
156 LECTURE X* 
 
 will close, the ^udgment will set, and the books will be 
 opened ; the hypocrites will be spued out of the church, 
 and the sanctuary cleansed. 
 
 Will the situation of the church, the character of 
 Christians, the doctrines taught, and the signs of the 
 times warrant us to believe that we live in the Laodicean 
 age of the church ? Let us for a moment examine the 
 evidence and see. 
 
 Ist The situation of the church, enjoying peace in 
 and among the kingdoms of the earth, enjoying all the 
 privileges of citizens without persecution, making great 
 and many improvements in her worldly concerns, rich in 
 this world's goods, having at her command many millions 
 of funds, and almost swaying the destinies of the world ; 
 great, learned and rich men enlisting under her banners, 
 controlling the fashions, customs, and laws of the day, 
 swaying a mighty influence over the education of our 
 youth, and giving a general tone to the literature of the 
 world, increasing her demands for power, establishing 
 bishoprics, presbyteries, national and state conventions, 
 conferences, councils, associations, consociations, socie- 
 ties innumerable ; and all these controlled almost exclu- 
 sively by her clergy. May we not say truly, " She is rich 
 and increased in goods ? " But is this all ? No. Look 
 at her colleges, theological schools, academies, deposito- 
 ries, public edifices, presses, theological writings and 
 publications, in almost every nation, kingdom, state, and 
 territory, and in this country in almost every county and 
 town; and all this by contributions. Well may it be 
 said, she has need of nothing. These things, too, among 
 all sects and denominations, one cannot outdo another 
 apparently, yet each is striving for the mastery. 
 
 2d. The characters of Christians generally. In speak- 
 ing of the character of our brethren, it becomes the speak- 
 er to be very careful and unassuming, for God has not 
 made him a judge over his brethren. Therefore, to judge 
 this one is right, and that one wrong, we shall leave for 
 the judgment seat of Christ But on a general scale 
 surely we may be allowed to examine and compare our- 
 selves with the prophecies. In all ages back, Christians, 
 when living godly, have been a poor, despised, persecu- 
 
Christ's second coming* 15^. 
 
 ted people, pilgrims and strangers in the world, plainly 
 showing that this is not their continuing city, but that 
 they are seeking one to come. But is it so now ? Have 
 not professors generally, for more than thirty yea.rs, 
 been seeking for the riches of this life, for the honors 
 of the world, and following the fashions of the times as 
 greedily as men of the world ? Yes. And can we dis- 
 tinguish a professor of religion in our public assemblies 
 from a man of the world, except we are informed ? No* 
 Where, then, do Christians plainly show they seek a 
 better country ? Nowhere. May we not live in the 
 same neighborhood with professors for years, and not 
 hear them recommend the religion they profess ? Yes. 
 But do we not hear the same persons talk freely, flippantly, 
 and zealously about the world, the politics and the fashions 
 of tlie day ? Yes. Is it not a general complaint with 
 all of our churches, of coldness, of a want of spiritual 
 life, and a great failure in active spiritual duties ? Yes* 
 Has not a spirit of. sloth and supineness seized upon 
 professors generally ? Do not many think, if they have 
 a hired servant to talk religion, and visit the widow 
 and fatherless, and keep themselves unspotted from the 
 world, for them it is enough ? Yes. And does not all 
 this, and much more which might with truth be said on 
 this point, declare loudly that the professors of Chris- 
 tianity, generally, are in a lukewarm state ? Yes. We 
 must respond. Yes. 
 
 The doctrine taught. Here again your speaker feels 
 a diffidence in speaking on this subject, knowing that 
 many great, learned, and good men differ on this point; 
 but we must all stand or fall to our own Master, and I 
 must answer how I speak or shun to declare the whole 
 counsel of God. Your speaker believes that the de- 
 pravity of the human heart, our dependence on God, and 
 indebtedness to grace, are abundantly taught in the 
 Scriptures. See Eph. ii. 4 — 13. But how stands this 
 doctrine with our public proclaimers at the present day ? 
 Some few may preach it, but there is more than ten to 
 one who do not preach it, or, if they do, they so cover it 
 up by their plausible and specious reasoning, that the 
 force of the doctrine and the object of the inspired 
 14 
 
158 LECTURE X. 
 
 writers are wholly lost We are now taught that man 
 can make himself a Christian as easily as he can turn 
 about in the highway ; that obedience or baptism is re- 
 generation ; that works are the medium of acceptance 
 witli God, and that the righteousness of Christ is not 
 imputed. How can such doctrine be more clearly 
 pointed out than it is by the " faithful and true witness'* 
 to the Laodicean church ? " And knowest not that thou 
 art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and 
 naked." That is, they know not their depravity. "1 
 counsel thee to buy of me (see here their dependence on 
 God) gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; 
 and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, tliat the 
 shame of thy nakedness do not appear ; and anoint thine 
 eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see." Grace, 
 ffrace, from the foundation to the top stone. Surely, my 
 dear friends, no candid observer of the doctrine taught 
 at the present day, but what must in his heart acknowl- 
 edge that the doctrine taught by many, among tlie dif- 
 ferent sects, is the same described by our divine Master 
 in the prophecy to the Laodicean church. 
 
 The signs of the times. In the close of Christ's in- 
 structions to the church under consideration, he says, 
 " Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if any man hear 
 my voice," &c. Daniel says, " At that time shall Mi- 
 chael stand up, the great Prince that standeth up for the 
 children of tliy people." And Christ says, " For many 
 shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall 
 deceive many." These were particular signs given by 
 Christ and the prophets. And how have these come to 
 pass ? Witness the great and many reformations which 
 for thirty years have progressed in our land, in Europe, 
 and the islands of the seas. See also the word of God 
 published, in whole or in part, among all nations. See 
 the missionaries of the gospel running to and fro through 
 the whole earth. Do not these indicate that Christ 
 stands at the door, and that his voice has gone out even 
 unto the ends of the world, and that Michael has stood 
 up for the children of thy people ? Yes. Again : how 
 many new sects have arisen, how many false Christs have 
 come in this blaze of gospel light, and are drawing away 
 
Christ's second coming. 159 
 
 their hundreds and thousands after them ! It is almost 
 incredible, when we take into view the light and knowl- 
 edge under which we live ; but all go to prove that 
 Christ is nigh, even at the door. 
 
 In reviewing our subject, we learn by the events of 
 the Sardis church, and by the admonitions given, our 
 duty to guard against the introduction of errors into the 
 church, and to strengthen ourselves in the truth ; and 
 likewise of being active in all the duties of religion, that 
 Ave may not only have a name to live, but have the life 
 and power of the gospel, that we may resist all the 
 temptations and fiery darts of the enemies of the 
 church. 
 
 By the church of Philadelphia, we learn that if we 
 keep the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, 
 he will keep us from those trials and judgments which 
 he sends on an ungodly and rebellious people, and that 
 God has opened a door for the spread of the gospel, 
 which no power on earth will be able to shut, until the 
 angel standing on the sea and on the land, shall swear 
 that time shall be no longer. We also learn tlie impor- 
 tance of having brotherly love and perseverance in holy 
 things, that no man take from us the crown which is laid 
 up for those that love God, and which will be given to 
 them who remain steadfast in Christ Jesus at his coming, 
 which is promised quickly to this church. 
 
 By the Laodicean church, we learn the important les- 
 son that we cannot serve two masters ; we cannot love 
 the present evil world, and at the same time be the ser- 
 vants of God ; that to be lukewarm in religion is to be 
 cast out of his presence, and call down the vengeance of 
 God's final judgment upon our heads, and, while we may 
 flatter ourselves that we are righteous, find to our ever 
 lasting shame, that we are wretched, miserable, poor 
 blind, and naked. 
 
 Think, O think, my dear friends, you that are trusting 
 in your own goodness, when that day of justice shall 
 come, and the faithful and true witness shall stand 
 against you, when your goodness shall pass away like the 
 morning cloud, and the righteous Judge shall pronounce 
 
160 LECTURE X, 
 
 the dreadful sentence, Depart — what must be your 
 feelings ! The world, which you here worshipped, is 
 burning up ; the friends witli whom you here associated 
 are gone to meet the Lord in the air, or are sinking with 
 you into endless and hopeless misery. The Savior, 
 whose name you are now ashamed to own, or whose 
 righteousness you think you need not, is now your Judge, 
 seated on a great white throne, from whose face the 
 heavens and the earth shall flee away. Think, O sinner! 
 where wilt thou be found ! 
 
 •■■^- 
 
LECTURE XI. 
 
 REV. V. 9, 10. 
 
 And th€y sung' a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the 
 book, and to open the seals thereof 3 for thou wast slain, and ^ 
 hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, 
 and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our 
 God kings and priests 5 and we shall reign on the earth. 
 
 There is such harmony, beauty, and knowledge in 
 every part of the word of God, that the Bible student, 
 whose heart is interested in the same, has often, while 
 reading, been led to stop and admire the order, wisdom, 
 and light which burst upon his enraptured vision, at the 
 unfolding of the figures and truths which until that mo- 
 ment, perhaps, lay in darkness, doubt, and obscurity, and 
 seemed to be wrapped up in a mysterious veil that al- 
 most makes the reader quail, and come to the conclu- 
 sion that he is treading on forbidden ground ; but, perhaps, 
 in an unexpected moment, the inspired penman, seem- 
 ingly having anticipated our ignorance or darkness, 
 throws out a spark of that live coal which had touched 
 his lips, and our darkness i^ dispelled, ignorance vanishes 
 before the fulness of knowledge of the word of God, 
 and we stand reproved and admonished for our stupidity 
 and ignorance in the figures and truths before explained. 
 Our text is a brilliant spark of that fire which is upon 
 the altar between the cherubims, and gives us a clear 
 ray of light to discover the allusion of the figures con- 
 tained in the fourth and fifth chapters of this book. It is 
 conveyed unto us by way of a chorus, like the angel's 
 14* 
 
162 LECTURE XI. 
 
 song at the birth of our Savior in Bethlehem of Judea. 
 It explains to us in a divine song what the four beasts 
 are, and gives a key to unlock the mystery of the twenty- 
 four elders, and clearly shows who opens the seals of 
 the book. I shall, in illustrating this subject, inquire 
 
 I. Who they were that sung this new song ; 
 
 II. Show the song, and the occasion of it ; and, 
 
 III. Speak of the reign and the place where. 
 
 I. We are to inquire who are the singers in this 
 grand chorus. The prophet calls them "the four 
 beasts," or, as it might have been more properly transla- 
 ted, four anitnate beings ; and the " four and twenty 
 elders," he also calls them " saints," See the 8th verse, 
 " And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and 
 four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, hav- 
 ing every one of them harps and golden vials full of 
 odors, which are the prayers of the saints." Then comes 
 in our text, " And they sung a new song," &c. The 
 four beasts is a figurative representation of the whole 
 New Testament church, not only in character, but in 
 chronology, representing the four different stages of trial 
 through which the church should pass in her pilgrimage 
 in the wilderness of this world, before she would enter 
 the visible kingdom of her glorious Redeemer, the New 
 Jerusalem, and reign on the earth. And every individ- 
 ual Christian, who may live any length of time afler his 
 conversion, passes through some or all of these states of 
 trial. The four and twenty elders are the twelve patri- 
 archs, which are sometimes called prophets, and the 
 twelve apostles of the Lamb. For it is said, we are 
 built on the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ being 
 the chief corner-stone ; and figurafively it may represent 
 the faithful and true ministers of Jesus Christ, the same 
 as the twenty-lour courses of the priesthood under the 
 Jewish economy. See 1 Chron. xxiv. 7 — 19. And the 
 four beasts are typified by the four grand divisions of 
 the Jewish camp under Moses. The first, on the east, 
 was to follow the standard of Judah ; that on the south 
 side, and second in the march, was the standard of Reu- 
 ben ; on the west side, Ephraim, and his, was the third 
 standard in the march; on the north side was Dan's 
 
Christ's second coming. 163 
 
 standard * and Dan brought up the rear in the march of 
 the Jews through the wilderness. What their several 
 standards were, I cannot tell, except that of Judah, 
 which marched in front, immediately after the ark, which 
 in all probability was a lion. And our "first beast" 
 under consideration was " like a lion, and the second 
 beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, 
 and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." These 
 represent the four grand divisions of the gospel church. 
 The first represents the church in the apostolic age, 
 when the church went forth, bold as a lion, preaching 
 and proclaiming the gospel among all nations. The 
 second state or division of the church was the times of 
 persecution and slaughter by the Roman emperors, 
 represented by the calf. The third state of the church 
 was in Constantino's day, when the church enjoyed 
 privileges as a man, and became independent, and like 
 a natural man, proud, avaricious, and worldly. The 
 fourth and last state of trial was when the anti- Christian 
 beast arose ; and, under the scourge of this abomination, 
 the church having two wings given her, like the wings 
 of an eagle, she flew into tlie wilderness, where, a place 
 being prepared for her, she is nourished from the face of 
 the serpent a thousand two hundred and threescore 
 days. Rev. xii. 6, 14. 
 
 This of course would include the whole Christian 
 church until Christ's second .coming, when anti-Christ 
 will be destroyed, and the church delivered from all 
 her foes, and brought into her New Jerusalem state, 
 where John now sees in his vision the whole family of 
 the redeemed, singing the grand chorus as in the verses 
 following our text. " And I beheld, and I heard the 
 voice of many angels round about tlie throne, and the 
 beasts, and the elders ; and the number of them was ten 
 thousand times ten thousands and thousands of thou- 
 sands." In this vision John has the same view which 
 Daniel had in his vision. See Daniel vii. 10. Daniel 
 saw the same throne, and the same numbers stood before 
 it ; which proves, almost beyond a doubt that Daniel's 
 vision carries us into tlie eternal, immortal, and glorified 
 
164 LECTURE XI. 
 
 State ; for John, in the next verses, carries us mto the 
 eternal state of the righteous. 
 
 12th verse, " Saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and 
 wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. 
 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the 
 earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, 
 and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and 
 honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth 
 upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. 
 And the four beasts said. Amen. And the four and 
 twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth 
 forever and ever." Nothing can be more evident than 
 that John here saw the whole family of the redeemed, 
 as they will be after the first resurrection ; for he gives 
 the several situations of every part of the whole family 
 as they actually were, that is, in body, or the situation 
 of their bodies at that very time when he was writing, 
 " every creature," that is, in person, in their bodies, as 
 they will be after the resun-ection ; not all mankind, as 
 some vainly suppose, but those who are redeemed, or 
 who may hereafter be redeemed, " out of every kindred, 
 and tongue, and people, and nation." See our text. If 
 it had been " all nations," &c., he would not have said, 
 " out of," &c. Therefore we must take the whole in 
 connection. But John saw every creature whose bodies 
 then were some of them in heaven, as Enoch and Elijah ; 
 every creature who was then alive on the earth, like him- 
 self and brethren; every body of tlie saints that had 
 slept and been buried under ground, or in the sea, and 
 all the saints who were yet in the loins of their fathers. 
 In one word, he saw the whole general assembly, and 
 church of the first born, whose names were written in 
 the Lamb's book of life. These four beasts are the same 
 living creatures which Isaiah saw when he had a view 
 of the glory of God. Isa. vi. 1 — 3, " In the year that 
 king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a 
 throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 
 Above it stood the seraphims ; each one had six wings : 
 with twain he covered his face, and with twain he 
 
Christ's second coming. 165 
 
 covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one 
 cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord 
 of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory." Ezekiel 
 also saw the same living creatures that Isaiah calls " se- 
 raphims," and John " four beasts." Ezekiel calls them 
 " cherubims." See Ezek. i. and x. chapters. John says, 
 Rev. iv. 8, " And the four beasts had each of them six 
 wings about him," the same as Isaiah's " seraphims." 
 These wings are the graces of the Spirit, as is strongly 
 implied by Ezekiel i. 12, " And they went every one 
 straight forward ; whither the spirit was to go, they 
 went ; and they turned not when they went." " With 
 two they covered their face " — humility and repentance : 
 " with two they covered their feet" — that is, they walked 
 by two of the graces, faith and patience, faith in God 
 and patient in tribulation ; " and with two they did fly " — 
 hope and love. They " mount up with wings as eagles ; 
 they shall run and not be w^eary, walk and not faint," 
 says the prophet Isaiah, xl. 31. And again John says, 
 they were " full of eyes before and behind, and they 
 were full of eyes within ; " showing that they would 
 have just views of sin, of God, and his word, and of 
 themselves : they could look back and see their sins, 
 and the pit from which they had been delivered, and 
 with gratitude remember their Redeemer. They could 
 with eyes of faith look forward and believe in the 
 promises of God, and have a view of the glory that 
 shall be revealed at his second coming. With eyes 
 within, they could look into their own hearts, and see the 
 remaining corruption and hidden depravity that lie 
 lurking in every corner of the soul, and by this means 
 put off the old man with his deeds. They are represent- 
 ed by John as being praying souls, " and golden vials 
 full of odors, which are tlie prayers of saints." Every 
 one had these vials, says John. How then, I ask, can 
 the prayerless man or woman think to join this celestial 
 throng ? " Having every one of them harps ; " showing 
 that all of them would have new hearts, be born of God; 
 so they would be enabled to sing in the New Jerusalem 
 state the new song. 
 
 These are the characters and persons which John saw 
 
166 LECTURE XI. 
 
 represented by the four and twenty elders and the four 
 beasts. I shall now, 
 
 II. Show what we may understand by the new song", 
 and the occasion of it 
 
 The prophet John had been led by the angel through 
 seven different stages of the church, by the vision of the 
 mystery of the seven stars and seven golden candlesticks, 
 under the name of the seven churches of Asia, which 
 ought to be understood symbolically down to the time 
 when the judge stands at the door ready to enter in to 
 the supper of the great God, when all wicked flesh will be 
 destroyed, and till tlie marriage supper of the Lamb 
 arrives, when all the righteous will be raised, enter into 
 the glorified state, and live and reign with him on earth. 
 Then it is perfectly natural that after we had read the 
 history of the church through all her trials, persecutions, 
 and imperfections, we should be led to see her deliver- 
 ance on the other side of the banks of Jordan, or beyond 
 the power of death, and to hear a part, at least, of that 
 new song which no man can sing unless he is redeemed 
 from the earth. 
 
 In the second and third chapters of Revelation, we 
 have the history of the church, as I have endeavored to 
 show in my lectures on the churches. In the fourth and 
 fifth chapters we have a view of the glorified state, and 
 the characters given of those who will enjoy the privilege 
 of that state, the song which will employ the golden harps, 
 and the place where. The characters I have already 
 given. The song is represented as a new song. It is new 
 because it is sung only in that state where all things are 
 made new. See"2 Pet. iii. 13, " Nevertheless we, accord- 
 ing to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, 
 wherein dwelleth righteousness." Rev. xxi. 5, " And he 
 that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things 
 new." Now John saw, in Rev. iv. 2, the same throne, 
 and him that sat upon it, and in the verse above quoted 
 he speaks as though he had mentioned before " him that 
 sat upon the throne." And as he has not mentioned him 
 in this language in any other place, we may have strong 
 reason to believe that the time and subject matter is the 
 same in the 4th chapter of Revelation as in the 21st 
 
Christ's second coming. 167 
 
 chapter. Again: we are expressly told that no man 
 could learn the new song, but those who are redeemed 
 from the earth, Rev. xiv. 3. And redemption from the 
 earth is no where spoken of until the resurrection of the 
 body. Christ says, in Luke xxi. 27, 28, " And then shall 
 they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power 
 and great glory. And when these things begin to come 
 to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your 
 redemption draweth nigh." And Paul says, Rom. viii. 
 23, " Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting 
 for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies." 
 In this state they can sing, " For thou wast slain, and 
 hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." It is also 
 a holy song ; for they cry, " and rest not day and night, 
 saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, 
 and is, and is to come." The church in this state are 
 not all holy ; they have but a faint view of the holiness 
 of God's character, his law or government ; neither could 
 they endure the sight ; for when God has seen fit to re- 
 veal a small part of his holiness, men have fainted under 
 it. Isaiah cried out, " Woe is me." Ezekiel fell upon 
 liis face, Ezek. i. 28. Daniel's comeliness was turned 
 into corruption, so that he retained no strength, Dan. 
 X. 8. Therefore it is evident that this holy song can 
 only be sung in a state of immortality, when we shall 
 be holy, even as God is holy. This new and holy song 
 will not cease, for they rest not day and night, which 
 proves it to be in the eternal state. And the dress and 
 crowns of the elders, " clothed in white raiment," and 
 they had on their heads " crowns of gold," and they 
 "cast their crowns before the throne, saying. Thou art 
 worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power" — • 
 all proves that the new song is sung after the second 
 coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ; for Paul tells us, that 
 a crown is laid up for him which the righteous Judge 
 shall give him at that day ; and not only him, but to all 
 them also that love his appearing. So neither the elders 
 nor the beasts can sing this new song until the New 
 Jerusalem is formed, their bodies redeemed from the 
 earth, and they brought into the eternal state of the 
 
168 LECTURE ri. 
 
 righteous. It will not be sung until the last child ifl 
 born into the kingdom — the last enemy conquered — 
 the elect gathered from the four winds of heaven, and 
 the cap stone brought fortli, when the heavens will 
 ring with tliis general chorus. " Holy, holy, holy is the 
 Lord God Almighty : blessing, and honor, and glory, and 
 power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
 unto the Lamb forever and ever ; and the four beasts will 
 say. Amen.'' 
 
 III. I shall now show the reign spoken of in our text, 
 and the place where. 
 
 There is much speculation at the present day on the 
 reign of Christ on the earth, which is promised in his 
 word, and in the text. Some have supposed that it 
 would be purely spiritual, by the Holy Spirit's influence, 
 when all, or a large share of mankind who then should 
 be on the earth, would be regenerated and become the 
 subjects of his spiritual kingdom ; that there would be 
 no tempting devil to deceive, nor any kingdoms on the 
 earth, but what would be subject to Christ's spiritual 
 reign, and the church would enjoy a long Sabbath of 
 rest; and the long-desired period of some who profess 
 to be the servants of Christ would come ; when cimrch 
 and state would be united, and war would cease to the 
 end of the world, and the world would increase in riches, 
 arts, and science to an amazing degree, beyond any thing 
 we have yet conceived ; thousands would inhabit the 
 earth where there are but tens now, and man would live 
 to a good old age, and nations be born in a day. This 
 theory is the most rational one I have been able to dis- 
 cover, aside from the glorious reign of Christ with his 
 people in a state of immortality. 
 
 To the above theory I have many scriptural objections. 
 Although the advocates of this theory call it spiritual, 
 yet a large share, if not all, are temporal blessings gf 
 this kingdom, and are exactly the same that the Jews 
 believed they should possess at Christ's first coming. 
 Again : they must suppose, if this be true, that the 
 rulers of the world must all be Christians, or professedly 
 so. Then what must we say to Christ's words, " My 
 kinofdom is not of this world " ? and again, " In the 
 
Christ's second coMma 1G9 
 
 world ye shall have tribulation " ? The world hate you, 
 and if ye live godly, ye shall suffer persecution, and 
 these (meaning the whole family of the redeemed) have 
 come out of much tribulation. How could those millions 
 who are born or live in this happy period, come out of 
 great tribulation ? But where do the advocates of the 
 above system prove their doctrine ? Some pretend to 
 bring the same passages in the Old Testament that the 
 Jews did, to prove their temporal kingdom over the 
 Gentiles, and do not see that much of the Old Testa- 
 ment prophecy was, and has been fulfilled in its typical 
 sense. And it is very easy to show that the passages 
 they pretend to bring in the Old Testament were all 
 fulfilled 1800 years ago. 
 
 But, if they had believed in this theory, would not 
 some of the New Testament writers have mentioned this 
 important period ? I remember, when I was but a child, 
 of hearing an old minister of the gospel make a remark 
 like this: — "All the Old Testament prophecies," said, 
 he, " which were not fulfilled when Christ came in the 
 flesh, are carried into the New Testament, and further 
 explained." 1 then thought there was reason and pro- 
 priety in the remark ; I 4ink so still, for the two wit- 
 nesses must and will agree. And where do the believ- 
 ers in this system bring us one word from Christ ? Not 
 one. But we can show much to tlie contrary. The 
 parable of the tares and the wheat carries us to the end 
 of the world; and he expressly says, *' Let them grow 
 together until the harvest." His prophecy and parables 
 in Matt. xxiv. and xxv. give us a prophecy until his 
 second coming, and not a word about a happy period 
 previously, but much about lo heres, and lo theres, and 
 wicked servants beating and bruising their fellow-ser- 
 vants, and eating and drinking with the drunken, saying 
 in their hearts. My Lord delayeth his coming. Can this 
 be a millennium ? No. Too much devil in such con- 
 duct as this. Where does Paul, a very prominent writer, 
 give us a hint of these important things ? He must have 
 understood the Old Testament as well as some, if not 
 all, of our modern divines. But he, too, has given the 
 reverse. In his epistle to the Thessalonians, he tells us 
 15 
 
170 LECTURE XI. 
 
 plainly, " Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the 
 Lord shall consume with tiie spirit of his mouth, and de- 
 stroy by the brightness of his coming," 2 Thess. ii. In 
 his 2 Thess. i., he tells them of the necessity of patience 
 and faith in all their persecutions and tribulations ; which, 
 he says, is a manifest token of the righteous judgment 
 of God ; and then goes on to show Christ's coming, and 
 destruction of an ungodly world ; nothing that looks like 
 a millennium in this, or any part of Paul's writings, be- 
 fore Christ's second coming. Where, then, shall we 
 find it in the New Testament? Perhaps they may say 
 in Rev. xx. ; but this chapter can never be given to them 
 until they do away the first resurrection ; for all in that 
 chapter is after the first resurrection, and, of course, is 
 after the personal and second coming of the Savior ; and 
 all the arguments to do away or destroy the word resur^ 
 redion are so futile and weak that it needs no argument 
 to refute them ; for what could do it in that place might 
 in every other case, and we should be Sadducees at 
 once. James, Peter, and Jude mention the last days in 
 their epistles, and describe them as being very wicked, 
 yet make no mention of a day of the spread of the gos- 
 pel in this wonderful manner. James speaks of their 
 heaping up treasures for the last days. " Behold, the 
 hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, 
 which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth ; and the cries 
 of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of 
 the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the 
 earth, and been wanton: ye have nourished your hearts 
 as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed 
 the just ; and he doth not resist you. Be patient, there- 
 fore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord, for the com- 
 ing of the Lord draweth nigh." Can this be the millen- 
 nium ? No ! unless proud, earthly pleasure, wantonness, 
 and murder, are the spirit of their millennium. Yet, if 
 it is temporal, this would be the most likely fruits, if we 
 judge of the future by the past ; for the greater the tem- 
 poral blessings, the greater is man's rebellion. Read 
 the second and third chapters of 2 Peter, where he ex- 
 pressly speaks of the last days. " Knowing this first, 
 that there shall come, in the last days, scoffers, walking 
 
Christ's second coming. 171 
 
 after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise 
 of his coming ? " &c., agreeing with what Christ said the 
 wicked ministers would be doing when he comes. They 
 would say in their hearts, My Lord delayeth his coming. 
 Can there be this happy time described in the above 
 theory ? All must answer, No. Then let this suffice as 
 answer to the above theory, until our opponents prove 
 their own sentiments by the word. There are many 
 more branches of the above system, but none that I have 
 seen but are liable to the same objections. 
 
 I shall now undertake to prove that this reign is in the 
 immortal state, after the resurrection ; that Christ will 
 be present with his people, and, of course, personally, 
 and that it will be on the earth. 
 
 I. Then I am to prove that it will be immortal after 
 the resurrection. 
 
 The present reign is called, in Scripture, a reign of 
 grace ; " So might grace reign through righteousness 
 unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." This reign 
 has been ever since Christ was in the world, for 1800 
 years past. We shall now show that this reign must 
 continue until after the resurrection of the dead. See 
 1 Cor. XV. 23 — 26 ; " But every man in his own order ; 
 Christ the first fruits, (resurrection ;) afterwards they that 
 are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when 
 he shall have given up the kingdom to God, even the 
 Father ; when he shall put down all rule, and all author- 
 ity and power. For he must reign till he hath put all 
 enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be 
 destroyed is death." Here we have plain Scripture that 
 the same reign of grace must continue unto eternal life ; 
 and, in the other text, until the resurrection of them that 
 are Christ's, and death, the last enemy to the church, is 
 destroyed. Where, then, shall we get in a spiritual or 
 temporal reign ? We see evidently there is no change 
 of the reign of Christ in the gospel or grace, from the 
 apostles' days until the time comes when the saints shall 
 possess the kingdom in the immortal state. Paul says, 
 Rom. V. 17, " For if by one man's offence death reigned 
 by one, much more they which receive abundance of 
 
1T2 LECTURE XI. 
 
 grace and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life 
 by one, Jesus Christ." Here the saints are promised to 
 reign after the gift of righteousness, (which the righteous 
 Judge shall give all those who love his appearing at that 
 day,) in life, that is, eternal life. See 21st verse. 1 Pe- 
 ter V. 4, " And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, 
 ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 
 This must, of course, be in tlie immortal state, for it 
 fadeth not away. 
 
 II. That Christ will be present with his people in a 
 state of immortality, can hardly be doubted when we 
 read such texts as these : — John xii. 24, " If any man 
 serve me, let him follow me ; and where I am, there also 
 shall my servant be." Again, John xiv. 3, " And if I 
 go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and 
 receive you to myself; that where I am there ye may be 
 also." So much for Christ's promise to his disciples. 
 And now let us read his prayer to his Father on this 
 point, John xvii, 24, "Father, I will that they, also, 
 whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that 
 they may behold my glory." Paul says, 1 Thess. iv. 17, 
 "And so shall we ever be with the Lord." " For it doth 
 not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that 
 when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall 
 see him as he is." Our text says, " And hast made us 
 unto our God kings and priests." Rev, xx. 4, 6, "And 
 they lived and reigned with Christ" " And shall reign 
 with him." xxi. 3, "And I heard a great voice out of 
 heaven, saying. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with 
 men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
 people, and God himself shall be with them, and be 
 their God." 
 
 III. " And we shall reign on the earth," says our text. 
 Not under its present dispensation, but after it is cleansed 
 by fire ; after the wicked are destroyed by fire, as the 
 antediluvians were by water, after the resurrection of the 
 saints, and when Christ's prayer, taught to his disciples, 
 shall be answered, " Thy will he done on earth, even as in 
 heaven,''^ When the bride has made herself ready, and 
 married to the bridegroom, he will then move her into 
 
r^ 
 
 173 
 
 the New Jerusalem state, prepared as a bride adorned 
 for her husband, where we shall reign with him forever 
 and ever on the new earth and in the new heavens; 
 "and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, 
 and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor 
 crying, neither shall there be any more pain ; for the 
 former things are passed away." Then the whole 
 earth "shall be full of his glory ;" and then, as says the 
 prophet Isaiah, liv. 5, " For thy Maker is thine husband ; 
 the Lord of Hosts is his name ; and thy Redeemer, the 
 Holy One of Israel ; the God of the whole earth shall 
 he be called." 
 
 And then, my dear hearer, if you have had your heart 
 broken off from sin ; if you have by faith been united in 
 spirit to the Lamb of God ; if you have patiently endured 
 tribulation and persecution for his name, — then you will 
 live and reign witli him on the earth, and this earth will 
 be regenerated by fire and the power of God, the cursed 
 destroyed, sin, pain, crying, sorrow, and death banished 
 from the world, and mortality clothed upon by immor- 
 tality, death swallowed up in victory. You will rise up 
 in that general assembly, and clapping your hands with 
 joy, cry, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, 
 which was, and is, and is now corned Then you will be 
 in a situation to join the grand chorus, and sing the new 
 song, saying, " Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and 
 hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast 
 made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall 
 reign on the earth, saying, with a loud voice, Worthy is 
 the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, 
 and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and 
 blessing." And all who meet in that grand assembly 
 will be then heard to shout, " Blessing, and honor, and 
 glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, 
 and unto the Lamb forever and ever." And methinks I 
 can now see every one who loves our Lord and Savior 
 Jesus Christ in this assembly, rising upon their feet, and 
 in one united prayer of faith, crying, " Come, Lord Jesus, 
 O come quickly." 
 15* 
 
174 LECTURE XI. 
 
 But you, O impenitent man or woman, where will 
 you be then? When heaven shall resound with the 
 mighty song, and distant realms shall echo back the 
 sound, where, tell me, where will you be then ? In hell ! 
 
 think ! In hell ! a dreadful word ! Once more think ! 
 In hell ! lifting up your eyes, being in torment. Stop, 
 sinner ; think ! In hell ! where shall be weeping, wail- 
 ing, and gnashing of teeth. Stop, sinner, stop ; consider 
 on your latter end. In hell! "where the beast and 
 false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night 
 forever and ever." 1 entreat of you to think — in hell ! 
 
 1 know you hate to hear the word. It sounds too harsh* 
 There is no music in it You say it grates upon the 
 ear. But think, when it grates upon the soul, the con- 
 science, and the ear, and not by sound only, but a dread 
 reality, when there can be no respite, no cessation, no 
 deliverance, no hope ! You will then think, yes, of this 
 warning, of a thousand others, perhaps of this hour, with 
 many more that are lost; yes, worse than lost, that 
 have been squandered in earthly, vain, and transitory 
 mirth, have been abused ; for there have been many hours 
 the Spirit strove with you, and you prayed to be excused. 
 There was an hour when conscience spake ; but you 
 stopped your ears and would not hear. There was a 
 time when judgment and reason whispered ; but you soon 
 drowned their cry by calling in some aid against your 
 own soul. To judgment and reason you have opposed 
 will and wiU and said, " in hell^^ was only in the grave. In 
 this vain citadel, on this frail house of sand, you will 
 build, until the last seal is broken, the last trump will 
 sound, the last woe be pronounced, and the last vial be 
 poured upon the earth. Then, impenitent man or woman, 
 you will awake in everlasting woe ! 
 
 Be warned ; repent ; fly, fly for succor to the ark of 
 God, to Jesus Christ, the Lamb that once was slain, that 
 you might live, for he is worthy to receive all honor, 
 
 Eower, and glory. Believe, and you shall live. Obey 
 is word, his spirit, his calls, his invitations ; tliere is no 
 time for delay ; put it not off, I beg of you ; no, not for a 
 moment Do you want to join that heavenly choir and 
 
Christ's second coming. 175 
 
 sing the neiv song ? Then come in God's appointed 
 way; repent. Do you want a house not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens ? Then join in heart and 
 soul this happy people, whose God is the Lord. Do you 
 want an interest in the New Jerusalem, the beloved 
 city ? Then set your face as a flint Zioij-ward ; become 
 a pilgrim in the good old way. " Seek first the kingdom 
 of heavea," says Christ, " and then all these things shall 
 be added unto you." 
 
LECTURE XII, 
 
 REV. V. 5. 
 
 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not : behold, the Lion of 
 the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, 
 and to loose the seven seals thereof. 
 
 The book of Revelation has been called by tnousands 
 a sealed book ; and many a dear saint, while in this im- 
 perfect state of vision and knowledge, has wept much, 
 because they could not read and understand the book. 
 For it is very evident that the book of Revelation is not 
 only interesting in its symbolical and mystical descrip- 
 tions, natural scenery, and figurative language, but it is 
 rich in truth, and the communication of events then hid 
 under tlie veil of futurity, and would only be unfolded 
 to the natural visions of men, many ages to come. John 
 has written this book after the laws of nature ; that is, 
 he has seemed to copy after some of the richest and 
 most picturesque scenes in nature's laws. He has, in 
 revealing truths to our minds, followed the same steady 
 course that fountains of water do in their course to the 
 sea. He begins as it were back upon the mountains, 
 where the head may be but a fountain, and there gives 
 us a description of the source. He then glides gently 
 along through the vale below, winding between hills and 
 mountains, visiting in his course the hamlets of the 
 peasant, the villages of men, the populous towns and 
 cities of commerce, until he lands us or leaves us in the 
 ocean of eternity. At first, he appears to be describing 
 some bubbling fountain or gentle spring, and swelling 
 
Christ's second coming. 177 
 
 in importance as he proceeds, brings in and adds every 
 important stream of event, deepens and widens in hia 
 course, until he makes his prophetic history like a deep- 
 flowing" river, bearing upon its bosom the gallant ships 
 and galley with oars. At first, he describes a pebbly 
 brook murmuring along tlie hills, now and then bursting 
 into view with some gentle fall, then gliding softly 
 away, until it meets some rugged head-land, shifts its 
 course, and almost seems to retrace its path ; then, sud- 
 denly bursting from the hills in cataracts of foam, bound- 
 ing from rock to rock, leaping into the vale below, he 
 again seems to follow the alluvial flats and receives his 
 tributary streams, winds on his way, until it falls at its 
 mouth by a tremendous leap into a gulf of waters, and 
 is swallowed up in the waves of the sea. 
 
 Four times the Revelation seems to bring us down in 
 this manner, as though he had begun on one mountain, 
 and traced four different streams of history down to the 
 great ocean of eternity ; like the river of Eden, which 
 watered the garden, becoming four heads of four great 
 rivers, which watered and encompassed the whole land, 
 taking diff"erent points of the compass, but falling at last 
 into the ocean, Gen. ii. 10 — 14 ; and all these having 
 seven tributary streams in their course. The seven "^ 
 churches of Asia is a history of the church of Christ in 
 her seven forms, in all her windings and turnings, in all 
 her prosperity and adversity, from the days of the apos- 
 tles down to the end of the Avorld. The seven seals are 
 a history of the transactions of the powers and kings of 
 the earth over the church, and God's protection of his 
 people during the same time. The seven trumpets are 
 a history of seven peculiar and heavy judgments sent 
 upon the earth, or Roman kingcjom. And the seven 
 vials are the seven last plagues sent upon Papal Rome. 
 Mixed with these are many other events, woven in like 
 tributary streams, and filling up the grand river of proph- 
 ecy, until the whole ends us in the ocean of eternity. 
 
 This, to me, is the plan of John's prophecy in the book 
 of Revelation. And the man who wishes to understand 
 this book, must have a thorough knowledge of other parts 
 of the word of God. The figures and metaphors used 
 
178 LECTURE XII. 
 
 in this prophecy, are not all explained in the same, but 
 must be found in other prophets, and explained in other 
 passages of Scripture. Therefore it is evident that God 
 has designed the study of the whole, even to obtain a 
 clear knowledge of any part I shall then pursue the 
 following method : — 
 
 I. Explain the book which was in the right hand of 
 him who sat on the throne. 
 
 II. Give the history of the seven seals, and their 
 opening. 
 
 I. I am to explain what is meant by the book. 
 
 The book is often spoken of in the word of God. 
 Sometimes we hear it spoken of as a little book, open, 
 in the hands of the angel ; and sometimes it is command- 
 ed to be sealed up ; and sometimes to be unloosed, as in 
 our text The question arises, What can this book mean ? 
 It cannot mean the book of Revelation, for John was 
 commanded not to seal the sayings of this book. Rev. 
 xxii. 10. Neither could it be the prophecies, for they 
 were commanded to be read every Sabbath day by the 
 Jews, and were so read. Yet John tells us, in our con- 
 text, '* That no man, neither in heaven, nor in earth, nor 
 under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to 
 look thereon ; and I wept much, because no man was 
 found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to 
 look thereon." We see, plainly, that it could not apply 
 to the law, nor the prophets, to the Old or New Testa- 
 ments, for these were committed to the Jews, and also 
 unto us Gentiles, and were to be read by all men ; but 
 this book they could not open, read, nor look thereon. 
 There is one more book which answers to John's de- 
 scription, which no man, neither in heaven, nor on earth, 
 nor under the earth, has yet been able to look thereon, 
 or open and read, as we have any account of; and which, 
 according to the whole tenor of the Scripture, will never 
 be opened, read, or looked upon, until the last seal is 
 broken, and the judgment sits. "And I saw the dead, 
 small and great, stand before God ; and the books were 
 opened ; and another hook loas opened, ivhich is the hook 
 of life ; and the dead were judged out of those things 
 which were written in the books." In this book, which 
 
Christ's second coming. 179 
 
 is called the hook of lifi, the names of all the redeemed 
 in heaven, in earth, or under the earth, are written,, 
 which are not known to any man, neither will be known, 
 until the last seal is broken open ; for the judgment will 
 declare who is on the Lord's side. For the apostle tells 
 us, plainly, " Our lives are hid with Christ in God •; that, 
 when he appears, then we shall appear with him in glo- 
 ry." And John tells us, Rev. xxi. 26, 27, " And they 
 shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it, 
 and there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that 
 defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or 
 maketh a lie ; but they which are written in the LamVs 
 book of life,^^ " And whosoever was not found written 
 in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire." Again : 
 " And they whose names were not written in the book 
 of life, from the foundation of the world, shall wonder," 
 &c. This book, although we are abundantly informed 
 there is one, in the right hand of him that sitteth upon 
 the throne, no man, as wo are any where informed, has 
 been able to look upon it, or open it, or to read its con- 
 tents. This, then, is the book, on account of which 
 John wept to know its contents. And so it has been 
 with all Christians. They are anxious to know whether 
 their names are written in the Lamb's book of life. But 
 you must first learn, my dear brother in Christ, to live by 
 faith ; and faith, too, founded on the book in which you can 
 look — of which you may read the promises, the proph- 
 ecies, and commands. But into the book of life you can 
 never look, until the Lamb of God shall open the seventh 
 seal, and the righteous dead be raised, to meet with the 
 dear Savior in that world of glory, when the book will 
 be opened in the presence of the universe, and he will 
 own you as his, and crown you with joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory. 
 
 IL I shall now give the history of the seven seals, 
 with the time of their opening. Afler the prophecy of 
 the seven churches, in the 2d and 3d chapters of Reve- 
 lation, John has a view of the heavenly host, singing the 
 grand song, and gives us a description of the heavenly 
 choir, and a part of the song. He likewise introduces 
 the book, sealed with seven seals, and shows who can 
 
180 LECTURE xir, 
 
 open the book, in the fourth and fifth chapters. Theso 
 we have attended to, in a former lecture. 
 
 We shall now begin with the sixth chapter, 1st verse, 
 " And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals ; 
 and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the 
 four beasts, saying. Come and see. And I saw, and be- 
 hold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow ; 
 and a crown was given unto him ; and he went forth 
 conquering and to conquer." The " beast," in this pas- 
 sage, is the first, which was like a lion, representing the 
 church in its first state, in the days of the apostles, when 
 the church went every where, preaching the word, bold as 
 a lion. The white horse, and him that sat upon him, rep- 
 resent Jesus Christ going forth in the power of the gos- 
 pel. This is proved by the passage, Rev. xix. 11 — 13, 
 ** And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse ; 
 fend he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, 
 and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His 
 eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many 
 crowns ; and he had a name written that no man knew 
 but he himself, and he was clothed in a vesture dipped 
 in blood ; and his name is called The Word of God." 
 This is the same personage as the other, and both places 
 represent the same thing, only the first description is rep- 
 resenting the spread of the gospel in the beginning of 
 the gospel day, the other at the end of the gospel period, 
 under which we are now living. Therefore the first seal 
 opens with the promulgation of the gospel, as the last 
 will be closed by the same. 3d and 4th verses, " And 
 when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second 
 beast say. Come and see. And there went out another 
 horse, that was red ; and power was given to him that 
 sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they 
 should kill one another ; and there was given unto him a 
 great sword." The red horse denotes blood and carnage, 
 and has reference to the times of persecution in the days 
 of Nero and other Roman emperors, and answers to the 
 same time as the Smyrna church. " Given unto him a 
 great sword," shows that the power would have great au- 
 fliority. The second beast spoken of in this passage is 
 the representation of the church, which was like a calft 
 
Christ's second coming. 181 
 
 ehowing tliat the church would be given to the slaughter, 
 like a calf fatted for the market, during the period of the 
 opening of this seal, which period lasted until about A. 
 D. 318, when Constantino put a period to the persecu- 
 tions of the Christians. 
 
 5th and 6th verses, " And when he had opened the 
 third seal, 1 heard the third beast say. Come and see. 
 And I beheld, and lo, a black horse ; and he that sat 
 upon him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I 
 heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A 
 measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of 
 barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil and the 
 wine." The third beast, which represents the church, 
 under this seal, had a face as a man, and shows that the 
 church would be like a natural man, proud, haughty, 
 independent, selfish, ambitious, covetous, and worldly. 
 This seal was opened in the days of Constantino, when 
 religion became popular, and was a stepping-stone to 
 power ; and this seal agrees with the Pergamos church, 
 as to time and place. The black horse denotes error 
 and darkness ; and when the church became connected | 
 with worldly power and wisdom, she lost her purity of 
 doctrine and practice, and adopted, in her creed, maxims 
 and principles congenial with the natural heart, and 
 forms and ceremonies for show and parade, rather than 
 the humbling and cross-bearing life of the followers of 
 Jesus. The balances denoted that religion and civil 
 power would be united in the person who would ad- 
 minister the executive power in the government, and 
 that he would claim the judicial authority both in church 
 and state. This was true among the Roman emperors, 
 from the days of Constantino until the reign of Justin- 
 ian, when he gave the same judicial power to the bishop 
 of Rome. The measures of wheat and barley for a 
 penny denote that the members of the church would 
 be eagerly engaged after worldly goods, and the love of 
 money would be the prevailing spirit of the times, for 
 they would dispose of any thing for money. The oil 
 and wine denote the graces of the Spirit, faith and love, 
 and there was great danger of hurting these, under the 
 influence of so much worldly spirit And it is well at- 
 16 
 
 f 
 
182 LECTURE XII. 
 
 tested, by all historians, that the prosperity of the church 
 in this age produced the corruptions which finally ter- 
 minated in the falling away, and setting up the anti- 
 Christian abominations. 
 
 7tli and 8th verses, " And when he had opened the 
 fourth seal, I heard the fourth beast say, Come and see. 
 And 1 looked, and behold, a pale horse, and his name that 
 sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him ; and 
 power was given unto them over the fourth part of the 
 earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with 
 death, and with beasts of the earth." The fourtli seal 
 opened in tlie year A. D. 538, when anti-Christ first 
 arose, for the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. '' And 
 to the woman was given two wings of an eagle, that she 
 might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she 
 is nourished for a time, times, and a half, from tlie face 
 of the serpent" The pale horse is named, in this pas- 
 sage, death. And hell followed, showing us plainly that 
 it is the anti-Christian power which would have the 
 ascendency over one fourth part of the earth, during the 
 opening of this seal. " Power was given unto them," 
 shows conclusively that it is the same power mentioned 
 in Rev. xiii. 2 — 5, " And the dragon gave him his power, 
 and his seat, and great authority." "And there was 
 given him a mouth speaking great things and blasphe- 
 mies ; and power was given unto him to continue forty 
 and two months." Again, 7th verse, " And it Avas given 
 unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome 
 them ; and power was given him over all kindreds, and 
 tongues, and nations." In our text he says, " Power was 
 given them to kill with the sword," that is, to make war, 
 which was fulfilled in Europe, when the papal power 
 sent out large armies to exterminate the heretics, as 
 they were called, who would not worship the beast or 
 his image. " And with hunger ; " this was fulfilled by 
 the same power imprisoning and starving to death many 
 thousands of persons who were suspected of opposition 
 to her ungodly pretensions. " And with death ; " in- 
 venting the most cruel and bloody means of torture that 
 were ever imposed upon our world ; to inflict death, in 
 every possible shape that men or devils could invent ; 
 
Christ's second coming. 183 
 
 thousands and tens of thousands suffered death under 
 the most excruciating torments that the Inquisition could 
 devise. " And with the beasts of the earth ; " after 
 they had glutted their thirst for blood in every possible 
 shape that man could inflict, thousands were thrown to 
 ferocious beasts, to be destroyed by them. The time 
 and place of the opening of this seal we cannot be mis- 
 taken in. It must have been during the bloody and 
 persecuting reign of the papal church. 
 
 9th — 11th verses, "And when he had opened the fifth 
 seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were 
 slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which 
 they held ; and they cried with a loud voice, saying. How 
 long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and 
 avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? And 
 white robes were given unto every one of tliem ; and it 
 was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little 
 season, until their fellow-servants also, and their breth- 
 ren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfil- 
 led." On the opening of the fifth seal, there is no beast 
 to say, " Come and see," for this very good reason — the 
 church has not changed her position, and is yet in the 
 wilderness, like the flying eagle. Therefore, under the 
 fourth beast, the church is likewise under tlie control of 
 the same anti-Christian power as under the fourth seal, 
 but the difference appears to be only in one thing — the 
 church appears to enjoy a little respite from her persecu- 
 ting enemy ; and it would seem by the language of the 
 souls of the martyrs that they are now looking for a day 
 of vengeance, which God hath promised upon them who 
 worshipped the beast or his image ; and the inquiry is, 
 How long before this day of vengeance will come ? The 
 answer is given to these praying souls to rest a little sea- 
 son, and they are informed there must be one more day or 
 little season of persecution, when their brethren must be 
 killed in like manner with themselves ; and when that is 
 accomplished, they would then experience the last prom- 
 ise of God, the resurrection. This seal was opened 
 about the beginning of the 18th century, A. D. 1700, 
 when the bloody persecutions against Protestants ceased, 
 and the nations of the world began to enjoy religious 
 freedom. 
 
184 LECTURE XII. 
 
 12th — 17th verses, « And I beheld when he had open- 
 ed the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake." 
 On the opening of this seal there is a great earthquake. 
 This earthquake is spoken of in other places in this book, 
 and alludes to the French revolution ; and of course this 
 seal opened about A. D. 1790. " And the sun became 
 black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as 
 blood." Sun sometimes denotes rulers or kings, as in 
 the case of Joseph's dream, when the sun, moon and 
 stars made obeisance to him, meaning his father, head 
 over all Israel, his mother, and his brethren ; for where 
 the king is called the sun, the queen is called the moouy 
 and inferior rulers are called stars, as Christ is called 
 sun of righteousness, because he is king of Zion. The 
 church is called the moon, because she is the bride of 
 Christ Ministers are called stars because they are in- 
 ferior rulers in Christ's kingdom. Therefore I under- 
 stand this to mean in that revolution when the king lost 
 his authority, and tried to disguise himself, and fled from 
 his own subjects, afterwards was beheaded. The queen, 
 too, became blood, and all the nobility of France fell to 
 the earth. One decree levelled all titles and distinctions 
 with the commonalty, like a fig-tree casting her untime- 
 ly figs. " And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, 
 even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is 
 shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as 
 a scroll when it is rolled together." The heavens must 
 mean that circle in which the planets move ; and if that 
 is to be understood figuratively, so must this. Heavens 
 must then mean the laws and government of France. 
 These were all swept away, or rolled up and laid away 
 like an old parchment out of date or use. " And every 
 mountain and island were moved out of their places." 
 Mountains and islands are figures of large and small 
 governments, and in the French revolution every gov- 
 ernment was removed from their legitimate sovereigns, 
 except England, in the old Roman empire, and given to 
 kings of Bonaparte's creation. And certainly all the 
 kingdoms in Europe were changed from what they were 
 before ; so that when legitimacy was restored, the an- 
 cient kings could not and have not found their kingdoms 
 
Christ's second coming. 185 
 
 in the same situation they were in before the revolution. 
 " And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the 
 rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, 
 and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves 
 in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and said 
 to the rocks and mountains, Fall on us, and hide us from 
 the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the 
 wrath of the Lamb." 
 
 It is a well-known fact to all who are conversant with 
 the history of the French revolution, that almost every 
 king in Europe had to flee from his kingdom during the 
 space of about five and twenty years : the king of Por- 
 tugal to Brazil; the king of Spain to France; the king: of 
 France fled to England ; the Pope died in exile ; the king 
 of Sardinia left his kingdom and fled to the island of Sar- 
 dinia ; the king of Naples to the island of the same name ; 
 the king of Austria left his capital ; and the king of Prussia 
 took shelter under Russia ; the emperor of all the Russias 
 left Moscow to its fate ; and Bonaparte himself fled to the 
 island of Elba, and died a prisoner on St Helena. The 
 great men and chief captains, and all orders and degrees 
 of men, had to flee from the land of their fathers, and seek 
 an asylum among strangers. So true was this passage of 
 Scripture fulfilled that many writers and divines actually 
 supposed that it was the last great battle and supper of 
 the great God. "For the great day of his wrath is 
 come, and who shall be able to stand ? " The sixth seal 
 is not yet wholly opened ; for it is evident that we are 
 carried down to the last day, the great day of wrath 
 which will imm-ediately follow the sealing time which 
 he gives us in the next chapter. 
 
 Rev. vii. 1, "And after these things I saw four angels 
 standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the 
 four winds of the earth, that it should not blow on the 
 earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." Daniel tells us, 
 vii. 2, " I saw in my vision by -night, and behold, the four 
 winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea." The 
 four winds, then, means the opposing elements, war and 
 contention. These principal elements of war and con- 
 tention God would restrain for a little season, so they 
 should not fan up the spirit of war and strife, neither in 
 the Roman government, (called earth,) nor on the great 
 16* 
 
186 LECTURE XII. 
 
 nations, (called great sea,) nor on individuals or small 
 societies of men, (called trees ;) and this has been re- 
 markably fulfilled for twenty years past Not a particle 
 of opposition has been experienced against the transla- 
 tion and spread of the Bible, or the missionary cause. 
 Kings have been nursing fathers, and queens nursing 
 ^ mothers, to help forward the cause of God. The wind 
 of Papacy has been kept down by the angel, so that all 
 the opposition they could raise has been weak and 'in- 
 efficient The Mahometan wind has not blown a blast 
 for twenty years ; the idolatrous and pagan nations of 
 the East have, by some invisible power, been kept in 
 check ; the infidel and deistical principles of the West 
 have been held in complete subjection by the same 
 invisible hand, until the servants of God should be 
 sealed. Thereforie, since the French revolution, none 
 of these four winds of opposition to Christ have been 
 permitted to use any physical force, as formerly, to sup- 
 press the spread of the gospel through the earth. "And 
 I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the 
 seal of the living God ; and he cried with a loud voice 
 to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the eartli 
 and the sea." The angel here spoken of as ascending 
 from the east^is the angel standing on the land and on the 
 sea, with a little book open, and the same that is represent- 
 ed in another place as flying through the midst of heaven 
 having the everlasting gospel to preach to them who dwell 
 on the earth. Coming from the east, the place of light, and 
 having the seal of the living God, shows plainly that it is 
 the angel of the gospel. The four angels are the four mes- 
 sengers of God, who suppress those four opposition princi- 
 ples, until the sealing time shall be over, " saying. Hurt not 
 the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have 
 sealed the servants of God in their foreheads." The 
 four angels are here commanded not to let these four 
 winds of opposition hurt the earth, sea, or trees, until 
 the sealing time is past, which is the same time spoken 
 of, Daniel xii. 1, "Then shall Michael stand up, the 
 great Prince which standeth for the children of thy 
 people." "And I heard the number of them which were 
 sealed; and there were sealed a hundred forty and 
 four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel" 
 
Christ's second coming. 187 
 
 John first gives us an account of the number that were 
 sealed in his day, out of all the tribes of Israel. They 
 were sealed^ as he tells us when he wrote, it being fin- 
 ished in the close of the Jewish dispensation. It being 
 a complete number, 144,000, and therefore could be num- 
 bered ; and as these were sealed at the close of that 
 dispensation, so John now saw in vision a great number, 
 which no man could number, sealed at the close of the 
 Gentile dispensation, of which he has been prophesy- 
 ing; for after he has gone through with numbering 
 twelve thousand in every tribe, he then says, Rev. vii. 
 9, "After this I beheld," that is, after this sealing, by 
 which 144,000 had been sealed among the Jews, he 
 beheld, " and lo, a great multitude, which no man could 
 number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
 tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, 
 clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." 
 This evidently refers to the last sealing time among all 
 nations; for he again hears them singing the grand 
 chorus song, as at the close of the history of the seven 
 churches, " And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salva- 
 tion to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
 the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the 
 throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and 
 fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped 
 God, saying, Amen: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, 
 and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be 
 unto our God forever and ever, amen." 
 
 This shows us tliat we are again brought down the 
 stream of time, to hear a part, at least, of the song 
 which no man can sing, but those whose bodies are 
 redeemed from the earth. "And one of the elders 
 answered, saying unto me, What are these which are 
 arrayed in white robes ? And whence came they ? And 
 I said unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto 
 me. These are they which come out of great tribulation, 
 and have washed their robes, and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb." This passage shows who 
 those were that John saw, and how they obtained the 
 honor and glory, which John saw them possessing, 
 through great tribulation, and the blood of the Lamb. 
 "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and 
 
188 LECTURE XII. 
 
 serve him day and night in his temple : and he that ' 
 eitteth on the throne shall dwell among them;" the 
 same as m Rev. xx. 6, "And they lived and reigned 
 with him," in the New Jerusalem state ; for he goes on 
 to describe this state of happiness, which John does in 
 Rev. xxi. 1 — 5, compared with the two following; 
 and there can be no doubt on the mind that John is de- 
 scribing the same in one place as in the other. " They 
 shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither 
 shall the sun light on them, nor any heat For the 
 Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed 
 them, and shall lead them unto liv^g fountains of 
 waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes." There can be no doubt left on the mind of any 
 man, tliat John has, in these passages, given us a view 
 of the New Jerusalem in the immortal state. We have 
 been permitted to hear a part of the new song, and have 
 received, in the passage just read, the blessed promises 
 contained in that beloved city. And now, we only wait 
 for the last seal to open. " And when he had opened 
 the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the 
 space of half an hour." Zechariah says, ii. 13, " Be 
 silent, O all flesh, before the Lord ; for he is raised up 
 out of his holy habitation ! " Habakkuk says, ii. 20, " But 
 the Lord is in his holy temple ; let all the earth keep 
 silence before him!" From these passages I should 
 infer, that when God arises up to the prey, when his 
 great white throne is set in the heavens, and when the 
 Son of Man shall come in the clouds of heaven, with 
 power and great glory, then will all flesh be silent 
 before him. And it is reasonable to suppose that the 
 whole universe of rational beings who may be permitted 
 to witness that grand scene, will be so filled with won- 
 der and awe at the sight of the glory of God, that they 
 will be silent Then, too, will the redeemed souls, 
 while the great Judge is separating them from the 
 wicked, while they are rising to meet their Lord in the 
 air, be silent. They will, like the children of Israel, 
 stand still, (be silejit,) and see the salvation of God. 
 And the wicked world, who have scoffed at the idea 
 of Cln*ist's second coming, w^ho have said, " Where is 
 the j)romise of his coming ? " and laughed and ridi- 
 
Christ's second coming. 189 
 
 culed the servants of Christ, who have cried to them, in 
 their midnight revels, " Behold, the bridegroom cometh," 
 will be silent. Then will those servants who have " said in 
 their hearts. My Lord delayeth his coming," and *' be- 
 gin to beat and bruise their fellow-servants," who have 
 proclaimed his coming, " and to eat and drink with the 
 drunken," be silent Then, too, will all the false 
 prophets, who have cried Peace, peace, when there was 
 no peace, be silent, when they see the frowns of an 
 angry judge whom they have disregarded. Then 
 shall those who have promised the wicked life, though 
 he should not turn from his wickedness, be silent Then, 
 every one found in that great assembly, when the Son 
 of Man shall come in the clouds, and all the holy angels 
 with him, and all the saints who have slept, and all na- 
 tions then shall be gathered before him, and every eye 
 shall see him; then, T say, will every one found in 
 this vast multitude, not having on the wedding gar- 
 ment, be silent ; for the Scripture says, " He ivas speech- 
 less:' 
 
 And now, my dear friends, what say you ? Have you 
 wept much to know whether your names are written in 
 the Lamb's book of life ? " Weep not," for " behold, the 
 Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to open the 
 book." And he says, " He that overcometh, the same 
 shall be clothed in white raiment ; and I will not blot 
 his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his 
 name before my Father, and before his angels. There- 
 fore, "rejoice, because your names are written in 
 heaven," says the dear Savior. 
 
 But you, my impenitent friends, who have never wept, 
 nor confessed your sins to God, who have been more 
 anxious to have your names written in the book of fame, 
 of worldly honor, of the riches of this world, than in 
 the book of life, remember, you too will weep when all 
 heaven is silent — when the last seal is broken — then 
 you will see the book, and your name blotted out. 
 Then you will weep and say, " Once, my name was 
 there ; I had a day of probation ; life was proffered ; but 
 I hated instruction, I despised reproof, and my part is 
 taken from the book of life. Farewell, happiness ; 
 farewell, hope ! Jlmen, 
 
LECTURE XIII. 
 
 REV. xi. 3. 
 
 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall proph- 
 esy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in 
 sackcloth. 
 
 The two witnesses in our text have caused as much 
 speculation among the writers on the New Testament, as 
 any other passage in the word of God. Some have sup- 
 posed that it was a succession of orthodox divines, whom 
 God had raised up to witness to the truth, during the 
 time specified, which all agree is twelve hundred and 
 sixty years. And those writers who have taken this side 
 of the question, have endeavored to find some favorite 
 divines, among their sect, answering to the description 
 given of the two witnesses. Upon this construction every 
 sect might claim the honor of giving to the world the two 
 witnesses. And were this explanation true, instead of 
 two witnesses, we should have more than eight hundred ; 
 for every sect must have a set, and I dare not give pref- 
 erence to any. This would destroy the idea of two ivit- 
 nesses at once. 
 
 Other writers have fixed on the church as the two, 
 clergy and laity; hut here are many difficulties to en- 
 counter, the same as above. Every sect must have their 
 own church and clergy, or admit at once that they are 
 not the true church. But let us now come to the word 
 of -God. And if the word of God does not explain the 
 *' two witnesses," I shall despair of ever coming to the 
 truth on this subject, for I am commanded by Christ him- 
 self to call no man master. I shall, then, 
 
Christ's second coming. 191 
 
 I. Attempt to show what the Bible calls the two wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 II. What we may understand by their being clothed 
 in sackcloth. 
 
 III. Their history, prophecy, and time specified. 
 
 I. What is the Bible account of the two witnesses ? 
 And, first, What is a witness ? I answer, A witness is a 
 person, or legal instrument, testifying to the truth, the 
 whole truth, and nothing but the truth, on matters of fact 
 which are supposed to be known no way but through tes- 
 timony, either oral or written. Oral testimony is given 
 by a person who is sworn to tell the whole truth, as above, 
 and relate what he actually knows, by the medium of his 
 own senses, and no more nor less. The apostles were 
 such witnesses; for they testified to the things which 
 Christ did in public. And when Judas fell by transgres- 
 sion, Peter informed his brethren that one must be cho- 
 sen, " of these men which have companied with us all the 
 time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, be- 
 ginning at the baptism of John, unto the same day that 
 he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a 
 witness with us of his resurrection." But these could not 
 be the "two witnesses;" for here were twelve. But we 
 learn by this history what a witness must be. He must 
 go in and out ; he must know by actual observation, or 
 he could not testify any thing concerning Christ. That 
 was the manner of oral testimony in that day, and so it is 
 at the present. This, then, precludes the idea at once 
 of any men, or set of men, being Christ's witnesses at the 
 present day, or since the days of the apostles. But, says 
 the objector, does not the word of God call all Christians 
 witnesses for Christ ? I do not know of any scripture 
 where Christians are called witnesses, except the proph- 
 ets and apostles, or inspired writers, thai; is, concerning 
 Christ. They may witness a good profession, or they 
 may witness for themselves, tliat they believe in Christ 
 or his word ; but further they cannot go. They are not 
 witness either to the person of Christ, to his works, death, 
 miracles, or resurrection and ascension ; and if there was 
 no other testimony but oral, we should be no better off 
 than the darkest Hindoo or most ignorant Hottentot 
 
192 LECTURE Xni. 
 
 But, thanks be to God, he has not left us without a wit- 
 ness. There is a better testimony than all Christendom, 
 which is written; and it is this which I hold in my hand; 
 it is the word of God. It tells the truth ; " for not one jot 
 or tittle of this word shall fail." It tells the whole truth, 
 " that the man of God may be perfectly furnished to 
 every good work." It tells nothing but the truth ; for it 
 is the truth indited by him who cannot lie. 
 
 You are well aware, my friends, that written testimony 
 is considered in all courts, under all laws, to be stronger 
 than any oral testimony whatever. For instance, take the 
 last will and testament of any man ; if it was written or 
 indited by himself, signed by his own hand, sealed with 
 his own seal, in presence of witnesses chosen by himself, 
 and ratified by his death, no oral testimony can be brought 
 against it ; unless the instrument itself shows some con- 
 tradiction or discrepancy, it cannot be destroyed. So it 
 is with these two testaments, revealed, indited, confirmed, 
 witnessed, and ratified, by the death of the testator, the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. And although wicked men and dev- 
 ils have endeavored to show some contradiction or dis- 
 crepancy in its testimony, it has stood the shock of 
 ages, the wreck of kingdoms, and will stand when these 
 heavens and tliis earth shall pass away with a great noise 
 and the elements melt with fervent heat; for by this 
 word we must all be judged ; by these witnesses we shall 
 be justified or condemned. Christ says, " Search the 
 Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life ; and 
 they are they which testify of me." The angel tells John, 
 in the next verse following our text, that the two wit- 
 nesses " are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks 
 standing before the God of the earth." The angel, in his 
 allusion to the two olive trees, quotes the prophet Zech- 
 ariah, iv. 3, " And two olive trees by it, one upon the right 
 side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof." 
 Here the olive trees are used in a figurative sense, and 
 properly denote the " sons of oil," or the two cherubims 
 which stood over the ark, and spread their wings over the 
 mercy seat. The wings of the cherubims stretched from 
 either side of the house to the centre over the mercy seat, 
 and their faces turned inwards down upon the mercy seat. 
 
Christ's second coming* 193 
 
 and the glory of the God of Israel was above the cheru- 
 bims. These cherubims are a lively type of the Old and 
 New Testament The signification of cherub is ** ful- 
 ness of knowledge;" so is the word of God, "that the 
 man of God may be thoroughly furnished, perfect in every 
 good work." They have the whole truth, all we can 
 know about Jesus Christ in this state. They stand on 
 either hand of Christ, one before he came in the flesh, 
 pointing to a Messiah to come, by all its types and shad- 
 ows ; and like the cherub whose wings touched the outer 
 wall of the room and reached to the centre over tlie mercy 
 seat, so did the Old Testament reach from the creation 
 of the world down to John's preaching in the wilderness, 
 and like the cherub looking down on the mercy seat, it 
 testified of the Messiah. The other cherubim's wings 
 reached from the centre ovei" the mercy seat, and touched 
 the other wall of the room, while his face was turned . 
 back upon the mercy seat. So does the New Testament 
 begin at the preaching of John, and reveals all that is 
 necessary for us to know, down to the end of the world. 
 And all the ordinances of the New Testament house look 
 back to the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Jesua 
 Christ, and are to continue until his second coming and 
 end of the world. These cherubims were made of olive 
 trees, and overlaid with pure gold, 1 Kings vi. 23—28. 
 Again: the angel tells Zechariah Avhat the two olive 
 trees are, Zech. iv. 4 — 6, " So I answered and spake to 
 the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, 
 my lord?" (the two olive trees.) "Then the angel that 
 talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest 
 thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 
 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying. This is 
 the word of the Lord unto Zerubabel," &c. Here we 
 are plainly told that the two olive trees are the word of 
 the Lord, and the angel tells John, Rev. xi. 4, that " the 
 two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two candle- 
 sticks." As candlesticks are the means of light, so is 
 the word of God. Candlesticks are used in Scripture in 
 the same sense as lamps. And David says, " Thy word is 
 a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Therefore 1 
 humbly believe that I have fairly and conclusively proved 
 
194 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 that the two witnesses are the Old and New Testament 
 And I will, 
 
 II. Show what we may understand by the two wit- 
 nesses being clothed in sackcloth. 
 
 Sackcloth denotes a state of darkness, as in Rev. vi. 
 12, " The sun became black as sackcloth of hair ; " that 
 is, the sun became dark, invisible, and did not give its 
 light Just so during the dark ages of papal rule, the 
 word of God was darkened by monkish superstition, big- 
 otry, and ignorance in its sacred principles. It did not 
 give its true light, because the laws, doctrines, and ordi- 
 nances were changed by the laws of the Latin church ; 
 its doctrine was perverted by the introduction of the doc- 
 trine of devils and the anti-Christian abominations : its 
 ordinances were so altered as to suit the convenience of 
 carnal men ; and it was obscured, because the common 
 people were forbidden to read it, or even to have it in 
 their houses, by the Papal authority. It was hid from 
 the world in a great measure ; for the Papal beast, the 
 church of Rome, forbade its translation into any language 
 except tlie Greek and Latin, which languages ceased to 
 be spoken in the Roman government in tlie middle of the 
 sixth century. Sackcloth denotes great calamities and 
 troubles, as in the days of Hezekiah, 2 Kings, xix. 1, 2, 
 " When king Hezekiah heard (the tlireatenings of the 
 king of Assyria,) he rent his clothes, and covered him- 
 self witii sackcloth ;" also, the Ninevites put on sackcloth 
 at the preaching of Jonah, when their city was threat- 
 ened with a final overthrow. So with the two witnesses ; 
 while they were clothed in sackcloth, it was a time of 
 great calamity and trouble to the people of God ; perse- 
 cution raged without any mitigation in some or all parts 
 of the Roman government, and the church of God, which 
 was fed and nourished by the " two witnesses," during 
 her residence in the wilderness, was threatened with a 
 final destruction by the Papal armies, the inquisition, and 
 every other means that could be devised by wicked men 
 or devils. But God has preserved his word, through all 
 the persecutions of the Roman power. I shall now, 
 
 III. Show their history, prophecy, and time specified 
 in the text. 
 
Christ's second coming. 195 
 
 1st. Their history, contained in Rev. xi. 5 — 13, inclu- 
 sive. Let me read and explain. 5th verse, " If any man 
 will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and 
 devoureth their enemies , and if any man will hurt them, 
 he must in this manner be killed." If any man shall add 
 or take away from the hook or revelation of God, " God 
 shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out 
 of the holy city ; " and " God shall add unto him the 
 plagues that are written in this book." This verse has 
 been verified in our day in the history of deistical France. 
 The rulers of France, in the revolution, proclaimed a 
 war of extermination against the fishermen's Bible, as 
 they were pleased to term it ; and within six years they 
 exterminated themselves, the republic, and almost their 
 principles. The kingdom was deluged in blood ; anarchy 
 was the law of the land ; and the judgments dcHounced 
 by this word were literally accomplished, so that deists 
 tliemselves stood appalled at the horror and confusion 
 their own principles had brought upon their heaven- 
 daring crimes. 
 
 6th verse, " These have power to shut heaven, that it 
 rain not in the days of their prophecy." Allusion is here 
 had to " the three years and a half," in the days of Elijah, 
 when the heavens were shut up, Luke iv. 25, which is 
 the same time the witnesses prophesy clothed in sack- 
 cloth, 1260 days, forty-two months, thirty days to a 
 month; that being common time, and this prophetic. 
 The Scriptures are the means which God has made use 
 of to convert sinners from error to truth, from sin to 
 righteousness, and to convey the knowledge of grace, 
 (which in this verse is compared to rain,) to a lost and 
 perishing world. During the reign of anti-Christ, 1260 
 years, the church in the wilderness, and the two wit- 
 nesses clothed in sackcloth the same 1260 years, the 
 doctrine of grace in Jesus Christ was but partially 
 taught. Much of the professedly Christian world have 
 been taught that doing penance, purchasing indul- 
 gences, obeying the holy Catholic church, or performing 
 some outward act for pardon, would answer them heaven 
 and happiness. But when the Scriptures began to be 
 read and understood, and where the doctrine of grace in 
 
196 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 Jesus Christ has been published by the translation and 
 circulation of the word of God, how different the scene ! 
 Now, we can hardly find a Roman Catholic who will pre- 
 tend that heaven is purchased by infliction of bodily tor- 
 ture, by doing penance, or by a monastic seclusion from 
 the world; neither do we see them selling indulgences, 
 and promising the holders pardon for the most abomina- 
 ble crimes. And but rarely do we hear the infallibility 
 of the mother, or holy Catholic church, advanced from 
 pulpit or press. Why this mighty change in public sen- 
 timent.^ Because the reign of grace is not withheld; 
 tlie two witnesses are no longer clothed in sackcloth ; 
 « Michael has stood up, that standeth for the children of 
 thy people." And the "angel is flying through the 
 midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach 
 to them that dwell on the earth." "And have power 
 over the waters to turn them to blood." By waters, we 
 understand people ; and by blood, wars. This text has 
 been amply fulfilled in the wars of Europe, fighting for 
 religious tenets and ecclesiastical power, claiming their 
 prerogatives from the two witnesses, and wresting and 
 perverting the word of God to their own destruction, 
 " And from thence come wars, tumults, fightings," be- 
 cause they understand not. " And to smite the earth 
 with all plagues, as often as they will." In Old Testa- 
 ment times, it was the word of God, through Moses and 
 Aaron, that smote Egypt with the ten plagues, and 
 through Joshua the Canaanites. So, in New Testament 
 times, the seven last plagues, and the three woes, are 
 denounced against the anti-Christian beast, who dwells 
 on and has great power over the earth. " As often as 
 they will," meaning as often as they have prophesied of 
 them, so often will the plagues be sent Not one jot or 
 tittle of the word of God will fail. 
 
 7th verse, " And when they shall have finished their 
 testimony," that is, when tlie 1260 years are about ful- 
 filled, the " beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless 
 pit;" this beast is the same as the little horn. Papal 
 Kome, and is said to ascend out of the bottomless pit, 
 because it is founded on error. The principles taught 
 by this beast were first Paganism, and ended in Deism, 
 
Christ's second coming. 197 
 
 which are not built on the word of God ; and, therefore, 
 have no foundation, and may truly be said to be " bottom- 
 less^ " Shall make war against them." The govern- 
 ments, under the authority of Papal Rome, shall en- 
 deavor to exterminate the " two witnesses," the word of 
 God. " And shall overcome them, and kill them ; " have 
 power over them, pass laws or edicts against them, and, 
 by this means, destroy their usefulness, life, and activity. 
 For where the Scriptures are not read, and believed in, 
 they become a dead letter ; but when read, and believed, 
 " they are spirit, they are life," John vi. 63. 
 
 8th verse, " And their dead bodies shall lie in the 
 streets of the great city, which spiritually is called 
 Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." 
 This verse teaches us, that the word of God would be 
 made a dead letter, by the authority of one of the prin- 
 cipal kingdoms out of one of the ten into which the Ro- 
 man government was divided, and that they would be 
 guilty of the same sins that Sodom and Egypt were 
 guilty of; and, also, of crucifying our Lord, that is, in a 
 spiritual sense. This will apply to France in particular. 
 France, previous to, and in tlie French revolution, was 
 guilty of Sodomitish sins; she also had held in bondage, 
 like Egypt, the people of God ; and, in France, Christ 
 had been crucified afresh in his people, on St. Bartholo- 
 mew's eve, A. D. 1572, when 50,000 Huguenots were 
 murdered in one night. The people of God are called 
 Christ's spiritual body, 1 Peter ii. 5, Col. i. 24. 
 
 9th verse, " And they of the people, and kindreds, and 
 tongues, shall see their dead bodies three days and a 
 half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put 
 in graves." This decree, or edict, should be generally 
 known among all nations ; and although they could not 
 prevent the witnesses from lying in the streets of the 
 great city three years and a half, yet the nations about 
 them would prevent the Scriptures from being buried, 
 or put out of sight. 
 
 10th verse, " And they that dwell upon the earth shall 
 
 rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts 
 
 one to another, because these two prophets tormented 
 
 them that dwelt upon the earth." We learn by this text 
 
 17* 
 
198 LECTURE xni. 
 
 that the nation, who would suppress the reading of the 
 word of God, would make great rejoicings upon this oc- 
 casion, and congratulate each other upon the destruction 
 of the Bible, as they would suppose, for this reason, be- 
 cause the doctrine and precepts of the Bible would be 
 hateful and disagreeable to them. 
 
 11th verse, " And after three days and a half, [years,] 
 the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they 
 stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them 
 which saw them." After the Bible would be dormant 
 three years and a half, God would so order in his provi- 
 dence, that they would again be permitted to be read 
 and enjoyed as usual, and the Bible would again stand 
 upon its own foundation, or merits, and would again 
 have their bearing on the hopes and fears of mankind, 
 and the governments of the world, and their enemies 
 would see it and tremble. 
 
 12th verse, " And they heard a great voice from 
 heaven, saying unto them. Come up hither ; and they as- 
 cended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies be- 
 held them." This verse shows us that many voices 
 would unite in calling for a general spread of the Bible 
 tlirough the world, and that the Bible would be exalted 
 among the nations, and great multitudes of them circu- 
 lated, and the enemies of the word of God could not 
 prevent it Here we have a plain and distinct prophecy 
 of the Bible societies. 
 
 13th verse, "And the same hour was there a great 
 earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the 
 earthquake were slain of men [names or titles] seven 
 thousand, and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glo- 
 ry to the God of heaven." At the same hour the wit- 
 nesses would be slain, there would be a great revolu- 
 tion, and one of the ten kingdoms, which had given their 
 power and support to the Papal beast, would fall ; and 
 seven thousand names, or titles of nobility, in chnrch 
 and state, would be destroyed; and this revolution 
 would produce great fear among the nations, and some 
 would acknowledge that the word was fulfilling, and God 
 was producing these wonderful events. Here we again 
 see exactly depicted the French revolution, and its ef- 
 
Christ's second coming. .199 
 
 fects ; and we cannot but see that the whole of this 
 prophecy has been literally fulfilled. 
 
 In the beginning of the sixth century, about A. D. 538, 
 Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, in his controversy 
 with the Arians, and other schismatics in the Greek 
 church, constituted the bishop of Rome head over all 
 others, both in the western and eastern churches, who, 
 by his authority, suppressed the reading of the Bible by 
 laymen, pretending that they could not read and under- 
 stand without the assistance of the clergy. About this 
 time, too, the Latin language ceased to be spoken in 
 Italy, and the Greek and Latin both became dead lan- 
 guages. The Bible at that time not being written or 
 translated into any other languages in Europe, it became 
 an easy task for the bishop to obscure the doctrine and 
 discipline of the word of God, so far as suited his con- 
 venience, and to obtain universal power over the minds 
 and consciences of men, and clothe the Scriptures in 
 sackcloth. If, then, the Scriptures were first clothed in 
 sackcloth in A. D. 538, and were to prophesy 1260 years 
 in this situation, their prophecy would end in 1798. 
 About the close of the eighteenth century, in conse- 
 quence of the abominable corruptions of the church of 
 Rome being exposed to public view, the men of the 
 world began to treat revelation as a fiction, and religion 
 as priestcraft ; and instead of searching for the pillar 
 and ground of the truth, "their imaginations became 
 vain, and their foolish minds were darkened." They 
 declared war against the Bible, the " two witnesses," 
 which war became general all over Europe and America. 
 Some of the most eminent and principal writers in this 
 controversy were in France, the principal kingdom 
 among the ten, into which Rome had been divided at 
 the close of the fifth century ; and so successful were 
 these writers, that almost the whole nation of the French 
 became Deists, or Atheists, in a short time. This na- 
 tion had long been j^uilty of the abominations of the 
 anti-Christian beast, the sins of Sodom and Egypt, and 
 the persecution of those who protested against her na- 
 tional corruptions : the slaying of the witnesses ; their 
 lying in a dead state three years and a half in the street 
 
200 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 of tlie ^eat city ; the revolution sj)oken of in this proph- 
 ecy — all liappened in the French revolution, between 
 the years 1793 and 1798. A decree was passed by the 
 council and directory of France, prohibiting the Bible 
 to be read in public, in any of the chapels in France; 
 and Bibles were gathered in heaps, and bonfires were 
 made of them, and great rejoicings were had all over 
 the kingdom at the downfall of priestcraft, as they called 
 it ; and particularly at Lyons, where the Scriptures were 
 publicly dragged through the streets, with circumstances 
 of the greatest contempt, and otlier things transacted in 
 the exultation of their triumph, which are too shocking 
 to narrate. Let it suffice, then, to say, that after three 
 years and a half the Bible was again permitted to be 
 read, and religion had free toleration in France ; and 
 what is equally as remarkable, is, that the same year a 
 few individuals in London established what has since 
 been styled the Bible society, which has been instru- 
 mental in sending Bibles among all nations, and of trans- 
 lating them into more tlian 150 languages since that pe- 
 riod ; and almost all the writers, who acknowledge the 
 Bible to be- the two witnesses, do agree that the events, 
 prophesied of in this passage, were literally accom- 
 plished in tlie French revolution. Now, the Bible is 
 more than restored to its former state in society ; it is 
 exalted, and every person can have, and read, and ex- 
 amine for themselves into its sacred truths. It is also a 
 fact, that the progress of the Bible society has exceeded 
 the most sanguine expectations of its advocates ; and the 
 Atheists and Deists of our day appear to be perfectly 
 confounded at these events. Instead now of declaring 
 open war against the Bible, they make pretence at least 
 of drawing their rules of morality from this blessed 
 book ; and the man who should now undertake to write 
 down the word of God, would be considered either a 
 madman, or a fool. One thing more : In the French 
 Revolution, the names or titles of men were abolished ; 
 and it is said by some writers, that, in the long list of 
 titled nobility, and the great catalogue of priestly orders, 
 there were seven thousand destroyed at once. Well 
 might the remnant be aiFrighted, and give glory to the 
 God of heaven ! 
 
Christ's second coming. 201 
 
 Let us now for a moment see what follows the history 
 of the two witnesses. 
 
 14th verse, " The second woe is past, and behold, the 
 third woe cometh quickly." The second woe began by 
 the civil wars in France and Germany, and ended in the 
 French revolution ; and the third woe will come quickly. 
 It is the last great woe denounced against the woman 
 sitting upon the scarlet-colored beast, and against the 
 earth, which she hath filled with her sorceries, and the 
 kingdoms of this world, which must all be destroyed un- 
 der this woe. 
 
 15th verse, "And the seventh angel sounded, and 
 there were great voices in heaven saying. The kingdoms 
 of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and 
 his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." The 
 third woe and seventh trumpet are both the same thing, 
 (see Rev. viii. 13 ;) and the seventh trumpet is the last 
 trump, when the dead shall be raised. See 1 Cor. xv. 
 52. It is evident, also, that we are carried into the 
 eternal state forever and ever. 
 
 16th verse, " And the four and twenty elders, which 
 sat before God on their seats, fell on their faces and 
 worshipped God." By the four and twenty elders, I 
 understand the true ministers of Christ, alluding to the 
 twenty-four courses of the priesthood appointed by 
 David, 1 Chron. xxiv. 
 
 17th verse, " Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord 
 God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come, be- 
 cause thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast 
 reigned." This is the language of every humble and 
 devoted minister of Jesus Christ, who makes the word of 
 God his study, and believes in the overruling hand of 
 God as accomplishing the great designs therein revealed. 
 
 18th verse, " And the nations were angry, and thy 
 wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should 
 be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy 
 servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that 
 fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy 
 them which destroy the earth." 
 
 This verse shows us what takes place at the sounding 
 of the seventh trumpet and third woe, which the angel 
 
SOS LECTURE XIII. 
 
 says will come quickly after the French revolution, if I 
 am right in my explanation of the two witnesses. It is 
 morally certain that the word of God is not now in an 
 obscure state ; it is not hid from the world, neither is 
 clothed in sackcloth. It is true that many voices have 
 united in the Bible societies to spread the knowledge of 
 the word of God ; and that it is translated into about all 
 the known languages in the world. It is almost abso- 
 lutely certain that the French people are the nation that 
 is compared to Sodom and Egypt, in the passage we 
 have been examining ; and likewise the earthquake spo- 
 ken of is the French revolution. Then if the two wit- 
 nesses are the Old and New Testament, we are certain 
 the third woe is coming quickly, and the seventh trump 
 must shortly begin to sound, as I have already proved in 
 my lecture on the trumpets, in tlie year 1839. You 
 have undoubtedly seen, my friends, that we are likewise 
 brought down to the judgment, when God will reward the 
 righteous, and destroy the wicked, who have persecuted 
 the saints and trampled them under foot. 
 
 And once more let me inquire how it stands with you, 
 my dear hearer. Are you prepared for that great and 
 solemn day? Are you ready to meet the judgment? 
 The two witnesses will appear for or against you. Their 
 testimony will not fail. Do you believe them ? He that 
 believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall 
 be damned. " The word that I have spoken," says 
 Christ, " the same shall judge you in the last day," Why 
 will you not be warned ? If half the evidence that I 
 have brought of our being on the end of this dispensa- 
 tion, was brought to prove there was a great treasure hid 
 in your field, how soon would you search and how dili- 
 gently would you seek until you found it! 
 
 In this book, of which we have now been speaking, 
 are durable riches, gold tried in the fire, seven times 
 purified. " Search for it as for hidden treasures ; seek 
 and you shall find." Can you tell me where the word 
 of God, the Bible, has failed of being accomplished lit- 
 erally, and in the time specified ? Many events have 
 been foretold, the times given, and not one failed. How 
 can you disbelieve ? How can you shut your eyes 
 
Christ's second coming. 203 
 
 against so much light ? Where will you have an ex- 
 cuse in the day of judgment ? I have repeatedly brought 
 you down to this time, and shown, by Scripture proof, the 
 judgment must commence immediately. You are in 
 your hearts convicted that what has been declared con- 
 cerning the two witnesses, in this discourse, is true. 
 And if so, your reason must teach you that what follows 
 under the third woe must be equally as true. " And the 
 nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the 
 time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that 
 thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the proph- 
 ets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small 
 and great ; and shouldest destroy them which destroy 
 tlie earth.'* 
 
LECTURE XIV. 
 
 REV. xii. 6. 
 
 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place 
 
 Ere pared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two 
 uiidred and threescore days. 
 
 The history of the church, in all ages of this present 
 World, is but a history of persecution and blood, when we 
 follow her through all dispensations from Adam to Moses, 
 and from Moses to Christ ; so likewise from Christ's first 
 coming down to his second appearance, the church have 
 experienced, and according to the whole tenor of Scrip- 
 ture, must expect to realize from the kingdoms and men 
 of this world, this one promise at least, "In the world 
 ye shall have tribulation." These facts are so plain and 
 obvious, tliat it has given rise to a common saying 
 among almost all writers, that " the blood of martyrs is 
 the seed of the church." Yet there is a bright side to 
 her history ; for she has come out of all her persecutions 
 more purified, more faithful, and with more energy, to 
 prosecute the work her divine Master has left her to 
 perform. And one other thing is certain — God has pre- 
 served her, whether in the wilderness or among the 
 nations of the earth, in an extraordinary and miraculous 
 manner ; even her enemies themselves being her judges. 
 Where has a kingdom stood when all the nations about 
 them have conspired their overthrow ? Where is the 
 Assyrian and populous Nineveh? Where is Chaldea, 
 the queen of nations ? Where is the Grecian empire, 
 once the colossus of the world .^ Where is imperial 
 
Christ's second coMmo. 205 
 
 Rome? Gone, gone, by the power of earthly foes* 
 But behold the church of Christ and of God, delivered 
 first from Egyptian bondage by the mighty arm of 
 the God of Jacob, led by miracles through the wilder- 
 ness forty years, brought into the promised land, although 
 all the nations of the earth were her enemies, preserved 
 as a nation through the rise and fall of mighty empires, 
 and experiencing a reverse of fortune only when she 
 courted the aid of worldly kingdoms, or suffering dimi- 
 nution only when she adopted the more popular worship 
 of heathen idolatry. Yet in her lowest estate, God told 
 his servant the prophet, that "he had reserved seven 
 thousand that had not bowed the knee to Baal." And 
 if men would reason on tlie subject of religion as they 
 do on other subjects, there could not be an infidel in the 
 World. For nothing is or can be more manifest than 
 the miraculous interposition of Providence in the preser- 
 vation of his people through the most severe trials, heav- 
 iest afflictions, and deadliest hatred of all men, that men 
 or societies ever endured. 
 
 Our present discourse will show us the history of the 
 church by prophecy, through the darkest age the church 
 has ever been permitted to experience since the days of 
 Abraham. 
 
 I. I shall show what we may understand by "the 
 Woman " in our text. 
 
 II. I shall show what we are to understand by the 
 great red dragon and beast. 
 
 III. I shall give the history of the woman given in the 
 chapters of our text. 
 
 IV. The time specified in the text, 1260 days, their 
 beginning and end. 
 
 I. What may we understand by woman in our text ? 
 
 I answer. We must understand the people of God, in 
 all ages of the church, whether among the Jew or Gen- 
 tile : she is called a wornan because she is the spouse of 
 Christ ; she is likewise called a woman because of her 
 dependence on Christ for all things. As a man is the 
 head of the woman, so is Christ the head over all things 
 to the church, says the apostle. As the woman depends 
 on her husband for a name, for food, and for raiment, sc 
 18 
 
906 LECTURE XIV* 
 
 likewise the church on Christ, for a name — " And thou 
 shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the 
 Lord shall name," Isa. Ixii. 2 — 5. " And they were 
 called Christians first at A ntioch." For food, our text 
 says, "that they should feed her there," &c. The 
 prophet Isaiah says, xl. 11, " He shall feed his flock as a 
 shepherd." John vi. 53, " Except ye eat the flesh of 
 tlie Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in 
 you." For raiment, the psalmist, speaking of the church, 
 says, " She shall be brought to the king in raiment of 
 needlework; her clotliing is wrought gold." The angel 
 to tlie seven churches says, *' He that overcometh, the 
 same shall be clothed in white raiment" And again, 
 " I, John, saw the holy city. New Jerusalem, coming 
 down from God, out of heaven, prepared as a bride 
 adorned for her husband." This shows conclusively 
 that the people of God are compared to a woman. And 
 now let me show, 
 
 II. What we may understand by the great red dragon 
 and beast that persecuted the church, or woman that fled 
 into the wilderness. 
 
 The red dragon is the same power as Daniel's fourth 
 kingdom, the Roman, for the description is the same, 
 having ten horns ; his character, too, is the same. Dan- 
 iel says he should break in pieces the whole earth, and 
 stamp the residue with his feet ; that he should work 
 deceitfully, &c. John says that the dragon drew a 
 third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them 
 to the earth, and that he deceiveth the whole world. 
 The Roman government, then, must be the apocalyptical 
 red dragon beast, having seven heads and ten horns. 
 The Roman power is called i-ed, either because of their 
 persecuting and bloody spirit, or on account of their 
 emperors wearing purple robes, when dressed in state ; 
 either might be sufficient to entitle them to the appella- 
 tion " red." " Dragon " is undoubtedly given the Ro- 
 man government from the fact that the Romans changed 
 their forms of government so often, having seven dif- 
 ferent forms in about five hundred years, and from their 
 deceitful, cunning, intriguing manner by which they ob- 
 tained power over the nations around them, that they 
 
Christ's second coming. 207 
 
 were properly a nondescript ; and could not be described 
 by Daniel or John by any thing- seen on earth ; and 
 therefore they took one of the inhabitants of the bot- 
 tomless pit, " the dragon," to describe to us by figure 
 this dreadful, persecuting, and bloody power. The red 
 dragon is, therefore, used as a figure to denote Pagan 
 Rome, and the woman sitting on the scarlet-colored beast 
 to denote the church of Rome, or Papal Rome ; and both 
 together, civil and Papal, make the anti-Christian abom- 
 ination, which would drive the church of Christ into the 
 wilderness, where she would be fed 1260 days, or time, 
 times, and half a time. I shall, 
 
 in. Give the history of the woman, as in the twelfth 
 chapter of Revelation. 
 
 Verse 1, "And there appeared a great wonder in 
 heaven," — John saw this wonderful sight as transpiring" 
 under the gospel day, or government of God, with his 
 people in the gospel, the circle in which the church 
 moves, here called heaven, — "a woman clothed with 
 the sun," the church adorned with gospel light; as 
 " the natural sun gives light to the world, so does the 
 gospel the church, — "and the moon under her feet." 
 This shows us that John had a view of the church while 
 it was in its Jewish state. For the moon represents the 
 ceremonial law, which was typical of the gospel, like 
 the moon shining in a borrowed light, and liable to 
 change when the Shiloh should come. "Under her 
 feet," shows that she walked or stood on the ordinances 
 of God's house, which, like the moon, pointed to the \ 
 sun both before and after Christ. " And upon her head ^ 
 a crown of twelve stars," — first the twelve patriarchs, i 
 afterwards the twelve apostles, Eph. ii. 20. Like stars 
 they are smaller lights in the government of God, and 
 teachers under the law and gospel. 
 
 Verse 2, « And she, being with child," — having the 
 promise that the seed of the ivoman should bruise the 
 serpent's head, — " cried travailing in birth," — denoting \ 
 prayer in faith, — " and pained to be delivered," — that is, \ 
 an anxious and deep longing for the advent of the prom- '. 
 ised Messiah, when she expected deliverance from bon- 
 dage, sin, and all her foes. Matt. xiii. 17. 
 
908 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 Verse 3, " And there appeared another wonder in 
 heaven," — another sight or view of God's government of 
 the world in connection witli the gospel, — " and behold, a 
 great red dragon " — a figurative representation of the 
 Roman kingdom. 
 
 Verse 4, " And his tail drew a third part of the stars 
 of heaven, and did cast them to the earth." Judea be- 
 came a Roman province before the Messiah's advent, 
 which is figured by the tail, and the Jews had for a num- 
 ber of years been governed by tetrarchs or kings of the 
 Romans' appointment The Jews were governed by 
 three different offices, figuratively called 5tor5 — kings, 
 high priest, and sanhedrim, or the seventy elders. When, 
 therefore, the Jews were deprived of their right to ap- 
 point their own kings, one third part of their rulers fell 
 to the Roman power, in this passage called " eartlu^ — 
 " And the dragon stood before the woman which was 
 ready to be delivered," — Herod was then king of the 
 Jews, at the birth of Christ, a representative of the 
 Romans, because he was supported by their authority, — 
 "for to devour her child as soon as it was born." 
 Herod sought the young child's life, to destroy him. 
 See Matt ii. 13. 
 
 Verse 5, " And she brought forth a man child," — J esus 
 Christ, bom of a virgin. " For unto us a child is born, 
 unto us a son is given," &c. Isa. ix. 6, 7, " Who was 
 to rule all nations with a rod of iron," denoting the 
 power of Christ to break in pieces and subdue all the 
 kingdoms of the earth. Psalms ii. 9. Rev. xix. 15, — 
 " and her child was caught up to God and his throne." 
 Christ has ascended up on high, and is seated at the 
 right hand of the Father until he makes his enemies his 
 footstool." See John vi. 62. Eph. iv. 8—10. 
 
 Verse 6, " And the woman fled into the wilderness, 
 where she hath a place prepared of God." The church 
 had grown weary of the protection of the Roman power, 
 for she found, by woful experience, that whenever she 
 placed herself under the protection of this red dragon^ 
 he destroyed some of her blessed privileges, and brought 
 in a flood of errors, which caused divisions and subdivis- 
 ions in the church. The Jews had tried their friendship 
 
Christ's second coming. 209 
 
 and protection for more than two hundred years before 
 and after Christ, and the event proved the destruction of 
 their nation and place. The Christians, too, had tried 
 the friendship of the same power, under Constantino and 
 succeeding emperors, for little more than two hundred 
 years, beginning A. D. 313, and ending in A. D. 538, as 
 we shall show ; which so corrupted the Romish church 
 that she became the anti-Christian abomination, and the 
 true children of God were driven into the wilderness out 
 from her connection with the anti-Christian church, " the 
 city of the nations," as she is called. But God took care 
 " that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred 
 and threescore days," which is 1260 years, from A. D. 
 538 until 1798, during which time a free toleration of re- 
 ligious rights were not permitted in any of the kingdoms 
 which formerly composed the Roman empire ; but God 
 raised up teachers among them, who retained in a good 
 degree the doctrine and purity of the word of God, and 
 practised the ordinances as tliey were delivered to the 
 saints in the apostles' days : yet but little is known of 
 them for six or seven hundred years. 
 
 Verse 7, " And there was war in heaven." After the 
 prophet John had given us a history of the church, as in 
 the preceding verses, he now goes back to bring up the 
 history of the dragon, the Roman kingdom, and begins 
 his history in the days of Christ and his apostles. " Mi- 
 chael and his angels fought" — Christ and his apostles. 
 See Matt. x. 34, " Think not I am come to send peace . 
 on earth : I came not to send peace, but a sword " — 
 " against the dragon^^ against principalities and powers, 
 and wickedness in high places. — " And the dragon 
 foug^ht, and his angels," imperial Rome and worldly men. 
 
 Verse 8, "And prevailed not, neither was their place 
 found any more in heaven." Rome could not prevail 
 against the kingdom of Christ or the gospel ; for it differed 
 materially from the Jewish mode of worship ; and al- 
 though Rome in her Pagan state could find easy access 
 into the Jewish sanctuary, because of the similarity of 
 their worship, yet when Christ set up his gospel kingdom 
 they were excluded, for none could enter this kingdom 
 without regeneration, faith, and repentance. 
 18* 
 
210 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 Verse 9, " And the great dragon was cast out," — Rome 
 Pagan was deprived from having any authority in the 
 gospel kingdom, as Christ says in John xii. 31, " Now 
 shall the prince of this world be cast out " — " that old 
 serpent," — Rome Pagan is compared to the old serpent 
 because he works deceitfully and deceives the church, 
 (tvoman,) as the serpent did Eve, the woman in tlie gar- 
 den, — " called the devil," because they devour and per- 
 secute with a devilish spirit, — <* and Satan," because 
 satan-like he claims power over all kingdoms of the 
 world — " which deceiveth the whole world." — This 
 may be said of Rome, for she conquered more nations 
 by deceit and flattery than by fair warfare. — '* He was 
 cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out 
 with him." This was literally fulfilled when Christ cut 
 off' the Jews and all unbelievers ; when he said, " My 
 kingdom is not of this world ; " when he excluded the 
 kingdoms of this earth from participating in the spiritual 
 kingdom which they claimed on account of their author- 
 ity among men. 
 
 Verse 10, " And I heard a loud voice saying in heav- 
 en," — many voices in the church under the gospel dis- 
 pensation, — " Now is come salvation, and strength, and 
 the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ" — 
 This represents the grand chorus of all the saints, when 
 they discover the true principle on which the kingdom 
 of God is built. This was literally true at the day of 
 Pentecost. — " For the accuser of our brethren is cast 
 down, which accused them before our God night and 
 day." The Romans had, by drawing the Jews into 
 idolatry, caused them to sin against God in all their 
 evening and morning sachfices. And by these means, 
 they were accused before God, that is, God was angry 
 with them, and destroyed our brethren, the Jews. 
 
 Verse 11, " And tliey overcame him by the blood of 
 the Lamb," — by the blood of atonement, all believers in 
 Christ do finally overcome the powers of darkness and 
 princes of this world, — " and by the word of their testi- 
 mony," — preaching and testimony of the apostles. — 
 **And they loved not their lives unto the death" — 
 
Christ's second coming. 211 
 
 suffered martyrdom. This was fulfilled in the death of 
 the apostles and others. 
 
 Verse 12, " Therefore rejoice ye heavens, and ye that 
 dwell in them." It was a matter of great joy among the 
 primitive Christians, to be counted worthy to suffer per- 
 secution for Christ's sake. " Woe to tlie inhabitants of 
 the earth," — those who live under the Roman govern- 
 ment, — " and of the sea," — meaning the principal king- 
 dom among the ten kingdoms. France is generally 
 meant by sea in this prophecy. " For the devil is come 
 down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth 
 that he hath but a short time." The devil means 
 destroyer, and the tliree woes, and seven last plagues, 
 were all to be sent upon the eartli and sea, which denote 
 wars, revolutions, and changing of governments. These 
 things would prevail in the close of this Roman king- 
 dom, and war would be the closing up of the earthly 
 scene of this fourth kingdom which Daniel saw and 
 John has been describing under the figure of the " great 
 red dragon." 
 
 Verse 13, " And when the dragon saw that he was 
 cast unto the earth," — when the Roman government 
 saw they could have no control in the things of Christ's 
 kingdom, they hated the church and the doctrine that 
 taught that Christ's kingdom was not of this world, and 
 they " persecuted the woman that brought forth the man 
 child," which is the church that had a Savior born unto 
 her, Christ Jesus, the Lord of life and glory. |. 
 
 Verse 14, " And to the woman was given two wings ' 
 of a great eagle," — by which wings I understand the \ 
 means God used between the Arian and Papal contro- \ 
 versy, at the time of the division of the Greek or eastern i 
 church from the west or Roman church, which happened 
 in the reign of Justinian, emperor of the east, about A. 
 D. 538, when the controversy arose concerning the 
 worshipping of departed saints, images, and the infallibil- 
 ity of the church at Rome. In tliis controversy, many 
 privately withdrew themselves, and settled in the north- 
 west part of Asia and in the north-east part of Europe, 
 and after a number of years colonies were sent by them 
 
Sl2 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 into Piedmont and valleys of the Alps, where it is 
 supposed the true worship of God was retained during 
 the dark ages of Papal ignorance, bigotry, and super- 
 stition. (See Milner's Church History, and Benedict's 
 History of the Baptists.) — " that she might fly into the 
 wilderness, into her place," — a separation from the 
 world, as says the voice from heaven, " Come out of her, 
 my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that 
 ye receive not of her plagues," Rev. xviii. 4. — " where 
 she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time," — fed 
 and nourished by the spirit and word of God 1260 years. 
 " from the face of the serpent " — from the knowledge 
 of Papal Rome. 
 
 Verse 15, " And the serpent cast out of his mouth wa- 
 ters as a flood after the woman," — waters, in prophecy, 
 means people. Rev. xvii. 15. Therefore I understand 
 this prophecy to have been fulfilled when the Pope, the 
 head of Papal Rome, sent forth his armies and inquisition 
 to subdue the heretics, as he called them, who dwelt in 
 tlie valleys of the Alps, which was about the beginning 
 of the thirteenth century, — " that he might cause her to 
 be carried away of the flood " — exterminated and de- 
 stroyed by his armies and inquisition. 
 
 Verse 16, " And the earth helped t^he woman, and the 
 earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood 
 which the dragon cast out of his mouth." This verse 
 was fulfilled in the wars which followed the above- 
 mentioned time of persecution, in which the German 
 princes helped their subjects against the armies of the 
 Pope, and destroyed and swallowed up many of the Pa- 
 pal armies, from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. 
 Or, as some authors have supposed, the waters which 
 the dragon cast out of his mouth was the flood of 
 errors which arose about the time of the French revolu- 
 tion, under the name of Deism, which was calculated to 
 destroy the doctrine of the gospel, as they vainly 
 supposed, backed up by the republican armies of France, 
 and afterwards by the power of Bonaparte, who was 
 finally subdued by the combinations of the kings of the 
 earth. But, as this transaction seems to me to be too 
 
Christ's second coming. 213 
 
 late to affect the woman in her exiled state, I have in- 
 clined, in my humble opinion, to my first exposition of 
 these texts. 
 
 Verse 17, " And the dragon was wroth with the wo- 
 man,' — Papal Rome was angry with the true church, — 
 " and went to make war with the remnant of her seed." 
 This war has not yet come ; for it is evident by the ex- 
 pression " remnant of her seed," that it means the last of 
 the church " who keep the commandments of God, and 
 have the testimony of Jesus Christ." This is the last 
 struggle of this anti-Christian beast, and is described in 
 many places as the last great battle, or the supper of the 
 great God. Such expressions as " and went," as though 
 5iis power would go to some place out of their own 
 territory, and " the kings of the east might be prepared," 
 show that they will go west I am, therefore, con- 
 strained to believe that this battle of the dragon's last 
 power will be in America; and if so, it must be mainly 
 in these United States. It will be a battle on political 
 principles, as we may learn by the passage in Rev. xvL 
 13 — 16, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs 
 come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the 
 mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false 
 prophet ; " — the " unclean spirits " shows that it is politi- 
 cal principles ; and, like the frogs in Egypt, it will per- 
 vade all the departments of life — the social, civil, and 
 religious. By " dragon," we must understand tlie kings 
 of the earth ; by the " beast," Papal principles, or the 
 church of Rome; by the "false prophet," Mahometan 
 power ; — " for they are the spirit of devils, working mira- 
 cles," — that is, spirit of deceit, separating friends, divi- 
 ding kingdoms, states, societies, churches, and families, 
 and crumbling every man-made institution, and levelling 
 to the dust all law, order, and bond of union, which the 
 wisdom of man may have invented, — " which go forth 
 unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world." 
 This shows the universal spread of this fanatical spirit 
 of disorganization, and it will finally lead to " gather 
 them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." 
 "Behold, I am come as a thief. Blessed is he that 
 watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked 
 
214 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 and tney see his shame." We are here notified that 
 his coming will be like a thief to those who are engaged 
 in this political warfare, and in those popular and men- 
 made societies of the day ; and we are told that those 
 will be blessed who watch, that is, for his coming, and 
 the signs of the times, and that keepeth his garments 
 unspotted from these worldly institutions, wliich engen- 
 der strife and animosity among brethren. Be warned, 
 dear Christian, " enter into thy chamber, and hide thy- 
 self for a little moment, until the indignation be over 
 and past, tliat ye need not be ashamed before him at his 
 coming." It will also be a battle of religious principles, 
 as is evident by the following scripture. Rev. xix. 11 — 16, 
 " And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse ; 
 and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, 
 and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His 
 eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many 
 crowns ; and he had a name written that no man knew 
 but he himself, and he was clothed with a vesture 
 dipped in blood ; and his name is called The Word of 
 God. And the armies which were in heaven followed 
 him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and 
 clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that 
 with it he should smite the nations ; and he shall rule 
 them with a rod of iron ; and he treadeth the wine-press 
 of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." This 
 passage proves that there will be at the close of this dis- 
 pensation, immediately preceding the marriage of the 
 Lamb to his bride, a great and last struggle between 
 error and truth, between infidelity and the word of God. 
 And you may inquire, perhaps, and with propriety too, 
 How shall we know on which side we are engaged in 
 this great war of principle ? I answer, " In righteous- 
 ness," he doth make war. But, say you, we are so prone 
 to follow tradition or prepossessed notions, and think we 
 are right, that, like Paul, we may be found at last fighting 
 against God. You must see to it, that you are " faithful 
 and true," have faith in his name, " and his name is The 
 Word of God." This is your only rule — The Word of 
 God. Be careful; lay yourselves on tliis word. Try 
 yourselves by this standard. If your life, faith, experi- 
 
^r* 
 
 Christ's second coming. 215 
 
 ence, and hope, are built on this foundation, you can 
 never fail ; for he that is The Word of God, is " KING 
 OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Again: it 
 is to be a literal battle with the sword, for Christ says, 
 " He that taketh the sword shall die by the sword." 
 And kings. Papal Rome, and the Mahometans, have 
 ruled the world by the sword, and their swords, during 
 aU the days of their power, have been red with the blood 
 of their subjects, and the innocent victims of their hate. 
 And in Rev. xix. 17 — 20, it is evident, by the "fowls" 
 spoken of in the 17th verse, is meant, warriors in favor 
 of liberty who are to " eat (destroy) tlie flesh (strength or 
 power) of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh 
 of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and them that sit 
 on them, (armies are undoubtedly meant in this passage,) 
 and the flesh of all men," who are engaged in favot of 
 kings, papal Rome, or false prophet, " bol£ free and bond, 
 both small and great" " And I saw the beast and the 
 kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together 
 to make war against him that sat on the horse, and 
 against his army." " And he gathered them together 
 into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon," 
 {awake, to the spoil,) Rev. xvi. 16 — 21. 
 
 These will be the means the dragon will use in his . 
 last great struggle to gain ascendency over the minds, 
 consciences, and bodies of men. He will fan up their 
 political animosities ; he will stir up strife and division 
 among religious communities ; and, last of all, and not 
 least, he will encourage an intolerable thirst for blood. 
 In which battle Christ will come, chain the dragon, give 
 his body to the burning flame, confine the spirits of all 
 who worship the dragon, beast or false prophet, in the 
 pit of woe ; raise the saints, purify, cleanse, and glorify 
 them with his own glory. 
 
 IV. We are to speak of the time the saints, or church, 
 were to be in the wilderness, " one thousand two hun- 
 dred and threescore days." I believe all commenta- 
 tors agree that these days are to be understood years; 
 and, as I have proved this point in a former lecture, I 
 need not stop to argue this given principle at this time, 
 but will proceed to give some proof when this time be- 
 
216 lECTUKE XIV, 
 
 gan and when it ended. The time given in cnir text ia 
 5ie same length of time as given by Daniel for the reign 
 of the little horn. See Daniel vii. 25. It is, also, the 
 same time John has given for the image beast to have 
 power ** to continue forty and two months." Thirty days 
 to a month is 1260 days, Rev. xiii. 5. It is, also, the 
 same length of time that was given the Gentiles to tread 
 the holy city under foot. See Rev. xi. 2. Also for the 
 witnesses to prophesy, clothed in sackcloth. Rev. xi. 3. 
 And there can hardly be a shadow of a doubt but that 
 all these times had their beginning and ending at one 
 and the same time. If so, then the arguments used here- 
 tofore may have their proper bearing in this place. 
 
 But let us consider a few things in addition to our 
 former reasons. 1st. What may we understand by the 
 woman " fleeing into the wilderness," and "from the face 
 of the serpent." We must consider it in a state of ob- 
 scurity ; this was true in the time we have stated, A. D, 
 538. Historians tell us but little about any regular 
 church but the Roman church, and this has never been 
 in an obscure state ; of course the Roman is not the 
 church in the wilderness. But they do tell us that, in 
 the days of Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, there 
 were many schismatics, as they were called, who opposed 
 the power of the bishop or pope of Rome, and doings of 
 councils in the east and west, and a large share of the lat- 
 ter part of Justinian's life was spent in religious broila 
 and expelling from his kingdom these schismatics ; and 
 the code of laws which he published about A. D. 533, 
 forbade any Christians any rights or privileges as citizens 
 in his empire who would not acknowledge the bishop of 
 Rome as head. And in these laws he gave the bishop 
 power to hold courts and try all matters of faith within 
 his kingdom. These, and other things of like import, 
 drove all true followers of the word of God to seek a 
 rest out of the jurisdiction of the city of nations ; and, 
 of course, became outlaws to the Roman government. 
 Then, if we fix the beginning of the exile of the church 
 at the same time of tetting up anti-Christ, A. D. 538^, 
 then the church was in its exiled state until A. D. 1798, 
 '^vhich would be the 1260 years. It is here worthy of 
 
CHRIST^S SECOND COMING. 2l7 
 
 remark, that the cocle of laws passed by Justinian were 
 in full force in the kingdoms belonging" to, or under the 
 control of, the pope of Rome, respecting the rights and 
 privileges of those who might differ from the Catholic 
 faith, until the French took Rome, in 1798, and declared 
 Italy a republic ; when free toleration was given for any 
 religious opinion or privilege whatsoever. Here, then, 
 the church, in whatever form she might appear, was per- 
 mitted to enjoy the rights and privileges of citizens, and 
 to worship God as their conscience might dictate. This 
 is the first time, during the 1260 years, that free tolera- 
 tion of religion was granted in any kingdom where the 
 Catholic church had power; and, although Catholic 
 princes and popes have since had rule in Italy and 
 France, yet they have never dared, as yet, to pursue 
 their former intolerant course of conduct towards Prot- 
 estants. And it is very evident, my dear friends, that 
 the church is now out of the wilderness ; that is, if she 
 ever was ; for there never has been a time since the 
 days of the apostles, no, nor even then, that the church, 
 in all its several branches, has enjoyed greater privileges 
 than for nearly forty years past She has spread her 
 wings over every land, and carried the news of salvation 
 into every language on the known world. Her reapers 
 have followed the sowers of seed, and there is handsfuU 
 of corn in the tops of all the mountains ; but the harvest 
 is short. The church has had rest as long as she has 
 ever had since Christ left her and ascended to his Fa- 
 ther. The dragon begins to show his anger ; the trum- 
 pet begins to sound to the onset; tlie armies of the 
 oeast begin to muster for the battle, they are furbishing 
 their swords for the slaughter ; the kings of the earth 
 are combining against the freedom of 9ieir subjects; 
 the great men and nobles are riveting closer the chains 
 of their vassals ; tyrants are braiding in firmer knots 
 their scorpion whips for their slaves; expediency has 
 taken the room of moral law, and anarchy has crowded 
 order from his seat ; mobs have taken the place of judges, 
 and law is popular will ; the liberty of the press is but 
 the nod of demagogues, and the freedom of speech is 
 19 
 
218 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 called fanaticism. Division seems to be the order of 
 the day, and our valuable institutions are tottering to 
 their base. Be warned, then, O my friends, to seek 
 safety under the banner of the gospel before the armies 
 are filled up. "And the dragon was wroth with the 
 woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her 
 seed which keep the commandments of God, and have 
 the testimony of Jesus Christ" " The spirit of proph- 
 ecy " 
 
LECTURE XV, 
 
 REV. xvi. 17. 
 
 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air 5 and there 
 came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, 
 saying, It is done. 
 
 This text is the account we have in the word of God 
 of the last plague that will ever visit our world, or the 
 inhabitants who hereafter will be permitted to dwell 
 thereon. That is evident, because it is the seventh of 
 the last seven. For John says. Rev. xv. 1, " And I saw 
 another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven an- 
 gels having the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled 
 up the wrath of God." And the wrath of God is filled 
 up, that is, the cup of God's wrath of which he will make 
 all nations drink ; and he will give unto Babylon " the 
 cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." 
 
 Then it cannot be uninteresting to those who wish or 
 who may desire to learn where and when the last plagues 
 have been poured out, and how many yet remain for us 
 to experience. These seven last plagues have had their 
 shadows in the plagues which God sent on slave-holding 
 Egypt, when he delivered his people, the Jews, from their 
 Egyptian bondage, the least of which plagues destroyed 
 Pharaoh and his host, just in the moment when Israel 
 were shouting deliverance on the banks of the Red Sea. 
 So likewise, in the seven last plagues, they are poured 
 out upon spiritual Egypt, slave-holding Babylon, who 
 has enslaved the people of God for centuries, and has 
 trafficked in the bodies and souls of men. She, like 
 
220 LECTURE XV. 
 
 Egypt, has appointed task-masters over the church, and 
 has endeavored to strangle her children in the birth. 
 She has commanded the kings and rulers of the earth to 
 destroy the children of the church, as did the Egyptians 
 the Hebrew midwives ; but the church has found favor 
 in the eyes of some of tlie kings and princes of the earth, 
 and the earth has helped the woman, and her children 
 are not all dead. And their cry has gone up to the Lord 
 of Sabaoth, and he has come down in these seven last 
 plagues to deliver his people from the hand of the spoiler, 
 and from the power of the beast, the anti- Christian 
 abomination ; and when this last vial is poured into the 
 air, all the doctrines of men and devils, and all the the- 
 ories of men and the wisdom of this world will be con- 
 founded and brought to nought The Lord will over- 
 whelm with the red and fiery wrath of his last judgment 
 the kings of the earth, the beast or Catholic church of 
 abomination, the false prophet and all his followers, the 
 great men of the earth, mighty men and captains, ty- 
 rants, slave-holders, rich and poor, bond and free: all 
 who have worshipped the beast or his image, will, like 
 the host of Pharaoh, be destroyed in the general confla- 
 gration of the world, and the saints will shout deliver- 
 ance in the New Jerusalem state. I shall, therefore, 
 
 I. Give the history of the seven last plagues, or the 
 seven vials of wrath. 
 
 IL Show what may be understood hy ^ It is doneJ" 
 I. Then we are to give the history of the seven vials 
 or last plagues ; and for this purpose we must give a com- 
 ment on the sixteenth chapter of Revelation. Verse 1, 
 *< And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to 
 the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials 
 of the wrath of God upon the earth." This verse shows 
 us that these plagues are poured upon the earth at the 
 command of him who sits in the temple of God. Verse 
 2, " And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the 
 earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon 
 the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them 
 which worshipped his image." This first vial was poured 
 upon the earth, meaning the kingdom of the beast or the 
 Roman government. A noisome, a grievous sorCj indi- 
 
Christ's second coming. 221 
 
 m 
 
 cates the dissolution of the body afflicted, and that the 
 constitution is laboring under some inward disease, or 
 affected by contagion from without. It is therefore a fit 
 emblem to represent the exposure of the corruptions of 
 the church of Rome, and breaking out of those loath- 
 some diseases of internal abominations which had been 
 hid for ages from the world by the cunning craftiness 
 of this Papal beast. The men spoken of in this passage 
 are those who worship the beast, and who are the pro- 
 fessed followers of this corrupt society, and all who live 
 under the influence and control of the idolatrous city of 
 nations, and who traffic in her indulgences and abomi- 
 nable practices. This vial then began to be poured out } 
 when the Protestants first published to the world the j 
 corruptions and abominable practices of the church of j 
 Rome, when the world began to see the noisome and | 
 grievous sores that covered the men who pretended to | 
 preach or proclaim the doctrine, laws, or commands of » 
 this beast. And of course this plague was sent on the : 
 Romish church about the year A. D. 1529, under the I 
 preaching of Luther, Calvin, and others who opposed and 
 exposed the corruptions of the church of Rome. 
 
 Verse 3, " And the second angel poured out his vial 
 upon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man ; 
 and every living soul died in the sea." The sea, in 
 prophetic language, is the centre of some great nation, 
 or society of men, as in a restless and turbulent state ; 
 and the things living in the sea, are the persons living 
 under the power or control of this nation, or society. 
 lAving sovl denotes those persons who have been bom 
 of the Spirit, and are in possession of that living faith 
 in God, and love for all men. " As the blood of a dead 
 man." There is something very striking in this figure — 
 not an ordinary figure of blood, which denotes war and 
 mortal controversy, but cold, congealed blood ; the blood 
 of a dead man denoting a massacre in cool blood, with- 
 out any resistance on the part of those murdered. This t 
 vial was, then, poured out in France, the principal king- f 
 dom in the Roman ten horns, in the year A. D. 1572, at f 
 the massacre of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's I 
 eve, when 50,000 were slain in one night, and the streets j 
 19* ^ 
 
232 LECTURE XV. 
 
 ran blood, as Sully tells us, in some places ankle deep, 
 in the city of Paris. This massacre was in cold blood ; 
 for the same historian tells us, that the king stood in his 
 balcony, and shot down his naked and defenceless sub- 
 jects as they were fleeing through the streets. This 
 happened in France, the stoutest of the Papal horns — 
 the chief instrument in establishing, building up, and 
 supporting that cruel, murderous power of Papacy. 
 
 Verse 4, " And the third angel poured out his vial up- 
 on the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became 
 blood." By " rivers and fountains of water," I under- 
 stand the nations and states who live around the centre, 
 or sea, as it was called in the preceding vial. By " blood," 
 I understand destructive war. " And I heard the angel 
 of the waters say. Thou art righteous, O Lord, which 
 art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged 
 thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and 
 prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for 
 they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar 
 say. Even so. Lord God Almighty, true and righteous 
 are thy judgments." In these verses we have the rea- 
 sons given, why they were visited with this scourge of 
 war, because, in the preceding vial, they had shed the 
 blood of saints ; which proves tJiat the exposition of that 
 vial, which I have already given, is correct This vial, 
 then, was poured out upon the nations that had given 
 their strength and their power to the beast; and the 
 governments were filled with war and blood. This vial 
 was poured out about A. D. 1630, and lasted nearly fifty 
 years. Spain and Portugal carried on a bloody and de- 
 structive war for more than thirty years of this time, 
 France was torn by civil and intestine wars during a 
 long period. The civil wars in England began under 
 king Charles I., 1642, which lasted with but little cessa- 
 tion, until king George I. ascended the throne, in 1714, 
 Germany was filled with blood, between the contentions 
 of the Evangelical league and Catholic league, " which 
 gave rise to a ruinous war, which lasted thirty years." 
 See Guthrie, vol. i., page 443. This war was headed, on 
 the part of the Protestants, by Gustavus Adolphus, king 
 of Sweden, who was killed at the battle of Lutzen, A, 
 
B. 1632, which war lasted until the peace of Munster, 
 1648. The other kingdoms of the ancient empire of 
 Rome were more or less drenched in blood, and civil 
 w^ars, on account of their religious tenets, and conten- 
 tion of their rulers and sovereign princes. These were 
 the heavy judgments which God saw fit to inflict upon 
 the kingdoms and states of the church of Rome, for the 
 innocent blood which she had shed of the Protestants 
 who had protested against her cruel and blasphemous 
 practices. " For they have shed the blood of saints and 
 prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for 
 they are worthy." " And the fourth angel poured out his 
 vial upon the sun, and power was given unto him to 
 scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with 
 great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath 
 power over these plagues ; and they repented not to give 
 him glory." The sun is the great source of light and 
 heat, and, in prophetic language, is an emblem of the 
 gospel, as explained in the 19th Psalm, 4 — 10. " Their 
 line has gone out through all the earth, and their words 
 to the end of the world. In them hath he set a taberna- 
 cle for the sun," &c. To " scorch men " with fire, signifies 
 to make men angry ; " great heat," uncommonly angry, 
 vengeful, malicious. This vial was poured out in tlie 
 last century, when the gospel was proclaimed in these 
 kingdoms of the beast. Now, during the greater part 
 of the last century, and in all the kingdoms where the 
 gospel was preached, there were manifested insidious 
 attempts and a systematic opposition against the gospel 
 of Jesus Christ, or the Holy Scriptures. This opposi- 
 tion was headed by Frederick, king of Prussia, and aided 
 by all the wits, men of genius and learning, as they 
 boasted, of all Europe and America ; and in their secret 
 assemblies, or clubs, they went so far as to calculate 
 about what length of time it would take for them to de- 
 stroy and exterminate the religion of the " Galilean and 
 his twelve fishermen ; " and no writers that ever wrote 
 took such unwearied pains, showed so much virulence 
 and anger, blasphemed the name of God to such a de- 
 gree, as these writers ; and none, either before or since, 
 have ever dared to exhibit the like. "And tliey re- 
 
9RM LECTURE XV. 
 
 pented not to give him the glory." I believe it is not 
 known, that any of these principal deistical writers were 
 converted to the religion of Jesus Christ before their death, 
 to give God the glory. Yet I think we have some ac- 
 count of many of them dying in horror, at the frightful 
 view of the future, in consequence of their blasphemous 
 lives against the majesty of the King of kings. There- 
 fore, in the history of the Deists in the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, we have the history of the plague of the fourth 
 vial. " And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the 
 seat of the beast ; and his kingdom was full of darkness, 
 and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed 
 the God of heaven, because of their pains and their 
 sores, and repented not of their deeds." " The seat of 
 the beast" must mean those ten kingdoms on which the 
 woman sitteth, which is ancient Rome. " Full of dark- 
 ness" must mean full of wickedness, confusion, and 
 every evil work. " Gnawed -their tongues for pain " 
 shows shame, disgrace, and disappointment. This vial 
 was poured out in the French revolution, about 1798. 
 When Bonaparte began his extraordinary career, exalted 
 to the pinnacle of power, he dethrones the pope, (whose 
 power and authority had made kings and emperors quail 
 at his feet, who had ruled over the nations with despotic 
 sway for more than 1200 years,) and makes Rome the 
 second city of France ; conquers the ancient monarchies ; 
 deluges every country with blood ; masters every king ; 
 gathers spoils from every land, and humbles cities in the. 
 dust ; changes the laws of kingdoms, and destroys the 
 most sacred constitutions of the Roman states. In this 
 revolution among the Roman kingdoms, and under this 
 vial, the bastile was demolished, the inquisition destroyed, 
 torture suppressed, and the power of the Papal clergy 
 restrained. Their kingdoms were full of darkness ; tJiey 
 were troubled, chafed, and grieved; a thousand plots 
 were laid ; many times they confederated against him, 
 the master spirit of the times ; but they prevailed not, 
 until tliis vial had its accomplishment on the seat of the 
 beast. Yet, after all this wonderful display of God's 
 judgments upon the beast and kingdoms of ancient 
 Rome, they repented not, but, Pharaoh-like, they bias- 
 
Christ's second coming. 225 
 
 phemed God, because of their pains and their sores. 
 " And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great 
 river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, 
 tliat the way of the kings of the east might be pre- 
 pared." The scene has now changed from Europe to 
 Turkey. The " river Euphrates " means, in prophecy, the 
 people of that country bordering on the river, and, of 
 course, refers to the Turkish power, as I have formerly 
 shown in my lecture on the fifth and sixth trumpet : 
 " Water thereof was dried up," is an emblem of the j 
 power and strengtli of that kingdom being diminished, 
 or taken away. This vial was poured out on Turkey, 
 by the loss of a great share of the empire ; first, Russia on 
 the north, in her last war with the Turks, took away a 
 number of provinces ; then, by the revolt of Ali Pacha ; 
 then, by the rising of the Greeks ; since, by the Albani- 
 ans and Georgians, and other distant parts of the em- 
 pire, becoming disaffected ; which, all together, have so 
 wasted the power of the Turks, that, now, it is very 
 doubtful whether she can maintain her power against 
 her own intestine enemies ; and, to compare her now 
 with her former greatness, would be like comparing a 
 fordable stream with the great river Euphrates ; so that 
 the way now appears to be prepared for the kin^ to 
 come up to tlie battle of the great day, in which the 
 false prophet is now to take his part, as we shall see in 
 our next verse. 
 
 " And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
 of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the 
 beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet ; for 
 they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go 
 forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, 
 to gather them to the battle of the great day of God 
 Almighty." Now, if we can decipher this passage, we 
 can tell what are now and what will be the signs of the ' . 
 times. « Three unclean spirits." By this we must un- 
 derstand three wicked principles. " Frogs " I understand 
 to show us that it is political. As frogs came over the i 
 land in the judgment on Egypt, and pervaded every 
 house, even the palace of the king, so do politics. 
 "Mouth" denotes orders or commands. The dragon is 
 
226 LECTURE XV. 
 
 a figure of the kings of the earth. The beast is used to 
 represent Papacy. The false prophet evidently repre- 
 sents Mahometanism. These have all the spirit of 
 devils. The devil pretends to claim power over all the 
 kingdoms of the world, (see Rev. xii. 9,) there called the 
 devil. Papacy is said, in Rev. xiii. 2, to receive its 
 power from the dragon, and to come out of the bottom- 
 less pit, and shall go into perdition ; of course, must be- 
 long to Satan's kingdom. The false prophet, too, is to 
 be " cast alive into a lake of lire burning with brhn- 
 stone." All these powers have pretended to work mira^ 
 cles, to establish their authority over the bodies and 
 souls of men. But what are the principles which each 
 of these teach their political followers ? The dragon 
 and his political party, in whatever nation they may 
 appear, (as all three of these political principles must 
 pervade the whole earth,) will support tyranny, slavery, 
 and aggrandizement of the few at the expense of many. 
 The beast and his political party will be known only by 
 their hypocrisy, bigotry, and superstition. Their princi- 
 pal object will be to operate on the hopes and fears of 
 men, and so gain an ascendency over the minds of the 
 individuals who may be so unfortunate as to be found in 
 their ranks. The- false prophet will fill his party witJi 
 notions of infidelity, lust, and conquest. And the spirit 
 of all these parties, working at one and the same time, 
 in all nations, and among all people, will produce an ef- 
 fect which only can be known to mortals in experiencing 
 the conflict " Behold, I come as a thief Blessed is he 
 that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk 
 naked, and they see his shame." This verse gives us 
 notice of the near approach of him who hath all power 
 in heaven and earth. " For when they say. Peace and 
 safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and 
 they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in 
 darkness, that that day shall overtake you as a thief." 
 Watch, therefore, for if ye have put on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, keep your garment, • and let none take your 
 crown, that you may be found of him without spot and 
 blameless. « And he gathered them together into a 
 place called, in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon ;" that 
 
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING. 227 
 
 is, " Where the Lord will declare his precious fruit" 
 This gathering is the same spoken of in Matt. xxv. 32, 
 " And before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he 
 shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd di- 
 videth his sheep from the goats." In the place Arma- 
 geddon, the Lord will manifest who are his ; he will 
 separate the cliaff from the wheat, the wicked from the 
 just The wheat he will gather into his garner ; they 
 will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, while the 
 chaff will be burnt with unquenchable fire. His own 
 right hand shall save us while his last plague shall be 
 poured out upon the head of his enemies. " And the 
 seventh angel poured his vial into the air ; and there 
 came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the 
 throne, saying, It is done." The seventh and last via] 
 of God's wrath will be poured into the air about the 
 year 1840, if my former calculations are correct, when 
 this judgment will have a quick and rapid circulation 
 over the whole globe. Like the air, it will pervade 
 every kingdom, circulate into every nation, sow the seeds 
 of anarchy in every society, and disorganize every 
 bond of union among men, except the gospel. " And 
 there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and a 
 great earthquake, such as was not since men were 
 upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." 
 Voices, political strife. Thunders is an emblem of di- 
 visions. Lightning is a representation of anger and 
 war. Great earthquake denotes a great revolution. 
 And there will be, when this vial is poured out, political 
 strife among all nations, divisions among all sects, socie- 
 ties, and associations of men upon earth. Anger, war, and 
 bloodshed will fill the countries with horror and dismay ; 
 and a great revolution, such as was not since men were 
 upon earth, so mighty a revolution and so great " And 
 the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities 
 of the nations fell ; and great Babylon came in remem- 
 brance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine 
 of the fierceness of his wrath." The great city is the 
 woman which reigneth over the kings of the earth, says 
 the angel. Rev. xvii. 18. And the woman is Papacy. 
 Papacy must also be divided into three parties, to show 
 
12^ LECTITRE XV. 
 
 her dissolution* And the cities of the nations felL As 
 city denoted the papal power and religion, so does aties 
 represent the power and religion of all other nations. 
 Therefore all the power, and all national religion, will 
 fall in and under this vial, and the anti-Christian power 
 will be judged ; all their sins, cruel persecutions, and 
 bloody deeds, will be brought into judgment into re- 
 membrance before God, and he will fill to her the cup 
 which she has made others drink, and she in her turn 
 must drink the dregs. " And every island fled away, 
 and the mountains were not found." Islands and moun" 
 tains are figures of great and small kingdoms and gov- 
 ernments. This text alludes to the same time and 
 circumstances which Nebuchadnezzar's dream does, 
 Daniel ii. 35, 45 — -when the stone cut out without 
 hands shall smite the image upon his feet, and all the 
 kingdoms of the earth be carried away, tbat no place 
 shall be found for tliem. In this verse it is, the " moun- 
 tains were not found." "And there fell upon men a 
 great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight 
 of a talent, and men blasphemed God because of the 
 plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof was exceed- 
 mg great" This closes the history of the seven last 
 plagues, and this storm of hail is the last part of the 
 seventh vial ; it is the closing up of the judgments of God 
 on an ungodly world. Whether we are to understand 
 this hail figuratively or literally, I am not able to say ; 
 but my prevailing opinion is, tliat we are to understand 
 it literally, for this reason— I have never been able in the 
 word of God to find any figurative explanation, although 
 it is used in a number of places with particular reference 
 to the last day. Isa. xxviii. 17, " Judgment also will I 
 lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, and 
 the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the 
 waters shall overflow the hiding-places." xxx. 30, 
 "And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be 
 heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, 
 with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of 
 a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hail- 
 stones." Ezek. xiii. 11, 13, "Say unto them which 
 daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall ; there 
 
Christ's second coming. 22D 
 
 slial) be an overflowing shower ; and ye, O great hail- 
 stones, shall fall ; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 
 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, I will even rend it 
 with a stormy wind in my fury ; and there shall be an 
 overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hail-stonea 
 in my fury, to consume it." Ezek. xxxviii. 22, "And 
 I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood ; 
 and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon 
 the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, 
 and great hail-stones, fire and brimstone." Also, Rev. 
 xi. 19, " And there were lightnings, and voices, and 
 thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." 
 
 By reading the connection of these texts, you cannot 
 but be struck with the agreement of the prophets in their 
 descriptions of this last and dreadful judgment of God 
 upon the world. All of them evidently fix it on the last 
 day ; all call it apparently a rain of great hail-stones, 
 like those which fell upon Egypt in the days of Moses. 
 Exodus ix. 23—25, " And Moses stretched forth his rod 
 toward heaven ; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and 
 the fire ran along upon the ground ; and the Lord rained 
 hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and 
 fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there 
 was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it be- 
 came a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the 
 land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and 
 beast ; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and 
 brake every tree of the field." This, it is evident, is tlie 
 type of the last part of the seventh plague. 
 
 And now, my friends, will you believe ? Six of these 
 plagues have been accomplished in as literal a manner 
 as we could expect, after a fair and scriptural explana- 
 tion of the figures and metaphors used. And again I 
 ask. Do you believe ? You think, perhaps, you will wait 
 until you see the hail come, and llien you will believe. 
 But will you not recollect that our text says, " And they 
 blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail " ? 
 Will you thus tempt God through six successive judg- 
 ments, and wait for the last before you will believe ? 
 What hope or prospect have you that the seventh will 
 do what the six preceding could not do — that is, make 
 
JfiJO LECTURE XV. 
 
 you believe ? Is there one rational conviction that you 
 will be then convinced ? No, not one. Then will you 
 not see and learn wisdom by what is gone before ? 
 Pharaoh had no space for repentance under, or even just 
 before the last plague. And so it will be with you ; the 
 door will have been shut before any part of the seventh 
 vial will be poured out, for then will be heard a great 
 Voice reverberating through the upper vault of heaven, 
 and, sounding even to the dark cells of the pit of woe, 
 shaking the middle air with its deep-toned thunder, and, 
 like the lightning, darting its vivid flash of fire from east 
 to west, will pierce the deafest ear, and make the hardest 
 heart to break, although a thousand fold more hard than 
 the adamantine rock, saying, " It is done,^^ This brings 
 me to show, 
 II. What we may understand by " It is done." 
 The first question which naturally arises on the mind 
 is, What is done ? When Christ was about expiating 
 for the sins of the world ; when he was closing up the 
 work which his Father gave him to do on earth in the 
 flesh ; when the spirit was about leaving the tenement 
 of clay which it had inhabited through a life of thirty- 
 three years of pain, sufferings, deprivations, sorrows, 
 groans, and tears, made more acute by temptations try- 
 ing as the arch-demon of hell could invent ; suffering 
 reproach from the haughty Pharisee, and the more ob- 
 stinate Sadducee, and contempt and ridicule from the 
 base rabble of his own people ; persecuted even until 
 death by the envy, malice, and hatred of those who had 
 received boons and blessings of life at his hands, — he had 
 saved them from disease, death, and the rage of demons ; 
 yet, in this moment of great need, he was forsaken of 
 all ; they stood afar off"; and when he was about giving 
 up the ghost, he cried, " It is finished ! " and bowed his 
 head, and died. The fratricide man could do no more ; 
 he had followed him to death ; beyond that the envy of 
 his brother could not reach him. The rabble, who a 
 few days before had cried, Hosannas to the Son of Da- 
 vid ! this day were crying. Crucify him ! crucify him ! 
 now could cry no more, but with downcast looks, re- 
 turned into the city. The Pharisees and rulers could 
 do no more ; they had plotted his death, and obtained 
 
Christ's second coming. 231 
 
 their object; but into the dark recess of the tomb 
 they dare not, they would not, follow. The great red 
 dragon (the Roman power) had sought his life when a 
 child, but the hour had not come. Herod sought his life 
 when a man, but he could not succeed until the last day 
 of the seventy weeks should be accomplished. Then 
 the powers of earth, wicked men, and devils, could com- 
 bine to take the life of the Lord of glory. Then, while 
 these powers had control, the heavens hid their face ; 
 nature stood back aghast, and the material world shud- 
 dered with a groan. Then, at that awful, fitful period, 
 he who had been the object of all this malice, cried 
 with a loud voice, " It is finished ! " The work on earth 
 in the flesh is finished ; the temptations of Satan aro 
 finished ; the persecution of his brethren are finished ; 
 envy, malice, and hatred towards the person of Christ are 
 finished ; the power of earth, hell, and wicked men to do 
 any thing with him, is finished ; death has no more ter- 
 rors over him. It is finished. 
 
 Although Christ had finished his work, and had endured 
 all the sufferings which he was to finish ; yet in his 
 spiritual body, the church, the measure of his sufferings 
 was to be filled up. His people must pass through the 
 same scenes in the world as their divine Master had ex- 
 perienced from Satanic temptations and the hatred of the 
 world. "The world will hate you and persecute you 
 for my name's sake, even as they hated me before they 
 hated you," says our blessed Redeemer. Therefore the 
 same manifestations of cruelty, contempt, persecution, 
 and death, were to be acted over again in the church 
 until the 2300 years should be accomplished, when 
 Christ would come again, receive home his weary, per- 
 secuted people, conquer death, and him that had the 
 power of death, which is the devil. " And there came a 
 great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, 
 saying, It is done." The power of earth, hell, and wick- 
 ed men over the dear people of God, is done. Their 
 temptation in the flesh is done ; their trials, persecutions, 
 sufferings, darkness, fears, and death itself, are done. 
 As the sufferings of the head was finished in Christ, so 
 will all the pains of the body be completed when the 
 seventh and last vial shall be poured into the air, and 
 
232 LECTURE XV. 
 
 cleanse the atmosphere from all noxious vapors, pes- 
 tilence, and death. "Then shall the sanctuary be 
 cleansed," and then will the great voice from the throne 
 say. It is done. These old heavens and this old earth 
 will have passed away, and the New Jerusalem come 
 " down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride 
 adorned for her husband," Rev. xxi. 3—6, 
 
 " And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying. Be- 
 hold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
 with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself 
 shall be with them and be their God, and God shall wipe 
 away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no 
 more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there 
 be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. 
 And he that sat upon the throne said. Behold, I make all 
 things new. And he said unto me. Write ; for these 
 words are true and faithful. And he said unto me. It is 
 done." Here we have the same expression as in our 
 text, having the same identical meaning, the same " great 
 voice," in one as in the other ; the same throne, and the 
 same voice speaking, alluding to the same perio.d of time 
 when the old things are done away and the new heavens 
 are finished, to the same point in prophecy, " the end." 
 Therefore, as we have passed the sixth vial, the seventh 
 and last hangs trembling in the air. The drops of this 
 vial are already contaminating the minds of men ; already 
 wc see the unclean spirit going forth ; the great city is 
 being divided, and the signs of the heavens denote a 
 moral conflict, and on the earth a speedy revolution. 
 
 Then, my friends, let us be wise ; let us make peace 
 with Him who has power to save or to destroy. For we 
 learn by our subject that the world and worldly scenes 
 are passing away; every vestige of mortal grandeur, 
 every form of carnal pride, every fashion of human glory 
 will soon be eclipsed by the grandeur of that great white 
 throne from whose face the heavens and earth will flee 
 away, and the great voice from the throne will sound 
 the last requiem, " It is done.''^ 
 
 " Yet when the sound shall tear the skies, 
 
 And lightning- bum the ^lobe below, 
 Saints, you may lift j'our joyful eves 5 
 
 There's a new heaven and earth for you." 
 
LECTURE XVI. 
 
 MATT. XXV. 1. 
 
 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins 
 which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 
 
 Para-Bles are always given to illustrate some doc- 
 trine or subject which the speaker wishes to communi- 
 cate, and is an easy or familiar manner of making his 
 hearers or readers understand the subject, and receive 
 a lasting impression. Nothing has so good an effect on 
 the mind as to teach by parables moral precepts or 
 spiritual truths. In this way we are taught by visible 
 things, or familiar objects, to realize, in some measure, 
 the truths and subjects presented. This was the man- 
 ner Christ taught his disciples and followers, that their 
 memories might the more easily retain, and be often 
 refreshed, when they beheld any scene like the repre- 
 sentation of the parable ; and in this way, they might 
 always keep in view the important truth that is likened 
 to the parable. A parable, rightly applied and clear- 
 ly understood, gives good instruction, and is a lasting 
 illustration of the truth. But if we apply the parable 
 wrong, if we put on' a false construction, it will serve 
 to lead us into an error, and blind us, instead of produ- 
 cing hght, — as Christ T.aid of the Pharisees, he spake 
 to them in parables, that, "seeing, they might see and 
 not perceive, and hearing, they might hear and not un- 
 derstand." Men often explain parables by fancy, to 
 suit their own notions, without any evidence but their 
 own ingenuity ; and by this means there will be as many 
 20 * 
 
234 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 different explanations as there are ingenious men. But 
 I dare not trifle thus with the word of God: if we can- 
 not, by the word of God, explain, we had better leave 
 the same as we find it, and not attempt what must only 
 result in guess-work at last ; but follow Scripture rule, 
 and we cannot get far from the truth. CJirist has given 
 us rules by which to explain parables, by explaining 
 some himself. The explanations given by Christ of the 
 parable of the tares and the wheat, is a rule that will 
 bear in about all cases. That he has given rules, is 
 very evident in his answer to his disciples, when they 
 asked him concerning his parables. Mark iv. 13, " And 
 he said unto them, Know ye not this parable ? How, 
 then, will ye know all parables ?" That is, if ye under- 
 stand how I explain this parable, you will know how to 
 explain all others ; but if you do not understand how I 
 explain this, you cannot explain all others." This is the 
 rule. Christ made all the prominent parts of a parable 
 figures ; such as the sower, Son of man ; good seed, 
 children of the kingdom ; taresy children of the wicked 
 one ; liarvest, end of the world ; reapers, the angels ; " as, 
 therefore, the tares are gathered and burned, so shall 
 it be in the end of the world," &c. Here is a sample ; 
 good seed, tares, harvest, and reapers, are figures rep- 
 resenting other things, as we have shown. " But how," 
 say you, " shall we always know what these figures rep- 
 resent ? " I answer. By the explanation given in other 
 parts of the Bible. For the word of God is its own 
 expositor, or it can be of no manner of use to us ; for 
 if we have to apply to any other rule, to explain the 
 Bible, then, the other rule would be tantamount, and 
 have a precedence, and the Bible must fall of course. 
 But it is not so. Then, to explain our subject, I 
 shall, 
 
 I. Show what is meant by the figures used in the 
 parable. 
 
 II. The time to which this parable is applicable, 
 and, 
 
 III. Make an application of our subject. 
 
 I. I will explain the figures in the parable ; and, 1st, 
 " kingdom of heaven" means the gospel day, or circle 
 
Christ's second coming. 235 
 
 of God's government under the gospel dispensation. 
 This I shall prove by the word of God. Matt. iii. 1, 2, 
 " In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the 
 wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye, for the 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand." That is, the gospel 
 day is come. Again : " Jesus came into Galilee preach- 
 ing the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, The 
 time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." 
 Luke xvi. 16, *' The law and the prophets were until 
 John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached." 
 That is, the gospel day commenced with John, since 
 which time the gospel is preached. 
 
 "Ten virgins" means mankind in general, in a pro- 
 bationary state, liable to be wooed and betrothed to the 
 Lord, under the gospel, and during the gospel day. See 
 Isaiah Ixii. 1 — 5, " For as a young man marrieth a vir- 
 gin, so shall thy sons marry thee ; and as the bridegroom 
 rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over 
 thee." It is evident, by the second verse, that Gentiles 
 and Jews are both included in this prophecy. 
 
 "Five wise virgins" is a figure of believers in God, 
 or the children of the kingdom. Psalms xlv. 13, 14, 
 " The king's daughter is all glorious within ; her cloth- 
 ing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the 
 king in raiment of needle-work ; the virgins, her com- 
 panions that follow her, shall be brought unto thee." 
 " That I might comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion." 
 Lam. ii. 13. 
 
 " Five foolish" represents the unbelieving class of man- 
 kind, while in this probationary state, under the means 
 of grace. This will be sufficiently proved by the fol- 
 lowing passages — Isa. xlvii. 1, "Come down, and sit in 
 the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the 
 ground ; there is no throne, O daughter of the Chal- 
 deans." Jer. xlvi. 11, "O virgin, the daughter of 
 Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for 
 thou shalt not be cured." These texts prove, beyond 
 a doubt, that the wicked class of men are called virgins 
 by the Scriptures. 
 
 " Lamps " is a figure of the word of God ; for that 
 only can tell us about the New Jerusalem ; that only 
 
Zaa LECTURE XVL 
 
 can inform us when Christ will, come agam to the mar- 
 riage supper of the Lamh. The word of God is the 
 means of moral light, to light our steps through moral 
 darkness, up to the coming of the bridegroom to receive 
 the bride unto himself. This I shall prove by the cxix. 
 Psalm, 105, " Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light 
 to my path." Also, Prov. vi. 23, " For the command- 
 ment is a lamp, and the law is light ; and reproofs of 
 instruction are the way of life." 
 
 " Oil " is a representation or emblem of faith ; as oil 
 produces light by burning, so does faith, in exercise by 
 the fire of love, produce more light, and gives comfort 
 in adversity, hope in darkness, love for the coming 
 bridegroom ; and the light of faith assists us to watch 
 for his coming, and to know the time of night, and to 
 go out to meet him : such are called the children of 
 light, because they are believers, children of faith, 
 " sons of oil." " Because of the savor of thy good oint- 
 ments, thy name is as ointment poured forth ; therefore 
 do the virgins love thee," Sol. Song, i. 2. "Faith 
 works by love." See 1 John ii. 27, " But the anointing 
 which ye have received of him, abidetli in you ; and ye 
 need not that any man teach you ; but as the same 
 anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is 
 no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in 
 him." It is evident, that the anointing here, and 
 elsewhere spoken of, means faith, faith in his name, 
 &c. 
 
 "Vessels" represent the persons or mind that be- 
 lieves or disbelieves in the word of God, as in 1 Thess. 
 iv. 4, " That every one of you should know how to pos- 
 sess his vessel in sanctification and honor." Also, 2 
 Tim. ii. 21, "If any man, therefore, purge himself from 
 these, he shall be a vessel unto honor." 
 
 " Bridegroom" is the figurative name for Christ; as 
 the prophet Isaiah says, "And as a bridegroom rejoicCth 
 over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." And 
 Christ says, " How can the children of the bride-cham- 
 ber mourn, while the bridegroom is with them ? " alluding 
 to himself. This proves that Christ means himself, in 
 person, by the bridegroom in the parable. 
 
Christ's second coming. 237 
 
 " The door was shut," implies the closing up of the 
 mediatorial kingdom, and finishing the gospel period. 
 I shall prove this by Luke xiii. 25 — 28, "When once 
 the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the 
 door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the 
 door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us ; and he shall 
 answer and say unto you, I know ye not whence ye are. 
 Then shall ye begin to say. We have eaten and drunken 
 in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 
 But he shall say, I tell you I know you not whence ye 
 are ; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity ; there 
 shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 " Marriage " is the time when Christ shall come the 
 second time without sin unto salvation ; gather his elect 
 from the four winds of heaven, where they have been 
 scattered during the dark and cloudy day ; when he 
 comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in 
 all them that believe ; when the bride hath made herself 
 ready, and the marriage of the Lamb is come, then he 
 will present her to his Father without spot or wrinkle, 
 and there marry the bride before his Father and the holy 
 angels ; removes her into the New Jerusalem state, seats 
 her upon the throne of his glory, where she will ever be 
 with the Lord. When this takes place, the whole body 
 will be present ; the whole church must be there, not a 
 member missing, not a finger out of joint. She will be 
 perfect in beauty, all over glorious. See Rev. xix. 7 — 9, 
 " Let us rejoice and be glad, and give honor to him, for 
 the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath 
 made herself ready. And to her was granted that she 
 should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the 
 fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he said 
 unto me. Write, Blessed are they which are called to the 
 marriage supper of the Lamb." Daniel says, " Blessed 
 is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days." John 
 says, " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
 resurrection." All these are at one and the same time; 
 and how can we expect to be free from sorrow, mourning, 
 and tears, until the bridegroom comes and moves us into 
 tlie beloved city ? Rev. xxi. 2 — 4, " And I John saw the 
 holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out 
 
238 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 
 And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying. Behold, 
 the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
 with them," &c. 
 
 " Midnight cry " is the watchmen, or some of them, 
 who by the word of God discover the time as revealed, 
 and immediately give the warning voice, " Behold, the 
 bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him." This has 
 been fulfilled in a most remarkable manner. One or two 
 on every quarter of the globe have proclaimed the news, 
 and agree in the time — Wolf, of Asia ; Irwin, late of 
 England ; Mason, of Scotland ; Davis, of South Carolina ; 
 and quite a number in this region are, or have been, giv- 
 ing the cry. And will not you all, my brethren, examine 
 and see if these things are so, and trim your lamps, and 
 be found ready ? 
 
 "Trimming the lamps." You will recollect, my 
 friends, that the word of God is the lamp. To trim a 
 lamp is to make it give light, more light, and clearer 
 light In the first place, to translate the Bible would 
 make it give light, in all languages into which it should 
 be translated. Then, to send to or give every family in 
 the known world a Bible would make the Bible give 
 more light And thirdly, to send out true servants of God 
 who have made the Bible their study, and true teachers, 
 who would teach the holy precepts and doctrines con- 
 tained therein, and to employ many Sabbath school 
 teachers, would in the hands of God be the means of its 
 giving clearer light This would be trimming the lamp ; 
 and so far as the foolish virgins assisted in translating 
 the Scriptures, in sending them among all nations, and 
 employing missionaries and teachers to teach mankind 
 its principles, so far would they trim their lamp ; but if 
 they had no faith in it, their light would be darkness, 
 and the lamp to them would go out. If the friend of 
 the bridegroom should proclaim the approach of him 
 whom they all expected, and should prove it ever so 
 plain by the lamp, but having no faith, the lamp would 
 go out ; they would not be ready to enter in to the mar- 
 riage supper, and the door would be shut This is un- 
 doubtedly the meaning which Christ intends to convey 
 in this parable. I shall, therefore, show. 
 
Christ's second coming. 239 
 
 n. The time this parable is applicable to. 
 
 In the chapter previous our Savior had answered three 
 questions which his disciples had put to him on the 
 mount of Olives, w*hen they came to him privately, "say- 
 ing, Tell us, when shall these things be ? " That is, 
 when Jerusalem should be levelled with the ground. 
 " And what shall be the sign of thy coming ? " That is, 
 his second coming in the clouds of heaven with power 
 and great glory, as he had before informed them, which 
 is yet future. " And of the end of the world," or, as some 
 translate it, " end of the age," to which I am perfectly 
 willing to agree ; but what age ? is the question. 1 
 answer, The gospel age, or the kingdom of heaven. See 
 14th verse, " This gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; 
 and then shall the end come." "The law and the 
 prophets were until John, since which time the kingdom 
 of heaven is preached." The Jewish economy is no 
 where called the kingdom of heaven ; but this expres- 
 sion belongs exclusively to the gospel ; and of course any 
 age in which the gospel or kingdom of heaven is preached 
 can never be applied to the Jewish age. Any nov- 
 ice in Scripture interpretation must readily admit this. 
 These were the questions proposed by the disciples to 
 their divine Master, and were answered in the following 
 manner : From the 4th to the 14th verses inclusive of 
 the 24th chapter of Matthew, Christ informs his disciples 
 of the troubles, trials, persecutions, and distress which 
 they and his followers should suffer, down to the end of 
 the gospel age. He also informs them by what means 
 they must suffer — by false brethren, by deceit, by wars, 
 rumors of wars, clashing of nations, earthquakes, afflic- 
 tions, death, hatred, offences, betrayals, false prophets, 
 coldness, iniquity, famines, and pestilence, and these to 
 the end of the gospel age. From the 15th to the 22d 
 inclusive he alludes to the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
 particularly gives his followers warning of what they 
 shall suffer, and informs them what to do at that time 5 
 he tells them what to pray for, and how to escape from 
 the siege, and how to avoid certain consequences which 
 must follow this great tribulation. 
 
340 LECTCTRE XVI. 
 
 From the 23d to the 28th inclusive, lie warns his dia- 
 Ciples against the error that false teachers would promul- 
 gate, that Christ did or would come at the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, He told them plainly to " believe it not," for 
 his second coming would be as visible as tlie lightning, 
 and then every man would be gathered to his own com- 
 pany; so there would be no room for deceit. 
 
 In the 29th verse he prophesies of the rise of anti- 
 Christ, the darkness and fall of many into superstition 
 and error, and the persecution of the true church. 30th 
 and 31st verse. He gives a sign of his coming, the 
 mourning of tlie tribes of the earth, and then speaks of 
 his coming and what he will do. 32, Is the parable of 
 the figtree. 33, He enforces it by saying, " So likewise 
 ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is 
 near, even at tlie door." 34tli and 35th verses. He gives 
 his disciples a comfortable promise, which was to this 
 amount, that his children should not be all destroyed 
 from the earth. But "this generation shall not pass till 
 all tliese things be fulfilled." To prove the word gentr- 
 ation is so used, I will refer you to Psalm xxii. 30, "A 
 seed shall serve him ; it shall be accounted to the Lord 
 for a generation,^'* 1 Peter ii. 9, " A chosen generation, 
 a royal priesthood, a holy nation." The word genera- 
 tion, in the Scriptures, when used in the singular, I be- 
 lieve almost invariably means the children of one parent ; 
 as the generation of Adam, children of Adam, chosen 
 generation, children of God, generation of vipers, 
 children of the devil. So Christ, talking to his children, 
 and instructing them only, says, " This generation shall 
 not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and 
 earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass 
 away." His kingdom shall not be destroyed nor given 
 to another people, 
 
 36th verse, He informs his disciples that the day and 
 hour of his coming is known only to God, has never been 
 revealed, meaning day and hour only, whetlier at mid- 
 night, at cock crowing, or in the morning. 
 
 Verses 37 — 44, inclusive. He informs them that his 
 coming will be like the deluge; unexpected to the 
 wicked, as then. He tells them the manner ; that he will 
 
CHRISt's SECOND COMING. 241 
 
 separate the righteous from the wicked ; one shall be 
 taken and another left, He then gives tliem a charge to 
 watch, and repeats, " they know not the hour." Christ 
 illustrates his warning by the figure of the good man of 
 the house, and then charges tliem to be also ready, as 
 the good man would, if he knew in what watch the thief 
 would come, showing us plainly that all true believers 
 will know near the time, as Paul says, " But ye, brethren, 
 are not in darkness, that that day shall overtake you as 
 a thief." 
 
 From 45-— 47, he tell us of the faithful and wise ser- 
 vant who watches and gives warning of his comjng, and 
 speaks of the blessings that servant shall inherit when 
 he comes and finds him so doing. 
 
 48 — 51, Christ gives us the marks of an evil servant : 1st 
 mark, he will " say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his 
 coming." He may not preach or speak against Christ's 
 coming; no, he will only say it to himself. But he will 
 not say he will never come ; no, he will only think in his 
 heart, "My Lord delayeth his coming." When he 
 hears the voice of the faithful servant saying, " Behold, 
 the bridegroom cometh," he will say nothing in public 
 against it ; no, not so bad as that. Neither will he say 
 any thing in favor of the cry ; but mutter in his heart, 
 "My Lord delayeth his coming." The second mark, 
 " And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants." It does 
 not say he will beat and bruise his fellow-servants, or 
 the faithful servant who watches and cries ; but he shall 
 begin to smite, &c., meaning he will begin the persecu- 
 tion, set others on, and himself he will keep back, in his 
 heart deceitful. 3d mark, " And to eat and drink with 
 the drunken." To eat and drink with the drunken — it 
 does not say he gets drunk ; no, it only says he eats and 
 drinks with them that are so. By this I understand he 
 fellowships with them, and is engaged in, and employs 
 his time, his talents, his mind, to build up some popular 
 and worldly object, which men of the world would be 
 pleased in promoting. He courts popular applause ; he 
 seeks to please men more than God. " The Lord of that 
 servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, 
 and in an hour he is not aware of. And shall cut him 
 21 
 
343 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 asuncler, and appoint hitn his portion with the hypocrites j 
 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 " Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto 
 ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to 
 meet the bridegroom." I think we cannot be mistaken 
 in the application of this parable. " Then," that is, at 
 the time when the wise servants are looking for and 
 proclaiming his coming, and when the evil servant says 
 in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming. Then, too, 
 when he will come, and they that are ready go in to the 
 marriage, and the door is shut. This must mean the 
 time when Christ comes to judgment, for he cuts off the 
 evil servant, and appoints him his portion, and shuts the 
 door against the foolish virgins ; and when they knock, he 
 opens not, but tells them, I know you not 
 
 Where, tlien, is the millennium ? say some. After the 
 judgment sits, and not before; after the bridegroom 
 comes, and the beloved city is completed ; when Christ 
 shall move his saints home, and live and reign with them 
 on the new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth 
 righteousness. If there could have been a millennium 
 before Christ should come and gather his saints into one 
 body, it must be a very imperfect one. A part of the 
 body in heaven, a part in the earth, and the remainder 
 under the earth ; separated, divided, wounded, and torn 
 by enemies and death, absent from our head. No, it 
 cannot be ; if in this life only we have hope, we are of 
 all men most miserable. If we are to have a temporal 
 millennium, why did not our Savior mention it on the 
 mount of Olives, as preceding his coming? He did 
 not, neither has any of the apostles ; but all speak of 
 troublous times, departure from the faith, iniquity 
 abounding, and the love of many waxing cold in the 
 latter days. Our parable, to which we are now attend- 
 ing, says, at midnight there was a cry made, Bell old, the 
 bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him. "At mid- 
 night ; " this teaches us that at the time of his coming 
 there will be much apathy and darkness on tliis subject; 
 that is the coming of the bridegroom. The parable im- 
 plies the same. " For while the bridegroom tarried, they 
 all slumbered and slept." Can we not bear witness that 
 
Christ's second coming. 243 
 
 this has been the true state of the church for a number 
 of years past ? The writers on the word of God have 
 adopted in their creeds, that there would be a temporal 
 millennium before Christ would come. I call it temporal, 
 because they have all of them taught that it would be in 
 this state of things, not in an immortal state, neither in 
 a glorified state ; and that Christians would have all 
 kingdoms under their control ; that is, in a temporal 
 sense ; and that they would be married and given in 
 marriage, until the coming of Christ after this 1000 
 years, or, as some say, 360,000 years. This has been, 
 and is yet, the prevailing opinion among our standard 
 writers and great men. No wonder, Christ says, they 
 will say in their hearts. My Lord delayeth his coming, 
 and that the wise and foolish are all sleeping and slum- 
 bering on this important subject For while we look 
 for a temporal kingdom, behold, he cometh and destroys 
 all that is perishable, all that is temporal, and erects 
 upon these a new heaven and a new earth, which is im- 
 mortal, and that fadeth not away, eternal in the heavens. 
 I shall now, 
 
 III. Make an application of our subject. And, 
 1st. The time of the fulfilment of this parable is 
 evidently come, in part at least The world for a num- 
 ber of years have been trimming their lamps, and the 
 wise and foolish have been engaged in translating the 
 word of God into almost every language known unto us 
 upon the earth. Mr. Judson tells us that it has been 
 translated into one hundred and fifty languages within 
 thirty years ; that is, three times the number of all tlie 
 translations known to us before. Then fourfold light 
 has been shed among the nations, within the short period 
 of the time above specified ; and we are informed that a 
 part if not all of the word of God is now given to all 
 nations in their own language. This, surely, is setting 
 the word of life in a conspicuous situation, tliat it may 
 give light to all in the world. This has not been done 
 by the exertions of Christians or professors only, but by 
 the aid of all classes and societies of men. Kings have 
 opened their coffbrs, and favored those engaged in the 
 work J nobles have used their influence, and have cast 
 
914 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 into the treasury of the Lord of their abundance ; rich 
 men have bestowed of their riches ; and in many cases 
 the miser has forgot his parsimony, the poor have re- 
 plenished the funds of the Lord's house, and the widow 
 has cast in her mite. How easy to work the work of 
 the Lord when the hearts of men are made willing by his 
 power ! But shall we forget those who huve forsaken 
 the land of their fathers, the home of their nativity, and 
 have spent lonesome years of toil among strangers, yes, 
 worse than strangers, among heathen idolaters, and the 
 savage of the wilderness, in the cold regions of the 
 north, and under the scorching rays of a vertical sun, 
 among the suffocating sands of the desert, or in the 
 pestilential atmosphere of India ; who have risked their 
 lives to learn a language, and prepare themselves to 
 trim a lamp for those who sit in darkness and the shadow 
 of death ? No, we will not forget them ; the prayers 
 of thousands have ascended before the golden altar, 
 morning and evening, on their behalf, and Israel's God 
 has been their protector. Surely we may hope that 
 these have oil in their lamps, who have sacrificed so 
 much to bestow a lamp upon others. But remember, 
 my brethren, tlie Lord he is God, and let him have all 
 the glory. This is the time, and the same time that 
 Gabriel informed Daniel, " many should run to and fro, 
 and knowledge should increase." This, too, is the same 
 time when the angel flying through the midst of heaven 
 had the everlasting gospel to preach to them who dwelt 
 upon the earth. Here are Christ's words fulfilled, where 
 he says, " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; 
 and then shall the end come." 
 
 2dly. It is plain to any diligent observer of the signs 
 of the times, that all the societies for moral reform in 
 our world at the present day are parts of the fulfilment 
 of the parable, giving more light. What of our Bible 
 societies? Are not these trimming the lamp for mil- 
 lions of human beings ? Thirty years past, more than 
 three fourths of the families in what we call Christian 
 lands were without the lamp of fife, and now nearly all 
 supplied. Many of those who sat in heathenish dark- 
 
Christ's second coming. 245 
 
 ness then, are now rejoicing in the light of God's book. 
 And much of this has been performed through the in- 
 strumentality of Bible societies, and not only through 
 the agency of the church, but political men, men of the 
 world, the great men, merchants of the earth and those 
 who trade in ships, all who live under the influence of 
 the gospel, the " kingdom of heaven," have engaged in 
 the work. Will not the most skeptical acknowledge, 
 that this society has succeeded beyond the most sanguine 
 expectation of its most ardent advocates ? And is not 
 this strong circumstantial evidence that the Bridegroom 
 is near, even at the door ? 
 
 3d. The missionary societies of all sects and denom- 
 inations, which have been established within forty years, 
 have as far exceeded all former exertions of this kind as 
 the overflowing Nile does the waters of the brook Kid- 
 ron. See the missionary spirit extending from east to 
 west, and from noi*tli to south, warming the breast of the 
 philanthropist, giving life and vigor to the cold-hearted 
 moralist, and animating and enlivening the social cir- 
 cle of the pious devotee. Every nation, from India to 
 Oregon, from Kamtschatka to New Zealand, have been 
 visited by these wise servants (as we hope) of the cross, 
 proclaiming " the acceptable year of the Lord, and the 
 day of vengeance of our God," carrying the lamp, the 
 word of God in their hands, and oil, faith in God, in 
 their hearts. All classes of men are engaged in this 
 cause, from the gray hairs of old age down to the 
 sprightly youth of ten years. Who, then, can doubt but 
 that the virgins in this sense have and are trimming 
 their lamps, and the bride is making herself ready ? 
 " Go ye out to meet him." 
 
 4th. The Sabbath schools and Bible classes are but a 
 part of the fulfilment of tJie parable, yet clearly an evi- 
 dence that the virgins are now trimming their lamps. 
 This system of teaching the young and ignorant took its 
 rise between forty and fifty years since, at the very time 
 that the Christian world were praying, and ardently 
 praying, for the coming of Christ, before that part of the 
 Savior's prayer was forgotten, " Thy kingdom come." 
 From a little fountain tliis stream of water has be- 
 21* 
 
MS LECTDRE XVI. 
 
 come a great river, and encompassed the whole land. 
 Every quarter of the globe are drinking at this fountain 
 or stream of knowledge, and the youth are taught to 
 trim their lamps. And when the bridegroom shall come, 
 may we not reasonably hope that the thousands of the 
 young men and young women who have assisted in 
 giving light to others, may be found having oil in their 
 vessels, and their lamps trimmed and burning, and they 
 looking and waiting for the coming of their Master, that 
 when he comes they may rise to meet him in the air, 
 witli ten thousand of their pupils, who will sing the new 
 Bong in the New Jerusalem forever and ever? Search 
 diligently, my young friends, and see to it that ye be- 
 lieve in this word, " which is able to make you wise 
 unto salvation." 
 
 5. Tract societies are of much use, and are an efficient 
 means to help trim the lamps ; like snuffers that take 
 away the preventives to the light, so are tracts. They 
 take away from the mind the prejudice that thousands 
 have against reading the word of God. They remove 
 tliose rooted and groundless opinions which many have 
 that they cannot understand the Bible; they serve to 
 excite the mind to this kind of reading ; they enlighten 
 the understanding into some scriptural truths ; they are 
 pioneers, in many instances, to conversion ; they can be 
 sent where the word of God cannot at first be received ; 
 in one word, they are the harbingers of light, the fore- 
 runners of the Bible. And in this, too, all men in this 
 probationary state seem to be more or less engaged, 
 Yrom the king on the throne down to the poor peasant 
 in the cottage, writing, printing, folding, transporting, 
 paying, or reading, fhese silent little messengers of the 
 virgins' lamp. "Then all those virgins arose and 
 trimmed their lamps." Has not God's hand been seen 
 in all this ? Yes, glory be to him who hath disposed 
 tlie hearts of men to work the work that God bids them, 
 and to fulfil the blessed word which he hath given 
 them. This institution took its rise about the same 
 time with tlie Bible society. 
 
 6. Temperance societies. These serve one purpose 
 in trimming the lamps and preparing the way for the 
 
Christ's second coming. 247 
 
 virgins to go out and meet the Bridegroom. Our world, 
 twenty years ago, might be called a world of fashionable 
 drunkards; almost all men drank of the intoxicating 
 bowl, and thought it no harm. But when the lamp began 
 to dart its rays around our tabernacles, it was found by 
 woful experience that those who drank of the poisonous 
 cup were totally and wholly unprepared to receive the 
 warning voice, or hear the midnight cry, " Behold, the 
 bridegroom cometh." No, "they that were drunken, 
 were drunken in the night," says the apostle. " There- 
 fore let us watch and be sober," And Peter tells us, 
 " But the end of all things is at hand ; be ye therefore 
 sober, and watch unto prayer." How foolish would it 
 have been for a drunken man to be set on a watch, or a 
 praying man to be found drunk ! Therefore, in order 
 that men might be in a suitable frame of mind to receive 
 instruction at the close of this dispensation, and be in a 
 situation to listen to the midnight cry, God ordered the 
 virgins, and they arose and trimmed their lamps ; and in 
 all human probability thousands who would have met a 
 drunkard's grave if this society had not arose, are now- 
 watching, witli their lamps trimmed and burning, ready 
 to meet the Bridegroom at his coming. Perhaps this 
 temperance society is the virgins' last resort. The 
 Judge stands at the door ; go ye out to meet him. This 
 society, like the others before mentioned, is a general 
 thing, and all sects, denominations, and classes of men 
 are engaged in it, and it has an important influence 
 upon all men who are in this probationary state, and 
 who may be termed, as in our text, " virgins." This 
 society is of later origin than the others, and seems to 
 be a rear guard to wake up a few stragglers which the 
 other societies could not reach. And now, drunkards, 
 is your time ; Wisdom stands at the door and knocks ; 
 let go the intoxicating bowl, be sober, and hear the 
 midnight cry, " Behold, the bridegroom cometh." For 
 your souls' sake drink not another draught, lest he come 
 and find you drunken, " and that day come upon you 
 unawares, and find you sleeping." O, be wise, ye in- 
 temperate men, for they only went in to the marriage 
 who were found ready, "and the door was shut" 
 
218 LECTURE XVI. 
 
 « Then came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, 
 open to us. But he answered and said, Verily, I say 
 unto you, I know you not Watch, therefore, for ye 
 know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of 
 Man Cometh." "But the wise shall understand," says 
 Daniel, xii. 10. 
 
 And now, my Christian friends, let me iftquire. Are 
 your lamps trimmed and burning ? And have you oil 
 in your vessels? Are you prepared for the coming 
 Bridegroom ? And are you awake to this important sub- 
 ject ? What say you ? If this parable, to which I 
 have directed your minds, has reference to the last day 
 and the coming of Christ ; if the " virgins " has reference 
 to all men in this probationary state, and dividing them 
 into two classes, wise and foolish ; if the " lamp " is the 
 word of God, and " oil" means faith in his word, or grace 
 in the heart, as some say, — then my conclusions are 
 just, and the evidence is strong that we live at the end 
 of the gospel kingdom, and upon the threshold of the 
 glorified state of tlie righteous. Then examine your 
 Bibles, and if you can as fairly prove any other exposi- 
 tion of this parable, as I have this, then believe yours, 
 and time must settle the issue ; but if you can find noth- 
 ing in the Scriptures to controvert plainly my explana- 
 tion, then believe, and prepare to go out to meet the 
 Bridegroom ; for behold he cometh. Awake, ye fathers 
 and mothers in Zion ; you have long looked and prayed 
 for this day. Behold the signs ! He is near, even at 
 the door. And, ye children of God, lift up your heads 
 and rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh. For 
 these things have begun to come to pass. And ye, 
 little lambs of the flock, remember Jesus has promised 
 to carry you in h^s arms, and that he will come and 
 take you to himself, that where he is there ye may be 
 also. But remember, all of you, the wise had oil m 
 their lamps, and they were trimmed and burning. Search 
 deep ; examine yourselves closely, be not deceived ; and 
 may the Spitit wliich searclieth all things, and knoweth 
 what is in the mind of man, assist you. 
 
 But, my impenitent friends, what shall I say to you ? 
 Shall I say, as the master in the parable, " Behold, the 
 
Christ's second coming. 249 
 
 bridegroom cometh : go ye out to meet him " ? Prepare 
 to meet your Judge. Now he has given you a time for 
 repentance ; you have had a probationary season, and 
 possibly now the sceptre of mercy is held out to you. 
 Repent, or it will soon be said to you as Jeremiah said 
 to the virgin, the daughter of Egypt, " In vain shalt 
 thou use many medicines ; for thou shalt not be cured ; " 
 or as in the parable, " I know you not." Have you no 
 oil in your lamps ? Delay not a moment ; believe the 
 gospel, and you will live ; believe in the word of God; 
 receive the love of the Bridegroom, and make no delay ; 
 for while they went to buy, the bridegroom came ; and 
 they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, 
 and the door was shut O, think what must be 3ie 
 exercise of your minds when these things shall be real ; 
 when you will stand without and knock, saying. Lord, 
 Lord, open unto us. Again I ask. Will you repent, be- 
 lieve, and be saved ? Are you determined to resist the 
 truth until it is too late ? Say, sinner, what think ye ? 
 *' We will risk the consequence. We do npt believe 
 in your day you tell us of. The world is the same it 
 always was ; no change, nor ever will be ; but if it 
 should come, it will not this ten thousand years ; not in 
 our day, certainly. You do not believe yourself. If you 
 did, we should call you a fool." 
 
 Are these your arguments, sinner ? Yes. Well, if I 
 had brought no more, no stronger arguments than these, 
 I would not blame you for not believing, for not one of 
 yours can you or have you supported with a particle of 
 proof. They are mere assertions ; your believing or not 
 believing will not alter the designs of God. The antedi- 
 luvians believed not. The citizens of the plain laughed 
 at the folly of Lot. And where are they now ? Suffer- 
 ing the vengeance of eternal fire. 
 
LECTURE XTII. 
 
 LEVITICUS xxvi. 23, 24. 
 
 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will 
 walk contrary unto me, then will I also walk contrary unto you, 
 and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 
 
 We are in the habit of reading the judgments and 
 threaten] ngs in the word of God, as denunciations against 
 some other people but ourselves. We are very fond of 
 throwing back upon the Jews what, upon the principle 
 of equity and justice, would equally belong to us Gen- 
 tiles. By this mode of reasoning, wicked, unbelieving 
 idolaters, murderers, whoremongers, adulterers, and all 
 liars, may and do resist the force of God's word, and flat- 
 ter themselves, in their lustful career, that the judgment 
 is past, and that they may go on in sin with impunity. 
 But it is not only this abominable class of mankind who 
 pervert the word of God to their own condemnation, 
 but many of those who profess to be pious, and even 
 teachers and expounders of the word, do take the same 
 unholy ground, to limit the Holy One in his justice and 
 judgment. And by this means they not only wrest the 
 Scriptures to their own condemnation, but others, who 
 follow their pernicious ways, are led into the same er- 
 rors, and the way of truth is evil spoken of. 
 
 This manner of expounding Scripture has been used 
 as the last resort against my appeals to the heart and 
 consciences of sinners, to prepare to meet God in judg- 
 ment Let me use what passage I please in the Scrip- 
 tures, whether in the Old or New Testament, these 
 
Christ's second coming. 251 
 
 wicked, lustful flatterers of mankind, are ready, with a 
 host of learned commentaries, to show that it was applied 
 to the Jews, and to them only ; and then taunt me with 
 this witty saying — "What I you, an unlearned man, 
 think to teach us, contrary to our great and learned 
 commentators!" This, my friends, is the only argu- 
 ment that has ever been produced against my warnings, 
 and proofs of God's near approach to judge the world in 
 righteousness. And here, too, I pledge myself to show 
 that many, and perhaps that, in many cases, a major part, 
 of these commentators are on my side of the question. 
 I know that, in the subject now about to be presented, 
 this argument will be used -^ " O ! that had reference to 
 the Jews only;" and you will, like the wicked Jews, 
 put far off the evil day, until you are caught in the snare, 
 and perish in the pit. The Jews in the days of the 
 prophets said, Ezek. xii. 27, " The vision that he seeth 
 is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the 
 times that are far ofE" You see, in this sample given 
 us of the Jews, that the same ungodly, wicked pervert- 
 ing, putting off on to others what belongs to us in the 
 visions and threatenings of God against sin, was mani- 
 festly the character of the Jews in that day, as it is 
 in ours. The difference is only circumstantial. 
 They put it off a great while to come ; we, a great while 
 back. They cast it forward on to the backs of the Gen- 
 tiles; we throw it back into the faces of the Jews. 
 This is the wicked disposition of man m his natural 
 state — self-righteous and self-justificatory. Therefore, 
 use this weapon if you please; it will only discover to 
 angels and men your true character, and God's justice 
 in your condemnation. "He that covereth his sins 
 shall not prosper ; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh 
 them shall have mercy," Prov. xxviii. 13. Yet we shall 
 find some things, at least, true, — that the law of God 
 and punishment for sin are the same in all ages, and 
 will be the same in all eternity. If the sins of the old 
 world brought the flood and destruction upon the un- 
 godly, so will the sins of the present world, if committed 
 in the same ungodly spirit, bring down siimiar judgments 
 
ZS» LECTURE XVII. 
 
 and destruction upon us. If Sodom and Gomorrah, and 
 the cities of the plain, were destroyed for their abuse of 
 the blessings which God had given them, so shall we be 
 destroyed for our abuse of similar ones. And if the 
 Jews, for their pride, arrogance, self-sufficiency, idolatry, 
 and departure from the known commands of God's house, 
 were punished with the sword, pestilence, captivity and 
 persecution ; so, most assuredly, will tlie people of God, 
 m every age, whether under Jews or Gentiles, suffer the 
 like or similar judgments. This can be proved abun- 
 dantly in all parts of tlie word of God, and in the history 
 of the church in every age. And did we not pervert 
 the word of God to support our sectarian principles, and 
 to gratify our lustful appetites, we might foresee tlie 
 consequence of apostasy from God, his laws and com- 
 mands ; as we can foresee the effects of any or all the 
 laws of nature, with which we are so well acquainted. 
 When leaves put forth we know that summer is nigh. 
 When the wind blows long from the south we know it 
 will bring rain. Just so true are all the moral laws of 
 God. Sin will bring death, and pride must bring a fall. 
 The laws of God's house are equally as permanent as 
 the laws of nature ; and grace or mercy, call it which 
 you please, are founded upon the law of cause and ef- 
 fect as strong as the laws of adhesion and repulsion. 
 Go where you will, — climb up to heaven, or dig into 
 the depths of hell, — you will find an immovable, fixed, 
 and an eternal law of cause and effect Let a man love 
 his Maker, obey his laws, and he is happy. Let him 
 love self only, and disobey the laws and commands of 
 God, and misery is the lot of his inheritance, altliough 
 the world was at his command. Here, then, is the great 
 secret, that mankind must be reformed, or they can 
 never be happy ; in one word, they must be born of the 
 Spirit, or they cannot enter the kingdom of God. 
 
 The text is a prophecy of God himself, given to Mo- 
 ses, and by him revealed to the people ; and is a part of 
 those lively oracles which has been continued as bind- 
 ing upon us, who live under the gospel light, as upon 
 them who lived in the days of tlie typical priesthood. 
 
Christ's second coMma. 253 
 
 It is a prophecy of what would happen to the people of 
 God as a punishment for conduct therein specified. I 
 shall, therefore, in explanation of our subject, show, 
 
 I. For what the people of God are punished ; 
 
 II. Show how they are punished ; and, 
 
 III. The time they will be punished. 
 
 I. First, then, we are to examine the cause of their 
 punishment. The text tells us that it is because they 
 « will not be reformed by me by these things, but will 
 walk contrary unto me ; " that is, unto God. 
 
 1st. A perverse will. We should suppose that a man 
 who has had his will subdued by the love and Spirit of 
 God, could not be in possession of a will so diametri- 
 cally opposed to the will of God* Yet history and facts 
 show us plainly that it is so. David, a man after God's 
 own heart, did perform, by his own will, that which was 
 strictly forbidden in the law and commands of God* 
 Peter, too, after his Lord told him he was every whit 
 clean, and after he boldly asserted that, if all men should 
 forsake Christ, he would not, immediately and willingly, 
 as it is implied, cursed and swore, and said he knew not 
 the map. I am aware that the theory of the present day 
 is contrary to the idea that the Christian has two wills, 
 carnal and spiritual ; but, upon this theory, I cannot ac- 
 count for the idea of Christians being punished at all, 
 either on the principle of justice or equity. Therefore I 
 am constrained to believe that, in the heart of a Chris- 
 tian, there are two wills. Sometimes he is in subjection 
 to the will of Grod, and enjoys tiie sweets of reconcilia- 
 tion ; and again his own will governs and controls his 
 acts, and he must feel the chastising rod of his heavenly 
 Father for his wilful disobedience or neglect of his reli- 
 gious duty. It cannot be the will of God that his peo- 
 ple "will not be reformed by him." Here is another 
 idea conveyed in our text, which shows that the heart of 
 a Christian is not wholly pure, — '' will not be reformed 
 by God ;" showing the same independent spirit that our 
 primitive father and mother did in the fall, "to be as 
 gods." We cannot bear the idea of being dependent 
 on God for our reformation. Let us have the power of 
 doing it ourselves, and we will not reject it ; but to say 
 22 
 
fm 
 
 LECTURE XVII- 
 
 we are wholly dependent on God is a hard doctrine: wd 
 will not subscribe to such humiliating terms. How can 
 we tell sinners to reform, if they cannot do it ? " Where 
 is my guilt? If I cannot reform myself, surely God 
 would be unjust to condemn me for not doing what I 
 cannot do." And thus you argue, throwing all the 
 blame upon God, when all that God has required in the 
 text, is, that you should be willing that he should do the 
 work of reformation for you. And surely God must be 
 the best workman of the two. God says he punishes us, 
 for " ye will not be reformed by me." This, my Chris- 
 tian friend, is our crime, for which the church has been 
 and will be punished seven times. *' And if ye will not 
 be reformed by me by these things." What does God 
 mean by "these things"? I answer. It is God does the 
 work, and he means his people shall give him the glory ; 
 and when tliey have passed through the furnace of af- 
 fliction, and when seven times has passed over them, a» 
 it did over Nebuchadnezzar, then will the church, like 
 that proud monarch, learn that God rules in heaven and 
 earth. But could we be willing to learn this lesson 
 without this punishment, " by these things," that is, by 
 the word of God, by the preached gospel, by the mercies 
 of God, by blessings of heaven from above, by blessings 
 of the earth beneath, by the love of God, by the death 
 of Christ, by the ministry of angels, by the strivings of 
 the Holy Spirit; in one word, by all the means of grace; 
 if all these things could teach us that God was the Au- 
 thor and Finisher of our faith, and make us willing to 
 be reformed by him, — then, indeed, he would not have 
 punished us. But, alas ! without chastisements we 
 should be " bastards, and not sons." Therefore the 
 cause why the Christian must be punished, — to subdue 
 their proud, rebellious wills, to humble their haughty 
 and selfish hearts. They must suffer all that wicked 
 men or devils can heap upon them, they must fill up the 
 measure of Christ's sufferings in his body, which is the 
 church, in order to make them fit for heaven or happi- 
 ness. They must, like gold, be seven times purified* 
 As I have before said, all the mercies of God, and bless- 
 ings of heaven and earth, could not save the church 
 
CHRIST^S SECOND COMING. 255 
 
 without the curse and punishment denounced in the 
 word of God. And tliese, too, must be managed by that 
 all-powerful Arm, the great Jehovah, who, by his wisdom 
 and power, by his grace and rod, will make all things 
 work for the good of his church, and will finally redound 
 to his glory. And at last it will be said, "These have 
 come through great tribulation, having washed their 
 robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
 
 II. I am to show how they are punished. 
 
 1st. They are punished by their own deeds. David 
 went with broken bones to his grave ; and Peter, when 
 his Lord looked upon him, went out and wept bitterly. 
 Paul had a thorn in his flesh lest he should be exalted 
 above measure. The Jews courted an alliance with 
 Babylon, and by that means were led into bondage and 
 captivity many years. They, contrary to God's express 
 command, afterwards made a league with the Romans, 
 and by them was their city and sanctuary destroyed, 
 and their nation scattered to the four winds of heaven. 
 The church, after the Christian era, courted the popular 
 favor of the kings of the eartJi, and immediately suffered 
 the ten persecutions. Sue afterwards sought for secular 
 power for her bishops, and by the same power was 
 driven into the wilderness, and passed through a thou- 
 sand two hundred and sixty years of torture, darkness, 
 and death. The church, recently, has been courting 
 popularity from the world, raising up a learned ministry, 
 worshipping at the slu-ine of ancient and modern philos- 
 ophy ; and already her ranks are broken, her piety on 
 the wane, her efforts paralyzed, and infidelity gaining 
 ground. 
 
 2d. By wicked and designing men. Let us remem- 
 ber how*Balaam taught Balak to cast stumbling-blocks 
 before the children of Israel. Witness the false proph- 
 ets in the days of the kings of Israel ; also the wicked 
 and designing men in the days of Jeremiah and the 
 prophets ; and, finally, tlie division and subdivision by 
 wicked men at the final destruction of Jerusalem. See 
 some, also, in the apostles' days — " false apostles, de- 
 ceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apos- 
 tles of Christ, 2 Cor. xi. 13 ; some, also, " who subvert- 
 
356 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 ed whole houses, teaching things they ought not for 
 filthy lucre's sake," Titus i. 11; others, who crept into 
 houses, leading captive silly women laden with divers 
 lusts ; some, teaching the doctrines and commandments 
 of men, bringing in damnable heresies, and denying the 
 Lord that bought them. And from tliat day unto this, 
 in every age, and in every church, division, wounds, and 
 putrefying sores, have been experienced through false, 
 wicked, and designing professors. 
 
 3d. The church has been punished by the kings and 
 rulers of this world. There was a season, in the days 
 of David and Solomon, and after her deliverance from 
 Egyptian bondage under Moses and Joshua, and so on 
 down to the days of Manasseh, when the church, the 
 people of God, were governed by their own rulers and 
 laws in a great measure. But since the days of Ma- 
 nasseh not a moment has she enjoyed of respite, but has 
 been scattered among the kingdoms of the world, as 
 Jeremiah the prophet has prophesied she would. Jer, 
 XV. 4, " And I will cause them to be removed into all 
 kingdoms of tlie earth, because of Manasseh, the son of 
 Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jeru- 
 salem." Here began the " scattering of the power of 
 the holy people," and when seven times shall be accom- 
 plished, then all " these things^^ shall be finished ; that 
 is, the church will then have passed the ordeal of trial 
 and chastisement. " Manasseh made Judah and the in- 
 habitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the 
 heathen." " Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the 
 captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took 
 Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, 
 and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in af- 
 fliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled 
 himself greatly before the God of his fathers," 2 Chron. 
 xxxiii. 9—12. We learn in this passage the cause and 
 effect The cause of their captivity was their errors 
 and wicked conduct The effect was tlieir captivity to 
 the kings of Babylon, and their humility in their afflic- 
 tion. And although Manasseh was restored to his king- 
 dom again afler his humiliation, yet the children of Ju- 
 dah and Jerusalem were never free from the Babylonish 
 
CHRIST S SECOND COMING. 257 
 
 yoke again while the kingdom of Babylon stood, but had 
 to pay them tribute until the Modes and Persians con- 
 quered Babylon, which was about one hundred and forty 
 years after the first captivity in Babylon of Judah and 
 Jerusalem. Then the Medes and Persians reigned 
 over the Jews, and made them pay tribute, and put 
 a yoke of bondage upon them, until Alexander the 
 Grecian conquered them, about two hundred and two 
 years afterwards ; when the Grecians became the mas- 
 ters of Judea, and continued the yoke of bondage, car- 
 rying away into captivity many of the principal citizens 
 of Jerusalem, and obliging them to pay tribute, and their 
 young men to serve as soldiers in their armies ; destroy- 
 ing tlieir riches, defiling their sanctuary, and compelling 
 them to worship their gods, and sacrifice to their idols. 
 This government lasted one hundred and seventy-seven 
 years, when the Romans made the Grecian general 
 Bacchides withdraw his army from Jerusalem, and never 
 trouble the Jews any more, as Maccabees tells us in 
 his first book, viii. 31, 32; also, ix. 1, 72, 73. This was 
 one hundred and fifty-eiglit years before Christ; the 
 Babylonians, Medes and Persians, and Grecians, having 
 each in their turn ruled over and led into captivity, 
 robbed and spoiled the children of Judah and Jerusalem, 
 and scattered them among all the nations of the earth, 
 as Moses and all the prophets had foretold ; in all, from 
 the captivity of Manasseh, five hundred and nineteen 
 years. 
 
 No man can read this prophecy, from which our text 
 is taken, and the other prophets who have spoken of 
 these things, and understand them literally, and then 
 read the history of the world, and compare them together 
 carefully, and let reason decide, and be an infidel. It 
 would be impossible. The devil knows this ; and, there- 
 fore, he uses all the art he is master of to prevent those 
 whom he wishes to destroy from reading the prophecies. 
 He tells them they are dark and intricate. And if this 
 argument succeeds it is well ; he is sure of his prey. 
 But if they reason on the subject, and say, "If God has 
 revealed himself by the prophets, it must be for our 
 good ; and if God is wise, as all agree he is, if there is 
 22* 
 
SS8 LECTURE XVn, 
 
 a God, then it must be in the best possible maimer for 
 man to understand. I will examine and see." He then 
 tells them it is presumption to look into futurity. " If 
 you succeed in discovering the things to come, it will 
 only make you miserable." Should this temptation pre- 
 vent you from reading and trying to understand, still he 
 is sure of his prey. You " will not be reformed by these 
 things." But suppose you let reason work, and think, 
 "If God is speaking by his prophets to us, surely it 
 would be sin not to hear; for he has a legal right to our 
 ear? and attention ; and only if our equal speaks to us, on 
 any good or interesting subject, it is a piece of ill manners 
 not to listen. I will read and hear what God says by 
 the moutli of his servants." Then the devil will teU 
 you that it is a sealed book, — not to be understood un- 
 til it is fulfilled. But reason will tell you. What God 
 has given for our faith and hope cannot be sealed in 
 this sense; for it would all be lost labor in the prophets 
 of God, and perfect folly in the Giver ; for the history 
 itself would reveal it as soon and as well as the proph- 
 ecy could. And, in that case, says reason, faith and 
 hope would have no food ; for, without prophecy, neither 
 the one nor the other could be exercised ; for in what we 
 know, how can it be said we have faith ? or, in what is 
 past, how can it be said we hope for it ? Then, if these 
 temptations do not prevent you from reading and trying 
 to understand the prophecies, Satan has one more weap- 
 on, and it is his last resort. " But," says the arch ene- 
 my, '^if you are but prepared for happiness or heaven, 
 it is no matter whether you understand prophecy or not** 
 This secures and chains down the hypocrite and Phari- 
 see forever ; this is turning things upside down at once. 
 For there never were hypocrites or Pharisees but what 
 vainly imagined that they were, of all men, best pre- 
 pared for heaven; and so they will neither try tlieir 
 faith, nor examine their hope, if they follow this temp- 
 tation, until they awake in eternity, forever too late. 
 While, on the other hand, there never were real chil- 
 dren of God, but what considered themselv^ss unfit for 
 heaven, the vilest of the vile ; and if they should take 
 up with this device of Satan, they must finally end in 
 
CHRIST'9 SECOND COMING. 
 
 259 
 
 despair ; for they could gain no additional evidence of 
 their faith or hope, only by a diligent study of God's 
 prophetic word. So that I can boldly say, that reason 
 itself would teach us that we ought to apply ourselves 
 diligently and faithfully to try our faith by every word 
 of God, and examine our hope in every possible way in 
 searching deep into the revealed truths, whether prom- 
 ises or prophecies, that the day of vengeance may not 
 overtake us unawares. 
 
 But not only the church under the Jewish dispensa- 
 tion must pass through her scenes of tribulation, but so, 
 also, must the church under the gospel; for John saw 
 not only the elect Jews in his vision of the glorified 
 state, but also a great number, which no man could 
 number, from among all nations and languages under 
 heaven, " who had come through great tribulation, and 
 who had washed their robes and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb." And, again, it is also evident 
 that, like the Jews, they must suffer persecution from 
 the kings and rulers of the earth, and from spiritual 
 wickedness in high places. For John "saw the beast, 
 and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered 
 together to make war against him that sat on the horse, 
 and against his army," Rev. xix. 19. And Daniel saw 
 the same beast " make war with the saints, and prevailed 
 over them until the Ancient of days came, and judg- 
 ment was given to the saints of the Most High ; and the 
 time came that the saints' possessed the kingdom. Thus 
 he said, " The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom upon 
 earth," Dan. vii. 21 — 23, meaning the Roman kingdom. 
 
 We must also notice that, like the Jews, they must be 
 scattered among all the nations of the earth ; for here 
 they are to have no continuing city, for they seek one 
 which is to come, whose Builder and Maker is God," 
 Hebrews xi. 10 ; that is, the New Jerusalem, which cometh 
 down from God out of heaven. The proof I bring you 
 that the church among the Gentiles were like the Jews, 
 you will find in the prophecy of the high priest, when 
 our Savior was crucified, John xi. 52, " And not for that 
 nation only, (that is, the Jews,) but that also he should 
 gather togetner in one the children of God that were 
 
260 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 scattered abroad." Also it is said, Mark xiv. 27, « smite 
 the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." And 
 when Christ comes to judge the saints, at the resurrec- 
 tion of the just, he sends his angels into the uttermost 
 parts of the earth, and under the uttermost part of 
 heaven, and gathers together his elect, who have been 
 scattered by the kings and beasts of the earth during the 
 dark and cloudy day of persecution, from his crucifixion 
 to his second coming. 
 
 And if, in view of all that Christ, the prophets, and 
 apostles, have said in relation to this subject, there is 
 one doubt remaining on your mind as to the truth of 
 these remarks, I beg of you to read but the past history 
 of the church, and you cannot but acknowledge, tliat, 
 thus far, it has been literally fulfilled. How soon afler 
 the Romans had crucified the Lord of glory, did they 
 attack his church ; and for nearly three hundred years 
 the apostles and eminent servants of Christ suffered all 
 the horrors of persecution by the authority of the Roman 
 emperors and kings of the earth. They suffered in all 
 manner of ways which the prophets had foretold they 
 would — by the sword, by wild beasts, by flame, by cap- 
 tivity, and by spoil. This was almost constantly until 
 the days of Constantine, who for a little season put a stop 
 to these bloody scenes ; but it was but short ; for in the 
 days of Julian the Apostate, it was renewed, and con- 
 tinued until the barbarians of the north overran Italy, 
 and conquered the Roman empire. Then the church suf- 
 fered the same trials under her new masters, the ten 
 kings, until they were converted to the Christian faith, 
 when she enj oyed another respite of about thirty years 
 after the downfall of Paganism, and before the rise of 
 Papacy, between the years A. D. 508 and 538. But now 
 arose the little horn, (Papacy,) which was to make war 
 against the saints, and prevail over them until the 
 Ancient of days should come, and the judgment should 
 sit. This little horn was to rule over the kings of the 
 earth, a time, times, and a half, or 1260 years ; all which 
 has been accomplished to the letter. 
 
 III. I shall now show what is meant by " seven times," 
 in the text. 
 
Christ's second coming. 261 
 
 1st. " Seven times," in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, was 
 fulfilled in seven years. Nebuchadnezzar, for his pride 
 and arrogancy against God, was driven among the beasts 
 of the field, and was made to eat grass as oxen, until 
 seven times passed over him, and until he learned that 
 the Most High ruled in the kingdoms of men, and gave 
 it to whomsoever he would. This being a matter of 
 history, and as an allegory or sample to the people of 
 God for their pride and arrogancy, in refusing to be re- 
 formed by God, and claiming the power and will to do 
 these things themselves, — they, too, like Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, must be driven among the beasts of the field, 
 (meaning the kingdoms of the world,) until they learn tlie 
 sovereignty of God, and that he dispenses his favors 
 to whomsoever he will. That, being a matter of history, 
 and a sample only, was fulfilled in seven years ; but this, 
 being a prophecy, will only be fulfilled in seven prophet- 
 ic times, which will be 7 times 360 years, which will 
 make 2520 years ; for one half of 7 times, that is, 3 times 
 and a half, is called, in Rev. xii. 6, 1260 days, (fulfilled in 
 so many years.) See also Rev. xii. 14. xiii. 5. Forty-two 
 months is the one half of 2520, for twice 1260 is 2520. 
 Therefore the sum and substance of the whole is, that 
 the people of God would be among the beasts, or kings 
 of the earth, seven times, which is 2520 years, one half 
 of which time they would be under literal Babylon, 
 which means the ruling kings of the earth, viz. 1260 
 years ; and the other half under mystical Babylon, the 
 mother of harlots, the abomination of the whole earth, 
 1260 years; making in all 2520 years. Therefore 
 seven times would the people of God be punished for 
 their sins, to fill up the measure of the sufferings of 
 Christ, before they would be delivered from all their 
 enemies, and come into possession of the glorified king- 
 dom which was prepared for them from the foundation 
 of the earth. And Ezekiel alludes to the same " seven 
 times,^^ Ezek. xxxix. 9, 10, " And they that dwell in the 
 cities of Israel shall go forth, Jerem. xv. 1 — 3, and shall 
 set on fire and burn the weapons, Jer. v. 14, both the 
 shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and 
 the handstaves and the spears, and they shall bum them 
 
W2 LECTURE XVII. 
 
 with fire seven years ; so that they shall take no wood 
 out of the field, nor cut down any out of the forests ; for 
 they shall burn the weapons with fire ; and they shall 
 spoil those that spoiled tliem, and rob those that robbed 
 them, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel here gives us to 
 understand that, by means of the people of God being 
 driven out of their cities, and by the word of God, they 
 would be enabled to destroy or be destroying their ene- 
 mies, and to spoil those who had been spoiling them, 
 and rob those who had robbed them; and this, too, would 
 take seven years, or 2520 days; and, Ezekiel being 
 commanded to reckon each day for a year, iv. 4 — 6, then 
 it would be 2520 years. 
 
 The proper question would now be, " When did those 
 years begin ? " I answer. They must have begun with 
 the first captivity of the tribe of Judah, the inhabitants 
 of Jerusalem, in Babylon; for all the prophets agree 
 in this thing, that Babylon would be the kingdom which 
 would carry the Jews into captivity. See Jeremiah xv. 
 4. " And I will cause them to be removed into all the 
 kingdoms of the eartli, because of Manasseh, the son of 
 Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Je- 
 rusalem." Also let those who wish to read more on 
 this subject, read Jeremiah, chapter 21st to the 29th, in- 
 clusive ; and the prophecy of Ezekiel, from the beginning 
 of the 1st chapter to the end of the 39th chapter ; also 
 the chapter in which is our text; — and we cannot for 
 a moment doubt but that Babylon is the nation which 
 was to make desolate Judah and Jerusalem. 
 
 Then, if Babylon was the nation which was to scatter 
 the people of God, and this, too, in the days of Manasseh, 
 1 ask. When was this captivity ? I answer. In the year 
 677 before Christ; see 2 Chron. xxxiii. 9 — 13; see also 
 the Bible chronology of that event ; this being the first 
 captivity of Judah in Babylon. Then take 677 years, 
 which were before Christ, from 2520 years, which in- 
 cludes the whole "seven times," or "seven years," 
 prophetic, and the remainder will be 1843 after Christ ; 
 showing that the people of God will be gathered from 
 among all nations, and the kingdom and greatness of 
 the kingdom will be given to the saints of the Most 
 
Christ's second coMmcf. 263 
 
 High; mystical Babylon will be destroyed by the 
 brightness of his coming ; and sin, and suffering for 
 Bin, will be finished to those who look for his coming. 
 " And this spake he not of himself : but being high priest 
 that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that 
 nation ; and not for that nation only, but that also he 
 should gather together in one the children of God that 
 were scattered abroad," John xi. 51, 52. 
 
 Yes, dear hearer, to them that look for his appearing, 
 Christ will come the second time without sin unto sal- 
 vation. " And can it be possible," says the dear child 
 of God, " that that day is so near as 1843 ? It is too 
 good news for me to believe. Yet the evidence is very 
 strong ; it seems clear. I really believe I shall watch for 
 it with a good deal of anxiety. And if it should not 
 come, I shall, I feel now, be somewhat disappointed." 
 Yes, 1 am satisfied, this is the language of every Chris- 
 tian heart. 
 
 " But," says another, " it is all visionary. I do not 
 believe it. And if I had any idea that it would be so, 
 I could not take another moment's comfort of my life. 
 What, the judgment day within seven years ? * I cannot 
 bear the thought ? I will drive such thoughts from my 
 mind. To you, whoever you are, whether professor or 
 non-professor, who in your heart think such thoughts as 
 these, I have one word to say. Your standing is des- 
 perate indeed. I am bold to tell you, you love not 
 Jesus. Every moment, then, you delay coming to God 
 through Jesus Christ, may be big with eternal conse- 
 quences, even as the day of judgment, for aught you or 
 I can tell. For instance, this may be the last moment 
 the Holy Spirit will ever strive ; it may be the last 
 moment of reason ; it may be the last moment of life ; 
 it may be the last moment of time ; and you unprepared ! 
 O God, reform these blinded souls, " who w^ill not be 
 reformed by thee, nor by these things," or everlasting 
 punishment will be their doom. 
 
 * These Lectures were first published in 1836. 
 
LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 SOLOMON'S SONG viii. 5. 
 
 Who is th. s that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon het 
 beloved 1 
 
 The text is a passage of divine inspiration, which 
 strikes the mind of the hearer or reader with more than 
 ordinary power and force ; and is propounded by way 
 of question, as though in the answer we might receive 
 much instruction and useful knowledge. It is truly so ; 
 and may the Spirit of God assist us to gather honey from 
 this beautiful flower from the wilderness. We find it in 
 the Songs of Solomon, which are highly figurative and 
 allegorical, and were when composed presented in poems 
 or songs ; but by reason of tlie translation they have 
 come to us in prose. 
 
 Some have supposed, that when Solomon composed 
 this Song, or Songs, they were composed for dramatical 
 performances, either as preludes, interludes, or epi- 
 logues. But I am of opinion that it was composed for a 
 prophetic song of Christ and his church. But be that as 
 it may, they certainly do represent, in rich and beautiful 
 figures, the character and love of Christ for his church ; 
 likewise, her character and love towards her divine Mas- 
 ter, her connection to him, and her dependence upon 
 him in this state of trial. That the church has been, and 
 will be, in a state of trial as long as she remains imper- 
 fect, cannot be doubted by any man of common reflec- 
 tion, perception, or knowledge. 
 
 She has enjoyed her seasons of prosperity ; and has 
 been strongly tried in scenes of adversity. In tracing 
 
Christ's second coming. 265 
 
 her history from the patriarch Abraham to the present 
 day, we find her variable as the wind, and changeable as 
 the weather. 
 
 To-day, she is coming up out of the wilderness lean- 
 ing on the arm of her beloved ; to-morrow, " like a young 
 roe leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the 
 hills.'' 
 
 Now she is seen among the trees of the woods ; next 
 in a palace of silver inclosed in boards of cedar. 
 
 There we saw her in the clefts of the rock ; here we 
 behold her in the broad way, in the streets of the great 
 city. 
 
 Again we find her among the foxes of the desert ; 
 and anon we perceive her seeking him whom her soul 
 loveth. 
 
 She is asleep on her bed by night ; and the same 
 night the watch finds her in the city. 
 
 Behold her Lord, knocking at the door for admittance, 
 while she is too indolent to arise and let him in. The 
 next moment she is opening to her beloved ; but he had 
 withdrawn himself. At one time the voice of her be- 
 loved sounding over the hills, and echoing among the 
 mountains like the roar of distant thunder, has no impres- 
 sion ; next the soft whisper of love gains all her atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Here blows the rough north wind and strong south 
 wind upon her spices ; yet they put forth no fragrancy. 
 And there the lightest breeze makes her roses blossom, 
 and all the air is perfume. 
 
 See her countenance to-day black as the tents of Ke- 
 dar ; and to-morrow comely as the daughters of Jerusa- 
 lem, and fair as the purple curtains of Solomon. To- 
 day she is " a garden barred, a spring shut up, a foun- 
 tain sealed;" to-morrow "a garden open, a well of liv- 
 ing waters, and streams from Lebanon." Now she is 
 weak as a babe ; a single watchman can " smite, wound, 
 and take away her vail ; " and then she is courageous 
 and valiant, "terrible as an army with banners." To- 
 day she is made to keep another's vineyard ; to-morrow 
 she is realizing a thousand pieces of silver from her own. 
 She is truly a changeable being, carried about by the 
 23 
 
706 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 sligntest circumstances. This is the description of the 
 church, as given to us in this Song of Solomon's. I shall 
 therefore show in explanation of our subject, 
 
 I. What has been the general character of the church 
 in the wilderness ; 
 
 II. Her character when out of the wilderness ; and, 
 then, 
 
 III. Make an application of our subject, by showing 
 in what state the church may be considered at the pres- 
 ent time. 
 
 L The church in the wilderness. 
 
 It appears by the word of God, that for some wise pur- 
 pose, God has called his people into the wilderness state, 
 time and again. 1st. Abraham was called to go out from ' 
 the land of his fathers ^'into a strange land, not knowing 
 whither he went ; and he obeyed God, sojourning in the 
 land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tab- 
 ernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the 
 same promise ; for he looked for a city which hath foun- 
 dations, whose Builder and Maker is God." By this 
 means, Abraham obtained the name of the Father of all 
 them that believe. We learn by the history of Abror- 
 ham, that the first seed of the church was called into the 
 wilderness as a place of promise ; where God took spe 
 cial care of them, saying to the kings and princes of this 
 world, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no 
 harm." We see them supported and kept through all 
 the trials of life ; and, in the midst of idolatrous nations, 
 among whom they sojourned, not one of them lost their 
 faith, or became impure in their worship ; but God was 
 with them, preserving them in war, famine, and the heavy 
 judgments of God upon the nations with whom they so- 
 journed. 
 
 The next account we have of the church being called 
 into the wilderness was in the days of Moses, when the 
 children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian slavery, 
 and brought out by the mighty and powerful hand of God 
 into the wilderness, where she was fed, clothed, and shod 
 by miracle, and preserved by manna from heaven, and 
 flesh from the desert ; v/here the cloud of his presence 
 overshadowed them by day, and the pillar of fire by night. 
 
Christ's second coming. 267 
 
 The angel of the covenant accompanied them through 
 all the wilderness, " gave them drink as out of the great 
 depths. He brought streams also out of tlie rock, and 
 caused waters to run dov\^n like rivers." " He made his 
 own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the 
 wilderness like a flock. He led them on safely, so they 
 feared not ; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. He 
 brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to the 
 mountain his right hand had purchased. He cast out the 
 heathen also before them, divided them an inheritance 
 by line, and made the children of Israel to dwell in tents." 
 Thus sang the sweet psalmist of Israel. And what could 
 God have done more than he did for his people in the 
 wilderness ? 
 
 The next and last proof we have that God calls his 
 people into the wilderness, you will find in Rev. xii. 6, 
 14, " And the woman fled into the wilderness, where 
 she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed 
 her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days." 
 
 " And to the woman Avere given two wings of an ea- 
 gle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place, 
 (take notice, the wilderness is here called " her place,^^) 
 where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a 
 time, from the face of the serpent ; " that is, away from 
 the power of the Roman beast, or power which is here 
 called the serpent. The prophet Hosea, in his vision of 
 the wilderness state of the church under the gospel dis- 
 pensation, says, " Therefore, behold, I will allure her and 
 bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto 
 her ; and I will give her her vineyards from thence, and 
 the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she shall sing 
 there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when 
 she came up out of the land of Egypt," Hosea ii. 14, 
 &c. We might quote you more of this prophecy, and 
 show you how exactly every word has been literally ful- 
 filled in time and manner, as John has told us in Reve- 
 lation ; but I have sufficiently proved that God has called 
 his church into the wilderness, for purposes of good to 
 the churches. I will now, 2dly, show what object God 
 had in view, so far as he has revealed his object in his 
 word, in calling his church into the wilderness. Moses 
 
268 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 says, Deut. viii. 16, 17, "Who fed thee in the wilderness 
 with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might 
 humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee 
 good at thy latter end, lest you should say in your hearts, 
 My power, and the might of mine hand, hath gotten me 
 this wealth." 
 
 Surely, my brethren, if we would read this passage 
 and apply it home, we must see, unless we are wilfully 
 blind, that if we are in the wilderness at this time, the 
 object of God is lost upon us. We are not humble 
 enough to believe that God is the Author and Finisher 
 of our faith, or that salvation is of God. Are we not say- 
 ing, not only in our hearts, but also in doctrine, words, 
 and action, that we can do great things ; our might, our 
 wisdom, our hands, have gotten us this great wealth ? 
 
 Do we not see our benevolence trumpeted forth in 
 every publication of the present day, and our contribu- 
 tions spread far and wide ? For what ? To feed the hun-- 
 gry and clothe the naked ? No, not literally, but mentally. 
 Yes, and do we not see that instead of feeding the pub- 
 lic mind with wholesome food, with the sincere milk of 
 the word, we have almost surfeited them with our tarts 
 and spices, until the public mind has become so heated, 
 nothing satisfies unless it has been highly spiced with 
 some agitated question to more inflame the public pulse. 
 More than three quarters of all our contributions are used 
 to bloat each other up in self-righteousnes and pride ; or 
 to pull each other down, with our excited questions of 
 right and wrong. The moral code which God gave to 
 man for his happiness here and hereafter is demolished ; 
 and Judge Lynch is the order of the day, as well in mor- 
 als as in our civil affairs. Where in the word of God 
 are we commanded to have our gifts for charitable pur- 
 poses published, either before or behind us, by a public 
 gazette or a brazen-mouthed trumpet ? Yet at the pres- 
 ent day, we glory in our pride, and excuse ourselves in 
 the manner of doing it ; for the end, say we, justifies the 
 means. Why, then, did not our Savior justify the Phar- 
 isees in the same means for the very same object — to 
 make proselytes ? 
 
 The wilderness then, under existing circumstances, is 
 
Christ's second coming. 269 
 
 calculated as the best place to keep the church humble, 
 teach her her dependence on God, and to give her a 
 grateful heart. For there she mixes not with the world, 
 there she is not wholly engaged after the riches, honors, 
 wisdom, and fashions of this world. In the wilderness 
 she depends more on the manna of God's word for her 
 daily food ; but in the great city, she seeks for the pop- 
 ular learning of the world, the vain philosophy of the 
 ancients, or the wisdom of men. There God feeds her 
 with spiritual bread, living water, and sincere milk of 
 the word ; but here she feeds on the old corn of the 
 land ; she mixes her wine with strong drink, until it 
 sparkles in the cup ; she pours out her milk as a drink- 
 offering to her idols, and mingles the doctrine of God's 
 word with the doctrines of devils. There she learns, by 
 a rich experience, her dependence on her divine Master ; 
 here she forgets all his mercies, and ascribes all ner 
 blessings to her idol gods, or worship of her own hands. 
 
 There the daily presence of God prevents her wor- 
 shipping the idols of the world, or following after the 
 gods which are no gods ; but here the presence of 
 worldly objects draws her attention from the one living 
 and true God ; and she has lords many and gods many. 
 
 In the wilderness, the teachers in the church are more 
 pure ; there is nothing to tempt their cupidity, or foster 
 their pride ; they feed the flock of God instead of them- 
 selves ; the church is not rich in worldly things to tempt 
 the wolf or the fox to enter her folds. But among the 
 citizens, she must expect, while man is wicked, that the 
 false and designing teachers will rush into her ministry, 
 to subserve their own interest, and draw off followers 
 after them. In the wilderness, the church has but few 
 temptations for the honors and emoluments of the politi- 
 cal world, for she is nourished away from the face of 
 this wily serpent, which has coiled his folds around the 
 heart of many a professor of Jesus Christ, and destroyed 
 all that piety of heart and life, which, separate from po- 
 litical strife, they once enjoyed. 
 
 Moses, speaking of the church in the wilderness, says, 
 Deut. xxxii. 9 — 12, " For the Lord's portion is his peo- 
 ple ; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him 
 23* 
 
270 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 in a desert land, and in the waste, howling wilderness ; 
 he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the 
 apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, flut- 
 tereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, 
 taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so tlie Lord 
 alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with 
 him." If the above is a true description of God's care 
 and protection of his people in the wilderness, surely 
 this must be a desirable state for the church. 
 
 Isaiah, in his vision of the church in the wilderness, 
 says, (xxxv. I, 2,) " The wilderness and the solitary place 
 shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and 
 blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and 
 rejoice even with joy and singing ; the glory of Leba- 
 non shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and 
 Sharon ; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the 
 excellency of our God." If the church had been in the 
 city, instead of beholding the glory of God, her eyes 
 might have been dazzled with the glory of the world, 
 and excellency of her great men, or with the gods of the 
 men of the world ; so that, while in this state of trial 
 and temptation, while imperfection is found in the 
 church, the wilderness is a place of greater security 
 from inbred lust and outward foes. 
 
 Perhaps we have been in the habit of fixing in our 
 minds quite a different idea of the wilderness state of 
 tlie church, from what ideas I have given, or from what 
 might be proved by the writings of the prophets and 
 apostles. Examine for yourselves, and see. 
 
 II. We are to learn the character of the church when 
 it may be said she is out of the wilderness. 
 
 1st. What does the church enjoy when she is out of 
 the wilderness? I answer. She enjoys possessions, 
 privileges, and laws among the kingdoms and political 
 nations of the earth ; kings are her nursing fathers, and 
 queens her nursing mothers. " They shall bow down to 
 thee, with their face to the earth, and lick up the dust of 
 thy feet," says Isaiah, xlix. 23. That is, the church, 
 when in this situation, receives the courtly smiles of 
 the great, and the sycophantic cringing of the political 
 demagogue. But let the church remember, although 
 
Christ's second coming. 271 
 
 kings, queens, and great men of the world may bow 
 down, court, and idolize her, and may descend to lick the 
 dust from her feet, yet it is only to flatter and to betray ; 
 for their ^' faces " are not Zion-ward, but to the " earths 
 Their motives are earthly, devilish. It is a serpent still ; 
 they feed on the food of serpents, the dust of your feet 
 " They eat the sins of my people as they eat bread." 
 Some suppose it will be a goodly time, when kings and 
 queens will be fathers and mothers in Zion. But no, 
 my brethren ; the true church have but one father, which 
 is God ; and but one mother, which is not of this world, 
 but she is the New Jerusalem, the mother of us all, 
 which Cometh down from above. Christ himself says, 
 " The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in 
 me ; " as much as if he had said, By and by the kings 
 and princes of this world will come and court you ; they 
 will pretend to great friendship for you ; they will offer 
 to nurse, feed, and clothe you ; but remember they have 
 nothing in me. You must, if you wish to win the crown 
 of glory, " contend against principalities, against powers, 
 against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against 
 spiritual wickedness in high places ; for he hath nothing 
 in me." Again, Daniel says, ii. 43, " They (the people 
 of God) shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, 
 (kings and queens, for fathers and mothers,) but they shall 
 not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with 
 clay." Let this suffice to show that it is the duty of the 
 church of Christ to keep themselves unspotted from the 
 world ; to be separate, and touch not the unclean thing. 
 What is the unclean thing ? I answer. It is the policy 
 of worldly governments ; in one word, it is a political 
 spirit ; that spirit which is not peaceable, pure, easy to 
 be entreated. Who, I ask, ever saw a political partisan 
 have these fruits while prompted by that spirit ? " First 
 pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated." A political 
 man, if he had any conscience, would blush with shame 
 to claim these appellations. And where, in all the his- 
 tory of the church, from the days of the apostles until 
 now, have kings, queens, or rulers of this world under- 
 taken to nurse the church, and lord it over God's heri- 
 tage, but that they have proved, in the end, a curse in- 
 
272 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 Stead of a blessing ? I ara bold to say, Nowhere ! And 
 one thing more I am bold to say — That kind of morality 
 which requires the aid of the political world to enforce 
 it, is a harlot in disguise, and her path is the way to 
 death ; in her secret chambers you will find war, rapine, 
 and murder, and in her train will be seen revenge, ha- 
 tred, envy, and division. These are the temptations of 
 the church when in the city of the nations. 
 
 2dly. What has been her character when in the 
 city ? Answer : When the Jews left the wilderness, and 
 entered into Canaan, their manna, with which they had 
 been fed while travelling in the wilderness, ceased, and 
 they fed on the old corn of the land. This manna was 
 a type of the spiritual food given by God to his children, 
 while under his immediate control and care. See Rev. 
 ii. 17. Old corn is a fit resemblance of the worldly 
 rights, privileges, and possessions among the nations of 
 the earth. The Jews, almost immediately after they 
 took possession of the land of Canaan, began to mix 
 themselves with the inhabitants around them, and be- 
 came men pleasers, and a nation of idolaters ; and the 
 very things which Moses charged them against, became 
 the common occurrences of the day ; and on account 
 of which God suffered their enemies to bring them into 
 bondage, and, from a powerful people, that had made 
 kings tremble even upon the report of them while in the 
 wilderness, now became a weak and degraded people, a 
 tributary nation, a band of slaves to their enemies ; and 
 the prophecy of Moses, Deuteronomy xxxii. 15 — 20, was 
 literally accomplished in about twenty years after they 
 took possession of their goodly land. "But Jeshurun 
 waxed fat and kicked : thou art waxen fat, thou art 
 grown thick, thou art covered with fatness ; then he 
 forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the 
 Rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy 
 with strange gods ; with abominations provoked they him 
 to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God ; to 
 gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly 
 up, whom your fathers (while in the wilderness) feared 
 not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, 
 and hast forgotten God that formed thee." The word 
 
Christ's second coming. 273 
 
 tells us, Judges ii. 11, 12, " The children of Israel did 
 evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim ; and 
 forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought 
 them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, 
 of the gods of the people that were round about them, 
 and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the 
 Lord to anger." They dwelt among the Canaanites, 
 and, as it is said, Judges iii. 6, " they took their daugh- 
 ters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their 
 sons, and served their gods." 
 
 This was the character and practice of the Jews, God's 
 ancient covenant people. They ate, they drank, and 
 rose up to play. They were proud, rebellious, and un- 
 godly. They obeyed not the commands of God, and 
 heeded not the warning voice of the Almighty. They 
 regarded not the teaching of the true prophets, but 
 followed in the train of the popular prophets of Baal. 
 They persecuted and drove into the wilderness the 
 true servants of Jehovah, while they fed, clothed, and 
 schooled hundreds of the servants of Baalim. They be- 
 came a stiff-necked and hard-hearted people to their own 
 God, and bowed their necks, and were subservient to 
 the nations and their gods around them. They forsook 
 or demolished the altars erected for the worship of the 
 true God, and erected under every green tree altars to 
 Baalim and Ashtaroth. They waxed rich in corn, wine, 
 and oil, yet were poor and scanty in their first fruits to 
 God. They multiplied in cattle, silver, and gold, and for- 
 got that it was God who gave them power to get wealth. 
 
 This, we must acknowledge, is the character of the 
 Jews, as given unto us by the sacred historians. These 
 were the people whom God had chosen out of all the na- 
 tions of the earth, to be his peculiar people — a people 
 who had seen and experienced the salvation of God in a 
 most miraculous manner ; from Egyptian bondage, from 
 drought and famine in the wilderness, and from the pow- 
 er of the nations who sought to impede their progress, or 
 hinder their possessing the promised land. They had 
 enjoyed the visible presence of the angel of the covenant 
 forty years in the wilderness. They had heard the audi- 
 ble voice of Jehovah on the mountain ; they saw his pow- 
 
274 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 er and glory on Sinai. Yet the next generation after 
 Joshua, had become so deeply corrupted, by unbelief, in- 
 gratitude, and rebellion, that they gave all the glory to 
 works of their own hands, and worshipped idols of stocks 
 and stones. 
 
 This, you say, is a dark picture of man, and could not 
 have applied to any other people but the Jews. I will 
 agree that no other nation were, at that time, placed in 
 like circumstances with them. But dark as the picture, 
 and hideous as the detail, it is but a shadow of our day, 
 a type of the Christian church in the times in which we 
 live. 
 
 " Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning 
 upon her beloved ?" The text does not tell us she is out 
 of tlie wilderness, but coming out ; as though in the wil- 
 derness, and while she is coming out, she leans upon her 
 lord. Her affections were not yet contaminated by a 
 love for the Avorld, nor her faith weakened by her vanity 
 and self-esteem. Thus was it with the Jews ; and so has 
 it been with the church in ages past. Then let me, 
 
 III. Make an application of our subject, by showing 
 what may be considered the present state of the gospel 
 church. 
 
 I believe all writers and commentators on the Apoca- 
 lypse agi-ee that the church of Christ has been in the 
 wilderness more than twelve centuries past Some have 
 fixed the time of the church entering into her wilderness 
 state as early as A. D. 534, when the great controversy 
 between the orthodox and Arians, which, in the days of 
 Justinian, shook the religious world into two great divis- 
 ions, like the two " wings of an eagle," from the convul- 
 sions of which many of the true servants of God, or all 
 of them, disgusted with the spirit shown by both of the 
 contending parties, who both claimed and used the civil 
 authority to exterminate or conquer their heterodox 
 brethren, fled into the north-east part of Europe, away 
 " from the face of the serpent," — the emperors of the east, 
 and the more powerful bishops of Rome — where for 
 numbers of centuries they lived unknowing and unknown. 
 
 Other writers say that it was as late as A. D. 606, when 
 the Pope, by the concessions of Phocas, obtained civil 
 
Christ's second coming. 275 
 
 and ecclesiastical power, and that he came out publicly 
 wearing" two swords. Between these two points I be- 
 lieve all writers fix the time of the church entering into 
 her wilderness state, " a place prepared of God, that they 
 should feed her there 1260 days ; " or, " to the woman 
 were given two Avings of a great eagle, that she might 
 fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nour- 
 ished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the 
 face of the serpent," Rev. xiL 6th and 14th verses ; 
 1260 days being the same as time, times and a half — 
 three years and a half, or 1260 prophetic days — which, 
 according to my former proof, must mean 1260 years. 
 
 The question now remains to be settled. Where and 
 when this wilderness state began, in order for us to 
 understand the present state of the church. 
 
 And first, let us inquire, What are the Scripture marks 
 of the beginning of this period ? I answer, in the Apoca- 
 lypse, xi. 2, " But the court which is without the temple 
 leave out, and measure it not, for it is given unto the 
 Gentiles ; and the holy city shall they tread under foot 
 forty-two months." This is the same time, three years 
 and a half, or 1260 days, as before. Again, Rev. xiii. 4, 
 5, "And they worshipped the dragon, which gave power 
 unto the beast ; and they worshipped the beast, saying, 
 Who is like unto the beast ? Who is able to make war 
 with him ? And there was given him a mouth speaking 
 great things and blasphemies ; and power was given 
 him to continue forty and two months" — the very same 
 time mentioned again. And we learn, by this passage, 
 that this beast, which would persecute and drive into 
 the wilderness the church, would receive his power from 
 the dragon, — the same as in Rev. xii. 4, ''stood before 
 the woman, which was ready to be delivered, for to 
 devour her child as soon as it was born," — and must, of 
 necessity, be the Roman power. See Rev. xvii. 12, 13. 
 "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, 
 which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive 
 power, as kings, one hour with the beast. These have 
 one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto 
 the beast." This text plainly proves that the kings of 
 the Roman power gave their power and authority to 
 
^6 LECTURE XVIIL 
 
 this beast, which was to drive into the wilderness the 
 church, "and tread her under foot forty and two 
 months." 
 
 We must look, then, for some law, passed by some 
 Roman emperor, and sanctioned by the ten kings, (for 
 they, too, had the same mind to give " their power and 
 strength unto the beast," meaning, as I understand it, 
 Rome Papal,) in order to find the commencement of the 
 church in the wilderness. 
 
 We find that Justinian, emperor of Constantinople, 
 formed a code of laws about A. D. 534, which were 
 published and sanctioned, in the Western Empire at 
 Rome, about four years afterwards ; on which code of 
 laws, the Pope has claimed his authority to rule over 
 kings, and punish heretics with confiscation of their 
 goods, imprisonment or torture of body, and even death ; 
 which laws continued in force until 1260 years afterwards, 
 in the year 1798, when the French people, under General 
 Bonaparte, abolished the laws, and constituted Italy a 
 republic. 
 
 Then, in the year 1798, the church began to come up 
 out of the wilderness. " What," says the objector, "has 
 Bonaparte or the wars of France to do with the church 
 coming out of the wilderness ? " I answer. Much ; for 
 the same power that gave the anti-Christian beast his 
 authority, must take it away. The political river Jor- 
 dan must be parted asunder; the law of outlawry 
 against the church must be abolished, before she could 
 enjoy rights and privileges in the great city of nations. 
 In this war, under the modern dragon, the emperor of 
 the French, the barriers were broken down. And no\r, 
 the church is permitted to exist in almost all kingdoms 
 in the known world. 
 
 This is " coming up out of the wilderness," for she is 
 how permitted to publish the gospel of her beloved 
 among all nations. She can now translate his word into 
 every language, and send his servants into every quarter 
 of the globe. By this were the armies of Christ to con- 
 quer his enemies by the " sharp sword which proceedeth 
 out of his mouth." And as the Jews overran and con- 
 quered a large share of the promised land, after they 
 
CHRIST^S SECOND COMING. 277 
 
 came out of the wilderness, even so, in these days, the 
 church is extending her banners over a large sLare of 
 the earth, the promised land of the Christian. See 
 Psalm xxxvii. 22, 28, 29, and 34. Prov. ii. 21, 22. x. 30. 
 Matt. v. 5. For the apostle Paul tells us, 1 Cor. x. 11, 
 " Now all these things happened unto them for examples, 
 (or types,) and they are written for our admonition, upon 
 whom the end of the world is come." It is very evident 
 that the apostle, in this passage, is speaking of the travel 
 of the children of Israel through the wilderness, and 
 their entrance into the promised land, or their coming 
 out of the wilderness, as a type or resemblance of the 
 Christian church in these last days. 
 
 Therefore, we are allowed by the inspired apostles to 
 use their journey and acts, to illustrate and show the 
 present state of the church, if we can gain any instruc- 
 tion thereby. 
 
 The Jews had a promise that they should inherit the 
 land of Canaan ; the Christian, that he shall inherit the 
 earth — " For the meek shall inherit the earth ; " and 
 " The kingdom, and greatness of the kingdom under the 
 whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints 
 of the Most High." The Jews used carnal weapons in 
 their wars with the inhabitants ; the church are com- 
 manded to use spiritual ones, to the pulling down of the 
 strong-holds, «Slc. They were led by their temporal 
 Joshua ; the church, by her spiritual leader* The Jews 
 conquered by sending out their chosen and expert men 
 with the sword ; the church has sent forth her chosen 
 missionaries, expert men with the sword of the Spirit, 
 which is the "word of God." 
 
 The Jews had great success in conquering their 
 enemies when they first came out of the wilderness ; 
 even so the church has had her unexpected success in 
 her missionary efforts. The Jews, within twenty years, 
 became a proud, haughty, and an idolatrous people, ascrib- 
 ing all their success to their own power ; and mingling 
 themselves witli the nations around them, they began to 
 bow down to their gods, and worship Baalim, and Ash- 
 taroth ; just so, and in about the same time, since the 
 cause of missions began to succeed, has the church 
 24 
 
S78 tficrufiE xviif. 
 
 become proud and haughty, publishing her donatidns 
 upon the house-top, mixing her moral questions with 
 the political partizans of the day, and courting the 
 applause of men more than obeying the voice of 
 God : she is preparing for a sudden overthrow, a signal 
 defeat 
 
 The church is evidently worshipping her god Baalim ; 
 her teachers are seeking to be called by great names, 
 such as A. B., A. M., B. D., D. D., or Rev., &c ; to 
 lord it over each other, and to be called master. See the 
 meaning of the word Baalim, idols, masters, false gods* 
 It is equally as evident, that she is bowing herself to the 
 god Ashtaroth, fioclis, the sheep, riches* 
 
 Where, in the history of the church, can we find a 
 time that the people called Christians were, appa- 
 rently, engaged after the riches of this world as now ? 
 Then, the agreement, in almost every thing, between the 
 Jews, when they came out of the wilderness, and the 
 church at the present day, holds good, and proves clear- 
 ly to me that the church is now out of the wilderness. 
 If it is not so. When, I ask, since the apostles' days, has 
 the church been out of the wilderness ? Instead, then, 
 of being in the wilderness only 1260 years, she evidently 
 has been 1800 years in the wilderness; and this 
 prophecy has failed, or has no meaning. 
 
 What greater privileges did the church ever enjoy 
 than now ? Were their privileges among the nations of 
 the earth greater, even in the days of the Roman em- 
 perors, under the nursing care of Constantino and his 
 sons ? I answer. No. Then, surely, the church is now 
 out of the wilderness, and has been nearly or quite forty 
 years. If so, then the 1260 years of the reign of anti- 
 Christ to give the court of tie Gentiles to be trodden 
 under foot have ended. 
 
 Then, the two witnesses, prophesying, clothed in 
 sackcloth, 1260 years have ended. Then, also, has the 
 civil power of the anti-Christian beast, to rule over the 
 kings of the earth forty-two months, been taken from 
 the beast. 
 
 Then, also, has the " time, times and a half," men- 
 tioned in Daniel vii. 25, and xii. 7, had its fulfilment, 
 
Christ's second coming. 279 
 
 " to the end of these wonders." And now, the anti- 
 Christian beast will no longer be able to deceive the 
 nations with her false miracles, or make the kings of 
 the earth acknowledge her power as supreme. They 
 have eaten her flesh; they have made her drink her 
 own blood ; her great men have departed from her ; they 
 are casting dust on their heads, crying, " Alas ! alas ! that 
 great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for in one hour is thy 
 judgment come." "And when she shall have accom- 
 plished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these 
 things shall be finished," Dan. xii. 7. This beast has but 
 one more work to perform — " to scatter the power of the 
 holy people ; to divide, that she may conquer. It is the last 
 gasp of the expiring monster ; it is the dying struggle of 
 the man of sin. And, for a little moment, they will succeed. 
 For the church must be humbled; she has departed 
 from her Lord, she has grown proud of her worldly 
 connections, she has become haughty, and lording it 
 over the heritage of the Lord. She must be divided. 
 She is already. She must be scattered, shaken like 
 grain in the winnowing-fan, that that which cannot be 
 shaken may remain. She will be delivered when her 
 Lord returns to the wedding, and sends forth his angels 
 to gather his elect from the four winds of heaven, where 
 they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy day. 
 Then will he destroy the man of sin by the brightness 
 of his coming. Then, too, will the little horn cease 
 making war with the saints, . and no longer prevail 
 against them. The Ancient of days will come, and 
 judgment will be given to the saints of the Most High ; 
 and the time will have come when the saints, in union 
 with their spiritual Joshua, will enter into that eternal 
 Sabbath of rest which remains for the people of God. 
 
 Nothing can be more clear, or self-evident, than that 
 the church is combating the great natural and moral 
 evils, which men in this state of sin are prone to commit 
 What shall we make of all these societies which the 
 church have instituted since she came out of the wilder- 
 ness, but so many attacks upon the enemies of the land ? 
 
 The Bible society, instituted since 1798. This has 
 proved a powerful weapon to expel tlie moral darkness 
 
280 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 from the mind of the unenlightened, to open the prison 
 of the votaries of superstition, and to knock off the 
 shackles of bigotry. We have seen, in our day. Deism 
 humbled from a haughty tyrant to a cringing sycophant 
 We have seen Romanism, from a monarch ruling over 
 the souls and bodies of men with an absolute sway, be- 
 come a slave, a follower in the wake of Protestants, 
 in publishing and circulating the Scriptures. The De- 
 ists, a few years since, had the control of nine tenths of 
 all Europe ; now, not a petty kingdom under their con- 
 trol : the Roman church, for centuries past the mistress 
 of most of the kings of Europe, now a poor dependant 
 on the breath of kings. 
 
 Our missionary societies have carried the banners of 
 the cross where hope never smiled before, nor faith 
 ever lighted the cheerless sky of the heathen's land. 
 And we have seen nations hearing the word of God, and 
 islands converted to the faith of the gospel of Christ 
 
 Temperance societies. We have seen the attack upon 
 intemperance, the Anakim of our world, and we have 
 heard the shout of triumph from every quarter of the 
 globe. Rapid, indeed, was the march to victory ! Again, 
 our moral reform societies, our Sabbath schools, Bible 
 classes, &c. &c., are all so many attacks on moral evil, 
 which have produced, in many cases, wonderful effects ; 
 80 much so, that it has astonished even the projectors 
 themselves. 
 
 These aggravated sins are falling before the all-con- 
 quering weapon of God's word, like the walls of Jericho 
 before the blasts of the trumpets ; and it will go on con- 
 quering and to conquer, until tyranny, oppression, and 
 slavery, in every form, shall be destroyed. Perhaps no- 
 thing, at the present time, impedes the progress of these 
 things so much as the popular spirit, the pride, and arro- 
 gance of the church herself. She is, more or less, court- 
 ing the applause of the world. She is mingling her holy 
 religion with the opinions and principles of men. She 
 is proud and self-sufficient, doting upon her own works, 
 and forgetting her dependence on God. If this should 
 be the true state of the church, God may suffer tyrants 
 to remain as a scourge to the church, " as a rod for the 
 fool's back." 
 
Christ's second coming. 281 
 
 This was literally the case with the Jewish church, 
 after she came out of the wilderness ; and every appear- 
 ance seems to betoken the like spirit in the church at 
 the present day. O that we could be wise, and learn, 
 by the example set us by the Jews, that pride and self- 
 sufficiency are always before a fall! 
 
 I know the objector will say, How can it be true, that 
 the church is spreading her banners over a large portion 
 of the world, sending her missionaries and the Bible in- 
 to every nook and corner of the habitable globe, con- 
 quering and to conquer ; and, at the same time, growing 
 more and more impure herself, becoming haughty, self- 
 righteous, and ungrateful, corrupt and lukewarm in her 
 faith and practice, idolatrous in her worship, and cold and 
 indifferent to her first love ? This, say they, is para- 
 doxical. 
 
 I answer. Paradoxical as it may seem, it is no less 
 true. Have I not shown that the Jews were thus para- 
 doxical, when they entered the promised land ? Do 
 not the description Solomon hath given us of the church 
 in his Son^s, the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians 
 and Galatians, and the history of the church in the 
 days of Constantino, all go to show, that when the 
 church has been most prospered in her worldly standing 
 with the nations, with whom she may come in contact, 
 she has the more deeply corrupted herself? 
 
 This does not argue that she ought not to spread her 
 banners, send her missionaries, translate and circulate 
 Bibles, educate the rising generation, establish her moral 
 societies, and do all, and every work, which God in his 
 word has commanded ; but it argues tliat the church is 
 imperfect, and that, in times of prosperity, she ought to 
 consider, 
 
 1st. Her proneness to idolatry, her liability to self- 
 righteousness, her excessive love for the world, the 
 temptations on every hand. 
 
 2dly. She ought to consider that adversity is set over 
 
 against prosperity, that her faith may be tried, her 
 
 motives sifted, the body purified, and the sanctuary 
 
 cleansed. 
 
 3d. She ought to consider that the designs of God 
 
 24* 
 
282 LECTURE XVIII. 
 
 will be accomplished, that the work must be executed, 
 that all power centres in him; and, although the church 
 may be proud, self-righteous, and deeply corrupted by 
 unbelief and sin, yet God will eventually be glorified, 
 his kingdom established, his will done in earth as in 
 heaven ; and the time is at hand, when the saints will 
 possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. 
 
 Amen* 
 
LECTURE XIX. 
 
 MATT. xvi. 3. 
 But can ye not discern the signs of the times f 
 
 Our text is a question proposed by Christ to the Phar- 
 isees and Sadducees, at a time when they came to him, 
 tempting him for a sign from heaven ; and is a reproof 
 upon them for their unbelief in the signs already given 
 by the Old Testament writers, which they professed to 
 believe, and which were actually fulfilling before their 
 eyes, yet disregarded. The Pharisees and Sadducees 
 were two of the most learned and popular sects among 
 the Jews ; many of them were scribes, lawyers, doctors, 
 and teachers of the law ; yet so perfectly blinded, that 
 they could not or would not apply the most simple rules 
 of interpretation to the law or prophets. They would 
 apply the rules of common observation and common 
 sense to the weather, but neither the one nor the other 
 were used in understanding the Scriptures. They were 
 well versed in the skill to tell the weather for the mor- 
 row, but had no skill in the promises, prophecies, and 
 word of God. " When it is evening, ye say it will be 
 fair weather, for the sky is red ; and in the morning, it 
 will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and low- 
 ering. O ye hypocrites ! ye can discern the face of the 
 sky, but can ye not (by the same simple rule) discern the 
 Mgns of the times % " 
 
 All the signs given in the word of God, concerning 
 the first coming and person of the Messiah, were fulfil- 
 ling before their eyes ; yet they were demanding more 
 
284 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 and greater signs from heaven. Christ had, and was 
 then performing miracles which no man on earth could 
 perform, and they ascribed it to the power of Beelzebub. 
 No evidence had or could be presented, which they 
 were not ready to evade or deny ; and yet they claimed 
 all the learning, all the wisdom, and all the piety of that 
 day. This was the character of those whom Christ calls 
 hypocrites, and to whom he addresses the question, " But 
 can ye not discern the signs of the times ? " And happy 
 would il have been for us, who live in this day of gospel 
 light, when the gospel shines with greater effulgence 
 than at any other period of time since the world began, 
 if hypocrisy had died with the Pharisees and Sadducees ; 
 but it was not so. Any man, of common capacity of 
 mind, who can divest himself of prejudice, or who will 
 try to see the character of man as developed at the pres- 
 ent day in matters of faith, will discover the same unbe- 
 lief, the same disregard, the same taunting, tempting 
 spirit, concerning the second coming of the Messiah, as 
 the Pharisees and Sadducees manifested in their con- 
 duct and conversation with our blessed Redeemer. And 
 the question may with equal propriety, and I fear with 
 tenfold force, be put to us at this day, if Christ was here, 
 as then. And I have much reason to fear, that many 
 may be found among our great, learned, and teachers of 
 divine things, who would receive from our divine Master 
 the same reproof, were he as then a teacher among us. 
 "Let him that thinketh he stand eth take heed, lest he 
 fall." I shall, then, in treating on this subject, use my 
 text as a reproof to us. 
 
 I. I shall show a number of signs which the Jews had 
 in that day, as evidences of Jesus being the true Mes- 
 siah. 
 
 II. Show the signs that Jesus Christ, the prophets, and 
 apostles have given us of his second coming, now fulfil- 
 ling in this day in which we live. 
 
 Under my first head, the signs of Jesus being the true 
 Messiah, were, 
 
 1. The universal peace at his birth. Of this Isaiah 
 ii. 3, 4, had prophesied 760 years before, " And many 
 people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to 
 
Christ's second coming. 285 
 
 the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of 
 Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will 
 walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go forth the 
 law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he 
 shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many 
 people ; and they shall beat their swords into plough- 
 shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation 
 shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they 
 learn war any more." This prophecy was accomplished 
 at his birth. For the temple of Janus was shut the very 
 year our Savior was born, which denoted universal peace ; 
 and this must have been known to the Jewish rulers. 
 Also the doctrines of Jesus Christ taught that they 
 should forgive and pray for their enemies, and learn war 
 no more. " Peace on earth and good will to men," was 
 sung by the heavenly band when they announced the 
 birth of the Savior in the city of David. 
 
 2. The star that appeared and guided the wise men to 
 the place of his nativity, prophesied of by Balaam, Nuna. 
 xxiv. 17. "There shall come a star out of Jacob," &c. 
 
 3. A root out of Jesse. Isa. xi. 10, " In that day there 
 shall be a root out of Jesse, which shall stand for an en- 
 sign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek," &c. 
 That he was a descendant of David was well known to 
 the Jews, for they were very scrupulous in their geneal- 
 ogies, and from the fact that he was born in the city of 
 David when his parents went up to be taxed where their 
 names were enrolled. 
 
 4. Born of a virgin. Isa. vii. 14, " Therefore the Lord 
 himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall con- 
 ceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." 
 This was evidently fulfilled. 
 
 5. At Bethlehem. Micah v. 2, " But thou, Bethlehem 
 Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of 
 Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that 
 is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from 
 of old, from everlasting." This was fulfilled, according 
 to their own showing, to the wise men from the east 
 
 6. Herod slaying all the children in Bethlehem, from 
 two years old and under, prophesied of by Jeremiah, 
 xxxi. 15, " A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation 
 
286 XECTURE XIX. 
 
 and bitter weeping, Rachael weeping for her children," 
 &c. This must have been known in all Judea. 
 
 7. Land forsaken of both of her kings. Isa. vii. 16, 
 " For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and 
 choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be for- 
 saken of both her kings." Herod and his successor both 
 died before Jesus was of the common age to refuse the 
 evil and choose the good. 
 
 8. Called out of Egypt Hosea xi. 1, " And called my 
 son out of Egypt." 
 
 9. His forerunner John. Isa. xl. 3, " The voice of him 
 that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the 
 Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." 
 All Judea and Jerusalem went into the wilderness to 
 John, and of course must have seen this sign. 
 
 10. Coming suddenly to his temple. Mai. iii. 1, " And 
 the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his tem- 
 ple." For the fulfilment of this prophecy, read John vii. 
 11 — 14, "Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and 
 said. Where is he ? Now about the midst of the feast, 
 Jesus went up into the temple and taught." 
 
 11. The gospel preached. Isa. Ixi., 1, "The spirit 
 of the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord hath 
 anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; he 
 hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim 
 liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to 
 them that are bound." 
 
 12. The covenant confirmed one week or seven years. 
 Daniel ix. 27, "And he shall confirm the covenant with 
 many for one week." John preached three years and a 
 half, and Christ three and a half 
 
 13. The blind see. Isa. xlii. 7, " To open the blind 
 eyes, to bring out the prisoners from tlie prison, and them 
 that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." 
 
 14. The lame walk. Isaiah, xxxv. 6, " Then shall the 
 lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb 
 sing." 
 
 15. The deaf hear. Isaiah xxxv. 5, " Then the eyes 
 of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf 
 shall be unstopped." 
 
 16. The dead are raised. Isaiah xxvi. 19, "And the 
 earth shall cast out the dead." 
 
Christ's second coming. ^7 
 
 17. His humility when on trial. Isaiah liii. 7, " He 
 was oppressed, and he was afflicted ; yet he opened not 
 his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter^ 
 and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened 
 not his mouth." 
 
 18. The manner and circumstances of his death* 
 Psalm xxii. 13—18, "They gaped upon me with their 
 mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured 
 out as water and all my bones are out of joint: my heart 
 is like wax ; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My 
 strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleav- 
 eth to my jaws, and thou hast brought me into the dust 
 of death* For dogs have compassed me ; the assembly 
 of the wicked have enclosed me : they pierced my hands 
 and my feet ; I may tell all my bones ; they look and stare 
 upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast 
 lots upon my vesture." This Psalm was indited more 
 than 1000 years before Christ's crucifixion, and yet every 
 word had an exact and literal accomplishment in that 
 transaction, and the Jews saw it. 
 
 19. His resurrection. Psalm xvi. 10, " For thou wilt 
 not leave my soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suffer thine 
 Holy One to see corruption." 
 
 20. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of 
 pentecost Joel ii. 28, " And it shall come to pass after- 
 ward that 1 will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ; and 
 your sons and your daughters shall prophesy ; your old 
 men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see vis- 
 ions." The apostle told them that this scripture was 
 fulfilled at the day of pentecost, and this transaction was 
 well known to the Jews. 
 
 21. The fulfilment of the seventy weeks spoken of by 
 Daniel, ix. 24 — 27, which I have shown in a former lec- 
 ture, was accomplished to a day. And the Jews well 
 understood it ; for Caiaphas, being high priest that year, 
 said to the Jews, " Ye know nothing at all, nor consider 
 that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the 
 people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this 
 spake he not of himself, but being high priest that year 
 he prophesied (or taught the prophecy in Daniel) that 
 Jesus should die for that nation, and not for that nation 
 
288 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 only, but that also he should gather together in one th^ 
 children of God that were scattered abroad." John xi. 
 49—52. 
 
 This evidence was well Understood among the rulers 
 of the Jews ; yet notwithstanding all this scripture was 
 fulfilled before their faces, and all these signs were ac- 
 tually accomplished in the short space of thirty-five years, 
 and a cloud of witnesses testifying to all these facts, and 
 they themselves had to consent that notable miracles had 
 been done, they believed not. Well may you say, dear 
 hearer, that they deserved wrath, and God was just in 
 destroying their nation and place. But how is it with 
 Us ? Do we believe in that word which we blame them 
 for rejecting? Are we clear of the sin of unbelief ? The 
 Jews were looking for a temporal king and kingdom. 
 And are not we looking for a temporal millennium — one 
 in which the Christians will have the rule of the world ? 
 Let us see to it that we do not stumble at the same stum- 
 bling-stone ; possibly we may have carnal notions as 
 tvell as they. Therefore, let us inquire, 
 
 11. What signs are now fulfilling, which are given us 
 by Christ, the prophets, or apostles, of his second coming 
 and glorious reign ? And, 
 
 1. Christ tells us. Matt. xxiv. 14, "This gospel of the 
 kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness, 
 and then shall the end come." Is not tliis sign already 
 accomplished ? Bible translated into more tlian 200 dif- 
 ferent languages ; missionaries sent among all the na- 
 tions known to us on the globe, and reformation succeed- 
 ing reformation in every town, nook or corner in this 
 land. The gospel has now spread over the four quar- 
 ters of the globe. It began in Asia. In the apostles' 
 days, that quarter was full of light From thence it 
 went into Africa ; and, for a number of centuries, Africa 
 stretched out her hands unto God. Europe, too, has had 
 a long visitation of gospel blessings ; and now America, 
 the last quarter of the globe, is reaping a harvest of 
 souls for itie last day. The gospel, like the sun, arose 
 in the east, and will set in the west 
 
 2. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and last reign 
 of grace. Daniel tells us, after Bonaparte should eome 
 
Christ's second coming. 289 
 
 to his er.d, and none should help him, xii. 1, "And at 
 that time shall Michael stand up, the ^eat prince which 
 etandeth for the children of thy people." This 1 have 
 shown, in a former lecture, is the same angel that stood 
 upon the waters of the river, clothed in linen, Daniel xii. 
 6; also the same angel that John saw, Rev. x. 1 — 6, 
 standing, his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon 
 the earth, and in his hand a little book open. This angel 
 told John that he must " prophesy again before many 
 people, and nations, and tongues, and kings ;" meaning 
 that the gospel must again be published, as it had been 
 in the apostolic days. And then would this angel lift 
 his hand to heaven, and swear by him that liveth for- 
 ever and ever, that time should be no longer. Again, 
 James says, v. 7, 8, " Be patient, therefore, brethren, un- 
 to the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman 
 waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long 
 patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 
 Be ye also patient ; establish your hearts, for the coming 
 of the Lord drawetli nigh." And now, can any man, 
 •who has any knowledge of the present times, deny that 
 God has poured out his spirit, in a remarkable manner, 
 for twenty years past? Has not the gospel been spread 
 in as rapid and extensive a manner, as in the apostolic 
 day ? Has not opposition and persecution of the kings 
 of the earth, of the woman that sitteth on many waters, 
 the sea, been in a great measure kept in check and pow- 
 erless, by some invisible power, some mighty arm, until 
 the servants of God should be sealed, the latter rain of 
 ^ace descend, and God's purposes completed concern- 
 ing this latter day ? Here, then, we have a clear and 
 visible sign, that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 
 
 3. " Many running to and fro." This is another im- 
 portant and evident sign of the end. Daniel xii. 4, " But 
 thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, 
 even to the time of tlie end. Many shall run to and fro." 
 Whether the prophet means to be understood, "many 
 shall run to and fro " in a religious sense, or in a civil or 
 temporal sense, or whether he means in both, is perfect- 
 ly immaterial for my purpose. All must acknowledge, 
 that this text is remarkably fulfilled in this day, in eitlier 
 25 
 
290 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 point of view. If it means missionaries of the cross, no 
 man can dispute the fulfilment See the heralds of sal- 
 vation crossing and re-crossing on every part of the hab- 
 itable globe. If it means common travellers, or the 
 rapid means of travel, still our text holds good, and the 
 fulfilment obvious. No man, unless he is wilfully ig- 
 norant, can deny that this sign is not actually and liter- 
 ally fulfilled. 
 
 4. The great increase of knowledge given in the same 
 text as above. " Even to the time of the end many shall 
 run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." View 
 this in any point you please, whether theological or sci- 
 entifical, it is literally true; in this day of invention and 
 improvement, knowledge increases. What of the fifty 
 different moral societies, which have become general in 
 the Christian world ? Is there no increase of knowledge 
 in our Bible societies. Sabbath schools, tract societies, 
 temperance societies, and a catalogue of others for mor- 
 al reform ? What can we say of all the inventions in 
 the arts ? What of all the improvements in science ? 
 In all this, is it not very evident that this sign is now ful- 
 filling to the very letter ? 
 
 5. The great increase of riches, and desire for laying 
 up worldly treasures, as described by James v. 1 — 3, " Go 
 to,"' now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries 
 that shall come upon you ; your riches are corrupted, 
 and your garments are moth-eaten ; your gold and your 
 silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a wit- 
 ness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were 
 fire. Ye have heaped. treasure together for the last 
 days." When, since the writer of this epistle was on 
 our earth, has there been such an increase of gold and 
 silver, and treasures of this life, as at this day ? Our 
 rich men are laying up their gold, silver, and treasures 
 in abundance. But, as though this individual exertion 
 for riches would not completely fulfil our text, they have 
 entered into all manner of companies and monopolies, 
 to " heap treasure together." When, in the history of 
 the world, can there be shown so many banking insti- 
 
 • tutions as now ? When so much insurance capital as is 
 heaped together at this day ? Are not our rich men per- 
 
Christ's second coming. 291 
 
 fectly infatuated with stocks of all kinds ? And mo- 
 nopoly is the order of the day ; to ^ind down the poor, 
 and heap treasure together for the last days. Can any 
 man, who has any knowledge of these things, deny that 
 this sign of the last days is not evidently accomplished ? 
 Go to, ye rich men, weep and howl, for your miseries are 
 come upon you. 
 
 6. The unwillingness of men to hear sound doctrine, 
 taught us by Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 1 — 4, " I charge thee, there- 
 fore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who sliall 
 judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his 
 kingdom. For the time will come, when they will not 
 endure sound doctrine ; but after their own lusts shall 
 tliey heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears ; 
 and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and 
 shall be turned unto fables." My brethren, need I say 
 one word on this passage ? There is none of you so 
 blind, but you see that this passage does actually de- 
 scribe the most fashionable preaching at the present day. 
 How many thousand do run after that kind of preaching 
 which is only relating fables, and that doctrine which 
 gives all power to man ? 
 
 7. Scoffers, saying, "Where is the promise of his 
 coming ? " as Peter informs us in his 2 Epistle, iii. 3, 4, 
 " Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days 
 scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where 
 is the promise of his coming ? For, since the fathers 
 fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the be- 
 ginning of the creation." A right understanding of this 
 text would show us, at once, that many of us, who fancy 
 we are in the highway to heaven, are belonging to this 
 class of scoffers. First, they walk after their own lusts ; 
 that is, after tlieir own carnal notions concerning the 
 coming of Christ. They say all things will continue as 
 they were from the creation ; they must have a temporal 
 millennium ; man must be married and given in mar- 
 riage ; the world will not be burnt, and. My Lord delay- 
 eth his coming, some say a thousand years, and some say 
 365,000 years, and all the moral change that takes place 
 on our earth, will be performed by the agency of man. 
 Therefore, many scoff and ridicule the idea, that Scrip- 
 
292 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 ture tells us of the second coming of Christ, the manner, 
 object, and time. And many are willingly ignorant; 
 will not hear or read on this subject 
 
 8. " Perilous times," as described in 2 Tim. iii. 1 — 7, 
 "This know, also, that, in the last days, perilous times 
 shall come ; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, 
 covetous, boasters, proud, hlasphemers, disobedient to 
 parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, 
 truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despis- 
 ers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, 
 lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having the 
 form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from 
 such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep 
 into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with 
 sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never 
 able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 
 
 What better description of domestic and public soci- 
 ety could we expect from the most close observer of 
 private characters, domestic circles, and public societies 
 of our times, than is here given ? One would conclude, 
 had he found this in any other book but the Bible, that 
 it was a modern writer, well acquainted with the human 
 heart, and the generations now on the earth. 
 
 9. " Departing from the faith, giving heed to seducing 
 spirits, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocri- 
 sy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 
 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from 
 meats." "Thus Paul tells Timothy, 1 Epistle, iv. 1 — 3, 
 " Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter 
 times some shall depart from the faith," &c. This, we 
 must acknowledge, has been, and is now fulfilling. The 
 whole, almost, of the Christian world have departed, or 
 changed their faith within fifteen years ; seducing spirits 
 are evidently at work ; hypocrites are multiplying among 
 us ; Roman Catholics, Shakers, Pilgrims, Fanny Wright, 
 Owen, and others forbid to marry. Roman Catholics, 
 and many others among us, are teaching to abstain from 
 meats and drinks, which God hath created to be received 
 with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the 
 truth. 
 
 10. False teachers, making merchandise of the gos- 
 
Christ's second coming. 293 
 
 pel. See 2 Peter ii. 1-^, " But there were false 
 prophets, also, among the people; even as there shall be 
 false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in 
 damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that buught 
 them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction ; and 
 many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of 
 whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of; and through 
 covetousness shall they, with feigned words, make 
 merchandise of you, whose judgment of a long time 
 lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not'* 
 The apostle then goes on to show, that, as it was in 
 the days of Noah and Lot, so it would be in the days 
 of these false teachers ; one generation would not pass 
 off before the judgment would overtake them, who 
 make merchandise of the gospel, and like Balaam, who 
 loved the wages of unrighteousness. 
 
 ]L Jude gives us a sign, 4 to 19 verses, inclusive, 
 "How they told you there should be mockers in the 
 last time, who should walk after their own ungodly 
 lusts ; these be they who separate themselves, sensual, 
 having not the Spirit." Some preachers deny the agen- 
 cy of the Spirit in regeneration. 
 
 12. Christ gives a sign in Luke xxi. 25 — 28, " And 
 there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in 
 the stars ; and, upon the earth, distress of nations, with 
 perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring ; men's hearts 
 failing them for fear, and for looking for those things 
 which are coming on the earth ; for the powers of the 
 heavens shall be shaken ; and then shall they see the 
 Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great 
 fflory. And when these things begin to come to pass, 
 men look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption 
 draweth nigh. 
 
 13. Christ gives another sign in Matt. xxiv. 23, 24, 
 "Then, if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is 
 Christ, or there, believe it not; for there shall arise 
 false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great 
 signs and wonders, msomuch that, if it were possible, 
 they shall deceive the very elect." There can be no 
 doubt of this sign being fulfilled. 
 
 25* 
 
'* 
 
 294 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 14. The fulfilment of the parable of the ten virgins 
 — the midnight cry has gone forth from every quarter 
 of God's moral vineyard, " Behold, the bridegroom 
 Cometh." The world has been, and are now, " trimming 
 their lamps ; " witness the Bible translated into all 
 languages ; the Bible societies sending Bibles to every 
 nation and family on the earth, the Sabbath schools and 
 Bible classes studying its sacred precepts. 
 
 15. The scattering of the holy people and division 
 of sects, as prophesied of by Daniel, xii. 7, "And when 
 he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the 
 holy people, all these things shall be finished." This 
 prophecy is now fulfilling in a remarkable manner. 
 Not one sect, who profess holiness, but are divided and 
 subdivided into contending schisms, and that, too, with- 
 in twenty years. 
 
 16. The division of the political world, as prophesied 
 of by John, Rev. xvi. 12 — 16, "And I saw three unclean 
 spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, 
 and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of tlie mouth 
 of the false prophet, for they are the spirits of devils, 
 working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the 
 earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the 
 battle of the great day of God Almighty" — and 19th 
 verse, "And the great city was divided into three parts, 
 and the cities of the nations fell." That these spirits 
 are political, is evident, from the fact that they come 
 out of the mouth of the dragon, (kings,) and beast, 
 (Catholic,) false prophet, (Mahometan,) and unclean, 
 signifying they are not holy things. This prophecy 
 is now accomplishing. What nation, within our knowl- 
 edge, is not already divided into three political parties ? 
 None, which is in any way known to your speaker. 
 
 17. The church has fulfilled her 1260 years in the 
 wilderness, spoken of in Rev. xii. 6, 14, " And the 
 woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place 
 prepared of God, that they should feed her there a 
 thousand two hundred and threescore days." These 
 days were evidently accomplished in 1798, since which 
 time the Protestant church has enjoyed privileges even 
 
Christ's second coming. 295 
 
 in the city of nations, the Roman empire ; and, according 
 to Daniel, forty-five years will complete the whole plan 
 of redemption. 
 
 18. The two witnesses prove that the 1260 years are 
 ended ; for it is evident that the Old and New Testa- 
 ment are not now hid nor kept from the common people, 
 but have arisen from their dead state, and are now per- 
 forming the office God designed they should, conveymg 
 light to the world. They are not clothed in sackcloth, 
 but, through the missionaries of the cross, and Bible 
 societies, are testifying to the world of Christ and his 
 second coming. 
 
 19. The civil power of anti-Christ is destroyed, and 
 the 1260 years, in which she was to rule over kings, and 
 tread the church under foot, was completed in 1798, 
 when the French army took the Pope a prisoner, and 
 erected Italy into a republic ; since which time the Pope 
 has exercised but little or no power over kings, or the 
 Protestant church, and she is evidently sinking by the 
 weight of her own corruptions. 
 
 20. It is very evident that the sixth trumpet has 
 sounded, and the 391 years will be completed in 1839, 
 when the seventh trumpet will begin to sound, and the 
 mystery of God will be finished, all that he hath de- 
 clared to his sei-vants the prophets. If the fall of the 
 Eastern Empire at Constantinople was included in the 
 sixth trumpet, which all the principal commentators, 
 whom I have consulted, agree in, and that trumpet was 
 prepared to sound an hour, a day, a month, and a year, 
 which makes, according to the reckoning of time in 
 John's prophecy, 391 years and 15 days, then the sixth 
 trumpet is almost finished. The whole appearance 
 strengthens this exposition of the text ; for the power 
 of the Turks has diminished more rapidly within fifteen 
 years, than any politician, however anxious he could 
 nave been for the event, could have anticipated. 
 
 21. The opening of the sixth seal, revealed in the 
 6th and 7th chapters of Revelation, was opened in the 
 French revolution, and carries us through a sealing time 
 unto the opening of the seventh seal, v/hich ushers us 
 before the judgment seat of God. No one can deny 
 
296 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 but that, since the revolution in France, a sealing time 
 has passed; many have been born into the spiritual 
 kingdom of Christ, more than has ever been known, in 
 the same period of time, since the apostles' days. This 
 seal, then, is evidently opened, and is a strong evidence 
 that the book of life will soon be opened, and the dead 
 will be judged out of the things written in the books. 
 
 22. The sixth vial was poured out about the year 
 1822, when the Ottoman power began to be dried up. 
 This is an important sign tliat we are on the brink of 
 the judgment day. Rev. xvi. 12, "And the sixth angel 
 poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and 
 the waters thereof were dried up, that the way of the 
 kings of the east might be prepared." This preparation 
 is for the last great battle, which will take place at the 
 pouring out of the seventh vial, in the year 1839 or 40, 
 At the pouring out of the seventh vial, a voice from the 
 throne will pronounce the word. It is done. The king- 
 doms of the earth and governments of the world will 
 be carried away, and their places not found. Every 
 writer, of any note, will and have applied this vial to 
 the Turkish government, and of course must acknowl- 
 edge that this vial is poured out, for the power of the 
 Turkish government is but little more than a name, and 
 the strength of the Ottoman power dried up. 
 
 23. Another evidence is Daniel's resurrection at the 
 end of tlie 1335 days. This evidence is very plain and 
 evident, for Daniel says, xii. 11 — 13, "And from the 
 time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the 
 abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 
 a thousand two hundred and ninety days." This cannot 
 be the Jewish sacrifice ; for if so, then it must have been 
 fulfilled about five hundred years past ; and as no event 
 took place then which would warrant us in so under- 
 standing it,l can see no rational objection to understand 
 this daily sacrifice to mean Pagan rites and sacrifices, 
 which was the original beast of which the abomination 
 of desolation was only an image, and, as I have shown 
 in a former lecture, was to continue six hundred and 
 sixty-six years ; and as Paul tells us, that when he was 
 taken out of the way, the man of sin would be revealed, 
 
Christ's second coming. 297 
 
 agreeing in language with Daniel. I think the proof 
 is strong that from the taking away of Pagan worship, 
 A. D. 508, to the end of the Papal civil power, would be 
 1290 years, which would end in the year 1798, and thus 
 agree with all of John's numbers in Revelation. And 
 then Daniel says, or the angel to Daniel, " Blessed is he 
 that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred 
 and five and thirty days." Thus add 1335 to 508, will 
 bring us down to the year A. D. 1843. " But go thou 
 thy way till the end be, for thou shalt rest and stand in 
 thy lot at the end of the days." And " Blessed and holy 
 is he that hath part in the first resurrection." Then 
 Daniel will stand in his lot, and Job will stand on the 
 earth in the latter day. 
 
 24. Daniel's vision of 2300 days long. I have in 
 some former lectures shown clearly that Daniel's vision 
 concerning the four great monarchies which were or 
 were to come, included the whole history of the world, 
 so far as God saw fit to reveal it, down to the judgment 
 day, and the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds. I 
 then showed that the question was asked, how long 
 should be this vision. The answer was given — 2300 
 days. I then proved that days were to be counted years, 
 by the command of God, by the example of Jacob, and 
 by the fulfilment of a part of the vision. I then showed 
 you when this vision began by the angel Gabriel's own 
 declaration, who was commanded to instruct Daniel into 
 the vision. According to this instruction I showed you 
 that 490 years were accomplished of this vision, to a day, 
 at the crucifixion of Christ, both events happening on the 
 12th day of the first month, 490 years apart. And then 
 Linquired, that if 490 years of 2300 was fulfilled when 
 our Savior was crucified, how much of the vision re- 
 mained after his death. I answered, 1810 years. I 
 then inquired, what year after his birth that would be ; 
 and the answer was, in the year 1843. 1 then begged 
 the privilege, and do now, for any person to show me 
 any failure of proof on this point, or where, possibly, ac- 
 cording to Scripture, there may be a failure in the cal- 
 culation I have made on this vision. I have not yet, by 
 seventeen years study, been able to discover where I 
 might fail. 
 
»yo LECTURE XIX. 
 
 Lastly, Another sign of the last day you will find 
 given by Paul, 1 Thess. v. 2, 3, " For yourselves know- 
 perfectly, that tlie day of the Lord so cometh as a thief 
 in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and 
 safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as 
 travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not 
 escape." Compare 2 Pet. ii. 17 — 22. 
 
 The doctrine of peace and safety, and that there is 
 no punishment in the future state, had but few or no 
 advocates until very recently. I am not certain but 
 the first preacher of this soul-destroying doctrine is now 
 living ; and they now boast of their multitudes of fol- 
 lowers and advocates. There have been, in past ages, a 
 few who preached the doctrine of the restoration of all 
 men, after a suitable punishment in hell ; but to modern 
 Universalists belongs the invention of preaching "peace 
 and safety when sudden destruction cometh." if this 
 sign is not fulfilled in the preachers of this order at this 
 time, I ask, How can it be fulfilled ? and what must the 
 doctrine of those be who preach " peace and safety " ? 
 Surely, no human being can invent a doctrine so full of 
 (promised) " peace and safety " to the wicked as this ; 
 and no other denomination on our globe ever have op- 
 posed the doctrine of the coming of Christ, the judg- 
 ment day, and future punishments, but tlie modern Uni- 
 versalists; and if this is the doctrine that Paul had 
 reference to in our text, as, I am fully satisfied, every 
 candid and religious mind must and will allow, then 
 we may reasonably suppose " sudden destruction cometh 
 upon them, and they shall not escape." 
 
 Therefore, my dear reader, I shall now, with a few 
 closing remarks, leave you to your own reflections. 
 
 The Jews had twenty-one signs in the Scriptures given 
 them of the first coming and person of Jesus Christ ; yet 
 many rejected him as an impostor. You say, if you had 
 lived in that day, you would have believed ; and you in 
 your hearts condemn them as a hardened race of unbe- 
 lievers ; and notwithstanding their great pretence to piety, 
 you say they were justly denounced by our Savior as a 
 generation of vipers and a band of hypocrites. But, my 
 hearers, be careful your own hearts do not condemn you , 
 
Christ's second coming. 299 
 
 for your unbelief in the signs which the prophets, Christ, 
 and the apostles have given you as tokens of his second 
 coming and the judgment day. I have brought from the 
 word of God twenty-five signs of his second coming, end 
 of the world, and judgment day, and all apparently fulfil- 
 led within the age of many present, or fulfilling now be- 
 fore your eyes. And do you believe ? Many of you 
 profess to be pious ; many of you say. Lord, Lord ! But 
 do you believe his word ? Are you willing to risk your 
 life, your character, your all, on his word ? or are you 
 fearful and unbelieving ? Now is the time to try men's 
 souls. Now, if you wish to be sure, examine closely, and 
 see whether your faith will stand in the day of trial which 
 is coming ; yes, has already come, in a thousand ways, to 
 draw you from the gospel of Christ to another neio gos- 
 pel, which is not the gospel of God. " Can ye not dis- 
 cern the signs of the times ? " Let me give you one rule 
 by which you may know a false doctrine. They may 
 have many good tilings in their creeds, they may be very 
 plausible in their arguments, and after all deceive you. 
 But examine them closely, and you will find they will 
 deny, ridicule, or try to do away some prominent doctrine 
 of the Bible, such as the divinity of Christ, his second 
 coming, ofiice of the Holy Spirit, eternal punishment, 
 doctrine of grace, election, conviction for sin, regene- 
 ration, repentance, or faith. And when you hear or see 
 them make light or scoff* at any thing of this kind in the 
 word of God, go not after them, nor bid them God speed. 
 " Can ye not discern the signs of the times ? " 
 
 And'to you, impenitent friend, God has at all times 
 given you warning of his approaching judgments. If 
 you repent, believe his word, and break oflT your sins by 
 righteousness, he is faithful and just to forgive you your 
 sins. Why not take warning by the past ? Is there no 
 example for you ? Look at the antediluvian world, 
 Sodom and Gomorrah, Nineveh, Babylon, Jerusalem, and 
 the once enlightened Asia, now worse than in heathen- 
 ish darkness. Will God punish nations, and not indi- 
 viduals ? This cannot be, for nations are composed of 
 individuals ; and God is just, for he hath appointed a 
 day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. 
 
300 LECTURE ICIX. 
 
 ** Can ye not discern the signs of the times ? " Will 
 God's word fail of being accomplished ? Can you show 
 a single instance ? Why not listen, then, to the warn- 
 ings and admonitions, to the calls and invitations, to the 
 examples and precepts contained therein ? " Can ye not 
 discern the signs of the times ? " Will God cut off the 
 unbelieving Pharisee for not discerning the signs of 
 the times, and let you, with twofold more light, go free ? 
 No : how can ye escape, if you neglect this great salva- 
 tion ? Watch, then, " the signs of the times." I say, 
 Watch. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The author wishes to state that Lecture VIII. in thi« 
 Work was written twelve years since ; and that the author- 
 ities he then consulted fixed the rise of the Turkish empire 
 at 1298. He is now satisfied, by the examination of other 
 authorities on the subject, that the foundation of that em- 
 pire was laid in 1299. Hence the things mentioned in 
 Lecture VII. (p. 109,) relative to persecutions, &c., and to 
 the coming of the third woe, as mentioned in Lecture XIII. 
 (p. 202,) which he supposed would take place in 1839, ac- 
 cording to the first computation, will not be realized until 
 the year 1840. 
 
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