LIBRARY 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
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PROPHETIC OUTLINES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 
 
 AND THE ANTICHRISTIAN POWER, 
 AS TRACED IN THE VISIONS OF DANIEL AND ST. JOHN ; 
 
 IN 
 
 TWELVE LECTURES 
 
 PREACHED IN THE 
 
 CHAPEL 
 
 FOUNDATION OF BISHOP WARBURTON 
 
 BY 
 
 BENJAMIN HARRISON, M.A. 
 
 ARCHDEACON OF MAIDSTONE, 
 
 DOMESTIC CHAPLAIN TO THE MOST REVEREND WILLIAM, LATE LORD 
 ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 
 
 LONDON: 
 FRANCIS & JOHN RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE, 
 
 1849. 
 
LON DON : 
 
 UILUKUT & K1VI.NUTON, I'RIM'ERS, 
 ST. JOH^'S SQUARE. 
 
TO THE 
 
 TRUSTEES OF THE LECTURE 
 
 FOUNDED BY THE 
 
 RIGHT REVEREND WILLIAM WARBURTON, 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER, 
 
 THE FOLLOWING LECTURES, 
 
 PREACHED ON THAT FOUNDATION, 
 
 ARE 
 
 RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN committing these Lectures to the press, the 
 Author has been desirous to fulfil, with no longer 
 delay than was unavoidable, a condition which is 
 imposed by the will of the Right Reverend Founder 
 of the Lecture, but which the Author was prevented 
 from complying with, by other more pressing duties, 
 at the time of the expiration of his office. He has 
 felt it also to be incumbent upon him to discharge, 
 as speedily as might be, the obligation under which 
 he was thus laid, as a duty which he owes to the 
 memory of that deeply revered Friend and Patron 
 from whom he received the appointment. The 
 privilege which, under such circumstances, he might 
 perhaps without impropriety have claimed, of in- 
 scribing these pages to the memory of One, the 
 remembrance of whom he must ever cherish with 
 peculiar veneration and affection, the Author has 
 forborne to exercise ; lest it should seem as though 
 he wished unbecomingly to connect what he has 
 feebly and imperfectly attempted, and for which he 
 must himself be solely responsible, with the sanction 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 of an authority which was always on every account 
 high, and now more than ever sacred. He cannot, 
 however, and ought not to deny himself the satis- 
 faction of expressing here his grateful and affec- 
 tionate sense of the kindness and favour which 
 in so many ways were shewn towards him ; while, 
 at the same time, he would record the wish, which 
 he cannot but deeply feel, that he had been able 
 to discharge the office committed to him in a 
 manner more worthy of its own importance, and 
 of him from whose hands he received it. 
 
 The Author trusts, nevertheless, that whatever 
 imperfections and faults may be discovered in the 
 execution of the duty laid upon him, they will 
 not be found to be such as essentially to interfere 
 with the main object which he has throughout 
 had in view. It appeared to him, as the result of 
 thoughtful consideration of the subject, that, while 
 the visions of Sacred Prophecy, particularly those 
 which he has selected for examination, have re- 
 ceived from the labours of able and ingenious 
 expositors a minute application and variety of illus- 
 tration which will often irresistibly captivate the 
 reader, and carry along with them his imagination 
 and judgment, there is not unfrequently left behind 
 a feeling of doubtfulness in regard to the conclusions 
 arrived at, when once the eye is taken off from 
 that particular period of history, perhaps recent or 
 alnio-t present, in which the fulfilment is sought for. 
 And, what is yet more to be guarded against, there 
 
Preface. vii 
 
 is danger of a similar feeling extending itself to 
 other portions of Prophetic Scripture, the fulfil- 
 ment of which had seemed to be satisfactorily 
 determined by the general consent of the Christian 
 world. Under these impressions it appeared to the 
 Writer, when he was called to preach the Lecture 
 on Bishop Warburton's Foundation, that some ser- 
 vice might perhaps be rendered to the cause of 
 Christian Truth and of Divine Revelation, and some 
 assistance afforded to the student of the Prophetic 
 Volume, by an attempt to ascertain and mark 
 certain points and portions of Sacred Prophecy 
 which may be considered as already placed, by 
 general consent in regard to their fulfilment, out 
 of the reach of doubt or question; while others seem 
 to await the progress of time, and the corresponding 
 progress of Interpretation in the Church, to give 
 them a like degree of certainty. Or, to use an 
 illustration which may perhaps make more plain 
 and distinct the general design, it may be said that 
 while Prophecy, partly fulfilled and partly unful- 
 filled, resembles in some sort a tract of country 
 not yet fully explored, the object to be aimed at 
 would seem to be, to mark, as by an outline more 
 or less strongly drawn, those points which may be 
 regarded as certain and undoubted, and those which, 
 as being involved in different degrees of doubtful- 
 ness, may be sketched in fainter lines, connecting, 
 nevertheless, in some sort the several parts together, 
 until further discoveries shall enable the future 
 
viii Preface. 
 
 geographer to complete and fill up the chart which 
 at present can be only imperfectly traced. 
 
 To ascertain, in some such manner, the outlines 
 and landmarks of Inspired Prophecy has been the 
 main object which the Author has had in view in 
 the present Lectures: it may be a comparatively 
 humble office that he has endeavoured to fulfil, 
 but, at the same time, one which, he cannot but 
 think, is at the present time not without its use 
 and importance. His design, as will be seen, does 
 not exclude investigations carried further, or the 
 filling up, in detail, of a general outline ; it would 
 only endeavour, first of all, to preserve the outline 
 itself from the danger of obliteration, to secure the 
 salient points from being lost, or obscured, for want 
 of sufficient distinction between the substantial and 
 the shadowy, or from the influence of undue doubt- 
 fulness, the result of a not unnatural re- action against 
 the decisions of an over-confident positiveness of 
 interpretation. So far as the Author has had oc- 
 < -;^ion to enter upon questions in regard to which 
 there is room for doubt or diversity of opinion, he 
 has been more willing to incur the charge of defining 
 too little, than of defining too much; convinced 
 that the spirit which should guide an inquirer on 
 the -acred field of Prophecy, especially where we 
 touch the confines of that which is unfulfilled, is the 
 Htme spirit of humility and self-distrust which ex- 
 presse.l itsdf in the words of our own cautious and 
 catholic-minded Bishop Ridley, when, in regard to 
 
Preface. ix 
 
 a kindred subject, the mysteries of the Divine 
 decrees, he said to one of his brother confessors, 
 in the midst of much disputation, " Sir, in these 
 matters I am so fearful, that I dare not speak fur- 
 ther than the very text doth, as it were, lead me 
 by the hand V And to this may be added the 
 expression of a conviction not less deep, that in the 
 careful and diligent study of the Prophetic Volume 
 as a whole, beginning from the Old Testament and 
 going on to the New, will be found that which will 
 serve as a sure guide to " lead " us " by the hand," so 
 far as we may be permitted to penetrate, onward 
 into the inner depths and mysteries of the last and 
 most deeply mysterious volume of Inspired Prophecy; 
 a volume which will then be seen not to stand by 
 itself, an insulated portion of Divine Revelation, but 
 to be indeed the solemn winding up and final con- 
 summation of the whole. 
 
 The Author has been content throughout to trace 
 what would seem to him, on the best consideration 
 which he was able to give to the subject, to present 
 the true outline of interpretation, without entering 
 on a detailed examination of counter-theories, which 
 he has not the less carefully studied, though he has 
 seldom distinctly referred to them. It may be said 
 emphatically of prophetical exposition, that refuta- 
 tion and controversial discussion are interminable, 
 and in too many cases not less interminable than 
 
 1 Life, by Glocester Ridley, p. 553. 
 
x Preface. 
 
 unsatisfactory in their result. The Author felt, at 
 the same time, that the most attentive consideration 
 was due to the arguments which had been recently 
 urged, with an ability and force of learning which 
 gave them more than ordinary weight, against the 
 commonly received interpretations of the principal 
 visions, in particular, of the book of Daniel, and 
 some points connected with them. Into the con- 
 sideration of the arguments in question he was dis- 
 posed to enter the more freely and unreservedly, 
 because he felt that he might discuss them as with 
 friends, on the common ground of an appeal to 
 authorities recognized alike by both ; and in the 
 spirit of the saying to which they whose friendship 
 he is privileged to claim would cordially respond, 
 "Amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas." Of the 
 service rendered to the cause of sound interpretation 
 and accurate historical inquiry by the spirit which 
 their labours would encourage, it is needless to 
 speak ; and those who are most sensible of its value 
 will be the most desirous to guard it from all that 
 may appear questionable in its application to any 
 portion of Holy Writ. 
 
 The Author would wish to observe that while, 
 from the nature of his design throughout, he has 
 been compelled to give, in many instances, the 
 result, rather than the detailed process of investiga- 
 tion on which it rests, this has been particularly the 
 
 16 in regard to the subject treated of in the Sixth 
 and part of the Seventh Lecture. To have drawn 
 
Preface. xi 
 
 out fully the argument in support of the inter- 
 pretation on which the Author has there ventured, 
 grounded on the historic and prophetic records of 
 the Old Testament, would have made it necessary 
 for him to embody in the Lectures, to an extent 
 disproportionate to their general design, a complete 
 dissertation on the sacred symbols there referred 
 to. He has, therefore, contented himself, in that 
 part of his subject, with indicating generally, as far 
 as was possible, the conclusion at which, on a careful 
 investigation of Scripture, he had arrived, without 
 attempting a discussion which would require much 
 larger limits. 
 
 With regard to the Notes contained in the 
 Appendix, references to them will, in almost all 
 cases, be found in the notes at the foot of the 
 pages; in a few instances only, notes have been 
 added in the Appendix without such reference. It 
 is presumed, throughout the Lectures, that the 
 reader has before him the chapter of Daniel, or 
 of the Revelation, which is under consideration in 
 the Lecture ; and therefore, where the verse only 
 is specified in the foot-note, the reference is to the 
 chapter thus immediately in view. 
 
 The Author has only, in conclusion, to request 
 of his reader that he will be content to follow on 
 with him in his course of inquiry, while he him- 
 self endeavours to follow the inspired Text in its 
 sacred leading from point to point ; not caring to 
 anticipate results, in this portion or that, in regard 
 
xii Preface. 
 
 to its probable coincidence or disagreement with 
 one class of expositors or another ; but rather judging 
 this only, viz., how far the interpretation maintained 
 or suggested seems to be borne out by the text, or 
 by other Scripture referred to for its illustration. 
 And he humbly trusts that these pages, however 
 through their manifold imperfections they may fall 
 short of the object which they have in view, in 
 aiding the reverential study and right understanding 
 of God's holy word, may, nevertheless, tend at least 
 to strengthen and deepen the impression that, whe- 
 ther it be permitted to us more or less fully to 
 discover its mysterious import, it bears evidently 
 stamped upon it, in the wonderful harmony which 
 pervades it in its vast extent and varied compo- 
 sition, the undoubted marks of having proceeded 
 from one Divine Author. And to the thoughtful 
 and religious mind these disclosures of God's Al- 
 mighty Providence and " manifold wisdom," as ex- 
 hibited in the visions of Prophecy, and made "known 
 by the Church," will seem to demand of us, His 
 creatures, the more and more attentive contem- 
 plation and study, amidst the perils of the latter 
 times, and as the ends of the world draw near. 
 
 Precincts, Canterbury, 
 .him- 16, 1819. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 REV. i. 3. PAGE 
 
 " 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." . 1 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 DAN. ii. 44. 
 
 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up 
 a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom 
 shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces 
 and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." . 24 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 DAN. vii. 26, 27. 
 
 " But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his domi- 
 nion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the 
 kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under 
 the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of 
 the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and 
 all dominions shall serve and obey him." . . .60 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 DAN. viii. 25 (part) and 26. 
 
 He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes ; but he 
 shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening 
 and the morning which was told is true : wherefore shut thou 
 up the vision ; for it shall be for many days." . . .92 
 
xiv Contents. 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 DAN. xi. 45. PAGE 
 
 " And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palaces between the 
 
 seas in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come to his 
 end, and none shall help him." . . . . .124 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 REV. v. 810. 
 
 " And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and 
 twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of 
 them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the 
 prayers of saints. 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 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." ...... 156 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 REV. vi. 1, 2. 
 
 "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 behold 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." . .193 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 REV. vi. 17. 
 
 the great day of his wrath is como ; and who shall be able 
 to stand?" . . . '2-2 \ 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 REV. viii. 5, 6. 
 
 " And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the 
 altar, ami ru>t it into the earth: and there were voices, and 
 thunderiiiL's, ami liuht nin'_r>, and an earthquake. And the seven 
 angels which had the M-VIMI trumpets prepared themselves to 
 sound." . 
 
Contents. xv 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 REV. xi. 3, 4. PAGE 
 
 " And 1 will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall 
 prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed 
 in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candle- 
 sticks standing before the God of the earth." . . . 286 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 REV. xiii. 5. 
 
 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things 
 and blasphemies ; and power was given unto him to continue 
 forty and two months." ..... 324 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 REV. xvii. 18. 
 
 " And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which 
 reigneth over the kings of the earth . . . .361 
 
 APPENDIX . 399 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 38, note, bottom line, for 490. read 496. 
 64, note 2, for Vid. Note, Appendix, read Vid. Hurd, Disc. xi. 
 129, line 2,ybr object, read subject, 
 152, add 136. vol. iv. p. 740. vol. vi. p. 12. 
 266, line 12, before over insert which had power 
 ., 305, notes, col. 2, line 1, before et insert et futurae pacis 
 
 , line 15./07- 169. read 1697. 
 335, note 5, read oi aKTjvovvTez iv 
 
fuim Y; 
 
 LECTURE I 1 . 
 
 REV. i. 3. 
 
 " 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." 
 
 IT is impossible to observe with any attention the 
 signs of the present times, and not to perceive that 
 we are arrived at what may be termed an era, not 
 only in regard to events affecting intimately the 
 welfare of the Christian Church, but also especially, 
 and as arising naturally out of such a crisis, in 
 regard to the interpretation of Sacred Prophecy. 
 The spirit of inquiry which is abroad in the earth 
 upon every subject of human knowledge or specula- 
 tion, must necessarily make its presence to be felt 
 not least in matters which most deeply concern 
 man's immortal interests, and which touch the inner- 
 most springs of his being. And it is indeed well for 
 us that, in times which seem to answer to the pro- 
 phetic description of the days when " many shall run 
 to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased 2 ," 
 men's thoughts are not engrossed and absorbed 
 altogether in the things of time and sense, things 
 
 1 Preached Nov. 28, 1841. 2 Dan. xii. 4. 
 
 B 
 
2 Present Crisis in the [LECT. 
 
 that " perish with the using 3 ," the improvements of 
 mechanical art, the comforts of life to which those 
 improvements minister, the laws and ordinances of 
 the material universe, a system "beautiful in its 
 time 4 ," yet rapidly hasting to destruction. It is 
 assuredly a great gain, and must be so regarded by 
 every one in whose estimate of things mind and 
 spirit rank higher than the material and the bodily, 
 that, amid the downward tendencies of a confessedly 
 mechanical age, the minds of men should, in what- 
 ever degree, have been turned to the higher and 
 more heavenly objects amongst which, as partakers 
 of a spiritual nature, we are privileged, even in this 
 preparatory state, to " live, and move, and have our 
 being." It is a sign to be hailed with thankfulness, 
 if, amidst the process which in other departments of 
 knowledge and inquiry is going on, of exploring 
 to the foundation what had before been viewed 
 only as existing and established ; discarding ancient 
 prejudices and bringing to light, from beneath the 
 mass of accumulated error, real or supposed, the 
 long hidden truth, there has been something akin 
 to this in operation, in regard to matters of religion, 
 to the first principles of our holy Faith, the original 
 foundations of the Christian Church. We can hardly 
 fail to regard it as a matter of satisfaction, if there 
 has been awakened in men's minds a deeper sym- 
 pathy with the past, as well as a more lively interest 
 in the yet undeveloped future ; more of that natural 
 piety which will not suffer one generation to 
 sever itself, in proud contempt or heartless self- 
 sufficiency, from those that have gone before ; but 
 would link one to another by the sense of a common 
 
 3 Col. ii. 22. 4 Eccles. iii. 11. 
 
i.] Interpretation of Prophecy. 3 
 
 interest ; and so would make us feel that sve belong 
 indeed to a vast body, of which "if one member 
 suffer," however far removed in time or place, " all 
 the members suffer with it ; or one member be 
 honoured, all the members rejoice with it 5 ." 
 
 The revival of a feeling such as this, and the 
 investigation of the history of past times undertaken 
 in such a spirit, would assuredly be a subject of 
 unfeigned satisfaction and thankfulness to every 
 true Christian heart. It were productive of great 
 and substantial benefit, if it led men to solid study 
 of the records of history, as well as of that inspired 
 Word of which those records show the fulfilment ; 
 if it exposed ignorance and superficial thought, tra- 
 ditional prejudices, and mis-statements growing by 
 continual repetition; if it restored the glow of charity 
 by a rekindled love of truth. But as, in our present 
 imperfect state, the good is never unaccompanied by 
 the liability to evil, we must not close our eyes to 
 the danger of a hasty rejection of views of history, and 
 systems of interpretation, which perhaps had been by 
 many overhastily, and without inquiry, acquiesced 
 in ; but which nevertheless had their own grounds of 
 argument and plausibility, though we have perhaps 
 never ourselves entered into them, and know after 
 all but little respecting them, except that they are 
 now regarded by high authorities as untenable. We 
 may otherwise, ourselves, fall unconsciously into the 
 very same superficial habit of mind which we condemn 
 in others ; dazzled, perhaps, in some measure by a love 
 of novelty, and the excitement of a new and wider 
 field of inquiry opening before us ; and treating the 
 judgments of men who were in their day great lights 
 
 5 1 Cor. xii. 26. 
 B 2 
 
4 Revival of Historical Inquiry, [LECT. 
 
 of the Christian Church, and of our own branch of it 
 in particular, with a disrespect which has its origin in 
 a temper of mind out of which a true reverence for 
 earlier and better days will never spring. And to this, 
 we must be conscious, we are more than ordinarily 
 liable in an age which is certainly indisposed to deep 
 and laborious thought ; an age in which, upon every 
 subject that is presented to it, a prompt and positive 
 decision is expected ; and the spirit which is fostered 
 by our periodical criticism, too often hasty and flippant, 
 is ever ready to pass its verdict, the conclusion of 
 a few hours or days, on that which should rather 
 have been the patient study of months and years 6 . 
 
 But akin to the feeling of which I have spoken 
 as revived of late towards past ages, is that which 
 seems in the present day to be growing around us, 
 of desire for a closer union and more free inter- 
 course with our brethren in other portions and com- 
 munions of Christendom. The facility of communi- 
 cation which has been effected in our own times, in 
 the mysterious order of God's Providence, has, as it 
 were, brought the ends of the earth near together; 
 the distance has, if we may so say, been annihilated, 
 which separated men one from another ; the barriers 
 which kept them apart have been to a great extent, 
 and in a marvellous manner, broken down ; and in 
 different w r ays, for evil or for good, men seem to 
 have awakened to the consciousness that " union is 
 strength." And such a feeling, revived in its purest 
 and holiest form, within the Church of God, were 
 doubtless, in itself, a sign full of hope for her 
 most sacred interests : for unity is her essential 
 
 6 In the above paragraph, had then recently been put 
 the Author alluded particularly forth, particularly in some 
 to the tone of a good deal that articles in Reviews. 
 
i.] and a Craving for Unity. 5 
 
 characteristic, and the last solemn prayer which her 
 Divine Founder offered for His disciples on earth 
 was, "that they all" might "be one 7 ." My present 
 purpose, however, in pointing to this particular, is 
 to mark its influence specially on the interpretation 
 of Prophecy. 
 
 It has been sometimes broadly laid down that 
 Prophecy, from its nature and object, can take no 
 cognizance of the internal divisions of Christendom ; 
 that its great end was to be an evidence for Chris- 
 tianity, and the Christian Church, in the face of the 
 world ; and, consequently, that any interpretation of 
 a " controversial " character, having reference to 
 schisms or corruptions within the Church's pale, is 
 altogether inadmissible 8 . Of the evils, indeed, re- 
 sulting from the spirit of controversy in the inter- 
 pretation of prophetic Scripture, it is scarcely pos- 
 sible to speak too strongly ; but at the same time 
 the maxim in question must be carefully guarded 
 against determining too boldly, a priori, what are 
 the ends and objects of this part of God's revelation. 
 We are not at liberty to decide that the only purpose 
 of Prophecy was to be an evidence to " them that are 
 without ;" it may have been intended also to be a 
 guide and support to the Church herself in seasons 
 of her greatest perplexity ; " a light shining in a 
 dark place until the day" should "dawn, and the 
 day-star arise in the hearts 9 '' of her wayworn pil- 
 grims ; " a lantern unto her feet and a light unto 
 her path," when they on whose guidance she might 
 have thought she could most securely depend, seemed 
 
 7 John xvii. 11, 21, 22. earnestly presses this view. 
 
 8 Dr. Whitley, in his "Scheme See particularly Sections i. 
 and Completion of Prophecy," and ii. 
 
 (London, 1830,) strongly and 9 2 Pet. i. 19. 
 
6 Does Prophecy take cognizance [LECT. 
 
 to be following earthly meteors, and " the light" 
 itself was "darkened in the heavens thereof 1 ." It 
 may be, for aught we know, that, even regarded 
 merely as an evidence to Divine Revelation, Prophecy 
 was designed to meet the most plausible and insult- 
 ing objection that Infidelity has ever dared to make. 
 I allude to that which is drawn from the apparent 
 obscuration, if so it were, of the light of Christianity 
 through many ages, the unworthy practice of its 
 professors ; its grievous corruptions ; the human pas- 
 sions, the secular policy, nay, even the imposture 
 or deceit which have been enlisted in its service; 
 the ignorance and superstition, or gross fanaticism 
 and error, which have overspread the lands in which 
 its dominion once seemed to be the most securely 
 established. It may be that the triumphant answer 
 to these and such-like cavils was to be found in the 
 fact, that all this had been foretold ; traced with no 
 shrinking hand, and pourtrayed in no faint colours, 
 on that roll of Prophecy, which thus was to be a 
 living witness to Divine Wisdom accomplishing its 
 purposes of love and mercy not only through the 
 instrumentality of man's weakness, but even by 
 overruling his wilfulness or wickedness. There 
 would be, assuredly, in this nothing a priori incon- 
 ceivable : the question whether there be, in point of 
 fact, such scenes or not, delineated in the visions of 
 I Vuphecy, is a matter for humble and patient inquiry 
 to search out and discover. Even, however, as an 
 Evidence to Christianity, it might be that the most 
 striking proof of Divine Foreknowledge exhibited, 
 in the face of an unbelieving world, was to be seen 
 in the accomplishment of what might have appeared, 
 
 1 Isa. v. ;3<). 
 
i.] of Internal Divisions f 7 
 
 (as a distinguished Lecturer on this Foundation has 
 emphatically designated " the prophecy of the great 
 Apostacy") "a paradox of prediction, which must be 
 allowed to surpass the ordinary limits of human 
 observation, and almost to exceed the power which 
 man has to corrupt the best gifts of God V Or if it 
 should appear, from a careful examination of the 
 disclosures of prophetic Scripture, that, amidst all 
 " the overflowings of ungodliness " in latter times, the 
 powers of darkness have not yet put forth to the 
 utmost their might and malice; if the full manifes- 
 tation of the Spirit of evil be still future, and all 
 that has hitherto reared its head in Christendom in 
 the form of Antichrist has been (to use language 
 sanctioned by Antiquity) rather the " precursor 3 : 
 than the actual impersonation of that which is to 
 
 2 " That this system of 
 ambition and falsehood should 
 succeed ; that it should be 
 established with the submis- 
 sion, and indeed with the deluded 
 conviction, of men still holding 
 the profession of Christianity, 
 which is the prophecy of St. 
 Paul, is a paradox of predic- 
 tion, &c. . . . The natural in- 
 credibility of it is, not that such 
 errors or abuses should be es- 
 tablished in the world, but 
 that they should be grafted on 
 the Christian Faith, in opposi- 
 tion to, and in outrage of, its 
 genius and its commands, and 
 take a bold possession of the 
 Christian Church. There, how- 
 ever, they have been grafted ; 
 and there they have had pos- 
 session. And the strength of 
 the improbable fact is the proof 
 of the prophetic inspiration." 
 Davison on Prophecy, p. 457 
 (3rd ed. Oxford, 1834). 
 
 3 " In the second of the 
 Clementine Homilies, a false 
 prophet, or impostor, it is said, 
 will precede Antichrist ; and, 
 then, towards the time of the 
 end, Antichrist himself will 
 first appear, before the return 
 of the true Christ. . . 
 
 " Irenseus, writing against 
 Marcus,a leader of the sect of the 
 Colorbasei, quotes a passage in 
 iambics from one of the elders, 
 directed against him, which is 
 to this effect : ' Marcus, thou 
 maker of idols, and interpreter 
 of prodigies, . . . having in thee 
 a precursor of the subtlety 
 which will take the place of 
 God.' Adv. Hser. i. 12. 76. 3. 
 ..." In fact, Irenaeus speaks 
 of Marcus, as almost the actual 
 precursor of Antichrist, * prse- 
 cursor quasi vere existens An- 
 tichristi.' " Greswell on the 
 Parables, vol. i. p. 380. 
 
8 Dangers of the [LECT. 
 
 be yet more fearfully " revealed in his time ;" even 
 though it were an open and avowed Apostacy that 
 were then to be looked for, and therefore such as, 
 on every hypothesis, we should expect to find traced 
 in the broadest lines of Sacred Prophecy; still it 
 must be "in the temple of God" that "that Wicked 
 One " would sit enthroned 4 ; and if so, we should be 
 in danger of blindness to the impending peril, if we 
 had persuaded ourselves beforehand, that Prophecy 
 was altogether concerned with things external to 
 the Church, and took no cognizance of its internal 
 divisions. 
 
 The mischief, however, which has been done by 
 the controversial spirit in the interpretation of the 
 Prophetic volume, it is impossible not to see and 
 feel ; and in proceeding to notice the chief sources 
 of error in the study of Prophecy, I would mention 
 this among the first and foremost. Assuredly it was 
 a spirit very different from this that animated the 
 bosom of the beloved disciple, warm as was his 
 zeal for " the truth 5 ," and keen his denunciation of 
 error 6 : and it will be only as we partake of the 
 same spirit which was in him, that we shall be 
 enabled to understand aright the heavenly visions 
 with which he was favoured. But, with the narrow- 
 ness of view to which we all are liable, whether in 
 regard to truth or error, seeing the outward develop- 
 ment, but less quick to discern the hidden principle 
 within ; and unskilled in detecting the selfsame germ 
 of evil lurking in various forms and assuming con- 
 tinually some new disguise, we are continually in 
 danger of having our minds so occupied with some 
 one of tin* many shapes of Error as to be uncon- 
 
 4 2 Thess. ii. i ' Vv. 7, 10. 
 
 2 John 1, 2. 1. 
 
i.] Controversial Spirit. 9 
 
 scious, meanwhile, of its near approach in another ; 
 and thus, with the page of Prophecy full before us, 
 may fail nevertheless to discover its pregnant mean- 
 ing and manifold application. For Prophecy, being 
 the word of Him who "seeth not as man seeth," 
 looking not on outward things, but rather revealing 
 their essential elements and characteristics, must 
 take into its view far more than our limited under- 
 standings dream of; and accordingly its language, 
 though with perfect unity of sense, will seem again 
 and again to be fulfilled in various manifestations of 
 the same principle, amidst successive scenes of the 
 Divine economy. And this lies far beyond the 
 narrow view of the mere controversialist ; unskilled 
 in that "mystery of iniquity" which is ever working 
 in the human heart, ready to put forth variously its 
 secret power in one form or another, and, according 
 to that strange law of our being by which, as we see 
 continually, extremes apparently coincide, startling 
 us with the near presence of the very evil from 
 which we had thought ourselves to be farthest 
 removed. 
 
 But next to the danger which thus besets the 
 study of Prophecy, arising from the narrowness of 
 view and the bitterness of feeling which attends the 
 controversial spirit, is the over-venturous presump- 
 tion which would seek to determine " the times and 
 the seasons," of which we are expressly told by 
 Him, the Great Prophet of His Church, that " it 
 is not for " us " to know " them, seeing that " the 
 Father hath put " them " in his own power 7 ." The 
 discredit which such attempts have too frequently 
 brought not only upon the skill of the individual 
 
 7 Acts i. 7. 
 
10 How far we may [LECT. 
 
 interpreter but, what is far more serious, upon 
 the study of Prophecy itself, it is scarcely necessary 
 for me to point out. And it is, perhaps, even more 
 important to guard from undue application the 
 maxim to which the failure of such speculations 
 has given rise the maxim, I mean, that it was 
 never the design of Prophecy to give us the know- 
 ledge of coming events, but simply that when the 
 event foretold has come to pass, we might recognize 
 the Divine foreknowledge manifested in the predic- 
 tion 8 . This principle, broadly stated, would tend to 
 discourage altogether the study of unfulfilled pro- 
 phecy. And it would be difficult to reconcile it with 
 the blessing pronounced, in the words before us, 
 which stand at the opening of the mysterious visions 
 of the Apocalypse, upon him " that readeth " and 
 them " that hear the words of this prophecy, and 
 keep those things that are written therein " things 
 which were undoubtedly still future, though shortly 
 to be revealed ; " for," it is added, " the time is at 
 hand." The terms in which the blessing here 
 pronounced is conveyed, imply an attentive and 
 thoughtful study of the prophetic record ; its words 
 are to be read and heard and kept. And, indeed, 
 it is only by such diligent study that we can ever 
 hope to ascertain how much of the revelations of 
 
 8 "The folly of interpreters," the Old Testament, not to 
 says Sir Isaac Newton, " has gratify men's curiosities by en- 
 been, to foretel times and things abling them to foreknow things, 
 by this Prophecy [the Apo- but that after they were ful- 
 calypse], as if God designed filled they might be interpreted 
 to make them prophets. By by the event, and his own 
 this rashness they have not Providence, not the interpre- 
 only exposed themselves, but ter's, be then manifested thereby 
 brought the Prophecy also into to the world." Observations 
 contempt. The design of God upon the Prophecies of Daniel 
 was much otherwise. He gave and St. John, p. 251. 
 this and the prophecies of 
 
i.] study Unfulfilled Prophecy. 11 
 
 Prophecy has been already fulfilled, and how much, 
 as being still unfulfilled, is, according to this view, 
 to be regarded as forbidden ground. Especially is 
 this the case in regard to the Apocalypse, con- 
 cerning which opinions so opposite have been, in 
 our own days, maintained by learned men, as, on 
 the one side, that the whole has long ago been 
 accomplished 9 ; on the other, that the whole refers 
 to one great conflict, still future, between the hosts 
 of Christ and Antichrist 1 . And if there were any, 
 though it were even a doubtful, probability, that 
 times of more than ordinary trial were thus in 
 store for the Church, and which might possibly 
 come in our own days; and if, moreover, the 
 warnings contained in the Prophecy itself implied 
 that men's spirits would, individually, be exposed 
 therein to a searching probation ; it would surely 
 become us well, as a matter not of speculative 
 inquiry, but of deep practical concern, so to have 
 studied the prophetic marks and characteristics of 
 that which was thus approaching, that we might 
 not, when it came, be taken by surprise, and find 
 ourselves unawares in the very midst of our greatest 
 peril. 
 
 For it must never be forgotten, that the scenes 
 which are successively unfolding as ages roll on, are 
 not simply objects of contemplation, a mere spec- 
 tacle for us to gaze on ; even though it were a spec- 
 tacle so divine and glorious and worthy of man's 
 reverential regard as is the fulfilment of God's great 
 purposes of wisdom and love towards His moral 
 
 9 See Professor Lee's " Ser- tempt to elucidate the Prophe- 
 
 mons and Dissertations on Pro- cies respecting Antichrist," 
 
 phecy," Diss. ii. Part ii. " Inquiry," &c. ; Todd's " Don- 
 
 1 See Dr. Maitland's " At- nellan Lectures," &c. 
 
12 Spirit of Inquiry [LECT. 
 
 creation : rather they are scenes in which every 
 one of us is personally concerned, with an endless 
 existence, in bliss or woe unutterable, depending 
 upon our behaviour in the midst of them. But, 
 even were this not so, and considering it merely as 
 Divine prediction in course of accomplishment, we 
 may safely say that, unless there be an attentive 
 study of unfulfilled Prophecy, its fulfilment, when 
 the prediction does really come to pass, will be very 
 apt to escape our observation. When we have our 
 eye steadily fixed on a certain point or region of the 
 heavens, we easily discover the star which otherwise 
 we should never have observed ; and even so it is 
 with the day-star of Prophecy. It was to them who, 
 like the holy Simeon and the aged Anna, were 
 " waiting for the consolation of Israel," and " look- 
 ing for redemption in Jerusalem 2 ," that " the day- 
 spring from on high 3 " appeared, while others were 
 yet sitting in darkness. We find our Lord expressly 
 rebuking the men of that generation because, 
 skilful as they were to " discern the face of the 
 sky," yet could they " not discern the signs of the 
 times 4 ." And though, to the anxious inquiries of His 
 disciples He denied all knowledge as to the precise 
 time at which the things should come to pass which 
 He had foretold 5 , He gave them, nevertheless, such 
 clear tokens of His coming, that His followers were 
 effectually guarded against the delusions of " false 
 Christs and false prophets," escaped securely out of 
 the midst of the devoted city, and beheld in the 
 signs that preceded, and the circumstances that 
 attended its destruction, the coming of their Lord 
 in His kingdom. 
 
 2 Luke ii. 25, 38. 4 M;itt. xvi. 3. 
 
 3 Chap. i. 78. Acts i. (>, 7. 
 
i.] and Christian Watchfulness. 
 
 It is, doubtless, no easy matter thus to gr^xjpur- 
 selves to the study of Prophecy, with such attei 
 as to discern clearly the " signs of the times," and 
 yet keeping ourselves free from any presumptuous 
 determining of the times themselves. Undoubtedly, 
 it were easier far to close the volume at once, and 
 escape the danger of the abuse by practically deny- 
 ing the use. But this, on other subjects of thought 
 and action, would be accounted no rational proceed- 
 ing; much less, then, assuredly on this; indepen- 
 dently even of its tendency to deprive us altogether 
 of the blessing which, as we have seen, is expressly 
 promised to such inquiry. And, looking back to 
 different periods of the Church's history, we find, in 
 fact, that however men may have been misled, or 
 have had their hopes too highly raised, or their 
 imaginations unduly excited, by the approach of eras 
 which it was supposed had been marked out in Pro- 
 phecy for Christ's coming and the end of the world ; 
 still it may be asserted generally, that the minds 
 of men have rarely been thus stirred and awakened, 
 save at times when God's judgments were, indeed, 
 in a more than ordinary manner, abroad in the 
 earth, and great events were unfolding whether for 
 good or for evil. And if, in modern times, specu- 
 lation on prophetic dates has been, in many cases, too 
 precise and positive ; and if this or that conjuncture, 
 which has been fixed upon for the fulfilment of such 
 and such predictions, has passed by, and nothing has 
 appeared ; it were our wisdom not to allow the spirit 
 of indifference or unbelief to cast, on that account, 
 any thing like contempt upon the study of God's 
 most holy word because of man's weakness or folly ; 
 not at least till it be seen and proved that the hand 
 of God has not meanwhile been signally, though in 
 
14 Interpretation of [LECT. 
 
 silence, moving on events towards their consumma- 
 tion, and by the very spirit of inquiry concerning 
 them which He has awakened in the minds of His 
 servants, been preparing them to recognize the 
 accomplishment, when at length, in His appointed 
 time, it shall really come. 
 
 We must proceed, however, to notice another 
 danger which besets the interpretation of Prophecy, 
 viz. that of following our own imagination in ex- 
 pounding its symbolic language, instead of deriving 
 from the deep and accurate study of Scripture itself 
 the clue which it supplies to its own meaning. For 
 it will be found, upon an attentive examination, that 
 there is a wonderful uniformity in the symbols and 
 figures employed in sacred Prophecy, and that great 
 light is thrown upon its hidden import by a diligent 
 " comparing of spiritual things with spiritual 6 ." 
 Especially important is this rule of interpretation 
 as regards the concluding volume of Divine revela- 
 tion, which in a very remarkable manner adopts and 
 embodies the language of the Old Testament pro- 
 phets, particularly Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. 
 For, indeed, we find the Apocalypse continually 
 bringing before us again the scenery of those earlier 
 visions, with the images and objects which had been 
 there described, as if resuming what they had broken 
 off, or exhibiting events which were to correspond 
 closely with those of that earlier dispensation to 
 which they had immediately ministered. And thus 
 are we reminded at every step that " no prophecy 
 of Scripture is of any private interpretation 7 ;" that 
 sacred Prophecy is indeed one great system, ex- 
 
 8 1 Cor. ii. 13. Vide Pre- tations on the Apocalypse," 
 face to Woodhouse's Transla- 1828. Vide Note, Appendix, 
 tion, &c. 1805, and " Anno- 7 2 Pet. i. 20. 
 
i.] Symbolic Language. 15 
 
 tending through a vast range of time, from the 
 beginning to the consummation of all things, and 
 yet, throughout its whole course, at perfect unity 
 with itself, and bearing upon it, too plainly to be 
 mistaken, the marks of one Divine Author. And, 
 accordingly, if we would indeed discover its real 
 meaning, and not impose upon it fancies of our own, 
 we must so familiarize ourselves with its general 
 manner of expression, as to obtain a kind of acquired 
 perception, what or what manner of events and per- 
 sons "the Spirit of Christ" in His prophetic word 
 " did signify 8 ." We shall otherwise be in continual 
 danger of giving to prophetic imagery a sense de- 
 rived from the arbitrary associations of a merely 
 human imagination, beyond, or at variance with, 
 those which, it may be found, perhaps, are uniformly 
 attached in Scripture to the particular symbol or 
 metaphor with which we are concerned. And it 
 requires but little experience of interpretations of 
 Prophecy to be convinced, how easily, when some 
 special period of history, some favourite subject of 
 speculation, has taken possession of the mind, it 
 finds in every page and line the clear reflection of 
 the object that haunts it ; giving perhaps to minute 
 events and transient circumstances a prominence, 
 which, on a more enlarged view of Revelation and 
 its disclosures, would at once appear to be incon- 
 sistent with the scale and magnitude of its visions. 
 
 And the same deep and familiar acquaintance with 
 the language of holy Scripture is necessary, in order 
 to the determination of a question which will in 
 every page be arising, in what degree the expres- 
 sions which we find used in Prophecy are figurative 
 
 6 1 Pet. i. 11. 
 
16 Spiritual or Literal Interpretation. [LECT. 
 
 and symbolical, and how far they are to be inter- 
 preted literally. Upon this point also there has 
 of late years been a considerable reaction of opinion. 
 From a spiritualizing system of interpretation which 
 was extensively popular, and which applied every 
 thing in Scripture Prophecy to the individual cir- 
 cumstances of the Christian life, the tide has, to a 
 great extent, turned in favour of the most strict 
 adherence to the letter ; and the expectation, 
 grounded thereon, of a visible fulfilment of pro- 
 mises which had been generally regarded as accom- 
 plished in the spiritual blessings bestowed in the 
 Christian Church. The predictions in regard to 
 which, in particular, the literal interpretation has of 
 late years been most strenuously contended for, are 
 those which refer to the restoration of the Jewish 
 people, and to the personal reign of Christ on earth 
 for a thousand years. It has also been strongly 
 maintained, with much force of learning and argu- 
 ment, in regard to the prophetic periods which had 
 commonly been interpreted by modern expositors 
 on the hypothesis that, in "prophetic" language, a 
 day stands for a year. In both instances, in support 
 of the literal interpretation is pleaded the consent of 
 ancient interpreters ; though, indeed, of the writers 
 who in the present day maintain the literal sense in 
 the former instance, it is to be observed that some 
 absolutely reject, while others adopt and strongly 
 maintain, it in the latter. These questions I men- 
 tion at present only as examples to show, how neces- 
 sary is a diligent and careful study of the language 
 of prophetic Scripture generally, if we would hope 
 to obtain any thing like a satisfactory result to our 
 investigations. For while, with that great master of 
 theological wisdom, our own learned and judicious 
 
i.] Aid from Christian Antiquity. 17 
 
 Hooker, we must " hold it for a most infallible rule 
 in expositions of sacred Scripture, that, where a 
 literal construction will stand, the farthest from the 
 letter is commonly the worst 9 ," we must at the same 
 time admit, and in perfect consistency with the prin- 
 ciple thus laid down, that there is in the word of 
 God a spiritual meaning which is only "spiritually 
 discerned 1 ;" that under temporal images He is pleased 
 to shadow out things spiritual; and that, while we 
 adhere faithfully to the letter, we must seek by 
 spiritual discernment to attain to the mind of the 
 Spirit which is revealed under it 2 . 
 
 And here, from speaking of the deep and wide 
 study of prophetic Scripture as the best interpreter 
 of its own peculiar language, I would go on to 
 observe, in reference to that which, next to Scrip- 
 ture itself, is, on the principles of our Church, con- 
 fessedly the safest guide to its interpretation, I 
 mean, the consent of Christian Antiquity, that 
 we can scarcely expect, in regard to Prophecy, to 
 derive the same assistance from this source as on 
 other points, such as the fundamental articles of the 
 Christian Faith, to which, as handed down from one 
 to another, the Fathers of the first centuries bear 
 absolutely conclusive and incontrovertible witness. 
 On matters of unfulfilled Prophecy we should hardly 
 expect to find the same universal and public tradi- 
 tion; and thus some room would be left for indi- 
 vidual opinion or conjecture to fill up the broad and 
 general outline. The disclosures made to the first 
 disciples had been by word of mouth ; and there 
 were reasons, it would appear, which made it ex- 
 
 9 Eccles. Pol. v. 59, 2. 2 Comp. Woodhouse, sup. 
 
 1 1 Cor. ii. 14. cit. Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
18 Obscurity, yet general Consent. LECT. 
 
 pedient that these disclosures should not be com- 
 mitted to writing. "Remember ye not," says St. 
 Paul to his Thessalonian converts, " that, when I was 
 yet with you, I told you these things ? And now ye 
 know what withholdeth 3 that he might be revealed 
 in his time 4 ." And the Apostle goes on to speak in 
 terms full of mystery 5 . This, taken in connexion 
 with the misapprehension into which, as we find, 
 those early disciples had fallen, in regard to what the 
 Apostle had declared to them concerning " the day 
 of Christ," as though it were even then actually near 
 at hand, would prepare us to find some variety and 
 uncertainty resting on the early interpretations of 
 the mysterious intimations of Prophecy. And this 
 will appear the more natural, when we consider how 
 it has ever been the procedure of Divine Wisdom to 
 keep the future wrapt up in some degree of obscurity 
 from the eyes of men ; and, moreover, that the Chris- 
 tian Church, through the ages which have since 
 elapsed, has had the advantage of witnessing the 
 fulfilment, in part at least, of the Prophecies con- 
 cerning the new dispensation and her own Divine 
 and heavenly economy. Still, however, it will ap- 
 pear, that in the early Church there is to be found a 
 general consent of interpreters, so far, at least, as 
 regards the broad lines of Prophecy. And with 
 respect more particularly to some prophetic descrip- 
 tions, of which the almost universally received inter- 
 pretation has recently been called in question, and to 
 which I design on a future occasion to call your 
 attention 6 , the consentient opinion of Antiquity 
 
 3 TO Ktire'xor. let), until he be taken out of 
 
 4 2 Thess. ii. 5, 6. the way" (puvov b 
 
 5 Ver. 7. " For the mystery apr( tax; IK piaov ytVr/rcu). 
 of iniquity doth already work : Vid. inf. Lect. ii. 
 only he who now letteth (will 
 
i.] Study of Church History. 19 
 
 must be regarded as of irresistible force, inasmuch 
 as it bears witness to the fulfilment of Prophecy 
 attested by those who were actually living in the 
 very midst of it. But, indeed, in regard to Pro- 
 phecy generally, whether fulfilled or unfulfilled, 
 great weight is to be attached to the consent of 
 early times ; especially when we consider how early 
 in the course of Christian instruction, as it would 
 appear from the instance already cited of St. Paul's 
 teaching at Thessalonica, the prospect of the Church's 
 future trials was unfolded to the new converts ; and 
 it certainly gives hope, in the present day, of greater 
 agreement amongst expositors, when we find men, 
 who differ widely on many points, unite nevertheless 
 in appealing to Christian Antiquity for the interpre- 
 tation of Scripture Prophecy. 
 
 And where early tradition forsakes us, we must 
 look to the history of the Christian Church as 
 our best interpreter. And here, again, our greatest 
 security against error will be found in large 
 views of the Divine procedure, and of the course 
 of human things. We must read history, if I 
 may so speak, in the spirit of true philosophy ; 
 watching principles in their germ ; tracing their 
 silent growth through ages ; observing them rising 
 to a head broken off again perhaps, or thrown back 
 and then again after an interval re-appearing, or 
 gathering fresh strength ; the tendency of events 
 in one direction, checked it may be for a while, and 
 then all at once putting forth its power, and pre- 
 vailing; hidden elements bursting out suddenly, 
 which yet, on a deeper view, may be found to have 
 been long at work ; or, on the other hand, a gradual 
 advance perceptible or discoverable, like the tide on 
 the sea-shore, which, while we watch each ripple, 
 
 c2 
 
20 Christian mews of History. [LECT. 
 
 scarcely seems to be gaining ground, or may even 
 appear to be retiring, and which yet, by the strong 
 wave at intervals rising continually higher, shows 
 that it is all the while steadily setting in : it is 
 only by thoughtful contemplation, such as this, of 
 the tide of human affairs, and the ebb and flow in 
 the fortunes of the Church of God, that we can dis- 
 cover what Lord Bacon has happily designated as 
 "the springing and germinant accomplishment" of 
 Prophecy. Only we must ever be on the watch for 
 what to human eyes might seem less important cir- 
 cumstances ; remembering that " the Lord seeth not 
 as man seeth ;" that His thoughts are not our 
 thoughts, nor His ways our ways; that it is not 
 the movements which most attract the notice of 
 the world, that are most pregnant with important 
 consequences to the world itself, much less to the 
 Church of Christ 7 ; that it was the stone cut out 
 without hands, small in its origin, that smote the 
 image on its feet, and became a great mountain, and 
 filled the whole earth 8 ; that it was the grain of 
 mustard-seed, " the least of all seeds," which became 
 " the greatest among herbs " a tree shooting out 
 " great branches, so that the fowls of the air might 
 lodge under the shadow of it 9 ;" that it was the 
 
 7 " In the providential his- tined to become ' the scourge 
 tory of the world, prospective and terror of Christendom;' 
 results are frequently in the while the Tartar deluge re- 
 inverse proportion of present ceded without injury to the 
 appearances. How insignificant, Church of Christ, and has left 
 for example, in the eyes of con- scarcely a trace behind!" 
 temporaries, must have appear- Forster's Mahometanism Un- 
 ed the first rise of the Ottoman veiled, vol. i. p. 171, note, 
 power ; how tremendous, on 8 Dan. ii. 35. 
 the contrary, the overwhelming Matt. xiii. 31, 32 ; Mark 
 inundation of the Moguls ! In iv. 30 32. Comp. Luke xiii. 
 the counsels of Providence, 18, 19. 
 however, the Ottoman \v;i- drs- 
 
I.] Proposed Investigation. 21 
 
 " little horn " growing up among the rest, whose 
 " look was more stout than his fellows," and whose 
 mouth spake "great things 1 ." 
 
 I have endeavoured thus far to draw your atten- 
 tion to some considerations which, in the present 
 day, seem specially to recommend a calm and 
 thoughtful study of Divine Prophecy; pointing out 
 at the same time the chief sources of error in the 
 conduct of such inquiries, and the best means and 
 aids towards the discovery of the truth. In the 
 following Lectures I propose to examine in order 
 the prophecies of Daniel and St. John ; which, from 
 their distinctive chronological character, supply, as it 
 were, the outline which other predictions help to fill 
 up ; and, moreover, exhibit, in the most vivid deline- 
 ation, those principal objects in the Prophecies " con- 
 cerning the Christian Church " which were primarily 
 in the view of the founder of this Lecture. 
 
 Of the spirit and temper of mind in which sub- 
 jects like these should be approached, it is the less 
 needful for me to speak at large, inasmuch as it is 
 implied in what has been already said respecting the 
 dangers which beset the study. We must come to 
 it in the spirit of true charity, free from party feeling 
 and from the bitterness of the controversial temper ; 
 with earnest zeal and love for the cause of Christ's 
 truth and of His holy Church, whether as it now 
 exists in the earth, or as we trace its eventful history 
 in past ages; with true loyalty of affection, re- 
 joicing in its prosperity and sympathizing with its 
 sorrows. We must come casting away presumption, 
 and self-confidence, and unsubdued curiosity con- 
 cerning things yet future ; we must come with the 
 
 1 Dan. vii. 8. 
 
22 In ivhat Spirit and Temper [LECT. 
 
 imagination controlled ; with a mind free from pre- 
 judice ; ready to receive with simplicity the revela- 
 tions of Holy Writ, and using all diligence in the 
 employment of the means afforded for its right in- 
 terpretation. We must come with humble and 
 lowly reverence for the Word of God ; prepared 
 to find in it things beyond our deepest thought 
 and loftiest conception ; and labouring to attain, by 
 Divine grace, to that holiness and purity of heart 
 and mind which may make us fit to receive the 
 knowledge of heavenly mysteries. Above all, re- 
 membering from whom alone is to be obtained the 
 grace of spiritual understanding, we must look to 
 HIM continually for the light to guide our steps ; 
 and ever consecrate to Him all our labours by 
 thankfulness for every degree of illumination or 
 perception which He is pleased to vouchsafe to us. 
 
 The solemn season on which we are now entering 
 in the holy services of the Church 2 , seems to sound 
 in our ears in deeper tones the words of mingled 
 encouragement and warning which seal the blessing 
 pronounced in the text on him " that readeth " and 
 on them " that hear the words of this prophecy, 
 and keep those things that are written therein ; 
 FOR THE TIME is AT HAND." And if the words 
 were true and faithful then, much more to us now, 
 whose lot is cast in these " latter days," and upon 
 whom "the ends of the world are come 3 ." "The 
 time is" indeed "at hand ;" and if the Church hath 
 long waited for her Lord, and it seem as though He 
 delayed His coming ; if Faith and Hope are ready 
 to fail, and Charity to wax cold ; and the " scoffers," 
 
 2 Preached on Advent Sun- 3 tit ovc TO. riXr) TUV 
 
 Ha. KUTi'ifritret'. 1 Cor. x. 11. 
 
I.] Prophecy to be studied. 23 
 
 who, it was foretold, should come in the last days 
 " walking after their own lusts," shall begin to say 
 with more presumptuous unbelief, "Where is the 
 promise of the coming 4 ?" even, then, when there is 
 least expectation, save in the watchful spirits of His 
 faithful few, shall He come whom they patiently 
 look for ; and " blessed are those servants whom the 
 Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching 5 ." " Be- 
 hold, I come quickly," He saith again, winding up 
 the concluding scenes of the volume of His Revela- 
 tion with the repetition of the blessing recorded in 
 its earliest page " Behold, I come quickly ; blessed 
 is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of 
 this book. . . . And he saith unto me, Seal not the 
 sayings of the prophecy of this book ; for the time is 
 at hand. . . . And, behold, I come quickly; and my 
 reward is with me, to give every man as his work 
 shall be. . . . He which testifieth these things saith, 
 Surely I come quickly; Amen." And may His 
 Church, and every one of her faithful children, have 
 grace to say with His beloved disciple "Even so, 
 come, Lord Jesus 6 ." 
 
 To Him, "who is the faithful and true witness," 
 the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
 ending," "the first and the last 7 ;" to Him, with 
 the Father and the Holy Ghost, Three Persons and 
 One God, be ascribed all honour and glory, might, 
 majesty, dominion, and power, henceforth and for 
 evermore. Amen. 
 
 4 2 Pet. Hi. 3, 4. 7 Rev. iii. 14 ; i. 8 ; xxii. 
 
 5 Luke xii. 37. 13. 
 
 6 Rev. xxii. 7, 10, 12, 20. 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 DAN. ii. 44. 
 
 " And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up 
 a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom 
 shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces 
 and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." 
 
 IN proposing, on a former occasion, the course of in- 
 quiry on which we are now to enter, I mentioned 
 among the considerations which seemed, at the pre- 
 sent time especially, to recommend a calm and 
 thoughtful study of Prophecy, the tendency, in the 
 first place, of some recent inquiries to call in ques- 
 tion interpretations which had seemed to be esta- 
 blished by general nay, almost universal consent. 
 Of this we have an instance in the prophetic vision 
 which comes first before us, in the examination which 
 I proposed to undertake of the prophecies of Daniel 
 and St. John I mean, the vision of the image seen 
 by Nebuchadnezzar in the second year of his reign. 
 I need not, probably, recall to your recollection 
 the description given of the image, nor the inter- 
 pretation of its several parts, the head of fine gold, 
 the breast and the arms of silver, the belly and the 
 
 1 Preached Jan. 9, 1842. 
 
LECT. ii.] The four Kingdoms. 25 
 
 thighs of brass, the legs of iron, with the feet part of 
 iron and part of clay as denoting four kingdoms 
 which should arise successively in the earth ; and on 
 the ruins of which the God of heaven would set up 
 a kingdom, represented under the figure of " a 
 stone, cut out without hands, which smote the image 
 upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake 
 them to pieces . . . and the stone that smote the 
 image became a great mountain, and filled the whole 
 earth 2 ." The four kingdoms here described have 
 been designated, in the expressive language of the 
 learned Mede, the " SACRED KALENDAR and GREAT 
 ALMANACK of PROPHECY," as being "a prophetical 
 chronology of times measured by the succession of 
 four principal kingdoms, from the beginning of the 
 captivity of Israel until the mystery of God should 
 be finished." " Now these four kingdoms," he ob- 
 serves further, " (according to the truth infallibly to 
 be demonstrated, if need were, and agreeable both to 
 the ancient opinion of the Jewish Church 3 , whom 
 they most concerned, and to the most ancient and 
 universal opinion of Christians 4 , derived from the 
 times of the Apostles, until now of late some have 
 questioned it,) are 1, the Babylonian ; 2, that of 
 the Medes and Persians ; 3, the Greek ; 4, the 
 Roman 5 ." It was in reference' to this last of the 
 four kingdoms, that the ancient interpretation had, 
 in Mede's time, by "some of late" been questioned ; 
 
 2 Vv. 34, 35. And that Josephus understood 
 
 3 " Vide Targ. Habac. 3. 17." the prophecy in the same way, 
 Comp. p. 743. " That the is not less evident. See Note, 
 Jews were of this opinion be- Appendix. 
 
 fore our Saviour came; as ap- 4 "Vide Cyril. Hieros. Karf/x- 
 
 pears in Jonathan Ben Uziel, te'. et Hieronymi locum infra 
 
 the Chaldee Paraphrast, and by citatum." 
 
 the fourth Book of Esdras," &c. 5 Works, p. 654. 
 
26 The fourth Kingdom [LECT. 
 
 and when objections were brought against his own 
 exposition of the Prophecy, an exposition in accord- 
 ance with the anciently received interpretation, his 
 answer was " The Roman empire to be the fourth 
 kingdom of Daniel, was believed by the Church of 
 Israel both before and in our Saviour's time; re- 
 ceived by the disciples of the Apostles, and the 
 whole Christian Church for the first four hundred 
 years, without any known contradiction. And, I 
 confess, having so good ground in Scripture, it is 
 with me ' tantum non articulus fidei,' little less than 
 an article of faith 6 ." 
 
 With a partial exception, which does in some sort 
 set forth more strikingly the general consent, the 
 statement of Mede is substantially correct. We 
 find S. Ephrem Syrus in the fourth century, in his 
 Commentary on the Book of Daniel, which has been 
 published from the Syriac original since the time 
 of Mede, interpreting the fourth kingdom to be the 
 Greek ; in order to which he divides the kingdom 
 of the Medes and Persians, making them severally 
 the second and the third 7 . This interpretation, 
 which is in accordance with a gloss inserted in the 
 Syriac version of the vision of the four beasts in the 
 Book of Daniel 8 , is very fully and ably refuted 
 by Theodoret, a bishop of the Syrian Church in the 
 
 6 Ibid. p. 736 (Epistle vi.). bant e mari, eaeque inter se 
 In this letter Mede designates Aiversas.RegnumBabyloniorum. 
 " the four kingdoms in Daniel" Prima similis erat leoni, &c. . . 
 as " The A, B, C of Prophecy." Regnum Medorum. Bellua se- 
 Compare the Dissertation (pp. cunda similis erat urso, &c. . . . 
 7 1 1 7 1 6) " Regnum Romanun Regnum Persarum. Postea 
 t st quartum regnum Danielis." videbam aliam belluam pardo 
 
 7 S. Ephr. Syri Op. torn. similem, &c. . . Regnum Grce- 
 ii. (Syr. et Lat.) pp. 205, 20G. corum. Denique videbam in 
 (Romae, 1740.) visionenocturna belluam quar- 
 
 8 Dan. vii. 3 C. " Et qua- tarn," &c. 
 tuor ingentes belluse emerge- 
 
ii.] the Roman Empire. 27 
 
 following century. Theodoret mentions it as the 
 interpretation of some who had gone before him ; 
 and clearly shows, in refutation of it, that the king- 
 dom of the Medes and Persians must be regarded as 
 one ; and that from the succession of empires it is 
 manifest that the third kingdom is that of the 
 Greeks, and the fourth the Roman 9 . With this 
 exception in the Syrian Church, Mede's assertion, of 
 the unanimous consent of the first four centuries in 
 this interpretation, is fully borne out. And how 
 general was that consent, may be gathered, still 
 further, from the language employed by St. Jerome, 
 in expounding Daniel's vision of the four beasts a 
 vision which has almost universally been regarded as 
 identical, in its main outline, with this of the image. 
 He speaks of it as what "all ecclesiastical writers" 
 had "handed down," that the ten kingdoms were to 
 rise out of the division of the Roman empire ! . 
 St. Cyril, of Jerusalem, who flourished somewhat 
 earlier in the same century, had made a similar as- 
 sertion ; for " that this (the fourth kingdom) is that 
 of the Romans," he says, "has been the tradition of 
 the Church's interpreters 2 . For as the first kingdom 
 
 9 Interp. in Dan. Op. torn. ii. Romanorum est, de quo in 
 
 pp. 567, 568. (ed. Paris, 1642.) statua dicitur : 'Tibiae ejus 
 
 fipe~ig per ovv ot/rw TVJV eppr)- ferrese,' &c. . . . Frustra Por- 
 
 vdav roil OeaTrefflov Aai'a;X phyrius, &c. . . . Ergo dicamus 
 
 revojiKapev' (he had explained quod omnes scriptores ecclesias- 
 
 the four kingdoms after the tici tradiderunt : in consumma- 
 
 received manner) irpoayKti c>e done mundi, quando regnum 
 
 drat \viwv TWV Trpo i]p.wv rjpfjtrj- destruendum est RofnanoTUfn, 
 
 rag Sofas * peaov decem futuros reges, qui orbem 
 
 OVTUJ yf> iva.p- Romanum inter se dividant ..." 
 
 aXfiQeta dct^' Hieron. Op. torn. iii. pp. 
 
 Or)ffeTa.L' TIVEQ Toivvv Twv ffvy- 1100, 1101. (ed. Bened.) 
 
 ypatyiuv K. r. X. See Note, 2 To Bripiov TO TETCLOTOV, /3a- 
 
 Appendix. o-iXc/a reraprij carat ev TJJ yy, 
 
 1 " Quartum quod nunc or- fjriQ vxepe&i iraffue rag /3a- 
 
 bem tenet terrarum, imperium aiXtiac. ravr^v Ss elvai rtiv 
 
28 Ancient Interpretation, [LECT. 
 
 that became renowned was that of the Assyrians, 
 and the second that of the Medes and Persians to- 
 gether, and after these, that of the Macedonians was 
 the third, so the fourth kingdom now is that of the 
 Romans 3 ." 
 
 With reference to the several Fathers who bear 
 witness to this interpretation, I shall only remark 
 what is interesting to trace, and at the same 
 time strongly confirms its correctness and truth, 
 that we find them recognizing, in the successive 
 periods in which they severally wrote, the actual 
 fulfilment of the prophetic description ; as exhibited 
 first in the strength, and then in the growing weak- 
 ness of the empire under which they were them- 
 selves living. Thus Irenseus, in the second century, 
 speaks of the division of the empire which then 
 reigned, as a thing still future 4 . And so likewise 
 Hippolytus, at the beginning of the third century, in 
 reference to the fourth beast, with its teeth of iron 
 and its nails of brass, says ; " Who, then, are these 
 but the Romans ? which same is the iron," i. e. in 
 the vision before us, of the image, " the kingdom 
 which now standeth. For its legs, saith he, are of 
 iron. After this, then, what remaineth, beloved, 
 save the toes of the feet of the image, wherein part 
 shall be of iron and part of clay, being mixed one 
 
 v ot tKxXrjfftacrT tKol in Apocalypsi. ... Et dili- 
 
 Su>Kct aiv i^qy r?ra /. genter Daniel finem quarti 
 
 3 S. Cyril. Hierosol. Catech. regni digitos ait pedum esse 
 xv. Op. ed. Bened. p. 230. ejus imaginis, quae a Nabu- 
 Cf. Catech. xii. p. 17*2. chodonosor visa est, &c. . . . 
 
 4 " Manifestius adhuc etiam Ergo deccin digiti pedum, hi 
 de novissimo tempore, et de sunt decem reges in quibus 
 his qui sunt in eo decem regi- dividetur regnum" Ircn. 
 bus, in quos dividetur quod contra Hacr. lib. v. cap. 2(i. 1. 
 nuiic regnat imperium, signifi- Op. pp. .'5*23, 324, ed. Massuet. 
 cavit Joannes Domini discipulus 
 
ii.] traced progressively. 29 
 
 with another 5 T And again " the legs of iron, the 
 beast dreadful and terrible, are the Romans which 
 now have dominion ; the toes of the feet, iron and 
 clay, the ten horns which are about to be 6 ." This 
 was written during the early years of the third cen- 
 tury. But towards the end of the fourth, or at 
 the beginning of the fifth century, we find St. 
 Jerome, in his comment on the passage before us, 
 speaking thus; "But the fourth kingdom, which 
 dearly pertains to the Romans^ is the iron which 
 break eth in pieces and subdueth all things. But 
 its feet and toes are partly of iron, and partly of clay ; 
 which at this time is most manifestly proved. For as, 
 in the beginning, nothing was stronger and harder 
 than the Roman empire, so in the end of things 
 nothing is weaker; when, both in civil wars and 
 against divers nations, we need the help of other, 
 barbarous tribes 7 ." And the historian Sulpicius 
 Severus, at the beginning of the fifth century, 
 considered the predicted times of weakness and divi- 
 sion in the empire to be now come ; when " the 
 Roman state " was, as he tells us, " administered 
 now, not by one emperor, but by many, and they 
 
 OVTOL aXX' I) 'Pw- 7 " Regnum autem quartum, 
 
 /uatoi; oVep larlv b o-ic^pog, quod perspicue pertinet ad 
 
 ?/ vvv e <TT Hj a a fiaatXeia* Romanes, ferrum est quod com- 
 
 cu Kfripai yap avrfjc; o-ie^pal. minuit et domat omnia : sed 
 
 Mera yap TOVTO T'L Trapet'XttTrrat, pedes ejus et digiti ex parte 
 
 c'tyciTrrjre, aXX' ?/ ra *x"? i> ferrei, et ex parte sunt fictiles, 
 
 7roCuit> TrJQ tiKovoc, tv o\Q jj.f.po quod hoc tempore manifestis- 
 
 fjiivToi k<TT\ ffid^povv, /uepoc li TI sime comprobatur. Sicut enim in 
 
 offTpciKnov, 0.1'ap.tfj.iyneiov elg principle nihil Romano imperio 
 
 aXXf/Xa ; De Antichristo,c.25. fortius et durius fuit , ita in fine 
 
 Op. p. 14. (ed. Fabric. Ham- rerum nihil imbecillius: quando 
 
 burg. 1716.) et in bellis civilibus, et adver- 
 
 6 Kvjy/mt fficirjpcu, drjpiov sum diversas nationes, aliarum 
 
 tKSanfiuv KUI 0o/3fpo)','Poyua7ot gentium barbararum indigemus 
 
 ot vvv Kparovvres. Ibid. p. auxilio." Hieron. Op. torn. iii. 
 
 15. p. 1081. (ed. Bened.) 
 
30 Ancient Interpretation. [LECT. 
 
 always, in arms or in policy, at variance among them- 
 selves." He goes on to say, " it is notorious that 
 the Roman soil is occupied by foreign nations, either 
 in rebellion, or always surrendering that which is 
 committed to them, under the plea of peace : and 
 we see barbarian tribes intermingled with our 
 armies, cities, and provinces; and Jews, in parti- 
 cular, dwelling amongst us, and yet not adopting 
 our manners 8 ." 
 
 It must be admitted, I think, to add greatly to 
 the force of the consentient judgment of these early 
 writers, strong as it is in itself, that the empire in 
 which they recognized the fulfilment of the Pro- 
 phecy, was one under which they were actually 
 living; and which thus to successive generations, 
 in its gradual decline, identified itself continually 
 more and more closely with the terms of the pro- 
 phetic description. 
 
 We must here, however, consider another passage 
 of St. Jerome, from which it would seem to have 
 been inferred 9 that he was among the first pro- 
 
 8 "Siquidem jam non ab tures, First Series ("Discourses 
 uno imperatore, sed etiam a on the Prophecies relating to 
 pluribus, semperque inter se Antichrist in the writings of 
 armis aut studiis dissentien- Daniel and St, Paul," Dublin, 
 tibus, res Romana adminis- 1840), p. 50, note. I am not 
 tratur . . . Siquidem Romanum quite sure that I have under- 
 solum ab exteris gentibus aut stood rightly the force of Dr. 
 rebellibus occupatum, aut de- Todd's remark. He says : 
 dentibus semper pacis specie " St. Jerome supposed the divi- 
 traditum constat ; exercitibus- sion of the kingdom to have 
 que nostris, urbibus atque pro- been begun in his own times, 
 vinciis permixtas bar haras na- and he appears, from what he 
 tiones,et praecipue Judaeos,inter says in another place (Praef. ad 
 nos degere nee tamen in mores lib. xi. in Isaiam), to have been 
 nostros transire videamus."- among the first propounders of 
 Sacr. Hist. lib. ii. p. 67. (i*d. this opinion." The opinion, of 
 Elzev. 1656.) See Note, Ap- course, could not have been 
 pendix, propounded earlier, if the events 
 
 9 Todd's Donnellan Lee- on which that opinion was 
 
ii.] St. Jerome. 31 
 
 pounders of the opinion in question. St. Jerome, 
 doubtless, was among the first who had pointed out 
 the weakness that, in his days, was discovering itself 
 in that mighty empire which had claimed for itself 
 the title of " Eternal ;" and which, it might well be 
 feared, would, in its pride, ill brook the notion of an 
 approaching fall. His words are, " If, in the exposi- 
 tion of the image and its feet, and the division of 
 the toes, I have interpreted the iron and clay of the 
 Roman kingdom, which Scripture portends shall be 
 first strong, then weak, let them not impute it to 
 me, but to the prophet. For neither must we so 
 flatter princes as that the truth of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures be neglected, nor is a general disputation an 
 injury to any individual 1 ." We know that, in the 
 early ages of the Church, under the dominion of a 
 hostile power, it was felt to be the part of Christian 
 prudence and duty not to give needless occasion to 
 heathen jealousy, ever ready to awake against a 
 religion which seemed to be what it really was, as 
 described in the vision before us, "a kingdom;" 
 though "not" indeed "of this world 2 ," nor one 
 which, with weapons such as the heathen wielded, 
 would endanger Caesar's throne. But though, when 
 the signs of internal weakness were making them- 
 selves manifest, St. Jerome thought it but due to the 
 
 formed, had indeed now only interpreta tus sum, quod primum 
 begun to take place. Dr. Todd forte, dein imbecillum Scrip- 
 does not mean that St. Jerome tura portendit, non mihi im- 
 first taught that the Roman putent, sed Prophetae. Neque 
 empire should be thus divided ; enim sic adulandum est prin- 
 for Irenaeus, whom he had cipibus, ut Sanctarum Scrip- 
 quoted just before in the same turarum veritas negligatur, nee 
 note, had taught the same. generalis disputatio unius per- 
 1 " Quod si in expositione sonae injuria est." Praef. in 
 statuae pedumque ejus, et digi- lib. xi. in Isaiam, Op. torn. iii. 
 torum discrepantia, ferrum et p. 285. (ed. Bened.) 
 testam super Romano regno 2 John xviii. 36. 
 
32 Chrysostom and Augustine. [LECT. 
 
 truth of Scripture Prophecy to declare it openly, he 
 was introducing no new opinion ; he was but tracing 
 the growing fulfilment of a prophetic vision which 
 had by common consent been applied to the empire 
 of Rome, and which was clearly seen to foretel the 
 division of that empire, in the last stage of its ex- 
 istence, into ten kingdoms 3 . Among the contem- 
 poraries of St. Jerome, St. Chrysostom, who may be 
 taken as representing the general sense of the Greek 
 Church, gives the same exposition of the four king- 
 doms, or rather, takes it for granted l ; and speaks, in 
 particular, of the Roman empire as being in his time 
 in some respects weak, in others stronger 5 . And St. 
 Augustine, of the African Church, refers to Jerome's 
 interpretation as a satisfactory vindication of those 
 who had expounded the four kingdoms to be the 
 Assyrian, the Persian, the Macedonian, and the 
 Roman. " How fitly they have done this," says St. 
 Augustine, " those who are desirous of knowing 
 may read the presbyter Jerome's book upon Daniel, 
 very carefully and learnedly written 6 ." Theodoret 
 
 3 See Note, Appendix. quity, and love growing cold, 
 
 4 Presuming the reference enmities, and jealousies, and 
 to the four kingdoms to be divisions arose, and thus the 
 unquestioned, St. Chrysostom component parts of the body 
 simply asks, TtVoc & evExer rrfv politic did "not cleave one to 
 avrov fiaai\f.iav Ka\e~c xpvfffjv, another, as iron is not mixed 
 Ttjy c)c TU)V Hepatic apyvpai', with clay." Op. t. vi. p. 214. 
 Ktn rt]v riiiv MaKtSovui' ^X*v^r, 8 " Quatuor ilia regna ex- 
 KaiTiivTuv'Pwpaiwv ai$r)pai>Kat posuerunt quidam Assyriorum, 
 offTpaKivr]}' \ opa KaraXXr/Xovc Persarum, Macedonum, etllo- 
 rae (5Xr. manorum. Quam vero con- 
 
 1 II <:e 'Pa)fjaiit)v ^TJO-J/JW- venienter id fecerint, qui nosse 
 
 rlpd Tf. Kal iaxvpoTipa, vanpa desiderant, legant presbyteri 
 
 litv TOIQ xpoi-otr, rto Kn\ ?ro(W Hieronymi librum in Danielem, 
 
 ro' iiriyjFi. tori CE nvrij^ TCL satis diligcnter eruditcque con- 
 
 fjLtv a<r0i'r/, rale. Ifr^vpoTfpa' scriptum." S. August, de Civ. 
 
 roiovro TO aXXokoroi' rCov a/z- Dei, lib. xx. c. 23. Op. ton). 
 
 0(>w7rwi>. He goes on to show vii. p. 605. (ed. Bened.) 
 how, from the abounding of ini- 
 
ii.] Objections stated. 33 
 
 soon after, in the Eastern Church, strongly main- 
 tained, as we have already seen, the same interpreta- 
 tion ; and from the fifth century down to the end of 
 the sixteenth, this, which had heen thus transmitted, 
 with all but unanimous consent, from earlier times, 
 established itself, in the general opinion of Christen- 
 dom, as the undoubted interpretation of Nebuchad- 
 
 nezzar's vision 7 , 
 
 But here I must take notice of an objection which 
 has been brought against our appeal to Christian an- 
 tiquity as sanctioning the interpretation thus com- 
 monly received. We are told that the application 
 of the prophecy, by ancient Christian writers, " to the 
 Roman empire, as it existed in their own times," 
 "was almost always held in connexion with the 
 opinion that the end of the world, and therefore the 
 revelation of Antichrist, were at hand. The greater 
 number of these particular applications of the pro- 
 phecy," it is said, " are now of course refuted by the 
 event; but commentators still cling to the general 
 principle that the Roman empire is the object of 
 the prediction ; though they cannot even yet agree 
 whether the prophecy extends beyond the first 
 advent of the Lord, or whether, with the more 
 ancient expositors, we are to consider it as referring 
 particularly to the Roman empire in the state in 
 which it is to exist at His second coming." " The 
 ancient opinion," it is further admitted, "was in 
 strict accordance with the letter of the prophecy, 
 when it assumed that the fourth kingdom was not 
 to come into the divided state represented by the 
 feet and toes of the image, and by the mixture of 
 iron and clay, until just before the second advent of 
 
 7 See Note, Appendix. 
 
34 Ancient Interpretation [LECT. 
 
 the Lord ; and the error of its advocates," we are 
 told, "consisted chiefly in supposing this to have 
 been fulfilled by the Roman empire, an error 
 which," it is alleged, "arose from the very natural 
 prejudice of magnifying the events of their own 
 days. But the modern opinion," it is objected, 
 " assumes, that this prophecy has either been long 
 ago fulfilled, or that its fulfilment has been going on 
 for many centuries ;" and therefore, we are told, 
 the ancient commentators " are very unfairly quoted 
 as agreeing with modern writers " in the general in- 
 terpretation of the prophecy 8 . 
 
 In reply to this, I would contend, that any error 
 under which the ancients may have laboured in re- 
 gard to events yet future for, doubtless, they knew 
 not " the times and the seasons " does not invali- 
 date their testimony to such fulfilment of Prophecy 
 as they witnessed in their own days ; unless, indeed, 
 the one be essentially connected with the other, 
 which in this instance is not the case. The times of 
 Antichrist and of our Lord's second coming might be 
 near at hand, or far off, and still the empire whose 
 growing weakness they themselves saw might be the 
 fourth monarchy, out of the ruins of which, as they 
 assuredly believed, Antichrist would rise. Nor did 
 they define the symbols of the prophecy so accu- 
 rately to the letter, nay rather in opposition to the 
 letter ; for so indeed, as I shall endeavour to show, 
 it would in reality have been as to determine, in 
 the way in which they are supposed to have done, 
 the precise condition of the image in the vision, 
 at the time when the stone should smite it. And 
 though, doubtless, they looked to a still future 
 
 8 Todd, Discourses (First Series), pp. 4951. 
 
ii.] not unfairly appealed to. 
 
 coming of Christ's kingdom for the fall 
 ment of that complete destruction of the image whicl 
 the prophetic vision described, they nevertheless inter- 
 preted the " stone being cut out without hands " to 
 signify the mystery, already revealed, of Christ's 
 holy incarnation and nativity, His miraculous con- 
 ception and birth 9 , and the weakness of His kingdom 
 at its beginning, when, with no aid of human power, 
 it triumphed over kings and kingdoms, and filled the 
 whole world 1 . This dispensation, they fully believed, 
 had then begun : the stone, rejected of the builders 2 , 
 that "stumbling-stone and rock of offence," "dis- 
 allowed indeed of men, but chosen of God 3 " to be 
 the mighty worker of the overthrow of this world's 
 dominion had been even now made manifest in the 
 world ; His kingdom had been already set up ; and 
 sooner or later the power that then was must fall 
 before it. But how soon this was to be, or how long 
 would be the process of that destruction, which, from 
 the very nature of the imagery borrowed from things 
 of earth, appeared in the vision to be instantaneous, 
 
 9 "In fine autem horum preaching of the Apostles, and 
 
 omnium regnorum auri, argenti, the deeds and sufferings of the 
 
 seris, et ferri, abscissus est lapis martyrs, /cat iyivtro b XiOog 
 
 Dominus atque Salvator, sine elg opog jue'ya* rci airoaroXtira 
 
 manibus, id est, absque coitu et p^para n)v oltcovfily^v ETrXrj- 
 
 humano semine, de utero vir- pwaev airaaav. Cf. p. 217. 
 
 ginali." Hieron. in loc. t. iii. feat ydp /cat vvv /cartrpi^e rag 
 
 p. 1081. S. Chrysost. in loc. flaatXeiag orav ydp 'idrjG 
 
 t. vi. p. 215. /cat erprjdr) avtv papTVpag, 'iva TO Trpooray^ta 
 
 \etpwv' rriv Kara aaoKa yivvr]- iKt'ivov TrXrfpudrj, rovro iroiovv- 
 
 ffiv atvirreratt Cf. Synops. rag, /cat TroXXw paXXov rov 
 
 Scripturae Sac. ibid. p. 388. Qdvarov vTroptvovTac;, oi//et avrov 
 
 S. Ephr. Syr. t. ii. p. 206. Tt}v fianiXeiav, /cat TTWC; rrjv yf]v 
 
 Sulpic. Sev. lib. ii. p. 67, &c. e vfTrX^o-er. 
 
 1 Hieron. in loc. sup. cit. 2 Psal. cxviii. 22. Matt. 
 
 " et contritis omnibus regnis xxi. 42. Acts iv. 11. 
 factus est mons magnus, et 3 Isa. viii. 14; xxviii. 16. 
 
 implevit universam terram." Rom. ix. 33. 1 Pet. ii. 4. 
 
 St. Chrysostom refers to the 6, 7. 
 
 D2 
 
36 Ancient Interpretation [LECT. 
 
 this surely does not essentially affect their inter- 
 pretation. It was " in the days of those kings " 
 whose successive dominion had been represented by 
 the image that is, of the four 4 ; for no other kings 
 have been mentioned; it was "in the days of those 
 kings," that is, according to a common Hebraism, 
 while one of them still lasted (for they were to 
 follow one another in succession, and to constitute, 
 as it were, one series) it was while the last of those 
 four kingdoms held rule in the earth, that " the God 
 of heaven" had set up that kingdom which should 
 " never be destroyed, but," in whatever manner and 
 time, should " break in pieces and consume all those 
 kingdoms, and stand for ever." 
 
 Thus much concerning the ancient interpretation, 
 which was handed down with such general consent 
 from the early days of the Church, and which, I 
 would maintain, is thus far identical, in its essen- 
 tial features, with that which has been most com- 
 monly received among ourselves. Its chief oppo- 
 nent in ancient times was Porphyry, the great ad- 
 versary of Christianity in the third century ; whose 
 well-known object it was to destroy the evidence 
 derived to Christianity from the Prophecies of the 
 Old Testament, by endeavouring to prove that they 
 were written after the events which they described ; 
 and in particular, in regard to the prophecies of 
 Daniel, by asserting, in the face of the strongest 
 evidence to the contrary, that they were a produc- 
 tion of the time of Antiochus Epiphanes '. He set 
 himself, therefore, laboriously to disprove the exist- 
 ence of any reference in them to the Roman em- 
 
 4 Vid. Note, Appendix. Daniel, t. iii. pp. 1073, 1074. 
 
 5 Vid. S. Hieron. Praef. in Mede's Works, p. 743. 
 
II.] and its opponents. 37 
 
 pire ; admitting the second and third kingdoms to 
 be, respectively, the Medo-Persian and the Macedo- 
 nian, but making the fourth to be the Syrian and 
 Egyptian kingdoms of the successors of Alexander. 
 His arguments were solidly refuted by St. Jerome, 
 as well as by Theodore t, as has been already men- 
 tioned ; but, after twelve hundred years, they were 
 revived again, to disturb the general agreement of 
 Christian expositors in regard to this prophecy. 
 "You will admire," says Mede, in answer to an 
 objector, who contended that the fourth empire was 
 the kingdom of Alexander's successors " you will 
 admire the expositions and evasions of Porphyry 
 should be the same almost, yea in circumstances, 
 with those of Junius, &c." the writers, who had 
 then "of late" brought into question the received 
 interpretation 6 . 
 
 Of these writers, the most remarkable was Gro- 
 tius a man undoubtedly of great ability and exten- 
 sive learning, but who was biassed, in his interpreta- 
 tion of Prophecy, by the scheme of union between 
 Protestants and Romanists, on which, in his charitable 
 desire of peace among Christians, he had strongly set 
 his heart; and which made him anxious to disconnect 
 altogether the prophecies concerning Antichrist from 
 the scene of Roman dominion. The total failure of 
 his attempt to apply the symbols of the fourth 
 monarchy to the kingdoms of the Seleucidse and 
 Lagidse has been fully exposed by Bp. Chandler and 
 others. " No historian," as the Bishop well observes, 
 "ever confined the Greek empire to Alexander's 
 person, or made a distinct empire of the four king- 
 doms that arose upon his death 7 . Those kingdoms, 
 
 Works, p. 743. Christianity," p. 99. "Daniel's 
 
 7 Bp. Chandler's "Defence of own interpretation is so plain, 
 
38 
 
 Interpretation of Grotius 
 
 [LECT. 
 
 it may be added, had their very origin in division : 
 they never formed one strong iron monarchy, but 
 were originally nothing else but the fragments of 
 Alexander's kingdom, " broken," as the prophet 
 elsewhere describes it, and " divided toward the 
 four winds of heaven 8 ." Since, however, these 
 kingdoms were succeeded by the Roman, this, on 
 the hypothesis of Grotius, was the fifth monarchy. 
 The stone cut out of the mountain without hands, 
 according to his interpretation, represented "the 
 army of a people that were governed by their own 
 free will, and obeyed no king ; a people whose origin 
 was from a mountain, viz. the Palatine." He does, 
 
 that no unbiassed person can 
 easily mistake in the empires 
 he prophesies of. He is ex- 
 press in the number. There 
 shall be four kingdoms; and he 
 counts the Babylonian, then in 
 being, for the first. History 
 tells us, The Medo-Persian 
 broke, and succeeded, the Baby- 
 lonian. The Greek empire 
 came into the place of the Per- 
 sian by conquest, and is there- 
 fore the third. No historian, 
 c. . . . The Greek was de- 
 stroyed in its two latest branches, 
 that of the Seleucides and Ptole- 
 mies, by the Roman, which is 
 consequently the fourth king- 
 dom, and answers in every re- 
 spect to its iron character." 
 
 8 Dan. xi. 4. After saying, 
 of the vision before us, that 
 " its M " clear in every 
 
 article of it, and the correspond- 
 ing history confessed and noto- 
 rious," Mr. Davison adds in 
 a note as follows : " This asser- 
 tion which I make of the in- 
 ternal certainty and clearness 
 of the prophetic sense, and the 
 completion of it in the four 
 
 empires which have been named, 
 is not shaken by the fact that 
 there has been some difference 
 of opinion as to the third and 
 fourth kingdoms intended. The 
 opinion which would make 
 the reign of Alexander's suc- 
 cessors a kingdom distinct from 
 his, and thereby the fourth, can 
 be reckoned nothing better than 
 a mere mistake, inconsistent 
 with the principles of the vision, 
 and with the plainest ideas of 
 the history of kingdoms. The 
 dynasty, the name, the founda- 
 tion and title, were all Grecian, 
 derived from the first conqueror 
 to the whole clan and body of 
 his successors. The language 
 of Appian, in the Proem to his 
 History, when he speaks of the 
 partition of this empire, is ob- 
 viously the only correct and 
 natural language that can be 
 used upon the subject ; >/r ye, 
 TroAXdf au- 
 
 rd fiffnj. The kingdoms of the 
 succession were member* of 
 the same empire, not a new 
 fabric. Disc. xii. p. 490. 
 
IL] stated, and exposed. 39 
 
 indeed, at the same time make the Roman empire to 
 have been a type of the Gospel, " which, having its 
 origin from heaven, grew from small beginnings to 
 be of a vast extent 9 ." He considers also the words 
 which declare the eternal duration of this kingdom 
 to be applicable to the Roman empire, inasmuch as 
 it was the seat of the Church 1 ; and, while he inter- 
 prets the breaking in pieces of the gold and the 
 silver, the brass, the iron, and the clay, as having 
 reference to the Roman conquests, he admits, con- 
 currently with this, a " more sublime sense," viz. that 
 Christ would put an end to all earthly empires 2 . 
 These modifications, however, of the interpretation 
 which Grotius would propose, scarcely serve to dis- 
 guise its extraordinary character; and, indeed, to 
 state the interpretation is almost sufficient for its 
 refutation. Even the infidel writer 3 , who, early in 
 the last century, set himself to defend Porphyry's in- 
 terpretation, seemed, as Bp. Chandler observed, to be 
 himself "almost ashamed of this of Grotius 4 ." The 
 
 Grotius' note is as follows : 2 " Sensus sublimior, Chris- 
 Donee abscissus est lapis de turn finem impositurum omni- 
 monte sine manibus] Exercitus bus imperils terrestribus, 1 Cor. 
 populi qui suse esset spontis, xv. 24." 
 
 nullique Regi pareret : cujus 3 Collins, 
 populi origo a monte, nempe 4 It deserves consideration, 
 
 Palatino. Vide Virgilium libro I think, whether the words of 
 
 viii. ^Eneidos, Livium libro i. our Blessed Lord in Matt. xxi. 
 
 Idem lapis et filius hominis. 44 (cf. Luke xx. 18), in the 
 
 Gessit autem in hac re Impe- latter part of the verse, ren- 
 
 rium Romanum non obscurum dered in our Version, " on 
 
 typum Evangelii, quod ortum whomsoever it shall fall, it will 
 
 de coelo ab exiguis initiis in grind him to powder," do not 
 
 immensum crevit. contain such an allusion to the 
 
 1 " Imperium Romanum per- description of the stone in Ne- 
 petuo mansurum, quod sedes buchadnezzar's vision, as would 
 erit Ecclesiae." He adds, "Ec- determine, beyond all contro- 
 clesia in Imperio Romano, ait versy, its reference to Himself. 
 Optatus, nempe maxima ex Vid. Note, Appendix, 
 parte." See Note, Appendix. 
 
40 Recent objections to [LECT. 
 
 interpretation, however, which applies the symbols of 
 the fourth monarchy to the successors of Alexander, 
 has still its supporters among the critics of Germany 5 : 
 but it is the less necessary to say more respecting 
 it, as it seems now to have no advocates amongst 
 ourselves. 
 
 I would direct your attention, however, for a few 
 moments, to some objections which have been 
 recently urged, with much plausibility of argument 
 and force of learning, against the received inter- 
 pretation; and which would call in question, to a 
 greater extent than any theory hitherto proposed, the 
 application of the several symbols which has been 
 commonly adopted. The objections in question have 
 arisen out of the revival, of late years, of the doc- 
 trine of a future kingdom of Christ to be set up 
 visibly in the earth, previously to His second advent 
 in glory ; and since the coming of this kingdom, 
 which is understood by the stone smiting the image 
 on its feet, is to take place, we are told, while the 
 fourth empire is still in existence, it is argued that 
 that empire cannot be the Roman, which has long 
 since passed away. The symbols of the second and 
 third monarchies are, on this system, by some at 
 least of its supporters, transferred respectively from 
 the Medo-Persian and the Macedonian, to the Ma- 
 cedonian and the Roman ; the Medo-Persian being 
 merged in the first of the four kingdoms, the Baby- 
 lonian. It is argued in defence of this new arrange- 
 ment of the prophetic symbols, that " the Babylonian 
 empire was not destroyed or essentially altered" when 
 Darius the Mede " took the kingdom," or, as it is 
 elsewhere said, "was made king over the realm of 
 
 1 Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
ii.] received Interpretation. 41 
 
 the Chaldseans ;" that Babylon was not destroyed, but 
 was continued as the seat of government ; that the 
 Persian monarch, a hundred years after the time of 
 Cyrus, Artaxerxes, is by Nehemiah called simply 
 " the king of Babylon ;" that " the empire remained, 
 therefore, one and the same ;" and that " even the 
 subsequent removal of the seat of government from 
 Babylon to Persia, which had been one of the pro- 
 vinces, did not cause the empire to lose its identity." 
 It is contended further, that the second kingdom 
 cannot be the Persian ; because it was not " inferior" 
 to the first for that it "never was less, but equal to, 
 or greater than, the kingdom of the Chaldseans 
 founded by Nebuchadnezzar ;" that the Grecian em- 
 pire of Alexander, "while it answers the charac- 
 teristic of the second already mentioned, (namely, 
 inferiority to the preceding,) does not answer the 
 characteristic of the third, of which, and of which 
 only, it is declared that it * shall bear rule over all 
 the earth ;' " and that this last " characteristic of 
 universal sovereignty, which does not apply to the 
 Grecian empire, does apply, if not exclusively, at 
 least with peculiar propriety, to the Roman 6 ." Still 
 further it is objected, that the character here given 
 of the fourth monarchy does not correspond with 
 that of Rome ; that " destructiveness " was " no cha- 
 racteristic of the Roman power ;" that " the Romans 
 were remarkable for moderation, for toleration, and 
 for gentle government of the nations that submitted 
 to their sway 7 ;" that " the decline and fall of the 
 Roman empire were slow and gradual 8 ," not like 
 
 6 Lacunza, as summed up in Todd, p. 79, Note. 
 
 Maitland's " Attempt to eluci- 7 Todd, p. 83. 
 
 date the Prophecies concerning 8 Ibid. p. 57. 
 Antichrist," p. 4, quoted by 
 
42 Objections continued. [LECT. 
 
 the destruction described in the vision, "sudden, 
 complete, and probably miraculous," the " immediate 
 consequence " of the fall of the stone on the image 9 ; 
 that the progress of Christianity " hitherto has been 
 accompanied by no sudden or rapid revolution, at all 
 analogous to the fall and dissipation of the image 1 ;" 
 and that this cannot be understood to refer to " the 
 first preaching of Christianity, its great and wonder- 
 ful progress in the world, and the overthrow of 
 Heathenism," because then " paganism, and not the 
 Roman empire, would be the fourth kingdom 2 ." It 
 is objected still further, that the Roman empire can- 
 not be said in any sense to have owed its fall to 
 Christianity ; and moreover, that if " the toes of the 
 image indicated the ten kingdoms into which, as the 
 great majority of expositors tell us, the Roman em- 
 pire was divided," and " this division of the empire 
 did not take place, until after the establishment of 
 Christianity," the imagery of the vision is not satis- 
 fied 3 . And, finally, it is argued, that Christianity, in 
 its past or present state, can scarcely, " with any 
 strict propriety of speech, be called a kingdom ;" or, 
 at least, that it must be " in a very different sense 
 from that in which we use " the term " when we 
 speak of the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, of Cyrus, 
 or of Alexander ;" or, if it is to be admitted that the 
 word is elsewhere "used in this figurative sense," as 
 " applicable to the Christian religion," we are asked, 
 " is it fair to consider it as so used here," " taking 
 the same word in two such different significations 
 almost in the same sentence 4 ?" Whilst, on these 
 grounds, the application of the symbols of the fourth 
 
 9 Tocld, pp. 53, 54. 3 Ibid. p. 56. 
 
 1 Ibid. p. 57. ' Ibid. pp. 59, 00. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 
 
IL] Objections examined. 43 
 
 monarchy to the Roman empire is altogether dis- 
 puted, there is, at the same time, a difference of 
 opinion amongst the objectors in regard to its posi- 
 tive interpretation ; the first proposer of this view 5 
 of the prophecy understanding the fourth monarchy 
 to be the kingdoms of modern Europe ; whereas 
 those who have adopted it among ourselves, inter- 
 pret it of a future kingdom of Antichrist 6 . 
 
 The objections thus alleged seem formidable, in 
 their combination, and I have put them together, in 
 order to give them their full force ; but they all, I 
 think, admit of a satisfactory answer. With regard, 
 in the first place, to the Medo-Persian empire in 
 relation to the Babylonian, the general impression 
 derived from the prophecies which describe the fall 
 of Babylon and the conquests of the Persian 7 ; or 
 from the separate symbols employed in the book of 
 Daniel, especially in the vision of the ram and the 
 he-goat 8 ; or again, from ancient historians, such as 
 Herodotus, Xenophon, or Justin, or the ordinary his- 
 tories which are in every one's hands, would cer- 
 tainly be that the Medes and Persians founded a new 
 and distinct kingdom in the world 9 . And, with refer- 
 ence to the inferiority of this empire to the Babylo- 
 nian, we must observe, that it has been commonly 
 explained of inferiority in wealth and splendour, or in 
 internal strength, or the character of its kings, rather 
 than in mere extent of dominion ; though, even in 
 
 5 Lacunza. See Todd, p. strongly, pp. 61, 62. 84, 85. 
 68, and Note. 7 Comp. Isa. xxi. 1. 10. 
 
 6 Dr. Maitland " cannot Jer. 1. and li., &c. 
 agree with Lacunza" on this 8 Dan. viii. 3, 4. 20. 
 point, and suspects " that the 9 Theodoret certainly enter- 
 fourth empire is not yet come tained no doubt on this point, 
 into existence." Dr. Todd pro- Vid. sup. cit. p. 27, and Note, 
 nounces the same opinion more Appendix. 
 
44 Character of the third kingdom. [LECT. 
 
 this respect it was inferior ; if it be true, as the histo- 
 rians referred to by Bp. Newton 1 report, that Nebu- 
 chadnezzar carried his arms into Spain and Africa. 
 And, as regards the third kingdom, the description 
 of its bearing " rule over all the earth," seems to cor- 
 respond closely with the terms in which the Mace- 
 donian conqueror is described in the llth chapter 2 , 
 as a "mighty king" that should "stand up," and 
 "rule with great dominion;" or again, in the first 
 book of Maccabees, where we read how he " slew 
 the kings of the earth, and went through to the ends 
 of the earth, and took spoils of many nations, inso- 
 much that the earth was quiet before him 3 ." And, 
 in the passages which have been quoted by expo- 
 sitors from ancient historians, we are told how that, 
 "having received empire, he commanded that he 
 should be called King of all lands and of the world;" 
 and that ambassadors came to him from almost all the 
 habitable world, to congratulate him upon his success, 
 or to submit to his empire : " and then especially," 
 says the historian, did "Alexander appear, both to 
 himself and to those about him, to be master both of 
 the earth and sea 4 ." I do not dwell upon the vision 
 of the four beasts, which has generally been regarded 
 as parallel with the vision before us ; because this 
 also has lately been disputed 5 , and I propose to con- 
 
 1 Dissert, xiii. 1, 2. Vol. i. Note, who, differing from him 
 
 pp. 410. 412 (ed. 1759). in the interpretation of the 
 
 * Ver. 3. vision of the four beasts, is, at 
 
 * 1 Mace. i. 2, 3. This pas- the same time, " disposed to 
 sage is referred to in the mar- believe that the first three 
 ginal references on the words beasts are not to be considered 
 in ver. 39, concerning the third identical with the gold, the sil- 
 kingdom, " which shall bear ver, and the brass of Nebu- 
 rnle over all the earth." chadnezzar's image, although," 
 
 4 Bp. Newton, Diss. xiii. 3. hr adds, " the fourth beast is 
 pp. 413, 414. undoubtedly the iron or fourth 
 
 5 Lacunza, ap. Todd, p. 78, kingdom (p. 77). 
 
ii.] Character of the fourth. 45 
 
 sider this question on a future occasion ; but there 
 also, it is emphatically said of an empire which, I 
 think, may clearly be identified with the Macedo- 
 nian, " dominion was given unto it 6 ." 
 
 Thus, then, we are brought, through the succession 
 of empires, to that which came into the place of the 
 Macedonian, viz. the Roman. And surely in the 
 dominion of Rome the general consent of mankind 
 would recognize the characteristics which the vision 
 assigns to the fourth kingdom. The infidel historian, 
 who, it will be allowed, had well studied the genius 
 and character of the Roman empire, and who had 
 certainly no prejudice in favour of Inspired Prophecy, 
 has told us how, from their " institutions of peace and 
 war," an ancient historian had " deduced the spirit 
 and success of a people, incapable of fear, and impa- 
 tient of repose 7 ;" how " the ambitious design of con- 
 quest, which might have been defeated by the sea- 
 sonable conspiracy of mankind, was attempted and 
 achieved ; and the perpetual violation of justice was 
 maintained by the political virtues of prudence and 
 courage. The arms of the republic," he tells us, 
 " sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in 
 war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the 
 Danube, the Rhine, and the Ocean ; and the images 
 of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to repre- 
 
 8 Dan. vii. 6. St. Chrysos- elra, 0j<7<, 7rapa\/c> 'AXf'aj/- 
 
 tom undoubtingly identifies the SpoQ 6 T&V MaKedorwv /3ao-i\ue, 
 
 two visions with each other, Traaav diairrdg TTJV oiKov/ueV^v. 
 
 and both of them with Alex- ove)ev yap TOVTOV yopyoTepov, 
 
 ander's empire. On the vision oiide o&repov yiyovtv, a\\d 
 
 before us he says, KH\ [3affi\eia aQodpog TIQ i\v Kal o&g, Kad- 
 
 TpiTrj j) kanv 6 ^a\KOQ f} xv- cnrep TOVTO TO drjpiov 
 
 pteuet Traffrjg rrye yfJG* TOL- eictq avrov TTJV ra-^yrrjTa ; . . . 
 
 avTr] yap r] Maice^oi wv eyevero. TT a cr av $t d p a /* C r r\v 
 
 Opp. t. vi. p. 216. And on oiKovp.ivi]v. p. 238. 
 the vision of the four beasts, 7 Polybius. 
 
46 The iron kingdom. [LECT. 
 
 sent the nations and their kings, were successively 
 broken by the iron* monarchy of Rome 9 ." He refers, 
 in a note, to the prophecy before us ; observing that 
 " the remainder of the prophecy (the mixture of 
 iron and clay 8 ) was accomplished, according to St. 
 Jerome, in his own time 1 ." The passage referred to 
 from Jerome has already been quoted 2 , and the his- 
 torian does not question its correctness. But the 
 character of the Roman, in the view of that Divine 
 and omniscient Spirit with whose word we have 
 to do, seems to be drawn, in colours very similar 
 to those before us, in the book of Deuteronomy. 
 We find described there " a nation of fierce coun- 
 tenance, which shall not regard the person of the 
 old, nor show favour to the young 3 ." There was in- 
 deed " moderation," doubtless, but there was withal 
 relentless tyranny concealed behind it ; there was 
 " toleration," yet, as the Christians found, Rome 
 could be a bitter persecutor; "there was gentle 
 government of the nations that submitted to their 
 sway" but, withal, an iron sceptre for those that 
 submitted not. 
 
 " Tu regere imperio populos, Roraane, memento ; 
 Ha3 tibi erunt artes ; pacisque imponere morem, 
 Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos V 
 
 8 The italics are the histo- * And the fourth kingdom shall 
 rian's own. be strong as /row,' " &c. 
 
 9 Decline and Fall. " Ge- ' Vid. sup. p. 29, Note 7 . 
 neral Observations on the Fall l Drtit. xxviii. 50. 
 
 of the Roman Empire in tin- 4 Virg. JEn. vi. 852 854. 
 West," subjoined to chap. 38. Heyne's note on the last line is 
 vol. iii. pp. MO, 03 1 . (ed. 4to.) to our purpose. * Parcere sub- 
 It has been said, that writers jectis;' nam volebant Roninni 
 on prophecy are apt to quote videri clementes et modcrati 
 Gibbon for what is, after all, erga victos, et erga socios be- 
 merely rhetoric and metaphor : nigni et liberates; scilicet si 
 but, in the instance before us, it nihil ab ipsis menu-rent, et ab 
 is something much more. opibus coruni auctis utilitatem 
 1 "See Daniel ii. 81 40. sibi ipsis promittere possent." 
 
ii.] Its divided state. 47 
 
 It was " strong as iron ; forasmuch as iron breaketh 
 in pieces and subdueth all things : and as iron that 
 breaketh all these," did it " break in pieces and 
 bruise 5 ." 
 
 But, as the prophet went on to declare 6 , the king- 
 dom was to be " divided." He is not here speaking, 
 it would appear, of the division into the separate 
 kingdoms, which are commonly supposed to be repre- 
 sented by the toes on the feet of the image ; but of 
 the division of the component materials of the feet, 
 " part of iron and part of clay " describing a 
 kingdom " partly strong and partly broken," or 
 rather, as it is in the margin, "brittle 7 ." "Whereas 
 thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, 
 and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided ; but 
 there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, for- 
 asmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry 
 clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of 
 iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly 
 strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest 
 iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle them- 
 selves with the seed of men: but they shall not 
 
 5 Davison well observes, bled subjection, than had been 
 u We must take notice that one inflicted by the force of any of 
 especial object in the predic- the older masters and destroy- 
 tion is the superior strength, ers, to whom God had per- 
 the paramount solidity and force mitted the usurpation of a 
 of their empire, as compared wide-ruling conquest. Those 
 with the others which had pre- legions were truly * the break- 
 ceded it. Theirs was to be ' the ing and bruising engines,' the 
 iron power, breaking down, and massive iron hammers of the 
 bruising all things.' So it was earth." Lect. xii. pp. 499, 
 foretold ; so it was. The solid 500. 
 
 and well-cemented fabric of its c The remainder of the ob- 
 
 military despotism, the over- jections already enumerated, 
 
 whelming force, and the con- will best be examined in pur- 
 
 tinued impression, of its reite- suing the investigation of the 
 
 rated wars and victories, held vision, 
 the world in stronger chains, 7 Chald. m^/1. 
 and subdued it to a more hum- 
 
48 Amalgamation its policy. [LECT. 
 
 cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with 
 clay 8 ." We have seen St. Jerome's illustration of 
 this description, drawn from the actual state of the 
 empire, as he saw it in his own days ; and the modern 
 historian of its decline and fall traces very clearly 
 the element of weakness mingling with its greatest 
 strength. In a passage which has been expressly 
 cited to prove Rome's moderation, and that " not the 
 extermination of the conquered, but their civilization 
 and incorporation into the Roman name, was the 
 ultimate end of Roman government 9 " he tells us, 
 "The republic gloried in her generous policy, and 
 was frequently rewarded by the merit and services of 
 her adopted sons V " The same salutary maxims 
 of government, which had secured the peace and 
 obedience of Italy, were extended to the most dis- 
 tant conquests. A nation of Romans was gradually 
 formed in the provinces, by the double expedient of 
 introducing colonies, and of admitting the most 
 faithful of the provincials to the freedom of Rome 2 ," 
 And this undoubtedly seemed to be a principle of 
 permanency and strength. "The narrow policy," 
 says the historian, " of preserving, without any 
 foreign admixture, the pure blood of the ancient 
 citizens, had checked the fortune, and hastened the 
 ruin, of Athens and Sparta. The aspiring genius of 
 Rome sacrificed vanity to ambition, and deemed it 
 
 8 Dan. ii. 41 43. Christianity. The observation," 
 
 5 Todd, p. 83, Note. "And says Dr. Todd, "is as old as 
 
 this character of Roman go- Origen, who uses it to refute 
 
 vernment," adds Dr. Todd, an objection of Celsus." He 
 
 " which had reached its highest then cites Contra Cels. lib. 2. 
 
 perfection in the Augustan age, 30. (Op. ed. Benedict, torn. 
 
 is mentioned by historians as i. p. 412, D.) 
 
 among the most influential of ' Decline and Fall, chap. 2. 
 
 the secondary causes which vol. i. p. 42. 
 
 facilitated the rapid spread of - Ibid, p 43. 
 
II.] Its apparent strength. 49 
 
 more prudent, as well as honourable, to adopt virtue 
 and merit for her own wheresoever they were found, 
 among slaves or strangers, enemies or barbarians 3 ." 
 
 And thus then did the proud Romans, the iron 
 conquerors of the world, "mingle themselves with the 
 seed of men," the potter's clay. Italy first was asso- 
 ciated and adopted into Rome. " From the foot of 
 the Alps to the extremity of Calabria, all the natives 
 of Italy," says the historian, "were born citizens of 
 Rome. Their partial distinctions were obliterated, 
 and they insensibly coalesced into one great nation, 
 united by language, manners, and civil institutions, 
 and equal to the weight of a powerful empire 4 ." It 
 might almost have been thought that the historian, 
 when he wrote this, had before his eyes the image 
 in Nebuchadnezzar's vision ; the feet of iron, as men 
 might have deemed, fully equal to the weight they 
 bore of the colossal image of earthly dominion. And 
 the union of internal elements in the fabric of the 
 Roman empire seemed to be perfect. The colonies, 
 we are told, " were soon endeared to the natives by 
 the ties of friendship and alliance ; they effectually 
 diffused a reverence for the Roman name, and a 
 desire, which was seldom disappointed, of sharing, in 
 due time, its honours and advantages." "The grand- 
 sons of the Gauls, who had besieged Julius CaBsar in 
 Alesia, commanded legions, governed provinces, and 
 were admitted into the senate of Rome 5 . Their am- 
 bition, instead of disturbing the tranquillity of the 
 state, was intimately connected with its safety and 
 
 3 Decline and Fall, chap. 2. the progressive admission of La- 
 
 vol. i. p. 40. Gibbon refers, tium, Italy, and the provinces, 
 
 in a note, to Tacit. Annal. to the freedom of Rome." 
 
 xi. 24, and adds, " The Orbis 4 Ibid. p. 42. 
 
 Romanus of the learned Span- 5 Tacit. Annal. xi. 23, 24. 
 
 heim, is a complete history of Hist. iv. 74. 
 
50 Ultimate weakness. [LECT. 
 
 greatness 6 ." " Domestic peace and union were the 
 natural consequences of the moderate and compre- 
 hensive policy embraced by the Romans." " The van- 
 quished nations," says the historian, contrasting 
 Rome with the "monarchies of Asia," where we 
 "behold despotism in the centre, and weakness in 
 the extremities ;" "the vanquished nations, blended 
 into one great people, resigned the hope, nay even 
 the wish, of resuming their independence, and 
 scarcely considered their own existence as distinct 
 from the existence of Rome 7 ." "The empire of 
 Rome," he tells us, " was firmly established by the 
 singular and perfect coalition of its members." So, 
 indeed, it seemed to outward appearance. " But 
 this union was purchased," the historian goes on to 
 say, " by the loss of national freedom and military 
 spirit; and the servile provinces, destitute of life 
 and motion, expected their safety from the mer- 
 cenary troops and governors, who were directed by 
 the orders of a distant court." Here then was dis- 
 union beginning. They could " not cleave one to 
 another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." And 
 a stroke was ready to fall upon the feet of iron and 
 clay. " The deepest wounds" says the historian, 
 " were inflicted on the empire during the minorities 
 of the sons and grandsons of Theodosius ; and, after 
 those incapable princes seemed to attain the age of 
 manhood, they abandoned the Church to the bishops, 
 the state to the eunuchs, and the provinces to the 
 barbarians 8 ." 
 
 " They abandoned the Church to the bishops " 
 for in "the days of those kings" of the fourth and last 
 
 6 Gibbon, vol. i. pp. 44, 45, &c., subjoined to chap. 38. 
 1 Ibid. p. 52. vol. iii. pp. 635, 636. 
 
 8 " General Observations," 
 
n.] Fall of the Roman Empire. 51 
 
 empire had "the God of heaven set up" His "king- 
 dom " under its Divinely appointed rulers ; and the 
 very next sentence of the historian bears witness 
 that Rome was indeed thus the last of the universal 
 monarchies of old time. For he goes on to show 
 how Europe, unlike the ancient Roman world, is 
 now divided into numerous kingdoms, common- 
 wealths, and states ; how thereby " the abuses of 
 tyranny," such as imperial Rome could exercise with- 
 out control, " are restrained ;" how " republics have 
 acquired order and stability ; monarchies have im- 
 bibed the principles of freedom, or, at least, of mode- 
 ration ; and some sense of honour and justice is intro- 
 duced into the most defective constitutions by the 
 general manners of the times 9 ." And how much of 
 this, it may well be asked, do we not owe to the 
 silent influence, upon the world, of the kingdom of 
 Christ ? And if it be inquired in what sense it can 
 be said that Christianity was an instrument in the 
 overthrow of the Roman empire 1 , we may appeal 
 again to the testimony of the historian, whose lan- 
 guage at every page painfully reminds us, all the 
 while, of his own unbelief. He will tell us, in his 
 sarcastic manner, that " as the happiness of a future . 
 life is the great object of religion," yes, indeed ; for 
 the kingdom of " the God of heaven " is spiritual and 
 eternal, a kingdom " not of this world," " the king- 
 dom of heaven," " we may hear, without surprise or 
 scandal," I am quoting the historian's own words 
 " that the introduction, or at least the abuse, of 
 Christianity, had some influence on the decline and 
 fall of the Roman empire." He scoffingly tells us 
 of the preaching of its " doctrines of patience and," 
 
 9 Ibid. p. 636. ' Cf. supr. p. 42. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 Fall of the Roman Empire [LECT. 
 
 as he terms it, " pusillanimity ;" of " the active 
 virtues of society discouraged," and "the last re- 
 mains of the military spirit buried in the cloister ;" 
 while yet, in the midst of all this weakness relaxing 
 and softening the iron, there was unseen strength, 
 the strength of the stone cut out from the mountain. 
 "The pure and genuine influence of Christianity," 
 says the infidel, now speaking seriously, "may be 
 traced in its beneficial, though imperfect, effects on 
 the barbarian proselytes of the North ;" and " if the 
 decline of the Roman empire," he says, " was has- 
 tened by the conversion of Constantine, his victorious 
 religion broke the violence of the fall, and mollified the 
 ferocious temper of the conquerors 2 ." 
 
 The historian acknowledges the greatness of that 
 overthrow ; he speaks of it as a " fall," as " an awful 
 revolution ;" and he also clearly recognizes in it the 
 influence of the new religion and polity which had 
 then appeared in the world. " A candid but rational 
 inquiry," he tells us, " into the progress and establish- 
 ment of Christianity, may be considered as a very 
 essential part of the history of the Roman empire. 
 While that great body," he observes, " was invaded 
 by open violence, or undermined by slow decay, a pure 
 and humble religion gently insinuated itself into the 
 minds of men, grew up in silence and obscurity, de- 
 rived new vigour from opposition, and finally erected 
 the triumphant banner of the cross on the ruins of 
 the Capitol. Nor was the influence of Christianity," 
 he proceeds, " confined to the period or to the limits 
 of the Roman empire. After a revolution of thir- 
 teen or fourteen centuries, that religion is still pro- 
 fessed by the nations of Europe, the most distin- 
 guished portion of human kind in arts and learning 
 
 2 Gibbon, vol. iii. pp. 632, (>;}.'J. 
 
IL] how far caused by Christianity. 53 
 
 as well as in arms. By the industry and zeal of the 
 Europeans," he says, for, of course, he was deter- 
 mined to own no higher than mere human causes, 
 "it has been widely diffused to the most distant 
 shores of Asia and Africa; and by the means of 
 their colonies has been firmly established from 
 Canada to Chili, in a world unknown to the an- 
 cients 3 ." What more striking comment could have 
 been given of the prophet's words, describing how 
 "the stone that smote the image became a great 
 mountain, and filled the whole world?" 
 
 I have traced thus fully the progress of Rome's 
 decline and fall in the words of its infidel historian, 
 the rather because, as he traces the course of the 
 history, he seems undesignedly to give a running 
 comment on the language of the Prophecy. And if 
 the interpretation which I have endeavoured to esta- 
 blish be well founded, the internal causes of weak- 
 ness in the later empire, it will be observed, are not 
 less clearly marked in the vision, than is the external 
 influence of Christianity ; and we are, moreover, free 
 from all difficulty arising out of the consideration 
 that the division of the empire into ten kingdoms 
 was subsequent to the establishment of the Christian 
 Church. It may be remarked that, in the original 
 description of the image, the feet only are men- 
 tioned 4 : and it was "upon the feet of iron and 
 clay," not upon the toes of the feet, that the stone 
 smote the image 5 . The state of the kingdom, there- 
 
 3 Decline and Fall, chap. 15. till that a stone was cut out 
 init. without hands, which smote the 
 
 4 Dan. ii. 33. " His legs of image upon his feet that were 
 iron, his feet part of iron and of iron and clay, and brake 
 part of clay." them to pieces." 
 
 5 Ver. 34. "Thou sawest 
 
54 Fall of the Stone on the [LECT. 
 
 fore, denoted by the image at the time when the 
 stone fell upon it, I conceive, was prior to that in 
 which it appeared, when, out of the ruins of the fallen 
 empire, ten kingdoms were to rise into greatness, 
 a condition described in another vision under the 
 imagery of the ten horns of the fourth beast 6 the 
 revived existence of the ancient empire, under a 
 new form of earthly dominion. This would seem to 
 belong to a later period in the history of the world 
 and the Church ; the toes of the feet of the image, 
 the ten provinces of the Roman empire in the East 
 and the West (for so I should be disposed to under- 
 stand the symbolic representation) forming, as it were, 
 the basis, left amid the ruins of fallen greatness, on 
 which, in after time, " an image " was to be raised 
 up to the power that had once received the deadly 
 wound, and yet "did live 7 ." 
 
 Upon this hypothesis the objections which have 
 been urged against the received interpretation, will, 
 I think, altogether disappear. The stone "smote the 
 image upon his feet that were of iron and clay," 
 when the power of Christ and of His religion came 
 upon the Roman empire, in the East and the West, 
 when now it was in its apparent strength but inci- 
 pient weakness ; barbarous tribes being mingled 
 with its people, and the vigour of its institutions re- 
 laxed, its original discipline corrupted, and the native 
 character of its citizens gone. It overthrew the old 
 Paganism, which had been the sustaining power of 
 Koine, its animating principle from the beginning 8 ; 
 and brake in pieces this last empire, the feet of the 
 great image of ancient dominion ; destroying, in the 
 empire which sustained the weight of all the former 
 
 Vkl. inl'. I.rrt. iii. ' Machiavclli, Discourses on 
 
 7 Htv. xiii. 1 1. I'ivy, Lib. i. cap. 11, 12. 
 
ii.] feet of the Image its effects. 55 
 
 and included them all, "the iron, the clay, the 
 brass, the silver, and the gold," which were " broken 
 to pieces together," and made " like the chaff of the 
 summer threshing-floors ; and the wind carried them 
 away, so that no place was found for them : and the 
 stone became a great mountain, and filled the whole 
 earth 9 ." 
 
 What if the work of destruction took centuries to 
 accomplish, while in the vision it seemed all effected 
 in a moment 1 ? What if the progress of Christ's 
 kingdom have seemed slow, and " we see not yet all 
 things put under him 2 ?" Yet has not " Christianity " 
 been still, in reality, "always progressive 3 ?" and 
 shall not He who is "the blessed and only Poten- 
 tate " at length finally " put down all rule and all 
 authority and power 4 ?" Verily "the dream is cer- 
 tain, and the interpretation thereof" by the mouth 
 of His prophet "sure 5 ." "But, beloved," saith His 
 Apostle, " be not ignorant of this one thing, that one 
 day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
 thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack 
 concerning his promise, as some men count slack- 
 ness ; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that 
 any should perish, but that all should come to re- 
 pentance 6 ." 
 
 There remains but one point, on which I must 
 not at present enlarge, though, indeed, it would 
 admit of much illustration both from Scripture and 
 
 9 Dan. ii. 35. tian Advocate's publication for 
 
 1 Vid. supr. pp. 41, 42. 1829, I need not point the re- 
 
 2 Heb. ii. 8. ference to his deeply interesting 
 
 3 To those who are acquaint- volume, " Christianity always 
 ed with the able and graphic progressive." 
 
 outline sketched by the mas- 4 1 Cor. xv. 24. 
 terly hand of the late lamented ; ' Dan. ii. 45. 
 Hugh James Rose, in his Chris- c 2 Pet. iii. 8, 9. 
 
56 Christianity a polity ; [LECT. 
 
 from history I mean the sense in which the Chris- 
 tian dispensation can be described as " a kingdom " 
 " set up " in the world 7 . But here, again, once more 
 I shall appeal to the testimony undesignedly borne 
 by the historian of Rome's decline and fall, who 
 wrote assuredly with no purpose of vindicating the 
 language of Sacred Prophecy. Among the causes 
 which he assigns for the "growth of Christianity," he 
 tells us how " a separate society which attacked the 
 established religion of the empire, was obliged to 
 adopt some form of internal policy, and to appoint a 
 sufficient number of ministers, intrusted not only 
 with the spiritual functions, but even with the tem- 
 poral direction of the Christian commonwealth 8 ." 
 "Every society" that is, each Church, under its 
 spiritual ruler, " formed within itself," he tells us, 
 " a separate and independent republic ;" these nume- 
 rous " little states " maintaining " a mutual as well as 
 friendly intercourse ;" until, in due time, " a regular 
 correspondence was established between the provin- 
 cial councils . . . and the catholic church soon as- 
 sumed the form, and acquired the strength, of a great 
 federative republic 9 " Such is the historian's descrip- 
 tion. And it was this which made the Christians an 
 exception to the universal toleration which distin- 
 guished Rome as " the capital of a great monarchy," 
 " incessantly filled with subjects and strangers from 
 every part of the world, who all," we are told, " in- 
 troduced and enjoyed the favourite superstitions of 
 their native country." For " Roman policy," we are 
 reminded by the same authority, " viewed with the 
 utmost jealousy and distrust any association among 
 its subjects;" and "the religious assemblies of the 
 
 7 Vid. supr. p. 42. , r >. vol. i. p. . r >81. 
 
 8 Decline and Fall, chap. 15. !l Ibid. pp. 5M, 587. 
 
IL] The Church a kingdom. 57 
 
 Christians, who had separated themselves from the 
 public worship, .... were illegal in their principle, 
 and in their consequences might become dangerous." 
 "The extent and duration of this spiritual con- 
 federacy" says the historian, " seemed to render it 
 every day more deserving of" the "animadversion" 
 of the magistrate. For "the active and successful 
 zeal of the Christians," we are told, "had insensibly 
 diffused them through every province and almost 
 every city of the empire. The new converts seemed 
 to renounce their family and country, that they 
 might connect themselves, in an indissoluble band of 
 union, with a peculiar society, which every where 
 assumed a different character from the rest of man- 
 kind 1 ," "The Christians," says the historian, speak- 
 ing of the time when the question how Christianity 
 should be treated was agitated in the councils of 
 Diocletian, " The Christians (it might speciously be 
 alleged), renouncing the gods and the institutions of 
 Rome, had constituted a distinct republic, . . . which 
 was already governed by its own laws and magis- 
 trates, was possessed of a public treasure, and was 
 intimately connected in all its parts by the frequent 
 assemblies of the bishops, to whose decrees their 
 numerous and opulent congregations yielded an im- 
 plicit obedience 2 ." 
 
 Such was the idea which, the unbeliever himself 
 being witness, the heathen might derive from what 
 he saw in the earth of the " kingdom " set up by the 
 God of heaven. It was not a mere body of doctrines, 
 a system of abstract philosophy, a code of moral pre- 
 cepts, that the Author of the new religion had in- 
 troduced into the world. He had " set up " a visible 
 
 1 Chap. 2. p. 39. chap. 16. 2 Ibid. pp. 681, 682. 
 pp. 628, 629. 
 
58 The kingdom of heaven. [LECT. 
 
 Church, had appointed over it rulers and ministers, 
 and had instituted outward rites by which men were 
 to be admitted into the new society, and to be privi- 
 leged to partake of its benefits. And the records 
 of the Gospel history exhibit prominently this Divine 
 polity. " The kingdom of heaven is at hand," was 
 the announcement of John the Baptist and of our 
 Lord Himself 3 ; "the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of 
 God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel 4 ." 
 The period at which it appeared was precisely that 
 when the Roman empire was now firmly established, 
 and the decree which went forth from Caesar Au- 
 gustus declared that " all the world 5 " was under his 
 sway. Then did HE come down from heaven, who 
 was destined to have the dominion of the whole 
 earth. And though, before the tribunal of the 
 Roman governor, He declared " My kingdom is not 
 of this world . . . now is my kingdom not from 
 hence," yet, when "Pilate therefore said unto him, 
 Art thou a King then 1 Jesus answered, Thou 
 sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born, 
 and for this cause came I into the world, that I 
 should bear witness unto the truth 6 ." And because 
 He made Himself a King, He was treated as an 
 enemy of Caesar ; and the superscription on His cross 
 testified that He was crucified as a King, " the King 
 of the Jews 7 ." 
 
 And not of the Jews only was He to be King, but 
 also of the Gentiles, " yes, of the Gentiles also 8 ." 
 And we, of the furthest isles of the Gentiles, once bar- 
 barians, scarcely counted part of the Roman world, 
 have been made subjects of the kingdom which 
 
 1 Matt. iii. 2 ; iv. 17. ' ; John xviii. 3G, 37. 
 
 1 Mark i. 15. ' Chap. xix. 19 L>L>. 
 
 Luke ii. 1. 8 Horn. iii. 29. 
 
ii.] Its universal dominion. 59 
 
 hath " filled the whole earth 9 ." May its heavenly 
 origin and its Divine power be not only, in true faith, 
 acknowledged by us, but also seen and felt, more and 
 more, continually, in us ! May the power of that 
 kingdom, unseen yet mighty, so imparted to us, 
 " break in pieces and consume " in us every thing of 
 earth the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, 
 and the clay, and " set up " within us that which 
 " shall never be destroyed," but shall " stand for 
 ever!" 
 
 9 [Preached on the first Sunday after Epiphany.] 
 
LECTURE III. 1 
 
 DAN. vii. 26, 27. 
 
 "But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his 
 dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And 
 the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom 
 under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the 
 saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting 
 kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." 
 
 THERE is nothing more remarkable in the structure 
 of Sacred Prophecy, than the manner in which one 
 prophetic vision takes up and continues another. 
 Expositors have pointed out, in several striking in- 
 stances, more particularly in the prophecies of Daniel 
 and St. John, " this method of Divine prediction, pre- 
 senting at first a general sketch and outline, and 
 afterwards a more complete and finished picture of 
 events." It is the observation of Sir Isaac Newton, 
 that " the prophecies of Daniel are all of them re- 
 lated to one another, as if they were but several parts 
 of one general prophecy, given at several times;" 
 and that " every following prophecy adds something 
 new to the former 2 ." " To this we may add," says 
 
 1 Preached Feb. 6, 1842. Holy Spirit to make the later 
 
 2 Observations, Part i. eh. 3. prophecies explanatory of the 
 p. 24. Comp. Bp. Newton, former; and Revolution is (I'rov. 
 " It is the usual method of the iv. 18) 'as the shining li^lit 
 
Vision of the four beasts. 
 
 Dean Woodhouse, " that the same empires in Daniel 
 are represented by various types and symbols. The 
 four parts of the image, and the four beasts, ar( 
 varied symbols of the same empires. . . . We are not, 
 therefore, to be surprised, when" as in the Apo- 
 calypse " we find the history of the Church begin- 
 ning anew, and appearing under other, yet corre- 
 sponding types ; and thus filling up, with additional 
 and important information, the outlines which had 
 been traced before 3 ." 
 
 The vision of the four beasts was revealed to 
 Daniel in the first year of Belshazzar, the " son," or 
 grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, to whom had been 
 vouchsafed the vision of the image. The application 
 of the four symbols here described, the lion, with 
 eagle's wings, the bear, the leopard with four wings 
 and four heads, and that other fourth beast to which 
 no name is given, " diverse from all the beasts that 
 were before it," with great iron teeth and ten horns, 
 to the four great empires, as they are com- 
 monly called, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, 
 the Macedonian, and the Roman, is sanctioned by 
 the same general consent of Jewish and Christian 
 antiquity, and of the great body of modern expo- 
 sitors, which has recognized these same kingdoms in 
 the four component parts of Nebuchadnezzar's image, 
 the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron mixed 
 with clay 4 . The exceptions which are to be found, 
 
 that shineth more and more great wild beasts." Diss. xvi. 
 
 unto the perfect day.' The vol. ii. p. 83. 
 
 four great empires of the world, 3 Woodhouse's Annotations 
 
 which were shown to Nebu- on the Apocalypse, pp. 106, 
 
 chadnezzar in the form of a 107. 
 
 great image, were again more 4 " The identity of the sub- 
 particularly represented to jects designed in the two visions 
 Daniel in the shape of four is incontestable. For if the re- 
 
62 The same four empires [LECT. 
 
 in ancient or modern times, to this general consent, 
 are the same in regard to the two visions ; it would, 
 therefore, be going over again the ground which we 
 traversed before, were I to bring forward the evi- 
 dence supplied by early authority, in particular, that 
 the symbols of the fourth monarchy which may be 
 considered as in fact the principal point in dispute 
 are to be applied to the Roman empire 5 . 
 
 It has, indeed, been questioned by some recent 
 writers, whether the first three beasts in the vision 
 before us are to be considered as identical with the 
 gold, the silver, and the brass, in Nebuchadnezzar's 
 vision 6 . To the general objection that the applica- 
 tion of the imagery here employed to the three first 
 empires, respectively, is unsatisfactory 7 , it may be 
 sufficient to plead in reply the general consent of in- 
 terpreters recognizing the fitness of the several sym- 
 bols. It is, however, objected more definitely, that 
 the four monarchies here described are all spoken of 
 as future "four kings which shall arise out of the 
 earth ;" whereas, " if we suppose the first beast to be 
 identical with the golden head of the image, and to 
 have typified the personal history of Nebuchadnezzar, 
 as well as the kingdom over which he presided, we 
 are under the necessity of supposing that the vision 
 was not, at least in this part of it, prophetical," since 
 the vision was seen by Daniel in the first year of 
 Belshazzar, the successor of Nebuchadnezzar 8 . But 
 
 spective symbols themselves in Prophecy, Lect. xii. p. 495. 
 their Fourfold partition, and in * Maitland's " Attempt to 
 other points of analogy and elucidate the Prophecies con- 
 agreement, did not fix their cerning Antichrist," p. 8. 
 own coincidence ; the literal ' Todd's Discourses, pp. 7<i 
 interpretation annexed to the 7. 
 visions, and complrtiiu; tin- re- 7 Maitland, p. 9. 
 velation, shuts out all doubt s Todd, p. 70. 
 on that head." Davison on 
 
in.] as in Nebuchadnezzar's vision. 63 
 
 tliis objection is surely hypercritical. It is not un- 
 usual, as has been well observed, for the spirit of 
 Prophecy to take a retrospective view of the con- 
 ditions of the Church, in order to make the whole 
 complete. The future tense, though, indeed, in the 
 original it is more properly the indefinite, denoting 
 future or present time might well have been used, 
 even if the Babylonian empire had already passed 
 away : it would be as though it had been said, 
 " There shall be these four kingdoms in the earth," 
 the first of the four thus spoken of being that which 
 was then in being, " and when the last of them is 
 destroyed, then shall be the triumph of the kingdom 
 of the Most High." It is objected, however, still fur- 
 ther, that if by the first three of the wild beasts here 
 described we understand the empires of Babylon, 
 Persia, and Greece, we must suppose these empires, 
 as well as that of Rome, to be still in existence ; since 
 we read that, after " the fourth beast was slain, and 
 his body destroyed, 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 9 " a circumstance, 
 it is remarked, which " has no parallel in the vision 
 of the image, where the iron, the clay, the brass, the 
 silver, and the gold, are expressly said to be broken 
 in pieces together V The objection might easily be, 
 in a manner, retorted on those who would make the 
 iron in the vision of the image to represent a king- 
 dom still future, while they admit that one, at least, 
 if not all three of the kingdoms denoted by the gold, 
 the silver, and the brass, has long ago been broken 
 in pieces. And it remains to be considered, whether 
 
 9 Dan. vii. 11, 12. l Todd, p. 77. 
 
64 The fourth beast [LECT. 
 
 the destruction of the fourth beast in the vision 
 before us be not, in reality, distinct from that de- 
 scribed in the former vision of the image, when the 
 blow which came upon the feet of iron and clay in- 
 volved the destruction of that whole fabric of earthly 
 dominion which included within it all former empires. 
 The scene of judgment, in the vision before us, would 
 appear to be more narrowly defined to one quarter 
 of the Roman world, the proper seat of Rome's 
 original dominion ; and we seem to have here what 
 has been appropriately designated as "a prophetical 
 geography," as well as " a prophetical chronology 2 ;" 
 the nations of Chaldsea and Assyria, according to 
 Sir Isaac Newton, being still the first beast ; those 
 of Media and Persia, the second ; those of Macedon, 
 Greece, and Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, 
 the third ; while " those of Europe, on this side 
 Greece, are still the fourth 3 ;" the three former 
 empires having, as the vision describes, had their 
 "lives continued for a season and a time," though 
 their "dominion" had been "taken away." 
 
 I shall not enter upon the consideration of the 
 particular application of the first three symbols ; in- 
 asmuch as, whatever difficulty may have been found 
 in some particulars, it may be considered as generally 
 admitted, that they represent, respectively, the em- 
 pires of Babylon, Persia, and Macedon. I shall 
 proceed therefore at once to the description of the 
 fourth kingdom. " After this," says the prophet, 
 " 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 feet of 
 
 2 Vid. Note, Appendix. s Observations, Parti, ch. 4. p. 31. 
 
in.] The Roman Empire. 65 
 
 it : and it was diverse from all the beasts that were 
 before it ; and it had ten horns 4 ." That the fourth 
 beast here described in the prophet's vision is the 
 same with the iron, the fourth kingdom in Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's image, is admitted on all hands, even by 
 those who doubt whether the three preceding sym- 
 bols are identical in the two cases 5 . For it is ex- 
 pressly said in the interpretation of the vision, 
 " The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon 
 earth 6 ;" and the power here delineated is manifestly 
 the same which, in the interpretation of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's vision, is described as being " strong as 
 iron : forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and sub- 
 dueth all things 7 ." In considering, on a former 
 occasion, the import of Nebuchadnezzar's vision, I 
 endeavoured to show that the interpretation, which 
 had the all but unanimous consent of Antiquity in 
 its favour, and which has been generally received in 
 modern times, referring the symbols of the fourth 
 kingdom to the Roman empire, is fully borne out by 
 the character and history of that empire ; and that 
 the language of prophecy concerning it is strikingly 
 illustrated by the statements and expressions of a 
 witness so unbiassed as the infidel historian of Rome's 
 Decline and Fall. I shall not, therefore, now refer 
 again to the testimonies and authorities from the 
 early ages, which were then appealed to, but shall 
 confine myself to those points which are more fully 
 brought into view in the vision before us. 
 
 And the vision seems, in a remarkable manner, to 
 take up the description where the former vision 
 dropped it. The termination of the image in the 
 
 4 Dan. vii. 7. " Ver. 23. 
 
 5 Maitland's " Attempt," p. 7 Chap. ii. dO. 
 8 ; Todd, p. 77. 
 
66 Ancient Interpretation. [LECT. 
 
 toes of iron and clay would fitly convey the idea of 
 an empire which, in its last form, was to come into a 
 state of manifold division ; but what seemed there to 
 be the latter end of weakness has here the semblance 
 of rising strength 8 . Instead of the toes of the feet, 
 in which the clay was mingled with the iron, we 
 have here represented a formidable power, having on 
 its head ten horns. And how it was understood in 
 early times St. Jerome shall be our witness, appeal- 
 ing as he does to the universal consent of the eccle- 
 siastical writers who had gone before him 9 . Having 
 refuted Porphyry's interpretation, who, contrary to 
 all historical truth, (as I have already had occasion to 
 show,) endeavoured to make out of the kingdoms of 
 Alexander's successors in Egypt and Syria, the fourth 
 monarchy of the visions of Nebuchadnezzar and 
 Daniel, Jerome proceeds ; " Therefore let us say 
 what all ecclesiastical writers have handed down ; 
 that in the consummation of the world, when the 
 kingdom of the Romans is about to be destroyed, 
 there will be ten kings, who shall divide the Roman 
 world among them V In like manner, Irenseus, in 
 the second century, had declared how " Daniel, look- 
 ing to the end of the last kingdom, that is, the ten 
 kings, among whom shall be divided the empire of 
 those upon whom the son of perdition shall come, 
 saith that ten horns did grow upon the beast 2 ." 
 
 8 " Cornua dicit decem nasci Hieron. in loc. t. iii. p. 1101. 
 bestia?." Iren. inf. cit. 2 " Daniel autem, novissimi 
 
 * Cf. sup. p. 27. regni finem respiciens, (id est, 
 
 1 " Ergo dicamus quod novissimos decem reges in quos 
 
 omnes scriptores Ecclesiastic! dividetur regnum illorum super 
 
 tradiderunt : in consummatione quos films perditionis veniet,) 
 
 mundi, quando regnum destru- cornua dicit decem nasci bes- 
 
 endum est Romanorum, decem tiae." Iren. lib. v. c. 25, 3. 
 
 futuros reges, qui orbem Ro- p. 322. 
 manum inter se dividant." 
 
in.] IrencpMs. 67 
 
 " And more manifestly yet," so Irenseus continues 
 shortly after, " bath John, the disciple of the Lord, 
 signified concerning the last time, and the ten kings 
 which are in it, among whom shall be divided the 
 kingdom which now reigns, explaining in the Apo- 
 calypse what were the ten horns which were seen by 
 Daniel V And this passage of Irenseus, the disciple 
 of Polycarp, who was the disciple of St. John, is 
 highly important and interesting, as showing how 
 the earliest Christian expositors identified with the 
 imagery before us that which re-appears in the visions 
 of the Apocalypse, and which thus would seem, 
 almost beyond the reach of controversy, to give 
 apostolical authority to the interpretation which 
 refers the symbol before us to the empire of Rome. 
 
 Let us turn, then, to the passages referred to in 
 the Revelation of St. John. In the thirteenth chapter 
 the apostolic prophet tells us how he " stood upon 
 the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of 
 the sea," (in like manner as in the vision before us,) 
 "having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his 
 horns ten crowns V The wild beast there described 
 combines, indeed, the characteristics of all the four 
 beasts in Daniel's vision 5 ; for " the beast " which 
 St. John " saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet 
 were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the 
 mouth of a lion 6 ." But the point to which I would 
 direct more particular attention is, that the power 
 
 3 " Manifesting adhuc etiam dictum esse sibi, ' Et decem 
 
 de novissimo tempore, et de his cornua quae vidisti decem reges 
 
 qui sunt in eo decem regibus, sunt,' " &c. Iren. ibid. cap. 
 
 in quos dividetur quod nunc 26, 1. 
 
 reynat imperium, significavit * Rev. xiii. 1. 
 
 Joannes Domini discipulus in 5 Compare Woodhouse, in 
 
 Apocalypsi, edisserens quae loc. Annotations, pp. 259 
 
 fuerint decem cornua, quae a 261. 
 
 Daniele visa sunt, dicens sic 6 Ver. 2. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 Visions in the Apocalypse [LECT. 
 
 which St. John thus beheld in full strength and 
 vigour, was one which had revived again from ap- 
 parent destruction. " And I saw," saith he, " one of 
 his heads as it were wounded 7 to death ; and his 
 deadly wound was healed : and all the world won- 
 dered after the beast 8 ." And again, in a later 
 vision, he sees the same power, as it would appear, 
 though with some points added to the description 
 " a scarlet-coloured beast . . . having seven heads and 
 ten horns," on which was seated a woman "arrayed 
 in purple and scarlet colour." " And the angel said 
 unto me ... 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 perdition : and they 
 that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names 
 were not written in the book of life from the foun- 
 dation of the world, when they behold the beast 
 that was, and is not, and yet is .... And the ten 
 horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have re- 
 ceived no kingdom as yet ; but receive power as kings 
 one hour with the beast . . . And the woman which 
 thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over 
 the kings of the earth 9 ." Without entering at pre- 
 sent upon the more minute examination of the 
 features of this picture, I would refer to it here only 
 as describing the reviving again, from what had 
 seemed complete extinction, of a power whose period 
 of restored life was marked by the dominion of ten 
 kings, and those kings, in their combined dominion, 
 
 7 More exactly " as if it had uc E<r<f>aynivr}v ae Qdvarov. 
 
 been slain unto death," or, as 8 Ver. 3. 
 
 Woodhouse renders it, "ashav- 9 Rev. xvii. 7, 8, 12, 18. 
 ing been smitten unto death." 
 
in.] compared with Daniels. 09 
 
 ruled and guided by that great city which in St. 
 John's days reigned over the kings of the earth 
 and which, accordingly, can hardly be otherwise 
 understood than of the imperial city of the Roman 
 empire } . 
 
 To apply, then, these visions to that which is 
 immediately before us of the prophet Daniel. It is 
 objected, that the power here described cannot be 
 the Roman empire, which is long ago extinct, 
 whereas this, it would appear from the vision, is to be 
 in existence, and to have dominion in the earth, at 
 the time of Christ's second coming to judgment. 
 It is argued, that it can be "no very difficult matter 
 to decide, whether such an empire as that of Rome 
 still exists, or not," and "yet" that "this is a point 
 upon which interpreters of prophecy are far from 
 being agreed ;" contending in fact that, " although 
 the power and jurisdiction of the Roman empire has 
 been divided among many independent sovereign- 
 ties, yet the empire itself does still continue 2 ." Sup- 
 posing, however, that there were indeed all the un- 
 certainty here described, what were this, it might 
 be asked, but the very fulfilment of the " mystery" 
 shadowed out to St. John in the extinction and 
 revival 3 of the power which, in the revelation made 
 
 1 So St. Jerome clearly un- Op. t. iv. p. 228. But in- 
 
 derstood it. He thus addresses deed, as Dean Woodhouse ob- 
 
 Christian Rome : " Sed ad te serves, " that this [' great city 
 
 loquar, quae scriptam in fronte which reigneth over the kings 
 
 blasphemiam Christi confes- of the earth'] is Rome, must 
 
 sione delesti. Urbs potens, be, and indeed is, universally 
 
 urbs orbis domina, urbs Apo- allowed." Annotations, p. 
 
 stoli voce laudata, interpretare 369. 
 
 vocabulum tuum. PiiMH aut 2 Todd's Discourses, pp. 69, 
 
 fortitudinis nomen est apud 70. 
 
 Graecos, aut sublimitatis juxta 3 Rev. xvii. 8, ?]v, KUI OVK 
 
 Hebraeos. Serva quod diceris," tern, feat /ue'XAet avaftaiveiv ex 
 
 &c. Adv. Jovinian. lib. ii. rfjg aftvarrov. Still more re- 
 
70 Objections stated. [LECT. 
 
 to him, seems beyond all controversy designated as 
 Roman f But, again, we are told " the ten horns of 
 the four beasts have occasioned inextricable difficul- 
 ties to those who have supposed the Roman empire 
 to be intended. For the fourth beast," it is argued, 
 " was seen to rise from the sea with ten horns ; and 
 therefore, if we are to suppose the horns to denote 
 kingdoms, it would seem to be incumbent on the 
 advocates of this opinion to show that the Roman 
 empire was divided into ten, from its origin, and 
 during the whole period of its existence, until three 
 of the ten kingdoms were plucked up before the 
 little horn." And " the only mode of evading this 
 difficulty," we are told, " is to assume that the rise 
 of the beast did not denote the rise of the empire 
 symbolized by the beast, but a certain period in the 
 duration of that empire, at which it shall be divided 
 into ten 4 ." 
 
 I wish to consider fully the difficulties and objec- 
 tions which occur in a thoughtful study of Pro- 
 phecy, because such objections continually bring to 
 light minute points of correspondence between the 
 symbols to prophetic imagery and their historical 
 accomplishment, which might otherwise escape ob- 
 servation, or even give an impression the very oppo- 
 site to the truth. In the instance before us, there is 
 a slight variation, in the order of description, between 
 the visions of Daniel and St. John, which, though 
 minute, is worthy of notice. In the Revelation, the 
 
 markably in ver. 8, if the re- this reading, " as appearing to 
 
 ceived reading be retained, TO contain an appropriate mean- 
 
 tirjpiov o, TL jv, Kal OVK tart, ing, which" he in vain looks 
 
 kuiTTtp iffrtr " the beast that for " in the reading preferred 
 
 \\;is t and is riot, and yet is," by Grk-sbach \_KOI 
 
 K. V. Dean Woodbouse retain* * Todd, pp. 73, 74. 
 
in.] Imagery minutely examined. 71 
 
 wild beast which St. John saw rising out of the sea, 
 rose, with his seven heads and ten horns manifested 
 as already in their full power ; his whole body being 
 then more particularly described 5 . But in Daniel's 
 vision it is otherwise : the prophet describes the 
 beast which he saw, "dreadful and terrible, and 
 strong exceedingly," having great iron teeth; and 
 how " it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped 
 the residue with the feet of it ; and it was diverse 
 from all the beasts that were before it ; and," it is 
 added, as the last point in the description " it had 
 ten horns 6 ." The ten horns, it would appear, came 
 last into the prophet's view, thus connecting this 
 vision with that of Nebuchadnezzar's image ending 
 in the toes of the feet ; save only that here, as has 
 been already observed, there was discovered rising 
 power, instead of declining weakness : in the words 
 of the interpretation just now quoted from Irenseus, 
 there were the signs of dominion "springing up" in 
 the latter days of Rome's existence. It would, there- 
 fore, appear in reality more exactly in accordance 
 with the prophetic imagery, if we could show that 
 the Roman empire was not thus divided from its 
 origin ; provided only that a clearly marked period 
 in its history can be pointed to, at which it entered, 
 as it were, upon another term of existence, in a new 
 form and character. 
 
 And such a period, clearly marked and defined, 
 we discover in the fall of the Roman empire in the 
 West in the fifth century, and its division among 
 
 5 Rev. xiii. 1, 2. " And I And the beast which I saw 
 
 stood upon the sand of the sea, was like unto a leopard, and 
 
 and saw a beast rise up out of his feet were as the feet of a 
 
 the sea, having seven heads bear, and his mouth as the 
 
 and ten horns, and upon his mouth of a lion.". . . . 
 horns ten crowns, and upon his 6 Dan. vii. 7. 
 heads the name of blasphemy. 
 
72 Kingdoms of modern Europe [LECT. 
 
 the barbarian tribes. " Two great revolutions," says 
 a popular historian, " have happened in the political 
 state, and in the manners of the European nations. 
 The first was occasioned by the progress of the 
 Roman power ; the second, by the subversion of the 
 Roman empire 7 ." " Then, indeed, occurred a pe- 
 riod," says another writer, assigning his reasons for 
 commencing the philosophical view of modern his- 
 tory from the dissolution of the Western Empire, 
 " at which the chain of events is so broken, as to 
 have little or no real or visible connexion with that 
 of those which followed ; then, out of the ruins of 
 one mighty empire arose, almost together, the prin- 
 cipal of those states into which Europe is at present 
 divided ; and then, in the gradual combination of 
 northern barbarism with Roman refinement, were 
 formed the first elements of those manners and of 
 those principles of policy, by which Europe is at this 
 day characterized 8 ." 
 
 Thus did a new form and development of earthly 
 power come into view, constituting another period, 
 or phase of dominion, and yet reanimating again, as 
 it were, the same body. " Ten horns," or kingdoms, 
 appeared. "The definite number," says the accurate 
 Davisou, " may, or may not, be a strict postulate of 
 the prophecy;" for, I would add, it is well known 
 that the number ten is not unfrequently used in 
 Scripture to represent a large indefinite number 9 ; 
 (though, in this instance, from the mention of three 
 kingdoms of the ten as being afterwards plucked up 
 by the roots, the number would seem to be definite ;) 
 
 7 Robertson's "View of the 184, 185. 
 
 State of Europe," introductory 9 e. g. Lev. xxvi. 2(>. KcrKs. 
 
 to his History of Charles V. vii. 19. Amos vi. 9. Zech. viii. 
 
 vol. i. p. 1. 2:]. " ti'ii times," Gen. xxxi. 
 
 8 Miller's Philosophy of 7. 1 1 . Num. xiv. '22. Dan. i. 
 Modern History, vol. i. pp. 20, &c. 
 
in.] formed out of the ancient Empire. 73 
 
 at all events, " a multifarious division," as Mr. Davison 
 observes, " unquestionably is denoted. That multifa- 
 rious division," he continues, "took place in the cluster 
 of petty contemporary kingdoms, which replaced the 
 Roman empire upon its dissolution. In that cluster 
 of kingdoms," he says, " the ten horns of the fourth 
 beast, diverse from all the rest, find their interpreta- 
 tion, and their correspondent realities 1 ." 
 
 Here, however, an objection is found in "the 
 great diversity in the lists of kingdoms that have 
 been proposed by different writers;" "each," it is 
 said, "refuting satisfactorily the theory of his pre- 
 decessors, and each proposing a new arrangement, 
 which is refuted with equal triumph by those who 
 follow him 2 ." It is easy, indeed, for a minute criti- 
 cism to find difficulty in determining, amid the chaos 
 of barbarous tribes, the precise number of kingdoms 
 which may be said to have been formed. "The 
 few variations," as Bishop Newton observes, "in 
 these accounts must be ascribed to the great disorder 
 and confusion of the times, one kingdom falling and 
 another rising, and scarce any subsisting for a long 
 while together. As a learned writer," quoted by 
 the Bishop, "remarks, 'All these kingdoms were 
 variously divided, either by conquest or inheritance. 
 However, as if that number of ten had been fatal in 
 the Roman dominions, it hath been taken notice of 
 upon particular occasions. As about A.D. 1240, by 
 Eberard, Bishop of Saltzburg, in the diet at Ratis- 
 bon ; ' " and " ' at the time of the Reformation they 
 w r ere also ten V " And so again, at the beginning of 
 the eighteenth century, it was observed 4 that, ex- 
 
 1 Davison on Prophecy, p. p. 556. 
 
 503. * Whiston, Essay on the Re- 
 
 2 Todd, p. 75. velation, Part 3, p. 235, also 
 
 3 Daubuz (on Rev. xiii. 1), quoted by Bp. Newton. 
 
74 Question as to the ten kingdoms. [LECT. 
 
 eluding those kingdoms which were without the 
 bounds of the old Roman empire, Europe was " very 
 nearly returned again to the same condition" as when 
 it was first divided, consisting of "ten principal king- 
 doms or states 5 . " It may be well to bear in mind 
 that the nations of Canaan, whose land Israel was to 
 possess, are somewhat variously enumerated in dif- 
 ferent places 6 . And the same difficulty as in the 
 case before us, has of late been found in regard to 
 the fourfold division of Alexander's empire, com- 
 monly received by historians ; we are told that " it 
 would have been as easy to have produced twelve 
 or more subdivisions," " among the numerous petty 
 sovereignties that sprang up from time to time amid 
 the wars and dissensions of his successors 7 ." Mathe- 
 matical accuracy hardly belongs to history : there is 
 much obscurity enveloping the origin of the different 
 tribes which form themselves into nations ; and their 
 kingdoms areoften strangely blended one into another. 
 Deeper historical research may yet bring many things 
 
 5 Bp. Newton, Dissert, xiv. if an average were to be taken 
 
 vol. i. p. 462. Comp. Wood- in the long course of fourteen 
 
 house, Annot. pp. 366, 367. hundred years, reaching to our 
 
 " History exhibits to us a time, times, the number ten would 
 
 when the Roman empire in the be found to predominate. And 
 
 West, symbolized by the beast when we consider the natural 
 
 of this chapter [Rev. xvii.], instability of supreme power, 
 
 gradually declined, and by the the wars, conquests, and the 
 
 irruption and repeated attacks accumulation of empire, to 
 
 of barbarian hordes, was broken which nations are exposed, and 
 
 and fell to pieces. From the which have been prevalent to 
 
 ruins of this mass ten king- such excess in other quarters 
 
 doins arose ; they are thus of the globe, during the same 
 
 enumerated by different writers, period, we must think it a 
 
 not only at their first establish- matter of wonder that the ten 
 
 ment, but also in their progress European kingdoms should 
 
 in successive periods. Though subsist as they have done, in 
 
 much varied in respect to the fulfilment of the prediction." 
 people of which they were " See Note, Appendix. 
 
 composed, their number has 7 Todd, pp. 128, 17-. 
 
 been nearly the same; so that 
 
in.] Not kings of Syria and Egypt. 75 
 
 to light, which are at present involved in uncertainty. 
 And, moreover, there may be reasons of Divine 
 Wisdom, beyond our narrow view, why it should 
 not yet be clearly seen which ten precisely were the 
 kingdoms which the prophet saw; it may be still 
 reserved for "the time of the end" to discover it, 
 and God's all-perfect knowledge be at length made 
 manifest, and His counsels be more perfectly fulfilled 
 in man's ignorance. 
 
 It would be a waste of time, I think, to refute 
 the interpretation of Porphyry, adopted by Grotius 
 and Collins, which, making the fourth kingdom to 
 be those of Alexander's successors in Egypt and 
 Syria, would endeavour to find the ten horns among 
 the kings of those two lines, selecting from each the 
 names of those who are supposed to have been most 
 hostile to the Jews. The attempt has been suffi- 
 ciently exposed by Jerome and Theodoret amongst 
 the ancients 8 , and by Bishop Chandler 9 and others 
 in modern times. It has, at first sight, this degree 
 of plausibility, that it makes the little horn which 
 appears among the ten, to be the same with that 
 which rises out of the four horns of the goat, the 
 emblem of the Macedonian empire, in the following 
 vision of Daniel ; and whose course of pride and per- 
 secution so closely resembles that which is described 
 in the vision before us. But the ten horns are 
 manifestly contemporary kings or kingdoms ; not in- 
 dividual princes, to be selected arbitrarily out of the 
 succession of two lines like those of the Seleucidse 
 and Lagidse. The attempt, moreover, to identify the 
 ten among those kings has completely failed ; and 
 the three who are specified as having fallen before 
 
 8 In loc. Vid. Note, App. Christianity, vol. i. pp. 219 
 
 9 Vindication of Defence of 227. 
 
76 The two little horns distinct. [LECT. 
 
 Antiochus Epiptianes, the little born in the vision 
 of the ram and the he-goat, and therefore it is sup- 
 posed, here also, were not three of those ten, as the 
 conditions of the prophecy require l . But, indeed, 
 it is evident that, whatever resemblance may be 
 traced between the two little horns described in the 
 two visions, they are distinct powers, though their 
 course be parallel, the one arising in the East, the 
 other in the West; the one out of the broken 
 monarchy of Greece, the other out of the ruins of the 
 empire of Rome 2 . And, accordingly, in early times, 
 though the one prophecy was referred, typically, 
 at least, to Antiochus, the fulfilment of the other 
 was looked for in the breaking up of the Roman 
 empire 3 . 
 
 The same argument, however, of the identity of 
 the little horn in the one vision and in the other, 
 has recently been urged in support of a very dif- 
 ferent hypothesis that which would make all the 
 four kingdoms described in the vision before us to 
 be still future, and contemporary ; the kingdoms of 
 Persia and Grecia, described in the vision of the 
 ram and he-goat, being likewise supposed to be 
 future 4 . On this hypothesis it is argued, that the 
 fourth horn of the goat, out of which the little horn 
 came forth, must be identical with the fourth king- 
 dom 5 ; and the suggestion is offered still further, 
 (though, indeed, only as a suggestion,) "that the 
 kingdoms represented by the four horns of the 
 he-goat may perhaps be the same which were ex- 
 hibited to the prophet in the former vision, under 
 
 1 Chandler's Vindication, 1. \-r. 
 
 c. p. 226. l Todd's Discourses, pp. 
 
 3 Comp. Bp. Chandler, pp. 128, 129. 
 
 227, 228. '' Ibid. pp. 109 ll;j. 
 
 3 Vid. Jerome, Thcodwet. 
 
in.] Inroads on the Roman Empire. 77 
 
 the emblems of four great beasts 6 . On this hypo- 
 thesis, the symbol immediately before us, the beast 
 with ten horns, would be but one of the four horns 
 of the he-goat, the symbol of the Grecian monarchy 7 ; 
 which monarchy, on the commonly received inter- 
 pretation, is the third beast in the vision before us, 
 the leopard with four heads and four wings 8 . But 
 this is an hypothesis which so utterly removes all 
 the recognized landmarks of prophetical interpreta- 
 tion, that it requires strong evidence indeed in its 
 favour to entitle it to consideration. 
 
 That the ten horns were to be ten kingdoms 
 which were to rise out of the ruins of the Roman 
 empire, was, as we have already seen, the consentient 
 belief of early times. But we may observe still fur- 
 ther and it is an important point in the evidence 
 St. Jerome, who, as we saw on a former occasion, 
 himself living in the beginning of the fifth century, 
 witnessed the growing weakness of that empire, the 
 mixing of the iron with the clay 9 , in describing, in 
 one of his epistles, the calamities of the times, has 
 enumerated an assemblage of barbarous nations who 
 were then ravaging Gaul, as if he thought he saw 
 them now rising into dominion, and ready to make 
 way for the dreaded power of the little horn. " In- 
 numerable and most savage nations," he says, " have 
 
 6 Ibid. p. 126. we find in chap, xi., of the 
 
 7 That the he-goat is the " mighty king" which should 
 symbol of the Grecian mo- " rule with great dominion," 
 narchy, it will be recollected, and whose kingdom was after- 
 rests on inspired authority wards to " be divided toward 
 " the rough goat is the king of the four winds of heaven" (vv. 
 Grecia." (Dan. viii. 21.) 3, 4) a description which 
 
 8 This description of the cannot be interpreted otherwise 
 third kingdom, and of the "do- than of the king of " the realm 
 minion" which was "given to of Grecia." 
 
 it" (ver. 3), seems clearly to 9 Vid. sup. p. 29. 
 identify itself with that which 
 
78 Forebodings of St. Jerome. [LECT. 
 
 taken possession of the whole of Gaul. The Qua- 
 dian, the Vandal, the Sarmatian, the Alani, the 
 Gepidse, the Heruli, the Saxons, the Burgundians, 
 the Alemanni, and, oh ! terrible republic ! the Pan- 
 nonians" it will be observed, he has enumerated 
 ten "have ravaged the whole country between the 
 Alps and the Pyrenees, the Ocean and the Rhine V 
 In the overthrow which he thus beheld, he recog- 
 nized the removal, as now to all appearance begun, 
 of that Roman power which had hitherto stood in 
 the way 2 ; and he looked, accordingly, for "that 
 wicked one" soon to be revealed in his season. 
 "He which letteth," he had said just before, "is 
 being taken out of the way, and yet we fail to un- 
 derstand that Antichrist is approaching 3 ." 
 
 But we must proceed to trace in the prophet's 
 vision the growth of this newly-rising power. "I 
 
 1 " Innumerabiles et fero- scene on which the Antichris- 
 cissimse nationes universas tian power was in due time to 
 Gallias occuparunt. Quidquid be revealed. The date assigned 
 inter Alpes et Pyrenseum est, to this epistle is A.D. 409. Cf. 
 quod Oceano et Rheno inclu- Ep. 35 ad Heliodorum (Epi- 
 ditur, Quadus, Wandalus, Sar- taphium Nepotiani). " Scy- 
 mata, Halani, Gipedes, Heruli, thiam, Thraciam, Macedonian!, 
 Saxones, Burgundiones, Ale- Dardaniam, Daciam, Thessalo- 
 mani, et, 6 lugenda respublica! niam, Achaiam, Epiros, Dal- 
 hostes Pannonii vastarunt. matiam, cunctasque Pannonias 
 'Etenim Assur venitcumillis,'" Gothus, Sarmata, Quadus, 
 &c. Epist. ad Ageruchiam, Alanus, Hunni, Wandali, Mar- 
 torn, iv. p. 748. I do not comanni vastant, trahunt, ra- 
 quote this passage as proving piunt . . . Romanus orbis ruit, 
 that St. Jerome identified these et tamen cervix nostra erecta 
 nations with the ten horns of non flectitur." Op. torn. iv. 
 the beast, for three of these p. 274. This epistle was writ- 
 horns he undoubtedly supposed ten in the year 39G. 
 to be those mentioned in Dan. * Vid. sup. p. 18, and Note. 
 xi. 43 (Egypt, the Libyans, 3 " Qui tenebat de medio 
 and the Ethiopians); I quote fit, et non intelligimus Anti- 
 it as showing that he watched christum appropinquare, quern 
 the fate of the Roman empire Dominus Jesus Christus inter- 
 in the West, and especially of ficiet spiritu oris ejus." Ep. 
 the city of Rome itself, as the ad Ageruchiam, sup. cit. 
 
in.] The little horn. 79 
 
 considered the horns, and, behold, there came up 
 among them another little horn, before whom 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 V In 
 entering upon a general view of the history of 
 the kingdoms of modern Europe, dating from the 
 beginning of that new order of things which arose 
 out of the dissolution of the Roman empire, an 
 historical writer, already referred to, begins with 
 Italy ; for " as this country," he says, " had been the 
 seat of government of the ancient empire of the 
 West, it retained a predominant influence on the 
 establishments by which that empire was succeeded ; 
 and even became the seat of a new monarchy over 
 the consciences of men, which, though professing to 
 be of a spiritual character, affected all their political 
 interests 5 ." We seem here to trace the rise of a 
 power which would answer to the description given 
 in the prophet's vision of that "other 6 " kingdom, 
 which was to arise after, or behind, those ten, and 
 to be " diverse from the first 7 ;" a kingdom of a 
 more exalted nature than theirs, looking apparently 
 to higher interests, with "eyes like the eyes of 
 man," and, in the lofty character of its pretensions 
 and claims, " a mouth speaking great things." And 
 if this be taken to describe that spiritual monarchy 8 
 
 4 Ver. 8. mark, that the testimony which 
 
 5 Miller's Philosophy of would be to be cited next in 
 Modern History, Lecture vi. order from Christian antiquity, 
 vol. i. p. 279. " Italy was to pursue the inquiry chrono- 
 therefore the connecting bond logically, would be that which 
 of ancient and modern history." records the judgment of Gre- 
 Ibid. gory the Great, Bishop of 
 
 6 Ver. 20. Rome, that " whosoever either 
 
 7 Ver. 24. calleth himself the universal 
 
 8 It is well worthy of re- bishop, or desireth so to be 
 
80 Kingdoms planted in Italy. [LECT. 
 
 which gradually rose to supreme power in the centre 
 of the political system, and in the very seat of 
 former dominion, w r e find, as matter of fact, from the 
 records of history, unbiassed by any reference to 
 Sacred Prophecy, that there were three kingdoms 
 " plucked up " from before it ; and these three, such 
 as seem undoubtedly entitled to claim a place among 
 those "first" which arose on the ruins of the ancient 
 empire. And it is certainly remarkable, that three 
 distinct dynasties of barbarian tribes and chieftains, 
 from different parts of the empire, should thus have 
 successively fixed themselves in its centre, and esta- 
 blished severally their dominion there 9 . A late dis- 
 tinguished writer of the Roman Communion, in his 
 able sketch ' of the " Geographical and Political 
 Revolutions of the Empire of Germany" "the holy 
 Roman Empire," according to the style and title 
 which it bore to the very period of its fall in 
 tracing briefly the course of the history from the 
 general division of the ancient empire between the 
 sons of Theodosius, down to the revival of the 
 empire of the West in the person of Charlemagne, 
 mentions first " Odoacer, king of the Herulians ;" 
 who " conquered all Italy, put an end to the 
 Western empire, and was proclaimed king of Italy ;" 
 then Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, who " mur- 
 
 called, in his pride he is the vol. ii. pp. 131, 142. Comp. 
 
 forerunner of Antichrist ;" and vol. vii. p. 174.) Vide Note, 
 
 his earnestly repeated fore- Appendix, 
 hodings, when he says of such !) Vid. Note, Appendix, 
 
 an one, " In this pride of his, * I have the rather referred 
 
 what other thing is there to- to writers whose plan is to 
 
 kened, but that the time of mark the chief outlines of his- 
 
 Antichrist is even at hand?" torical events, as less likely to 
 
 " The king of pride is even in give an undue importance to 
 
 the gates ;" &c. (Op. t. ii. minor circumstances. But see 
 
 pp. 881, 751, 744, &c. quoted Note, Appendix, 
 by Bp. Jewel. Works, ed, Jclf, 
 
in.] Rise of tlie Papal Power. 81 
 
 dered and succeeded Odoacer," and "became the 
 founder of the Ostrogothic dynasty of Italian kings ;" 
 and lastly, "the Lombard kingdom of Italy" esta- 
 blished by the victories of Alboin and his succes- 
 sors *. After noticing the intermediate conquests of 
 Justinian, and the establishment of the Exarch of 
 Ravenna, as the representative of the Eastern em- 
 pire in Italy, " Such," he says, " were the revolutions 
 of the empire of the West." "The kingdom of the 
 Francs now came into notice." .... He then traces 
 to its origin the Francic Association. " In the 
 mean time," he goes on to say, " the popes had risen 
 into consequence. St. Peter, the first of the popes" 
 it will be recollected that the writer is a Romanist, 
 for which reason I the rather cite his testimony 
 " had neither temporal estate nor temporal power . . . 
 The donation of Constantine," the writer continues, 
 " is a fable ;" but " from him and his successors," 
 he goes on to say, " the popes obtained extensive 
 possessions in Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, France, and 
 Africa." . . . . " The laws of Constantine and his suc- 
 cessors conferred on them something like a right of 
 civil jurisdiction. This was increased by the circum- 
 stances and temper of the times; and thus they 
 acquired the power of magistracy. After Justinian 
 had reconquered Italy, Rome was governed by a 
 duke, who, like the other dukes of Italy, was wholly 
 subordinate to the exarch of Ravenna. Still, as the 
 popes constantly resided at Rome, their spiritual 
 character, their talents, the use they made of them, 
 and particularly, the sums of money spent by them 
 in public and private charities, in support of the 
 walls and fortresses of the city of Rome, and in 
 
 2 Works of Charles Butler, italics are Mr. Butler's own, 
 Esq., vol. ii. pp. 2, 3. The marking the chief events. 
 
 O 
 
82 Growth of the Papacy. [LECT. 
 
 maintaining troops for its defence, endeared them to 
 the Roman people. This gave them considerable 
 political influence in the city of Rome, and the 
 adjoining parts of Italy. Their exertion of it was 
 always useful, and sometimes necessary for answering 
 the purposes of government; and thus the popes 
 became possessed, indirectly, of temporal power. 
 
 " Such was the situation of the popes," the same 
 writer continues, "when Leo thelsaurian [A.D. 720] 
 began his attack on religious devotion to images . . . 
 Equally averse from the emperor and the Lombard 
 king, the people formed themselves into a separate 
 government, under the magistrates, and placed the 
 pope at their head 3 ." And, enriched as he was soon 
 afterwards with the gifts of Pepin 4 , bestowed in re- 
 turn for the sanction which the spiritual power had 
 given to his usurpation of the crown of his masters, the 
 kings of France 5 , the Bishop of Rome was now 
 become "a subordinate prince, with a considerable 
 degree of temporal and territorial power, and political 
 influence 6 ." The popes soon " asserted a right," I 
 proceed with my quotation, "both of spiritual and 
 temporal power, over the emperor; and pretended 
 that he held the empire as a fief or benefice from 
 them. . . On the one hand it became a fundamental 
 maxim of jurisprudence, that the emperor acquired, 
 in the instant of his election at the German diet, 
 the kingdoms of Italy and Rome ; on the other, this 
 kingdom was merely nominal ; and it became another 
 maxim of jurisprudence, that the emperor could not 
 legally assume the titles of Emperor or Augustus, 
 
 3 Butler, pp. 4 12. the popes in Italy should be 
 
 1 " From these gifts of Pe- dated." p. 21. 
 
 pin," Mr. Butler observes, b Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
 " the temporal sovereignty of 6 Butler, p. 69. 
 
in.] Claim to supreme temporal Power. 83 
 
 till he had received the crown from the hands of the 
 pope ; and he was often obliged to purchase it by 
 great sacrifices 7 ." "The popes soon advanced a still 
 higher claim. In virtue of an authority which they 
 pretended to derive from Heaven, some of them as- 
 serted that the pope was the supreme temporal lord 
 of the universe, and that all princes and civil go- 
 vernors were, even in temporal concerns, subject to 
 them 8 . In conformity to this doctrine, the popes 
 took upon them to try, condemn, and depose 
 sovereign princes; to absolve their subjects from 
 allegiance to them, and to grant their kingdoms to 
 others. 
 
 "That a claim so unfounded and impious" I am 
 quoting still from the eminent Romanist writer be- 
 fore referred to a claim "so detrimental to reli- 
 gion, so hostile to the peace of the world, and 
 apparently so extravagant and visionary, should have 
 been made, is strange : stranger still," he goes on 
 to say, "is the success it met with. There scarcely 
 is a kingdom in Christian Europe, the sovereign of 
 which did not, on some occasion or other, acquiesce 
 in it, so far, at least, as to invoke it against his own 
 antagonist; and having once used it against an 
 antagonist, it was not always easy for him to deny 
 the justice of it, when it was urged against himself. 
 The contests respecting it were chiefly carried on 
 with the German emperors. All Italy and Germany 
 were divided between the adherents of the popes 
 
 Butler, p. 71. empire, would hardly, even in 
 
 8 It may be observed that, a temporal and political point 
 
 on this view of earthly sove- of view, be complete without 
 
 reignties, a delineation of the a place, and that a prominent 
 
 kingdoms which arose in Eu- and pre-eminent place, assigned 
 
 rope on the ruins of the Roman to the papal monarchy. 
 
 G2 
 
84 Decline of Papal Supremacy. [LECT. 
 
 and the adherents of the emperors 9 ." " The begin- 
 ning of the fourteenth century may be assigned for 
 the sera of its highest elevation ; as, about that time, 
 their territorial possessions had their largest extent ; 
 they had then made their greatest progress in ex- 
 empting the clergy from the civil power ; and they 
 then experienced least resistance to their general 
 claim of divine right to temporal power. They 
 might at this time be thought to have secured the 
 duration of their temporal empire ; from this period, 
 however, it began to decline, and the causes of its 
 decline are obvious." 
 
 The historian goes on to show how, "on some 
 occasions," the popes " carried their pretensions to a 
 length which excited the disgust, and even provoked 
 the resistance of the most timid ;" how " they were 
 engaged in some enterprises evidently unjust, and 
 the lives of some of them were confessedly dis- 
 solute;" and how the temporary removal of the 
 pope from Rome " the captivity of Babylon," as it 
 was termed and then the great papal schism ; the 
 discussions which took place at the Councils of 
 Constance, Basil, and Pisa, and among theologians 
 of learning and temper, respecting the papal preten- 
 sions to temporal power ; and the ruder attack made 
 on them by the Albigenses, Wicklifites, Waldenses, 
 and Lollards, and other similar associated bodies of 
 the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries all tended to 
 the calling in question of the pretensions which had 
 been carried so high ] . 
 
 The same writer proceeds to trace further the out- 
 line of events in the history of the great empire of 
 Knrope,down to theperiodwhen the revolution, which, 
 
 9 Butler, p. 72. ' Ibid. pp. 8286. 
 
in.] Scene of Judgment. 85 
 
 at the close of the last century, convulsed all Europe, 
 and shook to their foundations its long-established 
 thrones, brought on " the last days of the empire of 
 the West 2 ," when it had now " subsisted during a 
 thousand years 3 ," from the time of its revival by 
 Charlemagne under the immediate sanction of the 
 see of Rome. And thus a dominion, whose rise had 
 been in rebellion sanctioned by religion, fell before 
 a power which sprung out of the very nation from 
 which that empire had itself originated ; and which, 
 seeking now again to consecrate its revolutionary 
 empire with the same sacred authority, strangely 
 recalled to men's minds the events of a thousand 
 years before 4 . 
 
 But in whatever degree we may trace, in these or 
 other occurrences of recent times, the immediate 
 agency of the Supreme Ruler of the world, and His 
 Almighty Providence ; or whether we look rather to 
 scenes yet future for the full accomplishment of the 
 prophet's vision ; that vision clearly unfolds the 
 mystery of the judgment which, in its appointed 
 time, is prepared on high for all pride of man, 
 whatever form it assume, or in whatever garb it be 
 arrayed. "I beheld," saith the prophet, "till the 
 thrones were cast down," or rather, it should be 
 rendered, "till thrones were set 5 , 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 
 from before him: thousand thousands ministered 
 unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand 
 
 2 Butler, p. 206. 4 Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
 3 Ibid. p. 208. * Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
86 Comparison of Visions [LECT. 
 
 stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books 
 were opened e ." It is, doubtless, impossible not to 
 trace here a shadowing out of the awful realities of 
 the last great day of judgment ; and great stress is 
 laid on this by those who contend against the appli- 
 cation of the symbols of the fourth kingdom to the 
 Roman empire, which they maintain and in one 
 sense justly " has long ceased to exist 7 ." Yet even 
 they would, on their own hypothesis, be disposed to 
 regard the period of judgment here described as 
 identical, not with that which St. John gives in the 
 Revelation of the final judgment, when he beheld 
 the "great white throne and him that sat thereon," 
 and "saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
 God, and the books were opened .... and the dead 
 were judged out of those things which were written 
 in the books, according to their works; and death 
 and hell were cast into the lake of fire 8 ;" but rather 
 with that earlier scene which he describes as revealed 
 to him, when he " saw thrones, and they sat upon 
 them, and judgment was given unto them;" "and 
 they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand 
 years 9 ." 
 
 But indeed there is, in some respects, a still closer 
 resemblance to the description before us in that 
 which St. Jerome has quoted, in illustration of it, 
 from a scene which is disclosed earlier still in the 
 Book of the Revelation } . At the very opening of 
 
 6 Vv. 9, 10. 1101. " Aspiciebam donee 
 
 1 Todd, pp. 71 73. throni positi sunt,' c. . . . Si- 
 
 * Rev. xx. 11 14. mile quid et in Johannis 
 
 lu-v. xx. 4. The refer- Apocalypsi legitur : ' Post haec 
 
 ences given in the margin are statim fui in spiritu, et ecce 
 
 to this vision of Daniel (vii. 9, thronus positus,' &c. . . . Multi 
 
 22, 27). Matt. xix. '28, and i^itur throni quos vidit Daniel, 
 
 I /ukc xiii. .'Hi. hi mihi videntur esse, quos 
 
 1 Hieron. in loc. t. iii. p. Johannes viginti quattuor thro- 
 
in.] in the Apocalypse. 87 
 
 the Apocalyptic visions, St. John tells us that, being 
 in the spirit, he saw " a throne set in heaven, and 
 one sat on the throne . . . and round about the throne 
 were four and twenty seats 2 :" and he " heard the 
 voice of many angels round about the throne and 
 the beasts and the elders : and the number of them 
 was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands 
 of thousands 3 ." And from the presence of this 
 throne, set in heaven, yet watching and ruling the 
 powers of earth, judgments go forth. For so, in 
 another stage of the vision, we read, "there were 
 great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of 
 his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 
 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before 
 God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and wor- 
 shipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord 
 God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; 
 because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, 
 and hast reigned V 
 
 These passages, and others like them, show how, 
 in the visions of Prophecy, the throne of judgment 
 of the Everlasting King is, in some sense, ever at 
 hand ready to be revealed, and its unseen processes 
 of judgment ever going on 5 ; though at certain times, 
 and more awfully, we may believe, as " the mystery 
 
 nos nuncupat. . . . Hos thronos 6 " Thy throne is established 
 
 esse reor, de quibus Paulus of old : thou art from everlast- 
 
 Apostolus loquitur: 'Sivethroni ing. The floods have lifted up, 
 
 sive dominationes' [Col. i. 16]. O Lord, the floods have lifted 
 
 Et in Evangelio legimus : 'Vos up their voice." Ps. xciii. 2, 
 
 autem sedebitis super duodecim 3. " O Lord God, to whom 
 
 thronos, judicantes duodecim vengeance belongeth ; O God, 
 
 tribus Israel.' ' to whom vengeance belongeth, 
 
 2 Rev. iv. 2, 4. shew thyself. Lift up thyself, 
 
 3 Rev. v. 11. (Comp. Dan. thou Judge of the world : ren- 
 vii. 10.) der a reward to the proud." 
 
 ' Rev. xi. 1517. Ps. xciv. 1, 2. 
 
88 Judgment reserved for [LECT. 
 
 of iniquity" in its varied forms unfolds itself, and the 
 ends of the world draw near, the Spirit of Prophecy 
 or the hand of Providence draws back the veil, and 
 exhibits the awful scene which Daniel saw in vision 6 . 
 It was a process of judgment which was going on, 
 it might be, and, as the event seems to have shewn, 
 was in reality going on, through ages: for God's 
 judgments are not like man's ; they move with tardy 
 foot, to man's eye, but, for all this, with the more 
 fearful certainty, travelling on unerringly and steadily 
 to their full accomplishment. " I beheld," says the 
 prophet, as though the vision were long, "because 
 of the voice of the words which the little horn 
 spake : I beheld even till the beast was slain, 
 and his body destroyed, and given to the burning 
 flame V It is, indeed, unto " the day of Christ," 
 for so the time of judgment is emphatically termed, 
 that the final destruction of that Wicked One is 
 reserved, " whom the Lord shall consume with the 
 spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness 
 of his coming 8 ." 
 
 The coming of Christ in his kingdom and glory, 
 is, in truth, that great and final consummation for 
 which the whole course of God's moral government 
 hath been ordered, from the very beginning of the 
 world's history; and every successive stage in the 
 fall of earthly power is, in its degree, a fuller mani- 
 festation of the glory with which the Almighty 
 would invest His Incarnate Son, exalted in His 
 human nature, as the Son of Man, to supreme do- 
 minion. And, accordingly, when in vision the pro- 
 
 6 " Clouds and darkness are up his enemies round about." 
 
 round about him : righteous- Ps. xcvii. 2, 3. 
 ness and judgment are the ha- 7 Ver. 11. 
 
 bitation of his throne. A fin H 2 Thess. ii. 2, 8. 
 
 jroeth before him, and burncth 
 
in.] the Kingdom of the Son of Man. 89 
 
 pliet had beheld the destruction of the fourth beast, 
 there was revealed to him a coming in glory of Him 
 who was to be the " Heir of all things." " 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 days, and they brought him near 
 before him. And there was given him dominion, 
 and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, 
 and languages, should serve him : his dominion is 
 an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, 
 and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed 9 ." 
 The consummation of the vision is the same with 
 that which had been revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, 
 though it is here more fully unfolded. The king- 
 dom which "the God of heaven" would "set up" in 
 the days of the fourth and last of those earthly 
 empires, is here manifested still further as the king- 
 dom which was to be given to the Son of Man ; and 
 which was finally to vindicate its heavenly character, 
 and to claim its supreme dominion over every power 
 which, under whatever form or disguise, had dared 
 to exalt itself above Him from whom is derived all 
 power in heaven and in earth ; whose " dominion is an 
 everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and 
 his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 
 
 Such is the conclusion of the vision, as described 
 by the prophet. In the interpretation of it, given 
 him by the angel for the prophet " came near unto 
 one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth 
 of all this that he saw l " there are some points 
 brought out more fully still than in the vision itself. 
 The consummation of the dominion of the four 
 empires which were to " arise out of the earth," is 
 
 9 Vv. 13, 14. > Ver. 16. 
 
90 Further unfolding of the Vision. [LECT. 
 
 described as the kingdom of "the saints:" "The 
 saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, 
 and possess the kingdom for ever ; even for ever and 
 ever 2 ." Enquiring further concerning the fourth 
 power, the prophet at the same time describes it 
 more minutely; making mention of that "horn 
 which had eyes, and a mouth which spake very great 
 things, whose look was more stout than his fellows 3 ." 
 And he " beheld, and the same horn made war with 
 the saints, and prevailed against 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 V In answer 
 to the prophet's enquiry, it was declared to him more 
 explicitly concerning the power whose growing 
 tyranny he had seen thus displayed, " 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 V 
 
 Into the consideration of the period thus enigma- 
 tically defined, as well as of the distinctive character 
 of the later stages in the progress of the power here 
 described, I shall not enter at present ; reserving 
 these points for discussion when we come to the in- 
 vestigation of other prophecies in which they are 
 more fully set forth. I would only observe here 
 that, whatever obscurity may hang over the yet un- 
 developed future ; whether the appointed season of 
 affliction to the "saints of the Most High," the 
 Church of Christ on earth be longer or shorter; 
 whether the dreariest period be already past, or 
 more searching trial be yet in store ; whether the 
 
 2 Ver. 18. 4 Vv. '21, >>. 
 
 ' Ver. 20. Ver, :>:>. 
 
in.] Final Triumph of Christ's Kingdom. 91 
 
 appointed "time and times and dividing of time" 
 denote days or years, of this at all events the sure 
 word of Prophecy leaves no room to doubt, that the 
 days of trial to the Church are numbered by her 
 gracious Lord, and that vengeance shall, in due time, 
 be taken of all His and her enemies. Whether their 
 power and tyranny be purely secular and earthly, as 
 of the kingdoms of this world ; or rise up in the form 
 of something more human, and less akin to the 
 violence and cruelty of the beasts of the earth ; with 
 craft and subtlety more refined, and pride more 
 lofty, because spiritual, though debasing itself to 
 wordly ends; thus much we know assuredly, that 
 whatever it be that riseth up against Him who is 
 enthroned on high, shall sooner or later fall before 
 Him. For concerning all the power of that wicked 
 one it is written, " The judgment shall sit, and they 
 shall take away his dominion, to consume and to 
 destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and do- 
 minion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
 whole heaven " thus does the sacred language set 
 forth the ever-growing glory and the ever-spreading 
 triumphs of Christ's Church " shall be given to the 
 people of the saints of the Most High" to the 
 least as well as the greatest of His saints; to 
 the last as well as the first ; to the humblest among 
 the servants of God and of His Christ, not less than 
 to them to whom were promised, in the regeneration, 
 twelve thrones whereon they should sit in the king- 
 dom of the Son of Man, the Eternal Ever-Blessed 
 Son of the Most High, "whose kingdom is an ever- 
 lasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and 
 obey him." 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 DAN. viii. 25 (part) and 26. 
 
 " He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes ; but he 
 shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening 
 and the morning which was told is true : wherefore shut thou 
 up the vision ; for it shall be for many days." 
 
 IN two preceding Lectures we considered separately 
 the first and second visions recorded in the book of 
 Daniel ; namely, that of the image seen by Nebu- 
 chadnezzar in the second year of his reign, and that 
 of the four beasts revealed to the prophet himself in 
 the first year of Belshazzar. In regard to both of 
 these visions, I endeavoured to establish, against 
 recent objections, the interpretation which, as we 
 saw, had the almost unanimous consent of Antiquity, 
 both Jewish and Christian, in its favour ; and which 
 has been adopted by the far greater number and 
 tlir most approved of modern expositors the inter- 
 pretation which identifies the fourth kingdom, in 
 either vision, with the empire of Rome. It appeared 
 that, in the former vision, the power designated by 
 the feet of iron and clay, was the Roman empire in its 
 Pagan state, destined to fall before the kingdom and 
 
 1 Preached Nov. 27, I s li>. 
 
Vision of the Ram and the He-goat. 93 
 
 Church of Christ, denoted by the stone "cut out 
 without hands." And in the latter vision, the fourth 
 beast seemed to represent the same empire, re-appear- 
 ing again in another form which carried on the his- 
 tory of the former, a cluster of kingdoms delineated 
 under the imagery of ten horns, the emblems of sove- 
 reignty and power, together with that other little 
 horn, which came up among them, " diverse from the 
 rest." And this, viewed by the light of other pro- 
 phetic Scripture, seemed to foretel a new and 
 strange dominion of pride and tyranny which was 
 to have its origin and seat in the very city which 
 was the capital, as well as in the countries which had 
 been immediately subject to the sway, of ancient 
 imperial Rome. 
 
 We now come to the third vision recorded in the 
 book of Daniel, viz. that of the ram and the he- 
 goat ; a vision which, the prophet tells us, appeared 
 to him " in the third year of the reign of King Bel- 
 shazzar," two years, in fact, "after that which ap- 
 peared unto" him "at the first 2 ." Of this vision 
 part is fully and explicitly interpreted by the angel 
 Gabriel ; who appeared to the prophet, and was 
 bidden by the " man's voice " which he " heard be- 
 tween the banks of Ulai," to " make " him " to under- 
 stand the vision 3 ." The ram which he saw standing 
 before the river, and which " had two horns ; and 
 the two horns were high ; but one was higher than 
 the other, and the higher came up last," represented 
 " the kings of Media and Persia V And the exact 
 propriety and historic truth of the symbol, as applied 
 to the Medo-Persian empire, has been well pointed 
 out by many expositors ; its victories and the growth 
 
 2 Dan. viii. 1. 3 Ver. 16. 4 Vv. 3, 20. 
 
94 Persian and Macedonian Empires. [LECT. 
 
 of its power being accurately described by " the ram 
 pushing westward, and northward, and southward ; 
 so that no beasts might stand before him, neither 
 was their any that could deliver out of his hand ; 
 but he did according to his will, and became great 5 ." 
 " And as I was considering," saith the prophet, " be- 
 hold, an he goat came from the west on the face of 
 the whole earth, and touched not the ground : and 
 the goat had a notable horn between his eyes 6 ." And 
 this, in like manner, is interpreted by the angel ; 
 " the rough goat is the king of Grecia ; and the 
 great horn that is between his eyes is the first king 7 ." 
 And here again expositors have remarked the pecu- 
 liar fitness of the symbol employed to represent the 
 Macedonian empire, and the characteristic swiftness 
 of Alexander's conquests 8 . But the vision goes on 
 to describe the conflict of the Macedonian and the 
 Persian empires. " 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 9 ." 
 
 How graphically this description corresponds with 
 Alexander's march and victories, Bishop Newton 
 and others have shewn by a minute reference to 
 the history l . " Therefore," saith the prophet, " the 
 
 5 Ver. 4. See Bp. Newton 9 Vv. 6, 7. 
 and others. ! " One can hardly read 
 
 '' Ver. 5. these words without having 
 
 7 Ver. 21. some image of Darius's army 
 
 8 E.g. St. Chrysostom, sup. standing and guarding the river 
 c-it. p. 45, Wote 6 . Granicus, and of Alexander on 
 
iv.] Division of Alexander's Empire. 95 
 
 he goat waxed very great : and when he was strong, 
 the great horn was broken ; and for it came 
 up four notable ones toward the four winds of 
 heaven 2 ." Here again we have the inspired inter- 
 pretation by the mouth of the angel, in the words 
 following : " Now that [viz. the great horn] being- 
 broken, whereas four stood up for it, four king- 
 doms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in 
 his power 3 ." By the death of Alexander in the 
 midst of his career, and the murder, within a few 
 years, of all the representatives of his line, " the first 
 * horn ' or kingdom was entirely ' broken.' The royal 
 family being thus extinct," says Bp. Newton, "the 
 governors of provinces, who had usurped the power, 
 assumed the title of kings : and by the defeat and 
 death of Antigonus in the battle of Ipsus, they were 
 reduced to four, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, 
 and Seleucus, who parted Alexander's dominions 
 between them, and divided and settled them into 
 four kingdoms. These four kingdoms," he adds, " are 
 the * four notable horns,' which came up in the room 
 of the first great horn ; and are the same as the four 
 heads of the leopard in the former vision 4 . 'Four 
 kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but 
 not in his power;' they were to be kingdoms of 
 Greeks, not of Alexander's own family, but only of 
 his nation ; and neither were they to be equal to 
 him in power and dominion. . . . They were like- 
 wise," Bp. Newton continues, "to extend * toward 
 the four winds of heaven :' and in the partition of 
 
 the other side with his forces lib. i. cap. 14, and Quintus 
 
 plunging in, swimming across Curtius, lib. iv. cap. 9. 
 
 the stream, and rushing on the 2 Ver. 8. 
 
 enemy with all the fire and 3 Ver. 22. 
 
 fury that can be imagined." 4 [Dan. vii. 6.] 
 
 Bp. Newton, referring to Arrian, 
 
96 Objections stated. [LECT. 
 
 the empire Cassander held Macedon, and Greece, 
 and the western parts; Lysimachus had Thrace, 
 Bithynia, and the northern regions ; Ptolemy pos- 
 sessed Egypt and the southern countries ; and Se- 
 leucus obtained Syria and the eastern provinces. 
 Thus were they divided ' toward the four winds of 
 heaven V " 
 
 To this interpretation, however generally it has 
 been received, objections have recently been made, 
 grounded on the alleged difficulty of finding historic 
 proof of this fourfold division of the Macedonian 
 empire. We are told that " the truth is, that Alex- 
 ander's empire was divided into many more than 
 four petty sovereignties, which continued in a state 
 of constant change for several years 6 ;" and " there- 
 fore that the statement usually made of the fourfold 
 division of Alexander's dominions must be under- 
 stood with some latitude, as asserting not that four 
 kingdoms, and four only, stood up out of the nation, 
 but that the four kingdoms now generally enumerated 
 by modern expositors were, if not the only, at least 
 the most eminent subdivisions of the original empire 7 ." 
 And, indeed, Sir Isaac Newton is quoted as assert- 
 ing only that, when the last of Alexander's line was 
 murdered, and the chief generals of his empire now 
 "took upon themselves the title and dignity of 
 kings, having abstained from this honour while there 
 remained any of Alexander's race to inherit the 
 crown ;" " the monarchy of the Greeks, for want of 
 an heir, was broken into several kingdoms ; four of 
 which, seated * to the four winds of heaven,' were 
 very eminent 8 ." The expression, it may be observed, 
 
 " Bp. Newton, Diss. xv. 8 Observ. on Daniel (Part i. 
 
 6 Todd's Discourses, p. 128. chap. 12, p. 172) quoted by 
 
 7 Ibid. pp. 174, 175. Tc.dd, p. 175, note v . 
 
Pty&s 
 
 iv.] Objections examined. \f^ ^7 f fc 
 
 N^Xjs* 
 
 corresponds well with the prophetic description which 
 
 tells us, that in place of the great horn " there came 
 up four notable" (or "conspicuous") "ones," or, as 
 the force of the original might perhaps even more 
 exactly be given, " there came up conspicuously four 9 
 towards the four winds of heaven." 
 
 It appears, indeed, from Sir Isaac Newton's accu- 
 rate sketch of the history, that there were, in the 
 first instance, five who thus assumed a share in the 
 divided kingdom ; but, one of the five, " Seleucus," 
 he observes, with minute attention to the prophecy, 
 " at this time reigned over the nations which were 
 beyond the Euphrates, and belonged to the bodies 
 of the two first beasts ; but after six years he con- 
 quered Antigonus" (one of the other four), " and 
 thereby became possessed of one of the four king- 
 doms V And these five are the same whom Jose- 
 phus enumerates ; for it does not seem to me to be 
 correct to say that Josephus " intimates that there 
 were many more 2 ." Nor again does it appear at 
 all "evident," as has been asserted, from the lan- 
 guage in which " the author of the first book of 
 
 ra d. run T(v ( ov 
 
 T '" ' " TT TTO\\OVQ rfJ 
 
 1) species, maxime magna et ^ Ev T ^ A<7 / ac 
 
 pulchra. Dan. viii. 5 Jl^rn Hp Xevroc ^ Baj3i/Xwi'og icai T&V 
 
 cornu conspicuum, magnum, v. wel i6ra>i>, Avai^a^og $e rov 
 
 8. ... et surgebant quattuor 'EXXrifncovrov Ste'iire, TJ\V tie 
 
 conspicua (cornua). Sic enim Micucefaylav t\e KciffaavSpoQ, 
 
 interpretandum videtur propter flroXf^ualoc $e o Aa'yov ri\v 
 
 comm. 5." Gesen. Lex. in AiyvTrrov eiXrjtyet. (Antiq. lib. 
 
 voc. xii. 1.) In speaking of the 
 
 1 Observations, p. 173. division of Alexander's empire 
 
 2 Dr. Todd says, (p. 173, among "many," it appears to 
 Note,) " Josephus mentions five me, Josephus clearly defines 
 kings by name, but, at the same his meaning to be the division 
 time, intimates that there were of the entire empire among 
 many more." He then quotes these five. 
 
 H 
 
98 Fourfold division of [LECT. 
 
 Maccabees mentions the division of Alexander's 
 kingdom," "that the opinion of its being divided 
 into four was not known to him V The language 
 of the writer of that book, I cannot but think, on 
 the contrary, would perfectly harmonize with the 
 statement of Josephus; and he seems, indeed, in 
 this portion of his history, as I shall have occasion 
 presently to shew, to have had prominently in view 
 the very prophecy before us. After describing the 
 victories of " Alexander, son of Philip, the Mace- 
 donian, who came out of the land of Chettiirn," and 
 smote "Darius, king of the Persians and Medes," 
 and "reigned in his stead, the first over Greece," 
 the historian of the Maccabees tells us, that Alex- 
 ander's " servants bare rule, every one in his place. 
 And after his death they all put crowns upon 
 themselves; so did their sons after them many 
 years ; and evils were multiplied in the earth V It 
 is in language closely parallel, though not referring 
 directly to this passage of the historian, that Sir 
 Isaac Newton, in explaining the vision of the four 
 beasts, observes, that the leopard "had four heads 
 and four wings, to signify that it should become 
 divided into four kingdoms ;" " for it continued," he 
 says, " in a monarchical form during the reign of 
 Alexander the Great, and his brother Aridseus, and 
 young sons Alexander and Hercules ; and then brake 
 into four kingdoms, by the governors of provinces 
 putting crowns upon their own heads, and by mutual 
 consent reigning over their provinces 5 ." It is, there- 
 fore, strictly in accordance with the language of the 
 book of Mucc;il>evs, that " the ancient commentators, 
 with whom," as is stated, " this application of the 
 
 3 Todd, p. 172, Note. s Observations. Parti, chap. 
 
 4 1 Mace. i. 19. 4. pp. 29, 30. 
 
iv.] Alexander's Empire. 99 
 
 prophecy originated, St. Jerome 6 , Theodoret, and 
 others, appear to have considered the first division of 
 the dominions of Alexander, which took place imme- 
 diately after his death, as equivalent to a fourfold 
 partition of the empire 7 ;" while the moderns are 
 not, in fact, essentially at variance with them when 
 they point out that it was not till some years later, 
 viz. after the battle of Ipsus, that this division was 
 formally and finally effected 8 . 
 
 But all doubt, if any remained, in regard to the 
 application of the imagery before us is entirely re- 
 moved, I think, by the language of the angel in the 
 prophecy which is contained in the eleventh chap- 
 ter, and which Sir Isaac Newton, with good reason, 
 describes as "a commentary upon the vision of the 
 ram and he-goat 9 ." " There the angel tells Daniel," 
 I am adopting Sir Isaac Newton's summary, " that 
 'there should stand up yet three kings in Persia, 
 [Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius Hystaspis,] and the 
 fourth [Xerxes] should be far richer than they all ; 
 and by his wealth [strength] through his riches 
 he should stir up all against the realm of Grecia.' 
 This," says Sir Isaac Newton, applying the prophecy 
 to the explanation of the imagery in the vision 
 before us, "relates to the ram, whose two horns 
 were the kingdoms of Media and Persia. Then," 
 he observes, the angel "goes on to describe the 
 
 6 " St. Jerome," as Dr. Todd xi. 4.) 
 
 observes, " asserts expressly " And after Jerome, Theo- 
 
 that four of Alexander's gene- doret gives the same exposi- 
 
 rals were typified by the four tion : Aia $e rwv TEaaapuv 
 
 heads of the leopard, Dan. vii. KifyaXwv K. r. A. ... (Comm. 
 
 6. ' Quattuor autem capita in Dan. vii. 6.)" 
 
 eosdem dicit duces ejus, qui 7 Todd, p. 172. 
 
 postea successores regni exti- 8 Ibid. p. 172 174. Vide 
 
 terunt, Ptolomseum, Seleu- Note, Appendix, 
 
 cum, Philippum, Antigonum.' 9 Observations, Part i. ch. 
 
 (Comm. in loc. et in viii. 8, 12, p. 169. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 The Kingdoms of Persia and Grecia [LECT. 
 
 horns [horn] of the goat by the ' standing up of a 
 mighty king, which should rule with great dominion, 
 and do according to his will ;' and by the breaking 
 of his kingdom into four smaller kingdoms, and not 
 descending to his own posterity 1 ." "And when he 
 shall stand up," thus we read in the prophecy of the 
 eleventh chapter, "his kingdom shall be broken, 
 and shall be divided toward the four winds of 
 heaven;" the same expression precisely as in the 
 vision before us ; " and not to his posterity," a pre- 
 diction strikingly fulfilled in the history " nor ac- 
 cording to his dominion which he ruled ;" or, as it 
 is expressed in the vision before us, " not in his 
 power ;" " for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even 
 for others beside those 2 ." It cannot, I think, be 
 doubted by any one who, while he reads this pre- 
 diction, bears in mind the history of Persia and 
 Macedon, and of Alexander's immediate successors, 
 that it is to these kingdoms that that prophecy, and 
 if that prophecy, then also the vision before us, 
 clearly relates. 
 
 Strongly, however, as the language of these several 
 prophecies, when compared together, confirms this, 
 the ancient interpretation, their combined force is 
 at once set at nought by the hypothesis which has 
 lately been put forth, that not one of them, nor indeed 
 any of the visions in the book of Daniel, have as 
 yet been fulfilled, except so much of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's as relates to the head of gold \ With 
 regard to that which is immediately before us, the 
 opinion has been expressed, and maintained with 
 much learning and argument, " that the kings of 
 Media and Persia, foretold in this vision, as well as 
 
 1 Obss. Part i. cli. 9, p. 124. 3 Todd, pp. 18. fil. 77. 128. 
 
 2 Dan. xi. 4. i:Ui. ISO. 191, Note. 
 
iv.] those of the ancient world. 101 
 
 the king of Grecia, who is to vanquish them, are yet 
 to come ; that those countries, once the seat of such 
 mighty empires, are destined once more to recover 
 their long-lost power, and that in them shall be 
 enacted the last great and fearful struggle between 
 the prince of this world and the armies of the living- 
 God V But it is clear from the discourse which, in 
 the tenth chapter, the angel holds with the prophet, 
 that the kings of Persia and Grecia spoken of in the 
 prophecies in question, were the sovereigns of the 
 ancient empires of those countries ; the kingdom of 
 Persia being that under which the prophet was him- 
 self living, and the kingdom of Grecia that which 
 was immediately to succeed it. " Fear not, Daniel," 
 said the angel to him ; " for from the first day that 
 thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to 
 chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were 
 heard, and I am come for thy words. But the 
 prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one 
 and twenty days : but lo, Michael, one of the chief 
 princes, came to help me; and I remained there 
 with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make 
 thee understand what shall befall thy people in the 
 latter days; for yet the vision is for many days." 
 "Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come 
 unto thee? and now will I return to fight with 
 the prince of Persia : and when I am gone forth, lo, 
 the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew 
 thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth : 
 and there is none that holdeth with me in these 
 things, but Michael your prince. Also I in the first 
 year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm 
 and to strengthen him. And now will I shew 
 thee the truth 5 ." Then follows the passage already 
 
 4 Todd, pp. 128, 129. 5 Dan. x. 1214. 20, 21 ; xi. 1, 2. 
 
102 Little horn of the He-goat. [LECT. 
 
 referred to, concerning the succession of the kings 
 of Persia, of whom the fourth should stir up all 
 against the realm of Grecia. With this passage be- 
 fore us, revealing the conflicts which were at that 
 very time going on amongst the powers of this world 
 and of the world unseen, with reference to the 
 chosen people and to the Church of God, it cannot 
 be doubted, I think, that the kingdoms of Persia and 
 Grecia were those which successively held the do- 
 minion of the ancient world the second and third 
 of the four monarchies represented in the earlier 
 visions of Nebuchadnezzar and of Daniel. 
 
 But we must now proceed to the consideration of 
 that which is the chief object in the vision before us, 
 the tyrannical and impious power which the prophet 
 beheld rising out of one of the four "notable horns" 
 of the he-goat. "And out of one of them came 
 forth a little 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 stamped upon 
 them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince 
 of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken 
 away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down 6 ." 
 The interpretation by the mouth of the angel is 
 tin's : " And in the latter time of their kingdom, 
 when the transgressors are come to the full, a king 
 of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sen- 
 tences, shall stand up. And his power shall be 
 mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall 
 K'stroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, 
 and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 
 
 6 Dan. viii. 911. 
 
iv.] Ancient interpretation. 103 
 
 And through bis policy also be sliall cause craft to 
 prosper in bis 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 7 ." " This 
 6 little horn,' " Bishop Newton observes, " is by the 
 generality of interpreters, both Jewish and Christian, 
 ancient and modern, supposed to mean Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, king of Syria, who was a great enemy 
 and cruel persecutor of the Jews. So Josephus 
 understands the prophecy, and says that ' our nation 
 suffered these calamities under Antiochus Epiphanes, 
 as Daniel saw, and, many years before, wrote what 
 things should come to pass.' In like manner St. 
 Jerome explains it of Antiochus Epiphanes, and says 
 that 'he fought against Ptolemy Philometor and 
 the Egyptians,' that is, "against the south;" and, 
 again, " against the east," and those who attempted 
 a change of government in Persia; and, lastly, he 
 fought against the Jews, took Judea, entered into 
 Jerusalem, and in the temple of God set up the 
 image of Jupiter Olympius.' With St. Jerome," as 
 Bishop Newton observes, " agree most of the ancient 
 fathers 8 , and modern divines and commentators ;" 
 who, at the same time, " all allow that Antiochus 
 Epiphanes was a type of Antichrist 9 ," and that in 
 this great enemy of the truth the prophecy was to 
 obtain its full accomplishment. 
 
 But, notwithstanding such weight of authority in 
 its favour, the Bishop, following Sir Isaac Newton, 
 
 7 Vv. 23 25. Chrysostom speaks of it as 
 
 8 [Theodoret, we may note, though there were no question 
 in particular, interprets the on the subject. Op. t. vi. p. 
 description of the little horn, 244.] 
 
 throughout, of Antiochus; and 9 Bp. Newton, Diss, xv. 
 
104 Sir Isaac Newton s interpretation. [LECT. 
 
 sets aside this interpretation. How far, however, 
 the arguments of these distinguished writers are of 
 force, and whether their premises do not rather tend 
 to establish the conclusion which they oppose, will 
 appear if we attentively follow their arguments. 
 " This king," says Sir Isaac Newton, " was the last 
 horn of the goat, the little horn which came up 
 out of one of the four horns, and waxed exceeding 
 great. The latter time of their kingdom was when 
 the Romans began to conquer them, that is, when 
 they conquered Perseus, king of Macedonia, the 
 fundamental kingdom of the Greeks. And at that 
 time the transgressors came to the full : for then the 
 high -priesthood was exposed to sale, the vessels of 
 the temple were sold to pay for the purchase ; and 
 the high-priest, with some of the Jews, procured a 
 license from Antiochus Epiphanes to do after the 
 ordinances of the heathen, and set up a school at 
 Jerusalem for teaching those ordinances. Then 
 Antiochus took Jerusalem with an armed force, slew 
 4000 Jews, took as many prisoners and sold them, 
 spoiled the temple, interdicted the worship, com- 
 manded the Law of Moses to be burnt, and set up 
 the worship of the heathen gods in all Judea. In 
 the very same year [An. Nabonass. 580] the Romans 
 conquered Macedonia, the chief of the four horns'." 
 All tliis would seem, at first sight, strongly to favour 
 the application of the prophecy to the times of 
 Antiochus. Sir Isaac Newton, however, goes on to 
 apply it to the Romans, in their conquests in the 
 East and in Egypt (the beginning of those conquests 
 dating thus from the time of Antiochus) ; thc'ir 
 trampling upon " the people and great men of tliu 
 
 1 Sir I. Newton, on Daniel, cli. f), pp. 117, 118. 
 
iv.] Objections to it. 105 
 
 Jews," and putting to death the Messiah, their 
 " Prince ;" the taking away of the daily sacrifice, 
 and the casting down of the place of the sanctuary, 
 " in the wars which the armies of the Eastern 
 nations, under the conduct of the Romans, made 
 against Judea, when Nero and Vespasian were 
 emperors ;" " the pollution of the sanctuary by the 
 worship of Jupiter Olympius," "in his temple built 
 by the Emperor Adrian, in the place of the temple 
 of the Jews ;" and " the desolation of Judea made in 
 the end of the Jewish war by the banishment of all 
 the Jews out of their own country 2 ." 
 
 But " this interpretation," it has been well ob- 
 served by an able living writer, " has difficulties on 
 the face of it not to be concealed ; and these very 
 serious ones." In particular, as he remarks, " Pagan 
 Rome was not a portion of the Macedonian empire ; 
 and cannot be directly identified with a power which 
 the prophecy describes as coming forth out of that 
 empire;" "especially as the Romans never made 
 Macedon a seat of empire, but merely subdued and 
 incorporated it in the province of Greece. They 
 never, consequently, appeared there in the character 
 of a horn, or kingdom, of the subdivided Greek em- 
 pire." " Neither does " Pagan Rome, as the same 
 writer well observes, " in any just sense answer the 
 type of a little horn. On the contrary, at the period 
 of its first irruption, through Macedon, into the East, 
 the Roman power was a great and notable horn 3 ;" 
 
 2 Ibid. pp. 120122. hypothesis alone could identify 
 
 3 " ' Post Carthaginem, vinci a power like this, with the 
 neminem puduit.' Florus, 1. ii. type of a little horn. In many 
 c. 7. Such is the true picture respects the resemblances to 
 of the conquering majesty of the prophecy are very strong ; 
 Rome, at her first appearance but it seems vain to seek one 
 on the theatre of the Mace- here, there is here no like- 
 donian empire. The spirit of ness." 
 
106 Bp. Newton's view untenable. [LECT. 
 
 or rather, we might say, " it was," as described in 
 Daniel's former vision, a beast " dreadful, and terrible 
 and strong exceedingly." And "that the parallel 
 should thus fail at the outset, that there should be 
 a want of correspondence with the symbol which is 
 the groundwork of the prophecy, is," as has been 
 well said, "a first objection to the interpretation, 
 little short of fatal V The objections thus stated 
 appear to me entirely conclusive. There was no new 
 kingdom of the Greeks established by the Roman 
 victories : it was, indeed, rather " the latter end," the 
 very termination of their kingdom, when Perseus, 
 king of Macedon, was conquered. And to say, with 
 Bp. Newton, that " the Roman empire, as a horn or 
 kingdom of the goat," is said to be " mighty not by 
 its own power," because it " drew its nourishment 
 and strength from Rome and Italy " the very seat 
 of Roman empire, seems a mere trifling with 
 words. For, as the Bishop observes, " there (i. e. in 
 Rome and Italy) grew the trunk and body of the 
 tree, though the branches extended over Greece, 
 Asia, Syria, and Egypt." And the branch could 
 hardly be said to be strong, but not by its own 
 strength, when its strength was derived from its 
 own root growing thus in its native soil. 
 
 There is, indeed, one argument which may already 
 huve suggested itself as favouring the application of 
 this prophecy to the Romans ; and that argument, if 
 it could be established, would indeed be decisive ; 
 I allude to the reference made to " the abomination 
 of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet " in 
 our Blessed Lord's prediction concerning the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem '. Undoubtedly, if it could 
 
 4 Forster's Mulioim-tanism Matt. xxiv. 1,"). Mark 
 
 Unveiled, vol. ii. pp. 436, 437. xiii. 1 1. 
 
iv.] Times of Antiochus. 107 
 
 be shewn that the passage referred to is contained 
 in the prophecy before us, it would determine at 
 once the application of this prophecy to the Romans. 
 But the special reference in our Lord's prediction 
 seems rather to be to a subsequent prophecy of 
 Daniel, viz. that of the seventy weeks 6 ; and, as Bp. 
 Newton himself tells us, in his comment upon another 
 passage, later still in the book of Daniel 7 , where the 
 same expression again occurs, "the 'setting up of the 
 abomination of desolation' appears to be a general 
 phrase, and comprehensive of various events." And 
 the first instance which he notices of its application, 
 is, " by the writer of the first book of Maccabees 
 (i. 54), to the profanation of the temple by An- 
 tiochus, and his setting up the image of Jupiter 
 Olympius upon the altar of God 8 ." 
 
 And that it is indeed in the events of that period 
 that we are to seek for the primary sense, at least, 
 of the prophecy before us, we shall find, I think, 
 very strong evidence in the language of the history 
 just referred to. The first book of Maccabees, which 
 is said to have been written originally in Hebrew, 
 " is thought to have been compiled partly from the 
 memoirs collected by Judas Maccabseus, and partly 
 from those of John Hyrcanus, whose leadership 
 began at the period where this book leaves off 9 ." And 
 it has been remarked, by a writer already quoted, 
 
 6 Dan. ix. 27. Ussher, following St. Jerome, 
 
 7 Dan. xii. 1 1 . says, 'it is a book exactly 
 b Comp. Forster's Mahomet- translated out of the Hebrew, 
 
 anism Unveiled, vol. i. pp. and containeth every where the 
 
 191, 192. brevity of Hebraisms of it.' . . . 
 
 9 Cotton's Five Books of Others again, as Beveridge, in 
 
 Maccabees, Introd. p. xxii. his ' Codex Canonum Vindi- 
 
 " Origen and St. Jerome assert, catus,' contend that both books 
 
 that they had seen the original were originally written in 
 
 in Hebrew, . . . Archbishop Greek." 
 
108 History of Antiochus [LECT. 
 
 that " it is surprising that interpreters should not 
 have more strongly noticed the clear reference of 
 this prophecy to Antiochus Epiphanes by the author 
 of" that book. "The allusions," in two verses in par- 
 ticular 1 , he observes, "are peculiarly marked ;" and 
 he thinks it " not to be doubted that the writer had " 
 this passage of Daniel " in his eye ." After describing, 
 in words already quoted, the victories of Alexander, 
 who reigned " the first over Greece," and the division 
 of his kingdom among his servants ; and how " after 
 his death they all put crowns upon themselves ; so did 
 their sons after them many years, and evils were 
 multiplied in the earth ;" the historian proceeds thus 
 "And there came out of them a wicked root," 
 the very first words must recall to mind the descrip- 
 tion in the vision before us " out of one of them 
 came forth a little horn," "Antiochus surnamed 
 Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been 
 an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred 
 and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the 
 Greeks. In those days went there out of Israel 
 wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us 
 go and make a covenant with the heathen that 
 are round about us : for since we departed from 
 them we have had much sorrow. So this device 
 pleased them well. Then certain of the people 
 were so forward herein, that they went to the king, 
 who gave them license to do after the ordinances of 
 the heathen : whereupon they built a place of exer- 
 cise at Jerusalem, according to the customs of the 
 lu -at IK MI : and made themselves uncircumcised, and 
 
 1 Vv. 10 and 30. time, that Mr. lW>trr con- 
 
 2 Pointer's Mahomi'tanism tends for the principal appli- 
 Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 1 1.">, Note, cation of the prophecy to Maho- 
 
 It should ho stated, at the- same melanism alone. 
 
iv.] compared with the prophecy. 109 
 
 forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to 
 the heathen, and were sold to do mischief 3 ." 
 
 We seem to trace here the signs of the time 
 " when the transgressors " were " come to the full V 
 And how "fierce of countenance" was the tyrant, 
 and " understanding dark sentences," deep in craft 
 and policy; "his power mighty, but not by his own 
 power," not by any real power of his own for, all 
 the while, he was trembling before the advancing 
 arms and menacing authority of the Romans ; and 
 how he destroyed wonderfully, prospering and prac- 
 tising, to the destruction of "the mighty and the 
 holy people ;" " through his policy " also causing 
 " craft to prosper in his hand ;" magnifying himself 
 in his heart, and by peace destroying many 5 all 
 this is told at large in the history. There we read, in 
 particular, how, " after that Antiochus had smitten 
 Egypt, he returned again . . . and went up against 
 Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and 
 entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away 
 the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and 
 all the vessels thereof, and the table of the shew- 
 bread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials, and 
 the censers of gold, and the veil, and the crowns, 
 and the golden ornaments that were before the 
 temple, all which he pulled off. He took also the 
 silver and the gold, and the precious vessels ; also 
 he took the hidden treasures which he found. And 
 when he had taken all away, he went into his own 
 land, having made a great massacre, and spoken 
 very proudly. Therefore there was great mourning 
 in Israel, in every place where they were . . . The 
 land also was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and 
 
 3 1 Mace. i. 1015. ' Dan. viii. 23. 5 Vv. 2325. 
 
110 Times of A ntiochus. [LECT. 
 
 all the house of Jacob was covered with confusion. 
 And after two years fully expired the king sent his 
 chief collector of tribute unto the cities of Juda, 
 who came unto Jerusalem with a great multitude, 
 and spake peaceable words unto them, but all was 
 deceit : for when they had given him credence, he 
 fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, 
 and destroyed much people of Israel. And when he 
 had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire, 
 and pulled down the houses and walls thereof on 
 every side. . . . Then builded they the city of 
 David with a great and strong wall, and with 
 mighty towers, and made it a strong hold for them. 
 And they put therein a sinful nation, wicked men, 
 and fortified themselves therein. Thus they shed 
 innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and 
 defiled it: insomuch that the inhabitants of Jeru- 
 salem fled because of them. . . . Her sanctuary was 
 laid waste like a wilderness, her feasts were turned 
 into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her 
 honour into contempt. . . . Moreover, king Anti- 
 ochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should 
 be one people, and every one should leave his laws : 
 so all the heathen agreed according to the command- 
 ment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites 
 consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and 
 profaned the sabbath. For the king had sent letters 
 by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of 
 Juda, that they should follow the strange laws of 
 the land, %x\& forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and 
 drink offerings, in the temple ; and that they should 
 profane the sabbaths and festival days : and pollute 
 the sanctuary and holy people : set up altars, and 
 groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine's 
 flesh, and unclean beasts: ... to the end they might 
 
iv.] Fulfilment of the vision. Ill 
 
 forget the law, and change all the ordinances. . . Now 
 the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hun- 
 dred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomina- 
 tion of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol 
 altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side 6 ." 
 Thus was " the vision concerning the daily sacri- 
 fice, and the transgression of desolation " fulfilled, as 
 concerning the giving of the sanctuary " to be trod- 
 den under foot 7 ." And as regards "the host 8 ," the 
 sacred host, that is, (as it would appear,) of the priests 
 and Levites, who were appointed in their stations " to 
 wait upon the service," or (as it is in our marginal 
 rendering of the passage in the book of Numbers) 
 "to war the warfare in the service of the taber- 
 nacle 9 ," we read in the second book of Maccabees, 
 which carries the history further back, how that, 
 " when Antiochus, called Epiphanes, took the king- 
 dom, Jason the brother of Onias laboured under- 
 hand to be high priest, promising unto the king by 
 intercession three hundred and threescore talents of 
 silver, and of another revenue eighty talents :" and 
 " beside this, he promised to assign an hundred and 
 fifty more, if he might have license to set him up a 
 place of exercise, and for the training up of youth in 
 the fashions of the heathen, and to write them of 
 Jerusalem by the name of Antiochians '. Which 
 when the king had granted, and he had gotten into 
 his hand the rule, he forthwith brought his own na- 
 tion to the Greekish fashion. . . . Now such was the 
 
 6 1 Mace. i. 20 54. cease waiting upon the service 
 
 7 Dan. viii. 13. thereof" marg. " return from 
 fi Ibid. the warfare of the service." 
 
 9 Num. viii. 24. XIX? ' Or, as in Archdeacon Cot- 
 
 J : ton's Version, " to inscribe 
 
 : lipE) ?nN JTOJE1 3S those of Jerusalem citizens of 
 
 Comp. v,' 25, "They shall Anti ch." 
 
112 Language of the vision. [LECT. 
 
 height of Greek fashions, and increase of heathenish 
 manners, through the exceeding profaneness of 
 Jason, that ungodly wretch, and no high priest; 
 that the priests had no courage to serve any more at 
 the altar, but despising the temple, and neglecting 
 the sacrifices, hastened to be partakers of the un- 
 lawful allowance in the place of exercise, after the 
 game of Discus called them forth 2 ; not setting by 
 the honours of their fathers, but liking the glory of 
 the Grecians best of all 3 ." To refer again to the lan- 
 guage of the vision itself 4 , the interpretation of which 
 by the angel 5 is, as we have seen, so closely reflected 
 in the facts of the history, thus did the little horn 
 "wax great even to (or, "against") the host of 
 heaven," and " cast down to the ground some of the 
 host, and of the stars " the spiritual lights of the 
 Jewish Church and people "and stamped upon 
 them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince 
 of the host, and by him 6 the daily sacrifice was 
 taken away 7 , and the place of his sanctuary was 
 cast down. And an host was given him against 
 the daily sacrifice" the rival hierarchy of a 
 false idolatrous worship 8 "by reason of transgres- 
 
 2 Or, "after the challenge over for the transgression 
 of the discus. ' ? Cotton. against the daily sacrifice." 
 
 3 2 Mace. iv. 7 15. Or, as it may also be ren- 
 
 4 Dan. viii. 10 12. dered, " the host was given 
 
 5 Vv. 23 25. over, together with the daily 
 " The marginal references sacrifice, for transgression." 
 
 here are to " Ch. 11. 31, and ^33, TDfiTrtp ITtin Nl^ 
 12.11. 1 Mac. 1.4464." 
 
 7 Or, as it may be rendered, rhe omission, however, of the 
 " he took away from him the article before thc noun ^ich 18 
 
 o the subject, is in favour of the 
 
 daily sacrifice."-- DHH ^DOI rendering in the text of our 
 
 Authorized Version. And there 
 1 Dn np DTIH). is colls j c i cr ablc authority on its 
 
 8 Or, as in the marginal ren- side. " Vulgatus Hebraea sic 
 during, "the host \v:is jriven reddit ; robur an tern datum est 
 
iv.] Objections. 113 
 
 sion 9 ," and " it cast down the truth to the ground : 
 and it practised and prospered." 
 
 I have quoted thus largely from these ancient 
 histories, though, indeed, the record they contain 
 of corruption and impiety might with advantage have 
 been cited at still greater length, not only because 
 they give the events themselves in their original and 
 native colouring, but also as tending to remove the 
 objections which have been urged, by Sir Isaac and 
 by Bishop Newton, against the ancient interpretation 
 which I have endeavoured to maintain. The strong- 
 est of these objections are, that, in the first place, 
 Antiochus was but one individual in a line of mon- 
 archs reigning over an old kingdom, whereas a horn 
 would seem to denote a new and distinct empire and 
 succession of kings ; and again, that neither the 
 power of Antiochus, nor the result of his attempts 
 against the holy people, corresponds with the de- 
 scription in the prophecy ; and still further, that he 
 did not stand up against the prince of the host of 
 heaven, the prince of princes, which is the cha- 
 racter not of Antiochus, but of Antichrist, nor cast 
 down the sanctuary to the ground. We have seen, 
 however, I think, in the history of his acts of pride 
 and irreligion, that which sufficiently answers to 
 these expressions; and the greatness of his power, 
 
 huic cornu contra juge sacrifi- lus> coll. 1 Mace. i. 47, et 
 
 cium, ad interrumpendum illud, Joseph! Antiqq. 1. xii. cap. 
 
 propter peccata populi Judaici. 5. 4." Rosenmiiller. Schol. 
 
 Quod Lutherus sequitur .... in loc. 
 
 Eodem plane modo Syrus. ... 9 Or, " into the power of 
 
 Grotius prius hoc versus hemi- transgression," or of the trans- 
 
 stichium sic interpretatur : et gressors. Vid. Rosenmiiller. 
 
 exercitus, i. e. presidium An- Schol. The marginal references 
 
 tiochi, dabitur, imponetur urbi, here are to "1 Mace. i. 11, 
 
 contra juge sacrificium per see- &c. 2 Mace. iv. 13 17." 
 
114 Objections answered. [LECT. 
 
 as indeed that history would shew, is to be estimated 
 not as secular historians would regard it for in this 
 respect, doubtless, his kingdom was weak ; he was in- 
 deed (if we may employ the language of the pro- 
 phecy) " mighty, not by his own power ; " but 
 rather as the representative and instrument of that 
 irreligious principle, that spirit of ungodliness and 
 apostacy, which was embodied in his impious policy. 
 And in this point of view he might fitly be repre- 
 sented as a new horn coming up out of one of the 
 four kingdoms of the Grecian empire "a wicked 
 root," in the language of the book of Maccabees 
 already quoted ; not the mere outward temporal 
 power of an earthly king or kingdom, but, like that 
 other little horn of the fourth beast, " diverse from 
 them," a form and development of pride and self- 
 will, made up, perhaps, partly of superstition, but 
 possibly still more of irreligion and infidelity, ex- 
 ercising under a specious garb its crafty tyranny in 
 the " high places " of this world's dominion. 
 
 There remains but one point for consideration ; and 
 it is one which has given great perplexity to expo- 
 sitors, and, in particular, has been urged as an in- 
 superable objection to the application of the pro- 
 phecy before us to the times of Antiochus. I refer 
 to the duration of the calamities here foretold as 
 declared by the heavenly voice which the prophet 
 heard after he had beheld the vision. "Then I 
 heard one holy one * speaking, and another holy one 
 said unto that 2 certain holy one which spake, 
 How long shall be the vision concerning the daily 
 sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, (or 
 * that maketh desolate/) to give both the sanctuary 
 
 1 Or " Saint," E. V. crets, or, the wonderful num- 
 
 2 " Or, the number er of se- berer." Marg. E. V. 
 
iv.] Predicted Period of Desolation. 115 
 
 and the host to be trodden under foot? And he 
 said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hun- 
 dred days," more literally, "evenings and morn- 
 ings s ," " then shall the sanctuary be cleansed 4 ." 
 The mention here made of the cleansing of the 
 sanctuary would naturally suggest the reference to 
 that passage in the history of the Maccabees when, 
 after two great victories over the forces of Gorgias and 
 Lysias, the captains of Antiochus, " then said Judas 
 and his brethren, Behold our enemies are discomfited ; 
 let us go up to cleanse and dedicate the sanctuary. 
 Upon this all the host assembled themselves together, 
 and went into Mount Sion. And when they saw the 
 sanctuary desolate and the altar profaned, and the 
 gates burned up, and shrubs growing in the courts 
 as in a forest, or in one of the mountains, yea, and 
 the priests' chambers pulled down ; they rent their 
 clothes and made great lamentation, and cast ashes 
 upon their heads, and fell down flat to the ground 
 upon their faces, and blew an alarm with the trumpets, 
 and cried toward heaven. Then Judas appointed 
 certain men to fight against those that were in the 
 fortress, until he had cleansed the sanctuary. So he 
 chose priests of blameless conversation such as had 
 pleasure in the law, who cleansed the sanctuary, and 
 bare out the defiled stones into an unclean place 5 ." 
 
 The best ancient interpreters, Jewish and Chris- 
 tian, seem to have found no difficulty in applying 
 the prophecy to these events. Josephus refers to it 
 in a way that implies unconsciousness of the possi- 
 bility of any question being raised upon it. He 
 singles out the vision before us as a proof of Daniel's 
 
 3 " Heb. evening morning." * 1 Mace.* iv. 36 43, re- 
 Marg. ferred to in marginal refer- 
 
 4 Vv. 13, 14. ences. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 Joseph iffi. [LECT. 
 
 having "written and left behind what makes mani- 
 fest the accuracy and undeniable veracity of his pre- 
 dictions 6 ;" " insomuch," he says, " that such as read 
 his prophecies and see how they have been fulfilled, 
 would admire Daniel for the honour wherewith God 
 honoured him ; and may thence discover how the 
 Epicureans are deceived, who cast Providence out of 
 human life, and do not believe that God takes care 
 of the affairs of the world, nor that the universe is 
 governed and continued in existence by a Being of 
 a blessed and immortal nature. Wherefore," he 
 goes on to say, " from the forementioned predic- 
 tions of Daniel, those men seem to me to err very 
 much from the truth, who determine that God exer- 
 cises no providence over human affairs ; for if it were 
 the case, that the world went on by mechanical ne- 
 cessity, we should not behold all things coming to 
 pass according to his prophecy 7 " Among these 
 things, in the detailed account which he had just 
 given of this vision of Daniel and its interpretation, 
 Josephus notices specifically the time during which 
 the sacrifices of the temple were to cease ; though, 
 quoting from memory, as it would seem, and having 
 in mind, though not accurately, another period of 
 days elsewhere marked by the prophet, he speaks of 
 the vision as declaring that the sacrifices should not 
 be offered " for one thousand two hundred and 
 ninety-six days," or, as he presently afterwards states 
 it, " for three years time 8 ." 
 
 oQiv TO rfJQ Trpo^Tjremc AOITCI pot'ov 
 
 avrov Mil /brapciXAac- Act, . . . uAAa /cat katpor 
 
 TO i' 7ro/'r/<7 t)J)Aoj'. (fi^al yup, ec ot' TCLVTO. aVo/^jyo'ETtn. 
 K\ r. A. He had mentioned it 7 uv yap av Kara n/r 
 
 just before, as distinctive of irpo^rjTiiav . . . ira IT a 
 
 Daniel's prophecies, in com- dvoftalrovra, 
 parison with others, that he 8 ' Kal 
 
 specified (hues, ov yait ra ptX- yutatiui '</> 
 
iv.] St. Jerome. 117 
 
 St. Jerome refers the prophecy to the same period 
 of the history, in the like undoubting manner. " Let 
 us read," he says, " the books of the Maccabees, and 
 the history of Josephus ; and there we shall find it 
 written, that in the hundred and forty and third year 
 from Seleucus, who first reigned in Syria after Alex- 
 ander, Antiochus entered into Jerusalem, and laid 
 every thing waste, and, returning in the third year, 
 placed the statue of Jupiter in the temple ; and that 
 to the time of Judas Maccabeus, that is, to the hun- 
 dred forty and eighth year, through six years of the 
 desolation of Jerusalem, and three of the pollution 
 of the temple, were two thousand three hundred 
 days and three months completed ; after which the 
 temple was cleansed. Some," he proceeds to tell 
 us, " for two thousand three hundred read two thou- 
 sand two hundred : in order that there may not 
 seem to be six years and three months over. This 
 passage," he continues, " most of our authors " 
 meaning, of course, the Christian " refer to Anti- 
 christ ; and say that what under Antiochus was done 
 in type, is to be, under him, fulfilled in verity 9 . 
 
 . . . KCU two thousand three hundred 
 
 TO.Q QvaiciQ eir* trr) rpia fuXv- days accord with the times of 
 
 ffovrci iTriTtXeaQrji'ai.' KOI 3r/ Antiochus, I suppose, obliged 
 
 ravra avveftrj TU> t'fli/ei 7rade~tv the ancients to consider Anti- 
 
 VTT' 'Ainox ou T0 " 'E7ri0aroi/e, ochus as a type of Antichrist : 
 
 KadwQ eldev 6 Auytj/Xoc, KCU and therefore Jerome saith in 
 
 TToXXoIg ETEaiv Zpirpoadev ctVf- his comment, that this place 
 
 ypa\// ra yevrjaopeva. Antiq. most Christians refer to Anti- 
 
 Jud. lib. x. cap. 11. 7. christ, and affirms that what 
 
 " Hunc locum plerique was transacted in a type under 
 
 nostrorum ad Antichristum re- Antiochus, will be fulfilled in 
 
 ferunt ; et quod sub Antiocho truth under Antichrist." This, 
 
 in typo factum est, sub illo in however, would not at all ap- 
 
 veritate dicunt esse complen- pear from Jerome's words ; 
 
 dum." Bp. Newton says, but the very reverse. The re- 
 
 "The difficulty, or impossi- ference to Antichrist was evi- 
 
 bility rather, of making these dently quite independent of 
 
118 Question as to the predicted Times. [LECT. 
 
 But that which he addeth, ' the sanctuary shall be 
 cleansed,' signifieth the times of Judas Maccabeus, 
 who from the city of Modin, his brethren and neigh- 
 bours striving together with him, and many of the 
 people of the Jews, vanquisheth the generals of 
 Antiochus near Emmaus, which is now called Ni- 
 copolis. Which when Antiochus heard, who had 
 risen up * against the prince of princes,' that is, the 
 Lord of lords and King of kings, desiring to spoil 
 the temple of Diana in Elymais, which is a region 
 of the Persians, which temple contained precious 
 gifts, and having there also lost an army, he was 
 ' broken without hands,' that is to say, perished by 
 sickness of sorrow. And the 'evening and morning' 
 signifieth the succession of day and night V 
 
 It may be that in the days of Josephus, or even in 
 those of St. Jerome, there were sources of informa- 
 tion accessible, and knowledge of times and the 
 modes of computing them, which we do not now 
 possess ; and indeed, in the preface to his com- 
 mentary on Daniel, St. Jerome refers to the writings 
 of many historians whose works are now lost, as 
 necessary for the understanding of the prophet 2 . 
 
 any difficulty as to the number mento Alypii, quos et Porphy- 
 of days ; for no difficulty of rius esse sequutum se dicit : 
 that kind, it would seem, did Joseph! quoque, et eorum quos 
 Jerome find in the passage ; ponit Josephus, praecipueque 
 though the various reading in- nostri Livii, et Pompeii Trogi, 
 dicated that others had found a atque Justini, qui omnem ex- 
 difficulty, tremae visionis narrant histo- 
 
 1 S. Hieron. in loc. t. iii. pp. riam: et post Alexandrum 
 110,'), 1106. usque ad Caesarem Augustum, 
 
 2 "Ad intelligendas autem Syriaeet yEgypti, idest Seleuci, 
 extremas partes Danielis, mul- et Antiochi et Ptolemseorum 
 tiplex Graecorum historia ne- bella describunt." Praef. in 
 cessariaest : Suctorii, videlicet, Dan. S. Jerome does, how- 
 Callinici, Diodori, Hieronymi, ever, on the passage before us. 
 Polybii, Posidonii, Cluudii, only refer to the books of the 
 Theonis, et Andronici cogno- Maccabees and to Josephus. 
 
iv.] Interpretation of Mahometanism. 110 
 
 And it may, for aught we know, have been Divinely 
 ordered, that Christians should thus be led onward, 
 from resting in any supposed complete fulfilment of 
 the vision in the times of the earlier dispensation, to 
 look for, and prepare themselves against, a season of 
 trial such as that which would appear to be reserved 
 for the latter days of the Church on earth. For, 
 according to the general belief of the early ages, 
 there was yet to be revealed in his time a tyrannical 
 and infidel power of which Antiochus was but a 
 type, even " that Wicked One whom the Lord shall 
 consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy 
 with the brightness of his coming V 
 
 Among recent expositors the interpretation has 
 been gaining ground, which would refer the vision 
 before us to that Antichristian power which has 
 established itself, now for many ages, in Eastern 
 Christendom, and holds under its dominion the 
 countries which formed the ancient empire of Ma- 
 cedon. And certainly many striking particulars 
 have been pointed out, in which Mahometanism 
 closely corresponds with the prophetic description. 
 I might mention particularly its sudden growth from 
 small beginnings, its power and tyranny so cruelly 
 and contemptuously exercised over the Christians ; 
 setting up in their desecrated sanctuaries its false 
 worship; trampling down with insult their bishops 
 and clergy ; and, with its rival hierarchy and priest- 
 hood, and its spurious counterpart of the Christian 
 system, standing up against the Prince of princes, 
 in arrogant pretension of higher claims to Divine 
 authority in the person of its false prophet 4 . On 
 this view of the prophetic vision, the evenings and 
 
 3 2 Thess. ii. 8. Mahometanism Unveiled, vol. i. 
 
 4 See, especially, Forster's pp. 166 189. 
 
120 Prophetic or literal Days. [LECT. 
 
 mornings which are numbered in it, being regarded 
 as equivalent to "prophetic" days, are understood to 
 denote so many years ; the number here given, two 
 thousand three hundred, being taken to include the 
 whole vision from its commencement. The only 
 question which then remains to be determined has 
 reference to the period from which the vision is to 
 be understood to commence. It deserves, however, 
 to be considered whether the expression "evening 
 and morning," adopted, as it would appear, with 
 special reference to the daily sacrifice, would not 
 seem rather to mark that they are literal days that 
 are here spoken of. And the general correspond- 
 ence which, in many points of its course, may be 
 traced between the Jewish Church and the Christian, 
 and more particularly the special relation of type 
 and antitype in which, according to the belief of 
 ancient times, Antiochus and Antichrist stand to 
 each other, would rather incline us to recognize in 
 the vision before us a prophetic disclosure that, "in 
 the last end of the indignation," there was to be a 
 season of trial its days in mercy numbered through 
 which the Church of Christ was to pass, in her course 
 of probation, " in the latter time of the kingdoms" 
 in the midst of which her lot has been cast, and 
 as His coming draws nearer for whom she looks, 
 who is the blessed and only Potentate, "the 
 Prince of princes." And it is worthy of remark, 
 that when first, in the twelfth century, in the revival 
 of awakened interest in the interpretation of pro- 
 phecy, disfigured as it was by much wild and strange 
 speculation, the doctrine of prophetic days, as de- 
 noting years, was explicitly brought forward, it Mas 
 believed that, at the end of the symbolic days of 
 years, there was to be accomplished the like period 
 
iv.] End of the Vision. 121 
 
 of literal days 5 . And this, indeed, would seem to 
 correspond with what we read in the Apocalypse, 
 first of the ministry of the two witnesses which was 
 to last for " forty and two months," three years and 
 a half, and then of their state of death for three 
 days and a half 6 . 
 
 But, whatever may be the destined duration of 
 the period described ; whether what we are to look 
 for be the continued waning, until its final extinc- 
 tion, of a power which has for ages cast a baleful 
 influence on the fortunes of the Christian Church in 
 the East ; or whether we are rather to expect some 
 new development, in more open and arrogant rebel- 
 lion, of Antichristian impiety and oppression, in the 
 East as well as in the West 7 ; thus much we know 
 from the sure word of Him who is the Truth, and 
 who has attested that Divine word by wonderful 
 accomplishments of its darkest visions in elder times, 
 that whosoever he be, whatsoever power, whatsoever 
 form of Antichrist which thus "shall stand up 
 against the Prince of princes," he "shall," in the 
 appointed time, like the tyrant of old, "be broken 
 without hand." "And," though we know not how 
 or when it shall be accomplished, if it has not, in- 
 deed, as yet received its accomplishment, save only 
 in type and prefiguration, yet "the vision of the 
 evening and morning is true," and every particular 
 concerning it shall assuredly at length be fully 
 cleared up. 
 
 " The times of prophecy," as Bishop Horsley has 
 
 5 Vid. Note, Appendix. in that latter part of its disclo- 
 
 fi Rev. xi. 3. 9. sure concerning the little horn, 
 
 7 On this view, the vision which unfolds the mystic period 
 
 before us might be found to be of " a time and times and the 
 
 the carrying on, and completing dividing of time." 
 of the vision of the four beasts, 
 
122 Times of Prophecy. [LECT. 
 
 admirably observed, "are certainly the last things 
 that will be understood ; being described by such 
 marks as they may certainly be known by, when 
 they arrive, and discerned when they approach ; but 
 not foreseen at any considerable distance. For we 
 are expressly told, that it is not for us to know, L e. 
 to foreknow, the times and the seasons. Daniel," 
 he continues, referring particularly to the twelfth 
 chapter, but it applies equally to the vision be- 
 fore us, "overhears angels asking questions about 
 the time of the end ; but he receives no direct in- 
 formation about it himself, except in terms which he 
 cannot understand. The angels, when they are 
 overheard by him, speak the same mystic language ; 
 and when Daniel requests an explanation, it is re- 
 fused, (Dan. xii. 6 9 ;) " for the words are closed 
 up and sealed until the time of the end." And so in 
 like manner, in the words before us, it is said, " the 
 vision of the evening and the morning which was 
 told is true : wherefore shut thou up the vision ; for 
 it shall be for many days 8 ." " However," continues 
 the same able and learned prelate, "as the book 
 which Daniel sealed (xii. 4) was unsealed when the 
 visions of the Apocalypse were exhibited to St. John, 
 we may hope that new light will break upon the 
 subject every day. For ' the time of the end,' that 
 long period which is called 'the last time,' is not 
 only set in, but much of it, probably by far the 
 greater part, is passed by. ... But ever since its 
 commencement, the prophecies which relate to 
 these last times have been in a state of progres- 
 sive accomplishment. It becomes us therefore," he 
 goes on to say, " upon whom the ends of the world 
 
 " Vcr. 2(i. 
 
iv.] Obscurity involving them. 123 
 
 are surely come, to be reverently attentive to the 
 prophetic dates ; not to use them, as the generality 
 of interpreters have vainly attempted, as a key to 
 the sense of the prophecy : but, on the contrary, we 
 should seek first the sense of the prophetic images ; 
 and, last of all, we should seek such an exposition of 
 the numbers as will adjust them to the date of those 
 observed events. This is the only way in which the 
 numbers will ever be explained 9 ." 
 
 Meanwhile, there is a trial of our faith and 
 patience, as well as of our diligence and watchful- 
 ness, in discerning the signs of the times, and so 
 preserving ourselves from the evil ; and this we may 
 do, though the knowledge of the times themselves 
 be hidden from us. For " the vision is yet for an 
 appointed time, and at the end it shall speak and 
 not lie ; though it tarry, wait for it ; because it will 
 surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul 
 which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the 
 just shall live by his faith 1 ." There is a merciful 
 purpose in all the orderings of His wisdom who 
 spake the word of prophecy and governs the world 
 of providence. " For the Lord is a God of judg- 
 ment ; blessed are all they that wait for him." May 
 we thus live, ever " looking for and hasting unto " 
 that which is the end of all vision and prophecy, 
 even "the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
 which in his times he shall shew who is the blessed 
 and only Potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of 
 Lords, to whom be honour and power everlasting. 
 Amen." 
 
 9 Dissertation on the Pro- pp. 717 719. 
 phetical Periods, published in ' Hab. ii. 3, 4. 
 
 the British Magazine, vol. iv. 
 
LECTURE V. 1 
 
 DAN. xi. 45. 
 
 " And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palaces between the 
 seas in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come to his 
 end, and none shall help him." 
 
 THE prophecy of which these words form part, and 
 which, together with the description of the circum- 
 stances attending its delivery, occupies the last three 
 chapters of the book of Daniel, may be regarded (as 
 I have already had occasion to observe) as an inspired 
 commentary on the vision which lately engaged our 
 attention, that of the ram and the he-goat. It 
 differs from that and other prophetic portions of this 
 book, in the distinguishing circumstance that we 
 have not here, as elsewhere, the symbolical imagery 
 of a prophetic vision, which is afterwards inter- 
 preted ; but a direct prophecy, delivered by the 
 mouth of the same Angelic being, as it would seem, 
 who had before been sent to the prophet, to make 
 him to understand the former vision. 
 
 It was in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, 
 that this revelation was made to " Daniel, whose 
 name was called Belteshazzar ; and the thing 
 
 1 Preached Jan. S, 18l:J. 
 
Daniel's last Vision. 125 
 
 true, but the time appointed was long : and he un- 
 derstood the thing, and had understanding of the 
 vision 2 ." The prophet describes the appearance of 
 the heavenly messenger whom he saw as he " was by 
 the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;" the 
 awful majesty of his presence, and the amazement 
 and terror with which it overwhelmed him ; and 
 how afterward, " an hand touched him," and raised 
 him from the ground, and words of comfort and 
 encouragement were spoken to him, " Fear not, 
 Daniel : for from the first day that thou didst set 
 thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself 
 before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am 
 come for thy words." But while the prophet, for 
 three whole weeks, had been engaged in fasting and 
 mourning, there had been a conflict among the 
 powers in heavenly places and upon earth. " The 
 prince of the kingdom of Persia," said the Angel, 
 " withstood me one and twenty days : but, lo, 
 Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help 
 me ; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 
 Now I am come to make thee understand what 
 shall befall thy people in the latter days ; for yet the 
 vision is for many days 3 ." Again the prophet fell to 
 the ground when he heard words like these spoken 
 unto him ; " and behold one like the similitude of 
 the sons of men touched " his lips, and enabled him 
 to answer ; " and there came again and touched " 
 him "one like the appearance of a man, and 
 strengthened " him, " and said, O man, greatly be- 
 loved, fear not : peace be unto thee, be strong, 
 yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, 
 I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak ; 
 
 2 Dan. x. 1. 3 Vv. 514. 
 
126 Persian Empire. [LECT. 
 
 for thou hast strengthened me. Then said lie, 
 Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and 
 now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia : 
 and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia 
 shall come. But I will shew thee that which is 
 noted in the scripture of truth : and there is none 
 that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael 
 your prince. Also I in the first year of Darius the 
 Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen 
 him. And now will I shew thee the truth 4 ." 
 
 This passage, which immediately introduces the 
 prophecy before us, with so strange a glimpse of that 
 which the book of Revelation describes as " war in 
 heaven 5 ," I have already had occasion to refer to 6 , 
 as furnishing what appears to me to be incontest- 
 able proof, that the kingdoms of Persia and Grecia 
 spoken of in this prophecy, as well as in the vision of 
 the ram and he-goat, were those of the ancient 
 world, and not, according to a recent hypothesis, 
 kingdoms yet future. The first few verses of the 
 prophecy have been already considered, in their appli- 
 cation as a comment on the former vision. " Be- 
 hold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia ; 
 and the fourth shall be far richer than they all : and 
 by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all 
 against the realm of Grecia 7 ." The prediction was 
 exactly fulfilled in the history of the Persian mon- 
 archy. After Cyrus, in the third year of whose 
 reign the prophecy was delivered, there stood up 
 three kings in Persia, viz. Cambyses, Smerdis the 
 Magian, and Darius the son of Hystaspes ; and the 
 fourth, Xerxes, was one who was distinguished by 
 
 1 Vv. 15 21. Chap. xi. 6 Vid. snpr. pp. 100102. 
 
 1, 2. : ('Imp. xi. 2. 
 
 8 Rev. xii. 7. 
 
v.] Xerxes. Alexander. 127 
 
 nothing so much as by his "riches:" for, in the 
 words of Justin, " if you consider this king, you may 
 praise but his riches, not the general ; of which 
 there was so great abundance in the kingdom, that 
 when rivers were dried up by the multitude of his 
 army, yet the king's wealth remained unexhausted 8 ." 
 And we know how, "by his strength through his 
 riches," he was able to " stir up all against the realm 
 of Grecia." The Greek historian tells us that, in 
 making the levy of his army, Xerxes searched every 
 place of the continent ; for of the armies of which we 
 know, " this," he says, " was by far the greatest : for 
 what nation was there, that Xerxes led not out of 
 Asia into Greece ? " " Nor was Xerxes content 
 with stirring up the east, but was for stirring up the 
 west likewise, and engaged the Carthaginians in his 
 alliance, that, while he with his army overwhelmed 
 Greece, they might fall upon the Greek colonies in 
 Sicily and Italy ; and the Carthaginians for this pur- 
 pose not only raised all the forces they could in Asia, 
 but also hired a great number of mercenaries in 
 Spain, and Gaul, and Italy ; so that their army con- 
 sisted of three hundred thousand men, and their 
 fleet of two hundred ships. Thus did Xerxes 'stir 
 up all against the realm of Grecia V 5: And thus 
 remarkably does every point in the prophetic de- 
 scription, few as are the lines drawn in the rapid 
 sketch of events, correspond with the facts of the 
 history. 
 
 From the invasion of Greece by Xerxes, the 
 Angel passes on at once to the reign of the con- 
 queror who, by the arms of Greece, overthrew the 
 Persian empire. For it is manifestly of Alexander, 
 as we have already seen, that the Spirit of prophecy 
 8 See Bp. Newton, Diss. xvi. Part 1. 9 Ibid. 
 
128 Objections stated. [LECT. 
 
 speaks, when it is said " And a mighty king shall 
 stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do 
 according to his will V Nor are the subsequent 
 fortunes of that kingdom less clearly delineated, as 
 I endeavoured on a former occasion to shew 2 , in 
 the verse immediately following, which describes the 
 breaking up of his kingdom, and its division toward 
 the four winds of heaven. 
 
 To the application, however, of the foregoing de- 
 scription to Alexander and his empire, it has been 
 objected, "that 'the mighty king' is not said to be a 
 Grecian potentate ;" that " for aught that appears to 
 the contrary, he may be a fifth king of Persia ; and " 
 that " the opinion which seeks to identify him with 
 Alexander rests altogether on the supposed analogy 
 between this prophecy and the vision of the ram and 
 goat, where the power symbolized by the great horn 
 of the goat, is expressly said to be the first king of 
 Grecia." We are told still further, that " the un- 
 biassed reader would naturally infer from the words 
 of the prophecy, if we are to date its commencement 
 from the period at which it was delivered, that be- 
 tween Cyrus and the ' mighty king,' who is supposed 
 to be Alexander the Great, four kings only were to 
 sit upon the Persian throne ;" whereas " the murder 
 of Xerxes, the fourth of the successors of Cyrus, 
 took place more than a century before the accession 
 of Alexander to the throne of Macedon ; and in this 
 interval there reigned in Persia no less than nine 
 sovereigns, the last of whom, one hundred and thirty 
 years after the death of Xerxes, was conquered by 
 Alexander 3 ." 
 
 1 Ver. 3. So St. Jerome, tur." 
 
 " Perspicue clc magno Alex- \ id. supr. pp. 95 100. 
 
 andro rege Macedonum loqui- I Odd, pp. 170, 171. 
 
v.] Objections examined. 129 
 
 In reply to these arguments I would observe, that 
 the identity of object, at this point, between the pro- 
 phecy before us and the vision of the ram and he- 
 goat seems to be established, beyond controversy, by 
 the general correspondence, which we before already 
 traced, between them : " the mighty king " here 
 spoken of would appear clearly to be the same 
 with the first king of Grecia, represented there by 
 the great horn of the goat. It is to be observed, 
 moreover, that in the passage before us there is 
 nothing to lead us to suppose, that the " mighty 
 king " who was to " stand up " and " rule with great 
 dominion," was to succeed immediately to the fourth 
 king of Persia, the invader of Greece ; and the 
 silence of the inspired record on this point is the 
 more observable as contrasted with the definite 
 marking of the place which that king was to occupy 
 in the line of the successors of Cyrus 4 . Again, the 
 description of the mighty king's dominion, viewed 
 by the light of the history, would certainly, I think, 
 rather suggest the idea of a distinct empire ; and 
 when we consider that " Xerxes," as Bp. Newton 
 observes, " was the principal author of the long wars 
 and inveterate hatred between the Greeks and Per- 
 sians," and that " his expedition was the most memo- 
 rable on the one side, as Alexander's was on the 
 other," the Macedonian turning back upon Asia 
 the tide of war which in the Persian invasion had 
 set in upon the shores of Greece, we shall see how 
 the Spirit of prophecy would easily pass from the 
 one to the other ; and this by what in human lan- 
 guage would be fitly styled a masterly outline, a 
 
 4 " Behold, there shall stand richer than they all. ... And 
 up yet three kings in Persia ; a mighty king shall stand up. . . 
 and the fourth shall be far And . . . his kingdom, &c." 
 
 K 
 
130 Kings of the north and the south. [LECT. 
 
 philosophical view of events, throwing into the shade 
 those which are unimportant, seizing the main fea- 
 tures of the history, and exhibiting the great links 
 which connect it together as a whole. St. Jerome 
 long ago remarked upon the omission in question, 
 observing " that the prophetic Spirit did not care to 
 follow minutely the order of the history, but to touch 
 all the remarkable events 5 ." And indeed in those 
 nine reigns of the later kings of Persia, how few 
 readers of history are there who could point to any 
 important occurrences as recorded by profane histo- 
 rians ! The Spirit of prophecy has sketched perfectly 
 the great outline of the history. 
 
 The application to Alexander's empire of the 
 prophetic description of the division of the great 
 king's dominion toward the four winds of heaven, 
 I endeavoured on a former occasion to establish. 
 The prophecy goes on to trace the fortunes of 
 two only of these kingdoms, namely, of "the king 
 of the south " and " the king of the north " that 
 is, as has been generally understood, the king- 
 doms of Egypt and Syria. "These two," says Bp. 
 Newton, " were by far the greatest and most con- 
 siderable : and these two, at one time, were in a 
 manner the only remaining kingdoms of the four ; 
 the kingdom of Macedon having been conquered by 
 Lysimachus, and annexed to Thrace ; and Lysima- 
 chus again having been conquered by Seleucus, and 
 the kingdoms of Macedon and Thrace annexed to 
 Syria. These two likewise," the Bishop observes, 
 " continued distinct kingdoms, after the others were 
 
 5 " Et notandum quod, quat- spiritui Prophetali historiae 
 
 tuor post Cyruni regibus Per- ordinem sequi ; sed prseclara 
 
 sarum enumeratis, novem prae- quaeque perstringere." S. 
 
 terierit, et transient ad Alex- Hieron. in loc. 
 andrum. Non enim curae fuit 
 
v.] Objections to received interpretation. 131 
 
 swallowed up by the power of the Romans. But 
 there is a more proper and peculiar reason," he adds, 
 " for enlarging upon these two particularly ; because 
 Judea, lying between them, was sometimes in the 
 possession of the kings of Egypt, and sometimes of 
 the kings of Syria; and it is the purpose of holy 
 Scripture to interweave only so much of foreign 
 affairs, as hath some relation to the Jews ; and it is 
 in respect of their situation to Judea, that the kings 
 of Egypt and Syria are called the kings of the 
 'south 'and the 'north.' " 
 
 But here it is objected that, since commentators 
 "acknowledge that a division 'towards the four 
 winds of heaven' must mean a division into north 
 and south, east and west ;" and accordingly tell us 
 that " Cassander reigned in Greece and the west, 
 Lysimachus in Thrace and the north, Ptolemy in 
 Egypt and the south, and Seleucus in Syria and the 
 east 6 ;" and since they "admit also that 'the king of 
 the south' in the prophecy denotes the king of 
 Egypt, or of the southern division ;" it is inconsist- 
 ent to " maintain that by ' the king of the north ' 
 the prophet meant, not the king of Thrace, the 
 northern section of the empire, but the king of the 
 eastern section, or Syria." And again, if the titles 
 of the two kingdoms of Egypt and Syria, as the 
 kingdoms of the south and the north, be interpreted 
 with reference to the land of Palestine, " Palestine," 
 it is argued, "should have been made the centre 
 from which 'the four winds of heaven' were also 
 estimated as north, south, east, and west 7 ." 
 
 This latter argument, surely, savours somewhat of 
 the spirit of a too minute criticism ; though, in one 
 
 5 " Newton, Diss.xvi.Faber, 7 Todd, p. 179. 
 Sacred Calendar, vol. ii. p. 191." 
 
 K2 
 
132 Language of the prophecy. [LECT. 
 
 sense, indeed, criticism cannot be too minute as ap- 
 plied to Scripture ; and its effect will constantly be, 
 to bring to light the wonderful accuracy of Scripture 
 language, amid all the vividness of its imagery, and 
 the breadth and vastness of its scenes. But it is a 
 precision alike unpoetical and unphilosophical which 
 would require that if, in describing the breaking up 
 of Alexander's empire, it is spoken of as " divided 
 toward the four winds of heaven," and the historian 
 can point to so many kingdoms as having risen out 
 of the ruins of that empire, toward the four points 
 of the compass, the prophet may not place himself, 
 as it were, at a different centre, when, with his eye 
 fixed, at a subsequent period of the history, on the 
 destiny of the Jewish people, for this was declared 
 to be the main bubject of the prophecy 8 , he speaks 
 of the kingdom of the north, and the kingdom of the 
 south, with special reference to the country which 
 lay between them. For it was this peculiar position 
 which made the circumstances of the chosen people 
 in " the latter days " of their history to be full of 
 more than ordinary interest and danger. " On the 
 death of Alexander," says a modern historian of the 
 Jews, writing with no view to prove or illustrate the 
 fulfilment of prophecy 9 , " Judea came into the pos- 
 session of Laomedon, one of his generals. On his 
 defeat, Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, attempted to 
 seize the whole of Syria. He advanced against 
 Jerusalem, assaulted it on the Sabbath, and met 
 
 8 Vid. chap. x. 14, sup. cit. Syriae narrat regibus. Et scrip- 
 
 11 1 am come to make tliec turau sunctae propositum est, 
 
 understand what shall befal non externam absque Judaeis 
 
 thy people in the latter days." historiam texere ; sed earn quae 
 
 And so St. Jerome observes, Israeli populo copulata est." 
 
 " Idcirco autem caetera regna Hieron. in loc. p. 1122. 
 
 dimittens, Macedoniae scilicet 9 Vid. Note, Appendix, 
 et Asiae, tantum de ^Egypti ct 
 
v.] Its special propriety. 133 
 
 with no resistance. . . . The conqueror carried away 
 100,000 captives, whom he settled chiefly in Alex- 
 andria and Gyrene. In a short time, following a 
 more humane policy, he endeavoured to attach the 
 Jewish people to his cause, enrolled an army of 
 30,000 men, and entrusted the chief garrisons of 
 the country to their care. Syria and Judea," the 
 writer continues, " did not escape the dreadful 
 anarchy which ensued during the destructive war- 
 fare waged by the generals and successors of Alex- 
 ander. Twice these provinces fell into the power of 
 Antigonus, and twice were regained by Ptolemy, to 
 whose share they were finally adjudged after the 
 decisive defeat of Antigonus at Ipsus." " The found- 
 ing of the Syro-Grecian kingdom by Seleucus, and 
 the establishment of Antioch as the capital, brought 
 Judea," we are told shortly after, " into the unfor- 
 tunate situation of a weak province, placed between 
 two great conflicting monarchies I ." And looking on 
 those two monarchies from the land which was in 
 the immediate view of the prophecy, and at the same 
 time bearing in mind the common manner of speak- 
 ing among the Jews, we could scarcely imagine a 
 designation which, while the names of Egypt and 
 Syria were to be concealed, would more completely 
 identify these two kingdoms, than that of the king- 
 dom of the south and the kingdom of the north. 
 
 But, to meet the objection before stated in its 
 strongest point for, as I have before said, it is well 
 for us to be led to study the language of Inspiration 
 in its most minute particulars the king of Syria had, 
 in fact, by the conquest of Lysimachus, already men- 
 tioned, become " the king of the north," if we take 
 
 1 Milman's History of the Jews, vol. ii. pp. 32, 33. 
 
134 SeleucidcB and Lagidce. [LECT. 
 
 " the north " in its strictest sense, to denote Thrace 
 and the northern provinces of the empire, before the 
 time when he, or rather, the inheritor of his throne, 
 is styled in the prophecy " the king of the north." 
 Thus strictly accurate does the language of the pro- 
 phecy prove to be, when more closely examined. 
 "Having annexed the kingdoms of Macedon and 
 Thrace to the crown of Syria," Seleucus Nicator 
 "was become master of three parts out of four of 
 Alexander's dominions." The ancient historians 
 designate him as " the conqueror of the conquerors," 
 and " the greatest king after Alexander V Thus 
 did he, according to the prophecy, "have dominion, 
 and his dominion " was " a great dominion 3 ." And 
 thus did he become what his successors are styled, 
 though, as I have observed, he is not, " the king of 
 the north V 
 
 The prophecy now goes on to trace the varied his- 
 tory of the relations of peace and war, of alliances and 
 conflicts, between the two monarchies ; and most re- 
 markable, certainly, as we follow it from step to step, 
 is the correspondence between the prophecy and the 
 history. So exact, indeed, did it appear to the great 
 enemy of Christianity in the third century, the 
 infidel Porphyry, that his only resource was to main- 
 tain that the prophecy must have been written after 
 the event; labouring to prove, and triumphantly 
 appealing to, its accuracy as conclusive against the 
 notion that it could have been written before it. 
 And it is indeed a wonderful record, so "particular 
 and circumstantial," and that, in regard to events the 
 most varied, and relations the most complicated. 
 " There is not," to quote the words of Bp. Newton, 
 
 2 Bp. Newton, referring to 3 Ver. 5. 
 Justin and Appian. 4 Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
v.] Antiochus Epiphanes. 135 
 
 " so complete and regnlar a series of the kings " of 
 Egypt and Syria, " there is not so concise and com- 
 prehensive an account of their affairs, to be found in 
 any author of those times. The prophecy is really 
 more perfect than any history. No one historian 
 hath related so many circumstances, and in such exact 
 order of time, as the prophet hath foretold them 
 
 5 
 
 But I must pass over the history of many reigns, 
 sketched in few lines, yet with graphic fidelity, to 
 consider more particularly that which introduces the 
 central object of the prophecy. In the twenty-first 
 verse, mention is made of "a vile person" which should 
 " stand up," " to whom they shall not give the honour 
 of the kingdom ; but he shall come in peaceably, 
 and obtain the kingdom by flatteries." From the 
 place which he occupies in the succession of the 
 kings of the north, the person here described is 
 undoubtedly Antiochus Epiphanes, whose reign held 
 so prominent a place in the vision of the ram and 
 the he-goat, according to the interpretation which, 
 on a former occasion, we saw reason to adopt, in 
 conformity with the judgment of Antiquity. And 
 the description here given corresponds closely with 
 the character of Antiochus, and the circumstances of 
 his successful usurpation of the throne 6 . "And 
 with the arms of a flood," says the prophecy, "shall 
 they be overflown before him, and shall be broken ; 
 yea, also the prince of the covenant 7 ;" that is, as 
 Theodoret explains it, the high-priest of the Jews 8 . 
 
 5 Newton, Diss. xvi. Part i. Compare the historians cited 
 ad fin. Vid. Note, Appendix. by Bp. Newton, and others. 
 
 6 Theodoret, interpreting the 7 Ver. 22. 
 
 prophecy of Antiochus, refers 8 Xt'yei yap TOV apx t | f ' a v 
 
 to the description in the pre- evaefirj, TOV TOV 'Idawi/og a^eX- 
 
 ceding vision (viii. 25) as paral- <j)6v t K. T. \. 
 lei. Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
13(3 History of Antioc/ius, [LECT. 
 
 And we saw how that " little horn" of the he-goat 
 " waxed great even to the host of heaven ; and it 
 cast down some of the host and of the stars to the 
 ground, and stamped upon them" removing the 
 good Onias from his office, and putting into it the 
 apostate Jason on the terms of a corrupt and wicked 
 covenant. "And after the league made with him 
 he shall work deceitfully :" and so, we find, it came 
 to pass that Jason himself was soon deposed, and his 
 brother Menelaus, on higher bribes, put into his 
 place by the aid of an armed force ; " for he shall 
 come up," it is said, " and shall become strong with 
 a small people 9 ;" like that "little horn" which 
 " waxed exceeding great '." " 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, and he shall 
 forecast his devices against the strong holds, even 
 for a time 2 ." And so we read in the first book of 
 Maccabees that, in the liberal giving of gifts, An- 
 tiochus " abounded above the kings that were before 
 him ;" and " when the kingdom was established 
 before him," he " thought to reign over Egypt, that 
 he might have the dominion of two realms V 
 
 " 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 4 ." The history in the first book of Maccabees 
 is a close commentary upon this passage. " Where- 
 
 '> Ver. 23. 3 1 Mace. i. 16. 
 
 1 Chap. viii. 9. 4 Ver. 25. 
 
 3 Chap. xi. 24. 
 
v.] fulfilling the Prophecy. 137 
 
 fore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, 
 with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a 
 great navy, and made war against Ptolemee, king of 
 Egypt; but Ptolemee was afraid of him, and fled, 
 and many were wounded to death. Thus they got 
 the strong cities in the land of Egypt, and he took 
 the spoils thereof 5 ." The prophecy goes on to mark 
 still more minute particulars, which, amid some ob- 
 scurity and difficulty, the records of history still 
 remaining enable us in great part to verify, 
 concerning the causes of the defeat of Ptolemy 
 Philometor, and the hollow peace between him and 
 Antiochus. " Yea, they that feed of the portion of 
 his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall over- 
 flow," or rather, " be overflowed ;" " and many shall 
 fall down slain. And both 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 6 ." " For," we are told, 
 "Antiochus pretended to take care of his nephew 
 Philometor's interest, and promised to restore him to 
 the crown, at the same time that he was plotting 
 his ruin" .... and, "on the other side, Philometor 
 .... professed great obligations to his uncle, and 
 seemed to hold the crown by his favour, at the same 
 time that he was resolved to take the first oppor- 
 tunity of breaking the league with him, and of being 
 reconciled to his brother." .... But " this artifice 
 and dissimulation did ( not prosper' on either side ; 
 for these wars were not to have an ' end ' till ' the 
 time appointed,' which was not yet come 7 ." 
 
 "Then shall he return into his land with great 
 
 5 1 Mace. i. 1719. Theo- 7 Bp. Newton, in loc. Diss. 
 doret refers to this passage. xvii. 
 
 " Vv. 26, 27. 
 
138 History of Antiochus [LECT. 
 
 riches ; and his heart shall be against the holy cove- 
 nant ; and he shall do exploits, and return to his 
 own land V Here, again, the book of Maccabees 
 seems to reflect accurately, in the facts of its history, 
 the language of the prophecy. After telling us how 
 Antiochus, having gotten " the strong cities in the 
 land of Egypt," "took the spoils thereof," the his- 
 torian proceeds: "And after that Antiochus had 
 smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred 
 forty and third year, and went up against Israel 
 and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered 
 proudly into the sanctuary" then follows the de- 
 scription of the "exploits" of sacrilege which the 
 impious king committed there 9 " and when he had 
 taken all away, he went into his own land 1 ." " Both 
 the Greek and the Roman history relate," St. 
 Jerome observes, "that after Antiochus returned, 
 being driven out by the Egyptians, he came into 
 Judea, that is, 'against the holy covenant,' and 
 spoiled the temple, and took away very much gold ; 
 and, having placed a garrison of Macedonians in the 
 citadel, returned into his own land V 
 
 But the prophecy proceeds "At the time ap- 
 pointed he shall return, and come toward the south ; 
 but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter" 
 or, as it is rendered in the Vulgate, " the latter shall 
 not be as the former 3 . For the ships of Chittim 
 shall come against him : therefore he shall be grieved, 
 and return, and have indignation against the holy 
 
 8 Ver. 28. rtfhrttOl ntttora "In ver- 
 
 Cf. sup. cit p. 109 bJ T s g^ci Caph similitu- 
 
 1 Mace. i. 20, 21. 24. djnis geminatum c f e notat pari- 
 
 S. Hieron. in loc. quoted tate etjam interpos ita copula 
 
 by Bp Newton. y ut Ies iy> n t 8;mi 
 
 Nonent prior, simile no- xxx 24 Ezech xyiii t _ 
 
 rmn MTI R osennl uiier. s c hoi. in he. 
 
v.] carried on in the Prophecy. 139 
 
 covenant : so shall he do ; he shall even return, and 
 have intelligence with them that forsake the holy 
 covenant V We read, in the second book of Mac- 
 cabees, that "about the same time" that Menelaus, 
 the high-priest, "through the covetousness of them 
 that were in power," "remained still in authority, 
 increasing in malice, and being a great traitor to the 
 citizens," "Antiochus prepared his second voyage 
 into Egypt 5 ." And the Greek and Roman histo- 
 rians tell us how he was turned back by " the ships of 
 Chittim," as the prophecy describes them ; the Roman 
 ambassador meeting him on the shore, and peremp- 
 torily commanding him to depart; so that he led 
 back his forces into Syria, as Polybius says, " grieved 
 and groaning, but yielding for the present to the 
 necessity of the times 6 ." And in the second book 
 of Maccabees we are told how, "removing out of 
 Egypt in a furious mind," having heard tidings of 
 what he supposed to be a revolt of Judea and Jeru- 
 salem, " he took the city by force of arms . . . And 
 there were destroyed within the space of three 
 whole days fourscore thousand .... Yet was he not 
 content with this, but presumed to go into the most 
 holy temple of all the world ; Menelaus, that traitor 
 to the laws and to his own country, being his guide ; 
 and taking the holy vessels with polluted hands, 
 and with profane hands pulling down the things 
 that were dedicated by other kings to the augmen- 
 tation, and glory, and honour of the place, he gave 
 them away 7 ." 
 
 " And arms shall stand on his part," the prophecy 
 
 4 Vv. 29, 30. history, as fulfilling the pro- 
 
 5 2 Mace. v. 1. (Comp. phecy in the text, 
 chap. iv. 50.) Theodoret re- See Bp. Newton, 
 fers also to this portion of the 7 2 Mace. v. 11 16. 
 
140 Fulfilment in Antiochus, [LECT. 
 
 continues, " and they shall pollute the sanctuary of 
 strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and 
 they shall place the abomination that maketh deso- 
 late 8 ." The passages of the history which give the 
 primary fulfilment, at least as I conceive, of this pre- 
 diction, I have before quoted in part, for the illustra- 
 tion of the vision of the ram and the he-goat 9 , where 
 we read of " the daily sacrifice " being " taken away" 
 from the prince of the host, " and the place of his 
 sanctuary cast down," " the vision concerning the 
 daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation V 
 For " arms " that is, a military force, did " stand 
 on " the tyrant's " part," when he sent " that detest- 
 able ringleader," as he is called in the history, " Apol- 
 lonius, with an army of two and twenty thousand, . . . 
 who, coming to Jerusalem, and pretending peace, did 
 forbear till the holy day of the Sabbath, when, taking 
 the Jews keeping holy day, he commanded his men to 
 arm themselves. And so he slew all them that were 
 gone to the celebration of the Sabbath, and run- 
 ning through the city with weapons slew great multi- 
 tudes V " Then builded they the city of David with 
 a great and strong wall, and with mighty towers, and 
 made it a strong hold for them. And they put 
 therein a sinful nation, wicked men, and fortified 
 themselves therein. They stored it also with armour 
 and victuals, and when they had gathered together 
 the spoils of Jerusalem, they laid them up there, 
 and so they became a sore snare ; for it was a place 
 to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil ad- 
 versary to Israel 3 ." Then follows the account of the 
 letters which the king " sent unto Jerusalem and the 
 
 8 Ver. 31. 2 2 Mace. v. 2426. 
 
 Cf. sup. pp. 109111. 3 1 Mace. i. 3336. 
 
 1 Dan. viii. 11. 13. 
 
v.] not by the Romans. 141 
 
 cities of Judah," to " forbid burnt offerings, and sa- 
 crifice, and drink offerings in the temple, and that 
 they should . . . pollute the sanctuary and holy 
 people;" and also how " they set up the abomination 
 of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars 
 throughout the cities of Juda on every side V 
 
 If these events be regarded as fulfilling the pro- 
 phecy immediately before us, we have here the com- 
 pletion of that series of acts of profaneness which 
 marked the reign of Antiochus, as described in the 
 history and foretold in the former vision ; and which 
 reached their height in this last stage of impiety 
 the pollution of the sanctuary, the taking away of 
 the daily sacrifice, and the setting up of the abomi- 
 nation that maketh desolate. By several distin- 
 guished modern interpreters, however, as the learned 
 Mede, Sir Isaac Newton, Bishop Newton, and 
 others 5 , this passage is referred to the destruction 
 of Jerusalem ; the main argument for this interpre- 
 tation being the reference made by our Lord to 
 " the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel 
 the prophet 6 ." But the allusion in that place, as I 
 have already had occasion to observe 7 , would seem 
 to be to another passage in the book of Daniel, viz. 
 the prophecy of the seventy weeks. The translation 
 which these writers adopt of the first clause in the 
 verse before us, rendering it "and after him arms 
 shall stand up," by which they would understand the 
 rise of the Roman power, which from the time of 
 Antiochus began to have the dominion in the East, 
 is not, I think, supported by the usage of the Hebrew 
 
 4 Ibid. vv. 44 46. 54. cf. Jews. 
 
 sup. pp. 110, 111. 6 Matt. xxiv. 15. Comp. 
 
 5 S. Jerome (in loc.) men- Mark xiii. 14. Luke xxi. 20. 
 dons this interpretation as that 7 Vid. sup. p. 107. 
 which was adopted by the 
 
142 Question of transitions [LECT. 
 
 particle 8 . And, certainly, to any one following the 
 course of the prophecy from verse to verse, and com- 
 paring the history with it, transitions so sudden as 
 those which, on this hypothesis, are introduced in 
 this and the verses following, passing rapidly over 
 long intervals of time, and changing, at once, from 
 great minuteness of detail to the most summary 
 glancing at a few leading events far distant from 
 each other, would seem to require strong proof to 
 overcome the antecedent objection. The interpreters 
 in question, referring the verse last cited to the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem, apply the context imme- 
 diately following to the persecutions which the 
 early Christians underwent, the propagation of the 
 faith through their teaching, the establishment of 
 Christianity by the civil power, and the continued 
 trial, in these and later persecutions, of the profes- 
 sors of a pure religion. These events, it is supposed, 
 are sketched out in the verses which describe the ex- 
 ploits of "the people that do know their God;" "the 
 men of understanding among the people instructing 
 many;" and falling "by the sword, and by flame, 
 by captivity, and by spoil, many days ;" and then 
 subsequently their being " holpen with a little help," 
 while many should "cleave to them with flatteries 9 ." 
 I am inclined to think that the whole of this descrip- 
 tion is to be understood, as indeed it is by Theo- 
 doret, and by St. Jerome, in its primary application, 
 at least, to refer to the affliction and martyrdoms of 
 the Jewish Church in the reign of Antiochus, and in 
 the times immediately following; to the energetic 
 exploits of the Maccabees ; and the trials which they 
 
 8 nby.1 laao D'jn via. 9 v v . 3234. 
 
 Note, Appendix. 
 
v.] from Jewish times to Christian. 143 
 
 endured who continued in an age of apostacy faith- 
 ful to their religion, and in faith and patience 
 awaited the end l . 
 
 But, having now brought to its close, as it would 
 seem, the history of that scene of searching trial in 
 the latter days of the elder dispensation, the pro- 
 phecy, according to the view of it which is sanctioned 
 by high authority in Christian Antiquity, would seem 
 henceforth to be occupied almost entirely with the 
 description of that tyrannical and persecuting power 
 of which Antiochus was the type I mean the great 
 predicted Antichrist. And, indeed, it is to the times 
 of Antichrist that St. Jerome, adopting, as it would 
 appear, the views of those who had gone before him, 
 would refer principally, or at least for its fullest and 
 final accomplishment, some parts of the preceding 
 description, from the point where the " vile person " 
 first appears upon the scene 2 . But from the thirty- 
 sixth verse, according to that interpretation which 
 has the consent of Christian Antiquity in its favour, 
 the type seems to be lost sight of, and the antitype 
 to be almost exclusively in view. " And the king 
 shall do according 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 accom- 
 plished ; for that that is determined shall be done." 
 The description certainly corresponds closely with 
 that which the apostle gives, in his Second Epistle 
 to the Thessalonians, of "that wicked," or rather 
 "lawless one 3 ," to "be revealed in his time," "who 
 opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is 
 called God, or that is worshipped 4 ;" and also with 
 
 1 See Theodoret, in loc. For 2 Ver. 21. 
 St. Jerome, vid. inf. and Note, s b avopog. 
 Appendix. 4 2 Thess. ii. 4. Comp. v. 8. 
 
144 Type and Antitype. [LECT. 
 
 the description, in the vision of the four beasts, of 
 the little horn which had " a mouth that spake very 
 great things," even "great words against the Most 
 High"'." 
 
 The transition which, according to this view of 
 the prophecy, is made, in the passage before us, 
 from the type to the antitype is, I would remark, 
 of an essentially different character from that which 
 I just now pointed out as creating a difficulty in the 
 interpretation offered by some modern expositors. 
 In a prophecy which bears the character of a chro- 
 nological sketch of the history, historical truth seems 
 to require a certain uniformity of scale in the de- 
 lineation of the objects and events contained in it; 
 and we should expect to find some intimate, though, 
 it may be, not an obvious relation, some strong link 
 of connexion to be traced, wherever, from the 
 minute detail of the occurrences of a few years, 
 we are carried, with scarcely more than an allusion 
 to a few leading events, over the range of many 
 centuries 6 . But the case is different when from one 
 period of history, strongly marked with a typical 
 and prefigurative character, we are transported at 
 once to another in which the type is fulfilled. To 
 use an illustration which may make my meaning 
 more clear, it is, in this latter case, as if, in the 
 visible heavens, when the eye had been attracted by 
 the appearance of the bow in the cloud, and was 
 watching closely its form and colours, suddenly we 
 saw another arch, of deeper and brighter hues, of 
 which we now perceive the former to have been but 
 the faint reflection, and on this, therefore, while 
 the vision lasts, our eye is henceforth fixed exclu- 
 
 5 Daii. vii. 20, 25. St. Jerome (vid. sup. p. 130), 
 
 6 The sketch of the Persian is altogether different. Corn- 
 history in v. 2, referred to by pare Note, Appendix. 
 
v.] Transitions of Prophecy. 145 
 
 sively. In like manner, if a period like the reign 
 of Antioclius should appear to have been provi- 
 dentially appointed as an exhibition, in type, of 
 what Antichrist was to be in the latter days of the 
 Christian Church, it would cause no great surprise 
 or perplexity, if we found the Spirit of Prophecy 
 passing at once from the one to the other ; especially 
 if in each case it entered, with something of the like 
 detail, into the circumstances which develope the 
 fearful form of pride and impiety. The ancient in- 
 terpreters quote, as parallel instances, those descrip- 
 tions, in the book of Psalms, of the kingdom of 
 David or Solomon, which from the type pass on to 
 the antitype, the kingdom of the Messiah ; and 
 again, as another example, the transition, in our 
 Lord's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 to His final coming at the end of the world 7 . The 
 delineation of "the wilful king," for so he has 
 been commonly designated by our modern exposi- 
 tors, would appear to be drawn on the same scale, 
 if I may so speak, with that of the tyrant who 
 typified him : there is a certain uniformity and pro- 
 portion observed throughout. 
 
 But we must proceed with the description of his 
 character and exploits, which are set forth in lan- 
 guage evidently graphic, but, at the same time, 
 very difficult of interpretation. " Neither shall he 
 regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of 
 women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify 
 himself above all. But in his estate (or 'on his 
 pedestal ') shall he honour the God of forces," or, as 
 it is in the marginal rendering, " Gods protectors ;" 
 but the Hebrew word, and indeed the construction 
 
 7 Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
146 The ivilful King. [LECT. 
 
 of the whole verse, is obscure and difficult : " and a 
 God whom his fathers knew not shall he honour 
 with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and 
 pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most 
 strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall 
 acknowledge and increase with glory ; and he shall 
 cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the 
 land for gain." This description has, by many of 
 our most eminent interpreters, such as Mede, and 
 Lowth the commentator, Sir Isaac and Bishop New- 
 ton, been applied to the Greek or Roman empire 
 under the Emperors of Constantinople in the East, 
 the immediate scene of the prophecy before us. 
 They have regarded it as describing the corrup- 
 tions of religion established by the authority of 
 the empire, the encouragement of monasticism, the 
 veneration of saints and images, and the gain de- 
 rived from such corruptions. These latter particu- 
 lars, however, even if the language of the prophecy 
 be proved to be properly applicable to them, can 
 scarcely be made to combine with the interpreta- 
 tion which, by some at least of these writers, is 
 given of the first point in the description of the 
 lawless king viz. the disregarding the God of his 
 fathers ; by which is understood the casting off of 
 the Pagan worship in the conversion of the empire 
 under Constantine. This, as Bishop Newton admits, 
 can hardly form part of a description, the whole 
 character of which is marked by the reproach of 
 apostacy ; and it may fairly be questioned whether 
 those corruptions of pure and primitive Christianity, 
 which he would understand to be here described, 
 can in any sense be considered as fulfilling the pre- 
 diction of the wilful king's disregarding the God of 
 his fathers, and exalting himself above all. In 
 
v.] His Apostacy. 147 
 
 particular it may be observed, that the words ren- 
 dered " the desire of women 8 ," by the analogy of 
 the apparently parallel form of expression in which 
 the Messiah is spoken of as "the desire of all 
 nations 9 ," have been interpreted of that " seed of 
 the woman " whom the mothers in Israel looked for, 
 to be born of them ; and thus the disregard, by the 
 wilful king, of " the God of his fathers" and of " the 
 desire of women," would answer, in some sort, to 
 St. John's marks of the predicted Antichrist, the 
 denying the Father and the Son 1 . The "God- 
 denying apostacy," as it has been fitly designated, 
 might well be included in the view which would in- 
 terpret this whole passage with reference to modern 
 Infidelity ; especially as it unfolded itself in the last 
 century, most fearfully, indeed, in a neighbouring 
 country, but threatening, at the same time, to con- 
 vulse the whole of Europe and of the civilized world, 
 casting off the bonds of religion, setting at nought 
 the best affections of human nature, making every 
 thing subservient to self-exaltation, deifying military 
 glory, and parting out the whole world as the prize 
 of ambition and rapacity. Superstition and infidelity 
 are, indeed, more nearly akin than they might at 
 first sight appear; inasmuch as they both derive 
 their strength from the wilfulness of the human 
 heart, set upon the indulgence of its own ill-regu- 
 lated desires and unsubdued affections. And forms 
 
 8 D^tffa JTTpn governed noun would seem to 
 
 denote, not the object of desire, 
 
 ' - - "v ii MUM H acr i i T i 1*1 
 
 U . U 'J '7 I-; v ^S' but the subject that in which 
 
 ii 7 Comp bjO^ JTTftn ^ es i re exists. In regard to all 
 
 " T : ' -': the three passages, however, 
 
 1 Sam. ix. 20. In the former there has been doubt, and diver- 
 
 of these, the only exactly pa- sity of interpretation, 
 
 rallel instances, the second or 1 1 John ii. 22. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 Final Conflict. [LECT. 
 
 of evil, apparently unconnected with each other, 
 may, on a deeper view, be found but different de- 
 velopments of the spirit of Apostacy, more or less 
 mature, various in character, but the same in end 
 and aim; as put forth by the same great enemy, who 
 in every age, but more fearfully, as we are taught to 
 believe, as "the latter days" draw to their close, 
 will seek, either by open violence or by secret craft, 
 to draw men away from their faith and obedience, 
 and to enthrone himself in the seat of God 2 . 
 
 The prophecy goes on to describe a final contest 
 between rival powers. " 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 ; and he shall enter into the coun- 
 tries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall 
 enter also into the glorious land, and many shall be 
 overthrown : but these shall escape out of his hand, 
 even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children 
 of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also 
 upon the countries : and the land of Egypt shall not 
 escape. But he shall have power over the treasures 
 of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things 
 of Egypt : and the Libyans and the Ethiopians 
 shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east 
 and out of the north shall trouble him : therefore 
 he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and 
 utterly to make away many. And he shall plant 
 the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in 
 the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to 
 his end, and none shall help him." By those expo- 
 sitors who regard the Roman empire in the East as 
 
 2 Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
v.] Self-exaltation of Antichrist. 149 
 
 the main subject of the preceding prophecy, the 
 assaults here described, of the kings of the south and 
 of the north, are interpreted of the invasions of the 
 Saracens and the Turks, respectively ; and the con- 
 cluding verses have been applied, with much inge- 
 nuity and skill, to the great Antichristian power of 
 the East advancing rapidly under the Turkish arms, 
 till it finally established its throne in the capital 
 of Eastern Christendom 3 . There seems, however, 
 amongst expositors generally a disposition to look 
 rather to future times for the fulfilment of the con- 
 cluding portion of the prophecy. But, whatever we 
 are to understand by the planting of the tabernacles 
 of the palaces the pavilion or camp of the great 
 enemy in " the glorious holy mountain," the descrip- 
 tion here given seems closely to resemble that which 
 the Apostle gives of that Wicked One, that Man of 
 Sin, or lawlessness, who, as God, shall sit in the 
 temple of God, shewing himself that he is God 4 ; 
 or the description, in earlier prophecy, of that type 
 of impious pride, who is represented as saying in his 
 heart, " I will ascend into heaven ; I will exalt my 
 throne above the stars of God 5 : I will sit also upon 
 the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the 
 north : I will ascend above the heights of the clouds ; 
 I will be like the Most High 6 ." Whether we refer 
 it to that which seems to have been the general 
 expectation of early times viz. the actual enthrone- 
 ment of Antichrist, in a personal form, in the holy 
 mountain of the literal Jerusalem ; or understand it 
 
 3 See Forster's Mahomet- of heaven; and it cast down 
 anism Unveiled, Sect. ii. vol. i. some of the host and of the 
 pp. 193 209. stars to the ground, and stamp- 
 
 4 2 Thess. ii. 4. ed upon them." 
 
 3 Comp.Dan.viii.10. "And Isa. xiv. 13, 14. 
 it waxed great, even to the host 
 
150 Fall of A ntichrist. [LECT. 
 
 rather as describing, under symbolic imagery, the 
 Christian Church 7 ; the end of his pride and power 
 is the same with that of the little horn in the vision 
 of the ram and the he-goat when he should stand 
 up against the Prince of princes namely, that he 
 should " be broken without hand 8 ." His end is the 
 same with that of the other little horn, of the fourth 
 beast, whose dominion the judgment was to " take 
 away," " to consume and to destroy it unto the 
 end 9 ;" or with that which is described in the pre- 
 diction of St. Paul, concerning that Wicked One 
 whom " the Lord shall consume with the spirit of 
 his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his 
 coming 1 ." The same sentence of utter destruction 
 is pronounced here " he shall come to his end, and 
 none shall help him V 
 
 The fall of the Antichristian power is to be fol- 
 lowed by a great deliverance of the true Israel, even 
 of "every one that shall be found written in the 
 book," a deliverance wrought from them by the 
 standing up of Michael, " the great Prince," said the 
 Angel to the prophet, "which standeth up for the 
 children of thy people," and bringing them through 
 " a time of trouble such as never was since there 
 was a nation even to that same time 3 ." And with 
 this great deliverance is joined the awaking of 
 " many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth, 
 some to everlasting life, and some to shame and 
 everlasting contempt," and the revelation of the 
 glory wherewith "they that be wise 4 " the men 
 of understanding spoken of before in the prophecy, 
 
 7 Vid. Note, Appendix. 2 Ver. 45. 
 
 8 Dan. viii. 25. 3 Dan. xii. 1. 
 Chap, vii. 2(>. 
 
 1 2 Thcss. ii. 8. 
 
v.] Prophetic Periods. 151 
 
 as instructing many, and falling martyrs to their 
 faithful zeal 5 " shall shine as the brightness of the 
 firmament, and they that turn many to righteous- 
 ness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O 
 Daniel," the Angel adds, " shut up the words and 
 seal the book, even to the time of the end : many 
 shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be in- 
 creased 6 ." " Then I Daniel looked," saith the pro- 
 phet, " and, behold, 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 one 
 said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon 
 the waters of the river" the Angel whom he first 
 saw in the vision " How long shall it be to the end 
 of these wonders ? 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, and sware by him that liveth for ever 
 that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and 
 when he shall have accomplished to scatter the 
 power of the holy people, all these things shall be 
 finished 7 ." The language of this passage supplies 
 another link connecting the prophecy before us with 
 both of the two earlier visions which we have before 
 considered with the vision of the four beasts, as 
 well as that on which, as has been already remarked, 
 this prophecy may be regarded as a commentary 
 viz. the vision of the ram and the he-goat. In this 
 latter vision, it is said of the " king of fierce counte- 
 nance," symbolized by the little horn of the goat, 
 that he should "destroy the mighty and the holy 
 
 5 Chap. xi. 33. " And they 
 that understand among the e W ~ " 9 _ A 
 people (pp TOAp&t) shall in- , Vv 5 7. 
 struct many." Comp. v. 35. 
 
152 Visions of Antichrist compared. [LECT. 
 
 people 8 ;" while of the little horn of the fourth beast 
 it was declared, that the saints of the Most High 
 " shall be given into his hand until a time and times 
 and the dividing of times 9 ." And this would seem 
 to strengthen the supposition of Bishop Horsley, 
 a supposition formed during the height of the revo- 
 lutionary tempest, and the outbreak of infidelity, 
 toward the close of the last century, that "the 
 wilful king " described in the chapter before us, the 
 last of Daniel's prophecies, is " the Antichristian 
 power in its plenitude and perfection," " the genuine 
 Antichrist, St. Paul's man of sin, in the utmost 
 height and horror of the character," " formed by a 
 strange confederacy between the two little horns," 
 described in the former visions, " a coalition of the 
 two in one government, extending over the whole 
 tract of the ancient Roman empire 1 ." Such a com- 
 bination of the powers of evil, joining their forces 
 for the last great struggle against the powers of 
 heaven, will seem no strange supposition to those 
 who have studied well the word of Prophecy, and 
 have also traced, in the history of the warfare of 
 truth, the workings of "the mystery of iniquity," 
 under the various forms which human wilfulness 
 will assume, Infidelity leaguing itself even with 
 Mahometan imposture, or seeking to revive the 
 strength, while it would wield, for its own purposes, 
 the power which has taken possession of the long 
 established seat of dominion in Western Europe, the 
 capital of ancient Rome. 
 
 If still, while these visions are yet unfulfilled, ob- 
 scurity hangs over them, we must be content to 
 
 8 Chap. viii. 24. " Antichrist in the French 
 
 9 Chap. vii. '2,'). Convention." British Magu- 
 1 Letters to the Author of zine, vol. v. p. l-'JI. 
 
v.] Trial of Faith and Patience. 153 
 
 wait, in faith and patience, as prophets did of old, 
 abiding the time which shall at length clear up the 
 mystery. Twenty years had well-nigh passed since 
 the former vision, revealed to Daniel, had left him 
 " astonished " at its hidden import which " none 
 understood 2 ;" and now, when it seemed as though 
 its meaning were to be unfolded 3 , darkness still 
 rested upon it. " I heard, but I understood not : 
 then said I, O my Lord, 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 4 ." Meanwhile these disclosures, though 
 still veiled in mystery, were to serve a moral pur- 
 pose : like the events which they foretold, they were 
 to try men's spirits, and reward the spiritually wise 
 by deeper insight into their meaning. " Many shall 
 be purified, and made white, and tried ; but the 
 wicked shall do wickedly : and none of the wicked 
 shall understand ; but the wise shall understand 5 ." 
 Faith, and patience too, would be called into exer- 
 cise ; for, beyond the mystic period described as " a 
 time, times, and an half" i. e. as it would appear, 
 three years and a half, or a thousand two hundred 
 and sixty days the time of trial was to extend to 
 a thousand two hundred and ninety days, from the 
 time that the daily sacrifice was to be taken away, 
 and the abomination that maketh desolate set up 6 . 
 
 2 Dan. viii. 27. The vision year of Cyrus king of Persia a 
 of the ram and he-goat was thing was revealed unto Daniel, 
 seen by the prophet " in the whose name was called Belte- 
 third year of the reign of king shazzar ; and the thing was 
 Belshazzar," (ver. 1.) i.e. A.D. true, but the time appointed 
 553. The later vision, and was long : and he understood 
 prophecy of " the Scripture of the thing, and had understand" 
 truth " was " in the third year ing of the vision." 
 
 of Cyrus king of Persia," i.e. * Chap. xii. 8, 9. 
 A.D. 534. 5 Ver. 10. 
 
 3 Chap. x. 1. "In the third 6 Ver. 11. 
 
154 Obscurity in regard to [LECT. 
 
 It cannot be doubted, I think, that the events here 
 referred to are the same which are described, 
 whether in regard to the type or to the antitype, 
 in the preceding prophecy ; and if so, we have here 
 a strong confirmation of the objection already urged 
 against the application of that passage to the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem 7 . Interpreters, who differ 
 widely on other points, seem agreed in referring the 
 passage before us to the times of Antichrist. The 
 dating of the periods here marked from the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem has been rendered impossible by 
 time : twelve hundred and ninety years, taking the 
 days as prophetic years, have long since expired, and 
 the vision has not yet come to its close. 
 
 Into the question concerning these periods, their 
 commencement and their termination, I shall not 
 enter at present, especially as they will come before 
 us again in the visions of the Revelation ; I would 
 only repeat the sound and valuable remark which I 
 have before quoted from Bishop Horsley, that " the 
 times of prophecy are certainly the last things that 
 will be understood." And while it is our duty to 
 watch the openings of prophetic events, and with 
 this view " to be reverently attentive to the pro- 
 phetic dates," it seems expressly forbidden us to 
 foreknow the times and the seasons : and therefore 
 to undertake the task, is to expose ourselves not 
 merely to the risk, but to the certainty of failure. 
 For one thing, at least, the prophecy seems to pre- 
 pare us, namely, an apparent tarrying of the vision. 
 Beyond the two periods already mentioned, a fur- 
 ther period is marked, extending five and forty days 
 beside. " Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to 
 
 7 Vid. sup. pp.106, 107. 
 
v.] the disclosures of Prophecy. 
 
 the thousand three hundred and five 
 days 8 ." What should take place at the end of 
 those days was not further revealed, save as it was 
 implied in the promise which assured to the " man 
 greatly beloved " his own share in the happiness and 
 glory of that blessed and holy consummation. " But 
 go thou thy way till the end be : for thou shalt rest, 
 and stand in thy lot at the end of the days 9 ." 
 
 And may we, warned by the visions of Prophecy, 
 and its fearful delineations of the manifold spirit of 
 evil, so keep ourselves amid the perils of the latter 
 days, and so faithfully watch and wait for the end, 
 that, " purified and made white " in the day of trial, 
 we may have our lot with " the people of the saints 
 of the Most High " in the great day of recompense. 
 
 8 Ver. 12. 9 Ver. 13. 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 REV. v. 810. 
 
 " And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and 
 twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of 
 them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the 
 prayers of saints. 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 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." 
 
 HAVING now considered, in order, the several visions 
 in the book of Daniel which concern the Church of 
 Christ and the power of Antichrist, we may proceed 
 to that which must be regarded as the main subject 
 of our inquiry viz. the visions of a kindred cha- 
 racter which are contained in the Revelation of St. 
 John. Had this latter Divine book alone entered into 
 our view, it would have been not less important to 
 examine, as preliminary to it, the earlier disclosures 
 of prophecy made to the " man greatly beloved," 
 whose visions, in the general character of their 
 imagery, as well as the prophetic periods one in 
 particular marked out in them, re-appear, in so 
 
 1 Preached Feb. 5, 1843. 
 
Character of the Apocalypse. 157 
 
 remarkable a manner, in the revelations vouchsafed 
 to the beloved disciple. The book of Daniel seems, 
 as it were, the ante-chamber, the outer court and 
 entrance of the sacred building whose inner sanc- 
 tuary is more fully revealed in the visions of the 
 Apocalypse. And our only hope of obtaining an 
 insight into the meaning of these latter, must be 
 in the careful study of the former indeed, of all 
 the preceding disclosures of prophetic Scripture ; or, 
 to speak more correctly, of the one great volume of 
 Divine Prophecy. 
 
 For, in truth, the more attentively we examine it, 
 the more striking proofs shall we discover of its 
 essential unity, that all came from the inspiration 
 of one Omniscient Spirit, who, " in sundry times and 
 in divers manners," " spake by the prophets 2 ." And 
 in regard to the book of the Revelation, in particu- 
 lar, we shall find, as we proceed, that it bears 
 stamped upon it, in a very remarkable manner, a 
 character corresponding with the place in which 
 it stands in the volume of Holy Writ, as the wind- 
 ing up of all that had gone before ; absorbing into 
 itself, if I may so speak, the sum and substance of 
 earlier prophecies the unfolding of mysteries which 
 had "been kept secret from the foundation of the 
 world 3 ," or but partially and faintly shadowed out 
 in the types and visions of the elder dispensation. 
 And if to any one the deep obscurity which hangs 
 over this portion of Scripture should appear to be 
 such, as would make the humble mind shrink from 
 what might seem to be knowledge too wonderful and 
 " excellent " for it, too " high " for it to hope to "at- 
 tain unto," it may justly plead, beyond the general 
 claim on our devout attention, of all that God's 
 
 2 Heb. i. 1. 3 Matt. xiii. 35. 
 
158 In what spirit to be studied. [LECT. 
 
 Holy Spirit has "written for our learning," that 
 special promise of blessing which, in entering upon 
 this course of inquiry, I pointed to, as the Divine 
 sanction for such investigations, if only they be con- 
 ducted in a reverential and self-distrusting spirit. 
 " Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the 
 words of this prophecy, and keep those things that 
 are written therein : for the time is at hand." " Be- 
 hold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth 
 the sayings of the prophecy of this book 4 ." Only 
 let him who would undertake such investiga- 
 tions, adopt and make his own, out of deep and 
 unfeigned feeling, the prayer with which the pious 
 and learned Mede entered upon the study of this 
 mysterious volume of Divine Prophecy. " Thou 
 that sittest on the throne, and Thou, O Lamb, the 
 Root of David, who alone wast worthy to take this 
 book and open it; Open the eyes of thy servant, 
 direct his hand and his mind, that in these thy 
 mysteries he may discover and draw forth some- 
 thing, to the glory of thy Name, and the benefit of 
 the Church V 
 
 The first chapter of the book of the Revelation 
 describes the vision of glory and majesty which 
 
 4 Rev. i. 3 ; xxii. 7. omnium in Apocalypsi Vatici- 
 
 5 Works, p. 419. " Tu qui niorum . . .Retegat Deus oculos 
 throno insides, Tuque Agne, mentis utriusque nostrum, 
 Stirps Davidis, qui solus dignus ut intueamur mirabilia ejus. 
 eras librum hunc accipere et Amen." p. 431. " Christe, 
 aperire ; aperi oculos servi tui, Dei Sapientia, cui Apocalypsis 
 manum ei mentemque dirige, a Patre data est, ut indicates 
 ut in hisce mysteriis tuis aliquid servis suis res futuras, illumina 
 cernat promatque, ad Nominis jubare suo mentem meam, im- 
 tui gloriam et Ecclesise emolu- munditiem sanguine deterge, 
 mentum." Clavis Apocalyp- Da,Tefavente,Spirituqueduce, 
 tica, Praenoscenda. "Quodsu- abdita haec mysteria perlus- 
 perest, Lector, en tibi ordinem trem, aliisque pandam." p. 
 et seriem juxta res gerendas 1:57. 
 
vi.] Opening vision of the Revelation. 159 
 
 appeared to St. John in the isle of Patmos, when he 
 "was in the Spirit on the Lord's day 6 ;" and which, 
 with a voice as of a trumpet, bade him write in a 
 book the things which he saw, and send it to the 
 seven Churches of Asia. The Divine and awful 
 Form which he beheld, strikingly resembles, while 
 it surpasses it in glory, that which, in the last vision 
 of Daniel, appeared to the prophet upon the waters 
 of the river Hiddekel 7 . In other points of the 
 description we are reminded rather of that which 
 had been given, in a former vision of the same pro- 
 phet, of "the Ancient of days 8 " whom he beheld 
 seated on His throne ; and to whom, as the prophet 
 "saw in the night visions," "one like the Son of 
 man came with the clouds of heaven, and they 
 brought him near before him. And there was 
 given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that 
 all people, nations, and languages, should serve him : 
 his dominion an everlasting dominion which" should 
 "not pass away, and his kingdom that which" 
 should "not be destroyed 9 ." The mystery thus 
 dimly shadowed out to the prophet, was revealed 
 more fully to the apostle. He beheld " one like unto 
 the Son of man," yet, at the same time, appearing 
 in the form as of " the Ancient of days ;" One who 
 was invested with high dominion as " the prince of 
 the kings of the earth ! ;" of whom it was declared, 
 " Behold, he cometh with clouds 2 ;" and who is 
 revealed as the " Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
 and the ending, which is, and which was, and which 
 is to come, the Almighty 3 ." 
 
 6 Rev. i. 10. 9 Dan. vii. 13, 14. 
 
 7 Comp. Rev. i. 1315 ' Rev. i. 5. 
 with Dan. x. 5, 6. 2 Ver. 7. 
 
 8 Comp. Rev. i. 14 with 3 Ver. 8. 
 Dan. vii. 9. 
 
160 Vision of the Divine Throne. [LECT. 
 
 Having thus made known Who it was from whom 
 the message came, the beloved disciple proceeds to 
 record the words of mingled commendation and 
 warning which he was commanded to write, seve- 
 rally, to the seven Churches. These epistles occupy 
 the second and third chapters : in the fourth, the 
 main vision opens, which continues to unfold 
 through the remainder of the book. 
 
 " I looked," says St. John, " and, behold, a door 
 was opened in heaven : and the first voice which I 
 heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me ; 
 which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee 
 things which must be hereafter. And immediately 
 I was in the spirit : and, behold, a throne was set 
 in heaven 4 ." It had been foretold, in the Divine 
 interpretation of the first vision contained in the 
 book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the 
 image, that, "in the days of those kings" whose 
 successive empires were represented by the several 
 parts of the image, " the God of heaven would set 
 up a kingdom which " should " never be destroyed 5 ." 
 And in the vision of the four beasts, revealed to the 
 prophet himself, he " beheld till thrones were set " 
 for so, as we have already had occasion to observe 6 , 
 it should be rendered, " and the Ancient of days 
 did sit 7 ." In like manner, St. John beheld a 
 " throne set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 
 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and 
 a sardine stone ; and there was a rainbow round 
 about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald 8 ." 
 Here again we are reminded of the language of a 
 vision of earlier prophecy, that which appeared to 
 
 4 Rev. iv. 1, 2. 7 Dan. vii. 9. 
 
 5 Dan. ii. 44. 8 Rev. iv. 2, ;}. 
 
 6 Vid. sup. p. 85. 
 
vi.] Visions of Ezekiel and Daniel. 161 
 
 Ezekiel " by the river of Chebar," when " the hea- 
 vens were opened, and " he " saw visions of God 9 ." 
 Having described the mysterious form and appear- 
 ance of the four living creatures which came out of 
 the whirlwind and cloud, and the brightness, and 
 the appearance in the midst of it as the colour of 
 amber, out of the midst of the fire ', the prophet 
 tells us that "above the firmament that was over 
 their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the 
 appearance of a sapphire stone : and upon the like- 
 ness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance 
 of a man above upon it. And I saw," he says, " as 
 the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round 
 
 about within it As the appearance of the bow 
 
 that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the 
 appearance of the brightness round about. This 
 was the appearance of the likeness of the glory 
 of the Lord 2 ." 
 
 But the apostolic prophet of the Revelation goes 
 on to describe further the vision of the heavenly 
 kingdom. " And round about the throne were four 
 and twenty seats : and upon the seats I saw four 
 and twenty elders " or rather, " the four and twenty 
 elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they 
 had on their heads crowns of gold V And here we 
 must revert again to the scene described in Daniel's 
 vision, when he "beheld till thrones were set, and 
 the Ancient of days did sit," and "judgment was 
 given to the saints of the Most High ; and the time 
 came that the saints possessed the kingdom V For, 
 according to the interpretation given him by " one 
 of them that stood by," one of the angelic minis- 
 
 9 Ezek. i. 1. 3 Rev. iv. 4. 
 
 1 Ver. 4. 4 Dan. vii. 9. 22. Cf. sup. p. 
 
 2 Vv. 2628. 85. 
 
 M 
 
162 The four and twenty Elders, [LECT. 
 
 ters in the heavenly courts, " the saints of the 
 Most High " were to " take the kingdom, and pos- 
 sess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever 5 ." 
 For the interpretation of that vision of the prophet 
 Daniel, St. Jerome refers to the passage before us. 
 "The many thrones," he says, "which Daniel saw, 
 seem to me to be those which John calls the four 
 and twenty seats. And ' the Ancient of days ' is 
 He who in St. John sitteth alone upon the throne." 
 St. Jerome refers also to that passage in the Gospel, 
 in which our Lord promised to His Apostles, that 
 " in the regeneration when the Son of Man " should 
 " sit in the throne of his glory," they also should 
 " sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
 of Israel 6 ." The mention of " the four and twenty 
 elders" seems to contain a reference to the coun- 
 cils of elders who sat for judgment in the courts 
 of the temple of Jerusalem, and in the chief cities 
 of the Jews 7 ; but specially to the four and twenty 
 courses of the priests and Levites 8 , like unto whom, 
 in their white raiment, these four and twenty 
 elders are arrayed. It has been supposed, also, 
 that the doubling of the number of the tribes of 
 Israel might be designed to represent the new 
 kingdom and Church of Christ, as composed of Jew 
 and Gentile 9 , made " one kingdom of priests," one 
 " holy nation ' ;" or, again, the joining together in 
 one of the old and the new dispensations, repre- 
 sented by the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, 
 
 s Ver. 18. 7. Mede, p. 439. Woodhouse, 
 
 r ' Vid. sup. p. 86, note '. Annot. p. 106. 
 
 7 Lewis's Ori^ines Hebraeae, 9 See Daubuz on the Reve- 
 b. i. ch. 6 (vol. i. pp. 61. 65 lation, by Lancaster, pp. 202, 
 67.) 203. 
 
 8 1 Chron. xxiv. 4 ; xxv. l Comp. Exod. xix. 6, with 
 831. See Lewis, b. ii. ch. 1 Pet. ii. 9. 
 
vi.] flirir AVY/AV nrntnid the Throne. 163 
 
 and " the twelve apostles 2 of the Lamb." Or per- 
 haps since, as has been observed by an able and judi- 
 cious interpreter, " the point of time when this vision 
 opens and the four and twenty elders appear, would 
 seem to be antecedent 3 to the coming of Christ in the 
 flesh," they may better be understood to represent 
 those " spirits of just men made perfect," to whom 
 St. Paul applies the name of " elders," the patriarchs 
 and prophets of old time 4 . At all events, in the 
 vision of St. John we seem to have the fulfilment 
 of the remarkable language in which the prophet 
 Isaiah, from describing how " God, in his judgments" 
 on the earth, should " advance his kingdom V' and 
 going on in the following chapter to describe the 
 blessings of that kingdom, in imagery which can be 
 interpreted only of the new dispensation, says, 
 "Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun 
 ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in 
 Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his 
 ancients, (or " elders,") gloriously 6 ." 
 
 " And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and 
 thunderings and voices : and there were seven lamps 
 of fire burning before the throne, which are the 
 seven Spirits of God 7 ." In a vision of the prophet 
 Zechariah we find the same imagery, which, accord- 
 ing to the interpretation there given by the Angel, 
 seems to denote the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts 8 : 
 and from the salutation with which the book of Re- 
 
 2 " By some commentators figured in the more formal ser- 
 
 they have been supposed to vices of the other." Woodhouse. 
 
 belong to the Old Testament, 3 Comp. chap. v. 6. 
 
 by others to the New, exclu- * Woodhouse's Translation, 
 
 sively ; but they may belong &c. pp. 99 102. 
 
 to both, (so Mede,) for all are * Heading of chapter, E. V. 
 
 saved by the same Christian 6 Isai. xxiv. 23. 
 
 efficacy ; and the purer worship 7 Rev. iv. 5. 
 
 of the one is typified and pre- s Zech. iv. 2. 6. 10. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 The four living Creatures. [LECT. 
 
 velation opens, of grace and peace " from him which 
 is, and which was, and which is to come, and from 
 the seven Spirits which are before his throne, and 
 from Jesus Christ 9 ," it is evident that the symbol 
 here employed denotes the Third Person of the 
 Ever-blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God, in His 
 manifold influences and operations. 
 
 " And before the throne there was a sea of glass 
 like unto crystal ;" another image borrowed from 
 the Jewish temple with its molten sea ; " and in 
 the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, 
 were four beasts," or rather, as it should be ren- 
 dered, " living creatures " (for the word is not Orjpia, 
 but <ua ! ) " full of eyes before and behind. And 
 the first living creature was like a lion, and the 
 second living creature like a calf, and the third 
 living creature had a face as a man, and the fourth 
 living creature was like a flying eagle. And the 
 four living creatures had each of them six wings 
 about him ; and they were full of eyes within : and 
 they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, 
 Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to 
 come. And when those living creatures give" 
 or rather, " shall give 2 glory and honour and 
 thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth 
 for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders will 
 fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and 
 worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast 
 their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art 
 worthy, O Lord, to receive the glory and the honour 
 and the power ; for thou hast created all things, and 
 for thy pleasure they are and were created 3 ." 
 
 9 Rev. i. 4. -428. 
 
 1 See Woodhouse's Transla- ' duffovai. 
 
 tion, p. 106. Whitley, pp. 424 ' Rev. iv. 6 11. 
 
vi.] Reference to EzekieTs Vision. 105 
 
 In the interpretation of these mysterious symbols, 
 to which I would devote the remainder of the pre- 
 sent Lecture, expositors have been greatly divided. 
 Instead, however, of entering upon an examination 
 of the several opinions which have been entertained, 
 I would, in the first instance, inquire whether some 
 insight into their meaning may not be obtained 
 from other parts of Scripture, and, in particular, 
 from earlier visions of prophecy. 
 
 In the vision of Ezekiel already referred to, we 
 find a description of " the likeness of four living crea- 
 tures," closely resembling those which are described 
 here. "This was their appearance," the prophet 
 tells us ; " they had the likeness of a man. And 
 every one had four faces, and every one had four 
 wings." And " as for the likeness of their faces," 
 which are, in fact, the same as in the vision before 
 us, " they four had the face of a man, and the face 
 of a lion on the right side : and they four had the 
 face of an ox on the left side; they four also had 
 the face of an eagle V And they occupied, it would 
 appear, the same position, in relation to the throne 
 of the Divine glory, as these in the Apocalyptic 
 vision. For when it is said here, that the four living 
 creatures were "in the midst of the throne, and 
 round about the throne," or "in the circle of the 
 throne," it would seem to convey the idea that they 
 sustained and formed part of it; as in Ezekiel's 
 vision, where we are told that the likeness of the 
 four living creatures came out of the midst of the 
 amber brightness, out of the midst of the fire 5 , " and 
 the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the 
 living creature was as the colour of the terrible 
 
 1 Ezek. i. 5, 6. 10. 5 Ezek. i. 4, 5. 
 
166 EzekieVs opening Vision, [LECT. 
 
 crystal, stretched forth over their heads above e ." 
 " And above the firmament that was over their heads 
 was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a 
 sapphire stone 7 ." But, in a subsequent chapter, the 
 prophet speaks of these living creatures as identical 
 with the cherubim. " Then I looked," he says, in the 
 first verse of the tenth chapter, " and, behold, in the 
 firmament that was above the head of the cherubims 
 there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, 
 as the appearance of the likeness of a throne." He 
 describes them again, as having the same four faces, 
 and repeatedly calls them the cherubim 8 , and says 
 of them expressly, " This is the living creature that 
 I saw by the river of Chebar 9 ;" and again, " This is 
 the living creature which I saw under the God of 
 Israel by the river of Chebar ; and I knew that they 
 were the cherubims . . . And the likeness of their 
 faces was of the same faces which I saw by the river 
 of Chebar, their appearances and themselves 1 ." 
 
 The scene of this latter vision was the temple of 
 Jerusalem, whither the prophet was carried by the 
 Spirit from the land of his captivity. He beheld 
 there " the glory of the God of Israel " in His 
 temple, " according to the vision that " he " saw in 
 the plain 2 ," after that which he had seen by the 
 river of Chebar 3 . He beheld the glory of the God 
 of Israel in His temple, first on the cherub, its 
 wonted dwelling-place; then "gone up from the 
 cherub whereupon he was, to the threshold of the 
 house 4 ;" then departing " from off the threshold of 
 the house," and standing over the cherubims ; " and 
 
 r> Ver. 22. ' Ver. 22. 
 
 : Ver, 'K\. a Chap. viii. 4. 
 
 s K/A-k. x. 29, \c. 3 Comp. rli. iii. 22, 23. 
 
 ' Ver. !.'. 4 Ch;i]). ix. ,'i ; x. 1. 
 
vi.] and Vision in the Temple. 167 
 
 the cherubims," he tells us, " lifted up their wings, 
 and mounted up from the earth in my sight," .... 
 and " stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's 
 house ; and the glory of the God of Israel was over 
 them above 5 ." And then again, after further dis- 
 closures of the sins and offences which had made the 
 Almighty thus to forsake His temple, and full de- 
 clarations of His purposes of mingled mercy and 
 judgment towards them, " then," we are told, " did 
 the cherubims lift up their wings . . . and the glory 
 of the God of Israel was over them above. And the 
 glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the 
 city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the 
 east side of the city 6 ." Thus did the visions vouch- 
 safed to the captive prophet reveal to him the 
 departure of the Divine Presence, for a time, from 
 the temple which the Almighty had been pleased to 
 make His chosen dwelling-place. Meanwhile, He 
 had promised that, " although " He had " cast " His 
 people " far off among the heathen, and although " 
 He had " scattered them among the countries, yet " 
 would He " be to them as a little sanctuary in the 
 countries where they " should " come 7 ." And hence 
 the gracious, though mysterious, revelation of His 
 Power and Providence, which would appear to be 
 part, at least, of the import of that vision which was 
 seen by the prophet when he was among the cap- 
 tives by the river of Chebar ; and which, when com- 
 pared with the other visions granted to him, seems 
 fully to identify the living creatures described in St. 
 John's vision of the heavenly temple with the cheru- 
 bims which had formed the throne of the Divine 
 Glory in the temple of Jerusalem. 
 
 5 Chap. x. 18, 19. fi Chap. xi. 22, 23. 7 Ver. 16. 
 
168 Import of the Cherubim [LECT. 
 
 For that this was the mystic character and office 
 of the cherubim, overshadowing with their wings the 
 ark of the covenant, is evident not only from the 
 visions of Ezekiel, but also from the place which the 
 cherubim occupied in the inner sanctuary, " the 
 most holy place " of the tabernacle and the temple ; 
 from the manner in which the cloud of glory, the 
 symbol of the Divine Presence, is described as rest- 
 ing upon their outspread wings ; and from the men- 
 tion of the Almighty as " sitting upon the cherubim" 
 (for so it should be rendered, as it is in the Prayer 
 Book version of the Psalms, following the LXX. and 
 Vulgate 8 ), occurring in passages where His supreme 
 dominion and sovereignty seems the prominent idea 
 in the mind of the inspired writer. Thus, in the 
 ninety-ninth Psalm, we read 9 , " The Lord reiyneth, 
 let the people tremble ; he sitteth upon the cherubim, 
 let the earth be moved ;" where, from the parallelism 
 of the verse, the attribute of sitting upon the cheru- 
 bim seems to answer to the idea of kingly dominion. 
 And so again in the prayer of Hezekiah, when he 
 " received the " insulting " letter " of the king of 
 Assyria " from the hand of the messengers, and read 
 it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the 
 Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Heze- 
 kiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, O Lord of hosts, 
 God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims," 
 or rather, as has been already said, " that sittcst upon 
 the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all 
 the kingdoms of the earth : thou hast made heaven 
 and earth V And, in like manner, where we read, 
 in the history, of the elders of Israel, when their 
 
 \'rr. 1. 
 /;///. 1AX. " qui si-dot super ' Isai. \\xvii. 11 10. 
 
 Cherabim," Vtug Kings \i\. 1-1. ir>. 
 
vi.] and Ark of the Covenant. 169 
 
 armies had been smitten before the Philistines, 
 fetching " the ark of the covenant of the Lord " out 
 of Shiloh into the camp, in order that when it came 
 among them, it might deliver them out of the 
 hand of their enemies, it is styled emphatically " the 
 ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts which 
 sitteth upon the cherubim 2 ." And again, afterwards, 
 when David went to bring up the ark in triumph 
 from its temporary resting-place, and fix it in its 
 chosen seat, it is said in a still more emphatic 
 manner, that " David arose, and went with all the 
 people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to 
 bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is 
 called by the name of the Lord of hosts that sitteth 
 upon the cherubim 3 ." 
 
 But there is a passage in the Book of Jeremiah 
 which seems yet more plainly to show what was the 
 mystic import of the ark with its overshadowing 
 cherubim. The prophet has been declaring the gra- 
 cious promise of the restoration of the repentant 
 children of Israel and Judah from the land of their 
 captivity. And thus his prophetic message pro- 
 ceeds. "And it shall come to pass, when ye be 
 multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, 
 saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of 
 the covenant of the Lord : neither shall it come to 
 mind : neither shall they remember it ; neither shall 
 they visit it ; neither shall that be done any more " 
 or, as it has been otherwise rendered, "neither 
 shall it be made any more. At that time they shall 
 call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord ; and all the 
 nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the 
 
 2 1 Sam. iv. 4, (" which 3 2 Sam. vi. 2. (E. V. ut 
 dwelleth between the cheru- sup.) 
 bims," E. V.) 
 
170 The Ark and Cherubim [LECT. 
 
 Lord, to Jerusalem V It seems clearly implied in 
 this passage, that " the ark of the covenant of the 
 Lord " was, in earlier days, the symbol of that Divine 
 throne which, when the type should give place to 
 that which it foreshadowed, was to be exhibited on 
 the wider scene of the true Jerusalem, His spiritual 
 kingdom. 
 
 We have considered the cherubim hitherto exclu- 
 sively as forming the throne of the God of Israel ; 
 but they are to be regarded also as His chariot. In 
 the First Book of Chronicles, David speaks of " the 
 chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, 
 and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord V 
 And, in like manner, the son of Sirach says, " It 
 was Ezekiel who saw the glorious vision, which was 
 shewed him upon the chariot of the cherubims 6 " 
 But the two ideas are, in fact, closely connected. 
 " The cherubim," says St. Isidore of Pelusium, " are 
 the throne and chariot of God ; they showed that He 
 for whom the temple was built was not to be con- 
 fined to place, nor to be expressed by figure or shape, 
 but as a symbol of His kingdom were these placed. 
 For since a temple is not regarded as such when it 
 is crowned by no image, but the ruler and maker of 
 these is above all created nature and human con- 
 ception, he hath represented (or characterized) him 
 
 * Jer. iii. 1C, 17. Mangey.] Vid. Note, Appen- 
 
 5 1 Chiou. xxviii. 18. See dix. And St. Jerome, ' that 
 
 Wliitlry's " Scln-mc- and Coin- K/ekiel had seen the Lord 
 
 pit-lion of Prophecy," p. '122. sitting upon the cherubim as 
 
 Dr. Wliitk-y refers also to Philo, upon a chariot,' * Ezekielem 
 
 dc Profugis, who " says, ' that Dominum vidisse [in Ezekiel 
 
 the Logos was the rider or Dominum cernit] in aurigai 
 
 charioteer of the cherubic modnm sedentem super Cheru- 
 
 powers' iiv't(i\ov ptv flvat bim.' Micron, in 1'JHoscaj." 
 
 TWV fov&uiw \\lpovfllv~] rut' [Op. t. iii. p. I>'J22.] 
 
 Aoyoi. [Op. t. i. p. r>(il, t<l " licclus. xlix. 8. 
 
vi.] the Throne and Chariot of God. 171 
 
 by the throne of the Lord and King of all 7 ." Unlike 
 the temples of the gods of the heathen, there was 
 seen in the sanctuary of JEHOVAH no image of 
 Deity: the wings of the cherubim formed, as it 
 were, an empty throne 8 , of which the mercy seat, or 
 cover of the ark, was the footstool, and on which 
 when the Cloud of Glory rested, no one might stand 
 within the most holy place. " Clouds and dark- 
 ness," saith the Psalmist, " 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. His lightnings en- 
 lightened the world : the earth saw and trembled 9 ." 
 Thus is the King of Israel, the Lord of all the 
 earth, described as going forth from His holy place, 
 and from the highest heaven which that holy place 
 typified, to the battle against His enemies, and for 
 the deliverance of His chosen. " In my distress," 
 saith the holy David, " I called unto the Lord, and 
 cried unto my God : he heard my voice out of his 
 temple, and my cry came before him, even into his 
 ears .... He bowed the heavens also, and came 
 down : and darkness was under his feet. And he 
 rode upon a cherub and did fly : yea, he did fly upon 
 the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret 
 place; his pavilion round about him were dark 
 waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the bright- 
 ness that was before him his thick clouds passed, 
 hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thun- 
 dered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his 
 voice ; hailstones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent 
 out his arrows and scattered them ; and he shot out 
 
 7 Isid. Pelus. lib. iv. Epist. B Comp. Heber's Bampton 
 
 73, quoted by WhitJey, pp. Lectures, p. 281. 
 422, 423. 9 Psal. xcvii. 24. 
 
172 Language of the Prophets. [LECT. 
 
 lightnings and discomfited them ] ." And so again, 
 in the sublime imagery of the prayer of Habakkuk, 
 " thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots 
 of salvation. Thy bow was made quite naked, accord- 
 ing to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. . . . 
 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation ; 
 at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the 
 shining of thy glittering spear. Thou didst march 
 through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh 
 the heathen in anger. Thou wentest forth for the 
 salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine 
 anointed. . . . Thou didst walk through the sea with 
 thine horses, through the heap of great waters 2 ." 
 Thus magnificently are united, in the inspired hymns 
 of Psalmists and Prophets, the images of the throne 
 and the chariot of their God. " He was indeed," 
 as has been well observed, "the immediate and 
 proper King of Israel . . . and the cherubim on the 
 ark was his throne. He was their Commander in 
 war, and it was his triumphal chariot ; he was their 
 Judge at home, and it was his tribunal or judgment- 
 seat 3 ." These two ideas, of the judgment throne 
 and the chariot, are remarkably combined in Daniel's 
 vision of the four beasts, where the Ancient of days 
 is seen taking His awful seat. " His throne was like 
 the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A 
 fiery stream issued and came forth before him . . . 
 the judgment was set and the books were opened V 
 And, in connexion with this description, we may 
 recal to mind the " wheels " so minutely described, 
 in their mysterious mechanism, in those visions of 
 Ezekiel in which, as we have seen, "the chariot of 
 
 1 Psal. xviii. 6. 914. Whitli'y, ]>i>. -I'J.'J, 1:21. 
 
 2 Habak. iii. 8, 9. 11 13. 4 Dan. vii. 9, 10. 
 16. 
 
VL] Vision of EzcMel 173 
 
 the cherubims" was none other than the throne 
 of the God of Israel 5 . 
 
 But to Ezekiel's later vision, in the temple of 
 Jerusalem, I must again refer, as exhibiting another 
 very striking point of resemblance between the che- 
 rubim there described and the living creatures in 
 the vision of St. John ; and one which may tend to 
 throw further light upon the true import of these 
 latter. After the description already referred to, 
 of the appearance as of a sapphire stone, "as the 
 appearance of the likeness of a throne," " in the fir- 
 mament that was above the head of the cherubims," 
 the prophet continues " And he," that is, He who 
 sat on the throne, "spake unto the man clothed 
 with linen" that is, to the one who had appeared 
 in the vision, with six others, each of them with a 
 slaughter weapon in his hand, he with a writer's 
 inkhorn by his side, commissioned to set a mark 
 upon the foreheads of the faithful remnant 6 " and 
 said, Go in between the wheels, even under the 
 cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from 
 between the cherubims, and scatter them over the 
 city. And he went in in my sight. Now the che- 
 rubims stood on the right side of the house, when 
 the man went in ; and the cloud filled the inner 
 court. Then the glory of the Lord went up from 
 the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the 
 house ; and the house was filled with the cloud, and 
 the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's 
 glory. And the sound of the cherubims' wings was 
 heard, even to the outer court, as the voice of the 
 Almighty God when he speaketh. And it came to 
 pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed 
 
 5 Ezek. i. 1521 ; iii. 13 ; 6 Ezek. ix. 2. 
 
 x. 2, &c. ; xi. 22. 
 
174 Visions of Ezekiel and St. John. [LECT. 
 
 with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, 
 from between the cherubims ; then he went in, and 
 stood beside the wheels. And one cherub stretched 
 forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the 
 fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, 
 and put it into the hands of him that was clothed 
 with linen; who took it and went out. And there 
 appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand 
 under their wings 7 ." 
 
 Let us now turn to the Book of Revelation. "And 
 after that I looked," says St. John, in the fifteenth 
 chapter, "and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle 
 of the testimony in heaven was opened. And the 
 seven angels came out of the temple, having the 
 seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and 
 having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 
 And one of the four living creatures gave unto the 
 seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of 
 God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple 
 was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and 
 from his power ; and no man was able to enter into 
 the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels 
 were fulfilled 8 ." 
 
 The resemblance between these two descriptions 
 cannot fail to strike any one who compares them 
 attentively together ; and it would appear still closer, 
 on a more minute examination of the two passages 
 in the place which each occupies in the vision of 
 which it forms part. I refer, however, here to these 
 passages only for the light which they cast upon the 
 import of the mystic symbols immediately before us. 
 And I would call particular attention to two points 
 which they seem to make clear: first, that the living 
 
 7 Chap. x. 28. Hev. xv. f> 8. 
 
vi.] Cherubim distinguished from Angels. 175 
 
 creatures, or cherubim, are distinct from angels ; and 
 next, that the agencies of the two are combined 
 together in a remarkable manner ; the cherub, or 
 living creature, putting the handful of tire, or the 
 seven vials of wrath, into the hand of the seven 
 angels clothed in linen, in St. John's vision, or of 
 the man clothed in linen, in Ezekiel's. 
 
 The distinction between the " living creatures " 
 and angelic beings seems still more clearly marked 
 in the vision before us. In the fourth chapter of 
 the Revelation we have the description of the four 
 living creatures, offering their unceasing worship and 
 service, "day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy 
 Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to 
 come ;" with their ascription of " glory and honour 
 and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth 
 for ever and ever," accompanied by the adoration of 
 the four and twenty elders, who cast their crowns 
 before the throne, and declare Him worthy to re- 
 ceive "the glory and the honour and the power," for 
 that He hath created all things and for His plea- 
 sure they are and were created 9 . Having thus 
 described the adoration offered to the Almighty 
 Creator and Lord of all, the beloved disciple pro- 
 ceeds, in the next chapter, to speak of the book 
 which he " saw in the right hand of him that sat on 
 the throne ;" and which " no one ] in heaven, nor on 
 earth, neither under the earth, was found worthy to 
 open, neither to look thereon," until " the Lion of 
 the tribe of Juda, the Root of David prevailed to 
 open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof 2 ." 
 " And I beheld," says St. John, " and, lo, in the midst 
 of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the 
 
 9 Rev. iv. 811. ' ovhic. 2 Chap. v. 15. 
 
176 The living Creatures and Angels [LECT. 
 
 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 all the 
 earth. And he came and took the book out of the 
 right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And 
 when he had taken the book, the four living crea- 
 tures and four and twenty elders fell down before 
 the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and 
 golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of 
 saints. 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 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 3 ." Thus do they, the living creatures 
 and the elders, as they had before offered homage 
 to their Creator, now give thanks to their Redeemer. 
 And then follows the description of " the innumer- 
 able company of Angels," now first appearing on the 
 scene, to swell the tide of adoration and praise. 
 "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many 
 angels round about the throne and the living crea- 
 tures and the elders : and the number of them was 
 ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of 
 thousands ; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain to receive the power, and riches, 
 and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and 
 blessing V The description may remind us of that 
 which is given in Daniel's vision, of the Angelic 
 hosts surrounding the throne of " the Ancient of 
 djiys ;" "thousand thousands ministered unto him, 
 and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before 
 
 ' Vv. 10. ' Vv. 1112. 
 
vi.] distinguished from each of/tcr. 177 
 
 him 5 ." And so again, in the seventh chapter of the 
 Revelation, it is said, " And all the angels stood 
 round about the throne and the elders and the four 
 living creatures 6 ;" the hosts of angels forming thus, 
 as it were, an outer circle, enclosing within it the 
 seats of the four and twenty elders ; and these again 
 encircling the throne of God and the Lamb, and 
 the four living creatures that were beneath and 
 around it. 
 
 Thus, then, the living creatures, or Cherubim, are 
 clearly distinguished, in the visions of Scripture, 
 from the Angels who stand round the throne, as in 
 Micaiah's vision, where he said, "I saw the Lord 
 sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven 
 standing by him on his right hand and on his left 7 ," 
 or from the Seraphim who, in Isaiah's vision, are 
 represented as standing " above it 8 ," hovering around 
 and over it. The vision of Isaiah is the more closely 
 applicable, because there also, as well as in the vision 
 before us, the scene of the manifestation of the 
 Divine Presence is in His temple. " I saw the Lord 
 sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his 
 train" literally, as in the marginal rendering, 
 " the skirts thereof filled the temple. Above it 
 stood the seraphims : each one had six wings ; with 
 twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered 
 his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried 
 unto another, saying, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of 
 hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory 9 ." The 
 description here given of the Seraphim, and the form 
 of their ascription of praise, might seem, at first sight, 
 to identify them with the living creatures of St. 
 
 5 Dan. vii. 10. cf. sup. pp. 7 1 Kings xxii. 19. 
 85^87. 8 Isa. vi. 2. 
 
 6 Rev. vii. 11. 9 Vv. 13. 
 
 N 
 
178 Song of the living Creatures. [LECT. 
 
 John's vision ; but the remarkable difference pointed 
 out in their respective position relatively to the 
 Divine throne, would lead us rather to regard them 
 as beings of a distinct nature and order, who not- 
 withstanding unite in one song with them ; in like 
 manner as we confess in our Te Deum, "To thee 
 Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, 
 holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth 
 are full of the majesty of thy glory." And the dis- 
 tinction has been so far recognized, even in the com- 
 monly received opinion which would regard the 
 Cherubim as beings of an Angelic nature, that they 
 have been uniformly ranked as of inferior order to 
 the Seraphim. 
 
 But the supposition that the living creatures de- 
 scribed in this vision belong to any order of Angels, 
 seems to be excluded by the character of the song 
 in which they join, of thanksgiving for the blessings 
 of redemption. It is true, indeed, that the song might 
 be regarded as principally and specially the song of 
 the four and twenty elders, with their harps of gold, 
 and "golden vials full of odours which are the 
 prayers of saints;" but it must be observed, at the 
 same time, that the four living creatures are expressly 
 mentioned as leading the song. " And when he had 
 taken the book," says St. John, " the four living crea- 
 tures and the four and twenty elders fell down before 
 the Lamb 1 ." And the song of the angels which fol- 
 lowed is strikingly contrasted with this ; inasmuch as 
 that song expresses the adoration of beings who be- 
 held, indeed, with deep interest and holy wonder the 
 mystery of redemption, themselves meanwhile own- 
 ing no immediate personal share in its benefits. 
 
 1 Chap. v. 8. 
 
vi.] Their place in God's Creation. 179 
 
 And when, still further, the song of the Angelic hosts 
 was swelled by the mingled tide of the voices of the 
 whole creation, the universal ascription of praise is 
 represented as emphatically concluded by the response 
 of the four living creatures, and the adoration of 
 the four and twenty elders. " 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 honour, and 
 glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the 
 throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And 
 the four living creatures said, Amen. And the four 
 and twenty elders fell down, and worshipped him 
 that liveth for ever and ever 2 ." 
 
 It would seem, then, that the living creatures, or 
 Cherubim, in the visions of St. John, as in those of 
 Ezekiel, are to be regarded as symbolizing beings, or 
 powers, not of Angelic nature, but rather of that 
 world which hath been redeemed by the blood of 
 the Lamb, as well as created, with all that is in it, 
 for the glory of its Almighty Maker and Lord. But 
 whatever rank they hold in His creation, thus much 
 at least is clear, that they are creatures of GOD, 
 subject to His sovereign dominion, employed as the 
 instruments of His will, and manifesting and setting 
 forth His praise. And the manner in which they are 
 here combined with Angels first, and then with the 
 whole creation, would seem to identify them with 
 those " hosts " of God, whom, together with His 
 " angels " and all His creatures, the Psalmist calls 
 upon to offer the tribute of praise to their Supreme 
 Lord and King. "The Lord hath prepared his 
 throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth 
 
 2 Vv. 13, u. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 Tit!,- uf >; tlif Lord of hosts" [LECT. 
 
 over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel 
 in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening 
 unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all 
 ye his hosts ; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. 
 Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his 
 dominion V If, as it would appear, in this passage, 
 the " hosts " of the Lord are not to be regarded as 
 simply identical with His "angels," both being alike, 
 yet in different ways, the servants and ministers of 
 His will, we could not find a description which 
 would correspond more exactly with the Psalmist's 
 language than that which is supplied by the visions 
 of Ezekiel and St. John, of the combined agency of 
 the angels and living creatures, the one strong to 
 fulfil the commandment given them by the Almighty 
 Voice, the other effectual, though inferior, minis- 
 ters of His, employed to " do his pleasure." 
 
 It will, perhaps, have been observed, in the pas- 
 sages already cited respecting the ark of God and 
 His throne upon the cherubim, how closely connected 
 with them is the title of " the Lord of hosts." It is 
 a title which seems to be specially appropriated to 
 the regal character of the God of Israel. We find 
 the prophets speaking of " the King whose name is 
 the Lord of hosts 4 ;" and of His kingdom as specially 
 exalted over the powers of this world. Thus we read 
 in Isaiah, "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 5 ." And if the limits of our present inquiry 
 would allow us, we might largely illustrate this point, 
 by tracing the origin, and the gradually increasing 
 employment of the title, as the disclosures of Pro- 
 
 3 Psal. ciii. 2022. li. .">7. Comp. Isa. vi. , r >. 
 
 1 Jrr. xlvi. IS: xlviii. 1 ."> : ' Isa. liv. f>. 
 
vi.] Earthly Kingdoms His instruments. 181 
 
 phecy, and the events of the sacred history, revealed 
 more and more fully the supreme power and do- 
 minion of the God of Israel, "ruling in the king- 
 doms of men," giving to His people strength and 
 victory in the battle, or wielding the empires of the 
 world for their chastisement, and then, when that 
 purpose was accomplished, restraining or bringing to 
 destruction these mighty instruments of His con- 
 trolling Providence. 
 
 It was by the agency of one of these powers of 
 the world that that vengeance was accomplished on 
 the guilty city of Jerusalem, which Ezekiel's vision 
 describes; the Babylonian conqueror being made 
 the instrument in the hand of the Almighty for the 
 punishment of His people and the nations generally 
 of the Eastern world. " For, lo, I will send and 
 take all the families of the north," said the Lord by 
 His prophet Jeremiah, " and Nebuchadrezzar the 
 king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them 
 against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, 
 and against all these nations round about 6 ." And 
 it is worthy of remark, that by an ancient writer 7 
 the cherubic symbols are interpreted as having been 
 combined in the strange history of that mighty king, 
 to whom, as the prophet Daniel reminded his proud 
 and impious successor, " the most high God gave a 
 kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour;" so 
 that " for the majesty that he gave him all people, 
 nations, and languages trembled and feared before 
 him 8 ." For, in the imagery of Daniel's vision, he 
 was the lion with eagle's wings, which the prophet 
 " beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it 
 
 6 Jer. xxv. 9. pend. Op. Justini Mart. (ed. 
 
 7 Vid. Quaestiones et Re- Bened.) p. 458. 
 sponsiones ad Orthodoxos. Ap- * Dan. v. 18, 19. 
 
182 King of Babylon. [LECT. 
 
 was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon 
 the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to 
 it 9 ." " But when his heart was lifted up," to resume 
 the words of the prophet to Belshazzar, " and his 
 mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his 
 kingly throne, and they took his glory from him : 
 and he was driven from the sons of men ; and his 
 heart was made like the beasts . . . they fed him 
 with grass like oxen ' . . . till he knew that the 
 Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and 
 giveth it to whomsoever he will 2 ." -Without re- 
 stricting to this single, though striking, instance in 
 the first of the four great monarchies, the applica- 
 tion of symbols which, from their fourfold number, 
 would appear rather, from the general use of Scrip- 
 ture language, (as has been already observed,) to 
 convey the idea of universality, the general import 
 of the symbols of the cherubim would seem to be 
 that which is reflected in the confession of the king 
 of Babylon, when the appointed time of his degra- 
 dation was accomplished. " And at the end of the 
 days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto 
 heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, 
 and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and 
 honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion 
 is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from 
 generation to generation: and all the inhabitants 
 of the earth are reputed as nothing : and he doeth 
 according to his will in the army of heaven, and 
 among the inhabitants : and none can stay his hand, 
 
 9 Dan. vii. 4. ictit at Tpi^tc avrov a 
 
 1 Comp. chap. iv. 33, " till K-CU \oprof l-^wfjitaav avrov a/t- 
 
 his hairs were grown like eagles' roy /zoo-^oj/, K-CU k-apdla at'Opu- 
 
 feathers, and his nails like bird's TTOV ilotiri ai/rJ. Quaest. et 
 
 claws." \iyii ce . . . on r)v&)- Respons. loc. sup. cit. 
 ol ovv\(.r avrov o>c aeroi;, 2 Chap. V. 20, "21. 
 
vi.] King of Tyre. 183 
 
 or say unto him, What doest thou ? At the same 
 time my reason returned unto me ; and for the 
 glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness 
 returned unto me ; and my counsellors and my lords 
 sought unto me ; and I was established in my king- 
 dom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 
 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour 
 the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and 
 his ways judgment : and those that walk in pride he 
 is able to abase 3 ." 
 
 There is yet one description in the book of Eze- 
 kiel which must be referred to as remarkably parallel, 
 and as tending strongly to confirm the same conclu- 
 sion ; inasmuch as it identifies still more definitely 
 one of the princes and potentates of earth, not only 
 with the imagery but also with the very name of 
 the cherubim, or living creatures, as described in the 
 visions of the same prophet, and of St. John. The 
 passage referred to occurs in the prophecy against 
 " the prince of Tyrus." Upon him, too, the sentence 
 of the Most High had been pronounced : " Because 
 thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a 
 god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the 
 seas . . . Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Because 
 thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God ; be- 
 hold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the 
 terrible of the nations ; and they shall draw their 
 swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they 
 shall defile thy brightness 4 ." . . . "Moreover the 
 word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of 
 man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, 
 and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God ; Thou 
 sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in 
 
 3 Chap. iv. 3437. 4 Ezek. xxviii. 2, 6, 7. 
 
184 The "covering Cherub" [LECT. 
 
 beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of 
 God ; every precious stone was thy covering . . . 
 Thou art the anointed," or, as it may be rendered, 
 " the extended cherub that covereth 5 ; and I have 
 set tliee so : thou wast upon the holy mountain of 
 God ; thou hast walked up and down in the midst 
 of the stones of fire." The description may remind 
 us of that given in the prophet's vision by the river 
 Chebar. " As for the likeness of the living creatures, 
 their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and 
 like the appearance of lamps ; it went up and down 
 among the living creatures ; and the fire was bright, 
 and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the 
 living creatures ran and returned as the appearance 
 of a flash of lightning 6 ." " Thou wast perfect in thy 
 ways," the prophecy against the king of Tyre pro- 
 ceeds, " from the day that thou wast created, till 
 iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of 
 thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee 
 with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I 
 will cast thee as profane out of the holy mountain 
 of God ; and I will destroy thee, covering cherub, 
 from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart 
 was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast cor- 
 rupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness : . . . 
 therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of 
 thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to 
 ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that 
 behold thee 7 ." The direct application of the term 
 " cherub," in this passage, to a potentate of the same 
 order and rank with that which had, elsewhere, 
 
 . i. 13, n. 
 
 "Tu I : hrn,l> c-xtcntus ft' pro- ' Cha P- xxviii ' ll ~ 18 - 
 
 t gens." 
 
vi.] Symbols resembling the Cherubic. 185 
 
 seemed to be described by the acts of the cherub, as 
 represented in mystic imagery, may be considered, 
 I think, no slight confirmation of the interpreta- 
 tion which would refer these mysterious emblems to 
 the various forms of earthly dominion. With regard 
 to the term itself, which is involved in some ob- 
 scurity, we may observe that, amidst much diversity 
 of opinion as to its derivation and import, there is 
 considerable evidence in favour of the interpreta- 
 tion which would connect it with the idea of 
 ' power,' ' greatness,' or ' dominion V And it is ob- 
 servable, that the Chaldee paraphrase thus renders 
 the words in which, in the passage just quoted from 
 the prophet Ezekiel, the prince of Tyre is addressed 
 as the anointed "cherub;" "Thou art a king 
 anointed to a kingdom, and I gave thee greatness 9 ." 
 It may be added, in further corroboration of the 
 same conclusion, that, while angels are never repre- 
 sented in Scripture except with the attributes of 
 humanity refined and exalted, the kingdoms of this 
 world are constantly symbolized by forms like those 
 which predominate among the cherubic symbols. It 
 may be sufficient to recal to mind Daniel's vision 
 of the four beasts, which is the rather to be referred 
 to for our present purpose, inasmuch as, there, the 
 symbols of earthly empire are introduced in imme- 
 diate connexion with the throne of the Ancient of 
 days and of the Son of Man '. Imagery of this 
 kind abounds in the prophets. In Ezekiel alone, 
 for instance, we find the princes of Israel compared 
 to young lions 2 ; the kings of Babylon and Egypt 
 
 8 Vid. Note, Appendix. ' Cf. sup. p. 85 "his throne 
 
 vbck x:nn ifc m |* as ] * e , tlte >.;. ,f d 
 
 T - : '- : : - his wheels as burning hre. 
 
 DI. va 9. 
 
 2 Ezek. xix. 1 0. 
 
186 Symbolic language of Scripture. [LECT. 
 
 described as " great eagles, with great wings, long- 
 winged, full of feathers which had divers colours 3 ;" 
 and generally, " the mighty " and " the princes of the 
 earth " designated as " bullocks," " fatlings of Ba- 
 shan V And in the sixty-eighth Psalm we find this 
 supplication addressed to " him that rideth upon the 
 heaven of heavens that were of old." " Rebuke 
 the wild beast of the reed 5 ," for so, perhaps, may 
 the original 6 most literally be rendered, describing, 
 it would seem, the crocodile or the lion, " the 
 multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the nations, 
 till every one submit themselves with pieces of 
 silver; scatter thou the people that delight in war. 
 Princes shall come out of Egypt ; Ethiopia shall 
 soon stretch out her hands unto God. Sing unto 
 God, ye kingdoms of the earth ; O sing praises unto 
 the Lord 7 ." 
 
 With regard to the number of the mystic symbols 
 which we have seen reason thus to interpret of these 
 " kingdoms of the earth," I have already observed, 
 that the number four is commonly used in the He- 
 brew to denote completeness and universality. And 
 this idea may be traced in the interpretations, in 
 other respects widely differing, which have been 
 adopted both by Jewish and by Christian expositors. 
 Vitringa, on the authority of Abarbanel, enumerates 
 three distinct Rabbinical interpretations, which may 
 be regarded as all agreeing in one common idea 
 namely, the universal extent of God's power and 
 dominion ; though, in one of them, reference is 
 made to the four orders of the heavenly hierarchy, 
 
 3 Chap. xvii. 3. Comp. v. 7. " feras arundinis." Vulg. 
 
 4 Chap, xxxix. 18. e Heb pup j-pj-j 
 
 5 E. V. marginal rendering, 
 
 the beasts of the reeds." 7 Psal. Ixviii. 3032. 
 
vi.] General import of the four Symbols. 187 
 
 under the four Archangels, to whom the govern- 
 ment of the world is, according to Jewish opinions, 
 supposed to be committed 8 ; in another, to the four 
 elements of which the material universe is com- 
 posed 9 ; in another, to the four great empires of the 
 ancient world, or rather, the celestial spirits by 
 which those empires and their rulers were influenced 
 and governed ! . The same may be observed of the 
 interpretations given by Christian expositors ; and, 
 in particular, of that which was adopted generally 
 by the early Fathers, applying the four symbols to 
 the four Gospels, as the pillars of Christ's throne, 
 the varied manifestation of His Divinity and Incar- 
 nation to the whole world 2 . 
 
 How far this or other interpretations may be 
 combined, as mystical and secondary applications, 
 for as such they may rather be regarded, with 
 that which I have endeavoured to establish, on evi- 
 dence derived from Scripture itself, as what would 
 appear to be a primary meaning of the symbols 
 before us is a question which cannot at present 
 be entered upon. The subject may more conve- 
 niently be considered, or at all events alluded to, 
 when we proceed to the actual unfolding of the 
 Apocalyptic vision in the opening of the first four 
 
 8 R. Eliezer, and the ancient applied as signifying univer- 
 
 tradition. sality or completeness ; so that, 
 
 ' Maimonides. as the wings of the Cherubim 
 
 1 Kimchi. Vitringa, Observ. filled the temple and touched 
 Sacrae, lib. iii. pp. 837 840. its walls, so the Gospels may 
 
 2 See Williams' "Thoughts be said to fill and touch the 
 on the Study of the Holy Gos- walls of the Universe. ... St. 
 pels," Part i. " St. Irenaeus Irenaeus speaks of them, thus 
 and St. Augustin both suggest applied to the Evangelists, as 
 that the number of the four the four pillars upon which the 
 Gospels is on account of the Church rests, which is spread 
 four quarters of the globe. . . . throughout the four quarters of 
 And perhaps this number is so the world." pp. 6, 7. 
 
188 Cherubim in what sense [LECT. 
 
 seals, each of which, severally, one of the four living 
 creatures bids the beloved disciple " come and see 3 ." 
 Whether, again, the four symbols may be indivi- 
 dually applied to so many distinct kingdoms, or 
 powers, of the ancient world, and whether such 
 application may not help to remove some difficulties 
 in the several descriptions given of them in different 
 parts of Scripture, are points which may then, per- 
 haps, briefly be noticed. For the present, it may 
 be sufficient to state the general conclusion to which 
 we have come, that these symbols represent the 
 universal, all-pervading agency of God's overruling 
 Providence, and the subjection to His supreme 
 dominion of " all principality, and power, and might, 
 and dominion, and every name that is named, not 
 only in this world, but also in that which is to 
 
 come 4 ." 
 
 For there is, doubtless, a sense in which these 
 symbols of earthly power, if such indeed they be, 
 may be regarded as, in some sort, representing at 
 the same time "principalities and powers" of the 
 world unseen. We have observed, on a former 
 occasion 5 , how, in the book of Daniel, the Angel 
 who appeared to the prophet had been exerting 
 spiritual influences with the princes of the Eastern 
 world ; standing up, in the first days of Darius the 
 Mede, " to confirm and to strengthen him ;" then 
 entering into conflict with " the prince of the king- 
 dom of Persia " for one and twenty days, a conflict 
 which was to be renewed again; for "now," said ho, 
 " will I return to fight with the prince of Persia : 
 and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia 
 
 Iu v. vi. 1, 3, 5, 7. 5 Vid. sup. pp. 101, 102, 
 
 1 Kph. i. 21. 12,>. 
 
vi.] representing A nyclic powers. 189 
 
 shall come 6 ." And the apostle St. Paul, in like 
 manner, closely connects " the course of this world " 
 with " the Prince of the power of the air 7 ;" and joins 
 together " principalities and powers," the " rulers of 
 the darkness of this world 8 ," and " spiritual wicked- 
 ness 9 in high ! places 2 ." And thus the idea which 
 we commonly associate with the name of Cherubim 
 may be combined with that which, if the foregoing 
 argument be well founded, more visibly and pal- 
 pably belongs to it ; and the language of that sublime 
 hymn of the Church, the opening of which, it has 
 been well remarked, seems to have been formed 
 principally upon the vision before us, may, on this 
 view, be found to agree still more perfectly with the 
 inspired description. " We praise thee, O God ; we 
 acknowledge thee to be the Lord." " For all the 
 gods of the nations " were but " idols ;" there is one 
 " throne set in heaven," and " there is none beside 
 thee." "All the earth doth worship thee; the 
 Father everlasting ;" the powers of earth owning Thy 
 dominion, and paying their homage to Thee, the 
 Everlasting, the One " Lord God Almighty, which 
 was, and is, and art to come." " To thee all Angels 
 cry aloud ; the heavens and all the powers therein." 
 For, in the vision of the things in heaven, it was seen 
 how "all the angels stood round about the throne, 
 and about the elders and the four living creatures," 
 and their voice was heard, swelling the song of 
 praise. And thus " To thee Cherubin AND Seraphin 
 continually do cry, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of 
 
 6 Dan. xi. 1 ; x. 13, 20. Marg. E. V. TO. 
 
 Eph. ii. 2. rrjg TrovripiaQ. 
 
 8 rovg KOfTfjLOKparopag TOV rc- * " Or, heavenly," Marg. 
 
 70VC TOVTOV. E.V. J' TOIQ ETTOVpaVtOLC. 
 
 9 "Or, ivicked spirits," 8 Eph. vi. 12. 
 
190 Chenihim traced throughout [LECT. 
 
 Sabaoth." For the prophet heard the song in the 
 elder temple of Jerusalem from the lips of the 
 Seraphim, and the apostle heard it in the new and 
 heavenly temple from the living creatures, the 
 Cherubim " Heaven and earth " not " the whole 
 earth " only, as the prophet heard 3 , but heaven also, 
 heaven now opened as it never was before "Heaven 
 and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory." 
 
 The Apocalyptic vision, I had occasion to observe 
 at the beginning of the present Lecture, bears upon 
 it the character of a winding up, and gathering into 
 one, of all that had gone before of God's marvellous 
 and manifold revelations. And not least remarkably 
 is this the case in regard to our immediate subject. 
 The mysterious symbols which we have been con- 
 templating carry us back, not only through the 
 times of the elder dispensation, the glories of the 
 temple and of the still earlier tabernacle ; but, yet 
 further, to the very time of man's fall, when that 
 scheme of redemption was first darkly revealed, the 
 completion and full manifestation of which formed 
 the theme of praise in the great consummation. 
 " Cherubim " are mentioned in the same chapter of 
 the book of Genesis which records the triumph of 
 the tempter, the promise of Him who should finally 
 bruise his head, the judgment which expelled man 
 from Paradise, and the mercy which reserved for 
 him the hope of a return thither. " So he drove 
 out the man," we read, " and he placed at the east 
 of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming 
 sword which turned every way, to keep the way of 
 the tree of life 4 ." A long period was to elapse; 
 
 3 Isa. vi. 3. * Gen. iii. 24. 
 
vi.] the course of Divine revelation. 191 
 
 the powers of the world, the dominion of the Evil 
 One, were to oppose the Church of God ; mighty 
 kingdoms were to arise, and rule for an appointed 
 time, until the kingdom of God and of his Christ 
 should come. And then the promise came which 
 was the removal, as it were, of that opposing power, 
 which had been for a time Divinely appointed, the 
 promise given in the first of the epistles to the seven 
 Churches, recorded in the book of the Revelation. 
 " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the 
 tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise 
 of God 5 ." 
 
 Meanwhile, through the long vista of years, there 
 was vouchsafed a gradual increase of light. It 
 may have been, as some have supposed, that above 
 the Cherubim, eastward of the garden of Eden, the 
 Divine Presence was manifested, and that there our 
 first fathers worshipped ; but, at all events, no in- 
 timation to that effect is given us in the inspired 
 record. In the tabernacle and in the temple it was 
 the privilege of Faith to contemplate the Almighty 
 King as enthroned above the Cherubim, though it 
 were amid the thick darkness which none might 
 penetrate. In the vision of Ezekiel, when now the 
 symbol was to give place to the reality which it 
 represented, for the ark and cherubim were never 
 to be set up again, above the living creatures, 
 whose mighty and fearful agency was so vividly 
 exhibited, was seen the likeness of a throne and 
 of One that sat upon it. In the vision of the 
 Apocalypse, when the " door was opened in heaven," 
 and the beloved disciple was bidden to " come up " 
 thither, he beheld immediately " a throne set in 
 
 5 Rev. ii. 7. 
 
192 Final character of the Apocalypse. 
 
 heaven and one sat upon it." And the thrones of His 
 elders, His kings and priests, were seen next; and 
 then, forming part of His throne and lying beneath 
 it, were the well-known symbols of might and 
 majesty, subdued to His sovereign dominion, and 
 proclaiming His eternal praise. Of a truth, this 
 was the final Revelation of Him " who is the faithful 
 Witness, and the Prince of the kings of the earth," 
 the " Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
 ending, the First and the Last 6 ." 
 
 c Rev. i. 5, 8, 11. 
 
LECTURE VII. 1 
 
 REV. vi. 1, 2. 
 
 " 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 behold 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." 
 
 IN inquiring, on a former occasion, into the im- 
 port of those mysterious emblems, the four living 
 creatures, which St. John, admitted into the visions 
 of heaven, beheld "in the midst of the throne, and 
 round about the throne," of the Divine glory, we 
 were engaged but with the scenery of the heavenly 
 temple, the description of which is, as it were, prepa- 
 ratory to the unfolding of the prophetic visions them- 
 selves. The opening of those prophetic scenes is in 
 the chapter before us. In the preceding chapter 
 St. John had told us, that he " saw in the right hand 
 of him that sat on the throne a book written within 
 and on the backside, sealed with seven seals ;" a 
 book which none " in heaven, nor in earth, nor under 
 the earth, was able to open, neither to look thereon," 
 until " the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of 
 David," "prevailed to open the book, and to loose 
 
 1 Preached Nov. 26, 1843. 
 
] 94 The Book with seven Scaly. [LECT. 
 
 the seven seals thereof." " And I beheld," says St. 
 John, " and, lo, in the midst of the throne and the 
 four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders," 
 the four and twenty elders whose thrones encircled 
 the throne of the Uncreated Majesty, "stood a Lamb 
 as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven 
 eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth 
 into all the earth. And he came and took the book 
 out of the right hand of him that sat upon the 
 throne. And when he had taken the book, the four 
 living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell 
 down before the Lamb, having every one of them 
 harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the 
 prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, say- 
 ing, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open 
 the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast re- 
 deemed 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 2 ." 
 
 It will be recollected that to the prophet Daniel, 
 in the days of elder revelation, it had been said, 
 " But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal 
 the book, even to the time of the end ;" " Go thy 
 way, Daniel : for the words are closed up and sealed 
 till the time of the end V But now the Great Pro- 
 phet had appeared in the midst of His Church ; and 
 " the mystery which " had " been hid from ages and 
 generations," was henceforth more and more fully to 
 be " made manifest to his saints 4 ;" even that groat 
 " mystery which from the beginning of the world " 
 had "been hid in God, who created all things by 
 .Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the princi- 
 
 2 Kev. v. 010. Dan. xii. 1. !). 4 Col. i. *J<i. 
 
vii.] The first four Seals opened. 195 
 
 palities and powers in heavenly places might be 
 known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, 
 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord 5 ." To Him it was given 
 to unfold before His Church all the mysterious roll 
 of prophecy, and to loose its seals in order : and it is 
 the opening of the first of the seven which is des- 
 cribed in the words before us. " 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 living 
 creatures saying, Come and see." 
 
 It will be observed that, at the opening of each of 
 the first four seals, the attention of St. John is called 
 to the unfolding vision by the voice of one of the 
 four living creatures, one after another calling him 
 thus to " Come and see." It would appear from this, 
 as if these four seals formed, in some sense, a whole ; 
 something, we may suppose, embracing, in a manner, 
 the whole circuit of the dominion and operation of 
 God's universal Providence in this lower world. I 
 had occasion before to observe, in reference to the 
 fourfold symbols which St. John beheld encircling 
 and supporting the Divine throne, that the number 
 four is commonly used in Scripture language to 
 denote universality ; and if those symbols, in their 
 relation to the throne which was above them, have 
 been rightly interpreted as denoting the subjection 
 to the supreme authority of the Most High, of " all 
 principality, and power, and might, and dominion, 
 and every name that is named, not only in this world, 
 but also in that which is to come 6 ," we might 
 imagine that events, the unfolding of which the four 
 living creatures in order bid the evangelic prophet 
 
 3 Eph. iii. 911. " Eph. i. 21. 
 
 02 
 
196 The four Seals as a whole. [LECT. 
 
 draw nigh and see, would be such as concerned the 
 whole world of God's Providence, affecting in turn 
 every corner of the earthly dominion which is under 
 His footstool. And this idea derives some con- 
 firmation from finding, in the fourth seal, mention 
 made of " the fourth part of the earth 7 " as the scene 
 of operation allotted to the agents of destruction 
 which are there commissioned. But more clearly still 
 does the character of completeness seem to belong to 
 these first four seals taken together, when we observe 
 how, after the revelation, in the fifth seal, of the 
 assemblage of the souls of the martyrs who had been 
 slain, as it would appear, by those sundry kinds of 
 death which are described in the fourth seal, there 
 follows, in the sixth seal, a great consummation, wind- 
 ing up the destinies of the whole earth. 
 
 But to proceed to the more particular examination 
 of the four seals themselves, which, we may at least 
 infer from what has been said, must be taken in a 
 connected view. The vision which St. John beheld, 
 when those seals were opened in succession, and the 
 four living creatures in order bade him " Come and 
 see," were four horses with their riders, going forth 
 in the earth. Under the first seal he says, u I saw, 
 and behold 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." Under 
 the second seal, " there went out another horse that 
 was red : and power was given to him that sat there- 
 on to take peace from the earth, and that they should 
 kill one another: and there was given unto him a 
 great sword." Under the third he says, " I beheld, 
 
 7 Rev. vi. 8. 
 
VII.] '/cchariatis opening Vision. 197 
 
 and lo a black horse ; and he that sat on 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." Under the fourth seal, "I looked, and be- 
 hold 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 the beasts of the earth 8 ." 
 
 The imagery here employed is remarkably parallel 
 with that of the opening vision of the prophet 
 Zechariah. " I saw by night," saith the prophet, 
 "and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and 
 he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the 
 bottom; and behind him were there red horses, 
 speckled, and white. Then said I, O my lord, what 
 are these 1 And the angel that talked with me said 
 unto me, I will shew thee what these be. And the 
 man that stood among the myrtle trees answered 
 and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent 
 to walk to and fro through the earth 9 ." They were 
 the ministers of God's overruling Providence, sent 
 forth over the earth ; their colours depicting the 
 influence of each power, thus employed, on the 
 destinies of God's Church and people. " The red 
 horses, which lead the array," as an able and judi- 
 cious commentator observes, " portend war and 
 slaughter; such as had occasioned the captivity. 
 The white horses concluding the procession, denote, 
 as the context shows, the peace and happiness which 
 were to succeed. The speckled, or party-coloured 
 
 h Chap. vi. 18. 9 Zech. i. 8-10. 
 
198 Vision of the four Chariots, [LECT. 
 
 horses, express the intermediate transition from suf- 
 fering to happiness V 
 
 This appears yet more clearly from another vision 
 of the same prophet. I "looked," lie says, "and, 
 behold, there came four chariots out from between 
 two mountains ; and the mountains were mountains 
 of brass. In the first chariot were red horses ; and 
 in the second chariot black horses ; and in the third 
 chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot 
 grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said 
 unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, 
 my lord ? And the angel answered and said unto 
 me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which 
 go forth from standing before the Lord of all the 
 earth. The black horses which are therein go forth 
 into the north country ; and the white go forth after 
 them ; and the grisled go forth toward the south 
 country. And the bay went forth, and sought to 
 go that they might walk to and fro in the 
 earth : and he said, Get you hence, walk to and 
 fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro 
 through the earth. Then cried he unto me, and 
 spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward 
 the north country have quieted my spirit in the 
 north country 2 ." They were the agents of God's 
 Providence throughout the world ; and the scene of 
 action on which those who were foremost in the 
 prophet's view were employed, was " the north coun- 
 try," that is, Babylon, where the chosen people had 
 been in bondage, but were now to find their sorrow 
 succeeded by joy ; the black horses denoting their 
 former affliction, the white, which went forth after 
 them, representing the deliverance which the cap- 
 
 1 Woodliouso, Annotations ~ /cch. vi. 1 8. 
 
 on the Apocalypse, p. 1*2*2. 
 
vii.] illustrating St. Johns Vision. 199 
 
 tives were to obtain through the victories of 
 Cyrus 3 . 
 
 " From this application of the imagery of horses 
 in Scripture," as Dean Woodhouse further observes, 
 " it may appear, that a man on horseback, in scrip- 
 tural vision, represents the going forth of some 
 power divinely commissioned to effect changes upon 
 earth : and that the character of the change is to be 
 collected from the colour of the horse ; the red, or 
 flame-coloured 4 , denoting war and slaughter ; the 
 black, mourning and woe ; the white, victory, and 
 peace, and happiness." And the interpretation thus 
 derived from the visions of the earlier prophet, con- 
 sidered simply with reference to the events in which 
 they were undoubtedly fulfilled, is strongly con- 
 firmed by the imagery in the passage before us. 
 For here, the white horse has a rider marked by the 
 undoubted symbols of victory and triumph the 
 bow and the crown and the career of conquest ; the 
 red, the fiery-coloured, horse has his rider distin- 
 guished, in like manner, as the representative of 
 war, both by the commission given to him, that he 
 should take peace from the earth, and by the sword 
 which was put into his hand ; while the black horse, 
 whose rider would seem to be the emblem of famine, 
 when bread is eaten by weight, and the oil and wine 
 are precious, is still, as in Zechariah's vision, the 
 appropriate symbol of distress and calamity. 
 
 But to proceed to the more particular examina- 
 tion of the several symbols : and first, of the white 
 horse and him that sat thereon. And here, acting 
 on that most safe and sure rule of interpretation 
 
 3 See Woodhouse, loc. sup. cit. 
 
200 The Rider on the White Horse, [LECT. 
 
 which would look to prophetic Scripture, and espe- 
 cially to other parts of the same volume of prophecy, 
 as the best exponent of its own imagery, we cannot 
 fail to be struck with the similarity of a description 
 which we find in the nineteenth chapter of this same 
 book of the Revelation. " I saw heaven opened," 
 says St. John, u 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. And 
 he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name 
 written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS 5 ." 
 It cannot for a moment be doubted to Whom this 
 description belongs. It is He whom the beloved 
 disciple beheld, in his first vision, in the midst of the 
 seven golden candlesticks, His universal Church ; 
 whose " eyes were as a flame of fire," " and out of 
 his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword 6 ." He is 
 seen here with the "many crowns" on His head, the 
 regal crowns 7 of the kingdoms of this world which 
 have been subdued to His power. He comes forth 
 with the signs of vengeance to be fulfilled on His 
 enemies, like him whom the prophet Isaiah beheld 
 
 * Rev. xix. 11 Hi. Hi;.]., i. II. Hi. .,< /,/mra. 
 
vii.] Christ going forth in his Gospel. 201 
 
 coming " from Edom, with dyed garments from 
 Bozrah," " glorious in his apparel, travelling in the 
 greatness of his strength ;" who had trodden the 
 wine-press alone, and would tread the people in His 
 anger and trample them in His fury ; for the day of 
 vengeance was in His heart, and the year of His 
 redeemed was come 8 ; it is the same Divine and 
 glorious Person who is seen in the vision of St. John, 
 manifested in all the majesty and glory of His pre- 
 sence, and leading His Church to victory. And if, 
 in the earlier vision immediately before us, He 
 appears with less manifest signs of His Divine 
 nature and His Almighty power, it is because here 
 the time is not yet come for the full display of His 
 might and majesty. He has a bow, ready strung for 
 the conflict with His enemies, whom afterward, in 
 nearer combat, He must slay with the sword : and 
 there is given unto Him a crown, the crown not of 
 the king but of the combatant 9 , the crown of pro- 
 mised victory. And He goes forth "conquering, 
 and to conquer :" still greater and more extended 
 triumphs are in store for Him whose first going 
 forth was thus with the signs, and the assured 
 pledge, of final success. The description given in the 
 passage before us, as well as in that later vision, 
 corresponds with the imagery of the Psalm which, 
 on the inspired authority of the Apostle ', we can- 
 not doubt has reference to Christ Himself. " Gird 
 thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy 
 glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride 
 prosperously because of truth and meekness and 
 righteousness ; and thy right hand shall teach thee 
 terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the 
 
 8 Isa, Ixiii. 1. 3, 4. 9 trrlavoQ. ' Heb. i. 8. 
 
202 First preaching of the Gospel. [LECT. 
 
 heart of the king's enemies ; whereby the people 
 fall under thee 2 ." 
 
 It would appear, then, from the comparison of 
 prophetic language in passages apparently parallel, 
 that under the imagery of this first seal is described 
 " the progress of the Christian religion in its primi- 
 tive purity," when its first teachers were sent out 
 into all the world, in the might of the Divine Spirit, 
 and with their Master's presence pledged to be with 
 them ; His Gospel going forth thus with the bow 
 and the crown, with "the Divine favour resting 
 upon it, armed spiritually against its foes, and des- 
 tined to be victorious in the end 3 ." And when it 
 is said of the emblematic Warrior that " he went 
 forth conquering, and to conquer," we may under- 
 stand, as has been well pointed out, a reference to 
 the two distinct periods in the progress of the Chris- 
 tian Religion ; the first when, " preached in purity by 
 the Apostles," it " overcame the powers of darkness, 
 and all human opposition, and, establishing itself in 
 the world, ' went forth conquering ;' " " the second, 
 when, after a long warfare, during which this holy 
 religion is corrupted, debased, and deformed, by the 
 machinations of the enemy, it is at length seen to 
 regain its primitive freedom and purity, and to over- 
 come all opposition." " The latter period, which," 
 on this view, is represented in the later vision 
 already referred to, is " only alluded to in the 
 passage now before us; the prime object of which 
 is to show the religion of Christ going forth in its 
 original purity, and in the power divinely conferred 
 upon it 4 ." Imagery, it may be observed, of a similar 
 
 2 Psal. xlv. 35. Vitringa 214246. 
 
 refers to this Psalm, and to 3 Woodhouse, Annot. p. 12 1. 
 
 Zech. i. 8, &c. Anacrisis, pp. 4 Ibid. pp. 124, 125. 
 
vii.] 77/tf ancient Interpretation. 203 
 
 kind is found in a passage of the prophet Zechariah, 
 where it is said, " The Lord of hosts hath visited his 
 flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as 
 his goodly horse in the battle. Out of him came 
 forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the 
 battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. 
 And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down 
 their enemies in the mire of the streets in the 
 battle : and they shall fight because the Lord is with 
 them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded 5 ." 
 And this interpretation of the first seal comes 
 commended to us by the authority of the ancient 
 commentators generally, and of some of the most 
 distinguished amongst the moderns. And of those 
 of the moderns who have applied the three follow- 
 ing seals to the succession of Roman Emperors, 
 the originator of that interpretation, the learned 
 Joseph Mede, saw plainly that the first seal could 
 not be so understood G . And, indeed, whatever in- 
 terpretation we might be disposed to adopt of the 
 symbols exhibited in those three following seals, the 
 opening vision of Zechariah, already referred to, 
 would lead us specially to recognize something of 
 a Divine character in the Leader and Chieftain (if 
 so He may be regarded) of the mysterious agents 
 that are here seen going forth. He whom the pro- 
 phet describes as the "man riding upon a red horse 7 ," 
 followed by red horses, speckled and white, is imme- 
 diately afterwards spoken of as " the Angel of the 
 Lord 8 ;" a title which, in the Old Testament, is con- 
 stantly employed to designate one higher than any 
 
 5 Zech. x. 3 5. swered the Angel of the Lord 
 
 fi Vid. Note, Appendix. that stood among the myrtle 
 
 7 Zech. i. 8. trees." Comp. vv. 8, 9. 
 
 8 Ver. 11. "And they an- 
 
204 The three following Seals. [LECT. 
 
 created Angel even the Angel, the Messenger, of 
 the everlasting covenant 9 . St. Jerome, in his com- 
 mentary on this passage of the prophet, following 
 herein those whom he calls "the masters of the 
 Churches," observes, that the man riding on the red 
 horse is the Lord the Saviour. He refers to the 
 description in Isaiah, already quoted, of that myste- 
 rious One who is " red in his apparel, and his gar- 
 ments like him that treadeth the wine-fat ;" and 
 proceeds to identify the rider on the red horse de- 
 scribed in Zechariah's vision with the rider on the 
 white horse in the Revelation of St. John ! . 
 
 But from the consideration of this first seal, the 
 interpretation of which it is peculiarly important to 
 determine rightly, we may proceed to examine more 
 briefly the import of the other three. These may 
 perhaps be regarded as merely symbolic representa- 
 tions ; the second, of war ; the third, of famine ; 
 the fourth, of those " four sore judgments " joined 
 in one as instruments of death and destruction, " the 
 sword and the famine and the noisome beast and 
 the pestilence 2 ." And if this interpretation be 
 adopted, we may perhaps most fitly apply these de- 
 scriptions to the events which our Lord foretold in 
 His solemn prophecy delivered on the Mount of 
 Olives. " Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of 
 wars. . . . For nation shall rise against nation, and 
 kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famine*, 
 and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 
 
 9 Mai. iii. 1. rufus ostenditur, in Apocalypsi 
 
 1 " Vir autem qui ascende- Johannis in candidis vestibus 
 
 bat super eqmun rufum Do- et in candido rquo srdore de- 
 
 ininus Salvator est, qui dispen- scribitur." Hieron. in loc. t. 
 
 sationem nostrae carnis assu- iii. p. 1711. 
 
 nicns, audit in Isaia : ' Quurc 2 Ezek. xiv . "2 1 . Conip. 
 
 rubra sunt vestimenta tua ?' chap. v. 17; xxxiii. 'J7. 
 
 I lie qui mine captivo populo 
 
vii.] Tlt<> second Seal. 205 
 
 All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall 
 they deliver you np to be afflicted, and shall kill 
 you ; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my 
 name's sake 3 ." These signs might seem to be de- 
 lineated in these seals, in like manner as the first 
 seal would appear to correspond with that universal 
 preaching of His Gospel which our Lord declares 
 should meanwhile take place "this Gospel of the 
 kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a 
 witness unto all nations: and then shall the end 
 come 4 ." 
 
 We may, however, observe, with more particular 
 reference to the second seal, that there are other de- 
 clarations of our Blessed Lord, which would seem, 
 perhaps, more exactly to answer to the language here 
 employed. To the rider on the red, the fiery- 
 coloured, horse " it was given to .take peace from the 
 earth, and that they should kill one another: and 
 there was given unto him a great sword." In lan- 
 guage strikingly similar our Lord had said, " Think 
 not that I am come to send peace on earth : I came 
 not to send peace, but a sword*." Or, as we read in 
 another Gospel, " I am come to seudjire on the earth ; 
 and what will I, if it be already kindled ? Suppose 
 ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell 
 you, Nay ; but rather division 6 ." " For I am come 
 to set a man at variance against his father, and the 
 daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in- 
 law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes 
 shall be they of his own houshold 7 ." "And the 
 brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and 
 
 3 Matt. xxiv. 6 9. calyps. ed. Cramer, (in Catenis) 
 
 4 Ver, 14. Oxon. 1840. 
 
 5 Matt. 5*. 34. Cf.CEcumenii 6 Luke xii. 4951. 
 ct Arethae Comment, in Apo- 7 Matt. x. 35, 36. 
 
206 The third Seal [LECT. 
 
 the father the child : and the children shall rise up 
 against their parents, and cause them to be put to 
 death 8 ." This, it has been well observed, is the true 
 force of the words, " that they should kill one an- 
 other;" the strife and contention, "not of nation 
 against nation," such as has continually been waged 
 throughout the world's history, "but of brethren 
 and companions among themselves 9 ." And the ap- 
 pearing, in the vision, of the red horse and his rider, 
 immediately following the going forth of the first, 
 would seem to have a peculiar significancy, if it 
 denoted the strife and contention which, though not 
 the legitimate, was, in some sense, the natural, as it 
 was assuredly the Divinely predicted consequence of 
 the coming, into the world, of the Gospel of peace. 
 
 In the interpretation of the third seal, some diffi- 
 culty arises from the doubt as to the proper transla- 
 tion of the word which describes that which the 
 rider on the black horse is represented as holding in 
 his hand. It has been questioned whether the word 
 which our translators have rendered "a pair of 
 balances 1 ," would, taken by itself, bear that mean- 
 ing. The use of the word, however, in that sense, 
 seems to be vindicated by the remainder of the de- 
 scription in which it occurs. And the balances in the 
 hand of the rider, combined with the proclamation 
 by the voice from the midst of the four living crea- 
 tures, declaring the price of " a measure of wheat " 
 and " three measures of barley " a price indicating, 
 :is. I think, would clearly appear, a great degree of 
 scarcity 2 and, together with this proclamation, the 
 
 s Ibid. ver. 21. balance. 
 
 8 Woodhousf's A mint. p. 2 See Woodhouso, Transla- 
 
 127- tion, and Annot. 
 
 1 uyor, tin- yoke of tlu- 
 
VIL] The fourth Seal. 207 
 
 strict charge, given by the same voice, for the preser- 
 vation of " the oil and the wine," would significantly 
 express a state of things in which, as in the straitness 
 of the siege which the prophet foretold to Jerusa- 
 lem, they should "eat bread by weight and with 
 care 3 ;" and in which the fruits of the earth, though 
 still preserved by a guardian power, should be the 
 objects of watchful solicitude. And when we bear in 
 mind the language in which, elsewhere, the prophet 
 Amos speaks of the days when there should be " a 
 famine " in the land, " not a famine of bread, nor a 
 thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the 
 Lord 4 ;" and when we remember also how, in 
 Scripture phrase, the corn and the oil and the wine 
 are used to denote spiritual blessings 5 , it will seem, 
 perhaps, most accordant with the interpretation 
 which has been given, on Scriptural grounds, to 
 the two preceding seals, if we understand this 
 also to describe a state of spiritual privation, the 
 punishment, as it would seem, of abuse or neglect 
 of the gifts of God's grace. It would foretel a time 
 when those gifts, though preserved in the midst of 
 the earth by the special care of His overruling Pro- 
 vidence, should be given in scanty measure to pre- 
 serve life ; while the gladness and joy of plenty 
 were taken away, and a gloomy blackness gave its 
 appropriate colour to the darkening scene. 
 
 In the fourth seal we have imagery yet more 
 appalling. The hue of the " pale " horse, livid and 
 ghastly, for such is the force of the epithet here 
 employed 6 his rider whose name was Death, and 
 Hell following after him, and the power given them 
 
 3 Ezek. iv. 16. 5 E.g. Amos ix. 13. Joel 
 
 4 Araosviii.il. See Wood- iii. 18. Jer. xxxi. 12. 
 house. 
 
208 Tin' fourth ,W. [LECT. 
 
 to "kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, 
 and with the beasts of the earth," seem to open to 
 our view the " dark places of the earth," " full of the 
 habitations of cruelty." " There is a sublime climax, 
 or scale of terrific imagery," says Dean Woodhouse, 
 " exhibited in the colours of the horses of the first 
 four seals, denoting, as I understand them, the pro- 
 gressive character of the Christian times, from its 
 pure beginning to its greatest corruption. It begins 
 with pure white ; then changes to fiery and venge- 
 ful; then to black or mournful ; and when we sup- 
 pose that nothing more dreadful in colour can appear, 
 then comes another gradation still more terrific, even 
 this deadly pale 7 ." 
 
 "The period of the fourth seal is" evidently one 
 " of great slaughter and devastation. But," as the 
 same writer further remarks, "in the metaphorical 
 language of Scripture, these agents of destruction are 
 not confined to act upon the lives of men only . . . 
 and it is the most dire work of Death and Hell to 
 destroy in the heart of man those seeds of religion 
 which are there planted to grow up unto eternal life" 
 "Conformably to these images," according to this 
 view, " Death and Hell, under this seal, are described 
 as making ravage not only on the natural lives, but" 
 also " on the spiritual lives of men, by eradicating 
 the vital principle of pure religion. The Christian 
 religion, which had begun her benign progress in 
 white array, and under the guidance of apostolic 
 teachers, is now not only so changed in colour and 
 appearance, as to be scarcely discernible as the same ; 
 but is under the direction of deadly and infernal 
 agents, who delight to destroy in her all that remains 
 
 7 Annot. p. 139. 
 
vii.] Connexion of the four Seals. 209 
 
 of primitive purity 8 ." And, it may be added, that 
 in the same degree in which the powers of evil, 
 whether of this world or of the world unseen, were 
 suffered to prevail over the living power of the Word 
 of Life, and the spiritual life of men, they would 
 also exhibit the outward violence by which that 
 persecuting empire was distinguished, which seemed 
 to early times the very type of the Antichristian 
 power, and which, in inventing, as Lactantius speaks, 
 new and unwonted tortures for the worshippers of 
 God, slew them " with sword, and with hunger, and 
 with the beasts of the earth 9 ." 
 
 It may be observed, in favour of this general view 
 of the four seals, as delineating the various fortunes 
 of the Christian Church, and the changes which it 
 has seemed to undergo in the different stages of its 
 progress, that there is a unity of subject thus pre- 
 served throughout ; from the first going forth of the 
 Divine Religion in its original purity and power, to 
 its re-appearance, in power and purity still more 
 resplendent and glorious, for the final victory over 
 all its foes. But if it should rather seem, that the 
 images exhibited in the three latter seals are to be 
 interpreted literally, as describing the outward cala- 
 mities of war, and famine, and the varied forms of 
 death which follow in their desolating train, we 
 must undoubtedly, I think, with the ancient expo- 
 sitors, identify the scenes here described with those 
 which our Lord foretold in the prophecy already 
 referred to. These events will then still maintain a 
 close connexion with that which I have endeavoured 
 to establish as the import of the first seal, viz. the 
 going forth of the * Gospel of the kingdom," which 
 
 8 Ibid. p. 140. 9 Whitley, p. 235. 
 
 P 
 
210 First spreading of the Gospel. [LECT. 
 
 was to be " preached in all the world for a witness 
 unto all nations." This, with the " signs following " 
 it, and the attendant circumstances which marked its 
 progress over the earth, whether we give to the 
 scenes in which it is depicted a more literal or a 
 more spiritual interpretation, a wider or a more 
 limited extent in point of time, is undoubtedly, I 
 conceive, the main subject of these first disclosures 
 of the mystic book. And if, taking in the remoter 
 view, we discover in them glimpses of later periods 
 in the Church's history, these must, I think, be 
 regarded only as opened (so to speak) in perspective, 
 as we follow the first career of the Gospel over the 
 face of the earth. It was the commission of our 
 Lord to His Apostles, the chosen heralds of His 
 word, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
 Gospel to every creature." "And," we are told, 
 " they went forth and preached every where, the 
 Lord working with them." " Their sound went out 
 into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the 
 world." " The word of the truth of the Gospel " 
 " is come unto you," said the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
 writing to the Christians at Colossse, " as it is in all 
 the world ;" " that Gospel," he says again, " which ye 
 have heard, and which was preached to every creature 
 which is under heaven '." And it is this its univer- 
 sality, in regard to the whole extent of God's earthly 
 dominion, that would seem to be prominently set 
 before us, in the fourfold imagery which answers, as 
 we have seen, to the four living creatures who were 
 beheld "in the midst of the throne and round about 
 the throne " of the Almighty King. 
 
 In examining, on a former occasion, into the 
 
 1 Mark xvi. 15. 20. Horn. x. IS. Col. i. ;>, (>. 23. 
 
vii.] The Cherubic Symbols, severally. llU 
 
 mystic import of those four emblems, thus closely 
 connected with the first four seals, I deferred 
 consideration of the question, whether they admitted, 
 severally, of a distinct application to so many -dif- 
 ferent kingdoms, or whether they were simply to be 
 regarded, as denoting, generally, the subjection of all 
 " principality and power and might and dominion" 
 to the supreme authority of Him who ruleth in the 
 kingdoms of men, and maketh them the instruments 
 of His Sovereign will. 
 
 In those visions of Zechariah, already referred to, 
 of which the imagery, as we have seen, strikingly 
 resembles that of the passage before us, the horses 
 and chariots which are there described as those 
 " whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro 
 through the earth," "the four spirits of the heavens 
 which go forth from standing before the Lord of all 
 the earth," are represented as taking possession, as 
 it were, of different lands ; some going forth " into 
 the north country," and some " toward the south 
 country," and some, as though their fixed place of 
 dominion were not yet assigned to them, bidden to 
 " walk to and fro through the earth." And in these 
 horses and chariots, both Jewish and Christian inter- 
 preters have traced, in connexion with a description 
 of angelic agency in the fulfilment of the designs of 
 God's Providence, a reference also to the four great 
 monarchies delineated in the visions of the book of 
 Daniel. Of the two visions of Zechariah, the latter, 
 that of the four chariots, seems the rather to connect 
 itself with the vision before us, inasmuch as it is fol- 
 lowed immediately by a remarkable prophecy of Him 
 for whose spiritual and everlasting kingdom those 
 earthly empires were destined to prepare the way. 
 The prophet was commanded to take silver and gold, 
 
 p2 
 
212 Import of the several Symbols. [LECT. 
 
 and make of them crowns to set symbolically upon 
 the head of the high priest; the promise being 
 at the same time solemnly given of "the Man 
 whose name is the BRANCH," who should " build the 
 temple of the Lord," and should "bear the glory, 
 and sit and rule upon his throne, and be a priest 
 upon his throne, and the counsel of peace be between 
 them both 2 ." 
 
 The symbols of the four living creatures, with 
 which, as we have already seen, the four seals in the 
 vision before us are closely connected, we found rea- 
 son to think, on examining them by the light of 
 prophetic Scripture, were intended to denote the 
 kingdoms of this world. The lion, in particular, it 
 was observed, was, in Daniel's vision of the four 
 beasts, the emblem of the Babylonian empire ; and 
 this alone would suggest the inquiry, whether there 
 were not some such special application of the same 
 symbol here, and of the other three which are joined 
 with it. And, moreover, the order in which they 
 occur, which is not that which we should naturally 
 have expected, would tend to confirm the idea that 
 there was involved some principle of historical suc- 
 cession. " The first living creature was like a lion, 
 and the second like a calf, and the third had a face 
 as a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle." 
 
 In regard to the first, the imagery of Daniel's 
 vision, making the lion the symbol of Babylon, 
 might be illustrated by many passages of the pro- 
 phets. One, in particular, of the prophet Jeremiah, 
 is cited by a Jewish writer, Rabbi Eliezer, in support 
 of his application to the Babylonian empire of the 
 face of the lion among the cherubim. " I will bring 
 
 2 7ccli. vi. 11 13. 
 
vii.] Symbol of the Lion. 213 
 
 evil from the north, and a great destruction. The 
 lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer 
 of the Gentiles is on his way ; he is gone forth from 
 his place to make thy land desolate 3 ." Again, in 
 the prophecy against Edom, the Chaldean invader is 
 described as coming up " like a lion from the swell- 
 ing of Jordan against the habitation of the strong 4 ;" 
 and elsewhere by the same prophet the title is ap- 
 plied to the kings and conquerors of Nineveh and 
 Babylon, almost as a distinctive appellation. " Israel 
 is a scattered sheep ; the lions have driven him away : 
 first the king of Assyria hath devoured him ; and 
 then the king of Babylon hath broken his bones 5 ." 
 And again in another passage, where the mention, 
 immediately following, of Egyptian enemies, makes 
 the symbolical designation of the kings of Assyria 
 and Babylon the more striking. " Is Israel a servant ? 
 is he a home-born slave ? why is he spoiled ? The 
 young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they 
 made his land waste : his cities were burned without 
 inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes 
 have broken the crown of thy head 6 ." The reference 
 here to the conquerors of the East, as distinguished 
 from the Egyptians, is the more manifest, from the 
 mention made, in the same chapter, of these two 
 great powers of the ancient world between which 
 the chosen people lay, and which were alike the 
 causes of Jerusalem's sin and the instruments of her 
 punishment. " What hast thou to do in the way of 
 Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor ? or what hast 
 thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the 
 waters of the river?" " Thou also shalt be ashamed 
 of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria 7 ." 
 
 3 Jer. iv. 6, 7. 4 Chap. xlix. 19. 
 
 5 Chap. 1. 17. 6 Chap. ii. 1416. r Vv. 18. 36. 
 
214 Symbol of the Calf, or Ox. [LECT. 
 
 And if the lion was the emblem of Assyria, and of 
 the other monarchies which inherited the same seats 
 of dominion in the Eastern world, the calf, or the ox, 
 was not less appropriate as the emblem of Egypt. 
 And the image is so applied, in the same prophetic 
 volume of Jeremiah, in a passage which Bishop 
 Warburton 8 has pointed out as a striking instance 
 of symbolical language. " Egypt is a very fair 
 heifer; but destruction cometh; it cometh out of 
 the north. Also her hired men are in the midst of 
 her like fatted bullocks : for they also are turned 
 back, and are fled away together 9 ." The Psalmist 
 likewise, in a passage already referred to, employs 
 the same imagery, where, among the nations that 
 were to be subdued by the Divine power, Egypt 
 seems to be especially alluded to '. " Rebuke the 
 wild beast of the reed, the multitude of the bulls, 
 with the calves of the people, till every one submit 
 himself with pieces of silver ; scatter thou the people 
 that delight in war. Princes shall come out of 
 Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands 
 unto God 2 ." 
 
 With regard, indeed, to this second symbol it 
 may be remarked, that the kingdom of Egypt is not 
 one of the four which are symbolically delineated 
 in the visions of the book of Daniel, and which are 
 commonly called the four great monarchies. But, 
 though it did not occupy a place in the succession of 
 empires which followed the Babylonian, in that series 
 which continued onward to the times of the Gos- 
 pel, yet in the wider survey of the ancient world, 
 in its subordination to the universal sway of God's 
 
 8 Divine Legation, book iv. 9 Jer. xlvi. 20, 21. 
 ;ct. 3 
 
 95, 96. 
 
 Sect. 3. Works, vol. iv. pp. ' Cf. sup. p. 186. 
 
 I's. Ixviii. 30, 31. 
 
VIL] Assyria and Egypt. 215 
 
 Providence, Egypt would naturally stand side by 
 side with Assyria. And the imagery of the prophet 
 Ezekiel, who describes the Assyrian and the Egyptian 
 as the two fairest and loftiest cedars in the garden 
 of God, " the choice and best of Lebanon 3 ," it has 
 been well observed by an able lecturer on this foun- 
 dation, has in it " the accuracy of historical truth, 
 as well as the beauty of a poetic, and the force of a 
 moral representation." " Originally," as Mr. Davi- 
 son remarks, Egypt " was the most prosperous, opu- 
 lent, and powerful of kingdoms ; till the growth of 
 the Assyrian power divided with it its glory, and then 
 together they were the two foremost nations of the 
 ancient world V And they were the nations, more- 
 over, by whom the fortunes of God's chosen people 
 were specially affected, and whose power and idola- 
 tries most endangered their safety; while, at the 
 same time, they gave occasion for the most signal 
 displays of the supreme deity of the God of Israel. 
 And hence with peculiar significancy would the 
 symbols of Egypt and Assyria be seen, in the earlier 
 ages of the Divine dispensations, sustaining the foot- 
 stool of His throne " who sat upon the Cherubim." 
 
 It would lead us away, however, too far from our 
 immediate subject, into the minute examination of 
 the descriptions given of the living creatures, or 
 cherubim, in the Old Testament, were we to enter 
 fully on the grounds for this application of them to 
 the several kingdoms of the ancient world. I may 
 state, however, that I believe this interpretation will 
 be found to remove some difficulties, and reconcile 
 apparent discrepancies not otherwise of easy solu- 
 tion. It is not till the visions of Ezekiel that we 
 
 3 Ezek. xxxi. 2, 3. 16. 18. 4 Davison on Prophecy, p. 481. 
 
216 Greece and Rome. [LECT. 
 
 find explicit mention made of the two symbols 
 which stand last in order in St. John's description, 
 viz. the face of the man and that of the eagle 5 . 
 The former of these two, it may be observed, ap- 
 pears more prominently in Ezekiel's description of 
 the restored temple G ; which circumstance would 
 agree well with the application of these symbols, 
 respectively, to the two last kingdoms, namely, the 
 Greek and the Roman, of those same four which, 
 as we have seen, appear to be symbolized by the 
 four chariots in Zechariah's still later vision. The 
 human form would fitly represent the pre-eminent 
 civilization of Greece, and the superiority which, by 
 this right, it claimed over the barbarians around, 
 corresponding with that which belongs to man over 
 the beasts of the field and the forest. And the eagle 
 would be the not less appropriate emblem of the 
 Roman conquests, the well known military standard 
 of a people in whom, as it would appear, was accom- 
 plished fully the threatening which was pronounced 
 upon the people of Israel by their great lawgiver, and 
 which the Chaldean had partly fulfilled. "The Lord 
 shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the 
 end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth V It 
 may be regarded, perhaps, as confirming this inter- 
 pretation of the last-named symbol, that, in a subse- 
 quent chapter of this same book, where the vision 
 seems to refer to the time when, by God's over- 
 ruling Providence, the Roman empire lent its power 
 to the protection of His Church 8 , it is said that 
 " there were given to the woman two wings of the 
 great eagle" (for so it should be rendered 9 ), "that she 
 
 ' Ezek. i. 10, &c. x. 14, &c. * Vid. inf. Lect. xi. 
 
 6 Ezek. xli. 19. roD eurou TOV 
 
 Deut. xxviii. '10. 
 
VIL] Difficulty of the inquiry. 217 
 
 might flee into the wilderness ] ;" and it may also 
 serve to explain the description of the fourth of the 
 four living creatures, in the vision before us, as " like 
 a flying eagle, 1 ' if we apply it to a power which, at 
 the time when the Apocalyptic vision was seen, was 
 in the midst of its career of victory and dominion. 
 
 In vindication, if need be, of the considerations 
 which I have ventured to suggest towards the inter- 
 pretation of symbols confessedly obscure, I would 
 plead, in the words of a learned writer on the same 
 subject, that, " of the many conjectures which have 
 at different times been hazarded, there are none 
 but what have their difficulties and embarrassments," 
 and yet "none of them have been otherwise than 
 well received, when they have been modestly pro- 
 pounded ; when no singular stress has been laid upon 
 them, and nobody required to acquiesce in them, 
 to the exclusion of all other expositions 2 ." The 
 spirit in which such subjects should be approached 
 is one anxious, indeed, to understand, so far as may 
 be permitted, what God hath revealed, but, at the 
 same time not impatient of obscurity ; willing rather, 
 if so be, to be enabled to discover only thus much, 
 that there is, in the words of Inspiration and in 
 the scenes which it unfolds, a depth of meaning, and 
 comprehensiveness of application, which is beyond 
 its own skill to discover ; while yet the investigation 
 of them may have served the salutary purpose of 
 leaving an impression, elevating yet humbling, of the 
 vast and illimitable range of the Divine dispensa- 
 tions, and of " the manifold wisdom of God." 
 
 We have seen that there is some intimate con- 
 
 1 Rev. xii. 14. sertation on the Cherubim, p. 
 
 Archdeacon Sharp, Dis- 363. 
 
218 Connexion of the Symbols and Seals. [LECT. 
 
 nexion between the four seals and the four living 
 creatures, severally; implied, as it would seem, in 
 the call which these in turn address to the beloved 
 disciple, as each seal is opened in succession, bidding 
 him " Come and see." It would greatly confirm the 
 view which has been given, on distinct grounds, of 
 the import of the four seals and of the four living 
 creatures, if this connecting link were discovered 
 between them. And if we follow the progress of 
 the Gospel over the earth under the varying aspects 
 presented in the four seals, our view is certainly 
 fixed in a peculiar manner on the countries which 
 we have supposed to be marked out by the four 
 living creatures. It was in the East that the Gospel 
 first went forth on its career of victory ; and among 
 the multitude who witnessed the first effusion of 
 the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, we read of " Par- 
 thians, and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers 
 in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea and Cappadocia, in 
 Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia " all these 
 from the Asiatic continent 3 . And, next in order, we 
 find mention made of those " in Egypt, and in the 
 parts of Libya about Gyrene V And it is to Egypt 
 and Africa that our attention is specially called, 
 when instances are given us of the bitter strifes and 
 divisions which, through the operation of human 
 passions, followed the preaching of the Gospel 5 . 
 Again, the darkness of the third seal and the par- 
 tial withdrawal of religious truth, were referred to the 
 influence of heathen philosophy, and heathen super- 
 stition ; and in these we recognize the offspring of 
 Greece. And, finally, in the persecutions and cruelty 
 
 3 Acts ii. 9, 10. Donatists and Circumcelliones, 
 
 1 Ver. 10. the Arian and other controver- 
 
 /,'. </., the schisms of the sies in Alexandria, &c. 
 
vii.] Prophetic import of the Vision. 219 
 
 which close the scene, we seem to trace the domi- 
 nion of Rome, that imperial city in whom was to 
 be " found " in the day of retribution " the blood 
 of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain 
 upon the earth V 
 
 But, whatever interpretation we may be inclined 
 to give to the imagery which describes the train of 
 the Conqueror who is represented in the first seal, no 
 doubt, I think, can attach to that description, as to 
 its reference to the early times of the Gospel. And 
 this, I would repeat, is the important point to deter- 
 mine in the vision before us. And if, by the attend- 
 ant forms seen in the vision as following the Rider 
 on the white horse, we are to understand the tem- 
 poral calamities which our Lord had foretold as the 
 signs of His kingdom coming in its power, we may 
 imagine how great the support and consolation 
 which these vivid delineations of " the beginnings of 
 sorrows " were fitted to supply to the early Chris- 
 tians; continually taunted as they were with the 
 reproach of these calamities, as occasioned by the 
 new religion, and the wrath and vengeance awakened 
 in the insulted deities of Paganism. What comfort 
 to them to know assuredly, that these temporal woes 
 were in reality the attendants on His steps who was 
 gone forth in the greatness of His power, "con- 
 quering and to conquer!" 
 
 Or if we, His soldiers and servants in these latter 
 days, have heard His blessed Gospel reproached by 
 the tongue of the unbeliever, because of the evils to 
 which its enemies can point as having followed in its 
 wake, the bitter contentions, the dark superstition, 
 
 6 Compare George Herbert's " The Church Militant." 
 
220 Fulfilment of the Vision. 
 
 the unrelenting persecutions, which have too often 
 presented so sad a contrast to the spirit of pure and 
 undefiled religion, we need not be perplexed ; for 
 all this was foretold. The Gospel came, indeed, from 
 God, but it came on earth : a course of warfare, in 
 order to final success, was that which was appointed 
 to His Church in this earthly scene. And the fulfil- 
 ment of the prediction, however grievous, is but an 
 attestation of His Divine truth, and gives the more 
 firm assurance of His future final triumph. For HE 
 is " called Faithful and True," who is gone forth 
 " conquering and to conquer ;" and " His Name is 
 called the Word of God V 
 
 And to Him, " who is the blessed and only Po- 
 tentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords," be 
 ascribed all honour and glory, might, majesty, do- 
 minion, and power, now and for evermore. 
 
 7 Rev. xix. 11. 13. 
 
LECTURE VIII. 
 
 REV. vi. 17. 
 
 " For the great day of his wrath is come ; and who shall be able 
 to stand?" 
 
 IN the last Lecture we inquired into the import of 
 the first four seals of the mystic book which it was 
 given to the Lamb to open ; considering those four 
 seals both with reference to their own distinct mean- 
 ing, as gathered from the vision itself, illustrated by 
 other Scripture, and also in their relation to the four 
 living creatures, with which they appeared to be, in 
 so remarkable a manner, connected. We found 
 reason to think that these first four seals, taken toge- 
 ther, might be understood to describe the going 
 forth of the Gospel throughout the world, with the 
 signs which immediately followed it, and perhaps 
 also with the circumstances which more remotely 
 attended its changeful progress over the face of the 
 earth. 
 
 In the well-known prophecy of our Blessed Lord 
 to which we had occasion to refer the prophecy in 
 which He declares that the " Gospel of the king- 
 dom" should "be preached in all the world for a 
 
 1 Preached Jan. 7, 1844, 
 
222 Prophecy of OUT Lord. [LECT. 
 
 witness to all nations," before " the end " should 
 "come" He had foretold certain signs which, as 
 we have seen, would appear to correspond with the 
 imagery of the four seals in the vision before us, 
 taken in its most literal application. " Nation shall 
 rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom : 
 and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and 
 earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the 
 beginning of sorrows 2 ." Our Lord proceeded fur- 
 ther to speak of trials which would more imme- 
 diately concern His own followers, and particularly 
 those first disciples whom He then addressed. " Then 
 shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall 
 kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations for my 
 name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and 
 shall betray one another, and shall hate one an- 
 other 3 ." Or, as we read more fully in the record of 
 the same prophecy given by another of the Evan- 
 gelists, in a passage which, in like manner, follows 
 immediately upon the mention of those " beginnings 
 of sorrows," " But take heed to yourselves : for they 
 shall deliver you up to councils ; and in the syna- 
 gogues ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought 
 before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony 
 against them. And the Gospel must first be pub- 
 lished among all nations. But when they shall lead 
 you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand 
 what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate : but 
 whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that 
 speak ye : for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy 
 Ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother 
 to death, und the father the son ; and children shall 
 rise up against their parents, and shall cause them 
 
 2 Matt. xxiv. 7, 8. 3 Vv. 9, 10. 
 
VIIL] The Fifth Seal. 223 
 
 to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all 
 nations for my name's sake : but he that shall endure 
 unto the end, the same shall be saved V " In your 
 patience possess ye your souls V Such were the 
 trials which our Blessed Lord had led His followers 
 to expect; and the scenes unfolded in the vision 
 before us closely correspond with the course of His 
 Divine prophecy. Whether or not we trace in the 
 imagery of the fourth seal a reference to the sundry 
 kinds of death by which the early disciples were 
 condemned to die, we have, at all events, in the fifth 
 seal, to which we are now to proceed, the description 
 of days of persecution as having already come upon 
 the Christian Church. " And when he had opened 
 the fifth seal," says St. John, " I saw under the altar 
 the souls of them that were slain," or rather, " that 
 had been slain 6 , 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 them ; and it was said unto 
 them, that they should rest yet for a little season, 
 until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, 
 that should be killed as they were, should be ful- 
 filled V The description of this their earnest ex- 
 postulation, if so it may be called, their eager 
 looking for the day of triumph, agrees well with 
 the thoughts and hopes that would be awakened 
 by the prospect which their Lord's prediction had 
 opened, of an " end," then shortly to come, when 
 these signs were fulfilled upon them. 
 
 And, in the vision before us, the sixth seal, which 
 
 * Mark xiii. 9 13. 6 T&V kayaynivMr. 
 
 5 Luke xxi. 19. 7 Rev. vi. 911. 
 
224 The Sixth Seal [LECT. 
 
 immediately follows, seems to describe a great and 
 general consummation. "And I beheld when he 
 had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a 
 great earthquake ; and the sun became black as 
 sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood ; 
 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 scrowl when it is rolled together ; and every 
 mountain and island were moved out of their places. 
 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and 
 the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty 
 men, arid every bondman, and every free man, hid 
 themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the 
 mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, 
 Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that 
 sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the 
 Lamb : for the great day of his wrath is come ; and 
 who shall be able to stand 8 ?" 
 
 The language here employed might seem, at first 
 sight, such as could hardly be applied to any thing 
 short of the awful scenes of the final day of doom. 
 But, in the interpretation of Scripture language, we 
 need to be continually reminded of those words of 
 the Almighty by His prophet, " My thoughts are 
 not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, 
 saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than 
 the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. 
 and my thoughts than your thoughts 9 ." If, in our 
 human estimate of things, we are sometimes in 
 danger, on the one hand, of giving an exaggerated 
 importance to what may seem to us striking events 
 and critical periods in the world's annals, as though 
 
 8 Vv. 1217. 9 Isa. Iv. 8, 0. 
 
vm.] Later Vision of the Judgment. 225 
 
 they must needs occupy a prominent place in the 
 sacred roll of prophecy, we shall too probably, on the 
 other hand, in many instances, fail to discover, for 
 lack of spiritual discernment, those turning points 
 in the evolving history of God's spiritual kingdom 
 upon earth, which are there described in words " not 
 which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy 
 Ghost teacheth," and which can be interpreted only 
 by " comparing spiritual things with spiritual V 
 
 But, before we proceed to examine the language 
 of the passage before us by the light of other parts 
 of prophetic Scripture, I would point out the striking 
 difference between the description here given us and 
 that which we find in a later part of the Apocalypse, 
 and which undoubtedly refers to the scenes of the 
 last Judgment. "I saw," says St. John, in the 
 twentieth chapter of the Revelation, " a great white 
 throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the 
 earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was 
 found no place for them. And I saw the dead, 
 small and great, stand before God ; and the books 
 were opened : and another book was opened, which 
 was the book of life : and the dead were judged out 
 of those things which were written in the books, 
 according to their works. And the sea gave up the 
 dead which were in it ; and death and hell delivered 
 up the dead which were in them : and they were 
 judged every man according to their works. And 
 death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This 
 i c the second death. And whosoever was not found 
 in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire V 
 There is something in this description, a dimness 
 and vastness of outline, an absence of all the objects 
 
 1 1 Cor. ii. 13. 2 Rev. xx. 1115. 
 
 Q 
 
226 The two Visions distinct. [LECT. 
 
 which had filled the scene in the former vision, the 
 earth and the heaven now fled away, the throne of 
 God and of the Lamb seen no more in His temple, 
 amid the assembly of His worshippers, but, in its 
 stead, the throne of the EternalJudge, now revealed 
 in the midst of the universe, His dispensations of 
 grace ended, and the time of judgment come there 
 is something here which cannot fail to strike us as 
 altogether different from the imagery in the earlier 
 vision. The one scene is distinguished from the 
 other, not less in regard to this difference of charac- 
 ter and colouring, than with respect to the place 
 which they respectively occupy in the volume of the 
 Revelation ; the one appearing almost at the very 
 opening of the Apocalyptic vision, the other very 
 near its close. 
 
 It has, indeed, been supposed, that the first six 
 seals " contain a short, rapid, and general sketch of 
 the progress of Christianity from its first establish- 
 ment in the world, to that time, yet future, when 
 the enemies of Christ shall be separated for punish- 
 ment, and his faithful servants for heavenly favour 
 and rewards ;" the seventh seal, on this hypothesis, 
 " retracing the history of the Christian Church," and 
 supplying " many events which were reserved for a 
 more particular notice and display." And it is ob- 
 served that we have elsewhere, as, for instance, in 
 the book of Daniel, as well as in the Revelation, 
 instances of " this method of divine prediction, pre- 
 senting at first a general sketch and outline, tind 
 afterward a more complete and finished picture of 
 events 3 ." 
 
 The observation is undoubtedly correct, so far as 
 
 3 Woodhouse, Annot. p. 165. 
 
viu.J Vision of the Seals continuous. 227 
 
 distinct visions are concerned ; as, for instance, 
 Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the image, and Daniel's 
 of the four beasts 4 . But the case, it will be ad- 
 mitted, is widely different where the same vision is 
 carried on. In the instance before us, where the 
 seven seals of the book in the right hand of the 
 Lamb are opened in succession, we should expect 
 to find the events contained under the seventh seal 
 consequent upon those of the six preceding, rather 
 than synchronizing with them. And this, I think, 
 on more minute examination, will be found to be 
 the case. We saw under the fifth seal the souls 
 of the martyrs calling for vengeance upon them that 
 dwelt on the earth ; and they were bidden to rest 
 yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants 
 also and their brethren, that should be killed as they 
 were, should be fulfilled. In a subsequent part of 
 the vision (in the eleventh chapter), at the sounding 
 of the seventh trumpet, the seven trumpets making 
 up the seventh seal, we read, "there were great 
 voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world 
 are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his 
 Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And 
 the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on 
 their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped 
 God, saying, We give thee thanks, Lord God Al- 
 mighty, which art, arid wast, and art to come ; be- 
 cause thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and 
 hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and 
 thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that 
 
 4 Cf. sup. Lect. iii. pp. 60, chap. xii. of the Revelation 
 
 61. It will appear, I think, (vid. inf. Lect. xi.), and also, 
 
 that we have a similar instance I am strongly inclined to think, 
 
 of the opening of a distinct in chap. xx. ; which latter por- 
 
 vision, and consequently this tion, however, does not come 
 
 retracing of earlier events, in into our immediate view. 
 
228 The sixth Seal unfolded [LECT. 
 
 they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give 
 reward " or rather, " that thou shouldest give the 
 reward 5 ," the long promised, expected 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 6 ." 
 The season of patient waiting, spoken of under the 
 fifth seal, had, it would appear, at length come to its 
 close, when now the seventh seal was so far unfolded ; 
 the two witnesses, their appointed time of ministry 
 being accomplished, had been slain and raised up 
 again ; and the vengeance, long delayed, was now at 
 length to be wrought ; even as it had been pro- 
 mised, that " in the days of the voice of the seventh 
 angel, when he " should " begin to sound, the mys- 
 tery of God should be finished, as he " had " declared 
 to his servants the prophets 7 ." 
 
 And, in like manner, if we examine minutely the 
 description contained in the sixth seal, comparing it 
 with later visions, we shall find, I think, indications 
 which would clearly show, that it is to be regarded 
 not as itself the final consummation, but rather as 
 the germ out of which the future fortunes of the 
 Church and of her enemies were gradually to unfold. 
 Thus, at the opening of the sixth seal, w r e are told, 
 " there was a great earthquake ;" but afterwards, 
 upon the pouring out of the seventh vial (the seven 
 vials, as I shall hereafter have occasion to show, 
 being the completion of the vengeance wrought 
 under the seven trumpets) when "the seventh 
 angel poured out his vial into the air; and there 
 came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, 
 from the throne, saying, It is done;" we are told, 
 
 ror fJiiffOoi'. i; Chap. xi. 15 18. 7 Cliap. x. 7. 
 
viii.] in subsequent Visions. 229 
 
 " there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings ; 
 and there was a great earthquake, suck as was not 
 since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earth- 
 quake, and so great 8 ." Again, in the description 
 before us of the sixth seal, it is said, " every moun- 
 tain and island removed out of their place 9 ," shaken 
 as if in terror ; but in the later vision where the 
 seventh vial is poured out, it is said, as though all 
 things were now nearer to their threatened dissolu- 
 tion, " every island fled away, and the mountains 
 were not found '." Under the sixth seal, "the kings 
 of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, 
 and the chief captains, and every bondman, and every 
 free man," are described as hiding themselves in 
 terror at the anticipated vengeance of the day of 
 Divine wrath now breaking upon them 2 ; but, as if 
 the actual scene of destruction had unfolded itself 
 more and more fully, when we arrive at the descrip- 
 tion of the fall of Babylon, whose day of visitation 
 came then at length when the seventh vial had been 
 poured out, we read there of " the kinas of the earth" 
 bewailing and lamenting for her, and then of " the 
 merchants of the earth," " which were made rich by 
 her," and were " the great men of the earth," weep- 
 ing and mourning over her 3 : and still later, when 
 the Rider on the white horse goes forth for the final 
 triumph over His enemies, an angel is seen standing 
 in the sun, and crying " with a loud voice to all the 
 fowls that fly in the midst of heaven," bidding them 
 to " eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, 
 and the flesh of mighty men, . . . and the flesh of all 
 men, both free and bond, both small and great 4 ." 
 
 s Chap. xvi. 17, 18. 2 Chap. vi. 15. 
 
 9 Chap. vi. 14. 3 Chap, xviii. 9. 11. 
 
 1 Chap. xvi. 20. 4 Chap. xix. 17, 18. 
 
230 Unfolding of the sixth Seal. [LECT. 
 
 Lastly, under the sixth seal, or what may be re- 
 garded as the continuation of it, contained in the 
 following chapter, we find " the four angels, to whom 
 it was given to hurt the earth and the sea," com- 
 manded not to hurt the earth, nor the sea, nor the 
 trees, till the servants of God had been sealed in 
 their foreheads, to be preserved by that mark amid 
 the scenes of destruction 5 . In the subsequent vision, 
 under the seventh seal, we read of the first angel 
 sounding, on which there followed plagues "upon 
 the earth" " and the third part of trees was burnt up, 
 and all green grass was burnt up ;" and the second 
 angel sounded, and plagues fell upon the sea 6 ; and 
 still later, under the fifth trumpet, we read of the 
 locusts, that "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 the seal of God in their foreheads 7 ." 
 These passages, taken together, seem clearly to dis- 
 cover scenes which contain the further unfolding of 
 that which is disclosed under the sixth seal, in the 
 passage immediately before us. 
 
 It would appear, then, that in the imagery of the 
 sixth seal is described, not that last day of doom 
 which is to determine for ever the eternal destinies 
 of men, as personal and individual agents, but rather 
 a great crisis and consummation in the history of 
 God's dispensations, revealing the prospect of that 
 general overthrow which should in due time involve 
 in it the whole world ; and also unfolding, as more 
 fully to be manifested in time to come, the privileges 
 and blessings which, in the kingdom and Church of 
 Christ, should be the portion of those who found 
 
 Chap. vii. 2, 3. Cluip. viii. 7. 7 Chap. ix. 4. 
 
viii.] Imagery of the sixth Seal. 231 
 
 within its blissful sanctuary a shelter from the 
 gathering storm. 
 
 But it is time to proceed to the more particular 
 examination of the imagery here employed. " I be- 
 held," says St. John, "and, lo, there was a great 
 earthquake ; and the sun became black as sackcloth 
 of hair, and the moon became as blood ; 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 scrowl 
 when it is rolled together ; and every mountain and 
 island were moved out of their places." Imagery 
 very similar to this is found in the prophetical books 
 of the Old Testament. Thus Isaiah, in the thirteenth 
 chapter of his prophecies, where he foretels the de- 
 struction of Babylon and its empire, speaks of that 
 impending overthrow as " the day of the Lord," " at 
 hand," come " as a destruction from the Almighty," 
 " to lay the land desolate," and to " destroy the sin- 
 ners thereof out of it." " For the stars of heaven," 
 he says, "and the constellations thereof shall not 
 give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his 
 going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light 
 to shine." "Therefore I will shake the heavens, 
 and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the 
 wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his 
 fierce anger 8 ." And, in the thirty-fourth chapter, 
 we find the same prophet thus declaring the " indig- 
 nation of the Lord upon all nations, and his fury 
 upon all their armies," and specially upon Idumaea, 
 " the people of " His " curse," the type of His 
 Church's enemies 9 . " All the host of heaven shall 
 
 8 Isa. xiii. 6. 9, 10. 13. 9 Isa. xxxiv. 2. 5. 
 
232 Parallel prophecies of [LECT. 
 
 be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together 
 as a scroll : and all their host shall fall down, as the 
 leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig 
 from the fig tree 1 ." The imagery of these two pro- 
 phecies is identical with that of the vision before 
 us: and that the destruction foretold in the last 
 cited passage of Isaiah, is of kingdoms of this world, 
 previous and preparatory to the coming of the 
 Gospel and the establishment of the Christian 
 Church, is evident from the description which fol- 
 lows immediately upon it, and which undoubtedly 
 received its fulfilment in the times of the Gospel, 
 and the wondrous works which then were wrought. 
 " The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad 
 for them," thus the prophecy continues in the thirty- 
 fifth chapter, " and the desert shall rejoice, and 
 blossom as the rose. . . . Strengthen ye the weak 
 hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them 
 that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: 
 behold, your God will come with vengeance, even 
 God with a recompence ; he will come and save you. 
 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the 
 ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the 
 lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the 
 dumb sing - :" a prediction to which our Lord seems 
 clearly to refer, when He bids the messengers of John 
 carry back to their master the report of these mighty 
 works, as the proof that " He that should come " was 
 in very deed even then standing among them 3 . 
 And in another passage of the same prophet, the 
 terror which should overwhelm the transgressors 
 among his people, in that " day of the Lord of hosts" 
 which was then nigh at hand, is painted in language 
 
 1 YD. :. 7 Chap. xxxv. 1. ;3 (>. Matt. xi. 1, 5. 
 
VIIL] Isaiah and Joel. 233 
 
 closely parallel with the concluding part of the 
 description in the vision before us. " Enter into the 
 rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, 
 and for the glory of his majesty." " And they shall 
 go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of 
 the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of 
 his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the 
 earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of 
 silver, and his idols of gold, which they made every 
 one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the 
 bats ; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the 
 tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and 
 for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake 
 terribly the earth 4 ." 
 
 But the first part of the description before us finds 
 a yet closer parallel in a well-known passage of the 
 prophet Joel. The prophet has been describing the 
 fearful march of that " great army " which the 
 Almighty would send in judgment upon His land, in 
 the threatened " day of the Lord ;" an army before 
 whom " the earth " should " quake," and " the 
 heavens tremble, the sun and the moon be dark, 
 and the stars withdraw their shining 5 ." A promise 
 is given of the removal of this judgment, and of the 
 outpouring, afterward, of the gifts of the Spirit ; and 
 then the word of prophecy proceeds " And I will 
 shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, 
 and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be 
 turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before 
 the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And 
 it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on 
 the name of the Lord shall be delivered : for in 
 Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, 
 
 4 Isa. ii. 10. 1921. * Joel ii. 111. 
 
234 Prophecies of Joel [LECT. 
 
 as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the 
 Lord shall call 6 ." The description in the vision 
 before us is strikingly similar " The sun became 
 black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as 
 blood." And here too, as there, these are signs 
 which usher in a "great and terrible day of the 
 Lord ; " and immediately following, as we shall 
 presently see, is the promise given of a " remnant," 
 " in mount Zion and in Jerusalem," to be delivered 
 from the general destruction. And this passage of 
 the prophet Joel we have inspired authority for 
 referring to the first times of the Gospel dispensa- 
 tion. St. Peter, in his address to the assembled 
 multitudes on the day of Pentecost, cites this pre- 
 diction of the outpouring of the Spirit as the explana- 
 tion of the wondrous things which they had just seen 
 and heard ; and implies not less plainly, that the signs 
 of coming vengeance which the prophet had foretold 
 were now speedily to follow. And therefore " did he 
 testify and exhort " those who then heard him, " say- 
 ing, Save yourselves from this untoward generation 7 " 
 The language in which the prophet speaks of " the 
 great and terrible day of the Lord " will appear to be 
 yet more perfectly identified with that day of ven- 
 geance which marked the first coming of Christ's 
 kingdom, and its establishment on the ruins of 
 the Jewish polity, if we compare with this prophecy 
 of Joel that passage of Malachi, which, from its 
 reference to the mission of him who was sent as our 
 Lord's forerunner at His first advent, for so our 
 Lord Himself hath taught us to interpret the pro- 
 phecy 8 , must undoubtedly be referred to those 
 times. " Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as 
 
 Vv. 3032. 7 Acts ii. 1621. 40. 
 
 8 Matt. xi. 14 ; xvii. 12. 
 
vi i] and Malachi. 235 
 
 an oven ; and all the proud, yea, and all that do 
 wickedly, shall be stubble : and the day that cometh 
 shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it 
 shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto 
 you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness 
 arise with healing in his wings;" that " day spring 
 from on high " of which the hymn of Zacharias, the 
 father of the holy Baptist, speaks 9 ; "and ye shall 
 go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 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. . . . Behold, I 
 will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming 
 of the great and dreadful day of the Lord : " the 
 words in the original are identically the same with 
 those which we find in Joel, and which are rendered 
 in our Authorized Version, " before the great and 
 the terrible day of the Lord come * " " and he shall 
 turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the 
 heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come 
 and smite the earth with a curse 2 ." 
 
 But, from the inspired authority of prophets and 
 apostles, combining thus to illustrate the language of 
 the last of their sacred company, the apostolic pro- 
 phet of the New Testament, we must proceed to 
 consider the words of Him, the great Prophet of His 
 Church, to whom was given the mystic book, in the 
 vision of the beloved disciple, and whose peculiar 
 prerogative it was to open its seals. In that prophecy 
 of our Lord, already referred to, which is recorded 
 by all the evangelists beside St. John, after de- 
 
 9 Luke i. 78. iii. 4. Heb. (E. V. Mai. iv. 
 
 nvv DV ' 3 
 
 - 
 
 : " Mai. iv. 1 
 
 Mai. iii. 23. Joel 
 
236 Prophecy of OUT Lord, [LECT. 
 
 scribing those calamities which should be "the 
 beginning of sorrows," the afflictions and persecu- 
 tions which were to fall upon His disciples, and 
 that preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom 
 " throughout the world," which should be " for a 
 witness unto all nations" before the end should 
 come, our Blessed Lord proceeds to speak of " the 
 abomination of desolation" standing in the holy 
 place, as the signal for them which were in Judea 
 to " flee into the mountains." And happy would it 
 be for them, if their flight were " not in the winter, 
 neither on the sabbath day ;" " for then shall be great 
 tribulation," saith our Lord, " such as was not since 
 the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever 
 shall be. And except those days should be shortened, 
 there should no flesh be saved : but for the elect's 
 sake those days shall be shortened 3 ." Our Lord 
 then gives a warning to His followers against being 
 deceived by false Christs and false prophets, by men 
 saying, " Lo, here is Christ, or there " " Behold, he 
 is in the desert" "behold, he is in the secret 
 chambers." " For as the lightning cometh out of 
 the east, and shineth even unto the west ; so," saith 
 He, " shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles 
 be gathered together 4 ." "Immediately after the tribu- 
 lation of those days," thus the prophecy proceeds as 
 recorded by St. Matthew, or, as it is in St. Mark, " in 
 those days, after that tribulation V " shall the sun 
 be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 
 and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers 
 of the heavens shall be shaken e ." Or, as we read in 
 St. Luke, " There shall be signs in the sun, and in 
 
 3 Matt. xxiv. 1522. 5 Mark xiii. 24. 
 
 4 Vv. 23 28. 6 Matt. xxiv. 29. 
 
VIIL ] compared with the sixth Seal. 237 
 
 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 after those things which are coming on 
 the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be 
 shaken 7 ." "And then shall appear the sign of 
 the Son of man in heaven : and then shall all 
 the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see 
 the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with 
 power and great glory 8 ." We have, here, mention 
 made, together with the darkening of the sun and 
 the moon, of the falling of the stars of heaven, and 
 the distress of the inhabitants of the earth. And 
 the remainder of the description, in the passage be- 
 fore us of the Apocalyptic vision, where men are 
 represented as calling on the mountains and rocks 
 to fall on them and hide them, seems to find its 
 parallel in those other prophetic words which our 
 Lord addressed to that "great company of people, 
 and of women," which followed Him on His way to 
 the mount of crucifixion, bewailing and lamenting 
 Him. " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, 
 but weep for yourselves and for your children. For 
 behold the days are coming, in the which they shall 
 say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never 
 bare, and the paps that never gave suck. Then 
 shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, 
 and to the hills, Cover us 9 ." 
 
 But the description, in our Lord's prophecy, of the 
 coming of the Son of man and the signs attending 
 it, is still further carried on, in imagery strongly 
 resembling that which, in the vision before us, fol- 
 lows immediately at the beginning of the next 
 
 7 Luke xxi. 25, 26. 8 Matt. xxiv. 30. 
 
 9 Luke xxiii. 27 30. 
 
238 Prophecy of our Lord, [LECT. 
 
 chapter, upon the scene of terror revealed under 
 the sixth seal. "And then shall all the tribes of 
 the earth mourn," is the language of our Lord's 
 prophecy already cited, " and they shall see the Son 
 of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power 
 and great glory. And he shall send his angels," 
 the prophecy continues, " with a great sound of a 
 trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect 
 from one end of heaven to the other 1 ." Or, as 
 it is in St. Mark, " And then shall he send his 
 angels, and shall gather together his elect from the 
 four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to 
 the uttermost part of heaven V Let us compare 
 with this the language of St. John's vision. " And 
 after these things I saw four angels standing on the 
 four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of 
 the earth, that the wind should not blow on the 
 earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 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 earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the 
 earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have 
 sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 
 And I heard the number of them which were 
 sealed : and there were sealed an hundred and forty 
 and four thousand of all the tribes of the children 
 of Israel 3 ." "The elect," spoken of by our Blessed 
 Lord are, undoubtedly, the same with those " elect " 
 for whose sake the days of tribulation should be 
 shortened; that "remnant" of whom the prophet 
 Joel had spoken, " whom the Lord " should " call ;" 
 " the remnant according to the election of grace," of 
 
 1 Matt. xxiv. 31. 2 Mark xiii. 27. * Rev. vii. 1 4. 
 
viii.] and St. John's Vision, compared. 239 
 
 whom the Apostle St. Paul speaks, comparing them 
 with the seven thousand in the days of Elias ; and 
 who had obtained the salvation promised to Israel, 
 when the great body of the nation of " Israel after 
 the flesh " were cast away 4 . Though the number of 
 Israel were as the sand of the sea, a remnant only, 
 as the prophet Isaiah had spoken, were to be saved ; 
 when the Almighty should "finish the work, and 
 cut it short in righteousness," bringing to pass the 
 " consumption, even determined, in the midst of all 
 the land 5 ," " the consummation and that deter- 
 mined," as Daniel also had described it, to "be 
 poured upon the desolate 6 ." A remnant was to be 
 saved ; a certain number, designated here as " a 
 hundred and forty and four thousand, of all the 
 tribes of the children of Israel ;" twelve thousand 
 from every tribe (for so is the manner of Scripture 
 to use definite numbers for indefinite), marking a 
 certain election, a predetermined order and law of 
 the Divine procedure in the mingled dispensation of 
 mercy and judgment. 
 
 And, looking to historical fact, we see that in that 
 great assembly on the day of Pentecost, which 
 formed the first fruits of the Christian Church, there 
 were " Jews, devout men, out of every nation under 
 heaven V Again, when St. Paul was at Jerusalem, 
 at another feast of Pentecost, some seven and twenty 
 years afterwards, we find St. James, the " brother of 
 our Lord," the first bishop of Jerusalem, and the 
 elders of the Church there, telling him " how many 
 thousands " or rather, " myriads," tens of thou- 
 sands of Jews there were that believed 8 : and the 
 
 4 Rom. xi. 5. 7. 7 Acts ii. 5. 
 
 5 Isa. x. 21 23, cited in 8 Acts xxi. 20. 0wpt7c, 
 Rom. ix. 27, 28. <\h\<}>, Trvaai. pvptactQ da\v 
 
 Dan. ix. 27. 'lovc'cuon' TU>V 
 
240 The Elect of Israel [LECT- 
 
 same St. James addresses his general Epistle " to 
 the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad 9 ." St. 
 Peter also, in like manner, writes " to the elect 
 strangers of the dispersion throughout Pontus, Ga- 
 latia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia ] ;" and sends 
 to them the salutation of " the Church which " was 
 " at Babylon, elected together with " them e . In 
 these Epistles, as also in that of St. Paul to the 
 Hebrews 3 , the faithful remnant are addressed as 
 those who, having themselves been called to undergo 
 severe trials and persecutions, were to be preserved 
 through days of vengeance which were coming on 
 the disobedient, while the kingdom of Christ was 
 drawing near in the more full manifestation of its 
 power and glory. " Who are kept," says St. Peter, 
 " by the power of God through faith unto salvation 
 (which is) ready to be revealed in the last time." 
 " The end of all things is at hand ; be ye therefore 
 sober, and watch unto prayer." " Beloved, think it 
 not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try 
 you. . . . For the time is come that judgment must 
 begin at the house of God ; and if it first begin at 
 us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the 
 Gospel of God 1 ?" And St. James, in like manner, 
 in a passage which seems graphically descriptive of 
 the latter days of the Jewish history. " Go to now, 
 ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that 
 shall come upon you. . . . Ye have heaped treasure 
 together for the last days. ... Ye have condemned 
 and killed the just ; and he doth not resist you. 
 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of 
 the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the 
 
 9 James i. 1. 3 Comp. Heb. x. 3239; 
 
 1 I Pet. i. 1. xii. 2629. 
 
 2 Chap. v. 13. 4 1 Pet. i. 5; iv. 7. 12. 17. 
 
viii.] Vision of SzekieL 241 
 
 precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for 
 it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye 
 also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming 
 of the Lord draweth nigh V 
 
 But, for the full understanding of the description 
 given in the passage before us, of the sealing of the 
 elect of Israel, before the angels who were commis- 
 sioned to destroy were suffered to hurt the earth or 
 the sea, we must turn to a remarkable vision of the 
 prophet Ezekiel, to which we have already had 
 occasion to refer, and from which the imagery in 
 the vision before us seems to be borrowed. Carried 
 " in the visions of God " to Jerusalem, to see the 
 abominations which were destined to bring speedy 
 destruction upon the guilty city, the prophet heard, 
 from the throne of the Divine glory, the " voice, 
 saying, Cause them that have charge over the city 
 to draw near, even every man with his destroying 
 weapon in his hand. And, behold, six men came 
 from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward 
 the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his 
 hand ; and one man among them wa3 clothed with 
 linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. . . . And 
 the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of 
 the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set 
 a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and 
 that cry for all the abominations that be done in the 
 midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine 
 hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite : 
 let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay 
 utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, 
 and women : but come not near any man upon whom 
 is the mark ; and begin at my sanctuary 6 ." So in 
 
 5 James v. 1. 3. 68. 6 Ezek. ix. 16. 
 
 R 
 
242 The calling of the Jews [LECT 
 
 the vision before us, the angelic ministers of destruc- 
 tion are ready to execute their commission ; but first 
 another angel appears, having the seal of the living 
 God ; and the faithful remnant are marked as the 
 objects of special protection, before the work of 
 vengeance begins; that chosen remnant who are 
 described, in the language of our Blessed Lord's 
 prophecy, as "accounted worthy to escape all those 
 things that shall come to pass, and to stand before 
 the Son of man 7 ." 
 
 But if it was " to the Jew first," it was " also to 
 the Gentile," that, in the coming of Christ's king- 
 dom, with its terrors and its privileges, was to be 
 exhibited a lively image and foretaste of " the day 
 of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment 
 of God ; who will render to every man according to 
 his deeds : to them who by patient continuance in 
 well doing seek for glory and honour and immor- 
 tality, eternal life : but unto them that are coAten- 
 tious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unright- 
 eousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
 anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, 
 of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile ; but glory, 
 honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, 
 to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile 8 ." When 
 the disciples, gathered together to our Lord before 
 His Ascension, asked of Him whether He would at 
 that time restore again the kingdom to Israel, His 
 words, in reply to their question, taught them to 
 look for a kingdom which, while it had its origin in 
 Jerusalem, and was to spread from thence, was 
 destined to include within its limits all the nations 
 of the world. " Ye shall be witnesses unto me," 
 
 7 Luke xxi. 36. * Rom. ii. 5 10. 
 
VIIL] and, then, of the Gentiles. 243 
 
 He said, "both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and 
 in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the 
 earth 9 ." " Repentance and remission of sins " were 
 to he " preached in his name among all nations, be- 
 ginning at Jerusalem V In the visions of Daniel, 
 " the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven," 
 a description which our Lord seems to embody in 
 His prophecy already referred to, and also in His 
 solemn words before the High Priest and the Coun- 
 cil, " Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting 
 on the right hand of power, and coming in the 
 clouds of heaven 2 " " and there was given him," 
 saith the prophet, " dominion, and glory, and a king- 
 dom, that all people, nations, and languages should 
 serve him 3 ." " It was necessary," said Paul and 
 Barnabas to the Jews in the synagogue at Antioch 
 in Pisidia, " that the word of God should first have 
 been spoken to you : but seeing ye put it from you, 
 and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we 
 turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord com- 
 manded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of 
 the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation 
 unto the ends of the earth V And the passage of 
 Isaiah here cited is remarkable for the similarity 
 of its context to St. John's description of the sealed 
 remnant of the twelve tribes. " And now saith the 
 Lord that formed me from the womb to be his ser- 
 vant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be 
 not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes 
 of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 
 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest 
 be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to 
 
 9 Acts i. 68. 3 Dan. vii. 13, 14. 
 
 1 Luke xxiv. 47. 4 Acts xiii. 46, 47. 
 
 2 Matt. xxvi. 64. 
 
 R2 
 
244 The Church of Jew and Gentile [LECT. 
 
 restore the preserved of Israel, I will also give thee 
 for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my 
 salvation unto the end of the earth '." If, as St. 
 Paul speaks, " blindness in part happened unto 
 Israel," it was until "the fulness of the Gentiles" 
 were " come in 6 ." 
 
 And accordingly, in the vision before us, after the 
 sealing of the " hundred and forty and four thousand 
 of all the tribes of the children of Israel," St. John 
 proceeds, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great mul- 
 titude 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 ; and cried with 
 a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb 7 ." 
 Thus, in the one Church of Jew and Gentile, was 
 made known "the mystery of his will, according to 
 his good pleasure which he purposed in himself: that 
 in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might 
 gather together in one all things in Christ, both 
 which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in 
 him 8 :" "and to make all men see what" was " the 
 fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of 
 the world " had " been hid in God, who created all 
 things by Jesus Christ ; to the intent that now unto 
 the principalities and powers in heavenly places 
 might be known by the Church the manifold 
 wisdom of God 9 ." " And all the angels stood 
 round about the throne, and about the elders, and 
 the four living creatures, and fell before the throne 
 on their faces and worshipped God, saying, Amen : 
 
 * Isa. xlix. 5, 6. Corap. 7 Rev. vii. 9, 10. 
 v. 7, 8. 1823. s K|>h. i. 9, 10. 
 
 Rom. xi. 25. 9 Epli. iii. f>, 10. 
 
VIIL] in its earliest days. 245 
 
 Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, 
 and honour, and power, and might be unto our God 
 for ever and ever. Amen 1 ." 
 
 " And one of the elders," St. John continues, 
 " 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 to me, These are they which came out of great 
 tribulation," or rather, " These are they which came " 
 or, more literally, "which are coming out of 
 the great tribulation ? ," it is the same word which 
 our Blessed Lord had employed in speaking of " great 
 tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of 
 the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be 3 " 
 " and have washed their robes, and made them white 
 in the blood of the Lamb 4 ." The present tense of 
 the participle, describing these Christian saints as 
 "coming," one after another (for such is the exact 
 force of the words), out of the great tribulation, to 
 swell the company of worshippers in the spiritual 
 temple, is worthy of remark ; and may be regarded 
 as supplying another proof, in addition to those 
 already given, that it is the opening, not the closing 
 scene, in the history of the Christian Church, which 
 is here brought to our view. The description may 
 be compared with that which we find in the second 
 chapter of the Acts, where we read how " the Lord 
 added to the Church daily them that were saved :> " 
 saved from that " untoward generation 6 " delivered 
 from the unbelief and condemnation in which those 
 around them were held, and joined to the congregation 
 
 1 Rev. vii. 11, 12. 4 Rev. vii. 13, 14. 
 
 2 OVTOI EtaLv ol ipxpfuvot ix 5 Acts ii. 47. rove ffb>- 
 rj/c dXtytWQ 7-r/e fj,tya\r}g. fjievovg. 
 
 3 Matt. xxiv. 21. torcu ytt() 5 Ver. 40. ffwdtjre euro rr/e 
 rore. 6\i\l>tc ^eyciX?/, K.r.X. yeredc, rfjg aKoXtdg 
 
246 The Christian Church ; [LECT. 
 
 of Christ's redeemed. And if the worship and service 
 in which, in the vision before us, they are described as 
 now engaged, seem to belong rather to the heavenly 
 than to the earthly state, we may remember how, in 
 other passages of Scripture, as the Church of Christ 
 is designated as " the kingdom of heaven," so are the 
 spiritual privileges of Christians set forth, as though 
 they who had believed in Him had even now entered 
 on the enjoyment of that which, in its fulness of 
 bliss, shall be their portion hereafter. "Ye are 
 come 7 ," saith the Apostle, addressing his brethren of 
 the Hebrews, " unto mount Sion, and unto the city 
 of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an 
 innumerable company of angels, to the general as- 
 sembly and Church of the firstborn, which are 
 written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, 
 and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and 
 to the blood of sprinkling which speaketh better 
 things than that of Abel 8 ." 
 
 "Therefore are they before the throne of God," 
 says the beloved disciple, admitted to the vision of 
 the heavenly sanctuary, "and serve him day and 
 night in his temple : and he that sitteth on the 
 throne shall dwell among them. 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 living fountains of waters : 
 and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes 9 ." 
 The change of tense from the present to the future, 
 in the latter part of this passage, is observable; 
 especially when we find that the several points in 
 the description before us are brought out, as it were, 
 
 7 TrpniTiXtiXvtidTi. I lib. xii. 22 24. 
 
 Ml. 1"> 17. 
 
VIIL] its heavenly privileges. 
 
 more fully towards the close of the A 
 vision. In the twenty-first chapter, where St. John 
 describes " the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming 
 down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride 
 adorned for her husband," he says, " And I heard a 
 great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the taber- 
 nacle 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 1 ." The comparison of this 
 passage with that immediately before us, will further 
 confirm the conclusion already arrived at, respecting 
 the place which this earlier vision must be re- 
 garded as occupying in the history of the Christian 
 Church, viz. as unfolding the spiritual and heavenly 
 privileges which were to be the portion of those who, 
 out of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and 
 people, were called into its holy fellowship 2 . The 
 prophet Isaiah had described, in similar language, 
 the blessings to be imparted to the Gentile world by 
 Him whom he had just before spoken of, in words 
 already quoted, as One who was to be given " for a 
 light to the Gentiles," and that He might be for 
 " salvation unto the end of the earth." " They shall 
 not hunger nor thirst ; neither shall the heat nor 
 sun smite them ; for he that hath mercy on them 
 shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall 
 he guide them 3 ." 
 
 And in another very remarkable prophecy we find 
 
 1 Rev. xxi. 2 4. in a similar manner, unfolded 
 
 2 Cf. sup. pp. 228231, in there. 
 
 regard to the vision of wrath, 3 Isa. xlix. 10. 
 
248 Prophecy of Isaiah. [LECT. 
 
 a description which can be referred only to the times 
 of the Gospel, introduced, as in the vision before us, 
 by a scene of darkness and terror on the earth, out 
 of the midst of which a remnant is left to glorify 
 God, in songs of praise which should swell from the 
 isles of the Gentiles. The prophecy to which I refer 
 is contained in the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth 
 chapters of the book of Isaiah. " Behold, the Lord 
 maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and 
 turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the 
 inhabitants thereof. . . . The earth mourneth and 
 fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth 
 away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. 
 . . . When thus it shall be in the midst of the land 
 among the people, there shall be as the shaking of 
 an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the 
 vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they 
 shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall 
 cry aloud from the sea. . . . And it shall come to pass 
 in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of 
 the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the 
 earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered 
 together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and 
 shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days 
 shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be con- 
 founded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of 
 hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, 
 and before his ancients gloriously. . . . And in this 
 mountain," the prophecy continues, " shall the Lord 
 of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, 
 . . . And he will destroy in this mountain the covering 
 cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over 
 all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; 
 and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all 
 faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall he take 
 
VIIL] The Christian Church gathered. 249 
 
 away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath 
 
 4 > 
 
 spoken it 4 . 
 
 The view which has now been taken of that por- 
 tion of St. John's vision which contains the sixth 
 seal, and carries us to the end of the seventh chapter 
 of the Revelation, will derive still further evidence 
 from the context immediately following, if it be 
 admitted that the seventh seal is, as I have endea- 
 voured to show, consecutive on the six preceding. 
 The scene which immediately follows those which 
 we have been examining is thus described. " And 
 when he had opened the seventh seal, there was 
 silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 
 And I saw the seven angels which stood before 
 God ; and to them were given seven trumpets. And 
 another angel came and stood at the altar, having 
 a golden censer ; and there was given unto him 
 much incense, that he should offer it with the 
 prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which 
 was before the throne. And the smoke of the in- 
 cense, which came with the prayers of the saints, 
 ascended up before God out of the angel's hand 5 ." 
 The holy congregation of the Christian Church, 
 gathered out of all lands, being now assembled, as 
 " in heavenly places in Christ," its solemn worship 
 begins, described here in imagery taken from the 
 service of the Jewish temple ; those trumpets mean- 
 while being ready to sound which were to mark 
 the termination, after a brief space, of the days of 
 peace to the Christian Church, and her entrance 
 upon the time of her appointed warfare. It will 
 be recollected that, in the description given in the 
 subsequent prophecy, of the later glory of the hea- 
 
 4 Isa. xxiv. 1. 4. 13, 14. 21 6 Rev. viii. 14. 
 23 ; xxv. 68. 
 
250 Fall of the Jewish polity [LECT. 
 
 venly Jerusalem itself, it is said, as in contrast with 
 the vision before us, " I saw no temple therein : for 
 the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the 
 temple of it 6 ." 
 
 Before, however, we conclude the examination of 
 the sixth seal, it may be well to advert to the 
 opinion of those interpreters who have explained it 
 as describing the overthrow of Paganism, followed 
 by the establishment of Christianity on the throne 
 of the Roman Empire, the freedom thereby obtained 
 for the Christian worship, and the accession of con- 
 verts to the new religion. It must be observed, 
 however, as a difficulty in the way of this interpre- 
 tation, that, even if it were granted that these events 
 would sufficiently correspond with a description of 
 peace and purity which seems to belong rather to 
 apostolic times, and to the days of persecution, when 
 the Christian converts were seen to come 7 "out of 
 the great tribulation," our view is fixed upon the 
 earlier period by that prophecy of our Blessed Lord 
 which, if it has been rightly applied in the interpre- 
 tation of His disciple's vision, would specially refer 
 it to the time when, by the destruction of the Jewish 
 polity, and the winding up of the preparatory dis- 
 pensation, His kingdom came with power. It may 
 at the same time be observed that, in the view of 
 Prophetic Inspiration, which looks upon things not 
 in their mere chronological relations, but as they 
 are essentially connected one with another in the 
 order of the Divine counsels, at that crisis when the 
 Jewish dispensation was drawing to an end, Paganism 
 was, in fact, tottering to its fall ; and the kings of 
 the earth, and its rich men, its chief captains and 
 
 6 Chap. xxi. 22. (vid. sup.) " they which an- 
 
 1 This seems, unquestionably, mutiny out of the great tribula- 
 the force of the present tenso tion." 
 
viii.] and of Paganism, how far combined. 251 
 
 mighty men, might well be described as looking 
 with awe and amazement at the things which were 
 coming on the earth, when a new kingdom was thus 
 brought in, before which all earthly pride and power 
 were destined in due time to fall. And the begin- 
 ning of this new order of things, as our Lord had 
 Himself declared, in words which solemnly conclude 
 that portion of His Divine prophecy which we have 
 been considering, was to be while some of those who 
 heard Him were yet living on the earth. " Verily, I 
 say unto you, This generation shall not pass until all 
 these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall 
 pass away ; but my words shall not pass away 8 ." 
 
 In applying, however, to the events of that period 
 imagery like that which we find in the vision before 
 us, it must be constantly borne in mind what it is 
 which constitutes the peculiar propriety of the ima- 
 gery so employed. We must remember that it is 
 not merely, or mainly, the occurrence of scenes of 
 destruction and slaughter, of suffering and distress, 
 such as mark the last days of Jerusalem's history, 
 fearful indeed and harrowing as is that tale of misery, 
 as their own historian has told it, but rather the 
 winding up, in awful judgment, of a dispensation 
 which had been established at the first by solemn 
 sanctions of Heaven, and which was now to give 
 place to another, still more Divine and glorious, 
 a new dispensation to be brought in, amid signs and 
 wonders, by His power who had said, "Yet once 
 more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven 9 ." 
 And therefore it is that the coming in of this king- 
 dom, and the preparation made for it by the sweep- 
 ing away of that earlier and temporary dispensation 
 
 8 Matt. xxiv. 34, 35. Vid. 9 Heb. xii. 26, quoting Hagg. 
 Note, Appendix. ii. 6. 21. 
 
252 Christ s coming to Judgment, [LECT. 
 
 which, through a long course of ages, had witnessed 
 to the greater glory of this which was to follow it, is 
 described in terms inferior only, in dignity and awful- 
 ness, to those which are employed to shadow out the 
 final consummation of all things. 
 
 The two scenes, as I have endeavoured to show, 
 are distinct in the visions of the Apocalypse, as they 
 are also in the prophetic discourse of our Lord. The 
 former we have contemplated, as depicted in the 
 twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, 
 where we read of " the sign of the Son of man " ap- 
 pearing " in heaven," and of " the Son of man coming 
 in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory 1 ." 
 The latter we find foretold in the following chapter, 
 the twenty-fifth, where the scene is described of 
 that final judgment of the righteous and the wicked 
 which shall then take place, " when the Son of man 
 shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with 
 him," and He " shall sit upon the throne of his glory; 
 and before him shall be gathered all nations: and 
 he shall separate them one from another, as a shep- 
 herd divideth his sheep from the goats ;" and the 
 wicked " shall go away into everlasting punishment, 
 but the righteous into life eternal '." And these 
 two periods in the history of the new kingdom are 
 still more clearly exhibited, in their distinctness, 
 where our Lord, on another occasion, passes imme- 
 diately from the mention of the one to the other. 
 In the sixteenth chapter of the same Gospel, we 
 find Him first warning His followers of the danger 
 of losing the soul, by reminding them of the awful 
 realities of the day of Judgment, and then going 
 on, it would seem, to speak of a nearer mariifesta- 
 
 1 Matt. xxiv. 30. 2 Chap. xxv. 31 1(>. 
 
viii.] and coming in His Kingdom. 253 
 
 tion of power, the pledge and foretaste of that which 
 was to come. " 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. 
 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here 
 which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son 
 of man coming in his kingdom 3 " or, as it is in 
 St. Luke, " till they see the kingdom of God 4 ," or, 
 in St. Mark, " till they see the kingdom of God 
 come with power 5 ." And it came, in very deed, 
 visibly with power, from the time when, amid the 
 wrath which was poured on His enemies, the elder 
 dispensation was brought to its end, and the ever- 
 lasting kingdom, the "kingdom which cannot be 
 moved," was set up in the midst of the earth the 
 kingdom of Him whom Daniel "saw in the night 
 visions," and He "came with the clouds of heaven, 
 and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought 
 him near before him; and there was given him 
 dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 
 nations, and languages, should serve him : his domi- 
 nion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
 away, and his kingdom that which shall not be 
 destroyed 6 ." 
 
 3 Matt. xvi. 26 28. 5 Mark ix. 1. 
 
 4 Luke ix. 27. ' 5 Dan. vii. 13, 14. 
 
LECTURE IX. 
 
 REV. viii. 5, 6. 
 
 " And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the 
 altar, and cast it into the earth : and there were voices, and 
 thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the 
 seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared them- 
 selves to sound." 
 
 WE considered, in the last Lecture, the imagery of 
 the sixth seal, and the description following upon it, 
 which occupies the seventh chapter of the book of 
 the Revelation. We saw that in the " great earth- 
 quake " described under that seal, with the fearful 
 signs attending it, the darkening of the sun and 
 moon, the falling of the stars of heaven, the distress 
 and terror of the inhabitants of the earth, com- 
 paring the language there employed with other 
 passages of prophetic Scripture, and, in particular, 
 with our Blessed Lord's prophecy of the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, we might recognize a vivid representa- 
 tion of that great crisis in the history of God's dis- 
 pensations, when, by the overthrow of the Jewish 
 oaconomy, in awful judgment, He gave visible signs 
 of the bringing in of that new kingdom which was 
 henceforth to be the scene of His Providential 
 
 1 Preached Feb. 4, 1844. 
 
The Christian Church gathered. 255 
 
 agency, His works of power and grace. The re- 
 moval of that elder system, when now it had sub- 
 served its temporary purpose, and did but stand in 
 the way of that which was ready to be revealed in 
 its more abiding form and its surpassing glory, was 
 but the prelude of a general overthrow which was to 
 involve in it all earthly power. But while yet those 
 ministers of vengeance were withheld " to whom it 
 was given to hurt the earth and the sea," a remnant 
 was sealed of all the tribes of Israel, and a great 
 multitude gathered, "of all nations, and kindreds, 
 and people, and tongues," to swell the song of praise 
 continually offered in the spiritual, the heavenly 
 temple. The great congregation of Christian wor- 
 shippers being thus gathered together, there fol- 
 lowed, in the seventh seal, what seemed a descrip- 
 tion of the holy worship of the Christian sanctuary, 
 represented under imagery borrowed from the Jewish 
 temple. 
 
 But first, on the opening of that seventh seal, 
 there was a solemn pause. " When he had opened 
 the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for the 
 space of half an hour 2 ." There is a reference here, 
 perhaps, as some commentators have supposed, to 
 the silence in the temple worship, when the priest 
 went in to burn incense in the, temple of the Lord, 
 and meanwhile " the whole multitude of the people 
 were praying without at the time of incense 3 ." Or, 
 perhaps, since, in the vision before us, the description 
 of the offering of the incense follows after 4 , we are 
 to understand this interval of silence as marking 
 rather the entrance on a new scene in the unfolding 
 
 2 Rev. viii. 1. man, &c. 
 
 5 Luke i. 9, 10. Vid. Ham- 4 Vv. 3, 4. Woodhouse, 
 mond, Sir Isaac Newton, Low- Annot. 
 
256 First days of the Church. [LECT. 
 
 revelation of the Church's history ; containing, at the 
 same time, the promise of a short period to be 
 granted her of peaceful enjoyment of her heavenly 
 privileges, before her warfare was to begin 5 . "I 
 saw," says St. John, " the seven angels which stood 
 before God ; and to them were given seven trumpets. 
 And another angel came and stood at the altar, 
 having a golden censer; and there was given unto 
 him much incense, that he should offer it with the 
 prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was 
 before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, 
 which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended 
 up before God out of the angel's hand. And the 
 angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the 
 altar, and cast it into the earth : and there were 
 voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an 
 earthquake. And the seven angels which had the 
 seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound 6 ." 
 
 If now we turn to the early records of the Chris- 
 tian Church, in the first days of her earthly history, 
 we find a remarkable space, from the destruction of 
 Jerusalem to the beginning of the second century, 
 an interval of thirty years, in which the historian can 
 scarcely find an event to record. A late learned 
 writer on the early history of the Church has noticed 
 it as a singular circumstance 7 . And when we con- 
 
 5 Or perhaps, with Bp. New- St. Peter and St. Paul ; and if 
 
 ton, we may combine these in- we look from the date of their 
 
 terpretations in one. See Dr. martyrdom [A.D. 67 or 68] to 
 
 Todd's " Discourses on the the end of the century, we 
 
 Apocalypse," p. 129, note. have a period of at least thirty 
 
 G Vv. 2 6. years, which must have been 
 
 7 Burton's " Lectures on the eventful in the infancy of the 
 
 Ecclesiastical History of the Church, but which in the pages 
 
 First Century," p. 335. "There of ecclesiastical history is little 
 
 are reasons for thinking that more than a blank." Comp. 
 
 ft-w of the Apostles survived p. 362. 
 
ix.] Interval of 'peace and purify. 257 
 
 sider what are the things which, for the most part- 
 such is the nature of man make the page of the 
 Church's history most eventful, we shall see in this 
 absence of material for the historian a proof of the 
 purity and blessedness which then prevailed. The 
 period in question coincides with that of the con- 
 tinuance on earth of the beloved disciple, the last of 
 the Apostolic company, when his brethren, martyrs 
 in "the great tribulation," had now been taken to 
 their rest : and it is the same period which the early 
 ecclesiastical historians have marked as that during 
 which the Church, as they tell us, retained her 
 virgin purity, while St. John, and they who had 
 learnt of him, still presided over the Churches, even 
 to the days of Trajan 8 . And the description given 
 in the vision before us of the solemn offering of 
 united prayer, " the prayers of all saints," upon the 
 golden altar from the angel's hand, seems to corre- 
 spond with that picture of the Christian Church, and 
 of the unity of its holy worship, which is given us in 
 the epistles of Ignatius, who was bishop of the 
 Church at Antioch for nearly forty years, including 
 this precise period, namely, from the destruction of 
 Jerusalem to the reign of the Emperor Trajan. 
 Throughout his epistles we find him holding up to 
 the disciples the pattern of Christian unity and per- 
 fection to be exhibited in each Church, under its 
 chief minister, its "angel," in the language of 
 St. John's vision 9 , while the congregation of the 
 faithful were found joining in one chorus of praise, 
 "with one mind and one mouth," and sending up, 
 from the Church's altar, to the throne of God 
 
 8 Hegesippus, ap. Euseb. 9 Comp. Rev. i. 20; ii. 1. 8. 
 H. E. iv. 22 ; iii. 32. Burton, 12, &c. 
 Lectures, sup. cit. p. 383. 
 
258 Solemn worship of the Church. [LECT. 
 
 prayers prevailing with Him by their perfect and 
 heavenly unity 1 . And that which St. John beheld 
 in vision, in the offering up of those prayers with 
 much incense, ascending from the altar with a sweet 
 savour to the Most High, seems like the counterpart 
 of that prophecy of Malachi which, in the early 
 times of the Church, was recognized as then re- 
 ceiving its fulfilment in the solemn service of her 
 sanctuary 2 . The prediction is the more closely 
 parallel, inasmuch as it occurs in immediate con- 
 nexion with the declaration, that the sacrifices and 
 offerings of the Jewish temple should no more be 
 accepted. " I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord 
 of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your 
 hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto 
 the going down of the same my name shall be great 
 among the Gentiles ; and in every place incense 
 
 1 Vid. Ignatii Epistt. passim. 
 E. g. Ep. ad Ephes. c. 5. 
 " Let no man deceive himself; 
 if a man be not within the altar 
 [flvo-iaoTfjpi'ov, as in St. John's 
 vision], he is deprived of the 
 bread of God. For if the prayer 
 of one or two be of such force, 
 (as we are told) how much more 
 powerful shall that of the bishop 
 and the whole Church be !" 
 Ep. ad Magnes. c. 7. " Where- 
 fore come ye altogether as unto 
 one temple of God ; as to one 
 altar [0vcw7rj/piov], as to one 
 Jesus Christ." Wake's trans- 
 lation. Cf. Epist. ad Trail. 
 c. 7, &c. Vid. Note, Ap- 
 pendix. 
 
 2 " This place of Scripture 
 . . . was once, and that in the 
 eldest and purest times of the 
 Church, a text of eminent note, 
 and familiarly known to i-vi-ry 
 Christian, being alK-jed by 
 
 their pastors and teachers, as 
 an express and undoubted pro- 
 phecy of the Christian Sacri- 
 fice or solemn worship in the 
 Eucharist, taught by our Bless- 
 ed Saviour unto His disciples 
 to be observed of all that should 
 believe in His name : and this 
 so generally and grantedly, as 
 could never have been, at least 
 so early, unless they had learn- 
 ed thus to apply it by tradition 
 from the Apostles. 
 
 " For in the age immediately 
 succeeding them, ... we find 
 it alleged to this purpose by 
 Justin Martyr and Irenseus, 
 the pillars of that age ; the 
 former of them flourishing 
 within little more than thirty 
 years after the death of St. 
 John, and tin 1 latter a disciple 
 of Poly carp, St. John's scholar." 
 Mede's Works, p. 3. r >, r >. 
 
ix.] Its troubles ('<>tnnn'ncin<j. 
 
 shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering : 
 for my name shall be great among the heathen, 
 saith the Lord of hosts V And again, having fore- 
 told the coming of the great Angel of the covenant 
 to His temple, the same prophet declares concerning 
 Him, " he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver : 
 and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge 
 them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the 
 Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the 
 offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto 
 the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former 
 years 4 ." 
 
 But the peaceful scene of pure and holy worship 5 
 represented in the vision before us, was soon to 
 change, and troubles and warfare to follow. "The 
 angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the 
 altar, and cast it to 6 the earth ; and there were voices, 
 and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake." 
 We are here reminded of the imagery in a vision of 
 the prophet Ezekiel, to which we have already had 
 occasion to refer. I allude to that symbolic de- 
 scription of the vengeance to be inflicted on Jerusa- 
 lem by the arms of the Chaldeans, in the vision in 
 which the prophet saw six men, each with a slaugh- 
 ter weapon in his hand, who " came from the way of 
 the higher gate, which lieth toward the north," the 
 direction in which Babylon lay, " and went in and 
 stood beside the brazen altar ;" and one among them 
 " clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his 
 side," who was bidden first to go through the city, 
 
 Mai. i. 10, 11. rtyiwv 
 
 \ Mai. iii. 3, 4. ..." He speaks not of the 
 
 ' Mede, p. 362, quoting, private prayer of every Chris- 
 
 inter alias, Clemens Alexand. tian, but of the public prayer 
 
 lib. 7. Stromat. 'H Qvaia. TTJQ of the Church as a body," &c. 
 \6yoQ E<TT\V CLTTV rwv 6 Marg. E. V. 
 
 s2 
 
260 Vision of Ezekiel, [LECT. 
 
 and set a mark upon the foreheads of the faithful 
 remnant, before those other ministers of destruction 
 were to go forth and slay in the sanctuary and in 
 the city. I referred to this passage, in the last Lec- 
 ture 7 , in illustration of the description given by St. 
 John of the angel sealing the chosen remnant of 
 Israel before they " to whom it was given to hurt the 
 earth and the sea" were suffered to execute their 
 commission. And the two passages will appear the 
 more closely parallel when it is observed, that though, 
 in the seventh chapter, we read of " the four angels 
 to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the 
 sea," yet when, in the chapter before us, four angels 
 have sounded, the first of whom inflicts judgments 
 upon the earth, and the second upon the sea, two 
 more trumpets succeed, following on those four ; the 
 six angels thus appearing for their work of vengeance, 
 like the six armed men in the prophet's vision. And 
 when at length the seventh angel sounds, a scene is 
 opened, in the further unfolding of which we are 
 reminded of the sequel of Ezekiel's vision, and of 
 the agency there described of the seventh of that 
 company whom he saw, namely, the man clothed 
 with linen. 
 
 For, having first described the slaughter made in 
 the city by the six armed men, the prophet tells us 
 of the seventh, " the man clothed with linen, which 
 had the inkhorn by his side," that he re-appeared 
 before the presence of the Divine glory, and reported 
 the execution of the commission given him, saying, 
 M I have done as thou hast commanded me." "Then 
 I looked," says the prophet, " and, behold, in the 
 firmament that was above the head of the cherubims 
 
 Vid. 
 
 sup. p. 
 
ix.] tilustrdting thai of St. John. 261 
 
 there appeared over them as it were a sapphire 
 stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 
 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and 
 said, Go in between the wheels, even under the 
 cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from 
 between the cherubims, and scatter them over the 
 city. And he went in in my sight. . . . And it came 
 to pass that when he had commanded the man 
 clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between 
 the wheels, from between the cherubims ; then he 
 went in, and stood beside the wheels. And one 
 cherub stretched forth his hand from between the 
 cherubims unto the fire that was between the cheru- 
 bims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of 
 him that was clothed with linen : who took it, and 
 went out 8 ." If now we turn to the Revelation, we 
 find the sounding of the seventh angel followed 
 immediately by the announcement of a fuller mani- 
 festation of that supreme Sovereignty and dominion 
 which, as I have already endeavoured to show, was 
 symbolically represented by the living creatures, or 
 cherubim. " 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 of his Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and 
 ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat 
 before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and 
 worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O 
 Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to 
 come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy great 
 power, and hast reigned 9 " And then immediately 
 afterwards is disclosed the view of that ark of the 
 covenant which, as we have seen, with its over- 
 
 8 Ezek. ix. 11 ; x. 17. 9 Rev. xi. 1517. 
 
262 The Seven Trumpets and Vials [LECT. 
 
 shadowing cherubim, represented the throne of the 
 Divine Majesty. " And the temple of God was 
 opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple 
 the ark of Ms testament : and there were lightnings, 
 and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and 
 great hail V 
 
 The vision here breaks off; but we find it renewed 
 and continued, the same scenery re-appearing, where, 
 in the fifteenth chapter, St. John proceeds to de- 
 scribe the pouring out of the seven last plagues. 
 " After that," he says, " I looked, and, behold, the 
 temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven 
 was opened : and the seven angels came out of the 
 temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure 
 and white linen, and having their breasts girded with 
 golden girdles. And one of the four living crea- 
 tures " the same, as we have before seen, with the 
 cherubim in Ezekiel's vision " gave unto the seven 
 angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, 
 who liveth for ever and ever 2 ." Here, then, the 
 vials of wrath, as there the burning coals of fire, 
 both alike the symbol of judgments proceeding 
 from the throne of God, are given by one of the 
 four living creatures into the hand of those whose 
 immediate agency is employed in the execution of 
 vengeance. And the seven angels " clothed in pure 
 an (I white linen," to whom is given the infliction of 
 the last plagues, those plagues in which " is fitted 
 up the wrath of God," seem to correspond with the 
 " man clothed with linen " in Ezekiel's vision, by 
 Avliose agency is completed that work of destruction 
 which the slaughter-weapons of the six armed men 
 had begun 3 . For the sword of the warrior was not 
 
 1 Ver. 11). Chap. xv. ."> 7. (T. sup. pp. 174, 17,'). 
 
ix.] compared with Ezckld's Vision. 263 
 
 the only weapon which was to be brought forth from 
 the armoury of the Almighty for the punishment of 
 Jerusalem : together with the sword were threatened 
 also the visitations of the famine and the pestilence. 
 In a prophecy preceding this vision, it had been 
 declared that a third part of Jerusalem should die 
 with the pestilence, and be consumed with famine 
 in the midst of her ; while a third part should fall 
 by the sword round about her ; and a third part be 
 scattered into all the winds, and a sword be drawn 
 out after them. Then, and not till then, would the 
 " anger " of the Almighty " be accomplished," when 
 He had caused His " fury to rest upon them," and 
 had executed judgments in Jerusalem " in anger and 
 in fury and in furious rebukes ;" by " the evil arrows 
 of famine," by " pestilence and blood V 
 
 It would sufficiently appear, from the expressions 
 already cited, in which the seven vials are spoken of 
 as "the last plagues," the plagues in which "is 
 filled up the wrath of God 5 ," that they are to be 
 regarded as the full accomplishment of vengeance 
 already in part poured out. But further, that they 
 are the completion of the judgments contained 
 under the earlier trumpets, seems clear, I think, 
 from a comparison of the trumpets with the vials. 
 And it is of great importance to determine the 
 relation of these, in order to obtain a satisfac- 
 tory solution of the question whether the vision 
 immediately before us, that of the six trumpets, is 
 intended to represent assaults made upon the Church 
 by her enemies, and which were to be avenged 
 under the corresponding vials, or whether it describe 
 judgments of God upon the earth, whether Pagan 
 
 4 Ezek. v. 1217. 5 Rev. xv. 1. 
 
264 The entire Vision successive. [LECT. 
 
 or Christian, inflicted in the progress of the Church's 
 \varfare, and to be accomplished in the vengeance 
 poured out in its full measure toward the close 
 of her eventful history. By some commentators not 
 only have the seven trumpets been regarded as con- 
 taining the same history with the seven seals, only 
 drawn out in fuller detail, but the seven vials also 
 have been supposed to synchronize with the seven 
 trumpets, and to predict the same events. With 
 regard to the relation in which the seals and the 
 trumpets stand to each other, I have already endea- 
 voured to show, that the latter do not synchronize 
 with, but succeed, the former; and as the opening 
 of the seventh seal reveals at once the seven angels 
 ready to sound the seven trumpets, so in like man- 
 ner, it would appear, the sounding of the seventh 
 trumpet discloses, from the opening of the inner 
 sanctuary, the seven angels coming forth with the 
 seven vials. Thus is the vision continually unfolding. 
 And on comparing the six trumpets with the six 
 vials the seventh, in each case, as is evident from 
 what has been said, being the opening into a further 
 scene we find a close correspondence throughout, 
 in regard to the object on which judgment is in- 
 flicted, partially under the trumpet, plenarily under 
 the vial. Thus, the first trumpet and the first vial, 
 alike, have reference to " the earth ;" but under the 
 former, the plague inflicted is partial; under the 
 latter, it is general, as well as more grievous. " The 
 first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire 
 mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the 
 earth : and the third part of trees were burnt up, 
 and all urccn grass was burnt up V If we turn 
 
 " Chap. viii. 7. 
 
ix.] Trumpets and Vials compared. 265 
 
 now to the description of the angels with the seven 
 vials, we read, " 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 7 ." It was the earth that was, in each case, 
 though in different degrees, the object of vengeance. 
 So again the second trumpet and the second vial 
 both fell upon the sea. " The second angel sounded, 
 and as it were a great mountain burning with fire 
 was cast into the sea : and the third part of the sea 
 became blood ; and the third part of the creatures 
 which were in the sea and had life, died ; and the 
 third part of the ships were destroyed 8 ." But when 
 " the second angel " of the vials " poured out his 
 vial upon the sea," we are told, " it became as the 
 blood of a dead man : and every living soul died in 
 the sea 9 ." Again, under the trumpets, " the third 
 angel sounded, and there fell a great star from 
 heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon 
 the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains 
 of waters ; and the name of the star is called Worm- 
 wood ; and the third part of the waters became 
 wormwood ; and many men died of the waters, be- 
 cause they were made bitter." "But when the 
 third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and 
 fountains of waters," " they " the whole of them 
 " became blood. And I heard," says St. John, " 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 
 
 ' Chap. xvi. 2. 8 Chap. viii. 8, 9. Chap. xvi. 3. 
 
266 Trumpets and Vials compared. [LECT. 
 
 heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord 
 God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judg- 
 ments V Once more, under the fourth trumpet we 
 read, " the third part of the sun was smitten, and 
 the third part of the moon, and the third part of the 
 stars ; so as the third part of them was darkened, 
 and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the 
 night likewise 2 ." But when the fourth vial was 
 poured out upon the sun, we are told, " power was 
 given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men 
 were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the 
 name of God over these plagues : and they repented 
 not to give him glory 3 ." In the fifth and sixth, 
 severally, of the trumpets and the vials, compared 
 together, we may trace the like connexion; most 
 clearly marked in the latter case, where, the sixth 
 trumpet having described the army of horsemen 
 from "the great river Euphrates 4 ," the sixth vial 
 was poured out "upon the great river Euphrates, 
 and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of 
 the kings of the east might be prepared V 
 
 But it is to the first four trumpets that I would, 
 in the first instance, confine your attention, inasmuch 
 as these, when taken together, seem to form, in some 
 sense, a whole; being separated from those which 
 follow by the description, which is introduced imme- 
 diately after the fourth trumpet, of the angel whom 
 St. John " heard, flying through the midst of hea- 
 ven " or rather, in the mid space between heaven 
 and earth 6 " saying, Woe, woe, woe, to the in- 
 halnters of the earth by reason of the voices 
 of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet 
 
 Chap. \vi. 10, 11. ' Cl, : ,p. ix. 14. 
 
 C'li.-ij). viii. \'2. Cli:ip. xvi. \"1. 
 
 ('hup. xvi. S. !>. ' M fu 
 
ix.] First Four Trumpets. 207 
 
 to sound 7 ." The four preceding, thus separated 
 from the three remaining, had fallen severally, as 
 we have seen, upon the earth, or rather, the 
 land, and the sea, the rivers and fountains of water, 
 and the lights of heaven. And this fourfold divi- 
 sion seems elsewhere used to include the whole 
 creation, or, at least, the whole system within the 
 view of the prophetic Spirit. In the fourteenth 
 chapter St. John tells us he " saw another angel fly 
 in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel 
 to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to 
 every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 
 saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory 
 to him ; for the hour of his judgment is come : and 
 worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the 
 sea, and the fountains of waters 8 ." The four first 
 trumpets, then, taken together, would seem to de- 
 scribe judgments, of various kinds, affecting, univer- 
 sally, within the limits assigned to them, that whole 
 system, or world, on which they fell. And this part 
 of the Apocalyptic vision the majority of modern 
 commentators, following herein the learned Mede, 
 have understood as referring to the calamities which 
 overwhelmed the Roman Empire in its later days. 
 In applying, however, the several symbols, they have 
 perhaps endeavoured too accurately to trace, in 
 chronological order, the successive stages of the 
 Empire's fall ; discovering, for instance, in the first 
 trumpet the irruptions of Alaric and the Goths ; in 
 the second, of Attila and the Huns ; in the third, 
 of Genseric and the Vandals; in the fourth, of 
 Odoacer and the Heruli, who, towards the end of 
 the fifth century, put an end to the very name of 
 
 7 Chap. viii. 13. 8 Chap. xiv. G, 7. 
 
268 Vision of the Trumpets ; [LECT. 
 
 the Western Empire. But, independently of the 
 question whether some of the symbols could, accord- 
 ing to the strict analogy of prophetic language, be 
 so interpreted, the fourfold division already men- 
 tioned, together with the variety of imagery em- 
 ployed, would rather seem to suggest a wider and 
 more comprehensive application. 
 
 We must first, however, consider the question 
 whether it be upon the Roman world, or upon the 
 Christian Church, that the calamities and sufferings, 
 which are here described, are to be regarded as 
 inflicted. Dean Woodhouse inclines to the opinion 
 that it is " the pure Christian Church" that " is the 
 object of attack throughout the trumpets ;" and this 
 on the great principle, " that the Christian Church 
 in general is the main object of the Apocalyptic, 
 and indeed of all Divine, prophecy 9 ." But this 
 would equally be the case, the Church would 
 equally be the main object of the prophecy, 
 whether we beheld her suffering at the hands of 
 her enemies, or her cause advancing amidst judg- 
 ments on the earth which, while they constituted 
 her trial, were the destruction of her foes. It is, 
 however, argued further, that, " in those visions of 
 the trumpets whose meaning can be most accurately 
 ascertained, the Christian Church is evidently the 
 object of assault ;" that "such it is seen to be in the 
 fifth and sixth trumpets, and yet more clearly and 
 confessedly in the seventh ; where (in chap. xi. 
 ver. 15), upon the angel's sounding, the heavenly 
 voices immediately proclaim the victory, and award 
 the kingdoms of the world to Christ '." With re- 
 gard, however, to these three trumpets I would 
 
 '' Annotations, pp. 17'">, 171. ! Ibid. p. 174. 
 
ix.] /Ay import, generally. 269 
 
 observe, that they are all three ushered in, as we 
 have already seen, with a " woe to the inhabiters of 
 the earth ;" and since one of them, the seventh, 
 awakens loud voices of joy in heaven, it must be 
 on the earth and its inhabitants, and not on the 
 pure Christian Church, as such, that, in this instance 
 at least, warfare is proclaimed. As regards the fifth 
 trumpet, the subjects of its plague are expressly de- 
 fined : the army of locusts was not to hurt " the 
 grass of the earth, neither any green thing, nor any 
 tree, but only those men which have not the seal of 
 God in their foreheads 2 ;" therefore even here it is 
 not the pure Christian Church that suffers; and if 
 the sixth seal is rightly interpreted by the general 
 consent of modern expositors as referring to the con- 
 quests of Mahometan powers in the East, these also 
 may be regarded primarily as plagues sent on the 
 earth ; although, indeed, it was on a part of the 
 Christian world, and of the heritage of the Christian 
 Church, that the vengeance fell. 
 
 It is argued, however, still further, from the de- 
 scription preparatory to the sounding of the seven 
 trumpets, that the casting of the fire from the altar 
 to the earth implies " not merely the just judgments 
 of God on a guilty world, but their connexion with 
 the Christian religion 3 ." The fire, it is observed, is 
 taken, not, as in Ezekiel's vision, from the throne, 
 but from the altar; which would seem to denote 
 the Christian religion sent down to earth, and 
 " mingling with human corruptions," with "the pas- 
 sions and worldly projects of sinful men," and so 
 becoming " the instrument of discord and violence," 
 "producing signal commotions, expressed in pro- 
 
 2 Chap. ix. 4. 3 Woodhouse, p. 172. 
 
270 Import of the Trumpets. [LECT. 
 
 phetical language by 'voices, thunderings, lightnings, 
 earthquake V ' The expression here used, of the 
 angel casting the censer full of fire on the earth 5 , 
 is precisely the same with those words of our Blessed 
 Lord, " I am come to send " or more literally, " to 
 cast fire on the earth 6 ." But this, it must be 
 remembered, would not imply necessarily any cor- 
 ruption of His pure and holy doctrine: it would 
 foretel only a conflict with the world into which it 
 was to be sent ; causing dissension and division not 
 primarily amongst His own disciples, but against 
 them on the part of an evil world. Consistently 
 with our interpretation, we may freely admit, that 
 the fire being taken from the altar would imply that 
 the judgments on the earth, represented under that 
 imagery, were connected with the Christian religion ; 
 for indeed it was that pure and heavenly religion 
 which, coming on earth, and encountering there the 
 wrath of man, kindled against it persecution at the 
 hands first of the Jew and then of the Gentile, and 
 thereby involved Judaism and Paganism, the whole 
 world of the Roman Empire, in the heavy judg- 
 ments inflicted upon it by the wrath of God. And 
 there is no defect in the parallel between the vision 
 before us and that of Ezekiel ; for it is to be re- 
 marked, that it was from beside the brazen altar 7 , 
 not from the throne, that those first commissioned 
 agents of vengeance were sent, whose ministry seems 
 to correspond with that of the six angels of the 
 trumpets in St. John's vision. 
 
 If, then, from the arguments which have now been 
 adduced, we may venture to conclude, that by the 
 
 4 WoodhoUie, j>j>. 170, 171. /GaXetv eig Ttjv yi]v. 
 1 c/3a\ev tiQ TIIV yi)r. 7 Ezek. ix. 2. 
 
 c Luke xii. 49. ttv $\dov 
 
ix.] The First ami Second Trumpets. 271 
 
 first four trumpets are described those Divine judg- 
 ments upon the world which attended the introduc- 
 tion and establishment of Christianity, it remains 
 to enquire into the particular application of the 
 several symbols employed. But under these first 
 four trumpets, as Dean Woodhouse truly observes, 
 "the description is so very short, the symbols of 
 so general a character, so rapidly shown and passed 
 over, that it seems difficult to collect from them 
 particular and specific information 8 ." The first 
 trumpet, as we have seen, was upon the land ; the 
 second, upon the sea. But, " in the writings of the 
 prophets," as the same writer remarks, " ' the land,' 
 as opposed to ' the sea,' frequently signifies the holy 
 land, the people of Israel ; while the Gentiles, espe- 
 cially those of the west, are spoken of by the word 
 ' sea V " And it was upon the people of Israel 
 that the first storm of vengeance fell : judgment 
 " began at " God's ancient " sanctuary 1 ." It may 
 also be remarked that, while, under the first trum- 
 pet, in the description of judgments poured upon 
 the earth, mention is made, specially, of " the third 
 part of the trees " being burnt up, and all " green 
 grass," it had formed part of the prohibition laid 
 upon the angelic ministers of vengeance, until the 
 remnant of Israel had been sealed, "Hurt not 
 the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees." And, in 
 the prophet Ezekiel, we find the former destruction 
 of Jerusalem threatened under the image of a fire 
 kindled in the forest, which should " devour every 
 
 ' Annotations, p. 174. Ezek. xxvi. 15, 16." 
 
 9 Ibid. p. 175. He refers ' Ezek. ix. 6. Comp. 1 Pet. 
 
 to " Isa. xxiv. passim; xlii.4; iv. 17. "For the time is come 
 
 Ix. 5, compared with Matt. xii. that judgment must begin at 
 
 21; Gen. x. 5; Ps. Ixv. 5; the house of God." 
 
272 Second and Third Trumpets. [LECT. 
 
 green tree in" it, "and every dry tree 2 ." In the 
 description, on the other hand, contained under the 
 second trumpet, of " a great mountain burning with 
 fire," which " was cast into the sea 3 ," we are re- 
 minded of the denunciation on Babylon pronounced 
 by the prophet Jeremiah, "Behold, I am against 
 thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which 
 destroyest all the earth : and I will stretch out mine 
 hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, 
 and will make thee a burnt mountain 4 ." And if 
 by the " sea" we are to understand, in prophetic lan- 
 guage, the Gentiles, " the nations beyond the pale 
 of the Jewish Church 5 ," the imagery employed 
 under this trumpet may well describe the destruc- 
 tion brought upon the Pagan world while, during 
 the three first centuries, as has been observed in 
 reference to the description before us, "the idolatrous 
 power was consuming away, from the fire inflicted 
 upon it from above, from the altar of true religion in 
 heaven G ." 
 
 The imagery, under the third trumpet, of the star 
 which fell from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, 
 which fell upon the rivers and fountains of waters, 
 and turned them to bitterness 7 , would seem properly 
 to describe, as some have interpreted it, corruption 
 
 2 Ezek. xx. 47. Compare times of Trajan and Adrian. 
 Luke xxiii. 31, which passage 3 Rev. viii. 8. 
 also has reference to the cala- * Jer. li. 25. 
 mities to be brought on Jeru- 5 Woodhouse, p. 177. 
 salem and the people of the " Ibid. p. 178. "The Gen- 
 Jews. Compare also Zech. xi. tile converts, 1 " however, it will 
 1,2. The order of the vision be recollected, are, according 
 seems to require (cf. sup. Lect. to Dean Woodhouse's interpre- 
 viii.) that the date assigned tation, the subject of this visi- 
 to this trumpet, thus interpret- tation, as "the Christian Israel- 
 cd, should be that of the final ites" are of the preceding, 
 vengeance executed on the. lews, 7 Chap. viii. 10, 11. 
 in Judaea and elsewhere, in the 
 
ix.] Fourth Trumpet. 273 
 
 of " the streams and sources of pure doctrine," rather 
 than the outward calamities caused by any barbarian 
 conqueror ; unless we are to take into account also 
 what has been pointed out as aggravating the woes 
 inflicted by the Arian Vandals that there was in 
 their case false doctrine also, causing bitter perse- 
 cution. If by the star falling from heaven we are 
 to understand a leader of false doctrine, remember- 
 ing how, in the early ages, the corrupted philosophy 
 of the Greeks was regarded as the chief source and 
 spring of those waters of bitterness which destroyed 
 the spiritual life of men 8 , we may perhaps interpret 
 this trumpet of the fall from heaven of that which 
 had been the guide of life to the heathen, and the 
 poisoning of those fresh springs and living streams 
 which had cheered the wilderness of the heathen 
 world. And lastly, under the fourth trumpet, the 
 darkening of the third part of the lights of heaven, 
 the sun, and the moon, and the stars 9 , may describe, 
 as has been supposed by the majority of commen- 
 tators, the fall of the Roman empire ; the imagery 
 being similar to that in which the prophets had 
 spoken of the fall of mighty kingdoms in old time. 
 Thus, for instance, Isaiah prophesies of the destruc- 
 tion of Babylon, " The stars of heaven and the con- 
 stellations thereof shall not give their light : the sun 
 shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon 
 shall not cause her light to shine. And I will 
 
 8 Tertull. de Praescript. Hae- Et ut anima interire dicatur, 
 
 ret. cap. 6. " Ipsae denique hae- ab Epicureis observatur. . . . 
 
 reses a philosophia subornantur. Et ubi materia cum Deo aequa- 
 
 Inde aeones et formae nescio tur, Zenonis disciplina est . . . 
 
 quae, et trinitas hominis apud Eaedem materiae apud haereti- 
 
 Valentinum : Platonicus fuerat. cos et philosophos volutantur, 
 
 Inde Marcionis Dens rnelior de iidem retractatus implicantur." 
 
 tranquillitate; a Stoicis venerat. 9 Chap. viii. 12. 
 
274 First four Trumpets together. [LECT. 
 
 punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for 
 their iniquity ; and I will cause the arrogancy of the 
 proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of 
 the terrible 1 ." And in like manner Ezekiel, in his 
 lamentation for the fall of Egypt, " When I shall 
 put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the 
 stars thereof dark ; I will cover the sun with a 
 cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All 
 the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over 
 thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord 
 God V 
 
 But whatever interpretation we are disposed to 
 adopt in regard to these first four trumpets, I would 
 repeat the observation already made, that here, as 
 elsewhere, the four, taken together, seem to con- 
 stitute a whole; the fourfold division, as we have 
 seen, of " heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the 
 fountains of waters," occurring elsewhere in the book 
 of Revelation ; the first four trumpets, moreover, 
 being marked off from those which follow by the 
 proclamation of the angel thrice denouncing " woe 
 to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other 
 voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which were 
 yet to sound." 
 
 Of these three later trumpets it remains at pre- 
 sent only to consider the fifth and the sixth ; leaving 
 for future inquiry the intermediate vision which 
 occupies the tenth chapter, and the greater part 
 of the eleventh; and which declares the comple- 
 tion of the second woe, preparatory to the long de- 
 layed sounding of the seventh trumpet, and the 
 pouring out of the sevenfold judgments which, in 
 the seven vials, are contained under that trumpet. 
 
 1 Isn. xiii. 10, 11. * Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8. 
 
ix.J Fifth Trumpet. 275 
 
 The fifth and sixth trumpets have, by the majority 
 of expositors since the time of Mede, been inter- 
 preted, respectively, of the assaults of the Saracens 
 and of the Turks upon Eastern Christendom. The 
 interpretation of the sixth trumpet, that of the 
 Euphratean horsemen, as describing hostile inva- 
 sion from that quarter, may be considered to have 
 the general consent of modern expositors. With 
 regard, however, to the fifth that of the scorpion 
 locusts, arguments have been adduced, which seem 
 to have much force, in support of a somewhat dif- 
 ferent interpretation. It has been observed that 
 whereas, in the sixth trumpet, they are literal horses 
 and horsemen that are described, (though even 
 there, perhaps, there is room for a caution against 
 too literal or physical an interpretation,) here, 
 under the fifth trumpet, it is but the appearance as 
 " of horses prepared unto battle " that the army of 
 locusts assumes. And the imagery seems to be 
 throughout descriptive, specially, of a spiritual war- 
 fare. " I saw," says St. John, " a star fall from 
 heaven unto the earth ; and to him was given the 
 key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bot- 
 tomless pit ; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, 
 as the smoke of a great furnace ; and the sun and 
 the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the 
 pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon 
 the earth, and to them was given power, as the 
 scorpions of the earth have power 3 ." The language 
 here employed may remind us of that which our 
 Blessed Lord used when He said, " I beheld Satan 
 as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto 
 you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and 
 
 3 Chap. ix. 13. 
 T2 
 
276 The Scorpion Locusts. [LECT. 
 
 over all the power of the enemy ; and nothing shall 
 by any means hurt you V For though, elsewhere, 
 stars are used to denote earthly leaders of the 
 spiritual host, the Angels of the Churches, here, 
 it would seem, is described rather that fallen star, 
 " Lucifer, son of the morning 5 ," the chief prince 
 and leader of "the rulers of the darkness of this 
 world," the great author and worker of " spiritual 
 wickedness in high places 6 ." For it is said more 
 explicitly, in a subsequent verse, concerning this 
 army of locusts, " They had a king over them, which 
 is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in 
 the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek 
 tongue hath his name Apollyon 7 ." 
 
 And what is especially worthy of remark their 
 commission is expressly limited to those who are not 
 of the sealed remnant. " It was commanded them 
 that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, 
 neither any green thing, nor any tree ; but only 
 those men which have not the seal of God in their 
 foreheads 8 ." Whence it has been inferred, that 
 " these assailants do not injure the Church by force 
 of arms ; for then, how could the sealed escape ? " 
 " When a conquering and ferocious army," it is 
 observed, " overruns a country with fire and sword, 
 the sealed, the faithful and acknowledged servants 
 of God, undergo their share of the common calamity, 
 alleviated, indeed, in their case by His Divine provi- 
 dence, but not entirely removed. But from the 
 contamination of a pestilential heresy they might, 
 and would, be secure ; their principles and practice, 
 
 ' Luke x. 18, 10. c Kph. vi. 12. 
 
 ISM. xiv. 12. Com]). Job ' Rev. ix. 11. 
 
 xxxviii. 7. 8 Ver. 1. 
 
ix.] Heretical doctrines. 277 
 
 and the seal of God, would save them 9 ." And 
 herein, it is to be observed, is a marked distinction 
 between this trumpet, emphatically ushered in by 
 a " woe," and those four preceding. They were 
 general, and indiscriminate ; under the first trum- 
 pet, as we saw, " the third part of trees was burnt 
 up, and all green grass was burnt up ;" here, these 
 remain unhurt ; the plague is upon those, and those 
 only, " which have not the seal of God in their fore- 
 heads." And the description which is here given, 
 as it would seem, of spiritual assault and the protec- 
 tion against it, may remind us of the warning which 
 St. Paul, writing to Timothy, delivers against the 
 " profane and vain babblings " which would " increase 
 unto more ungodliness," in them whose word would 
 " eat as doth a canker : of whom," he says, " are 
 Hymeneus and Philetus ; who concerning the truth 
 have erred, saying that the resurrection is passed 
 already ; and overthrow the faith of some. Never- 
 theless," he continues, "the foundation of God 
 standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth 
 them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth 
 the name of Christ depart from iniquity 1 ." A trial 
 like that which the Apostle foresaw, as coming on 
 them who had not this divinely imprinted seal, 
 seems to be shadowed out in the prophetic imagery, 
 in the vision before us, of the plague of locusts : it 
 was not the outward persecution inflicting death on 
 the body, but an inward plague restlessly tormenting 
 the spirit. "And to them it was given that they 
 should not kill them, but that they should be tor- 
 mented five months : and their torment was as the 
 
 9 Woodhouse, p. 193. The ing reference to heresies, 
 ancient interpreters generally ] 2 Tim. ii. 16 19. 
 
 understand this trumpet as hav- 
 
278 Early Heresies how described. [LECT. 
 
 torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And 
 in those days shall men seek death, and shall not 
 find it ; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee 
 from them 2 ." 
 
 This description seems to mark clearly the cha- 
 racter of the assaults here spoken of; and, in the 
 records of the early Church, we find heresies desig- 
 nated in language very similar. " Tertullian, in his 
 treatise entitled ' Scorpiace,' " as Dean Woodhouse 
 observes, " directly compares the Valentinians, and 
 other Gnostic teachers, to scorpions 3 ;" and"Epipha- 
 nius, quoting from Irenseus, says that" these here- 
 sies "burst out of the earth together at one time 
 like mushrooms, the lurking places of many scor- 
 pions V " The ancient writers of the Church, and 
 Eusebius her prime historian," as the same expositor 
 further remarks, "ascribe the introduction of" these 
 early systems of error " to the agency of the Devil ; 
 who having, as he says, attempted in vain to over- 
 throw the Church by persecution external, attacked 
 it internally by his agents, by professed Christians, 
 leading some of the faithful to the deep of de- 
 
 2 Vv. 5, 6. Vincentius Liri- Commonit. cap. 20. 
 
 nensis thus describes the effects s Annotations, p. 198. Cf. 
 
 of heresies on the unstable Hieron. adv. Vigilant. (Op. t. 
 
 among professing Christians iv. pars ii. p. 285.) " Scribit 
 
 " alii vero tantummodo ex- adversum haeresin tuam, quae 
 
 cussi, et perire metuunt, et re- olim erupit contra Ecclesiam, 
 
 dire erubescunt saucii, semi- (ne et in hoc quasi repertor 
 
 neces ac semivivi ; quippe qui novi sceleris glorieris,) Tertul- 
 
 tantam veneni hauserint quanti- lianus, vir eruditissimus, in- 
 
 tatem quae nee occidat nee digc- signe volumen, quod Scorpia- 
 
 ratur, nee mori cogat, nee vivere cum vocat rectissimo nomine ; 
 
 sinat. Heu miseranda conditio! quia arcuato vulnere in Eccle- 
 
 quantis curarum aestibus, quan- siae corpus venena diffundit." 
 
 tis turbinibus exagitantur ! . . . Vid. Tertull. ed. Rigalt. p. 
 
 incerti qua eant, qua redeant, 487. 
 
 quid adpetant, quid fugiant, * Contr. Haeres. lib. i. c. 31. 
 
 quid teneant, quid dimittnnt." Woodhouse, p. 194. 
 
ix.] Imagery of the Vision. 279 
 
 struction, ac flvOdv aTrcuAaac ; in which expressions," 
 it is observed, " there is a remarkable coincidence 
 with the origin of this woe, as stated in the pro- 
 phecy, ' the pit of the bottomless deep,' and likewise 
 with the name of its leader Apollyon," the Destroyer. 
 " He represents, moreover, this attack as a warlike 
 invasion, . . . which agrees with the description be- 
 fore us, and with the alarm sounded by the trum- 
 pet V " The shapes of the locusts," says St. John, 
 " were like unto horses prepared unto battle ; and 
 on their heads were as it were crowns like gold 6 ," 
 counterfeits of those which the elders wore whom 
 St. John beheld in the spiritual temple 7 . " For such 
 are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming 
 themselves into apostles of Christ. And no marvel ; 
 for Satan himself " their prince and leader "is 
 transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is 
 no great thing if his ministers also be transformed 
 as the ministers of righteousness V " And their 
 faces were as the faces of men ;" having the sem- 
 blance of humanity and reason. "And they had 
 hair as the hair of women;" ensnaring with the 
 apparent beauty and softness of their doctrines, but 
 alluring only to destroy : for " their teeth were as 
 the teeth of lions." " And they had breastplates as 
 it were breastplates of iron," well armed, to all 
 appearance, for warfare ; " and the sound of their 
 wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses 
 running to battle. Arid they had tails like unto 
 scorpions, and there were stings in their tails;" 
 
 5 Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. 7. bolical operation (lib. iii. c. 
 
 Woodhouse, p. 196, who adds, 26)." 
 " Justin Martyr is also repre- 6 Ver. 7. 
 sented by the same historian as 7 Chap. iv. 4. 
 ascribing this invasion to dia- 8 2 Cor. xi. 13 15. 
 
280 Swarm of Heresies [LECT. 
 
 doctrines as of " the prophet which speaketh lies 9 ," 
 the wisdom which descendeth not from above, but 
 is " earthly, sensual, devilish V " And their power 
 was to hurt men five months." 
 
 The duration of this plague is thus again, as once 
 before, expressly defined ; but whether the period 
 here spoken of be, as some have supposed, " in allu- 
 sion to the time during which natural locusts com- 
 mit their devastations, and after which they die," or 
 whether it is to be interpreted by numbering each 
 day as a year, is a question which will come, generally, 
 under our consideration in connexion with the vision 
 next in order to be examined. I may mention, 
 however, that Dean Woodhouse has endeavoured to 
 show, that the first swarm of heresies which infested 
 the early Church lasted, " as a prevailing heresy and 
 pestilential swarm (for," he adds, " it is in that view 
 only that, consistently with the symbols, we are to 
 consider them) about one hundred and fifty years 2 ;" 
 that is, five prophetic months, counting a day for 
 a year ; and then they disappeared utterly from the 
 Christian world. So entirely, indeed, have they 
 vanished, that the record of them remains on the 
 page of early history only to excite astonishment 
 that they should ever have spread themselves and 
 prevailed as once they did. It is the judgment, 
 meanwhile, of a writer distinguished not less by solid 
 learning than by deep thought, that this, which was 
 " the first 3 ," was also " perhaps, indirectly, the most 
 
 9 Isa. ix. 15, "the prophet Apocalypse translated," p. 239. 
 
 that teacheth lies, he is the Compare pp. 228 252. 
 
 tail." ' This circumstance is to be 
 
 1 James iii. 15. specially borne in mind, in 
 
 2 Annotations, p. 195. Dean favour of the interpretation here 
 Woodhouse there refers to a adopted. See Note, Appen- 
 loug note, well worth consult- dix. 
 
 ing, in his former work, " The 
 
ix.] of the Gnostic School. 281 
 
 enduring perversion of the truth as it is in Jesus ;" 
 arising, as it did, out of " that perplexity as to the 
 origin of evil, which, from the very earliest ages, 
 exercised the intellects of man." " The fervour of 
 oriental fancy," he observes, " had, from an early 
 period, not only accepted the doctrine of two prin- 
 ciples ; but had exhibited that doctrine in a variety 
 of details, fanciful and minute beyond conception. 
 It was in the fatal school of Egypt, ever the nursing 
 mother of superstition and heresy, that these oriental 
 tenets had been engrafted on some, or, perhaps, on 
 all the systems of Greek philosophy ; and that a still 
 stranger union was brought about between this com- 
 pound and the Mosaic revelation 4 ." " Divided among 
 themselves," indeed, as the same able writer observes, 
 the Gnostics "failed to do all the harm to Chris- 
 tianity which might have been expected : but there 
 is sufficient reason," he continues, "to lament the 
 mischief effected by the swarm of heresies " he is 
 writing, I would observe, with no reference to the 
 passage before us, or to the book of Revelation at 
 all " the swarm of heresies 5 which arose from the 
 bosom of Gnosticism, and which spread themselves 
 through all the churches of Asia and Africa, bring- 
 ing in their train, now the most debasing supersti- 
 tions, and now the most extravagant excesses of 
 ascetic rigour." "It is the express testimony," he 
 further observes, " of S. Irenseus and of Justin 
 Martyr, that very many of the heathens were unable 
 to distinguish between the true and the false mem- 
 bers of the Christian body ; and were thus taught, 
 
 4 [See Burton's Bampton orta esse ilia haeresium examina, 
 Lectures, Lect. ii. and iii.] quae, Gnosticorum nomine su- 
 
 5 [Cf. Bruckeri Hist. Crit. perbientia, muscarum instar, 
 Philos. t. ii. p. 639 (quoted per omnes Asiae atque Africae 
 by Woodhouse, p. 197,) " ex- ecclesias pervolitarunt . . ."] 
 
282 Ancient Heresies generally. [LECT. 
 
 by the just hatred which they had conceived for the 
 falsehoods and abominations of the Gnostics 6 , to 
 turn away from the truths of the Gospel. We have 
 it also from unquestionable authorities, that the 
 fanatical eloquence, the learning, and the show of 
 piety, among the Gnostics, were effectual means of 
 seducing but too large a portion of Christians, unable 
 to combat the sophistry, or to detect the falsehood, 
 which lurked under these disguises r ." 
 
 If, however, it was this first great assault of heresy 
 on the Church to which we may specially refer the 
 imagery of the fifth trumpet, we may perhaps regard 
 it as containing, at the same time, if only the 
 period marked in it be not taken definitely, a 
 delineation of other plagues of the like kind which 
 afflicted the Christian world in the early ages. In 
 particular, we might mention the Arian heresy, in 
 its various forms, its restlessly tormenting attacks, 
 and its cruel persecutions, as answering, in many 
 points, to the description before us. Heretical sys- 
 tems, the offspring of a too subtle and unsubdued 
 intellect, were, in fact, the great sin and trial of 
 Eastern Christendom ; and tended, by the divisions 
 which they created, to prepare the way 8 , and give 
 an easy conquest to that "Arch-heresy," as it has 
 been fitly designated, (and, indeed, it was of heresies 
 such as the Arian that Mahometanism was the 
 genuine progeny 9 ,) which was the scourge, in the 
 
 r< Matter, Mist. Univ. vol. i. Mahomet, &c. 
 p. 16G, (quoted by Roso, vid. ' J '' The doctrines reputed 
 
 inf.) See Note, Appendix. orthodox in the Mahometan 
 
 7 Rose's "Christianity always religion are chiefly compound- 
 profircssixv," ))]>. 10 12, with ed from the Christian heresies." 
 Notes and Illustrations, there Forster's Mahometanism Un- 
 referred to, pp. 155 160. veiled, vol. i. pp. 385, 3M>. 
 
 8 Sale's Koran, Prelim. Disc. (Compare sections vi. and ix. > 
 Sect. 2. Prideaux's Life of 
 
ix.] Sixth Trumpet 283 
 
 hand of the Almighty, to punish multiplied trans- 
 gressions and deep corruption. 
 
 I have already observed that, in regard to the 
 interpretation of the sixth trumpet as describing the 
 invasions of Mahometan armies, there is that general 
 consent of modern expositors that it is the less 
 necessary to enter upon a distinct consideration of 
 it. Those who, following Mede, have applied the 
 preceding trumpet to the Saracens, have interpreted 
 this exclusively of the Turks : Dean Woodhouse, 
 while he regards its symbols as " more strictly appli- 
 cable to the first irruption of Mahomet and his 
 Saracens," is of opinion that they " may not unfitly 
 be so applied as to comprehend them all." The 
 imagery in several points resembles that of the pre- 
 ceding trumpet ; and seems to describe not merely 
 the assault of armies, but, at the same time, that 
 more fearful one, of corrupt and blasphemous doc- 
 trine. The voice which gave the command to loose 
 the four angels who were to lead the army commis- 
 sioned for slaughter, was heard " from the four horns 
 of the golden altar which is before God ;" and the 
 sound of the trumpet containing such a decree, and 
 preceded by a denunciation of " woe," would seem to 
 bespeak the wrath of God kindling for offences con- 
 cerning His own worship, and bringing " a severe visi- 
 tation on His people of the Christian Church V And 
 undoubtedly the great triumph which the Mahome- 
 tan power obtained over a large portion of Asia and 
 Africa, and at length in the conquest of the Eu- 
 ropean capital of Eastern Christendom, spoke loudly 
 to the Christian Church of judgment inflicted for 
 transgression, and was a call to the nations that 
 
 1 Woodhouse, Annot. pp. 209, 210. 
 
284 Vision of the six Trumpets ; [LECT. 
 
 escaped even " the residue of the men that were 
 not killed by these plagues 2 to repent of the 
 various corruptions in worship, in doctrine, and in 
 life, which might bring down upon them the like 
 visitation. 
 
 It is the general opinion of commentators that, 
 in the following chapter, in the distinct vision which 
 is interposed, before the second woe of the sixth 
 trumpet is declared to be " past " and the seventh 
 trumpet sounds, there is a transition to another 
 scene Western Christendom being there mainly 
 concerned. If this hypothesis be correct, the vision 
 of the six trumpets, as contained in the eighth and 
 ninth chapters, having, under the first four trumpets, 
 described the judgments which, in the first ages of 
 the Church's warfare, fell on the world that then 
 was, on the Jew and the Gentile, the wisdom of 
 Greece and the power of Rome, the two woe trum- 
 pets that follow would depict the sufferings and 
 calamities, which, whether in the way of spiritual, or 
 of outward and visible warfare, marked the course 
 of the Church's history ; until one half, as it were, 
 of her heritage became the possession of the enemy, 
 arid the capture of that city which had been so long 
 the capital of Eastern Christendom, brings to its 
 consummation, in the view of the secular historian, 
 the fall of the Roman Empire 3 . 
 
 But if it be indeed, as I have endeavoured to 
 show, that the vision of wrath revealed in the trum- 
 pets is completed only in that of the vials ; and if it 
 be also true, as is generally supposed, that this later 
 vision is, at all events, but in course of fulfilment ; 
 we may well be content if some obscurity hang over 
 
 2 Chap. ix. 20. 3 Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap. (i8. 
 
ix.] still partially obscure. 285 
 
 scenes which are not yet fully unfolded, or which, 
 though they be of past events, may be awaiting 
 clearer light to be cast upon them by things yet 
 to come. We shall be found meanwhile, in the spirit 
 of true wisdom, humbly submitting ourselves to that 
 uniform rule and law of Divine Revelation, which 
 discloses to us of the present and the future only 
 enough to lead us to watch for the signs of the Pro- 
 vidential hand, as the course of time makes them 
 gradually more and more visible. Sacred Prophecy, 
 it cannot be too deeply impressed upon our minds 
 as we proceed in the investigation of it from step to 
 step, is to be regarded not merely as affording, in 
 its fulfilment, an evidence to Religion, but also as an 
 exercise of patient faith in Him whose Almighty 
 Power and Wisdom we may trace, though it were 
 but dimly, working out the designs of His mercy 
 towards His Church on earth. If the vision be not 
 made "plain upon tables, that he may run that 
 readeth it," this may be because it " is yet for an 
 appointed time ; but at the end it shall speak and 
 not lie ;" and in the mean time, alike, and in the 
 end " the just shall live by his faith V 
 
 4 Habak. ii. 24. 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 REV. xi. 3, 4. 
 
 " And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall 
 prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed 
 in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two 
 candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." 
 
 THE portion of Apocalyptic prophecy upon which 
 we are now to enter, forms, as it were, a distinct 
 scene, or episode, in the vision of which it is part, 
 and is introduced by circumstances of peculiar 
 solemnity. 
 
 Of the seven angels who, in the vision of the 
 mystic temple, "stood before God," and to whom 
 " were given seven trumpets," six had now sounded ; 
 the first four, as has already been observed, being 
 separated from those which followed, by the voice 
 that was heard of the "angel flying through the 
 midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, 
 woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of 
 the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, 
 which are yet to sound 2 !" Of these three, who also 
 are thus connected together, " the fifth angel 
 sounded," and there followed the plague of the 
 
 1 Preached Dec. 1, 1811. a Rev. viii. 13. 
 
r/'ston of the mighty Angel. 287 
 
 scorpion locusts ; and when this had lasted its ap- 
 pointed time, it was declared, " One woe is past ; 
 and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter 3 ." 
 The sixth angel sounded, and there was revealed the 
 plague of the horsemen of the Euphrates; but no 
 such declaration follows concerning the termination 
 of the second woe : a new vision, meanwhile, as it 
 would appear, is introduced in the tenth chapter, by 
 a fresh revelation from heaven ; and it is not till the 
 end of the description, which follows in the eleventh 
 chapter, of the prophetic ministry of the two wit- 
 nesses, that we are told, " The second woe is past ; 
 and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly 4 ." 
 
 This distinct portion, then, of the vision, including 
 the angelic appearance which ushers it in, occupies 
 the whole of the tenth chapter, and the first fourteen 
 verses of the eleventh. " I saw," says St. John, 
 "another mighty angel come down from heaven, 
 clothed with a cloud : and a rainbow was upon his 
 head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his 
 feet as pillars of fire:" a description of glory so 
 closely resembling that of the Divine Presence in the 
 book of Ezekiel 5 , and of the appearance of the Son of 
 Man in the opening of St. John's vision 6 , that some 
 have thought it could be no created angel that is 
 described here, but the Divine Angel Himself, " the 
 Messenger of the Covenant." " And he had in his 
 hand a little book open : and he set his right foot 
 upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and 
 cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth : and 
 when he had cried, the 7 seven thunders uttered their 
 voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered 
 
 3 Chap. ix. 12. 6 Chap. i. 16. 
 
 4 Chap. xi. 14. 7 at eirra fi 
 
 5 Comp. Ezek. i. 27, 28. 
 
288 Daniel's Vision compared. [LECT. 
 
 their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a 
 voice saying unto me, Seal up those things which 
 the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 
 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and 
 upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and 
 sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who 
 created heaven, and the things that therein are, and 
 the earth, and the things that therein are, and the 
 sea, and the things which are therein, that there 
 should be time no longer : but in the days of the 
 seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the 
 mystery of God should be finished, as he hath de- 
 clared to his servants the prophets 8 ." 
 
 The reference here cannot be mistaken, nor the 
 parallel overlooked, to a description which we have 
 already had before us, in the book of Daniel. The 
 prophet, standing by the side of the great river 
 Hiddekel, had beheld, on the waters of the river, 
 an angelic form like that which St. John describes, 
 " a man clothed in linen," whose " body was like the 
 beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, 
 and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his 
 feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of 
 his words like the voice of a multitude 9 ." By the 
 ministry of this mighty angel a prophecy was re- 
 vealed to Daniel, which, it was made known to him, 
 was yet " for many days J ;" and he was bidden ac- 
 cordingly to " shut up the words and seal the book, 
 even to the time of the end 2 . Then I looked," 
 saith the prophet, " and, behold, 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 one said to the man clothed in linen, which was 
 
 8 Chap. x. 17. ' Ver. 14. 
 
 9 Dan. x. 5, 6. 2 Dan. xii. 4. 
 
x.] Similarity between the two Visions. 289 
 
 upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to 
 the end of these wonders ? And I heard," saith the 
 prophet, " 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, and sware by 
 him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, 
 times, and an half; and when he shall have accom- 
 plished to scatter the power of the holy people, all 
 these things shall be finished 3 ." The resemblance 
 between the two scenes, the solemn oath, the men- 
 tion made in St. John's vision of the long looked-for 
 accomplishment of the mystery of God, " declared " 
 in ages past "to his servants the prophets," connect 
 the two descriptions closely together. And the link 
 will appear yet closer, when we find that the mystic 
 period revealed in the vision which immediately fol- 
 lows in the Revelation of St. John the forty and 
 two months, or the thousand two hundred and 
 threescore days is the same with that which had 
 been more obscurely shadowed out to Daniel under 
 the designation of " a time, times, and an half," " a 
 time and times and the dividing of times." The 
 Jewish prophet had been charged to " shut up the 
 words and seal the book, even to the time of the 
 end ;" and when, hearing but understanding not the 
 angel's mystic oath, he enquired again, saying, "O 
 my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" 
 the angel said, " Go thy way, Daniel : for the 
 words are closed up and sealed till the time of the 
 end 4 ." But to the beloved disciple, the Evangelic 
 prophet, the voices of the seven thunders uttered an 
 intelligible sound ; though, indeed, even he might not 
 record the words, but must himself also, in his turn, 
 
 3 Dan. xii. 57. 4 Vv. 8, 9. 
 
 U 
 
290 EzekieVs prophetic commission, [LECT. 
 
 seal them up. To him, nevertheless, the open book in 
 the angel's hand was freely given, that he might 
 spiritually digest that which it contained. " The 
 voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me 
 again, and said, Go, and take the little book which is 
 open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon 
 the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the 
 angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. 
 And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up ; and it 
 shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy 
 mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book 
 out of the angel's hand, and ate it up ; and it was in 
 my mouth sweet as honey : and as soon as I had 
 eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, 
 Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and 
 nations, and tongues, and kings 5 ." 
 
 The description here given will recall to mind that 
 which we find in the book of Ezekiel, of the manner 
 in which that prophet was charged with his sacred 
 commission. The voice which came to him, from 
 Him whom he saw amidst " the appearance of the 
 likeness of the glory of the Lord," enveloped in fire, 
 and with brightness round about it, " as the appear- 
 ance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of 
 rain," bade him take and eat the roll of the book 
 which an hand that was sent unto him spread before 
 him ; " and it was written within and without : and 
 there was written therein lamentations, and mourn- 
 ing, and woe." " Then did I eat it," he says, " and 
 it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he 
 said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the 
 house of Israel, and speak with my words unto 
 them 6 ." 
 
 3 Rev. x. 811. 6 Ezek. ii. 9, 10 ; iii. 14. 
 
x.] illustrating that given to St. John. 291 
 
 The close resemblance of these passages of the 
 elder prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel, to the vision 
 before us is highly important, as determining the 
 character of the scene described in this tenth 
 chapter. It would seem to show plainly, that it 
 represents the solemn delivery to St. John of this 
 special portion of prophetic revelation; and can hardly 
 be, as some modern expositors have regarded it, a 
 part of the prophecy itself, a continuation, in chro- 
 nological order, of the history of the Church, taking 
 it up at the point to which it had been carried down, 
 under the sixth trumpet, in the chapter preceding. 
 The principal scene of action, it would appear, was 
 to be no longer the East, as it had been thus far in 
 the vision, but rather the West, the Gentile world ; 
 symbolically represented, here, as elsewhere, by " the 
 sea " on which the angel is described as planting his 
 right foot, while his left foot was on " the land ;" and 
 it was further declared to St. John, whose first com- 
 mission had been to the churches of Asia, that he 
 " must prophesy again before many peoples, and na- 
 tions, and tongues, and kings." 
 
 Thus far, then, we have a description of the 
 manner in which the vision now to be unfolded was 
 solemnly communicated to St. John. We may now 
 enter upon the consideration of the vision itself. 
 
 " And there was given me a reed like unto a rod : 
 [and the angel stood,] 7 saying, Rise, and measure the 
 temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship 
 therein 8 ." The action here represented resembles 
 that which we find in the visions of Ezekiel and 
 
 7 These words do not ap- any real difficulty, 
 pear to form part of the genuine * Chap. xi. 1. 
 text; nor does the ellipsis create 
 
 u2 
 
292 The Altar ; and the outer Court, [LECT. 
 
 Zechariah ; and the commission thus given to 
 St. John, including as it does not only the temple 
 and the altar the inner sanctuary and the altar 
 court but also the congregation of worshippers 
 assembled there, must be taken to denote an exact 
 survey of the state of Divine worship in the visible 
 Church, in the times here described. 
 
 In order, however, to the better understanding of 
 the vision before us, it is to be observed, that in the 
 temple at Jerusalem were two courts : an inner one 
 for the priests, where stood the altar of burnt- 
 offerings ; and an outer court for the congrega- 
 tion, where they assembled at the stated hours of 
 worship. But when any one came to offer a distinct 
 sacrifice for himself, he was permitted to enter the 
 court of the priests, and advance as far as the altar, 
 for the purpose of presenting his sacrifice before 
 God, and laying his hand upon it 9 . Of these indi- 
 vidual worshippers, then, an exact account was to be 
 taken, while of the outer court it is said in the fol- 
 lowing verse, " But the court which is without the 
 temple leave out," or, as it is in the original, " cast 
 out 1 , and measure it not; for it is given unto the 
 Gentiles : and the holy city shall they tread forty 
 and two months V 
 
 " They shall tread," for this, as has been cor- 
 rectly observed, would appear to be the proper 
 rendering of the word here employed 3 , rather than 
 that which we find in our Authorized Version, " tread 
 
 9 Knox's Remains, vol. i. Temple described, chap. 33. 
 
 p. 144. He refers to Fleury's (Works, vol. i. pp. 924. 2026.) 
 
 "Manners of the Israelites" Cf. Lev. i. 3 ; iii. 2. 8.] 
 (translated by A. Clarke), p. ' 6Kj3a\e tu>. 
 112, and to Lightfoot. [Tern- 2 Ver. 2. 
 pie Service, chap. vii. sect. 3. 3 
 
x.] trodden by the Gentiles. 293 
 
 under foot." It is the simple verb that is used here ; 
 not the compound 4 , which would be employed to 
 denote trampling down or treading under foot ; as 
 we find it in that passage of the history of the 
 Maccabees, where we read of " the sanctuary " being 
 " trodden down and profaned 5 ." The verb Trart'w 
 seems to be used here, as elsewhere, of treading, as 
 worshippers who frequent, the temple of the Lord : 
 as where it is said, by the mouth of the prophet 
 Isaiah, to those multitudes of the congregation of 
 Israel whose offering of worship was so greatly pol- 
 luted with idolatries and corruptions, " Who hath 
 required this at your hands, to tread my courts 6 ?" 
 In earlier times of the Apocalyptic vision, as already 
 described, a scene had been disclosed in which, as in 
 the Jewish temple when the people were praying 
 without at the time of solemn worship, amid deep 
 " silence in heaven," in the spiritual temple of the 
 Christian Church, there was offered much^ incense, 
 ascending with the prayers of all saints, an accept- 
 able sacrifice "in every place," "a pure offering" 
 from the one congregation of Christian worshippers, 
 Jew and Gentile 7 . But now, in the vision before us, 
 in contradistinction from those that worshipped in 
 the court of the altar, the Gentiles, that is, as it 
 would seem, the Gentile nations collectively, are 
 
 4 KarmruTf.l.y. VTTO tie aTriaTwv *cara^)po?/r/rtk'uJc 
 
 5 1 Mace. iii. 45. cf. v. 51. KCU dAffyn'we. [Catena, &c. ed. 
 chap. iv. 60. Cramer, p. 337.] So Light- 
 
 6 Isa. i. 12. iraTtiv TT\V foot, Harmony N. T. (in loc.) 
 ouXr/v fjiov. LXX. Vid. Wood- " * and they should tread the 
 house, who refers (Translation, holy city.' . . . Not in an hos- 
 p. 289, Note) to the comment tile way, but as the flock of 
 of Arethas -nuXiv ayiai riiv the Lord tread his courts, there 
 'EKK\r)ffiav Ka\<rr, f)v i<7juer worshipping him." Works, vol. 
 TrarelrrOat VTTO eOvah', cue i6di] i. p. 345. 
 
 oiovtl iv nvrfj a^aorpt^fo'^at, 7 Cf. sup. pp. 255 259. 
 
 inro /J.tv X a IOT tai' a) v Blo(fti\(Mif ) 
 
294 Period of the Gentiles' [LECT. 
 
 represented as having possession of the outer court 
 and treading the holy city ; admitted to its privi- 
 leges, though not drawing near in holiest and purest 
 worship. And this was to continue through a cer- 
 tain period of time, defined here as consisting of 
 " forty and two months." 
 
 The mention thus made of an appointed time 
 during which the Gentiles should tread the holy 
 city, will at once remind us of that prophecy of our 
 Blessed Lord in which, using the same word as in 
 the passage before us, (and which must there also, 
 it would rather appear, be rendered in the same 
 way,) He says, after declaring how the Jewish people 
 should fall by the edge of the sword, and be led 
 captive into all lands, "And Jerusalem shall be 
 trodden of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles 
 be fulfilled 8 ." In the vision before us, in like man- 
 ner, though doubtless here, as indeed we may say 
 there also, it is the spiritual " city of the living God, 
 the heavenly Jerusalem," the Church of Christ, that 
 is specially referred to, and not merely the earthly 
 and typical, we find " the holy city " spoken of 
 as " given to the Gentiles to be trodden by them," 
 and that for an appointed period, certain " times." 
 And that these are the same "times of the Gentiles " 
 spoken of by our Lord, will appear still further from 
 the language of the book of Daniel, already quoted, 
 where, in immediate connexion with the mention of 
 " a time, times, and an half," it was added emphati- 
 cally, " and when he shall have accomplished to scatter 
 the power of the holy people" that is, as it would 
 
 8 Luke xxi. 24. KCU 'lepov- question, whether this text 
 
 aaXrjfjL torai Trarov/jeVty VTTO should not be so translated, 
 
 tdv&r, ax?>i 7r\r](!wdtiffi Kaipol "and whether that prophecy 
 
 edvtir. Woodhouse (Transl. does not belong to the same 
 
 p. 289, Note) suggests it as a period as this." 
 
x.] treading the holy City. 295 
 
 appear, (primarily, at least,) the people of Israel which 
 then were the people of God, "all these things 
 shall be finished." Applying, therefore, to the visions 
 of the elder and the later prophet, of Daniel and 
 St. John, the light derived from the words of our 
 Blessed Lord Himself, we are authorized to interpret 
 the vision before us as unfolding the fulfilment of 
 " the times of the Gentiles." And we have now to 
 consider what the period in question is. 
 
 It is described, in the words before cited from the 
 verse immediately preceding the text, as consisting 
 of "forty and two months." The same period, it 
 would seem, is marked in a subsequent vision, in the 
 thirteenth chapter, as defining the continuance of 
 the wild beast there described, to whom " power was 
 given to continue," or, as it may be otherwise ren- 
 dered, " to practise 9 ," " forty and two months '." It 
 would seem as if the like period were also described 
 in other words when we read in the text, following 
 immediately upon the verse which speaks of the 
 Gentiles treading the holy city forty and two months, 
 " And I will give unto my two witnesses, that they 
 may prophesy a thousand two hundred and three- 
 score days, clothed in sackcloth ;" twelve hundred 
 and sixty days making up precisely the period of 
 forty-two months; thirty days, according to the He- 
 brew reckoning, being computed to the month. 
 And this period also, of twelve hundred and sixty 
 days, is mentioned again in the following chapter, 
 where we read of the woman fleeing " into the wil- 
 derness, where she hath a place prepared of God 
 that they should feed her there a thousand two hun- 
 
 9 TToificrat. Comp. Dan. viii. and prospered ;" xi. 28, "and 
 
 12, " and it practised fnn^W he sha11 do (exploits)." 
 ^ T '*'.) l Chap. xiii. f>. 
 
296 Period variously described ; [LECT. 
 
 dred and threescore days 2 ." And this again is iden- 
 tified with the more obscure language of Daniel's 
 vision, before referred to, concerning the " time, 
 times, and a half," when, in a later verse of the 
 same chapter, St. John tells us, " to the woman 
 were given two wings of the 3 great eagle, that she 
 might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where 
 she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a 
 time, from the face of the serpent 4 ." So that the 
 three times, or years, and a half, (for so, it would 
 appear, the word " time " is to be understood 5 ,) will 
 correspond with the period already described as 
 " forty and two months," or " a thousand two hun- 
 dred and threescore days," three hundred and sixty 
 days, or twelve months of thirty days each, being 
 reckoned to the year. 
 
 We must now enter upon the much canvassed 
 question, how these days and months and years are 
 to be interpreted, whether literally, or mystically 6 . 
 The consideration of this question has been deferred 
 to the present occasion, because the vision before us, 
 
 2 Chap. xii. 6. tain years," E. V. " Heb. at 
 
 3 TOV aerov TOV peyakov. Cf. the end of times, even years." 
 sup. p. 216. Marg. See Wintle on Daniel 
 
 * Ver. 14. (pp. 207, 208) for instances of 
 
 5 The words in Dan. xii. 7, a similar use of the words 
 
 in the Hebrew, DHOTID TJlflD 1 ? X? v and " tempora." 
 
 That a definite, and not an 
 would seem identical with indefinite, period is denoted by 
 
 Hr-TV theSG n , Umbe ^ S ' WOuld rath , er 
 *: IT* appear from the mention, in the 
 
 in chap. vii. 25. And in book of Daniel, of the two 
 
 other periods of 1290 and 
 chap. iv. 1C, 23, &c. (vv. 13. , r i i.- i i 
 
 1-335 days which numbers do 
 
 20, &c. Heb.) the word ?yiy not seem to admit of being in- 
 seems undoubtedly to denote terpreted in reference to the 
 years. Comp. chap. xi. 13. times of Antiochus. Vid. 
 -" after cer- H 'eron, in lor. 
 
x.] how to be interpreted. 297 
 
 I believe it will be found, supplies data not furnished 
 in earlier prophecies for its right solution. But, 
 before we enter upon the particular grounds of the 
 argument, I would observe that the general impres- 
 sion derived from the examination, thus far, of the 
 vision before us, compared with that of Daniel and 
 with the prophecy of our Lord interpreting both, 
 would certainly be in favour of a mode of inter- 
 pretation which would give to the times here spoken 
 of, a wider range than that of twelve hundred and 
 sixty literal days, three literal years and a half. 
 
 To proceed, however, to the general question ; and 
 first, as regards the evidence of Scripture, I would 
 observe, that the primary argument for the inter- 
 pretation which, since the time of Mede, has been 
 commonly received amongst us, taking a day as used 
 in prophetic language to signify a year, is derived 
 from the well-known prophecy, in Daniel, of the 
 seventy weeks. For, whatever difficulty, or diversity 
 of opinion, has been found in regard to the exact 
 computation of these weeks, the almost unanimous 
 consent of the Christian world has recognized in 
 that prophecy, interpreted as denoting by a week a 
 period of seven years, or, as it may legitimately be 
 represented in other words, taking a day for a 
 year, a remarkable prophetic disclosure of the time 
 when the promised Messiah should come, to offer 
 the great sacrifice for sin and to redeem His 
 people. 
 
 This argument, however, has of late years been 
 strongly called in question ; and its refutation has 
 by some been regarded as complete. It has been 
 contended not only that the calculation of time by 
 weeks was not customary amongst the Jews, nor the 
 use among them of any one word to express the 
 
298 Language of the Prophecy [LECT. 
 
 period of seven days, but further, that the word 
 which we translate " week " in Daniel's prophecy is 
 actually used by their Misnic writers to signify the 
 space between one sabbatical year and another 
 that is, the space not of seven days, but of seven 
 years. We are told that the word itself, simply 
 meaning a " seven" or septenary, might be under- 
 stood quite as well of years as of days ; and that " a 
 reader of Daniel who had not heard the period 
 called 'seventy weeks,' or been in any way pre- 
 possessed on the subject, would not necessarily sup- 
 pose that the prophet spoke of ' sevens ' of days, but 
 might very probably understand him to speak of 
 6 sevens ' of years 7 ." 
 
 Upon these arguments I would observe that, while 
 it may be readily admitted that the Jews computed 
 time by days rather than weeks, and that the period 
 which we denote a " week " would by the Jews most 
 commonly have been spoken of as " seven days," the 
 real question at issue is in regard to the true mean- 
 ing, in the Biblical Hebrew, and Scripture usage, of 
 the word 8 which our Version here represents by the 
 English word " week." Etymologically, doubtless, 
 it would denote merely something composed of 
 seven 9 ; but it must be carefully observed that the 
 word is applied exclusively to periods of time ; and 
 in every instance in which it occurs, besides this 
 prophecy of Daniel, it seems clearly to denote a 
 week, a seven of days ] . It may be said, in fact, to 
 
 7 Maitland's " Enquiry," pp. it is used in connexion, exclu- 
 6 11. sively, with days. 
 
 8 JPOttf- ! See- Lev. xii. 5 ; Num. 
 
 9 As in Ezek. xlv. 21, jn xxviii ' 2 <> ' DeuL xv j- ? ^ er ' 
 
 - v. 24 ; Dan. x. 2, 3. (This last 
 
 DW rnjOlp a feast of seven j nstan ce is specially important, 
 clays" where, however, still as occurring in the chapter im- 
 
x.] of the Seventy Weeks. 299 
 
 correspond with the Latin "hebdomada;" which, 
 with the same vagueness of meaning in regard to 
 etymology, would, standing by itself, suggest to any 
 one, from its use, the idea of a seven of days a 
 week. I have said, that such would appear to be 
 the signification of the Hebrew word in every in- 
 stance but this ; for although, in one passage of the 
 book of Genesis 2 , there has been a doubt amongst 
 expositors, the great majority support that inter- 
 pretation which is given in our own Version, and 
 which the sense of the passage seems clearly to 
 require, viz. that of the seven days, the literal week 3 . 
 We have then, in this prophecy of Daniel, a word 
 which would ordinarily convey the idea of a week, a 
 septenary of days, used to denote a period of seven 
 years ; which, though not absolutely, is certainly in its 
 result, equivalent to the alleged prophetic reckoning 
 of days for years. 
 
 I have entered the more fully into the considera- 
 tion of this remarkable passage of ancient prophecy, 
 not only because of its important bearing on that 
 which is immediately before us, but because some 
 few of those who have, of late years, maintained the 
 literal interpretation of the twelve hundred and 
 sixty days, have expressed doubts, or have even 
 strongly urged objections, in regard to that interpre- 
 tation of the seventy weeks which, with the general 
 consent of the Christian Church, has derived from 
 the fulfilment of the prediction strong evidence to 
 the Divine origin of our most holy Faith 4 . And the 
 argument drawn from the one prophecy, in its appli- 
 
 mediately following. )Vid. Note, Exod. xxxiv. 22, &c. 
 Appendix. The word occurs 2 Gen. xxix. 27, 28. 
 several times in the title 3H 3 Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
 " the feast of weeks'" '. S ? e T dd ' S If Ctures ( First 
 Series), p. 191, Note. 
 
300 Antecedent obscurity [LEGT. 
 
 cation to the other, will seem the more forcible, 
 when we recollect that, as the former vision made 
 known to Daniel the period " determined upon " his 
 people and upon his " holy city," even unto the 
 time appointed for the destruction of " the city and 
 the sanctuary " of Jerusalem which then was, and 
 the causing " the sacrifice and the oblation to cease" 
 from her desecrated altar, and her courts left deso- 
 late, so, in the vision before us, was revealed to St. 
 John the giving of the outer court of a new Chris- 
 tian temple to the Gentiles, and the admission of 
 their multitudes to " tread the holy city," while the 
 times of the Gentiles were fulfilling. 
 
 In perfect consistency with the argument which 
 has now been maintained respecting the true inter- 
 pretation of the terms employed in the prophecy of 
 " the seventy weeks," it may be freely admitted that, 
 antecedently to the event, there might rest on the 
 prophecy just so much of uncertainty, in regard to 
 the Divinely intended meaning, as would veil from 
 the eyes of the faithful remnant of Judah how long 
 was the interval which was yet to elapse before the 
 first coming of " Messiah the Prince." And it 
 would be but in accordance with the orderings of 
 Divine Wisdom then, and with the general design of 
 keeping Faith and Hope ever watchful, in anxious 
 expectance of promised blessing, if it should appear 
 that, in regard to the New Testament prophecy as 
 well as to the Old, the final consummation of " the 
 mystery of God " as well as the solemn winding-up 
 of the elder dispensation, language was employed, 
 symbolic, as in the former instance, and which would 
 conceal at first, though time would at length reveal 
 it, the full extent of the period which was to elapse 
 until "the end of these wonders." It would, there- 
 
x.] in regard to prophetic times. 301 
 
 fore, be no matter of surprise, nor be a reason for 
 doubting of the soundness of the conclusion to 
 which we had come, though we should find that for 
 ages a literal interpretation had prevailed of the 
 language of the Apocalyptic vision : that it was not 
 distinctly perceived, or at all supposed, that the period 
 foretold \vas to consist of more than twelve centuries, 
 until those centuries, reckoning from the first Advent 
 of Christ, were now so nearly elapsed, that such a 
 view might be taken, consistently with the expecta- 
 tion of His second Advent as ever nigh at hand. 
 For this, indeed, may be recognized as a paramount 
 rule, if we may so describe it, of Divine Wisdom and 
 Goodness, that the Church of Christ should ever be 
 waiting and watching for the coming of her Lord, 
 her hope unchilled by the knowledge of a long 
 period of trial and sorrow still to intervene 5 . We 
 find accordingly that, in the early ages, it was the 
 general belief that, when that which did then with- 
 hold (by which they commonly understood the Pagan 
 Empire of Rome 6 ) was taken out of the way, Anti- 
 christ should be revealed in its place, and reign for 
 three literal years and a half; preparatory to which the 
 two witnesses, of whom one was universally believed 
 to be Elias, and the other generally supposed to be 
 Enoch, would also prophesy through the like period 
 of twelve hundred and sixty days, or three literal 
 years and a half 7 . But identifying, as some of them 
 did, this period of three years and a half with the 
 half week, or three days and a half, of which men- 
 tion is made in the latter part of the prophecy of the 
 
 8 See Elliott's Horae Apo- bles, vol. i. pp. 368, 369, and 
 
 calypticse, pp. 964 972. the large collection of authori- 
 
 6 Vid. sup. p. 78. ties referred to in his note, 
 
 7 See Greswell on the Para- ibid. 
 
302 Mystic interpretation. [LECT. 
 
 seventy weeks 8 , where it is said, " in the midst of 
 the week," or, " in the half week, he shall cause the 
 sacrifice and the oblation to cease 9 ," they did, in 
 fact, while they undoubtedly interpreted the twelve 
 hundred and sixty days literally, recognize at the 
 same time, in some degree, a connexion between the 
 vision before us and the prophecy which thus in- 
 volved the mystic interpretation. And not only so, 
 but in marking the duration of Antichrist's time of 
 triumph, upon the termination of the ministry of the 
 witnesses, as destined to be for three years and a half, 
 and identifying it, as some appear to have done, 
 with the period of the death of the witnesses, they 
 were visibly tending to the adoption of the like 
 mystical interpretation in regard to another part of 
 the vision itself. To this point I must now call your 
 attention. 
 
 Having described the ministry of the two wit- 
 nesses, the prophecy proceeds, " And when they shall 
 have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth 
 out of the abyss shall make war against them, and 
 shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead 
 bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which 
 spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also 
 our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and 
 kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their 
 dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not 
 suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 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 
 
 8 Hippolytus, de Antichristo, 
 
 C. 43 tyc p&>fA&C TO pei' VOL ffciKKovg. Op. pp. 20, 21. 
 rjfjiiTv X//4/o^7-ai ot t)uo Trpo^fjjrat, Cf. c. 47, p. 22. 
 'Efwx Kal 'HXt'ac' ourot yap 9 Dan. ix. 27- 
 
 KijpvE.ovotv 
 
x.] Ancient authorities. 303 
 
 them that dwelt on the earth. And after three 
 days and an half," or, more exactly, " after the three 
 days and an half 1 , the Spirit of life from God 
 entered into them, and they stood upon their feet ; 
 and great fear fell upon them which saw them 2 ." 
 
 It appears, then, that the period of twelve hundred 
 and sixty days during which the witnesses were to 
 prophesy, is followed by a period of three days and 
 a half, during which they are represented as in the 
 state of death ; and if in this latter case the days be 
 taken to denote years, consistency of interpretation 
 would seem to require that the same mode of 
 reckoning be adopted in the former:, there must 
 be one and the same scale throughout. But in the 
 latter case the days were, even by some ancient ex- 
 positors, interpreted as denoting years 3 ; those writers, 
 indeed, being but few in number, and occurring at 
 considerable intervals, but yet in some sort forming 
 a succession. These writers, moreover, it is to be 
 observed, have, one or another, employed in support of 
 their interpretation the same arguments which have 
 been appealed to in later times, as drawn from other 
 parts of Scripture. Thus Primasius, in the sixth 
 century, referring to the half week in Daniel's pro- 
 phecy, as describing mystically the same period, treats 
 it as an instance of the manner of speaking used in 
 Scripture ; or the converse, at least, of what we find 
 in the case of the Israelites in the wilderness, to 
 whom, according to the number of the days that the 
 spies were searching the land of Canaan was to be 
 the number of the years of Israel's wandering in the 
 
 rag rpt~ig r/jue'pae /cat calypticae, vol. iii. pp. 967 
 971, referring to the writers 
 Vv. 7 11. quoted below. 
 
 See Elliott's Horae Apo- 
 
304 Mystic interpretation. [LECT. 
 
 wilderness, a day for a year 4 . This argument is 
 repeated by another writer, Ambrosius Ansbertus, 
 of the eighth century, in defence of the same 
 interpretation 5 ; while yet another, St. Bruno of 
 Asti, in the eleventh, refers to the revelation made to 
 Ezekiel, of the duration of the iniquity of the king- 
 doms of Israel and Judah severally, through the 
 medium of the symbolical action which the prophet 
 was directed to perform, lying on his side three 
 hundred and ninety days, and then forty days, a 
 day being appointed him for a year 6 . And the 
 Homilies on the Apocalypse which bear the name of 
 Tichonius, of the fourth century, but which embody, 
 (as it would appear,) together perhaps with his, the 
 comments of later expositors, employ the argument 
 derived from the difficulty of supposing that the 
 events described in the prophecy could take place in 
 so limited a period as three literal days and a half 7 . 
 
 4 " Tres dies et dimidium dragenario dierum numero, qui- 
 possumus intelligere tres annos bus exploratores terrain Cha- 
 et sex menses, quos in ultima naan circumierunt, quadraginta 
 hebdomada Danielis quoque annorum curricula, quibus in 
 prophetia prsenuntiat affuturos. deserto peccata incredulitatis 
 More Scripturae loquentis luerent, praefiguraverunt. <An- 
 utentes, quod dictum legimus nus,' inquit, ' vobis pro die re- 
 de quadraginta diebus quibus putabitur.' Et sicut ibi pro 
 exploratores terram Chanaan diebus anni, ita hie pro annis 
 circuierunt, annus pro die re- dies ponuntur," &c. In Apocal. 
 putabitur ; ut hie versa vice B. P. M. t. xiii. p. 525. 
 
 dies pro anno positus agnosca- " Quod autem dies pro 
 
 tur." Comment, in Apocal. ap. anno ponatur, audi quid Eze- 
 
 Bibl. Patr. Max. t. x. p. 314. chieli Dominus dicat : ' Et as- 
 
 5 "Hoc itaque in loco per sumes iniquitatem domus Judse 
 trium dierum spatium ac di- quadraginta diebus: diem pro 
 midii, triennii et sex mensium anno, diem inquam pro anno, 
 summa describitur : more vide- dedi tibi." Super Apocal. ap. 
 licet Scripturae loquentis ; quae B. P. M. t. xx. p. 1695. 
 aliquando, sicut a toto partem, 7 " * Etvidentde populis . . . 
 sic plerumque a parte totum corpus eorum, per dies tres et 
 ostendit. Sic enim arbitror in dimidium ;' id est, annos tres 
 
 et menses sex. . . . Quomodo 
 figurari, sicut filii Israel qua- autem potuerunt habitantes ter- 
 
 filii 
 
x.] Its ultimate tendency. 305 
 
 By these arguments, as time went on, the interpreta- 
 tion as, at least, it will appear to us in the retro- 
 spect was gradually gaining strength, which made 
 the three days and a half of the witnesses' death to 
 be symbolic of as many years; and the ultimate 
 result to which this interpretation was tending, was 
 that, in due time, when there was no Providential 
 purpose, as it would seem, withholding from men's 
 minds the otherwise natural conclusion, the same 
 scale of reckoning would be applied to the preced- 
 ing period of the witnesses' ministry, and the twelve 
 hundred and sixty days be interpreted as denoting 
 that number of years. 
 
 Meanwhile, moreover, "in regard even to that 
 longer prophetic period, we find in the same expo- 
 sitors traces of a mystical interpretation, beside the 
 literal an interpretation referring it not only to the 
 brief period of Antichrist's expected triumph, but 
 also to the whole duration of the Church militant 
 from its earliest days 8 . With these approximations 
 to a systematic adoption of the symbolic interpreta- 
 tion, all that was wanting to its complete formation, 
 
 ram de duorum nece gaudere, cutionis dixit, et totius tem- 
 
 cum in una civitate morerentur, poris a Domini passione.") 
 
 et munera invicem mittere, si Andreas Caesariensis, Com- 
 
 tres dies sint : qui antequam ment. in Apoc. c. 29. ibid. t. 
 
 gaudeant de nece, contristabun- v. p. 608. Bede, in Apoc. xii. 
 
 tur de resurrectione." Horn. 6. " Isto dierum numero qui 
 
 viii. ap. Op. S. August, torn, tres semis annos facit, omnia 
 
 iii. pars 2, App. p. 170 (ed. Christianitatis tempora com- 
 
 Bened.) Vid. Note, Appen- plectitur ; quia Christus, cujus 
 
 dix. haec corpus est, tantum in 
 
 8 Thus Primasius. " Non carne temporis praedicaverit." 
 
 novissimam tantum persecu- Ambrosius Ansbertus, B. P. M. 
 
 tionem significat, sed etiam t. xiii. pp. 522. 534. 545. 
 
 Christianitatis tempus omne." Bruno Astensis, ibid. t. xx. p. 
 
 B. P. M. t. x. p. 317. cf. p. 169. (quoted by Elliott, loc. 
 
 314. (Cf. Tichonii Horn. viii. sup. cit.). Vid. Note, Ap- 
 
 " Numerum novissimae perse- pendix. 
 
306 Final formation of [LECT 
 
 was, it would appear, the arrival of a period in the 
 Church's history, when, having now seen twelve 
 centuries elapse from the first coming of Christ, she 
 might count in years the mystic period foretold in 
 prophetic vision, and yet, in the spirit of past ages, 
 look for Him continually as nigh at hand 9 . 
 
 We find accordingly that, before the end of the 
 twelfth century, the theory was put forth thus in its 
 perfect form, which, applying the same rule of inter- 
 pretation throughout, explained the period of three 
 times and a half 1 , or of forty and two months, or 
 twelve hundred and sixty days, to signify twelve 
 hundred and sixty years, "accepto haud dubie die 
 pro anno 2 ." Thus unhesitatingly did the celebrated 
 abbot of Flore, in the latter part of the twelfth 
 century, lay down the rule and scale of prophetic 
 calculation ; retaining consequently the belief, that 
 this period of three mystic years and a half would 
 be followed by a period of three natural years 
 and a half, which was to be the season of the 
 Church's heaviest trial and most bitter persecution 
 by the power of Antichrist now fully " revealed in 
 his season V With the particular applications then 
 made of this theory to the circumstances of those 
 days, or with the prophetical and theological specu- 
 lations, or ecclesiastical views, which were engrafted 
 
 Elliott, pp. 964. 966. 972. of supremacy, thus connects 
 
 1 Joachimi Expos, in Apoc. the last three years and a half 
 fol. 9, b. 148, b. ; in Hierem. of his paroxysm of persecution 
 c. 20, p. 285. See British with his former state : * Ante 
 M.iDa/ine, vol. xvi. p. 370. enim tres semis annos non 
 
 a Id. Liber Concordiae, 2, c. aperto ore blasphemat, sed in 
 
 16, and 5, c. 118. mysterio facinoris: quod, facta 
 
 3 Cf. sup. pp. 120, 121, and discessione, et revelato homine 
 
 see Note, Appendix. Vene- peccati, nudabitur.' " In Apoc. 
 
 rable Bede, " in speaking of cap. xiii. Elliott, p. 969, 
 
 the beast's forty-two months note 2 . 
 
x.] the mystic Interpretation. 307 
 
 upon it, I am not at present concerned : it is the 
 system itself, the symbolic interpretation of the pro- 
 phetic days and months and times and years, to 
 which I would direct your attention. And enough, 
 perhaps, has been said to show, not only that the 
 system itself has warrant in Holy Scripture, in simi- 
 lar portions of the prophetic word, nay even in the 
 very structure of the vision before us, but also that 
 its existence has been discovered there, in different 
 degrees, as was most conducive to the faith and 
 patience of the Church of God ; and that indeed it 
 was not an altogether novel hypothesis, at variance 
 with all that had gone before, which was struck 
 out in modern times by the ingenuity of contro- 
 versial expositors, but rather the systematic and 
 uniform adoption of that to which approximation 
 had, in some sort, been gradually made, as, in the 
 progress of time, increasing light was cast upon the 
 word of Prophecy. 
 
 From the consideration, however, of the question 
 respecting the true interpretation of the times thus 
 Divinely appointed for the duration of the prophetic 
 ministry of the two witnesses, we must proceed to 
 enquire into the import of that ministry itself. And 
 here, acting upon that surest rule, the making Scrip- 
 ture, as much as possible, its own interpreter, I 
 would refer at once to a vision of elder prophecy 
 to which allusion seems clearly to be made in this. 
 " I will give power unto my two witnesses," thus we 
 read in the passage before us, " and they shall pro- 
 phesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, 
 clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, 
 and the two candlesticks standing before the God 
 
 x2 
 
308 Vision of Zechariah ; [LECT. 
 
 of the earth 4 ." In the visions of Zechariah we read 
 of the angel showing to the prophet " 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 : 
 and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of 
 the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof 5 ." 
 The prophet asked the meaning of that which 
 he saw, and the angel thus declared it : " This is 
 the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not 
 by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the 
 Lord of hosts 6 ." " The good success of Zerubbabel's 
 foundation" (for such, in the words of our trans- 
 lators, is the subject of the vision) is revealed to the 
 prophet, as obtained through the secret agency of 
 God's Almighty power, and by the superintending 
 care of His universal Providence. And further, in 
 answer to a more particular enquiry concerning the 
 two olive trees, or, more specifically, the " two olive 
 branches which through the two golden pipes " were 
 seen to " empty the golden oil out of themselves 7 ," 
 the prophet was told by the angel, " These are 
 the two anointed ones," or literally, "the two 
 sons of oil, that stand by the Lord of the whole 
 earth 8 ." 
 
 It can scarcely be doubted that this vision of Old 
 Testament prophecy is expressly referred to, when, 
 in the vision before us, it is said concerning the two 
 witnesses, " These are the two olive trees, and two 
 candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." 
 And " the two anointed ones " in Zechariah's vision 
 
 4 Rev. xi. 3, \. " Vv. 11, 12. 
 
 5 Zech. iv. 2, :}. " Ver. 14. Comp. Margin. 
 
 6 Ver. 0. 
 
x.l the Candlesticks and Olive trees.\ sy 309 
 
 V*> 
 " are commonly understood to signify Zoroba^g&Eh p ... 
 
 Joshua, the lights and ornaments of the ancient- 
 Church, when rising from the Babylonish captivity 9 ;" 
 that Church being regarded as established under its 
 two heads, the appointed ministers of God's Provi- 
 dence, and channels of His grace and goodness to- 
 wards His people. " They are Zerubbabel and 
 Joshua," says an eminent Jewish interpreter, Rabbi 
 Kimchi ; " and he calls them ' sons of oil,' because 
 they were anointed with the oil of anointing, the 
 one to the kingdom, and the other to the priest- 
 hood V " Which type plainly signified," says an 
 approved expositor among the moderns, that " those 
 two heads of the captivity," "the one Zorobabel 
 as captain of the people, the other Joshua, as high 
 priest," " did maintain and support the Jewish 
 Church, represented by the candlestick, both alike 
 contributing to its preservation." "In the same 
 manner," he continues, " the two witnesses are the 
 two olive trees in the Christian Church, supporting 
 and maintaining its civil and ecclesiastical state. 
 And as they are also the candlesticks, they also 
 represent," as the same writer further observes, " the 
 whole body of the true worshippers, whose heads, as 
 witnesses, they are. So that they both represent 
 the true worship of God, and are also the means 
 
 9 Woodhouse's Annotations, Joshua, and the two branches 
 
 p. 227- that proceed from them repre- 
 
 1 Kimchi's Commentary sent their deeds ; for with their 
 
 on Zechariah, translated by hands they began the building 
 
 McCaul, p. 46. Kimchi adds, of the temple. The two gol- 
 
 " Jonathan has interpreted den pipes represent Ezra and 
 
 thus, ' These are the two sons Nehemiah, who came after 
 
 of princes, who stand before them ; and by the hands of 
 
 the Lord of the whole earth.' these four light and good went 
 
 . . . And, behold, the olive forth to Israel." 
 trees represent Zerubbabel and 
 
310 Ministry of the Two Witnesses. [LECT. 
 
 of" the Church's " preservation in the true worship 
 of Him, affording both oil and light 2 ." 
 
 And, in this their office and ministry to the 
 Church of God, we find them described as invested 
 with the authority of God's prophets in old time, 
 and protected by the special Providence which sur- 
 rounded and guarded them. " And 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. These 
 have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the 
 days of their prophecy ;" a manifest allusion to the 
 instance of Elijah, and the judgment with which he 
 smote the land, during the three years and a half of 
 the predicted drought ; " and have power over the 
 waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth 
 with all plagues, as often as they will 3 ;" an allu- 
 sion not less evident to the signs of heavenly power 
 exhibited by Moses and Aaron, the heads and leaders 
 of God's people Israel, in the land of Egypt. Thus 
 in figurative language borrowed from the histories, in 
 particular, of Moses and of Elijah, is represented 
 here the invisible might which, during the testimonies 
 of the two witnesses, should accompany and protect, 
 in the discharge of the sacred offices which they 
 were to fulfil towards the Church of God, these His 
 " anointed " and His " prophets " by whose means, 
 in their severally appointed ministries to that Church, 
 He would keep up a witness to Himself in the eyes 
 of all the nations. 
 
 In endeavouring to trace the fulfilment of this 
 symbolic prophecy in the history of the Christian 
 
 2 Daubuz' Commentary, by 3 Rev. xi. 5, 6. 
 Lancaster, in loc. p. 356. 
 
x.] Import of the Vision. 311 
 
 Church through the long period of time to which 
 it seems to relate, it may assist us if we revert, for a 
 moment, to the general view given us in the vision, 
 of the condition of things under which this solemn 
 witness was to be borne. " The times of the Gen- 
 tiles" were now come. The nations, as we have 
 seen, had been admitted to the privileges of God's 
 ancient people ; being now " no more strangers and 
 foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of 
 the household of God 4 ." The great mass of them, 
 however, as might have been anticipated where 
 whole nations and tribes were concerned, took pos- 
 session but of "the outer court;" they trod the holy 
 city, members of the Christian commonwealth rather 
 than true worshippers in the courts of the Christian 
 Church. In such a condition of the visible Church, 
 the outer court and the holy city would bear upon 
 them the marks of Gentile occupancy; secularity 
 profaning things sacred ; corruptions in doctrine and 
 worship brought in, or tolerated perhaps with some- 
 thing of over indulgent concession to the preposses- 
 sions, or the sympathies of the heathen mind ; until 
 superstitions and idolatries, resembling even those of 
 the Gentile Paganism, seemed not only to have taken 
 possession of the holy city, but even, as in Ezekiel's 
 visions of the first temple of Jerusalem 5 , to have 
 invaded the very courts of the Lord's house. Yet, 
 amidst all this, a witness was still kept up. Not 
 only were there found, in successive ages, individual 
 saints whose deeper piety penetrated into the inner 
 court, and there in true devotion, came near to that 
 altar where the one great Sacrifice for sin had once 
 for all been offered, and brought thither the sacrifice 
 
 4 Eph. ii. 19. 5 Ezek. viii. 
 
312 Witnesses and luminaries [LECT. 
 
 of a broken and a contrite heart, the oblation of 
 humble obedience, the holy tribute of praise and 
 thanksgiving ; but, beside this worship of the inner 
 court, which was regarded with signal favour by Him 
 who would have especial account taken of those who 
 thus worshipped Him, there were, moreover, stand- 
 ing witnesses in His temple, the two olive trees, and 
 the two candlesticks, to which they were appointed 
 to minister ; branches of the Church Catholic, still 
 burning in the darkest times, with a light which, if 
 it seemed sometimes to flicker or glimmered but 
 dimly, yet still was kept alive ; fed with oil which 
 failed not utterly, supplied in channels of Provi- 
 dential appointment ; so that, even when the dark- 
 ness was deepest, " the lamp of God went " not " out 
 in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God 
 was 6 ." 
 
 Amidst growing corruptions in doctrine and prac- 
 tice, and profane novelties or doubtful speculations 
 of " science falsely so called," " darkening counsel by 
 words without knowledge," there were still to be 
 found those who cultivated the study of holy Scrip- 
 ture by the lights of purer times, and so carried 
 on a living testimony to " the faith once delivered 
 to the saints." And for the due supply of such 
 luminaries of the Churches, there were fountains 
 of sacred learning, "schools of the prophets," iden- 
 tified with the Church, as main parts and branches 
 of its system, and which claimed the pious care and 
 sustaining bounty of Christian princes and prelates, 
 as being " fruitful olive trees in the house of God 7 ." 
 For so we find them spoken of, even in kings' 
 charters ; and when they earnestly pleaded their 
 
 6 1 Sam. iii. 3. and Antiq. of the University of 
 
 1 See Antony a Wood's Hist. Oxford, vol. i. pp. 77, 78. 
 
x.] in branches of the Church Catholic. 313 
 
 own cause in times of deep depression 8 , it was in 
 similar language, embodying the very imagery of 
 the prophetic vision ; for " how," they asked, " shall 
 there be burning lights in the holy Church of God, 
 if there be neither oil nor light in the lamp ?" first, 
 as they said, " the oil of holy conversation, and in- 
 tegrity of life," and then " the light of doctrine, of 
 knowledge, and truth, cherished in the mind within, 
 whereby men might exercise the office of holy 
 preaching, and administering the word of God 9 ." 
 
 Whether we are to look, in the records of history, 
 for two Churches numerically corresponding to the 
 two candlesticks represented in the vision, or whether 
 by the two we are rather to understand a small 
 number just sufficient to keep up the appointed 
 testimony, thus much, I think, is clear, that we 
 must look for this witness within the precincts of 
 the visible Church, the mystic temple, "the holy 
 city." They are branches of the one Catholic Church 
 of Christ that are here described ; and, moreover, as 
 would appear from their organization, so closely 
 resembling that of the ancient Jewish Church under 
 its Divinely ordained government, they must be 
 taken to represent national Churches. This has 
 been well pointed out by a writer whose own reli- 
 gious history, and comprehensive views of the de- 
 signs of Providence, led him certainly to do full 
 justice to the piety discoverable in religious com- 
 munities existing in a state of separation or seclu- 
 sion from the great body of the visible Church, and 
 which he would conceive to be represented in another 
 vision that of the woman sheltered in the wilder- 
 ness l ; under which latter description, perhaps, are 
 
 8 In the 15th century. 589. 
 
 9 Antony a Wood, vol. i. p. ' A. Knox, Remains, vol. i. 
 
314 Fulfilment of the Vision [LECT. 
 
 to be included some among those (supposing them 
 to be proved pure in doctrine), to whom it has been 
 by many thought we must look, principally or ex- 
 clusively, for the witnesses described in the vision 
 before us. 
 
 The holy city trodden by the Gentiles, as has 
 been well observed by the excellent writer just re- 
 ferred to, is evidently "the Church, in some re- 
 spect or other; for else it would not be the Holy 
 City. It is also," he goes on to say, "the visible 
 Church : for the invisible Church is not capable 
 of being thus profaned. . . . But it is also," he 
 adds, " the visible Church, most obviously, in that 
 view of it, in which it has suffered the deepest, 
 widest, and most continued injury." The emblem of 
 a " city," as he remarks, is specially applied to the 
 Church, when (no longer in its original condition, 
 " unaided by any earthly power, discountenanced 
 and oppressed by all,") it arrives at that stage in its 
 history when it "gets outward strength, when it 
 bears the characters of stability and permanency, 
 begins to be established in the top of the moun- 
 tains, and to be exalted above the hills, and the 
 nations begin to flow unto it." " The previous ex- 
 istence of the city, which the treading down," (as he 
 regards it,) " supposes, may most naturally," he thinks, 
 " be referred to the period, commencing with Con- 
 stantine, and ending with the establishment of the 
 Papacy, and of the revived Roman, that is, the Ger- 
 man Empire." "The origin of national establish- 
 ments," he remarks, " is evidently to be dated from 
 
 pp. 142 156. Comp. vol. iii. constitute one of the two wit- 
 pp. 120 214, &c. At the nesses which seems hardly 
 same time, it would appear, he reconcileable with the hypo- 
 conceived this latter class might thesis. 
 
x.] in Churches established. 315 
 
 the merging of the Roman Empire into the Church ; 
 and therefore," he conceives, " we cannot hesitate to 
 consider this as the epoch of the Church assuming 
 its new, and, as it appears, more permanent charac- 
 ter." And, in answer to the objection drawn from 
 the declaration, " that Christ's ' kingdom is not of 
 this world,' from which some may infer, that the 
 secular instrumentality which " this " interpretation 
 supposes is not consonant with the spirit of the 
 Gospel," he suggests the consideration, "whether 
 this supposed inconsistency will not equally attach 
 to any adequate fulfilment of the great current of 
 prophecy ; because, let this take place when it may, 
 it must suppose, essentially, what is here objected 
 to ; it must suppose a state of things directly oppo- 
 site to that weakness and poverty which marked the 
 origin of Christianity. Instead of our Lord's king- 
 dom being then not of this world, the kingdoms of 
 this world will be the kingdoms of our Lord." " But 
 if this be a consummation clearly predicted, it is 
 reasonable," he argues, "to infer, that there would 
 be suitable plans of Providence for bringing it about. 
 ... If, therefore, the kingdoms of this world are 
 finally to become the kingdoms of our Lord, what 
 could we conceive more probable than that, in some 
 way or other, the movements of Providence should 
 be pointing toward this object, and, perhaps, the 
 first stamina of the future system be actually dis- 
 coverable? Here then, I must say," he proceeds, 
 "national Church establishments appear to me to 
 come in with the most perfect congruity. I speak 
 not, of course, of the internal features of any parti- 
 cular establishment; but of the mere act of the 
 government of a country, in solemnly adopting, and 
 maintaining, the Christian religion, under whatever 
 
316 Consummation of the Vision [LECT. 
 
 form, as a vital part of the national polity. In this, 
 I say, as begun by Constantino, and carried on, since, 
 throughout Christian Europe, I do think I see the 
 first outline, however rude, of that state of things to 
 which the prophecies I have referred to, with many 
 others, authorize us to look forward 2 ." 
 
 It must be regarded as no slight confirmation of 
 the interpretation thus suggested by what may be 
 regarded as an independent line of thought, to find 
 that the consummation to which it would refer as 
 the fulfilment of a great Providential design, in re- 
 gard to the kingdoms of this world, does actually, in 
 the vision before us, follow immediately upon the 
 scene which terminates the prophetic ministry of the 
 two witnesses, their death, and rising again. " After 
 the three days and an half," says St. John, in words 
 already quoted, " the Spirit of life from God entered 
 into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great 
 fear fell upon them which saw them. And they 
 heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, 
 Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven 
 in a cloud ; and their enemies beheld them. 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 seven thousand : and the remnant 
 were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 
 The second woe is past ; and, behold, the third woe 
 cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded ; 
 ;iiid there were great voices in heaven, saying, The 
 kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
 our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign for 
 ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, 
 which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their 
 
 2 Knox's Remains, vol. i. pp. 14415-1. 
 
x.] in regard to earthly Kingdoms. 317 
 
 faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee 
 thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, 
 and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee 
 thy great power, and hast reigned. 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 the 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." Then was to follow a signal 
 manifestation of God's Divine sovereignty, and the 
 pouring forth of His judgments upon the earth. 
 " And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and 
 there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament : 
 and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunder- 
 ings, and an earthquake, and great hail 3 ." 
 
 If the general view now taken of the prophecy 
 before us be correct, it may throw light upon one 
 or two particulars in the introductory vision which 
 opened this widely extended scene in the counsels of 
 Divine Providence. The descent of the angel from 
 heaven, in visible power and glory, planting his feet, 
 the one upon the sea and the other upon the land, 
 would then fitly designate Christ's Divinely de- 
 scended Religion taking possession of the earth, 
 and especially the Western portion of the Roman 
 Empire. And the concealment of that which was 
 uttered by the voices of the seven thunders, dis- 
 tinctly as it had been heard by the ear of the 
 beloved disciple himself, would correspond well 
 with the mysterious secresy which St. Paul ob- 
 serves, in speaking to the Thessalonians, concern- 
 
 3 Vv. 1119. 
 
318 General subject of the Vision. [LECT. 
 
 ing that which still did let, and for a time should 
 let, the revelation of the coming Antichrist; by 
 which, as has been already observed, was generally 
 understood, in ancient times, the Pagan Empire of 
 Rome 4 . While that Empire remained in its 
 heathen power, such caution was highly expedient 
 for the safety of the infant Church. And if it 
 was indeed the establishment of Christianity in 
 that Empire which was the subject of the vision 
 before us, it would further explain how the con- 
 tents of the little book which the angel gave to 
 St. John should be at first sweet, but afterwards 
 bitter. For that which seemed to hold out the im- 
 mediate prospect of the happy and glorious fulfilment 
 of all that the prophets had spoken, was indeed des- 
 tined to unfold itself, as the event would show, 
 through shadows of slowly revolving centuries, amid 
 corruptions of faith and practice, and grievous pro- 
 faning of holy things, and at last the afflicting 
 triumph, though short-lived, of the powers of dark- 
 ness, ere the day of God's power, long waited for, 
 should come. 
 
 There remain still two important questions upon 
 which we have not yet entered, viz. what precise 
 date is to be assigned to the commencement, and 
 consequently to the termination, of the prophetic 
 ministry of the two witnesses; and whether the 
 death and resurrection of the witnesses, as described 
 in the vision, be already past or still future. 
 
 In regard to the latter question, the resolution of 
 which would obviously go far towards determining 
 the former, there has been much variety of opinion 
 
 4 Cf. sup. pp. 18. 78. 
 
x.] Death of the Witnesses, past or future ? 319 
 
 amongst modern expositors. Among those who 
 have regarded these events as past, different writers 
 have pointed out two or three distinct eras, since 
 the beginning of the fifteenth century, each of the 
 duration of three years and a half, in which the 
 witnesses against papal tyranny and corruptions 
 seemed to have been put to silence by their ene- 
 mies, and then to rise again, after that short period 
 of apparent death, quickened with new life and 
 power. And some later expositors have endeavoured 
 to find the fulfilment of the prophecy in the history 
 of that fearful outbreak of infidel hostility against 
 the public profession of Christianity which marked 
 so fearfully, in a neighbouring country of Europe, 
 the close of the last century. In the opinion, how- 
 ever, of other expositors, among whom is Bishop 
 Newton 5 , the several critical seras which had been 
 pointed out as thus corresponding with the pro- 
 phecy, while they may be regarded as " partial ful- 
 filments," do not seem to bear upon them that uni- 
 versal and final character which belongs to the 
 persecution it describes. The most plausible inter- 
 pretation, perhaps, of those which regard it as 
 already fulfilled, is that which would refer it to the 
 times immediately preceding the Reformation. But 
 if the opinion be correct, which seems to be gene- 
 rally received, that the twelve hundred and sixty 
 years (if such they be) which are marked out in the 
 prophecy are not yet expired, then, I think, we can 
 hardly divest ourselves of the apprehension that the 
 time of trial, symbolically described as the death of 
 the witnesses, is yet to come. I cannot, at least, re- 
 
 5 Diss. xxiv. Comp. Wood- and Vitringa, to whom he re- 
 house's Annotations, p. 235, fers. 
 
320 Question of the commencement [LECT. 
 
 concile with the grammatical construction of the ori- 
 ginal 6 any other interpretation than that which our 
 Authorized Version has given of the words which 
 it renders, " when they shall have finished their 
 testimony." The renderings which some inter- 
 preters have adopted, such as " when they shall be 
 about finishing their testimony," or " whilst they 
 shall perform their testimony," or " when they shall 
 have been fulfilling their testimony," seem to me 
 altogether inadmissible. I can no otherwise under- 
 stand the words of the original than as declaring, 
 that the predicted period of the ministry of the two 
 witnesses shall be completed before the final assault 
 be made upon them by their enemies. The twelve 
 hundred and sixty days of their prophesying must 
 first be accomplished. 
 
 And with regard to the other great question, con- 
 cerning the true date of the commencement of those 
 mystic days, I would observe, that, if it be rightly 
 supposed that they are not yet fulfilled, it will be no 
 matter of wonder if doubt and obscurity rest upon 
 the beginning of them. Those words of our Blessed 
 Lord cannot be too deeply engraven in our minds, 
 wherever we have to deal with the mystic periods of 
 Sacred Prophecy, " It is not for you to know the 
 times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his 
 own power V To " discern the signs of the times 8 ," 
 which is indeed our Christian duty, is a far different 
 thing ; and, considering the number of centuries 
 which have now elapsed, not only since the time 
 when the Gentiles were first brought into the inhe- 
 
 OTO.V Tt\trru)(n rtfv [tapTV- 7 Acts i. 7. 
 
 piav UVTUJV. " Cum finierint 8 Matt. xvi. 3, &c. 
 
 testimonium suum." Vulg. 
 
x.] of the mystic period. 321 
 
 ritance of the privileges of the Jew, but also since 
 the barbarian tribes of Western Europe, one after 
 another, were admitted to the outer court of the 
 Christian temple, and to tread the holy city, by being 
 made members of the Christian Church, those who 
 are unable to identify with any crisis in its past 
 history the season of trial here revealed, will begin 
 anxiously to watch the further unfolding of a vision 
 which seems hitherto, in its dim outline, as far as the 
 actual fulfilment casts light upon it, to be reflected 
 not obscurely in the history of the Church. 
 
 To us, especially, in this land where the light of 
 truth hath so long shone, appearing so often and so 
 signally, as the historic roll is unfolded which exhi- 
 bits, through the darkest times of Christian Europe, 
 the testimony continually borne in the Churches, 
 more or less brightly and strongly, to primitive faith 
 and purity; to members of a Church like ours, 
 whose calm, yet firm and steady protest, from the 
 sera of the Reformation, for ancient Catholic truth 
 against modern Romish corruption, has made her, 
 through God's mercy, a light of the Christian world, 
 her candlestick uriremoved from its place, and 
 though once for a short season temporarily over- 
 shadowed, yet even then meanwhile burning the 
 more brightly within ; a Church which, in her 
 polity, exhibits the same Apostolic form with those 
 seven to which St. John's prophetic message was 
 sent, and which has had the light in her lamp fed 
 and sustained hitherto, under the gracious care of 
 God's good Providence, by ministries of His Divine 
 appointment, in the kingdom and the priesthood, 
 whereby the Church should consecrate the State, 
 and the State protect and support the Church ; to 
 us a vision, like that which was revealed to the 
 
322 Prospect of coming trial. [LECT. 
 
 evangelic prophet and apostle, cannot fail to be one 
 of deep and special interest. And this the more if, 
 at any time, looking abroad on the face of the 
 world, we should see the current of popular opinion, 
 or the theories of political science, running counter 
 to that view of Christian duty which has stamped 
 itself on the ancient system of our Christian states 
 and kingdoms, recognizing and honouring the alli- 
 ance of government with religion, cherishing the 
 lights of wisdom and knowledge, and the sacred 
 institutions which uphold them, as ministrative and 
 subservient to Divine Truth ; and investing the 
 rulers of the people, like the prince of the captivity 
 of Judah, with that highest prerogative and glory of 
 being the builders and defenders of the Church of 
 God 9 . 
 
 What, however, we are to understand as shadowed 
 out by that persecuting form of irreligious, or Anti- 
 christian, power which is described in the vision as 
 " the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss," and 
 which was to " make war " upon the prophetic wit- 
 nesses, will come under our consideration on a future 
 occasion, in examining the vision which immediately 
 follows. But whatever that power be, or however it 
 may triumph for a time, if the season of its tem- 
 porary triumph be indeed still to come, we have, at 
 all events, the consolation of knowing, on the war- 
 rant of " the sure word of prophecy," that its time 
 of triumph shall be but short ; that those days of 
 trial and affliction are numbered, "three days (or 
 years) and a half," and no more, a few days only, 
 " few and evil," and then the triumph, great and 
 glorious, shall be on the side of the faithful witnesses. 
 
 ' J Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
x.] Blessing of faithfulness. 323 
 
 May it please Him who walketh in the midst of 
 the seven golden candlesticks, to grant to us, of 
 His great mercy, the faithfulness, and the reward, 
 of that Church ', of the seven in Asia, to which 
 the promise was graciously given, "Because thou 
 hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep 
 thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come 
 upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the 
 earth. Behold, I come quickly : hold that fast which 
 thou hast, that no man take thy crown 2 ." 
 
 1 Philadelphia. 9 Rev. iii. 10, 11. 
 
 Y2 
 
LECTURE XT. 1 
 
 REV. xiii. 5. 
 
 " And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things 
 and blasphemies ; and power was given unto him to continue 
 forty and two months." 
 
 THERE is nothing more remarkable in the visions of 
 sacred Prophecy than the manner in which, without 
 any appearance of design, one vision unfolds more 
 fully what had been dimly sketched in the preceding, 
 or completes the view of that of which only the first 
 germ and origin had been discovered before. We 
 have had occasion to notice this in the book of 
 Daniel, particularly in regard to Nebuchadnezzar's 
 vision of the image, and Daniel's of the four beasts : 
 and we have a not less striking instance in the vision 
 before us, as compared with that which last engaged 
 our attention, and in which was described the pro- 
 phetic ministry of the two witnesses. 
 
 We saw there how the end of their appointed 
 ministry, when now it had been carried on through 
 the appointed period of "a thousand two hundred 
 and threescore days," was to be this, " the beast 
 that ascendeth out of the abyss shall make war 
 
 1 Preached Jan. f>, 1845. 
 
Opening of a new Vision. 325 
 
 against them, and overcome them and kill them." 
 Nothing had as yet been said concerning this 
 tyrannical and persecuting power: it was reserved 
 for the vision on which we are now to enter, 
 to describe it fully, and to mark definitively the 
 place which it was to occupy in the history of the 
 Church's warfare. It might appear, indeed, at first 
 sight from the opening of the vision which is un- 
 folded in the twelfth chapter, as if it were altogether 
 a new scene that is there revealed : but we find, ere 
 long, that it is designed to exhibit to us fully and 
 clearly the agents of evil whose deeds of malice and 
 cruelty had but been partially discovered before. 
 And, in order to describe " in all its parts, and to 
 enable us the better to understand the conflict, by 
 ascertaining the combatants, the Holy Spirit begins 
 the figurative history," as it would seem, " from the 
 earliest times of the Church ; and past events are 
 represented in the same allegory which is continued 
 to foretel those which are to come 2 ." 
 
 "And there appeared," says St. John, "a great 
 wonder," or "sign 3 in heaven, a woman clothed 
 with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon 
 her head a crown of twelve stars." By the general 
 consent of interpreters the Woman here described 
 represents the Church of God, arrayed with heavenly 
 glory ; no earthly material being borrowed to clothe 
 or adorn her, but the luminaries of heaven, the sun 
 and the moon, and the twelve stars. The imagery 
 thus employed may remind us of that which we find 
 in Joseph's vision 4 ; the twelve stars, in particular, 
 representing, it would seem, as there, the heads of 
 the chosen family, the one Church of God, answering 
 
 Woodhouse, Annotations, 3 T>//ut7or. 
 pp. 243, 244. ' Gen. xxxvii. 9. 
 
326 The Church travailing in birth. [LECT. 
 
 to whom were the appointed heads and rulers of the 
 new and spiritual family of His true Israel, " the 
 twelve apostles of the Lamb 5 ." 
 
 " And she being with child, cried, travailing in 
 birth, and pained to be delivered." And such, in- 
 deed, was the condition of the Church from the time 
 when to the first mother of our race of that great 
 family of God's creation which was in due time to 
 " be delivered from the bondage of corruption into 
 the glorious liberty of the children of God 6 ," was 
 given the promise of the future " seed "of Him on 
 whom were to be fixed from thenceforth the eager 
 anticipations and hopes of the faithful. And so the 
 prophet Micah, having pointed to the favoured city 
 out of which HE should come forth that was " to be 
 ruler in Israel, whose goings forth were from of old, 
 from everlasting," goes on to say, " Therefore will he 
 give them up, until the time that she which travaileth 
 hath brought forth 7 ." " And we know," saith the 
 apostle, " that the whole creation groaneth and 
 travaileth in pain together until now 8 ." And that 
 which follows in the vision before us seems to show 
 that the birth here spoken of is, in its primary and 
 proper sense, none other than that of the promised 
 Seed of the Woman, concerning whom it had been 
 said to the serpent, the author of her temptation, 
 the worker of her fall, and of ruin to her race, "I 
 will put enmity between thee and the woman, and 
 between thy seed and her seed ; he shall bruise thy 
 
 5 Rev. xxi. 14. Cf. Ruperti splendidissimi dinumerantur." 
 
 Comm. inloc. "In capitehujus He refers to Joseph's dream, 
 
 mulieris corona stellarum duo- Op. t. ii. p. 557. 
 decim conspicitur, quia in initio 6 Rom. viii. 21. 
 
 nascentis Ecclesiae, itemque in 7 Mic. v. 3. 
 initio renascentisejusdem, duo- s Rom, viii. 22. 
 
 decim Apostoli notissimi ac 
 
XL] The Serpent, her enemy. 327 
 
 head, and thou shalt bruise his heel 9 ." " There ap- 
 peared," says St. John, " another sign in heaven ; 
 and behold, a great red " or " fiery-coloured } 
 dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and 
 seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew," 
 or rather, " draweth 2 the third part of the stars 
 of heaven, and did cast them to the earth ; and the 
 dragon stood before the woman which was ready to 
 be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it 
 was born 3 ." 
 
 The identity of the dragon here described with 
 the great enemy of man can hardly be mistaken, 
 when, a few verses after, we find him expressly 
 designated as " that old serpent, called the devil and 
 Satan, which deceiveth the whole world 4 ;" and in 
 the twentieth chapter we find mention made again 
 of " the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil 
 and Satan V His seven heads and ten horns would 
 denote universal dominion ; such as he claimed to 
 possess when he showed to our Blessed Lord, in the 
 hour of His temptation, " all the kingdoms of the 
 world and the glory of them," and " said unto him, 
 All this power will I give thee, and the glory of 
 them : for that is delivered unto me ; and to whom- 
 soever I will I give it 6 ." And our Blessed Lord 
 Himself, when speaking of His final conflict with 
 that Evil One, designates him, on more than one 
 occasion, as " the prince of this world 7 ;" and St. 
 Paul in like manner styles him "the god of this 
 world 8 ," and speaks elsewhere of " principalities and 
 powers," not "flesh and blood," but invisible, 
 
 Gen. iii. 15. 5 Chap. xx. 2. 
 
 7Tvp(j6^. 6 Luke iv. 6. 
 
 avpet. 7 John xii. 31 ; xiv. 30 ; 
 
 Rev. xii. 3, 4. xvi. 11. 
 
 Ver. 9. 8 2 Cor. iv. 4. 
 
328 Satan* earthly dominion ; [LECT. 
 
 spiritual agents, as "the rulers of the darkness 
 of this world 9 ." The mention, indeed, of the " ten 
 horns " might, at first sight, suggest a parallel with 
 the symbols of the fourth beast in Daniel's vision ; 
 and some eminent expositors have accordingly 
 understood by the dragon the Pagan Empire of 
 Rome. But the crowns being placed here not on 
 the ten horns there represented as belonging to the 
 fourth beast, but upon the seven heads, would seem 
 to indicate, in the widest sense, universality of 
 worldly dominion : and the ten horns with crowns, 
 as of the ten kings described in Daniel's vision, will 
 be found in the sequel of the vision before us \ 
 amidst symbols which correspond more closely with 
 the powers of earth there shadowed forth. And 
 though, indeed, doubtless it is in the exercise of 
 earthly dominion and authority that the great enemy 
 of the Church of God is here represented, still the 
 agent thus arrayed is himself the Spirit of evil, the 
 devil and Satan, the Accuser and Adversary and 
 deceiver 2 . And when it is said of him "that his tail 
 draweth after him the third part of the stars of 
 heaven, whom he cast to the earth," it would seem 
 to refer, primarily \ to those companions of his fall, 
 " the angels which kept not their first estate, but 
 left their own habitation 4 ," and who are spoken of 
 immediately after as forming his host, "his angels 5 ;" 
 " stars of heaven" as they are here distinctively 
 
 9 Eph. vi. 12. 3 That it refers also to the 
 
 1 Rev. xiii. 1. " stars" of the spiritual system, 
 
 2 " Diabolus saevitia cruen- the Church of God on earth, 
 tus contra ecclesiam potentia would appear specially from 
 terreni regni armatur. In sep- Daniel viii. 10, where the same 
 tern enimcapitibus omnes reges language 1 is used. 
 
 suos, et in decrm cornibtu * Jude 6. 
 oinm- rcgnuin dicit." Bcdr. 5 Ver. 7. 0. 
 
 in loc. 
 
XL] enmity to the Seed of the Woman. 329 
 
 called, even those " morning stars c " who followed in 
 the train of " Lucifer, son of the morning 7 ," drawn 
 away after him from their glorious stations in the 
 heavenly ranks. 
 
 The deadly enmity of the Serpent against the 
 Seed of the Woman, evinced in the attempt "to 
 devour her child as soon as it was born," was ful- 
 filled primarily and literally when the tyrant whose 
 throne in Jerusalem rested on the Roman power, 
 the power then dominant in the world, sought to 
 destroy the new-born King who was to be the ruler 
 in Israel. The word translated "rule 8 " in the 
 passage already referred to from the prophet Micah, 
 and to which reference was on that occasion made 
 by the chief priests and scribes of the people, is the 
 same which is employed here concerning the man 
 child " who was 9 to rule all nations with a rod of 
 iron ;" and it is worthy of remark that the fact of 
 His birth was made known to Herod by the visit of 
 the Eastern magi, who had come to enquire for 
 Him, that Star which should come out of Jacob, and 
 that Sceptre which should rise out of Israel, and 
 possess universal dominion 1 . 
 
 But the child was born and preserved from de- 
 struction, even He " who was destined thus to rule 
 all nations with a rod of iron ;" a description which 
 the prophetic language of the second Psalm had 
 definitively applied to the Anointed Son of the 
 Father 2 . And that this power had been given to 
 Him by His Father, our Lord Himself declares in 
 his epistle to the Church of Thyatira, in which this 
 
 e Job xxxviii. 7. Tranra ra 
 
 1 Isa. xiv. 12. * Num. xxiv. 17. 
 
 8 iroipaivEiv. 2 Psal. ii. 9. " Thou shall 
 
 oe fjit\\tt iroifjiciivt.tr break them with a rod of iron." 
 
330 The Seed of the Woman exalted [LECT. 
 
 is the promise to him that overcometh "he shall 
 rule 3 them with a rod of iron, even as I received of 
 my Father 4 ." And the same words occur again in 
 the nineteenth chapter of this same book, in the 
 description given of Him who is "King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords." " 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 5 ." 
 And vain, accordingly, was the fury of His enemy : 
 the Seed of the Woman was exalted far out of the 
 reach of his malice ; " her child was caught up unto 
 God and to his throne." This last point in the 
 description would alone seem conclusively to deter- 
 mine the interpretation of it as belonging, in its 
 proper and highest sense, to Christ Himself, our 
 Redeemer and Lord, considered in His human 
 nature, as "the Second Man," the representative 
 of our race, " the Firstborn among many brethren 6 ;" 
 who, as " Man " and " the Son of man," was " made 
 a little lower than the angels," and " crowned with 
 glory and honour," having " all things put in sub- 
 jection under his feet 7 ." The receiving up " unto 
 God and to his throne," of the Child born of the 
 Woman, can describe nothing less than that exalta- 
 tion whereby, when He had passed triumphantly 
 through all His temptation, and " the prince of this 
 world" could not prevail over Him, for he had 
 power only to bruise His heel, God "raised him 
 from the dead, and set him at his own right hand 
 in the heavenly places, far above all principality, 
 and power, and might, and dominion, and every 
 
 4 Chap. ii. 27. " Hom. viii. L>9. 
 
 ' Chap. xix. 15. i ui/-o< 7 Heb. ii. 5 11. Psal. viii. 
 
 &VTOVC iv pa/3?w <rt- ,">, f>. 
 
XL] to dominion in heaven and earth. 331 
 
 name that is named, not only in this world, but also 
 in that which is to come : and put all things under 
 his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things 
 to the Church, which is his body, the fulness of him 
 that filleth all in all 8 ." 
 
 The consequences and effect of this exaltation we 
 may trace, doubtless, in such an event as that in 
 which many expositors have sought for the primary 
 signification of the imagery before us. I mean the 
 multiplying of the Church's spiritual progeny 9 , and 
 the bringing forth among them, specially, of one 
 who, like the first Christian emperor, was marvel- 
 lously delivered from the designs of his enemies, 
 and advanced to the Imperial throne. In that 
 history, without doubt, and in its further progress, 
 in the complete establishment of Christianity, before 
 the end of the same century, on the throne of the 
 Roman Empire ; with the full recognition of Christ's 
 true deity as the Eternal Ever-blessed Son, begotten 
 from everlasting of the Father, and the strong main- 
 tenance, by the Imperial power, of the claims of His 
 Divine religion to the obedience of the Roman 
 world we cannot fail to acknowledge the working 
 of that decree which had given Him the heathen for 
 His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
 earth for His possession J . But still this was, as it 
 were, but the earthly shadow of the dominion esta- 
 blished on high, of Him to whom " all power " was 
 " given in heaven and in earth 2 ." 
 
 8 Eph. i. 2023. Hence " She was delivered of a man 
 the extension of the imagery child" Qifyvytv Kal trtKev 
 from the Head of the body to apatv . . . &Sire KOLL treKe Stwi/ 
 the body, the Church. (Comp. TO. TraiSia avrfjc. LXX. Gal. 
 Rev. ii. 27, quoted above.) See iv. 19. &c. 
 Wordsworth's Lectures on the ' Psal. ii. 7, 8. 
 Apocalypse, pp. 257, 258. 2 Matt, xxviii. 18. 
 
 9 Comp. Isa. Ixvi. 7, 8. 
 
332 Flight into the wilderness. [LECT. 
 
 Meanwhile, we are told, in the progress of the 
 vision, " the woman fled into the wilderness, where 
 she hath a place prepared of God, that she should 
 feed her there a thousand two hundred and three- 
 score days V I need not remind you that we have 
 here the same period with that which was assigned 
 to the ministry of the two witnesses in the vision 
 preceding ; and it is worthy of remark, that as, there, 
 the mystic period dates from the time when the 
 outer court of the Christian temple was given to the 
 Gentiles, and they were permitted to tread the holy 
 city, so here the like period seems to have its com- 
 mencement with the visible exaltation, to supreme 
 dominion, of Him " who was to rule all nations with 
 a rod of iron." 
 
 But, before the vision traces farther the fortunes 
 of the Woman, the symbolic representative of the 
 Christian Church, a stranger and a pilgrim upon 
 earth, a scene is disclosed of a great conflict in the 
 heavenly places. " There was war in heaven : 
 Michael and his angels fought against the dragon ; 
 and the dragon fought and his angels, and pre- 
 vailed not ; neither was their place found any more 
 in heaven V For the illustration of this description 
 we must revert to that vision of the prophet Daniel, 
 in which the angel who appeared to him spoke of 
 a conflict in which he had just before been engaged, 
 in behalf of God's Church and people, while the pro- 
 phet himself had been seeking, in prayer and self- 
 humiliation, for some further knowledge of the 
 mystery of His designs towards them. " Fear not, 
 Daniel," were the words of the angel to him, " for 
 from the first day that them didst set thine heart to 
 
 3 Vcr. (>. Ver. 7. 
 
XL] War in /><'</ rat. 333 
 
 understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, 
 thy words were heard, and I am sent for thy words. 
 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 
 one and twenty days ; but, lo, Michael, one of the 
 chief princes, came to help me; and I remained 
 there with the kings of Persia 5 ." " And now will 
 I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and 
 when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall 
 come . . . and there is none that holdeth with me in 
 these things, but Michael your prince 6 " or, as the 
 angel describes him in the sequel of the vision, 
 " Michael, the great prince which standeth for the 
 children of thy people 7 ." The express declaration 
 of an angel from heaven, recorded thus by the pen 
 of an inspired prophet, leaves us no room for ques- 
 tion as to the meaning of language like that which 
 we find in the vision before us : we cannot doubt 
 that it is no merely symbolical manner of speaking 
 that is here employed, but that it shadows out in- 
 deed a great and fearful reality of the spiritual 
 world 8 . And our Lord Himself hath ratified, by 
 His own Divine authority, the inference which we 
 should naturally have drawn from the revelations of 
 His prophets and apostles. " I beheld," were His 
 words to the seventy disciples, when they " returned 
 again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are 
 subject unto us through thy name," "I beheld Satan 
 as lightning fall from heaven 9 ;" and again, when 
 the hour of His suffering was near, " Now is the 
 judgment of this world ; now shall the prince of this 
 world be cast out } " And again, when He gave to 
 His disciples the promise of the Spirit, and declared 
 
 5 Dan. x. 12, 13. 8 Cf. sup. p. 126. 
 
 6 Ibid. vv. 20, 21. 9 Luke x. 17, 18. 
 
 7 Dan. xii. 1. 1 John xii. 31. 
 
334 Casting out of Satan from heaven ; [LECT. 
 
 that, when that Spirit was come, He should "re- 
 prove the world," it was to be in the way of judg- 
 ment, " because the prince of this world is judged*." 
 
 The beloved disciple was permitted to see in vision, 
 in its actual accomplishment, that which he had 
 heard his Divine Master declare and foretel in the 
 words which he has thus recorded. He beheld how 
 Satan " was cast out into the earth, and his angels 
 were cast out with him." " And I heard a loud 
 voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and 
 strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the 
 power of his Christ : for the accuser of our brethren 
 is cast down, which accused them before our God 
 day and night. And they overcame him by the 
 blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testi- 
 mony ; and they loved not their lives unto the 
 death 3 ." And when we turn to the historic records 
 of the age which saw the triumphant issue of the 
 struggle between the Christian Faith and the Pagan 
 Empire of Rome, we find descriptions which may be 
 regarded as at least the earthly shadow of that 
 which is here disclosed. The contemporary histo- 
 rian, Eusebius, in passages which have been well 
 applied to the illustration of the vision before us, 
 " tells us how in hymns and choruses the Christians, 
 who were before cast down, but now with counte- 
 nances bright and happy, everywhere congratulated 
 each other; and especially in the services of their 
 reopened churches poured forth their gratitude and 
 joy. He relates how by Emperor, as well as by 
 Christian ministers and people, their deliverance and 
 victory over the Heathen potentates was recognized 
 as the result of the Divine interposition, a manifes- 
 
 2 John xvi. 11. ' Rev. xii. 10, 11. 
 
XL] reflected in the Churctis history. 335 
 
 tation of the Divine power ; how Constantine pro- 
 fessed himself to be, in his imperial office, only the 
 imitator and servant of the King of kings ; and so 
 the kingdom administered by him, with Christianity 
 dominant in it, seemed to be the very kingdom of 
 God and of his Christ foretold by the prophets. . . . 
 He tells us further, how, in the retrospect of the 
 past persecution, though conducted by earthly Pagan 
 princes, and on the accusations of earthly adver- 
 saries, they recognized the instigation and secret 
 acting of their invisible enemy, the accuser of the 
 brethren, the old Serpent, the Devil ; and again in 
 the casting down of these Pagans the casting down 
 of the Devil. He narrates very fully how, at the 
 same time, there was solemn remembrance of the 
 martyrs and confessors ... as of heroes that had 
 conquered, specially by the doctrine of the cross, in 
 the most excellent combat of witnessing and of 
 martyrdom V 
 
 " Therefore rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell 
 in them " or more literally, " ye that tabernacle in 
 them 5 ;" for it is to " the heavenly places in Christ 
 Jesus 6 ," that the vision here relates ; the tabernacles 
 of His Church, still a pilgrim on earth, though hold- 
 ing fellowship with the highest heavens ; " Woe to 
 the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea ! for the 
 devil is come down to you, having great wrath, 
 because he knoweth that he hath but a short time 7 ." 
 
 The warning, thus given, of coming woe would 
 seem to correspond with that which, in the vision 
 
 4 Elliott, pp. 785 787 (re- worth, p. 272, note (in refer- 
 
 ferring to Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. ence to v. 16). 
 x. 3, 4. Vita Constant, ii. 19. 5 kv avrolg 01 aKrjvovvrec. 
 
 23. 46 ; iii. 3. 15. De Laud. 6 Eph. ii. 6. 
 Constant, i. 607, &c.) Comp. 7 Rev. xii. 12. 
 
 Bp. Newton, Diss. xxv. Words- 
 
33G Wrath of the Deri I. [LECT. 
 
 of the trumpets, in the eighth chapter, was uttered 
 by the "loud voice" of "an angel flying in the 
 mid space between earth and heaven." And in 
 that vision, it is to be observed, the denunciation of 
 woe follows immediately upon the scene described 
 in the fourth trumpet, the darkening of the third 
 part of the sun, and the moon, and the stars, a 
 description which, as we have seen, may best be 
 interpreted as foretelling the overthrow of the 
 ancient Empire of Pagan Rome 8 . And that which 
 followed in the next trumpet, which trumpet con- 
 tained " the first woe," was the falling of a star from 
 heaven to the earth, the angel of the abyss, whose 
 name is Abaddon and Apollyon, the Destroyer. 
 And if that woe was rightly interpreted as denoting 
 the false doctrines and heresies, which, in the early 
 ages, were raised by " the craft and subtilty of the 
 devil," tormenting men as with a scorpion's sting, 
 we may in like manner understand the denunciation 
 before us as foretelling the efforts of his rage and 
 malice, when the possession of supreme worldly 
 dominion had now been wrested from his hand, and 
 the pure faith of Christ, the full confession of His 
 essential deity, after being, for a season, bitterly and 
 restlessly assailed in the times of the Arian heresy, 
 was to be finally established, under Theodosius the 
 Great, throughout the limits of the Roman Empire. 
 " And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto 
 the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought 
 forth the man child. And to the woman were given 
 two wings of a great eagle," or rather, " of the great 
 eagle 9 , that she might fly into the wilderness, into 
 her place, where she is nourished for a time, ami 
 
 x Chap. viii. 1:2, 1.'). 9 TOV aeroD TOV 
 
XL] ProWiou hi i flic Roman Empire. 337 
 
 times, and half a time, from the face of the ser- 
 pent V 
 
 The great eagle here spoken of we have, on a 
 ^former occasion 2 , seen reason to identify with the 
 fourth of those mystic emblems of earthly dominion 
 for such they seemed to be the four living crea- 
 tures which St. John beheld beneath the throne of 
 God Most High. And that fourth, or Roman, 
 Empire in its Christian state, made now visibly sub- 
 servient to God's invisible kingdom, and, according 
 to His Providential appointment, ministering to His 
 Church, was that which, in the imagery of the vision 
 before us, gave wings unto her to carry her into a 
 place of security and shelter from the face of her 
 enemy. "Among the benefactors of the Church," 
 says the historian of the Roman empire, in his wonted 
 tone of subdued irony, "the fame of Constantine 
 has been rivalled by the glory of Theodosius. If 
 Constantine had the advantage of erecting the 
 standard of the cross, the emulation of his successor 
 assumed the merit of subduing the Arian heresy, 
 and of abolishing the worship of idols in the Roman 
 world V But, in the words of an eloquent bishop 
 of our Church, " Christ had triumphed over the 
 princes and powers of the world, before He would 
 admit them to serve Him ; He first felt their malice, 
 before He would make use of their defence ; to 
 show that it was not his necessity that required it, 
 but his grace that admitted kings and queens to be 
 nurses of the Church. 
 
 " And now," Bp. Jeremy Taylor continues, " the 
 Church was at ease. . . . Indeed it was a great 
 mercy in appearance, and was so intended ; but it 
 
 1 Vv. 13, 14. 3 Gibbon's Decline and Fall, 
 
 2 Vid. sup. pp. 216, 217. chap. 27. vol. iii. p. 11. 
 
 Z 
 
338 Flight into the wilderness. [LECT. 
 
 proved not so. But then the Holy Ghost, in pur- 
 suance of the design of Christ, who meant by suffer- 
 ing to perfect his Church, as Himself was by the same 
 instrument, was pleased, now that persecution did 
 cease, to inspire the Church with the spirit of mor- 
 tification and austerity; and then they made col- 
 leges of sufferers, persons who, to secure their in- 
 heritance in the world to come, did cut off all their 
 portion in this, excepting so much of it as was neces- 
 sary to their present being ; and by instruments of 
 humility, by patience under, and a voluntary under- 
 taking of the cross, the burden of the Lord, by self- 
 denial, by fastings and sackcloth, and pernoctations 
 in prayer, they chose then to exercise the active part 
 of the religion, mingling it as much as they could 
 with the suffering 4 ." What was this but the woman 
 fleeing into the wilderness? And the time when 
 this impulse came upon the Church is surely very 
 remarkable the very time when, if it had been a 
 religion of this world, it would doubtless have been 
 found freely entering upon the full enjoyment of its 
 new possession. But the unbelieving historian has 
 himself informed us, that it was "prosperity and 
 peace " that " introduced the distinction of the vul- 
 qar and the Ascetic Christians." It was "in the 
 reign of Constantine," he tells us, that " the Ascetics 
 fled from a profane and degenerate world, to per- 
 petual solitude, or religious society. Like the first 
 Christians of Jerusalem," he says, "they resigned 
 the use, or the property, of their temporal possessions ; 
 established regular communities of the same sex, 
 and a similar disposition; and assumed the name of 
 ' Hermits,' * Monks,' and ' Anachoretes,' expressive of 
 
 4 Bp. Taylor's (Twenty- Works, vol. v. pp. 534, 535. 
 seven) Sermons, Sermon ix. ed. Heber. 
 
XL] Withdrawal from the world. 339 
 
 their lonely retreat in a natural or artificial desert. 
 They soon acquired," he tells us, " the respect of the 
 world which they despised ; and the loudest applause 
 was bestowed on this Divine Philosophy, which sur- 
 passed, without the aid of science, or reason," says 
 the historian with his usual sneer, " the laborious 
 virtues of the Grecian schools." " But the votaries 
 of this Divine Philosophy," he goes on to say, 
 " aspired to imitate a purer and more perfect model. 
 They trod in the footsteps of the prophets, who had 
 retired to the desert 5 ." And as we saw, in the pre- 
 ceding vision of the temple, that, when the Gentile 
 nations with their multitude were admitted to " tread 
 the holy city," the two witnesses began to prophesy 
 in sackcloth, so here a like period of prophet-like 
 retirement from the world is described as having 
 commenced, apparently, amidst the very signs of 
 Christ's taking visible possession of His kingly do- 
 minion therein. And thus was " her place " ready 
 prepared for her in the wilderness, against the time 
 when the Church would need a refuge from the face 
 of the serpent. 
 
 The thoughtful student of Scripture and history 
 will assuredly discover here something which, in its 
 spirit and design at least, was beyond the reach of 
 ordinary causes ; and which, in its influence on the 
 fortunes of the Christian Church through many an 
 age, formed part of the wonderful arrangements of 
 Divine Providence in her behalf. If error and de- 
 generacy and corruption pursued her continually 
 into the wilderness, and it became to her a scene of 
 
 5 Decline and Fall, chap. account, however, see Bingham, 
 
 37.init. The historian's state- Antiq. book vii. chap. 1. Vid. 
 
 ment is, essentially, correct. Note, Appendix, 
 For a more strictly accurate 
 
 z2 
 
340 SMtrr off/tr CtitJmth' Faith. [LECT. 
 
 spiritual temptation beset by its own peculiar dangers, 
 even as was the city, this was no more than might 
 have been looked for from human weakness, and 
 the deeply-seated enmity of her great adversary. It 
 must be recollected, meanwhile, that it was in the 
 desert that Athanasius found, in the days of Arian- 
 ism, a refuge from his enemies, and a hiding place 
 and home for the Catholic Faith 6 ; and that among 
 the religious communities which cherished, through 
 a long period, the name of St. Augustine, as the 
 great Doctor of the Western Church, his writings, 
 from which were derived, to a great extent, their 
 systems of theological teaching, were means, under 
 Providence, of preserving from being overwhelmed 
 by Pelagian error, or scholastic speculation, the great 
 doctrines of Divine grace. And the ministry of St. 
 Augustine himself, in his see of Hippo, as well as 
 the final establishment of the orthodox Faith con- 
 cerning our Blessed Lord at the Council of Con- 
 stantinople, ratifying and confirming the Nicene, 
 was " instrumentally due," it has been observed, to 
 the " respite given to the Church, as well as to the 
 empire," in the reign of Theodosius, " from the tre- 
 mendous and already imminent irruption of the 
 Gothic flood." For, " had it burst over the empire, 
 when first it threatened, at the death of Valens, it 
 might probably, 1 ' humanly speaking, "have over- 
 whelmed the Church 7 ." 
 
 Milner, as quoted by Elliott stances the piety of the monk 
 
 (p. 798), referring to the Arian Antony, to show that ' godli- 
 
 times, tells us thnt " the Chris- nc'ss in those times lived obscure 
 
 tians, avoiding the churches in hermitages ; though abroad 
 
 as now nurseries of impiety, in the world the Gospel w.-ts 
 
 went into the deaerts, and lifted almost A///-/W in faction and 
 
 u|) their hands to God with ambition.'" (Ih.c.v.) Vid.Note, 
 
 sin-h- and tears." (Cent. iv. Appendix, 
 
 c. 11.) "lie elseuhere in- 7 Elliott, pp. 800 808. 
 
XL] Invasion of the Barbarian*. 341 
 
 It is this calamitous visitation that would *ccin 
 to be described in the progress of the vision before 
 us. " And the serpent cast out of his mouth water 
 as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her 
 to be carried away of the flood 8 ." Floods of water 
 are, in the language of Scripture, the constant 
 metaphor for the invasion of hostile nations 9 ; and 
 in regard to the particular period referred to, it is 
 " not unobservable," as a recent writer remarks, " how 
 naturally this Apocalyptic figure has presented itself 
 to historians, alike ancient and modern l , in describ- 
 ing " the inroads of the Gothic barbarians. " As to 
 the fury of the flood," it has been observed with per- 
 fect historic truth, " it was such as, throughout the 
 length and breadth of the empire, to sweep away all 
 the political bulwarks before it; and thus might well 
 have been deemed sufficient to sweep away also the 
 Christian Church, and Christianity itself, the pro- 
 fessed religion of the empire. In fact, the Pagan 
 remnant at Rome and elsewhere were not without 
 their hopes of this result; . . . and to accelerate it, 
 they excited the enmity of the invaders" who, it 
 will be remembered, were themselves Pagans or 
 Arians "against their Christian fellow-citizens 2 ." 
 But, in the words of Bp. Newton, " the event proved 
 contrary to human appearance and expectation :" 
 " the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened 
 her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the 
 dragon cast out of his mouth 3 ;" " the barbarians," 
 as he observes, " were rather swallowed up by the 
 Romans, than the Romans by the barbarians ; the 
 
 8 Ver. 15. l He refers to Orosius, lib. 
 
 9 E.g. Isa. viii. 7; xvii. 12. vii. c. 37. Gibbon, iv. 414, &c. 
 Jer,xlvi.7; xlvii.2,&c. Comp. 2 Elliott, pp. 810, 811. 
 Rev. xvii. 15. :i Ver. l(i. 
 
342 Barbarian flood swallowed up. [LECT. 
 
 heathen conquerors, instead of imposing their own, 
 submitted" gradually, at least, but all alike, after 
 no long time " to the religion of the conquered 
 Christians ; and not only embraced their religion, 
 but affected even the laws, the manners, the cus- 
 toms, the language, and the very name of Romans, 
 so that the victors were in a manner absorbed and 
 lost among the vanquished 4 ." So that, by the end 
 of the sixth century, " the Arianism of the invading 
 flood, as well as its Paganism, that false doctrine 
 by which, and the secular force accompanying it, the 
 Dragon had schemed to overwhelm the primitive 
 Christian Creed and Church, and therein Chris- 
 tianity itself, was seen no more. It was absorbed, 
 as it were, into the soil, and had disappeared. Thus 
 far the earth helped the woman 5 ." But the in- 
 veterate hostility of her spiritual adversary was not 
 extinguished. Other methods of warfare, of violence 
 and craft, were still to be tried : " the dragon was 
 wroth with the woman, and went to make war with 
 the remnant of her seed, which keep the command- 
 ments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus 
 Christ 6 ." 
 
 And thus is introduced, in the thirteenth chapter, 
 the symbolic description of the powers which were 
 now to become the instruments of Satan's warfare 
 against the Church of Christ. In the delineation of 
 that which is first mentioned, some points have been 
 already noticed, as illustrating the vision of the four 
 beasts in the book of Daniel 7 . From a comparison 
 of the two passages it appeared, that by the fourth 
 beast in Daniel's vision was to be understood the 
 dominion of Rome, as it reappeared under the ten 
 
 1 Hj). Newton, Diss. xxv. Yrr. 17- 
 
 iliott, j. S13. 7 Vicl. sup. pp. <>7 M>. 
 
XL] The wild Beast out of the Sea. 343 
 
 kingdoms which arose out of the ruins of the Pagan 
 Empire, and found again a principle of strength and 
 unity in the little horn of the Papal power. 
 
 We must now examine further this later vision of 
 New Testament prophecy. " I stood," says St. John, 
 " upon the sand of the sea, and saw a wild beast 
 rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten 
 horns," thus far resembling the image and bearing 
 the marks of the dragon whose instrument and agent 
 it was, and from whom it derived its power, " and 
 upon its horns ten crowns," a point in the descrip- 
 tion, we may observe, peculiar to this vision, " and 
 upon his heads the name of blasphemy V This charac- 
 ter is yet more deeply stamped upon that other symbol 
 closely resembling this, the scarlet-coloured beast 
 of which we read in the seventeenth chapter, " full 
 of names of blasphemy ;" having also " seven heads 
 and ten horns," and ridden by the woman, the 
 representative of the great city which, in the days 
 when the vision was revealed to St. John, reigned 
 over the kings of the earth, Rome the mistress of 
 the world. The form which St. John beheld, united 
 in it the attributes of all the four in Daniel's vision ; 
 " the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and 
 his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as 
 the mouth of a lion : and the dragon .gave him his 
 power, and his seat, and great authority. And I 
 saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death ; 
 and his deadly wound was healed ; and all the world 
 wondered after the beast 9 ." "The beast, like the 
 dragon from whom he receives his power, has seven 
 heads ; which are explained to be so many moun- 
 tains, or strongholds, the seats and supports of his 
 
 s Chap. xiii. 1. n Vv. 2, 3. 
 
344 The wounded Head healed. [LECT. 
 
 oppressive dominion. The dragon, and they who 
 held the reins of worldly power under him, had 
 many such V For though, in the case of Rome, the 
 seven mountains which appear in the imagery of the 
 seventeenth chapter seem to require a literal inter- 
 pretation in reference to the seven-hilled city , yet 
 in the description before us, (so far as it is unfolded 
 at present,) uniting as it does the characteristic 
 symbols of all the four forms of earthly dominion 
 represented in Daniel's vision, the seven heads, it 
 would seem, must be interpreted in the same wide 
 extent of meaning. And it is worthy of remark 
 that seven is the number of heads of the four beasts 
 in Daniel's vision 3 , regarded as a whole, as a symbol 
 denoting universal power and tyranny. And the 
 head which was wounded to death, but was healed 
 of its deadly wound, and lived again, to the wonder 
 of an admiring world, seems, in the vision of the 
 seventeenth chapter, to be clearly identified with 
 the Roman. It is there said of the wild beast which 
 was ridden by the imperial city, "The beast that 
 thou sawest was, and is not ; and shall ascend out of 
 the abyss, and go into perdition; 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 V 
 
 For the elucidation of the mystery here shadowed 
 out, we need but listen to the language which we 
 find the Romanist employing to set forth the strange 
 
 1 Woodhouse, Annot. p. 264. leopard which had four head*, 
 
 He refers to his note on chap. and the fourth hcast, with its 
 
 viii. !>. C'f. sup. j). 272. ten horns. Siv Dan. vii. 4 7- 
 
 - Siv Rev. xvii. f). 4 Chap. xvii. N. 
 
 3 The lion, the hear, the 
 
XL] Rome under the Goths. 345 
 
 vitality, so marvellous and glorious in his eyes, of 
 the city and empire which had seemed once to have 
 fallen for ever by the hands of the Goths. "True," 
 says a writer of that communion, speaking of the 
 capture of Rome by Alaric at the beginning of the 
 fifth century, "it never recovered this stroke, nor 
 was there left any room to hope that it ever could. 
 . . . The mystery that had invested this city, in caus- 
 ing it to be regarded by the nations as something 
 divine, as something invincible, as a goddess in fact, 
 and an eternal city 5 ; even the magic influence pro- 
 duced on the world by the enormous wealth of its 
 inhabitants, by its trophies, its architectural wonders, 
 and the awful shadow of its renown, these were 
 either entirely at an end, or impaired and shaken 
 beyond remedy. But," he continues, " although the 
 wound inflicted by the Gothic king was mortal" 
 the language is used, be it observed, with no thought 
 of the vision before us, "so mighty was Rome, 
 even in her last agonies, that it required the force, 
 the brutal fury, of the most ruthless barbarians, to 
 be exerted, in havoc, in conflagration, and every 
 species of violence, assisted for upwards of a century 
 by famine, pestilence, inundations, hurricanes, and 
 earthquakes, before she was left prostrate, like an 
 enormous skeleton without life, to be infested and 
 preyed upon by wild beasts." 
 
 " But as if the power," he continues, " founded 
 by Romulus and the Caesars had been designed by 
 
 5 [" She also (like Babylon) Jupiter of Virgil speaks the 
 
 called herself the * Golden national language when he says, 
 
 City,' the ' Eternal City.' She (JEn. i. 278,) ' His ego nee 
 
 vaunted that she would reign metas rerum nee tempora pono ; 
 
 forever." " The words ROM^: IMPERIUM SINE FINE DEDI.' " 
 
 jETERN^E are found on the im- Wordsworth, p. 343.] 
 perial coins of Rome. . . . The 
 
346 Revival of Roman power. [LECT. 
 
 Providence to serve as a chrysalis or husk to the 
 papacy, the latter begins to appear and advance in 
 development, in proportion as the former crumbles 
 away, or is shattered to pieces by the invaders." 
 " It was behind the chair of Peter," the writer goes 
 on to say, " that the remnant of the senate and the 
 people sought protection in the extremities of their 
 distress." " * The misfortunes of Rome involved the 
 apostolic pastor in the business of peace and war 6 ;' 
 he sends governors to the towns and cities ; issues 
 orders to the generals ; relieves the public distress ; 
 treats of peace, and of the ransom of captives with 
 the enemy. What wonder if, in discharging these 
 offices, in conjunction with those of his supreme 
 vicariate over the church, the dignities of prince and 
 pontiff should seem to be united in his person 7 ?" 
 
 To those, however, who recollect the language 
 in which Gregory himself denounced the pride of 
 him who should claim such an office as a " supreme 
 vicariate over the Church," declaring such an one to 
 be a forerunner of Antichrist, a follower of Lucifer 
 in his presumptuous ambition 8 , there will appear, 
 in such exaltation of the Roman see, and in the 
 universal dominion which it has arrogated, some- 
 thing like a germinant fulfilment at least of the 
 vision before us, " And they worshipped the dragon 
 which gave power unto the beast : and they wor- 
 shipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the 
 beast ? who is able to make war with him 9 ?" It was 
 
 6 [See Gibbon, chap. 45, for century.] 
 
 the state of Rome in the time 7 " Rome as it was under 
 
 of Gregory the (ire;it. It will Paganism, Mid as it became 
 
 be observed, that the history is under tin- Popes." Vol. ii. pp. 
 
 thus resumed precisely where 274 282. (Lond. 18'1.'J.) 
 it was broken oil' before, / s (T. sup. p. ?!>. note", 
 
 with the latter part of the sixth !l Ver. I. 
 
XL] The Vision further unfolding. 347 
 
 indeed irresistible power to which the second 
 Gregory laid claim, when, in language such as this, 
 he defied the Emperor of the East, against whom, 
 in the cause of image worship, he was prepared to 
 stir up the West to rebellion. " The eyes of the 
 nations," he said, "are fixed on our humility, and 
 they revere as a God upon earth the apostle St. 
 Peter, whose image you threaten to destroy. The 
 remote and interior kingdoms of the West present 
 their homage to Christ and his vicegerent. . . . Aban- 
 don your rash and fatal enterprize ; reflect, tremble, 
 and repent V 
 
 But we come now to that part of the description 
 which corresponds most closely with that of the 
 little horn of the fourth beast in Daniel's vision, and 
 also with the description given in the preceding 
 vision of St. John, of the beast which was to ascend 
 from the abyss, and to make war upon the two 
 witnesses. " And there was given unto him," we 
 read in the passage before us, " a mouth speaking 
 great things and blasphemies ; and power was given 
 unto him to continue," or, more literally, " prac- 
 tise 2 , forty and two months. And he opened his 
 mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his 
 name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in 
 heaven. And it was 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 V This description corresponds closely with 
 that of the little horn in Daniel's vision ; each ex- 
 hibiting apparently the same gradual development, 
 first of arrogance and pride, and then of persecution. 
 And this it is important to observe. In the little 
 
 1 Gibbon, chap. 49, vol. v. 2 Troirjcrat. 
 
 p. 107. 3 Vv. 57. 
 
348 Vision of Daniel compared. [LECT. 
 
 horn in Daniel's vision, we are told, " were eyes like 
 the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things ;" 
 and his "look was more stout than his fellows 4 ." 
 And then the prophet continues, " I beheld, and the 
 same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed 
 against them, until the Ancient of days, and judg- 
 ment was given unto the saints of the most High ; 
 and the time came that the saints possessed the 
 kingdom V In like manner, in the interpretation 
 of that vision by the Angel, it is said of the little 
 horn, which should be " diverse from the first," that 
 is, from the other ten kings, " he shall speak great 
 words against the most High, and shall wear out 
 the saints of the most High, and they shall be given 
 into his hand until a time and times, and the dividing 
 of times 6 ." And corresponding with this in the 
 vision of the two witnesses, we saw first the holy 
 city trodden of the Gentiles for forty and two 
 months, during which time the witnesses fulfil their 
 prophetic ministry 7 ; and then, when their ministry 
 is accomplished, the final conflict and persecution 
 begin. " When they shall have finished their testi- 
 mony," it is there said, "the beast that ascendeth 
 out of the abyss shall make war against them and 
 overcome them 8 ;" the same words precisely being 
 used as when it is said in the vision before us, "it 
 was given unto him to make war with the saints, 
 and to overcome them." And, to complete the 
 parallel, while in that vision we are told, concerning 
 the witnesses, " they of the people and kindreds atid 
 tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three 
 days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead 
 
 4 Dan. vii. 8. L'O. 7 Chap. xi. L>, :>. 
 
 3 Ibid. vv. L>1, 22. * Ibid. v. 7. 
 
 Ibid. v. 25. 
 
XT.] Successive *f (/</<>* hi the Vixi<m. 349 
 
 bodies to be put in graves; and they that dwell 
 upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make 
 merry 9 ;" we are told here that these are the subjects 
 of the dominion of the persecutor, the willing vota- 
 ries of his service ; " power was given him over all 
 kindreds, and tongues, and nations ; and all that dwell 
 upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are 
 not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain 
 from the foundation of the world V 
 
 I have said that it is important to mark the dis- 
 tinction which is, I think, thus clearly discernible 
 between the former and the latter period of the 
 power here described. It seems to be thus import- 
 ant, because it has been strongly urged as an insu- 
 perable objection to the interpretation which would 
 refer the imagery before us to the Papal dominion, 
 that it is impossible to believe that, for many cen- 
 turies, the power which was regarded throughout 
 Western Europe as the head of Christendom, was 
 indeed all that time, though they knew it not, 
 making war upon the saints, and inflicting upon 
 them cruel persecution. If the view now taken of 
 it be correct, the long period of twelve hundred and 
 sixty years, if so we understand it, represented mys- 
 tically as three times (or years) and a half, or forty 
 and two months, was the appointed period during 
 which this power should " continue," or " practise," 
 in its arrogance and pride ; whereas the three days, 
 that is, on this hypothesis, three years, and a half at 
 the close of that longer period, were to comprise the 
 special time of raging persecution, of bitter warfare 
 and temporary triumph over the saints and witnesses 
 of God. The fearful greatness of that conflict and 
 
 u Chap. xi. 9, 10. l Vv. 7, 8. 
 
350 Wild Beast out of the Land ; [LECT. 
 
 season of trial, is impressed upon them to whom the 
 message of prophecy should come, by the admoni- 
 tion of solemn import, " If any man have an ear, let 
 him hear 2 ." And of what kind the weapons are by 
 which, in that warfare, Christ's faithful soldiers and 
 servants may hope to prevail, we are further taught, 
 in words of warning which stand significantly in 
 contrast with that which has been the characteristic 
 principle of the so-called chair of St. Peter a prin- 
 ciple adopted in utter forgetfulness of the rebuke 
 given to that disciple in his Master's hour of trial 3 . 
 " He that leadeth into captivity shall go into cap- 
 tivity : he that killeth with the sword must be killed 
 with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith 
 of the saints V 
 
 But another form of craft and power was revealed 
 in the vision, co-operating with the former, and 
 ministering to it. " I beheld," says St. John, " an- 
 other wild beast coming up out of the earth," or 
 more properly " the land," as distinguished from 
 " the sea," " and he had two horns like a lamb, and 
 he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the 
 power of the first beast before him," that is, before 
 his eyes, and in his presence 5 , as his servant and 
 minister 6 , " and causeth the earth and them that 
 dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly 
 wound was healed 7 ." This second power was to 
 arise out of the " land ;" which, in contradistinction 
 from the " sea," we have already had occasion to 
 observe, seems to denote the original heritage of the 
 
 2 Ver. 9. fl He is called by Irenaeus 
 
 8 Matt. xxvi. 52, "for all the "armour-hearer" to the 
 
 they that take the sword shall first beast. Contra Har. lib. v. 
 
 perish with the sword." c. 28. 2. 
 
 4 Ver. 10. 7 Vv. 11, 12. 
 
 5 CVW7T10V aVTOV. 
 
XL] its Antichristian character. 351 
 
 people and Church of God, as distinguished from the 
 Gentile nations 8 the East as distinguished from the 
 West. And this point in the description may be 
 designed, perhaps, to mark the growth of error in 
 Eastern Christendom, which became subsidiary and 
 ministrative to that complex form of secular and 
 spiritual dominion combined, which arose out of the 
 violence and commotions of Western Europe. The 
 power here represented as the beast out of the land, 
 is elsewhere designated as " the false prophet 9 ;" his 
 character as an Antichrist being marked by the " two 
 horns like a lamb," while yet " he spake as a dragon." 
 And he is described as working the signs of a false 
 prophet. "He doeth great wonders, so that he 
 maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth 
 in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell 
 on the earth by the means of those miracles which 
 he had power to do in the sight of the beast ; say- 
 ing to them that dwell on the earth, that they 
 should make an image to the beast, which had the 
 wound by the sword and did live 1 ." 
 
 We can hardly fail to identify the power here 
 described, or that to which it ministered, with St. 
 Paul's delineation, in his Second Epistle to the 
 Thessalonians, of him "whose coming is after the 
 working of Satan with all power and signs and lying 
 wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteous- 
 ness in them that perish ; because they received not 
 the love of the truth, that they might be saved ; for 
 which cause God " would " send them strong delu- 
 sion, that they should believe a lie 2 ." The manifes- 
 tation of that wicked one foretold by the Apostle was 
 to be hindered for a time by a certain withholding 
 
 8 Cf. sup. pp. 271, 272. ' Vv. 13, 14. 
 
 9 Chap. xix. 20. 2 2 Thess. ii. 911. 
 
352 Image of Roman Empire [LECT. 
 
 power ; obscurely referred to, but known, as it would 
 seem, by those to whom he wrote, and which was 
 generally supposed in early times, as I have before 
 had occasion to observe 3 , to be the then existing 
 Empire of Rome. It was, moreover, the general 
 belief in the primitive ages, " that before the appear- 
 ance of Antichrist the Roman Empire was to be 
 dissolved, and broken up into ten different parts ; yet 
 by his contrivance was to be reunited, and restored 
 to its pristine integrity under him 4 ." And looking 
 to the actual history, when we find that, after such 
 division of the Roman Empire by the barbarian 
 nations, that empire, or its image at least, was in 
 a strange manner restored, or revived, by the im- 
 mediate agency of a power bearing on it such marks 
 as those which distinguish the Papal see, there 
 is, I think, no interpretation so probable of a 
 difficult point in the vision before us, as that 
 which would recognize at least its precursive and 
 partial fulfilment, in an event so important in its 
 influence on the fortunes of modern Europe, and 
 occupying accordingly so prominent a place in the 
 view of secular history. "The conferring of the 
 imperial crown on Charlemagne," the Romanist 
 writer before quoted will tell us, " was that which 
 deserved to be ranked as the characteristic event, 
 not only of the royal visit " of the king of the 
 
 3 Vid. sup. pp. 18. 78. TravovpyoQ wv WOTTEO depairtvati 
 
 4 Greswell on the Parables, avrffv KO.I avavewaei. TOVTO yap 
 vol. i. p. 392. Cf. Hippol. de tort TO tlpr)p.ivov VTTO TOV Trpo- 
 Antichristo, c. 49 (commenting ^r/rov, on wai Trvf.vp.fi TJJ 
 on v. 12). TOVTO yap tori TO EIKOI-I, vcii XaXifffCt >/ EIKWV TOV 
 Qripiov TO TETaprov, ov ewXi'iyrj Oqpiov [v. 15]. Evepyi'iffEi yap 
 >/ K0aX)) Kctl TTt'iXtv idepaTTtv- kal IrjyvffEi 7ra\t' $m TOV VTT' 
 
 l (tTifjLaffdfivat, Kat etc ct'.Kd 1'ahrii'. ]). -1. 
 avaXvOiji'ai. 0% TOTE 
 
XL] revived hi Western Europe. 353 
 
 Franks to Rome, in the year 800, but " of the age 
 itself." " Up to that instant nothing but chaos." 
 he says, "had prevailed among the tribes that had 
 overturned pagan Rome and its empire." " Europe, 
 or rather its embryo, was struggling, nevertheless, 
 and travailing, though with abortive efforts, to 
 emerge from this state. . . . The fragments of those 
 mighty structures, aqueducts, towns, bridges, high- 
 ways, the ruins of marble cities, villas, and temples, 
 amongst which they pastured their flocks and herds, 
 disposed their ambuscades in war, or pursued the 
 pleasures of the chase, all these memorials were 
 haunted, even for them, with certain vague imagin- 
 ings, perhaps of admiration and wonder, concerning 
 the order of things to which they had belonged. 
 The same might be said of the relics of Roman 
 society, and of its shattered institutions. The very 
 name of the empire, the recollections of this grand 
 and glorious society, agitated the memories of men. 
 . . . Even the conquerors, themselves, were attached to 
 similar reminiscences by their most darling passions. 
 The image of its greatness," the same writer con- 
 tinues, "was often brought before their excited 
 imaginations, while they listened to the bards, who 
 were wont to celebrate, amidst the carousal, the 
 achievements and the prowess of their sires, who 
 had figured in its wars, in its triumphs, but, 
 above all, in its destruction. The consequence was 
 inevitable. By thus frequently contemplating the 
 image of this august order of things," I am still 
 continuing the quotation, "their understandings, 
 rude as they were, could not fail to be struck with the 
 glaring defects and inferiority of their own condi- 
 tion. They became sensible, that, belonging to the 
 empire among the ruins of which they found them- 
 
 A a 
 
354 Empire of the West revived. [LECT. 
 
 selves, there was a something which they had need 
 to imitate, to reproduce. Hence the effect of that 
 stroke of policy which revived the Empire of the 
 West. On the barbarian world its effect was magi- 
 cal. Those dull instincts and imaginings, so abortive 
 hitherto, and so wide of any definite aim, became, 
 on the instant, so many powerful and concordant 
 rudiments of stability. The idea, the project, that 
 had been harassing the breasts of all, like a night- 
 mare vision, but which no one had power to realize, 
 was recognized and hailed by all with acclamations, 
 the moment it was presented to them, in the person 
 of their mighty hero, ' crowned of God, the great 
 and pacific emperor of the Romans' 
 
 " From that hour," says the same writer, " the 
 barbarian tribes acquired a new relation, one that 
 attached them all, simultaneously, to a grand idea 
 of general and permanent association. This," he 
 observes, " was the beginning of modern Europe ;" 
 and "such were the advantages which the Provi- 
 dence, that had already turned to so much account 
 whatever belonged to the pagan empire of Rome, 
 knew how to derive from its very name, and the 
 shadow of 'its former greatness V Doubtless, indeed, 
 every tongue of man must own that the whole course 
 of events in the world's history, in its relation to the 
 Church of God, has been overruled and ordered, in 
 a marvellous manner, throughout, by His Allwise 
 and Almighty Providence, and most signally in 
 the present instance ; but the visions of Prophecy, 
 which so wonderfully teach this lesson, have at 
 the same time assigned to the different agencies 
 which have been the unconscious instruments of that 
 
 5 {( 
 
 Rome as it was under Paganism," &c., vol. ii. pp. 320. 
 
XL] Persecuting power. 355 
 
 Divine Providence, a place in the great drama, and 
 stamped upon them a character, far different, often- 
 times, from that which human discernment might 
 have given them ; and have exhibited, behind the 
 veil of earthly things, principles and agents of the 
 world unseen. And, be it recollected, it was the 
 question of the worship of images in the Chris- 
 tian Church, as is observed by the historian of 
 Rome's Decline and Fall, that " produced the revolt 
 of Italy, the temporal power of the Popes, and the 
 restoration of the Roman Empire in the West 6 ." 
 
 The relations between the spiritual and temporal 
 powers, bound together as they were so strangely, 
 and interwoven so closely, in the system of Papal 
 Europe, may perhaps be traced in the further de- 
 scription of the agency revealed in the vision. 
 " And he had power to give life " or more lite- 
 rally " breath 7 to the image of the beast, that 
 the image of the beast should both speak, and 
 cause that as many as would not worship the image 
 of the beast should be killed. And he caused all, 
 both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, 
 to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their 
 foreheads : and that no man might buy or sell, save 
 he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, 
 or the number of his name 8 ." The persecuting 
 character of the Church of Rome is, unhappily, too 
 notorious to need pointing out : and, though she 
 wielded not the sword with her own hand, nor gave 
 directly from herself the command for the execution 
 of her sentence; yet would she give her victims 
 over to the secular power, and make kings and 
 princes inflict the punishment which she pronounced 
 
 Gibbon, chap. 49, init. 7 TTVEV/JKI. 8 Rev. xiii. 15 17- 
 
356 Mystic Number. [LECT. 
 
 on the guilty. And among the instances of the 
 infliction, by temporal sovereigns, of penalties of the 
 very kind specified in the prophecy, reference has 
 been made by expositors to that which is recorded 
 of the Norman Conqueror, " that he would not per- 
 mit any one under his power to buy or sell any 
 thing, whom he found disobedient to the apostolic 
 see 9 ." But in regard to this whole portion of the 
 prophecy, and especially the image of the wild beast, 
 its compulsory worship, its mark, and name, and 
 number, there is a difficulty and a mystery, the 
 existence of which is sufficiently proved by the 
 diversity of interpretations proposed by expositors ; 
 and which would lead us to the conclusion that 
 it is reserved for the still unrevealed future, in the 
 destinies, perhaps, of modern Europe, perhaps of the 
 East * as well as the West, to remove the obscurity 
 which envelopes the vision. 
 
 And with regard particularly to the mystic 
 number, declared to be a mystery by the In- 
 spired Authority which hath propounded it for 
 the thoughtful consideration of " him that hath 
 understanding," amidst the variety of conjectures 
 which have been offered, (some regarding it as a chro- 
 nological date, others, and those the greater number, 
 as composing a word, or title,) I know nothing better 
 than to repeat the cautions of Irenseus, the disciple 
 of Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, reproving those 
 who hastily endeavoured to interpret it, and saying 
 that it is safer to await the event of the prophecy, 
 
 9 Roger dc Hoveden, quoted interpret one of the two liorns 
 
 (fromllsher, de Success. Eccles. of the second beast as refer- 
 
 cap. 7. sect. 7) by Vitringa, ring to an Eastern Antichrist, 
 
 Daubuz, and Bp. Newton. Mahonietanism. 
 
 1 Dean Woodhouse would 
 
XL] Full development of Antichrist. 357 
 
 than to attempt to conjecture and divine the import 
 of the name 2 . I may add, however, that if a pre- 
 ference is to be given to any one interpretation, 
 rather than another, especially of those which have 
 sanction from Antiquity, the strongest claim, per- 
 haps, may be asserted in behalf of one of those 
 which Irenaeus has enumerated, and which (though 
 himself, it would seem, inclining rather to a dif- 
 ferent one) he thinks to be very probable, as 
 being the name of the last of the four empires, 
 the Latin 3 . But all seems uncertain conjecture. 
 
 If now, in reviewing the interpretation which has 
 been thus faintly sketched out, or partially illustrated, 
 and comparing the vision before us with that of the 
 four beasts in the book of Daniel, it should seem 
 that the principal power here represented, combining 
 as it does the symbols of all the four in Daniel, 
 must have a more comprehensive interpretation ; 
 and that it must prefigure some dominion of secular 
 tyranny and pseudo-Christianity, exceeding, if not 
 in magnitude, at least in craft and cruelty, any 
 that the world has yet seen ; such a conclusion 
 will but be in accordance with that which has 
 been already suggested, that all that has hitherto 
 been put forth in Christendom, of Antichristian 
 pride and persecution, has been rather the precursor 
 
 i' ovv KCLL O.KIV- e^ovra rov CLVTOV aptfl/zoV, trolov 
 
 ro Trepipeveiv rfjv it, aitrwv fyopeaei 6 ep-^o^evog, 
 
 <c/3a<riv 7-775 TTpotyriTtiag, 77 TO 77777 0//<rreu. Contra Haeres. 
 
 Ka.TaaToyaf.aQa.i, KUI Karapav- lib. V. cap. 30. 3. 
 Tf.vf.aQai oVo/Jct70c* TV^UV Se eVt 5 Vid. Note, Appendix. So 
 
 TroXXwv 6i'Ofj,a.Tti)v evpedfjvcn also Hippolytus, who, follovv- 
 
 cWajuei'ov rov CLVTOV aptdpov, ing Irenaeus, seems more de- 
 
 et nihilominus quidem erit haec cidedly to incline to this inter- 
 
 eadem quaestio. Ei yap TroXXa pretation. De Antichristo, cap 
 
 dio/uara, 50. See Note. 
 
358 Sequel of the Vision. [LECT. 
 
 and type, than the actual impersonation and full 
 development, of that which must be yet more 
 awfully "revealed in his time." Meanwhile let it 
 be remembered that the claims of modern Rome 
 to spiritual dominion are co-extensive with the habit- 
 able world; for to Rome and her spiritual and 
 temporal ruler, such is her own undoubting asser- 
 tion, " all kindreds and tongues and nations," even 
 " all that dwell upon the earth," must needs be 
 absolutely subject; and even in regard to the 
 revived empire of the West, the immediate crea- 
 tion of Rome, it was proclaimed by the oracles 
 of the civil law, that the Roman Emperor was 
 the rightful sovereign of the earth from the rising 
 to the setting sun; and the contrary opinion was 
 condemned, not simply as an error, but even as a 
 heresy. 
 
 I observed, on entering upon the consideration of 
 the vision before us, that its Divine plan would 
 seem to be, to exhibit, in all its greatness, the con- 
 flict between the Church and her enemies, by reveal- 
 ing first the unseen powers of the spiritual world 
 engaged on either side, and then proceeding to de- 
 scribe the earthly agencies which were to be instru- 
 ments of the invisible. In the chapter before us 
 have been delineated fully the powers, secular and 
 spiritual, by whose united instrumentality the dragon 
 went to make war with the remnant of the true 
 Seed. In the following chapter we see the armies 
 ranged under the Lamb, the true Lamb, stand- 
 ing on the mount Sion ; with the hundred and forty 
 and four thousand, having not the mark of earthly 
 power or false religion, but " his Father's name 
 written in their foreheads;" tlie " redeemed from 
 
XL] Final Victory. 359 
 
 among men," " the first fruits unto God and to the 
 Lamb;" and we hear the voice of another angel, 
 flying through the midst of heaven, having the ever- 
 lasting Gospel, to preach unto them that dwell on 
 the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and 
 tongue, and people 4 . These two descriptions taken 
 together recal the scenery of the seventh chapter, 
 the first gathering of the multitudes of Jew and 
 Gentile into the one holy congregation of Christ's 
 Catholic Church. The angel proclaims to the whole 
 world the approaching hour of God's judgment 5 ; 
 while another declares the fall of Babylon 6 ; and 
 another pronounces a solemn denunciation of wrath 
 on them that join the ranks of the enemy and the 
 persecutor 7 . Again it is added as the encourage- 
 ment to meek and stedfast endurance, " Here is the 
 patience of the saints : here are they that keep the 
 commandments of God, and the faith 8 ." And when 
 the voice from heaven has declared the blessedness 
 of the faithful dead 9 ; and the opening heaven has 
 revealed the harvest of the world, and the vintage 
 of the wrath of God J ; then, when the last plagues 
 are to be poured out, is heard the song of triumph of 
 " them that had gotten the victory over the beast, 
 and over his image, and over his mark, and over the 
 number of his name," and who " stand upon the sea 
 of glass, having the harps of God 2 ." 
 
 But the final victory over these His enemies, the 
 taking captivity captive, the wild beast and the false 
 prophet, and slaying the remnant with the sword 3 , 
 is reserved for HIM, manifested again in His power, 
 
 4 Chap. xiv. 1 6. 9 Ver. 13. 
 
 5 Ver. 7. ' Vv. 1420. 
 
 6 Ver. 8. 2 Chap. xv. 14. 
 
 ' Vv. 911. 3 Chap. xix. 1921. 
 
 8 Ver. \2. 
 
360 The Divine Conqueror. 
 
 as in the first days of His Church's warfare, of whom 
 we read in the vision of the nineteenth chapter, 
 that He "is called Faithful and True, and in 
 righteousness he doth judge and make war ; . . . and 
 on his head were many crowns, ... and his name 
 is called, The Word of God. 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 hath on his vesture and on his 
 thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD 
 
 OF LORDS 1 ." 
 
 Vv. 1116. 
 
LECTURE XII. 1 
 
 REV. xvii. 18. 
 
 " And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which 
 reigneth over the kings of the earth." 
 
 THE vision of which these words form the conclu- 
 sion, is one to which we have already, more than 
 once, had occasion to refer, for the illustration of 
 Daniel's vision of the four beasts, arid of that which 
 last engaged our attention in the Revelation of 
 St. John. But the more minute examination of 
 it now in its several particulars, will fill up in some 
 points the outline, which we have traced in pre- 
 ceding visions, of that worldly and tyrannical power 
 which was in due time to arise, to be the counter- 
 feit, the adversary, and persecutor of the Church of 
 Christ. 
 
 The beloved disciple has been describing, in the 
 sixteenth chapter, the pouring out upon the earth of 
 those seven vials of Divine wrath, which, as we have 
 already seen, represent the infliction, in full and 
 final measure, of those judgments of the Almighty 
 which had been in part accomplished in six of the 
 seven trumpets. The seventh trumpet, as has been 
 shewn, contained under it the seven vials, which are 
 
 1 Preached Feb. 2, 1845. 
 
362 Order of the Vision. [LECT. 
 
 " the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled up the 
 wrath of God 2 ." And the vision in which these 
 judgments are revealed, beginning with the fifteenth 
 chapter, seems to be the carrying on of that which 
 was described, in the end of the eleventh chapter, as 
 following immediately upon the sounding of the 
 seventh trumpet. There the adoration of the four and 
 twenty elders before the throne of the Divine glory 
 proclaimed the time to be come, when the Almighty 
 would " give the reward unto " His " servants the 
 prophets, and to the saints," and would " destroy 
 them which destroy the earth." And then we are 
 told, " the temple of God was opened in heaven, and 
 there was seen in his temple the ark of his testa- 
 ment ; and there were lightnings, and voices, and 
 thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail 3 ." 
 In the fifteenth chapter the vision, as it would seem, 
 is resumed. " I looked," says St. John, " and, be- 
 hold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony 
 in heaven was opened : and the seven angels came 
 out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed 
 in pure and white linen, and having their breasts 
 girded with golden girdles. And one of the four 
 living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven 
 golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for 
 ever and ever. And the temple was filled with 
 smoke from the glory of the Lord, and from his 
 power ; and no man was able to enter into the 
 temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels 
 were fulfilled V Then follow the plagues of those 
 seven vials; and when "the seventh angel pourc'd 
 out his vial into the uir," wo read, " there camu a 
 great voice out of the temple of heaven, fro in the 
 
 2 Chap. xv. 1. 3 Chap. xi. 18, 1<>. < Chap. xv. ., 
 
xii.] Babylon the Great. 363 
 
 throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, 
 and thunders, and lightnings ; and there was a great 
 earthquake, such as was not since men were upon 
 the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 
 And the great city was divided into three parts, and 
 the cities of the nations fell ; and great Babylon 
 came in remembrance before God, to give unto her 
 the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath 5 ." 
 The vision before us, which follows in the seven- 
 teenth chapter, contains the description of that 
 strange form, as it would seem, of idolatry and cor- 
 ruption which had been represented thus under the 
 mystic name of Babylon. " And there came," says 
 St. John, " one of the seven angels which had the 
 seven vials, and talked with me, saying, Come 
 hither ; I will shew thee the judgment of the great 
 harlot, that sitteth upon the 6 many waters ; with 
 whom the kings of the earth have committed forni- 
 cation, and the inhabitants of the earth have been 
 made drunk with the wine of her fornication 7 ." It 
 cannot be necessary to remind those who are fami- 
 liar with the language of Sacred Prophecy, that the 
 term " fornication " and the character of an harlot, 
 are used continually in the Old Testament to signify 
 idolatrous corruption of worship, and forbidden in- 
 tercourse with heathen kings and nations ; and that 
 judgments resembling those which are here de- 
 scribed, are by the prophets denounced upon those 
 empress cities of the ancient world from which the 
 abominations of idol worship, and the pollutions 
 which attended them, spread over the earth. Thus 
 the prophet Nahum threatens woe upon Nineveh, 
 the proud capital of the Assyrian empire, " because 
 
 5 Chap. xvi. 1719. 7 Chap. xvii. 1, 2. 
 
 TV 
 
364 Comparison of language [LECT. 
 
 of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well- 
 favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that 
 selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families 
 through her witchcrafts 8 ." And still more closely 
 parallel with the language in the vision before us, 
 is that of the prophetic denunciations upon ancient 
 Babylon, the prototype of her who is here described. 
 "O thou that dwellest 9 upon many waters 1 ," is the 
 appellation under which she is addressed in the pro- 
 phecies of Jeremiah ; in which it is said concerning 
 her, " Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's 
 hand, that hath made all the earth drunken; the 
 nations have drunken of her wine ; therefore the 
 nations are mad 2 ." And "the many waters" on 
 which, in the vision before us, the harlot is repre- 
 sented as sitting, we are to understand, as the 
 angel expressly declares in the interpretation of the 
 vision, to be " peoples, and multitudes, and nations, 
 and tongues 3 ." 
 
 Pursuing the method, for none better can be 
 adopted. of applying to the illustration of Scrip- 
 ture-language similar expressions in other visions, 
 we shall be reminded here of what was said in the 
 vision of the thirteenth chapter, of the wild beast 
 which ascended out of the sea, " having seven heads, 
 and ten horns," that " power was given him over all 
 kindreds^ and tongues, and nations*? And, as was 
 then observed, the power delineated in that vision 
 was thus identified the more closely with the wild 
 beast spoken of in the former vision of the two wit- 
 nesses, as ascending out of the abyss to make war 
 
 8 Naluiin iii. 4. 2 Jer. li. 7. 
 
 9 Or "sittest," as here v. 1. :l Ver. !,">. 
 fty/jeVr/c. * Chap. xiii. 7. 
 1 Jer. li. 13. 
 
xii.] of preceding Visions. 365 
 
 against them and overcome them, while " they of the 
 people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations*" were 
 to be partakers in the temporary triumph over those 
 witnesses. 
 
 But the identity with the persecuting power de- 
 scribed in those visions is still more clearly marked 
 in the unfolding of the scene before us. " So he 
 carried me away," says St. John, speaking of the 
 Angel who had invited him to behold the visitation 
 of judgment, "he carried me away in the spirit into 
 the wilderness : and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet 
 coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having 
 seven heads and ten horns 6 ." The scene of the 
 vision was laid in the wilderness ; and this seems 
 designed to recal to our recollection the vision 
 of the twelfth chapter, where the wilderness 7 was 
 the chosen place of refuge for the woman there 
 described, the Church of God. It would appear, 
 as has been well observed, to have been with the 
 view of calling that description to mind, that the 
 wilderness is made the scene of the present vision 8 . 
 We saw there how, in the very hiding place which 
 had been given her from the face of the serpent, her 
 relentless enemy still laboured to overwhelm her ; 
 and when " the earth helped " her and protected 
 her from the effects of his rage, "the devil was 
 wroth with the woman, and went to make war with 
 the remnant of her seed, which keep the command- 
 ments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus 
 Christ 9 ." It was further revealed, accordingly, how 
 there rose up, from the waters of the great deep, 
 a power, resistless and cruel, to whom the dragon 
 
 5 Chap. xi. 9. 8 Woodhouse, Annot.p. 351. 
 
 c Ver. 3. 9 Chap. xii. 16, 17. 
 
 7 Chap. xii. 14. 
 
366 The mystic Babylon, [LECT. 
 
 gave " his power, and his seat, and great authority ;" 
 and another, its fellow-worker and minister, but 
 disguising its true character under the garb of the 
 very religion which it supplanted ; having " horns 
 like a lamb," while it " spake as a dragon," and bade 
 them which dwell on the earth to make an image to 
 the first beast, which whoso would not worship must 
 be killed J . Such blending of craft and subtil ty 
 with violence and cruelty, such disguise of the 
 worldly under the garb of the spiritual, the trans- 
 forming of Satan and his agents and ministers into 
 angels of light, might prepare us to find, as the 
 masterpiece of his devices, that the very place where 
 the object of his relentless persecution had found 
 a refuge, should be made in after time the scene 
 of his successful machinations ; and a rival and coun- 
 terfeit to the true Church of God be exhibited, 
 wielding and controuling the earthly power which 
 now, instead of ministering to her, was in very deed 
 supporting her false rival and enemy. The woman 
 here described is the very contrast of the former ; 
 not, like her, adorned with heavenly glory, the 
 luminaries of heaven investing her with unearthly 
 brightness 2 , but borrowing all her ornament from 
 things of earth and worldly pride. " And the woman 
 wus arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked 
 with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a 
 golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and 
 uncleanness of her fornication : and upon her fore- 
 head a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, 
 the Mother of harlots and abominations of the 
 earth 3 ." 
 
 The word " Mystery," prefixed to the name of lirr 
 
 1 Chap. xiii. 3 Coin)). cli;i|> xii. 1. 3 Vv. 4, 5. 
 
xii.] identified with Rome. 367 
 
 who is here thus depicted, would convey at once the 
 idea that she was mystically, not literally, Babylon 
 the Great ; and Babylon, indeed, the city of the 
 Chaldees' dominion, had now long lain desolate. 
 And the only other place in the New Testament, 
 it is well worthy of remark, in which the name of 
 Babylon occurs, is in the concluding salutation of 
 St. Peter's first epistle 4 , where the early writers 
 generally understood it as designating that which 
 was the great city of earthly dominion at the time 
 when St. Peter thus wrote, the city of imperial 
 Rome 5 . In later times, moreover, Romanists them- 
 selves have not been unwilling to adopt the same 
 interpretation, as supplying an irrefragable argument 
 in proof of St. Peter's residence in that city 6 . But, 
 indeed, we have no need to go beyond the chapter 
 before us for a decisive mark of the identity of the 
 woman here described with the city of Rome. For 
 the concluding verse of the chapter stamps the in- 
 terpretation so authoritatively as to place it, as it 
 would seem, beyond the possibility of doubt : "the 
 woman which thou sawest is that great city, which 
 reigneth over the tings of the earth 7 ." But it is 
 
 4 1 Pet. v. 13. tolam ex Roma scriptam esse, 
 
 5 S. Hieron. in Esai. xlvii. quse dicitur Babylon a Petro, 
 1. " Non ipsam Babylonem testis est Papias Apostolorum 
 quidam sed Romanam urbem discipulus. . . . Testis est etiam 
 interpretantur, quse in Apoca- Hieronymus in libro de viris 
 lypsi et in Epistola Petri spiri- illust. in Marco, cujus hsec 
 tualiter applicatur." Cf. Euseb. sunt verba : Petrus in epistola 
 H. E. lib. ii. cap. 15. prima sub nomine Babylonis 
 
 6 E.g. Bellarmine (de Rom. figuraliter Romam significans : 
 Pontif. lib. ii. c. 2). " Ac, ut a 'Salutat,'inquit,c. . . . Eodem 
 primo incipiamus, S. Petrum modo exponunt QEcumenius, 
 Romse aliquando fuisse osten- Beda, et quotquot in hanc epis- 
 dimus primum ex testimonio tolam commentaria ediderunt." 
 ipsius Petri, qui sic ait adfinem 7 Ver. 18. Cf. sup. pp. 68, 
 prioris Epistolse : ' Salutat 69. 
 
 vos,' &c. . . . Hanc enim epis- 
 
368 Not Pagan Rome. [LECT. 
 
 the less necessary to prove this point, because it 
 appears to be generally admitted by Romanists as 
 well as Protestants 8 ; the great question between 
 them being, whether it be Rome Pagan or Rome 
 Papal that is here described 9 . 
 
 But that it is not Pagan Rome would appear 
 from this, independently of other characteristic 
 marks which we shall trace in the description as 
 it is further unfolded, viz. that the mystic Babylon 
 here exhibited is, like her prototype of old, the 
 source and fountain head of idolatrous corruptions 
 and enchantments to the whole earth. But ancient 
 Rome, as Bp. Newton observes, " ruled rather with 
 a rod of iron, than with ' the wine of her forni- 
 cation.' .... Her ambition was for extending her 
 empire, and not her religion. She permitted even 
 the conquered nations to continue in the religion 
 of their ancestors, and to worship their own gods 
 after their own rituals. She may be said rather 
 to have been corrupted by the importation of foreign 
 vices and superstitions, than to have established her 
 own in other countries '." The symbol of ancient 
 Rome, as we have seen in the visions of Daniel, 
 was that " fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and 
 strong exceedingly," which " had great iron teeth," 
 and which "devoured and brake in pieces, and 
 
 8 Bellarmine (de Rom. Pont. Cornelius a Lapide." 
 ii. c. 2. Praeterea, torn. i. p. 9 For to suppose that it is 
 
 232, ed. Colon. 1615), Baro- Rome, become hereafter the 
 
 nius (Annal. ad A.D. 45, num. seat of a pagan and perse- 
 
 18), and Bossuet (Pref. sur cuting power, the hypothesis 
 
 1'Apocalypse vii.) are quoted which has been adopted by 
 
 by Wordsworth (pp. 359, 360), some Romanist writers, 
 
 who adds, " Similar avowals seems, in their hands, strangely 
 
 might be cited from other emi- suicidal. 
 
 nent Romish Divines, e. g. Sal- l Diss. xxv. (Chap, xvii.) 
 
 meron, Alcasar, Maldonatus, 
 
xii.] Not a heathen Persecutor. 369 
 
 stamped the residue with the feet of it 2 ;" a power 
 marked with all the attributes of fierceness and 
 cruelty, not of fascinating allurement. The mystic 
 Babylon, indeed, was to be a persecutor, and so was 
 heathen Rome; but the description here given of 
 her persecutions will appear, when carefully ex- 
 amined, to belong rather to the days of Rome's 
 revived dominion than to her former imperial state. 
 " I saw," says St. John, " the woman drunken with 
 the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the 
 martyrs of Jesus;" and there was something, it 
 would seem, more strange in the sight than the 
 mere cruelty of a heathen persecutor, such as St. 
 John had himself witnessed or experienced under 
 the reign of Nero, and now again under that of 
 Domitian ; " when I saw her," he says, " I won- 
 dered with great admiration V 
 
 It was " with the blood of the saints, and with 
 the blood of the martyrs," or " witnesses 4 , of Jesus " 
 that the woman seen in the vision was thus drunken. 
 And the specification here made of the victims of 
 her fury would seem not to identify them with 
 those first martyrs, spoken of in the fifth seal, in 
 the earlier times of the Apocalyptic vision, whose 
 souls under the altar, crying for vengeance, were 
 bidden to " rest yet for a little season, until their 
 fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should 
 be killed as they were, should be fulfilled 5 :" the 
 martyrs here spoken of, as the " saints " and the 
 " witnesses of Jesus," would appear rather to be 
 the same with those against whom the dragon "went 
 to make war 6 ," when he had now been cast down 
 
 2 Dan. vii. 7. s Chap. vi. 11. 
 
 * Ver. 6. 6 Chap. xii. 7- TWV Trjpovr- 
 
 TU)V TO.Q TO\ai, 701; GfOV, K(U 
 
 Bb 
 
370 The Wild Beast from the Abyss. [LECT. 
 
 from his former dominion ; and the attempt to 
 swallow up the Church by the flood of waters had 
 failed ; and to the power which then rose up with 
 re-invigorated strength, healed of the deadly wound 
 with which it had been smitten, it was given " to 
 make war with the saints 7 ," or, as in the former 
 vision, with the two witnesses 8 . These, then, it 
 would seem, were those "saints" and "martyrs," 
 or " witnesses of Jesus," with whose blood the 
 mystic Babylon was drunken ; as indeed is fully 
 declared in the interpretation which the angel gave 
 to St. John, when he saw him wonder with so great 
 admiration at the mystery revealed in his sight. 
 " 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 wild beast that 
 thou sawest was, and is not ; and shall ascend " 
 or, more literally, " is about 9 to ascend out of the 
 abyss, and go into perdition : 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 wild beast that 
 was, and is not, and yet is 1 ." 
 
 This description leaves no doubt of the identity of 
 the power here described with that which is spoken 
 of in the vision of the eleventh chapter, as the slayer 
 of the two witnesses ; where it is said, " when they 
 shall have finished their testimony, the wild beast that 
 ascendeth out of the abyss shall make war against 
 
 TT]V papTVpciV TOV TTJV fJl U p T V p I a V 
 
 v XpiffTov. sup. pp. 347 349. 
 7 TUV dyitiiv. Chap. xiii. 7. 9 /ut'XAa. 
 
 6 Chap. xi. 3. 7. 7-o7c Ival ' Rev. xvii. 7, 8. 
 IJLOV orai' 
 
XIL] Comparison with earlier Visions. 371 
 
 them, and shall overcome them, and kill them 2 ;" 
 and also, apparently, with that which is described 
 in the vision of the thirteenth chapter, where we 
 behold it, in its marvellous revival from seeming 
 destruction, the object of admiration and worship to 
 " all that dwell upon the earth," even all " whose 
 names are not written in the book of life of the 
 Lamb slain from the foundation of the world 3 ." 
 
 We must, however, compare more closely the 
 imagery before us, not merely with the visions im- 
 mediately preceding, of which (as I have observed) 
 it fills up the outline, but also with that already 
 referred to, and to which it also bears evidently 
 strong resemblance I mean, the description of the 
 fourth beast in Daniel's vision. We see exhibited 
 in each of these three visions a form of earthly 
 power described as a wild beast having ten horns, 
 which represent ten kings ; while at the same time, 
 in each case, it is a power distinct from these ten, 
 which is the dominant and animating principle of 
 the complex system. In Daniel's vision there was 
 seen coming up among the ten horns " another little 
 horn," in which " were eyes like the eyes of man, 
 and a mouth speaking great things," and his " look 
 was more stout than his fellows :" and " I beheld," 
 said the prophet, " and the same horn made war 
 with the saints, and prevailed against them 4 ." So 
 again, in the Apocalyptic vision of the thirteenth 
 chapter, together with the wild beast which rose out 
 of the sea, having ten horns, and upon his horns ten 
 crowns, St. John beheld another rise out of the 
 land, exercising all the power of the first beast 
 before him, the active minister and agent in his 
 
 2 Chap. xi. 7. 3. 12. 14. 
 
 3 Chap. xiii. 8. Comp. vv. 4 Dan. vii. 8. 20, 21. 
 
 Bb2 
 
372 The mystic Babylon, Rome ; [LECT. 
 
 designs of pride and tyranny. And in like manner 
 here again we have the description of the wild 
 beast with ten horns ; but it is ruled and controuled 
 by another power, the woman who is its rider, con- 
 nected thus, as it would seem, with the little horn in 
 Daniel's vision, and with the second wild beast out 
 of the land in the vision of the thirteenth chapter ; 
 in both of which visions we have already seen reason 
 to think we may trace, under the symbolic imagery, 
 the spiritual power of the Papal see, co-operating 
 with, and wielding to its own purposes, the powers 
 of secular dominion. 
 
 But the identity between the woman described in 
 the vision before us, and the capital of the ancient 
 Roman empire, revived again to become once more 
 the dominant city and mistress (for so she would 
 fain be accounted) of the Christian world, is yet 
 more distinctly marked in the next particular in the 
 angel's interpretation of the vision. And more than 
 ordinary attention, be it observed, is called by the 
 voice of Inspiration to this particular. It is said 
 emphatically, "Here is the mind that hath wisdom. 
 The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the 
 woman sitteth 5 ." 
 
 This description, taken in connexion with the 
 words which expressly declare concerning her, that 
 she is "that great city which reigneth," that is 
 evidently the city which, at the time when the vision 
 was revealed, was reigning, holding royal domi- 
 nion 6 "over the kings of the earth," seems to 
 determine the application of the vision beyond the 
 reach of dispute. "There is no possibility," says 
 Bp. Hurd, in his Lectures preached on this founda- 
 tion, "of evading the force of these terms. It hath 
 6 Ver. 9. // 
 
XIL] the City on seven Hills. 373 
 
 been said," lie observes, " that Constantinople too 
 was situated on seven hills." " But Constantinople 
 did not, in the time of this vision, ' reign over the 
 kings of the earth.' Besides, if its dominion had 
 not been mentioned, ' the city on seven hills,' " he 
 continues, " is so characteristic of Rome, that the 
 name itself could not have pointed it out more 
 plainly." He refers, in proof of this, to the " septem 
 domirii montes " of one Roman poet 7 , and the " still 
 more famous line, in another 8 ," in which is de- 
 scribed the 
 
 " Septem urbs alta jugis, toto quae prsesidet orbi ;" 
 
 a description "to which," as the Bishop observes, 
 " St. John's image of a * woman seated on seven hills, 
 and reigning over the kings of the earth,' so exactly 
 corresponds, that one sees no difference between 
 the poet and the prophet; except that the latter 
 personifies his idea, as the genius of the prophetic 
 style required." And in another well-known pas- 
 sage of the prince of Latin poets, we may trace, with 
 Bp. Hurd, how " to an ancient Roman, the circum- 
 stance of its situation" its enclosing within its 
 walls seven fortresses of its strength, " was, of all 
 others, the most august and characteristic" in the 
 description of the imperial city, so that " Rome 
 itself was not Rome, till it was contemplated under 
 
 7 Martial, 1. iv. ep. 64. dentius in short, the unani- 
 
 8 Propert. l.iii. ix. 57. Com- mous Voice of Roman Poetry 
 pare Wordsworth, p. 337. during more than five hundred 
 " There is scarcely a Latin years, beginning with the age 
 Poet of any note who has not of St. John, proclaimed Rome 
 spoken of Rome as the city as 'the Seven-Hilled City. 1 " 
 seated on Seven Mountains. He refers, for the original pas- 
 Virgil, Horace, Tibullus, Pro- sages, to his Sequel to Letters 
 pertius, Ovid, Silius Italicus, on the Church of Rome, Let- 
 Statius, Martial, Claudian, Pru- ter xi. 
 
374 The seven Mountains. [LECT. 
 
 this idea 9 ." " There was ground enough, then," 
 says Bp. Hurd, " for saying that the name of Rome 
 could not have pointed out the city more plainly. 
 But," he continues, "I go further, and take upon 
 me to assert, that the periphrasis is even more 
 precise, and less equivocal, than the proper name 
 would have been, if inserted in the prophecy. For 
 Rome, so called, might have stood, like Sodom, or 
 Babylon, simply for an idolatrous city. But the city 
 ' seated on seven hills,' and ' reigning over the earth,' 
 is the city of Rome itself, and excludes, by the 
 peculiarity of these attributes, any other appli- 
 cation 1 ." 
 
 Nor can this part of the description, the sitting 
 upon seven hills, be interpreted otherwise than 
 literally : it cannot be paralleled with what is said, 
 in the first verse, of the harlot's sitting " upon many 
 waters." For these, we are expressly told by the 
 angel, are not literal but figurative, denoting " peo- 
 ples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues 2 ;" 
 whereas in regard to the seven mountains, not only 
 is no such interpretation given, but the sitting on 
 seven mountains is itself the interpretation of the 
 symbolic imagery in the vision, the seven heads of 
 the wild beast. " The seven heads," saith the angel, 
 explaining their import, "are seven mountains on 
 which the woman sitteth s ." 
 
 But the seven heads have a further meaning. 
 The angel proceeds " And there are seven kings : 
 five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not 
 
 9 " Scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma, 
 Septemque una sibi muro circumdedit arces." 
 
 Virg. Georg. ii. 535. 
 
 ' Nurd's Introd. to the Pro- 2 Ver. 15. 
 
 plu-cies, Sermon xi. 3 Ver. 9. 
 
xii.] The seven Kings. 375 
 
 yet come ;" or more literally still, to give the force 
 of the definite article " the five are fallen, and the 
 one is 4 , the other is not yet come ; and when he 
 is come, he must continue a short space. And the 
 wild beast that was and is not, even he is an eighth, 
 and is of the seven, and goeth unto perdition V 
 
 This part of the description has given rise to 
 much discussion among interpreters. The generality, 
 however, of Protestant expositors, since the time 
 of Mede, have understood it as representing, by the 
 five fallen, the successive forms of government under 
 which Rome had existed, as enumerated by her two 
 principal historians 6 , viz. kings, consuls, dictators, 
 decemvirs, and military tribunes ; these five having 
 already passed away when the vision was seen by 
 St. John ; the empire of the Caesars being the sixth, 
 which was then in possession; while that other 
 which was to follow, and to last but a short time, 
 has been variously interpreted of the government 
 of Rome under the Eastern or the Western Em- 
 peror, or the Christian empire generally, prior to 
 the establishment of the papal sovereignty. On 
 comparing, however, the vision before us with that 
 of the twelfth and thirteenth chapters, there will 
 appear, I think, some reason for doubt whether we 
 must not adopt a somewhat wider and more com- 
 prehensive interpretation, especially in regard to the 
 five heads which are described as fallen. The seven 
 heads of the dragon, and of the wild beast from the 
 sea, must be taken, as we there saw, to represent 
 collectively the various forms of earthly dominion 7 ; 
 and the wild beast having the seven heads in the 
 
 al o ele 6 Liv. Hist. lib. vi. cap. 1. 
 
 Taciti Ann. lib. i. cap. i. 
 5 Vv. 10, 11. 7 Vid. sup. pp. 328. 344. 
 
376 The seven Heads [LECT. 
 
 vision of the thirteenth chapter, bore upon it the 
 characteristic marks of all the four beasts in Daniel's 
 vision, the Babylonian, the Persian, and the Mace- 
 donian, as well as the Roman. And if to these we 
 add those two yet more ancient monarchies which 
 held the chief place, in the earliest times of the 
 world's history, and which were represented, (if we 
 interpreted the symbols rightly,) by the first two of 
 the four " living creatures 8 ," we shall have five 
 " kings," or kingdoms, which had already fallen 
 when imperial Rome was in the zenith of her power 
 Assyria and Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and Mace- 
 don 9 . And the heads of the wild beast on which 
 the woman was seated, representing primarily, as we 
 have seen, the seven mountains of the great city, 
 would with more evident fitness correspond with 
 the several kingdoms which were swallowed up in 
 the universal empire of Rome, than with the succes- 
 sive forms which her government assumed, even were 
 those several forms of government better entitled 
 than they seem to be, to be counted as so many dis- 
 tinct " kings," or kingdoms l . For as, in the interpre- 
 tation of the ten horns, we find ten distinct kingdoms 
 which arose out of the ruins of the Roman Empire, 
 so by the seven kings, answering to the seven heads, 
 we should naturally suppose to be symbolized, and 
 that on a larger and wider scale than in the case of 
 the ten horns on the one head, seven distinct king- 
 doms. And the imagery would have in it a pecul im- 
 propriety, if these were kingdoms embracing within 
 their collective limits the whole earth, and swal- 
 lowed up successively by Rome, continually extend- 
 
 er. MI|>. pp. '2\'2 21."). ' Set Dr. Mjiitlaml's Second 
 
 Vid. Note, Appendix, Knquirv, )>[>. lf>:j 171. 
 
XIL] distinct Kingdoms. 377 
 
 ing her territories, in like manner as the seven hills, 
 which, in her early days, were one after another 
 enclosed within her walls ; so that the seven-hilled 
 capital of her dominion would be, as it were, a 
 miniature of her entire empire, the whole world 2 . 
 Five great monarchies of the earth had fallen, (if 
 thus, then, we may interpret the imagery before us,) 
 " and the one," which was now the head of the wild 
 beast, when St. John beheld the vision, was the 
 Pagan empire of the Roman Caesars. " The other " 
 was " not yet come ;" and the manner in which that 
 other is spoken of would seem almost to exclude it 
 from being counted as one of the seven 3 ; while, on 
 the other hand, concerning the eighth, "the beast 
 that was, and is not," it is said, " he is of the seven, 
 and goeth into perdition " the last form which this 
 mysterious and manifold type of earthly dominion 
 was destined to assume. We may therefore, perhaps, 
 rightly understand by that "other," or seventh, 
 head, the Empire as it existed in its Christian 
 form during the interval between the time when 
 Rome was the capital of the Pagan Empire, and the 
 time when she became again the head of the Papal ; 
 the dominion, during the intervening period, having 
 been transferred, it is worthy of remark, to new 
 Rome or Constantinople 4 . 
 
 But the angel proceeds further to declare the im- 
 port of the ten horns which were seen on the head 
 of the wild beast. "The ten horns which thou 
 sawest are ten kings, which have received no king- 
 dom as yet ; but receive power as kings one hour " 
 
 2 Rome has been styled an pelvnt. K<u TO Oripiov o ^i/, 
 " epitome " of the world. KUI ovx tcrrt, wii civrcg oydooQ 
 
 3 o aXXoc OUTTW r/AOf* vai tort, KCII IK run- ETTTCL lart. . . 
 OTUV 'i\0y, 6\lyov aurov del * Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
378 The ten Horns, [LECT. 
 
 r, as it may be rendered, " in one hour 5 , with 
 the wild beast 6 ." The ten horns, or kingdoms, here 
 described, would seem to identify, as has been 
 already observed, the wild beast of this vision with 
 the fourth beast in the vision of Daniel, and also 
 (thus far, at least) with the wild beast out of the 
 sea in the vision of the thirteenth chapter; and 
 here, as there, we must understand by the imagery 
 the ten kingdoms which derived their origin out of 
 the ruins of the Roman Empire in the West. And 
 upon this point also, as well as in regard to the 
 identity of the woman here described with Rome, 
 in the one form of her existence or in the other, we 
 may claim the support of high authority amongst 
 the Romanists themselves. Bossuet interprets the 
 ten horns to be the ten kingdoms which dismem- 
 bered the Roman empire 7 ; and, this being granted, 
 it is difficult, I think, to escape from the conclusion 
 which would make Rome in her Papal, and not in 
 her Pagan, state, to be the subject of the prophetic 
 vision. 
 
 We must here, however, mention a different ren- 
 dering which is to be found in the Vulgate, and 
 which would represent the ten kings as receiving 
 power "one hour," or "the same hour, after the 
 beast " not " with," as in the received text. But 
 there is no ground whatever for any departure from 
 
 that text : /utra TOV Oripiov, not /ucra TO Orjpiov, is the 
 
 5 ifovaiav we /SaaiXctg fAiav The words /uera TOV Oqpiov 
 
 \apj3avovffi /uera TOV Or]- must, I conceive, be immedi- 
 
 oiov " una hora." Vulg. So ately connected with Xa/u/3a- 
 
 also the Latin version in S. vovoi, not with /ittav cSoav. Vid. 
 
 Irenseus and Primasius. (Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 Bossuet.) Elliott (p. 872, note) 7 Bossuet follows, as his 
 
 refers to John iv. 52 and Rev. authority, the commentary of 
 
 iii. 3, for a similar use of the Berengaudus. 
 accusative. 
 
xii.] ten Kingdoms. 379 
 
 undoubted reading in the original. If the received 
 text be retained, which Bossuet himself admits to 
 have great authority, the interpretation which he 
 would in this case adopt, is that the Gothic kings 
 should come, at one and the same time, into the 
 Western Empire to reign there with Rome, who 
 was not all at once to lose her power 8 . But this 
 interpretation can hardly be made to consist with 
 the facts of the history: the kings who came to 
 establish themselves in the Roman Empire can 
 scarcely be said to have received power with it. 
 For it is surely an inadequate interpretation of the 
 following verse " These have one mind, and shall 
 give their power and strength unto the wild beast 9 ' 
 to explain it as describing how the Empire, in its 
 weakness, sought to avert the coming overthrow by 
 enlisting the barbarians as auxiliaries in its armies l . 
 It was not until the ancient empire was destroyed, 
 and the new kingdoms were established upon its 
 ruins, that they could be fitly represented in pro- 
 phetic imagery as horns, or kingdoms, possessed of 
 power and exercising their power in concert 2 . And 
 
 8 " Ces dix rois viendront, suet. 
 
 comme en meme temps, dans 2 Bossuet himself observes 
 
 1'empire de 1'Occident, pour y " Les rois dont il s'agit ne 
 
 regner avec la bete, c'est-a- sont pas des rois comme les 
 
 dire, avec Rome, qui ne perdra autres, qui cherchent a faire 
 
 pas tout a coup sa puissance ; des conquetes sur 1'empire 
 
 et ce sens, qui est le plus pour en agrandir leur royaume : 
 
 autorise, est en meme temps ce sont tous rois sans royaume, 
 
 leplusnaturel." L' Apocalypse, du moins sans aucun siege de- 
 
 in loc. Compare Bossuet's de- termine de leur domination, 
 
 fence of his commentary in the qui cherchent a s'etablir, et a 
 
 " De excidio Babylonis." se faire un royaume dans un 
 
 ' Ver. 13. pays que celui qu'ils ont quitte. 
 
 1 " * Et ils donneront leur On ne vit jamais a la fois tant 
 
 force et leur puissance a la de rois de ce caractere, qu'il 
 
 bete :' leurs armees seront a la en parut dans le temps de la 
 
 solde tie Rome, et dans 1'alli- decadence de 1'empire remain. " 
 ance de ces empereurs." Bos- 
 
380 The ten Kings confederate. [LECT. 
 
 the efforts of their force combined, as described in 
 the vision, shew clearly that the power to which 
 they lend their aid, is one which is in full vigour 
 contemporarily with them, not a falling empire into 
 whose place they are ready to succeed. "These" 
 i. e. the ten kings, giving their strength and power 
 unto the wild beast, " 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 chosen, and called, and faithful 3 ." 
 
 For the illustration of this passage we must refer 
 to the nineteenth chapter. " I saw the wild beast, 
 and the kings of the earth 4 , and their armies, gathered 
 together, to make war against him that sat on the 
 horse " the same who had " on his vesture and on 
 his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord 
 of lords 5 " and against his army. And the wild 
 beast was taken, and with him the false prophet 
 the same with the second beast which rose out of 
 the land, and of which we read in the thirteenth 
 chapter 6 "and the remnant were slain with the 
 sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword 
 proceeded out of his mouth ; and all the fowls were 
 filled with their flesh 7 ." It would rather appear, 
 from the language used in the vision before us, 
 as though it would be for a long period that the 
 
 s Ver. 14. image." Comp. chap. xiii. 12 
 
 4 Comp. vv. 17, IX, imme- 17. 
 
 diately preceding, and Ezek. 7 Chap. xix. 19 21. Bos- 
 
 xxxix. 18 20. suet, following Berengaudus, 
 
 * Chap. xix. 1C. would interpret the words, 
 
 " For the false prophet is "These shall make war with 
 
 here described as he "th.it the Lamb, and the Lamb shall 
 
 wrought miracles before " the overcome them," as referring 
 
 wild beast, '* with which he to the Gothic persecutors, and 
 
 deceived them that had re- the conversion of those nations, 
 
 reived the mark of tin- beast. for the most part, to the faith 
 
 and them that worshipped his of Chri>t. 
 
XIL] Desolation of " Babylon." 381 
 
 ten kings would "give their power and strength to 
 the wild beast," until at length they should turn 
 against the mistress to whose service they had before 
 yielded themselves. It is said, " The ten horns which 
 thou sawest upon the wild beast, these shall hate the 
 harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and 
 shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God 
 hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to 
 agree, and give their kingdom unto the wild beast, 
 until the words of God shall be fulfilled 8 ." 
 
 By Romish expositors this prediction is referred 
 to the capture and burning of Rome by the Goths 
 in the fifth and sixth centuries; but, meanwhile, 
 they have some difficulty in dealing with the fact 
 that Rome had then ceased to be Pagan and it is 
 Pagan Rome exclusively that, they tell us, is repre- 
 sented in the vision: she had become professedly 
 Christian when the fury of the Goths fell upon her 9 . 
 But, even had this been otherwise, the calamities 
 brought upon Rome by those barbarians, in their 
 first irruption into the Empire, can hardly be made 
 to be the fulfilment of a prophecy which, as has 
 been already said, would seem to interpose a con- 
 siderable period between the time when the kings 
 here spoken of should court the favour of the 
 empress city, and the time when they should be 
 turned to be her enemies. 
 
 A conclusive argument, however, against the in- 
 terpretation in question is to be found in the fact, 
 that, when Rome was thus taken, and pillaged, and 
 burnt by the Goths, it fell not finally and utterly, 
 never to rise again, according to the denunciations 
 of the prophetic vision. We saw, on a former occa- 
 
 8 Vv. 16, 17. 9 Vid. Note, Appendix. 
 
382 Not fulfilled in the Fall [LECT. 
 
 sion, how it is, in the eye of the devoted Romanist, 
 the surpassing glory and wonder of the city of his 
 adoration, that, when she seemed to have fallen for 
 ever, she rose again, as from the very dust, under 
 the fostering care of the papal power. But it was 
 far otherwise with the mystic Babylon in the vision, 
 when the hour of her doom was come. " After 
 these things," says St. John, in the opening of the 
 following chapter, " I saw another angel come down 
 from heaven, having great power; and the earth 
 was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily 
 with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, 
 is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and 
 the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every 
 unclean and hateful bird 1 ." The hypothesis that 
 it is the fall of Pagan Rome that is foretold in 
 the vision, would require that that fall should be 
 followed by a state of utter desolation, such as we 
 find here described under imagery similar to that 
 which is used in the prophecies concerning ancient 
 Babylon 2 . It excludes altogether the idea of a sub- 
 sequent state of pre-eminent glory, like that to which, 
 as the Romanist will proudly proclaim, the city of 
 Rome was exalted, when from Pagan she became 
 Christian, the capital and metropolis of the Christian 
 world. As regards ancient Babylon, from the time 
 when the Persian conqueror took the city, she never 
 again recovered her former power and splendour: 
 she sunk, though not all at once, yet not the less 
 hopelessly and finally, as one doomed to utter de- 
 struction in His eyes, whose judgments hold on their 
 course with a certainty the more awful from their 
 
 1 Chap, xviii. 1, 2. 
 
 2 Comp. Isai. xiii. 21, 22. Jer. 1. 39 ; li. 37- 
 
xii.] of Pagan Rome by the Goths. 383 
 
 apparent tardiness. The words which Seraiah, when 
 he went into Babylon with the captive king of 
 Judah, in the day of Nebuchadnezzar's triumph, 
 was commanded by the prophet Jeremiah to utter 
 solemnly there, he who now visits the wilderness 
 where Babylon once stood sees fearfully fulfilled 
 to the very letter: "O Lord, thou hast spoken 
 against this place, to cut it off, that none shall 
 remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it 
 shall be desolate for ever 3 ." Though it were not 
 all at once, yet from the day when the Mede and 
 the Persian entered her walls as conquerors, even 
 thus did Babylon of old " sink ;" she never again 
 was able to " rise from the evil that " the Almighty 
 Avenger had solemnly declared He would "bring 
 upon her 4 ." 
 
 In the denunciations pronounced upon ancient 
 Babylon, it was not expressly declared how soon the 
 full and final vengeance was to be inflicted ; but 
 if she had ever risen again in renewed life and 
 beauty, then, indeed, there would have been room 
 for questioning the fulfilment of the word of Pro- 
 phecy. And undoubtedly, as regards the vision 
 before us concerning the mystic Babylon, no cala- 
 mities, no destruction by fire or sword, can be 
 regarded as fulfilling the language of the vision, 
 unless those calamities were irremediable, and that 
 destruction final. For it is declared solemnly, in 
 the eighteenth chapter, " Therefore shall her plagues 
 come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine ; 
 and she shall be utterly burned with fire : for strong 
 is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings 
 of the earth, who have committed fornication 
 
 3 Jer. li. 62. 4 Ibid. v. 64. 
 
384 Final Fall of " Babylon." [LECT. 
 
 and lived deliriously with her, shall bewail her, 
 and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke 
 of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her 
 torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, 
 that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment 
 come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep 
 and mourn over her ; for no man buyeth her mer- 
 chandise any more ; . . . . and all things which were 
 dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou 
 
 shall find them no more at all Alas, alas that 
 
 great city, .... for in one hour is she made desolate. 
 .... And a mighty angel took up a stone like a 
 great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, 
 Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon 
 be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all*. 
 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of 
 pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all 
 in thee; and no craftsmen, of whatsoever craft he 
 be, shall be found any more in thee ; and the sound 
 of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee ; 
 and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all 
 in thee ; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the 
 bride shall be heard no more at all in thee : . . . . 
 And after these things I heard a great voice of 
 much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia ; Salvation, 
 and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord 
 our God : for true and righteous are his judgments : 
 for he hath judged the great harlot, which did 
 corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath 
 avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And 
 again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up 
 for ever and ever V 
 
 It can be nothing short of final and hopeless 
 
 5 Comp. Jer. li. 64. 6 Chap, xviii. 821 ; xix. 13. 
 
xii.] Rome under the Goths. 385 
 
 destruction, a fall from which the city whose doom 
 is written here should never rise again, that is de- 
 scribed in language such as this. But that no such 
 destruction was inflicted on Rome by the hand of 
 the Goth, is declared by the living witness of Rome 
 herself for well nigh thirteen hundred years; and 
 that the vengeance predicted was not then accom- 
 plished is the more strikingly shewn, when we con- 
 sider how near it seemed to its accomplishment. 
 " * Totila, the Goth,' says Procopius (who served in 
 the staff of Belisarius, and was his secretary), ' de- 
 termined to level Rome with the ground, and make 
 the regions where it stood a place of pasturage for 
 flocks arid herds.' Preparations were made," con- 
 tinues a recent writer of the Romish communion, 
 whom I quoted on a former occasion, " to overturn 
 the monuments and trophies that still survived so 
 many ravages, and to destroy the palaces and temples 
 by fire. These," however, Totila " spared, at the in- 
 stance of an embassy sent by Belisarius, from where 
 he lay with the forces of the Greek emperor at Ostia ; 
 but the walls he caused to be in great part de- 
 molished, and carried away as captives the miserable 
 remnant of the senate and Roman people, with 
 their wives and children 7 ." "As to the Roman 
 people, a miserable handful of forlorn and emaciated 
 outcasts not more than five hundred, men, women, 
 and children, as they were was the only shadow 
 left of that once mighty name. Even these were 
 now led away into slavery by the Goths, who also 
 tore down the gates of the Eternal City, and carried 
 them off as trophies. Not a single human being 
 was permitted to remain. The words most ex- 
 
 7 " Rome as it was under Paganism, &c." vol. ii. p. 196. 
 
 C C 
 
386 Rome laid waste by Totila. [LECT. 
 
 press! ve of perfect solitude and desertion," I am 
 quoting still from the same Romanist writer, " are 
 those adopted by Procopius to describe the con- 
 dition in which Totila left the region of the ' Seven 
 Hills.' 'In Rome he suffered nothing human to 
 remain, leaving it altogether, in every part, a perfect 
 desert V " And " the account in the Chronicle of 
 Marcellinus," it is added, " agrees with this nearly 
 to the letter. ' Every thing that had belonged to 
 the Romans,' he says, ' was carried away, and also 
 the Romans themselves were led into Campania 
 captives. After which devastation Rome was so 
 desolate, that, for forty days or more, there was 
 to be seen in it not a single inhabitant, but only 
 wild beasts 9 .'" "It was the destiny of Rome," 
 says the same writer who quotes these passages, " to 
 be as pre-eminent in the disasters of Italy, as she 
 had been in its triumphs. To beleaguer, plunder, 
 and make desolate the queen of empire, had been 
 the grand object of ambition, a kind of inspired 
 mania, which every invader, from Alaric," and 
 Alaric the Goth, it will be recollected, had been 
 followed by Attila the Hun and Genseric the Van- 
 dal, "from Alaric, who found it a boundless 
 aggregation of palaces, baths, theatres, and temples, 
 peopled by the aristocracy of the earth, down to 
 Totila, who left it ' a marble wilderness.' 
 
 "The elements themselves," he goes on to say, 
 "conspired to put the last hand to the work of 
 destruction." And he refers to a prophecy attri- 
 buted to St. Benedict, in the second book of the 
 Dialogues of Gregory the Great, which said, that 
 
 8 De Bell. Goth. lib. iii. c. Trdpatrnv 
 22. iv 'Putfjirj avOpwTTov ovtiiva 9 Marcel, in Chron. p. 54. 
 
 , a\\' tprjfJLOv UVT^V TO- 
 
xii.] Rome in the Time of Gregory. 387 
 
 " Rome was not to be exterminated by the hands 
 of barbarians; but that, exhausted by tempests, 
 whirlwinds of fire, and earthquakes, it should of it- 
 self collapse into a heap of ruins ' ;" and Gregory him- 
 self, " in one of his discourses to the people, appeals 
 to the scenes by which they were actually sur- 
 rounded, to prove the truth of this prediction." In 
 the words of the historian of the Decline and 
 Fall, " ' The lofty tree, under whose shade the na- 
 tions of the earth had reposed, was deprived of 
 its leaves and branches, and the sapless trunk was 
 left to wither on the ground.' The Romans in the 
 city, 'shut or opened their gates with a trembling 
 hand, beheld from the walls the flames of their 
 houses, and heard the lamentations of their brethren, 
 who were coupled together like dogs, and dragged 
 away into distant slavery beyond the sea and the 
 mountains ; . . . . and the Campagna of Rome was 
 speedily reduced to the state of a dreary wilderness, in 
 which the land is barren, the waters are impure, and 
 the air is infectious. Curiosity and ambition no longer 
 attracted the nations to the capital of the world ; 
 but if chance or necessity directed the steps of a 
 wandering stranger, he contemplated with horror 
 
 1 [" Praeterea Canusinae An- pestatibus coruscis, et turbi- 
 
 tistes ecclesiae ad eundem Dei nibus ac terrae motu fatigata, 
 
 famulum (Benedictum) venire in semetipsa marcescet. Cujus 
 
 consueverat, quern vir Dei pro proprieties mysteria nobis jam 
 
 vitae suae merito valde dilige- facta sunt luce clariora, qui 
 
 bat. Is itaque, dum cum illo in hac urbe dissoluta mcenia, 
 
 de ingress u regis Totilae et eversas domos, destructas ec- 
 
 Romanae urbis perditione col- clesias turbine cernimus, ejus- 
 
 loquium haberet, dixit : Per que aedificia longo senio lassata, 
 
 hunc regem civitas ista de- quia ruinis crebrescentibus 
 
 struetur, ut jam amplius non prosternantur, videmus." S. 
 
 inhabitetur. Cui vir Domini Greg. Dial. lib. ii. cap. 15. 
 
 respondit : Roma a gentibus (Op. t. ii. p. 239. ed.Bened.)] 
 non exterminabitur, sed tem- 
 
 c c2 
 
388 Revival of Rome by the Popes. [LECT. 
 
 the vacancy and solitude of the city, and might be 
 tempted to ask, Where is the senate, and where are 
 the people 2 ?' 
 
 " Such," continues the Romanist, resuming his 
 own reflections upon the scene which the pen of 
 the historian had thus described, "such was the 
 condition of the Eternal City, when the successors 
 of the fisherman were induced, not by ambition, but 
 through mercy, to take it under their protection ; 
 and if those regions along the Tiber, which had 
 been the theatre, for so many centuries, of all that 
 was most illustrious and important in human affairs, 
 have not reverted to a state of aboriginal wildness 
 and solitude, similar to that in which they were 
 when first explored by the shepherd king, Evander, 
 it is to the popes, as successors of the fisherman, the 
 credit must be given. ' Like Thebes, or Babylon, 
 or Carthage,' " in the words of Gibbon, whom he 
 cites, " ' the name of Rome might have been erased 
 from the earth, if the city had not been animated 
 by a vital principle which again restored her to 
 honour and dominion V " 
 
 It was not, then, if there be truth in the word 
 of Prophecy, it was not, it could not be, the 
 ravages of the Goth which had been delineated in 
 the visions of St. John. Rome did rise again from 
 the apparent destruction which then threatened to 
 make her, like Babylon of old, a perpetual deso- 
 lation. But the marvellous revival, which makes 
 her, to her own votaries, an object of religious 
 wonder and admiration, will rather, to the thought- 
 ful student of prophecy, suggest the startling con- 
 
 2 Gibbon, chap. 45. Paganism, &c.," vol. ii. pp. 
 
 3 " Rome, as it was under 270, 277. 
 
xii.] Romanist Arguments from Prophecy. 389 
 
 sideration, whether the very phenomenon presented 
 to his view in the history be not the selfsame, and 
 none other, which the Prophetic Spirit hath traced 
 in such fearful outline, and made the subject of such 
 solemn warning. 
 
 And, when the Romanist endeavours to draw his 
 argument from Prophecy, representing " the church 
 built on Peter," meaning thereby the communion 
 of Rome, as itself the stone cut out without hands, 
 which smote the image of worldly dominion, and 
 became a mountain, and filled the whole earth, 
 itself that kingdom of the God of heaven, which 
 was to break in pieces and consume all other king- 
 doms, and to stand for ever 4 ; he will be proof against 
 the argument who, carefully studying and com- 
 paring, one with another, the visions of Daniel and 
 St. John, beginning from that which was seen by the 
 great king of the ancient Babylon, and ending with 
 the revelation of the mystic Babylon, vouchsafed to 
 the beloved disciple in the isle of his banishment, 
 at the time when the fourth and last monarchy of 
 Daniel's vision possessed the earth, can trace, not 
 obscurely, the order of God's providential govern- 
 ment, and His wonderful designs of mercy, as they 
 have been revealed in Sacred Prophecy and unfolded 
 in the world's history. Such an one can distinguish 
 plainly there the one true Church of God, the holy 
 Catholic Church, in the faith of which he was bap- 
 
 4 See " Rome as it was prophecy : ' And the stone ' 
 
 under Paganism, &c.," vol. i. pp. (cut without hands from a 
 
 157, 158. ** And yet is Rome mountain, the Church built on 
 
 destined to be an 'eternal city,' Peter, taken, as it were, from 
 
 imperishable as the world it- the side of the Redeemer . . .) 
 
 self, over which its sceptre * became a great mountain, and 
 
 shall still be wielded ; for filled the whole earth.' ' 
 mark the conclusion of the 
 
390 Retrospect of Prophecy. [LECT. 
 
 tized, and in the existenee of which he continually 
 declares his belief ; that Church which, " built upon 
 the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
 Christ himself being the corner stone 5 ," was to be 
 the great scene of God's providential dealings, and 
 that whereby, as the apostle hath told us, was to be 
 " made known " " unto the principalities and powers 
 in heavenly places " " the manifold wisdom of God 6 ;" 
 the one Church truly " Catholic," planted in all 
 lands by Christ's apostles and by those who followed 
 them, and truly " Apostolic," as having been so 
 planted, according to Christ's own commission given 
 to the whole Apostolic company, and not only to 
 one their chief. To such an one, the prophetic roll 
 unfolding itself will exhibit, not obscurely, the con- 
 flict of this Church of Christ with the world ; the 
 victory which, through suffering and martyrdom, it 
 at length attained over the Pagan Empire of Rome, 
 the last of the four great kingdoms of the ancient 
 world ; and then, how, amidst fresh forms of assault, 
 violent or crafty, from the great adversary, "the 
 earth," which had once, through God's providential 
 goodness, "helped the woman," His true Church, 
 afterwards raised up against her a subtle enemy ; 
 and that which before had sheltered her now dis- 
 played to view a false counterfeit, disguising under 
 a fair exterior inward corruption, possessed of a fatal 
 power of fascination, an enchantress with a golden 
 cup in her hand, making the nations drunken. And 
 the vision would seem to be but too faithfully 
 realized, if there were found enthroned in the seat 
 of Roman empire a church, not merely claiming 
 and receiving of the powers of this world, as were 
 
 5 Eph. ii. 20. l-.pli. iii. 10. 
 
xii.] Delineation of Rome. 391 
 
 her due and duty, that recognition and maintenance 
 of her spiritual authority, that protection and sup- 
 port, which the word of Prophecy had foretold, and 
 thereby commanded, when it was said to the mystic 
 Sion, the Church of Christ, "Kings shall be thy 
 nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mo- 
 thers 7 ;" nor simply employing the powers of the 
 world unseen, and the awe inspired by the Church 
 in her unearthly character, to protect the weak 
 against the strong, and restrain tyrannical violence, 
 services which, we shall readily acknowledge, in 
 ages of barbarism, Rome often and signally ren- 
 dered ; not thus, unhappily, too often, but, as the 
 annals of her history painfully shew, according to 
 the imagery in which the vision depicts the mystic 
 Babylon, prostituting (for so, alas ! it must be said) 
 spiritual power to earthly, temporal ends; making 
 a trade and a gain of things which should have been 
 kept inviolably pure and sacred; turning into a 
 traffic and a merchandise the power of the keys, 
 the remission of guilt, or of its anticipated penalties 
 in the world unseen ; buying the favour of kings 
 and princes, by lending the sanction of her autho- 
 rity to deeds of oppression and cruelty, or designs 
 of rebellious usurpation, or ambitious schemes of 
 conquest. 
 
 It has been my endeavour, in the Course of Lec- 
 tures which has now reached its conclusion, to trace, 
 at least by a faint outline, that wonderful scheme 
 and order of Divine agency which, as delineated 
 in the visions of Daniel and St. John, seems to 
 find its counterpart, not obscurely revealed, in the 
 
 7 Isa. xlix. 23. 
 
392 Subject of preceding Lectures. [LECT. 
 
 eventful history of the Church of Christ, and of that 
 world which has been, and is still, the appointed 
 scene of her triumphs and her trial. Such a course 
 of inquiry seemed most strictly to fulfil the in- 
 tention of the distinguished Founder of this Lec- 
 ture, who named as its subject, "the prophecies 
 relating to the Christian Church, and in particular 
 the apostacy of Papal Rome." And the examina- 
 tion, with this view, of the prophecies of Daniel 
 and St. John appeared to be the more important, 
 not only because the subjects proposed for our consi- 
 deration are in no other part of Scripture so fully 
 unfolded, in their several relations to each other ; 
 but also because, of late years, doubts have been 
 entertained in regard to the fulfilment, in past 
 events, of some of those prophecies, of the earlier 
 prophet in particular, the actual or unfolding ac- 
 complishment of which has generally, and (as I have 
 endeavoured to shew) not without good and solid 
 grounds, been regarded as forming, in combination 
 with other predictions concerning which no doubt 
 is felt, one of those strong and immovable pillars 
 of evidence on which our most holy Faith may 
 securely rest. 
 
 But if it is from other assaults than that of open 
 infidelity that our special trial, in these days, may 
 be expected to arise ; if the danger to the simplicity 
 and stedfastness of our faith, as members of Christ 
 and of His Church, be from the arts of that rival 
 communion which, while she studies to allure the 
 simple by the display of her attractions, blinds them 
 fearfully, through her falsehoods, to the very recog- 
 nition of truth, or the sense of its intrinsic beauty, 
 and of its claims on our admiration and love ; or if, 
 tm the other hand, our peril be lest, in a just abhor- 
 
xii.] Uses of the Study of Prophecy. 393 
 
 rence of religious error, and in forgetfulness that, 
 to the undiscerning eye, there must ever be an ap- 
 parent resemblance between the counterfeit and the 
 true, (or the counterfeit would deceive no one,) we 
 should become cold in our attachment, or waver in 
 our allegiance to her, that one holy Church, who, 
 in her meek, and chaste, and heavenly adorning, 
 "in the beauty of holiness," is commended to our 
 reverential love as the very spouse of Christ Him- 
 self; our security against the devices of the enemy, 
 whether on the right hand or on the left, will be 
 found in the faithful and diligent study of God's 
 holy word, with the lights of early times and of all 
 past ages ; and especially in unfolding thoughtfully 
 the inspired roll of Prophecy, and tracing there the 
 scenes which it delineates, as they are reflected, (so 
 far, at least, as it is permitted us to discern them,) 
 in that other wonderful record of God's dealings 
 with men, the history of His Church on earth, 
 from its earliest and purest days down to our own 
 times. 
 
 Studied in this spirit, the revelations of Sacred 
 Prophecy will have none other than an elevating, 
 and calming, and sanctifying influence upon the 
 mind that holds converse with them. There will 
 be nothing of bitterness engendered, no exaspe- 
 ration of controversial strife, even though it should 
 appear, as I think it must, in opposition to an opi- 
 nion which I noticed at the outset of our inquiry 8 , 
 that Prophecy does take cognizance of divisions 
 and corruptions within the Church of God. And 
 most mercifully, indeed, as we must thankfully 
 
 " Lecture I. pp. 5 8. 
 
394 Security against Error. [LECT. 
 
 acknowledge, has such a provision been made, to 
 strengthen men's spirits, for who shall say they 
 needed not such strengthening? when, as was the 
 case in this our land, when the time of Reforma- 
 tion was come, they felt themselves called, as by 
 a divine Voice, to cast off the bands with which 
 the enchantress had bound them, and restore the 
 Church of their fathers to the possession of that 
 spiritual freedom which, in accordance with ancient 
 principles and the peculiar privileges of her inhe- 
 ritance, she had enjoyed from the beginning 9 . And 
 the like heavenly strength is needed still, when- 
 ever, by the display of those pretensions which her 
 rival and adversary knows so well how to put forth, 
 her would-be universal empire, the number of her 
 followers, the gifts which she has to bestow, the in- 
 dulgence in all that her votaries can desire, whether 
 earthly or spiritual, free scope for every taste and 
 faculty, the satisfying of every longing she would 
 lead after her the whole world captive, and en- 
 deavour even thereby to persuade men that she is 
 the true and only Church, the immaculate spouse 
 of Christ. They, and they only, will be secure against 
 all her arts, who know that there is a Church 
 whose character and attributes she would exclusively 
 assume, even " the city of the living God, the 
 heavenly Jerusalem V' concerning which we, who 
 by His mercy have been made members of a true 
 and living branch of that one Church Catholic, may, 
 
 9 See Bramhall's " Just Vin- jurisdiction for the first six 
 
 dication of the Church of Eng- hundred years, and so ought 
 
 land," chap. v. (of the Cy- to continue." (Works, pp. 77 
 
 prian privileges, &c.) " That 85.) Stillingfleet's Orig. 
 
 the Britannic Churches were Brit. (chap. iii. p. 106.) &c. 
 ever exempted from foreign ' Heb. xii. 22. 
 
xii.] Consummation of the Vision. 395 
 
 with assured comfort and stedfast confidence, say, 
 that she " is the mother of us all V 
 
 And to the consummation of that one true Ca- 
 tholic Church of Christ in perfect purity and holi- 
 ness and bliss, the vision bids us look onward with 
 faithful and joyful hope. From the description of 
 the choral song at the awful view of the Divine 
 judgments on Babylon the Great, the vision at once 
 proceeds : " And the four-and-twenty elders," the 
 representatives of the Church Universal, " and the 
 four living creatures," the symbols of earthly power 
 and dominion, made finally subject to Christ and 
 His kingdom (and they are mentioned here for the 
 last time) "fell down and worshipped God that 
 sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And 
 a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our 
 God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, 
 both small and great. And I heard as it were the 
 voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many 
 waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, 
 saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent 
 reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give 
 honour 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 saith unto me, 
 Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the 
 marriage supper of the Lamb 3 ." "And I John 
 saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down 
 from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned 
 for her husband 4 ." 
 
 2 Gal. iv. 26. 3 Chap. xix. 49, 
 
 4 Chap. xxi. 2. 
 
396 Vision of the Holy City. [LECI. 
 
 The beloved disciple bad been carried away in 
 the spirit into the wilderness to see the vision of 
 the corrupt Church, the great city which reigned 
 over the kings of the earth, and it had been said 
 to him, " Come hither, and I will shew thee the 
 judgment of the great barlot, that sitteth upon the 
 many waters 5 ;" and now, by " one of the same seven 
 angels which had the seven vials full of the seven 
 last plagues," it was said to him, " Come hither, I 
 will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife 6 ." " And 
 he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high 
 mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy 
 Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 
 having the glory of God ; and her light like unto 
 a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear 
 as crystal ; and twelve gates, and names written 
 thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes 
 of the children of Israel," and the wall of the city 
 having " twelve foundations, and in them the names 
 of the twelve apostles of the Lamb 7 ;" the true 
 Church of Christ, Catholic and Apostolic, including 
 all the families of the one spiritual Israel, and whose 
 foundations were laid by Christ's own apostles ; the 
 Church now no longer militant in earth, but glo- 
 rified in heaven. 
 
 And "blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of 
 the prophecy of this book 8 ." For HE saith, who 
 gave it by the ministry of His disciple, "Behold, 
 I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give 
 every man according as his work shall be. I am 
 Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the 
 first and the last. Blessed are they that do his 
 
 Chap. xvii. 1. 7 Ibid. vv. 1014. 
 
 1 Chap. xxi. 9. 8 Chap. xxii. 7. 
 
xii.] Promise and Blessing. 397 
 
 commandments, that they may have right unto the 
 tree of life, and enter in through the gates into 
 the city 9 ." 
 
 " Now unto him that is able to do exceeding 
 abundantly above all that we ask or think, according 
 to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory 
 in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, 
 world without end. Amen '." 
 
 9 Ibid. vv. 12 14. ' Eph. iii. 20, 21. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 Page 14, Note 6. (Comp. p. 17, Note 2.) In the pre- 
 face to his later work, Dean Woodhouse thus states " the 
 rules or canons, which in the former work were proposed 
 by " him, " as the chart and compass " (to use his own 
 words) "to direct my course, in the untried sea upon 
 which I was about to embark." (( In entering upon this 
 most important consideration, the question which first 
 commanded my attention was, ' From what source can we 
 reasonably expect to derive the safest and surest means of 
 understanding the figurative prophetical language of the 
 Apocalypse? 5 The proper answer appeared obvious; .... 
 for if the Apocalypse be of Divine revelation, an uni- 
 formity may be expected to subsist between this and 
 
 other portions of Sacred Scripture This, then, 
 
 was the first principle upon which I resolved to ground 
 my method of investigation ; to compare the language, 
 the symbols, the predictions, of the Apocalypse with those of 
 former revelations; and to admit only such interpretation as 
 should appear to have the sanction of this Divine authority. 
 
 "A second controlling principle seems necessary. For, 
 as the language, symbols, and predictions thus interpreted 
 by the assistance of Scripture, were to be applied after- 
 wards to historical facts, a preliminary question seemed 
 to occur, To what kind of history are they to be applied ? 
 to profane history or sacred ? to the extensive and bound- 
 less mass of the Gentile history, or, exclusively, to that of 
 God's chosen people? To assist me in answering this 
 question, I had recourse to the preceding prophecies of 
 the Old and New Testament. How have we been autho- 
 
400 Appendix. 
 
 rized to explain these ? In what kind of history do they 
 appear to have been accomplished? The answer was 
 at hand The history of the Church of God. For in this 
 sacred history we find the Divine prophecies principally, 
 and almost exclusively fulfilled : for, whenever sacred 
 prophecy is seen to deviate from this its peculiar object, it 
 is in such instances only, wherein the fortunes of God's 
 people have become necessarily involved with those of 
 
 heathen nations Therefore the prophecies of the 
 
 Apocalypse appeared to be applicable principally, if not 
 solely, to the fates and fortunes of the Christian Church. 
 .... And I conceived myself bound to adopt, as a con- 
 trolling principle of interpretation, that unless the language 
 and symbols of the Apocalypse should, in particular passages, 
 direct, or evidently require, another mode of application, the 
 predictions were to be applied to events occurring in the pro- 
 gressive kingdom of Christ. 
 
 " In the wide field of universal history, innumerable 
 events may be selected by the industry of investigators, 
 seeming to bear resemblance to the figurative pictures of 
 
 Holy Writ Some restriction is therefore necessary 
 
 to guide investigation ; . . . . and what can be deemed more 
 proper than this principle, which derives its authority from 
 the analogy of Sacred Scripture? 
 
 "A third controlling principle seemed also requisite, 
 arising from a consideration of the nature and kind of 
 that kingdom which had thus appeared to be the grand 
 object of the prophecies. It is a kingdom not temporal, 
 but spiritual ; . . . . 
 
 "Such a kingdom may be, in a great degree, inde- 
 pendent of the fates and revolutions of empires ; affected 
 only by those changes in the political world which are 
 calculated to produce the increase or decline of religious 
 knowledge, and of pure profession and practice 
 
 " In adopting the rule now under consideration, I have 
 been obedient to the direction of Holy Scripture, which 
 has required a spiritual interpretation of its mysteries, 
 (1 Cor. ii. 12 15 :) they are not to be taken according to 
 the bare letter, (2 Cor. iii. 6,) nor in a carnal and worldly 
 acceptation (John vi. 26 63) 
 
Appendix. 401 
 
 " From these considerations, this third rule of inter- 
 pretation may be thus expressed : 
 
 "3. That as the kingdom of Christ, the object of the 
 Apocalyptic prophecies, is spiritual, so they are to be under- 
 stood in a spiritual sense. Spiritual things are to be com- 
 pared with spiritual, as says St. Paul (1 Cor. ii. 13). 
 A fourth general rule of interpretation has been also 
 adopted in the prosecution of this work. Not to attempt 
 the particular explanation of prophecies which remain yet 
 to be fulfilled." Preface to Annotations, pp. xvi xxiii. 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 Page 25, Note 3. Josephus thus gives the interpreta- 
 tion by Daniel of Nebuchadnezzar's vision. " The head 
 of gold signified thee, and the Babylonian kings which 
 were before thee ; and the two hands and shoulders in- 
 dicate that your empire shall be dissolved by two kings : 
 and their empire shall another (conqueror) destroy, 
 coming from the west, clad in brass ; and the strength of 
 this empire shall another put an end to, which shall be 
 like unto iron, and shall have power over all, because 
 of the strength of iron, inasmuch as it is more firm than 
 gold, and silver, and brass. Daniel also explained to the 
 king concerning the stone ; but I have not thought fit to 
 relate this, my business being to give a history of things 
 past and done, and not to write of things future. But if 
 any one, eager after truth, will not give over concerning 
 himself about it, so as to be desirous to learn concerning 
 things obscure whether they will happen, let him carefully 
 read the book of Daniel, which he will find among our 
 sacred writings." Antiq. Jud. lib. x. cap. 10, 4. It is 
 sufficiently clear, from the reserve which Josephus shews, 
 what he understood by the fourth empire. Evidently, 
 as Bp. Chandler observes, " he had a better reason than 
 he gave : he feared to offend the power in being, whose 
 protection he needed, and which, he foresaw, must be 
 offended, if he should publish the hope of his captive 
 
 D d 
 
402 Appendix. 
 
 nation, one day to subdue their conquerors." Defence of 
 Christianity, p. 105. 
 
 Page 27, Note 9. Theodoret thus proceeds : " Some 
 writers, then, (nvt c roivvv rwv o-iryypa^oov) have said that 
 the fourth kingdom, that is the iron, is Alexander the 
 Macedonian ; and that the feet, and toes of the feet, com- 
 posed of iron and clay, are the Macedonians who reigned 
 after him, of the lines of Ptolemy, and Seleucus, and An- 
 tiochus, and Demetrius, of whom some held sway feebly, 
 and some with great power, and made intermarriages, and 
 embraced mutual alliance. But they ought to have per- 
 ceived, in the first place, that the head of gold he declared 
 to be Nebuchadnezzar, that is, the kingdom of the Baby- 
 lonians or Assyrians. And this was succeeded by the 
 kingdom of the Persians and Medes at once ; for Cyrus 
 was sprung from both nations, and ruling over the one 
 and the other, having destroyed (tcaraXvaa^) the kingdom 
 of the Babylonians, ruled over the Persians. And the 
 kingdom of the Persians, being the second, Alexander the 
 Macedonian destroys (icaraXva) ; and of him the blessed 
 Daniel speaks as ruling over the whole earth. This king- 
 dom he named the third, and it was succeeded by none 
 other than that of the Romans. They ought, therefore, 
 in the first place, from the number, and from the further 
 circumstances which are shewn, to have understood and 
 perceived, that the kingdom of the Macedonians, that 
 is the brass, is the third, and that of the Romans the 
 fourth. And even if these points appeared to them to be 
 less certain, at least from the event they ought to have 
 discerned plainly the whole prediction. For, immediately 
 after having shewn the weak and clayey end of the iron 
 kingdom, he added (v. 44,) c And in the days of those 
 kings/ &c." 
 
 Page 30, Note 8. The objections which have been 
 made to the use of this passage from Sulpicius Severus 
 in illustration of Nebuchadnezzar's vision (see Todd's 
 Discourses, p. 51, Note), are met by the distinction, which 
 must be carefully observed, between the two ideas, of the 
 
Appendix. 403 
 
 division of the empire, in the sense in which it is said to 
 be "divided" (Dan. ii. 41) in regard to its component 
 elements, as being " part of potter's clay and part of 
 iron," and its division, in another sense, and at a later 
 period, into ten kingdoms. 
 
 Page 32, Note 3. With the passages quoted from St. 
 Jerome and St. Cyril (sup. pp. 27, 28 ; cf. pp. 66, 67), 
 testifying to the general tradition, and also the quotations 
 from Irenaeus (ibid.) and Hippolytus (pp. 29. 352), com- 
 pare Tertullian, de Resurr. Carnis, cap. 24 : (" Donee de 
 medio fiat quis, nisi Romanus status ? cujus abscessio in 
 decem reges dispersa Antichristum superclucet.") Also 
 S. Chrysost. in 2 Thess. ii., Ephrem Syrus, Serm. Ascet. 
 Op. t. i. p. 44. c. 
 
 Page 33, Note 7. We find, in the sixth century, 
 Cosmas Indicopleustes opposing the received interpreta- 
 tion (Christian. Opinio de Mundo, lib. ii. ap. Montfaucon. 
 Collect. Nov. Pat. t. ii. pp. 145, 146). But his writings 
 give proof that he is no authority on questions of inter- 
 pretation of prophecy ; while some of his views anticipate 
 those which have been, unhappily, too prevalent in modern 
 times. 
 
 Page 36, Note 4. The question is, Which are the kings 
 referred to, when it is said, " In the days of these kings 
 shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom," &c. ? " This 
 is explained," says Dr. Todd (Discourses, p. 53), "to 
 signify that, in the days of the kings who shall be at the 
 head of its several subdivisions," i. e. the ten subdivisions 
 of the fourth kingdom, " ( the God of heaven shall set up 
 a kingdom/ &c." He adds, in a note, " So verse 44 is 
 generally understood, if we adopt the reading of the pre- 
 sent Chaldee text. Dr. Gill," whom he goes on to quote, 
 " says : 
 
 " ' And in the days of these kings, fye.] Not of the 
 Babylonian, Persian, and Grecian kings, nor indeed of 
 the old Roman kings or emperors; but in the days of 
 these ten kings or kingdoms into which the Roman em- 
 
 D d2 
 
404 Appendix. 
 
 pire is divided, signified by the ten toes of different power 
 and strength.' Gill on the Prophets, Vol. ii. p. 273, col. 2. 
 fol. Lond. 1758." 
 
 For this interpretation, however, I do not find any 
 authority. The general consent of interpreters would seem 
 rather to understand the words to mean, (f during the suc- 
 cession of these four monarchies, and in the times of the 
 fast of them." (Lowth.) Dr. Maitland ("Attempt/' &c. 
 p. 7) observes of the fourth kingdom, that " it is stated 
 that it shall be, at its beginning, strong as iron, but after- 
 wards ( divided,' " adding, (e I presume we are to under- 
 stand ( divided ' among kings, for it is said (ver. 44), f In 
 the days of these kings ;' but no kings had been previ- 
 ously mentioned, unless it be thus by implication. (4.) 
 It is added, that they ' (I presume these kings) e shall 
 mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall 
 not cleave one to another.' (5.) That in the days of these 
 kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, which 
 shall break in pieces and consume all the others, and 
 stand for ever." From the fact, which Dr. Maitland 
 notices, that " no other kings had been mentioned " but 
 the four (see Lecture), it seems to me the natural and 
 legitimate conclusion, that those four are intended. Of 
 interpreters I will only quote St. Chrysostom, who gives 
 his undoubting interpretation of the words EV rate i?j 
 
 TMV |3a<7tXla)V fKElVWV - TUV 'PwjUCUWV ^Y]\OVOTl. He 
 
 ceeds to answer the question, TTWQ rag rjSij cr 
 j3a<rtXffae KaOaipel'y aXXa TO KaOaipttv tripa^ EV ale 
 roiatircu atni', EiKorwc f/zTrota. Op. torn. vi. p. 216. 
 
 Page 39, Note 4. In Matt. xxi. 44 (cf. Luke xx. 18), 
 the language of the former clause (KOI 6 Treawv ITTL rbv 
 \iOov TOVTOV, (TvvOXaaOr'iatTai) would recal to mind that 
 of Isai. viii. 14, 15 ; xxviii. 13 ; but then follows, 10' ov 
 & av TTcVp, XtKfii'iaet CIVTOV. Schleusner (Lex. N. T. in voc.) 
 gives as the sense of Xtjc/uaw, " 1 ) proprie : ventilo triticum, 
 ita ut minutte partes in auras dispergantur, frumentum 
 purgo, cribro, glumas et paleas a frumento ventilando 
 separo, a XtK/uoe* ov, 6, ventilabrum, vannus. In hac signi- 
 ficatione respondet apud Alexandrinos Hebr. iTH ven- 
 
Appendix. 405 
 
 tilavit frumentum. Ruth iii. 2 . . 2), metaphorice : cotitero, 
 comminuo et instar palearum dissipo, disjicio, et ex ad- 
 juncto : penitus perdo, deleo. Bis tantum legitur in N. T. 
 Matt. xxi. 44, Itf ov ' ay ireari, AfKjur/tm aurov, .... Luc. 
 xx. 18. In utroque loco sermo est de interitu .ac prenis 
 adversariorum religionis Christianas, maxime Judaeorum. 
 Dan. ii. 44, Afrrruva KCU At/c/irjo-tt iraaag TOLQ jSatrtAtt'ac, ubi 
 Chald. e)pn [*\DF\] a epD consumo, respondet." Cf. Lex. 
 Vet. Test, in voc. AfKjuaw. The sense of the words Xucpfaei 
 avrov in the two evangelists, is, in fact, that which is fully 
 developed in the words in Daniel (ver. 35), "Then was 
 the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, 
 broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the 
 summer threshing-floors ; and the wind carried them away, 
 that no place was found for them" 
 
 Page 40, Note 5. So Rosenmiiller (Schol. in loc.) who, 
 however, observes, " Interpretum plures, et Judaei et 
 Christiani, quarto hoc regno Romanum intelligunt, quam 
 sententiam nostra setate pluribus commendavit lo. Casp. 
 Velthusen in Animadverss. ad Dan. ii. 27 45, Helmstad. 
 1783, repet. in Commentatt. Theol. a Kuinoelio editis, Vol. 
 v. p. 361, seqq." Rosenmiiller, however, mentions another 
 quite novel hypothesis, proposed by Harenberg, who 
 would make the succession of kings to be the sons and 
 grandsons of Nebuchadnezzar, his successors in the em- 
 pire of Babylon, and the stone which smote the image 
 to be Cyrus. " Quam sententiam," he says, " sese pro- 
 basse miror Doederleinio in Notis ad Grotii Annotatt. vs. 
 34, et Scharfenbergio in ' Animadverss. in Daniel/ p. 35. 
 Quatuor partium statuae, quae Nebucadnezari in somnio 
 apparuit, eadem est ratio, qualis quatuor animalium, quae 
 Daniel in somnio vidit, cap. vii. lis autem non quatuor 
 singulos reges, sed quatuor imperia significari, perspicuum 
 est ex vss. 23, 24, illius capitis." 
 
 In regard to the four empires, and the Catholic Church 
 viewed as a kingdom, see Archdeacon Wilberforce's inter- 
 esting volume, u The Five Empires." 
 
406 Appendix. 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 Page 74, Note 6. The promise made to Abraham (in 
 Gen. xv. 18 21), including the whole land a from the 
 river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates," 
 makes mention of " the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and 
 the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and 
 the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and 
 the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." In Exod. xxiii. 23, 
 the nations of the land of Canaan are enumerated as con- 
 sisting of " the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Periz- 
 zites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites ;" 
 and the same in chap, xxxiii. 11. In Deut. vii. 1, are re- 
 counted the names of " seven nations/' the Girgashites 
 being added to the six above named. In Joshua i. 4, it is 
 said, " From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto 
 the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the 
 Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down 
 of the sun, shall be your coast." In Neh. ix. 8, where 
 the covenant made with Abraham is referred to, the land 
 promised to his seed is described as " the land of the 
 Canaanites, the Hittites. the Amorites, and the Perizzites, 
 and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites." Other instances 
 of a somewhat similar kind might be cited. 
 
 In regard to the Gothic nations and the ten kingdoms, 
 I cannot do better than refer to the following passage 
 from an unquestionable authority in this matter, Bossuet. 
 In his commentary on Rev. xvii. 12, he says : 
 
 " L'auteur du commentaire sur 1' Apocalypse attribue a 
 Saint Ambroise, et que nous avons vu etre Berengaude, 
 ecrivain du septieme siecle (Pref. n. 7), dit clairement que 
 par ces dix rois sont designes dix royaumes, c par qui 
 1'empire romain ' a ete detruit ; et il compte ces destruc- 
 teurs au nombre de dix, qui sont ' les Perses et les Sar- 
 rasins devenus maitres de PAsie; lesVandales de 1'Afrique; 
 les Goths de 1'Espagne ; les Lombards de 1'Italie ; les 
 Bourguignons de la Gaule ; les Franais de la Germanic; 
 les Huns de la Pannonic; les Alains et les Sueves de 
 
Appendix. 407 
 
 beaucoup d'autres pays qu'ils ont ravages.' II faut done 
 entendre par ces dix rois, ceux qui ruinerent Rome, et en 
 demembrerent 1'empire, principalement en Occident. Le 
 nombre de dix est grand pour des rois ; et il est vrai que 
 1'Occident est dechire presqu'en meme temps par un 
 grand nombre de rois qui composent de grands royaumes 
 de ces debris de 1'empire. On voit paroitre a peu pres 
 dans le meme temps les Vandales, les Huns, les Francs, 
 les Bourguignons, les Sueves, les Alains, les Herules, a 
 qui succedent les Lombards, les Allemands, les Saxons ; 
 plus que tous ceux-la, les Goths, qui sont les vrais de- 
 structeurs de 1'empire. Rien ne force a se tourmenter, 
 pour les reduire precisement au nombre de dix, encore 
 qu'on les y put a peu pres reduire par rapport aux 
 royaumes fixes qu'ils ont etablis. Mais un des secrets de 
 V interpretation des prophetes, est de ne pas chercher de 
 finesse ou il n'y en a point, et de ne se pas perdre dans les 
 minuses, quand on trouve de grands caracteres qui frappent 
 la vue d'abord. . . . Ici, sans qu'il soit besoin d'un plus 
 grand detail, c'est un caractere assez remarquable, que 
 d'un seul empire il se forme tant de grands royaumes, en 
 diverses provinces d'Espagne, en Afrique, dans la Gaule 
 Celtique, dans la Sequanoise, dans la Grande-Bretagne, 
 dans la Pannonie, dans 1'Italie, et ailleurs ; et que 1'em- 
 pire remain soit abattu dans sa source, c'est-a-dire, en 
 Occident ou il est ne, non point par un seul prince qui 
 commande en chef, comme il arrive ordinairement, mais 
 par 1'inondation de tant d'ennemis qui agissent tous inde- 
 pendamment les uns des autres." 
 
 Page 75, Note 8. Theodoret's language, in particular, 
 is very strong. f O juiv ovv ^taicapto^ Aav^X ravra 
 t&SaZtv' lyw 81, rwv 'lov&uwv KaTriyopiav iirl row 
 
 rivag MaKcSovticrjv jSadtXttay TO rtraprov Srjpiov CLTTO- 
 KaXioavrag' t'Sct 70/0 O.VTOVQ ovvt^tiv K. r. \ ..... 
 Toivvv rr)v 'Pw/naiK^v jSao-tXcfav voctv TO rcra/orov 
 fv yap Tty ravrrig rlXf<, ol JUEV Stica jSaatXftc Kara ravrov 
 ava<7T7jcrovrat K. r. X. Comment, in Dan. cap. vii. Op. t. ii. 
 p. 639. ed. Paris. 
 
408 Appendix. 
 
 Page 78, Note 1. The passage quoted from St. Jerome 
 in the text, with the remarkable enumeration which it con- 
 tains of ten barbarous nations, has been noticed by Bossuet, 
 in his tract " De Excidio Babylonis." Following up the 
 observations, quoted above, from his commentary on the 
 Apocalypse, he observes : " Sane magna imperia labe- 
 factari solent per magnum quendam ducem, certa imperii 
 
 sede profectum Non ita solutum est imperium Ro- 
 
 manum ; sed nullo certo victore, decem plus minusve reges 
 totidem regnorum conditores, nullo inter se juncti fcedere, 
 praedonum instar Romanas provincias invaserunt, Romaque 
 et Italia potiti sunt, ubi sedes erat imperii : unde ex pro- 
 vinciis, praesertim occidentalibus, nova regna, eaque am- 
 plissima et notissima, et ab omnibus historicis memorata, 
 
 conflata sunt In promptu est commemorare Visi- 
 
 gothos, Hunnos, Herulos, Longobardos, Burgundiones, 
 Francos, Suevos, Alanos .... quasi repente suscitatos. 
 .... Ad hunc regum decem locum Hieronymus alludebat, 
 cum imperio occidentali Romano, jam ante expugnatam 
 imminentes, Gluados, Vandalos, Sarmatas, Alanos, Ge- 
 pidos, Herulos, Saxones, Burgundos, Alemannos, Pan- 
 nonios, ad denarium numerum redigebat, ut numeranti 
 patebit." CEuvres de Bossuet, t. iv. pp. 76, 77 (ed. Ver- 
 sailles, 1815). 
 
 Page 80, Note 8. In a note by Dr. Jelf, on that part 
 of Bp. Jewel's Reply to Harding in which he is treating 
 of the supremacy, and of the testimony of Gregory 
 the Great against the title of "Universal Bishop/' "the 
 reader is advised," by the learned and careful editor, 
 " to peruse Gregory's Letters upon this subject entire ; 
 he will thus," Dr. Jelf observes, " be still better en- 
 abled," even than by Bp. Jewel's summary, " to appreciate 
 the nature and extent of that pope's indignation at the 
 very idea of any human being assuming a name which 
 belongs only to Christ himself." (Works of Bp Jewel, Vol. 
 ii. p. 143, note.) There are not fewer than ten letters of 
 Gregory on this subject, viz., lib. v. ep. 18 (Ad Johannem 
 Episcopum) ; ep. 19 (Ad Sabinianum Diaconum) ; q>. 
 20 (Ad Mauricium Augustum) ; ep. 21 (Ad Constuntinuin 
 
Appendix. 409 
 
 Augustam) ; ep. 43 (Ad Eulogium et Anastasium Epis- 
 copos) ; lib. vii. ep. 27 (Ad Anastasium Episcopum) ; ep. 
 31 (Ad Cyriacum Episcopum); ep. 33 (Ad Mauricium 
 Augustum) ; lib. viii. ep. 30 (Ad Eulogium Episcopum 
 Alexandrinum) ; lib. xiii. ep. 40 (Ad Cyriacum Patri- 
 archam Constantinopol.). (Op. t. ii. ed. Bened.) 
 
 Page 80, Note 9. For the origin and history of Odo- 
 acer, Theodoric the Ostrogoth, and the Lombards, re- 
 spectively, see Gibbon, chaps. 34 and 36, chap. 39, and 
 chap. 42. 
 
 Page 80, Note 1. That a minute historical view will 
 bear out the sketch referred to in the Lecture, will appear 
 to any one who will follow out the history in Gibbon. 
 It will there be seen how " Odoacer was the first barba- 
 rian who reigned in Italy, over a people who had once 
 asserted their just superiority above the rest of mankind ;" 
 and how, although " the king of Italy was not unworthy 
 of the high station to which his valour and fortune had 
 exalted him," "a monarchy destitute of national union 
 and hereditary right hastened to its dissolution ;" and, 
 " after a reign of fourteen years, Odoacer was oppressed 
 by the superior genius of Theodoric, king of the Ostro- 
 goths ; a hero alike excellent in the arts of peace and 
 prosperity, and whose name still excites and deserves 
 the attention of mankind/ 3 Chap. 36 (vol. iii. pp. 
 500. 504). 
 
 Following on the history, it will appear how " Italy 
 revived and flourished under the government of a Gothic 
 king, who might have deserved a statue among the best 
 and bravest of the ancient Romans " the " enterprise " 
 which he undertook having had this for its object (in the 
 words which he addressed to Zeno), to rescue " Italy, the 
 inheritance of the emperor's predecessors, and Rome it- 
 self, the head and mistress of the world," from "the 
 violence and oppression of Odoacer the mercenary ."- 
 Chap. 39 (vol. iv. pp. 2. 9). 
 
 Finally, it will be seen, in the further progress of the his- 
 tory, how " Alboin undertakes the conquest of Italy ;" 
 and, under its Lombard oppressors, " the expiring dignity 
 
410 Appendix. 
 
 of Rome was only marked by the freedom and energy of 
 her complaints." Chap. 45 (vol. iv. pp. 425. 441). 
 
 Page 82, Note 5. Mr. Charles Butler enters, at some 
 length, in the Notes subjoined to his historical sketch, 
 on the discussion of " the lawfulness of the dethronement 
 of Childeric by Pepin, and the lawfulness of the elevation 
 of Charlemagne to the Empire of the West, in exclusion 
 of the Greek emperors. 5 ' " Few subjects," he observes, 
 "formerly occasioned more discussion than these ques- 
 tions, and this discussion " had " been revived by the " 
 then "recent occurrences in France." He goes on to 
 say, " It presents two distinct subjects for consideration, 
 the conduct of Pepin and Charlemagne, and the conduct 
 of the Popes." 
 
 With regard to the former, he admits that, " I. A more 
 unjust usurpation than that of Pepin can scarcely be 
 imagined." It was, as he fully proves, " an act of glaring 
 injustice." (He contends, on the other hand, that " no 
 objection lies to the justice of Charlemagne s assumption 
 of the Western Empire.") 
 
 " II. In respect to the conduct of the popes towards 
 Pepin and Charlemagne," Mr. Butler observes, that " the 
 various texts of ancient writers which throw any light 
 on it, are collected by Launoy (Opera, torn. v. pars 2, 
 1. 12. epist. 9. p. 477 487), and may be seen in the ori- 
 ginals, in Dom Bouquet's Collection, torn, v." He says, 
 that " to suppose that the popes, in the time of Pepin and 
 Charlemagne, assumed a divine right to distribute king- 
 doms and principalities, is to ascribe to them the Hilde- 
 brandine principles, which the Roman see did not profess 
 till three centuries afterwards. But even in the times 
 of Pepin and Charlemagne," he goes on to say, " the 
 popes took on them to pronounce, that there are cases 
 in which it was lawful for subjects to dethrone their 
 sovereign and choose another; and also took on them- 
 selves to decide when these cases happened; and to 
 ascribe the justice of the measure, in some degree, to 
 the authority of their decision." Mr. Butler proceeds to 
 examine Father Daniel's "apology for the pope and his 
 
Appendix. 411 
 
 adherents" (Hist, de France, edit. 1755, vol. ii. p. 277), 
 grounded on the necessity or expediency of the case, &c., 
 which he pronounces " an exquisite morsel of casuistry ;" 
 for that, in fact, " it is only saying, in other words, that 
 the end sanctified the means ; a principle of the most dan- 
 gerous tendency, and never more dangerous than when, 
 as on an occasion, like that under consideration, it is used 
 to justify injustice done for the supposed good of reli- 
 gion 
 
 "But it is by no means clear," says Mr. Butler, "that 
 the popes acted on the principles suggested by Father 
 Daniel. On the contrary, they appear to have decided 
 the question by the genuine whiggish principle of the 
 correlative rights and duties of allegiance and protection. 
 They found that Pepin was in possession of all the powers 
 of government; on the legality of his acquiring or con- 
 tinuing to hold them, their opinion was not required ; the 
 only fact stated to them was, that the sovereign power 
 was in the hands of Pepin; with an intimation of the 
 inability of the Merovingian princes to recover it. Upon 
 this statement, their opinion was asked, whether, as Pepin 
 had the power, it was lawful to give him the name, and 
 to acquiesce in his exercising the functions, of king. To 
 this they answered in the affirmative ; and their answer, 
 in this view of the case " (the italics are Mr. Butler's), 
 "does them honour." Mr. Butler refers to the "Abrege 
 Chronologique de PHistoire Generale de PItalie," by the 
 Abbe St. Marc. 
 
 Without entering here upon a discussion, on political 
 grounds, of the questions here raised, it will appear suffi- 
 ciently, from what has been said, how easily the power 
 claimed by the Papacy might, in the further development 
 of principles and progress of events, be enlisted in behalf 
 of the most revolutionary theories and destructive move- 
 ments of the " latter days." 
 
 Page 85, Note 4. After some remarks on " the usurp- 
 ation of Hugh Capet," which, Mr. Butler pronounces, 
 " was less objectionable than Pepin's," he goes on to say 
 (writing in the early part of the present century), " From 
 
412 Appendix. 
 
 Hugh Capet the sceptre of France has been regularly 
 transmitted to our time, in a course of hereditary descent 
 from male to male : we have lived to behold its lamentable 
 end. After a long scene of anarchy, Buonaparte has pos- 
 sessed himself of the vacant throne, and given the French 
 monarchy the more splendid title of an empire ; and Pius 
 the Seventh has repeated, in his regard, at Paris, some- 
 thing like the splendid ceremonies which Zachary and 
 Leo performed for Pepin and Charlemagne at Soissons 
 and Rome." 
 
 Mr. Butler proceeds to consider this (at that time) 
 recent instance of fresh relations between the Papacy and 
 a new throne of empire reared out of a Gallican revolution. 
 " The crimes and horrors of the preceding stages of the 
 French revolution, or the deposition of Lewis the Six- 
 teenth/' he says, " it is impossible even to palliate ;" but 
 " in defence of Buonaparte's assumption of the sovereign 
 power of France much may be alleged. The throne of 
 France was vacant; the exiled princes had no visible 
 means of regaining it ; and it was manifest that nothing, 
 but the strong arm of absolute power, could restore order 
 
 and good government to the country, &c. &c After 
 
 such a convulsion, if it were not necessary, it certainly 
 was justifiable, for the pope to concur in any measure 
 that tended to quiet the consciences of the timorous and 
 establish general tranquillity. This appears to* be the 
 light in which the part he acted at Buonaparte's coro- 
 nation should be viewed ; and, viewing it in this light, 
 whatever blame seems imputable to Pope Zachary, none 
 seems to attach to Pope Pius the Seventh." The further 
 proceedings of the pope and Buonaparte, in the ecclesi- 
 astical affairs of France, appealed against by some of the 
 Gallican prelates, as contrary to the canons of the Church, 
 Mr. Butler defends by the " ( dominium altum,' or the right 
 of providing for extraordinary cases by extraordinary acts 
 of authority ;" and that " ' dominium altum ' in the spiritual 
 concerns of the Church," Roman Catholics could not, 
 "consistently with their own principles, deny to the 
 successor of St. Peter." 
 
 These passages of history, and the questions arising out 
 
Appendix. 413 
 
 of them, as discussed by Romanists, are here referred to, 
 simply to exhibit the position in which the see of Rome 
 is liable continually to find itself placed, almost inevitably, 
 as the immediate and necessary result of the extraordinary 
 monarchical power, in things spiritual, to which it has 
 laid claim. 
 
 Page 85, Note 5. Chald. VD"] ]JD"13 *T TV " donee 
 throni positi sunt" [ Vulg.] Sed Vlp*] Geierus et quidam alii 
 interpretes reddunt dejecti sunt, quod verbum ND*| non de 
 
 collocatione decora, sed de violenta dejectione usurpatur 
 
 supra iii. 6. 15. 20. 21. 24. vi. 17 Ita vero antici- 
 
 paretur quodammodo hujus visionis explicatio, quae demum 
 inde a versu 23. sequitur. Praeterea quod statim Senex 
 consedisse dicitur, arguit, eum insedisse uni illorum thro- 
 norum, qui igitur collocati esse debuerunt. Quemadmodum 
 Hebraeum iTT jecit, etposuit, collocavit denotat, ut Genes. 
 
 xxxi. 51. WT "IttfN m-^Drr statua, quam collocavi; ita et 
 
 T v -; T 
 
 Chaldaicum ND*j jecit, et ponendi, collocandi significatum 
 
 obtinet ; hinc Esr. vii. 24, et in Targum 2 Reg. xviii. 14, 
 
 imponere tributum denotat Collocandi significationem 
 
 et h. 1. veteres omnes expresserunt. Throni autem illi 
 destinati procul dubio erant assessoribus judicii, de quo 
 vs. 10." Rosenmiiller, Schol. in loc. Cf. S. Chrysost. 
 in loc. Etra Spovoi ert^rjo-av* 01 Opovoi Iv otc Ka0>'j<T(T0, 
 <jf)j(Ti, 7Ti S(o8fKa Opovovg. [Matt. xix. 28.] Comm. in 
 Dan. Op. t. vi. p. 239. 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Page 99, Note 8. Dr. Todd, in his careful and accu- 
 rate notes, has shewn how manifold were the divisions of 
 Alexander's kingdom. It is but justice, however, if not 
 to other expositors, at all events to Sir Isaac Newton, to 
 say, that he states as fully (Observations, p. 170) as does 
 
414 Appendix. 
 
 Dr. Todd in his summary (p. 175, Note w ), the distri- 
 bution of command which took place on Alexander's 
 death. The turning point, however, in the history, in its 
 relation to the prophecy, is when the successors of Alex- 
 ander appeared as kings, having, in the language of the 
 book of Maccabees, " put crowns upon themselves ;" 
 which, undoubtedly, was not immediately " after his death/' 
 but some seventeen years after. Then, as stated in Dr. 
 Todd's summary, "after the murder of Alexander and 
 the defeat of Ptolemy by Demetrius at sea, Antigonus 
 and Demetrius take the title of king, and this example 
 is imitated by Lysimachus, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Cas- 
 sander." Or, as Sir Isaac Newton states it, " upon a 
 great victory at sea got by Demetrius, the son of Anti- 
 gonus, over Ptolemy, Antigonus took upon himself the 
 
 title of king, and gave the same title to his son 
 
 After his example, Seleucus, Cassander, Lysimachus, and 
 Ptolemy, took upon themselves the title and dignity of 
 kings, having abstained from this honour while there 
 remained any of Alexander's race to inherit the crown. 
 Thus the monarchy of the Greeks, for want of an heir, 
 was broken into several kingdoms' 7 (Cf. sup. p. 96.) Five 
 years later was the battle of Ipsus, when Antigonus was 
 slain, and his dominions divided between Lysimachus and 
 Seleucus. Venema, whom Dr. Todd follows, says, " An- 
 tigonus, posteaquam Demetrius Ptolemaeum ingente clade 
 adfecisset, et Cyprum ei eripuisset, hoc rerum suarum 
 successu elatus, primus diadema sumsit, et Demetrio 
 quoque imposuit. Quod cum fcederati mox imitarentur, 
 sex reges subito in scenam prodierunt, Antigonus, Deme- 
 trius, Ptolema3us, Lysimachus, Cassander, et ultimus 
 Seleucus, qui per orientern ditionis suse pomoeria jam 
 
 dilataverat Bello deinde majoribus utrinque viribus 
 
 renovato, et proelio decretorio apud Ipsum in Phrygia 
 commisso, Antigonus debellatus, et occisus, regnumque 
 
 ejus extinctum est Victores vero reges totum Anti- 
 
 goni et Demetrii regnum, ut verbis Plut. in Demetrio, p. 
 902, utar, c sicut magnum corpus discerptum diviserunt 
 inter se, suisque provinciis adjunxerunt.' Ex hac quarta 
 et ultima divisione Ptolemaus regnum suum retinuit, 
 
>. 415 
 
 eique adjunxit Coelesyriam, Phoenician!, et Judaeam ; Ly- 
 simachus praeter Thraciam accepit Bithyniam, aliasque 
 regiones ad latus Asiaticum Hellespont! et Bospori, Cas- 
 sander Macedonian! et Graeciam consecutus est, Seleucus 
 reliqua Asiae, adeo ut ab eo tempore regnum Syro Mace- 
 donum condiderit." It would appear, from the very lan- 
 guage in which the kingdom of Antigonus and Demetrius 
 is here spoken of, that it was to be regarded as one ; and 
 we have then the five, including Seleucus, reduced, after 
 the battle of Ipsus, to four. Venenia adds, indeed, " Su- 
 pererat Demetrius, multas in Asia regiones tenens, mox 
 iis relictis Macedonian! occupans." He goes on, however, 
 to say, f( Cum vero regno Macedoniae et Graeciae non con- 
 tentus, Asiam invadere, et regnum paternum recuperare 
 adgrederetur, Lysimachum, Ptolemaeum, et Seleucum, 
 fcederatos in se concitavit : novique, sed sibi fatalis, belli 
 semina jecit," &c 
 
 Dr. Todd, no doubt, is fully borne out in the statement 
 that the 6( divisions " of Alexander's empire were fe ex- 
 tremely numerous, and " that " a more close inspection of 
 the history will shew that it is impossible to fix upon any 
 four of them (even if we consent to neglect the rest) 
 that remained as kingdoms in the same condition for 
 twenty years together" (p. 504). Still, I think, the his- 
 tory will be found to reflect the language of the pro- 
 phecy, carefully considered in itself, declaring, as it does, 
 simply that, in the place of the great horn, came up four 
 conspicuous ones towards the four winds of heaven. And 
 it will be recollected, that these kingdoms are only men- 
 tioned as preparatory to the description of the power 
 which arose out of one of them, out of that one which 
 Venema specifies as founded by Seleucus, and dating from 
 this final division of Alexander's empire. 
 
 It must be observed, also, in regard to the ancient 
 expositors, that, when they spoke of the four kingdoms 
 which arose out of Alexander's empire, they were not 
 unmindful of its manifold division. St. Jerome distinctly 
 notices it (as does also Theodoret), on the words (Dan. 
 xi. 4), " his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others 
 beside those ;" where, in the earlier part of the verse, it 
 
416 Appendix. 
 
 had been said, " his kingdom shall be broken, and shall 
 be divided toward the four winds of heaven." He says, 
 "Prater regna quattuor Macedonia^ Asiae, Syriae, et 
 ^Egypti, etiam in alias obscuriores et minores reges Mace- 
 donum regnum laceratum est. Significat autem Per- 
 diccam, et Crateron, et Lysimachum. Nam Cappadocia, 
 et Armenia, Bithynia, et Heraclia, Bosphorusque et aliae 
 provinciae de potestate Macedonum recedentes, diversos 
 sibi reges constituerunt." 
 
 Page 121, Note 5. Vid. inf. Lecture X. p. 306, and 
 Note. 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 Page 13.2, Note 9. The views put forward in the " His- 
 tory of the Jews," in regard to the sacred history gene- 
 rally, and the miracles which it records in particular, 
 attracted much attention at the time of its publication : 
 I do not know that the manner in which it spoke of 
 sacred prophecy was equally noticed. I refer to it here, 
 in connexion with the immediate subject of these Lectures, 
 as shewing how, if Neologianism find entrance amongst 
 us, it will probably not directly deny the power of the 
 prophetic Spirit, but tacitly resolve it into efforts of 
 human genius or imagination, natural sagacity or poli- 
 tical prescience. The historian's account of the prophets 
 is as follows : 
 
 ec As the storm darkened over the Hebrew kingdom, 
 the voices of the prophets became louder and more wild ; 
 those whose writings have been preserved in our sacred 
 volume now come upon the scene. In their magnificent 
 lyric odes, we have a poetical history of these momentous 
 times, not merely describing the fall of the two Hebrew 
 nations, but that of the adjacent kingdoms likewise. As 
 each independent tribe or monarchy was swallowed up in 
 the great universal empire of Assyria, the seers of Judah 
 watched the progress of the invader, and uttered their 
 
Appendix. 417 
 
 sublime funeral anthems over the greatness, and the pros- 
 perity, and independence of Moab and Amnon, Da- 
 mascus., and Tyre. They were like the great tragic chorus 
 to the awful drama which was unfolding itself in the 
 eastern world. Nor did they confine their views to their 
 own internal affairs, or to their own immediate neigh- 
 bourhood. Jonah appeared as a man under Divine in- 
 fluence in Nineveh ; and Nahum described the subsequent 
 fate of that spacious city, in images which human ima- 
 gination or human language have never surpassed. 
 
 " Still, in general, the poets of Judaea were pre-emi- 
 nently national. It is on the existing state, the impending 
 dangers, arid future prospects of Ephraim and Judah, that 
 
 they usually dwell In Judah, Joel described the 
 
 successive calamities which desolated the country. But 
 Isaiah not only took a great share in all the affairs of the 
 successive reigns from Azariah to Hezekiah, described or 
 anticipated all the wars, conquests, and convulsions, which 
 attended the rise and fall of the Assyrian and Babylonian 
 dynasties, but penetrated still further into futurity. To 
 Isaiah may be traced the first clear and distinct inti- 
 mations of the important influence to be exercised by the 
 Jews on the destiny of mankind the promise of the 
 Messiah, and the remote prospects of future grandeur, 
 which tended so strongly to form their national character, 
 and are still the indissoluble bond which has held together 
 this extraordinary people through centuries of dispersion, 
 persecution, and contempt. Still blind to the fulfilment 
 of all these predictions in the person and spiritual king- 
 dom of Christ, the Jew, in every age and quarter of the 
 world, dwells on the pages of his great national prophet, 
 and with undying hope looks forward to the long-delayed 
 coming of the Deliverer." Hist, of the Jews, vol. i. pp. 
 302304. 
 
 The last sentence, happily, redeems what had gone be- 
 fore from the impression which would be derived from it, 
 unaccompanied by the sequel. 
 
 Page 134, Note 4. The manner in which this king is 
 first mentioned has given rise to the idea, unfounded, 
 
 E e 
 
418 Appendix. 
 
 I think, of some error in the Hebrew original. It stands 
 thus, "And the king of the south shall be strong, and 
 one of his princes, and he shall be strong above him " 
 (Dan. xi. 5). "There is manifestly/' says Bp. Newton, 
 " either some redundance or some defect in the Hebrew 
 copy ; which should be rendered, as it is by the Seventy, 
 * And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his 
 princes shall be strong above him ;' or perhaps may 
 better be rendered thus, f And the king of the south shall 
 be strong, and one of his princes ; and the king of the 
 north shall be strong above him, and have dominion ; his 
 dominion shall be a great dominion."' It cannot be 
 doubted, I think, that the subject of the latter part of the 
 verse is Seleucus Nicator; but the text as it stands is 
 more correct historically, than with the emendation which 
 has been supposed to be necessary. 
 
 Page 135, Note 5. Bp. Newton's observation, I am 
 well aware, has been regarded as, in fact, a confession, 
 " that the discrepancies and deficiencies of the original 
 historians have made it less difficult for commentators 
 to shape the history to their peculiar interpretations of 
 prophecy." " In this way," it is said, " the prophecy has 
 been used to give a colour to the history, and the history 
 is then employed as an evidence for the interpretation 
 given to the prophecy." (Todd, p. 176, note.) If, in any 
 case, the statements of historians have been warped by 
 expositors, to suit the sacred text of which they have 
 supposed it to be the fulfilment, the process has, doubt- 
 less, been an inversion of that which is the correct and 
 legitimate one ; but it is the observation of St. Jerome 
 himself, "Ad intelligendas autem extremas partes Da- 
 nielis, multiplex Graecorum historia necessaria est." (Cf. 
 sup. cit. p. 118, note 2.) 
 
 Page 135, Note 6. 'AXX' ofiwe, Qiiai) KOL Xiav 
 
 jucra TroXXfje rjS" irspiovatat; KCU 
 KCU K/oar?'j<m rfje jSatnXtme SoXy (ruvcp-yw, KCU 
 juaXXov xpwjufvoe* TOUTO KCU Iv rp Sturepa 
 o fjiaKapiO iOtacraro Aavti^X, KCU r/icov(T row ayiov 
 
Appendix. 419 
 
 CLVTOV fmtyavviiGETaC KOL &a<0pa 7roXXoi>e, 
 
 Xet<jl TToXXwV GTl]<JTai' KOL tVTdvOa WGaVTOJg, 
 
 yap, 0rj<ri, j3a<jL\eiac; Iv oXiffOrifjiafft. Theodoret, m loc. 
 
 Page 142, Note 8. Sir Isaac Newton says, in his 
 comment on these words, " e And after him arms/ that 
 is the Romans, 6 shall stand up.' As "POD signifies f after 
 the king/ Dan. xi. 8, so "OED may signify < after him." 
 Bishop Newton adds, in a note, " So NYTil JiyiTp, 
 Nehem. xiii. 21, is f after that time,' or ' from that time 
 forth.' So likewise, in this very chapter, ver. 23, 
 IvN JTnnnniT'lD is translated ' after the league made 
 with him.' See the particle p, in Noldius and Taylor's 
 Concordance." 
 
 In regard to these instances, it must be observed that, 
 in Dan. xi. 8, the particle has the sense of ' after' only as 
 implied in the construction of the clause, " he shall con- 
 tinue [more] years than the king of the north." So also 
 in Neh. xiii. 21, "from that time" is, no doubt, equivalent 
 to " after that time." So again, in v. 23 of this chapter, 
 " after the league," proceeding from the league, " made with 
 him he shall work deceitfully." But there is no perfect 
 analogy between these cases and that in which it is pro- 
 posed to render, "arms shall stand up from him," as 
 though it were equivalent to this, " arms shall stand up 
 after him." It has been suggested, however, that if the 
 language of the original " be thought to require a closer 
 connexion between Antiochus and the ' arms ' here men- 
 tioned," than is supplied by mere succession in time, 
 "this existed in the case of the Romans, no less really 
 than in that of Apollonius and his forces, who ravaged 
 Jerusalem." "The Roman arms stood up from Antiochus, 
 as they crept stealthily into the management of his king- 
 dom after his death, and began to usurp superiority over 
 the Jewish nation." Birks' " Two later Visions of Da- 
 niel" (pp. 242, 243). There is still, however, great 
 difficulty, I think, in this interpretation. St. Jerome 
 notices it as that of the Jews, opposed herein to those 
 who would interpret the prophecy either of Antiochus, or 
 
 E e 2 
 
420 Appendix. 
 
 of Antichrist, or of both. Referring first to those who 
 understood it of Antiochus, he says, "Volunt autem eos 
 significari qui ab Antiocho missi sunt post biennium quam 
 templura exspoliaverat, ut tributa exigerent a Judaeis, et 
 auferrent cultum Dei; et in templo Jerusalem, Jovis 
 Olympii simulachrum et Antiochi statuas ponerent, quas 
 nunc ( abominationem desolationis ' vocat : quando ab- 
 latum est holocaustum et juge sacrificium. Quae uni- 
 versa in typo Antichristi, nostri praecessisse contendunt ; 
 qui sessurus est in templo Dei, et se facturus ut Deum. 
 Jud&i autem hoc nee de Antiocho Epiphane, nee de Anti- 
 christo ; sed de Romanis intelligi volunt, de quibus supra 
 dictum est, ' Et venient trieres, 3 sive Itali atque Romani, 
 et humiliabitur. Post multa, inquit, tempora, de ipsis 
 Romanis, qui Ptolemaeo venere auxilio, et Antiocho com- 
 minati sunt, consurget rex Vespasianus, surgent brachia 
 ejus, et semina, Titus films, cum exercitu; et polluent 
 sanctuarium, auferentque juge sacrificium, et templum 
 tradent aeternae solitudini." 
 
 Page 144, Note 6. St. Jerome introduces the refer- 
 ence to Antichrist with the 21st verse, in his comment on 
 which he observes, " Hucusque ordo historiae sequitur ; 
 et inter Porphyrium ac nostros nulla contentio est. 
 Caetera quae sequuntur usque ad finem voluminis, ille 
 interpretatur super persona Antiochi qui cognominatus 
 est f Epiphanes/ frater Seleuci, films Antiochi Magni, qui 
 post Seleucum undecim annis regnavit in Syria ; obti- 
 nuitque Judaeam, sub quo legis Dei persecutio, et Macha- 
 baeorum bella narrantur. Nostri autem hcec omnia de Anti- 
 christo prophetari arbitrantur, qui ultimo tempore futurus 
 est. Quumque eis videatur illud opponi ; quare tantos 
 in medio reliquerit sermo propheticus, a Seleuco usque ad 
 consummationem mundi ; respondent quod et in priori 
 historia ubi de regibus Persicis dicebatur, quattuor tantum 
 reges post Cyrum Persarum posuerit ; et multis in medio 
 transilitis, repente venerit ad Alexandrum regem Mace- 
 donum : et hanc esse Scripturae sanctae consuetudinem, 
 non universa narrare ; sed ea quae majora videantur 
 exponere." 
 
Appendix. 421 
 
 The principle thus laid down would, doubtless, in its 
 most general form, apply to an outline marking principal 
 events through many centuries ; but it would evidently 
 apply more specially and strictly in the case of a rapid 
 transition, bridging over (so to speak) a long intermediate 
 period, as in the case of type and antitype. 
 
 Page 145, Note 7. St. Jerome thus continues the pas- 
 sage quoted in the preceding note: " Quumque multa 
 qua postea lecturi et exposituri sumus super Antiochi persona 
 conveniant, typum eum volunt Antichristi habere : et qua in 
 illo ex parte prcecesserint, in Antichristo ex toto esse com- 
 plenda. Et hunc esse morem Scripture sanctae, ut fu- 
 turorum veritatem praemittat in typis, juxta illud quod de 
 Domino Salvatore in septuagesimo primo Psalmo dicitur, 
 qui praenotatur Salomonis ; et omnia quae de eo di- 
 cuntur, Salomoni non valent convenire. Neque enim 
 permansit ille cum sole et ante lunam generationis 
 generationum : neque dominatus est a mari usque ad 
 mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos orbis terrarum; 
 nee omnes gentes servierunt ei ; neque ante solem per- 
 mansit nomen ejus : nee benedictae sunt in ipso omnes 
 tribus terrse : neque omnes gentes magnificaverunt eum. 
 Ex parte autem et quasi in umbra, et imagine veritatis in 
 Salomone praemissa sunt; ut in Domino Salvatore per- 
 fectius implerentur. Sicut igitur Salvator habet et Sa- 
 lomonem et caeteros Sanctos in typum adventus sui ; sic 
 et Antichristus pessimum regem Antiochum, qui sanctos 
 persequutus est, templumque violavit recte typum sui 
 habuisse credendus est. Sequamur igitur expositionis 
 ordinem, et juxta utramque explanationem, quid adver- 
 sariis, quid nostris videatur, breviter annotemus." 
 
 Page 148, Note 2. Our Authorized Version, in the pas- 
 sage of St. Paul, 2 Thess. ii. 3 8, seems hardly to express, 
 as clearly as the original, what would appear to be the 
 essential principle and root of the varied manifestations 
 and developments of Antichristian error and transgression. 
 Lawlessness, it would seem, is, throughout, the charac- 
 teristic marked by the Apostle. For the title 6 avOpwiroG 
 rijc a/uaprtae, "the man of sin " (ver. 3), might be inter- 
 
422 Appendix. 
 
 preted by St. John's words, TTCLQ 6 TTOIMV rr)v a/mapriav, KCLI 
 rrjv avofjiiav iroiti' KCLI ij a/uLapria tfrriv 11 avopla (1 John 
 iii. 4). And the revelation of "the man of sin," thus de- 
 scribed, is identical with the revelation of te that wicked " 
 afterwards spoken of. For the mystery of inquity, law- 
 lessness (avo/itae), doth already work; only he who now 
 letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And 
 then shall the lawless one (6 avojuoc) be revealed" 
 (w. 7, 8). That the spirit of lawlessness threatens to 
 characterise fearfully the "latter days," and that there 
 are not wanting signs, in the present state of the world, 
 of a ready coalition between the principles of Papal super- 
 stition and democratic irreligion, is a subject which can 
 here only be commended to the consideration of the 
 thoughtful. As regards the former, Dr. Wordsworth's 
 " Letters to M. Gondon " and " Sequel " may be referred 
 to, for proofs of " the destructive character of the Church 
 of Rome, both in religion and policy." 
 
 Page 150, Note 7. Cf. S. Hieron. Algasiae, quaest. xi. 
 on the text in 2 Thess. (ii. 4.) "Et extollitur supra 
 omne quod dicitur Deus, ut cunctarum gentium deos, sive 
 probatam omnem et veram religionem suo calcet pede ; et 
 in Templo Dei, vel lerosolymis, (ut quidam putant,) vel 
 in Ecclesia, (ut verius arbitramur,) sederit, ostendens se 
 tanquam ipse sit Christus, et films Dei." Op. torn. iv. 
 pars i. p. 209 (ed. Bened.). St. Jerome, however, it 
 must be observed, in accordance with the general opinion 
 in early times, interpreted the prophecy of Daniel of the 
 sacred mountains of Palestine, and, definitely, the mount 
 of Olivet, on which, it was believed, Antichrist would 
 finally fall. And, indeed, the language of the prophecy 
 appears so distinct and definite in its description of the 
 taking possession of a ( glorious holy mountain," espe- 
 cially when viewed in connexion with the mention of 
 Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, &c., the tidings out of the 
 north and east, &c., that it can hardly, perhaps, be under- 
 stood otherwise than as marking out some spot emphati- 
 cally so described, whatever that spot may be. 
 
Appendix. 423 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Page 185, Note 8. Cf. Spencer de Legibus Hebr. (Lib. 
 iii. cap. 3. diss. v.). "Secundo vox c cherub/ ad fortem, 
 potentem, et validum significandum in Scripturis usurpa- 
 tur. Hunc sensum voci affigendum decent Dei ad regem 
 Tyri verba, TODE HVO JIN i. e. interprete Tremellio, 
 4 Tu cherub eras, ex quo unxi te/ &c. Ubi procul dubio 
 vox ilia potentiam et magnitudinem illam indicat, qua rex 
 ille vicinos, imo et semetipsum superavit, ex quo Deus 
 ilium ad sedem regiam evexisset. Earn etiam notationem 
 astruit cognata Syrorum dialectus, in qua fcOVD potentem 
 et magnum, et NJTQVD vim aut fortitudinem sonare Lexi- 
 corum consensu comprobatum est. [This sense, however, 
 of the Syriac seems questionable. Vid. Ges. Lex. in voc.~\ 
 Hisce firmitatis aliquid addit Philo, (Lib. de Profug. p. 
 465,) qui tradit [haud dubie ex Hebraeorum disciplina] 
 per e Cherubim 5 rag TOV "OvroQ Swa/miic, r{]v re Tro^rt/ojv 
 KOI j3a<TtXtK/7v, c potentias ejus qui est,creatricem et regalem/ 
 designari ; et iXaarripiov fuisse crv/mfioXov rfje iXtw TOV 
 Gcou $vvafjiijj, ' symbolum propitias Dei potential Est 
 itaque cur credatur, vocem ' Cherub 9 apud Hebraeos anti- 
 quiores potentia notationem habuisse, quarnvis significa- 
 tionis hujus antiquae vix ulla, nisi in cognato Syrorum 
 idiomate, supersint vestigia ; . . . . hasc animum inducunt 
 opinari, vocem ' Cherub ' fortitudinis significatum apud 
 Hebraeos antiquiores habuisse. Inde vero res haec mihi 
 penitus confirmatur, quod Deus in sacris literis nunquam 
 ' super Cherubim sedere ' vel ' equitare ' dicatur, nisi cum 
 illius potentia et fortitude celebranda vel invocanda 
 veniat." .... 
 
 He refers to 1 Sam. iv. 4; 2 Kings xix. 15; Psal. Ixxx. 
 1; xcix. 1; xviii. 11 (Cf. sup. pp. 168 172), and then 
 goes on to say, " Quid autem sancti viri, Dei sessionem inter 
 Cherubinos, tanquam firmissimum potentiae argumentum 
 toties adhiberent : nisi quod ( Cherubim ' fortes et validos 
 olim denotaret, ideoque certum potentiae divinae rebus 
 suis affuturae omen et argumentum inde capiendum existi- 
 
424 Appendix. 
 
 marent ? Hisce nonnihil praesidii praebent Procopii verba 
 (in Genes, c. 3. p. 79) : f Scriptura solet vocare Cherubim, 
 quicquid potens est. Id vel inde patet : " Qui sedet super 
 Cherubim/ 5 id est, qui potens est regnare: "Ascendit 
 super Cherubim et eTriTaaOrj" i. e. cum multa et magna 
 advenit potential " pp. 844, 845. 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 Page 203, Note 6. Mede says, on the first seal, " Pri- 
 mus imperil Romani casus et sane insignis, primordium 
 est victorias Christi ; qua Dei Romani debellari, eorumque 
 cultores, sagittis evangelii confixi, passim deficere, Christo- 
 que victori colla submittere incipiunt. 'Ei)A0 (inquit) 
 VLKWV, KOL (N.B.) tva viKriari' id est, Nondum jam plene 
 vicit, sed fundamenta jecit victoriae, deinde magis ma- 
 gisque complendae. 
 
 . . . . " Sequentium quidem Sigillorum initia impera- 
 toribus Romanis diriguntur: sed ubi Christi res gesta 
 describitur, ejus solius Imperatoris ratio habenda fuit" 
 Comment. Apocalypt. (Works, p. 442.) 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 Page 251, Note 8. It appears to me, that these words 
 of our Blessed Lord will not admit of any interpretation, 
 other than that which would refer them to the generation 
 then living. The words, as they stand in St. Matthew, are 
 Xl-yw v/uuv, \_OTI, Mark and Luke] ou JUT) 7raplA0y ?j 
 avrrj ewe v {j*&XP*G ^ Mark] iravra ravra yevrjrai 
 av iravTa yivr)Tm, Luke]. The concluding verb is, 
 perhaps, best rendered in our Version, in St. Mark's 
 Gospel, " till all these things be done" I cannot think 
 that 17 7vea aurij can be understood of the Jewish na- 
 tion, through many generations, or of the human race. It 
 
Appendix. 425 
 
 would appear that, down to this point in His prophecy, 
 our Blessed Lord is answering His disciples' question as 
 to "the sign of" His "coming/' and then proceeds to 
 speak of that other day of His final coming, and " of the 
 end of the world." And upon this, it would seem, He 
 enters in the following verse, in which it is said, " But of 
 that day and hour knoweth no man," &c. 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 Page 258, Note 1. The words in St. Ignatius, IVTOQ TOV 
 0u<naorrjptov may be illustrated by a reference to Rev. xi. 
 1 (cf. sup. pp. 291 293), and by Mede's note on that 
 place. He observes, " Ovaiaari'ipiov non altare tantum 
 holocaust!, quod ibi situm, sed spatium etiam circum- 
 jectum, id est, totum altaris et sacrificii locum designat ; 
 ut ex verbis ei proxime cohaerentibus colligitur, KOL 
 
 7TpO(TKVVOVVTag V dVTWy id CSt, V TO) 3"U(na<TT?Jpt(j). Q,UO- 
 
 modo etiam v<rta<rrf)piov sumitur cap. 14. v. 18. et cap. 
 16. 7. Vide Bezam. Unde Lexicon vetus Graecolat. Svma- 
 orrjptov interpretatur ( Altarium,' ' Sacrarium,' " . . . . And 
 in a note he observes, " Ita Socrates Svaiavrripiov vocat, 
 non sacram mensam, sed ecparaov. Vid. lib. i. cap. 25. 
 Gr. A?', et confer cum Theodoreto, lib. i. cap. 14. Vide 
 et Canon. Trull. 69. Zosimum lib. 5. TpcnrtZa TOV KaXov- 
 julvou Surnaarrjpf'ou. Item Nicephorum lib. viii. cap. 30, 
 disertiss." 
 
 Page 279, Note 5. " The pretensions of the Gnostics 
 to penetrate the depths of God," Dr. Burton observes, 
 " may perhaps be alluded to in Rev. ii. 24, by the words 
 TO. flaOi) TOV 2arava. This was the opinion of Hammond, 
 ' de Antichristo,' III. i. p. 5." Burton's Bampton Lec- 
 tures, p. 84, note. It will be recollected what a prominent 
 place was assigned to fivOog in the Gnostic genealogies, as 
 the First Cause of all things. See Burton, p. 394; Bp. of 
 Lincoln's Clement of Alexandria, pp. 277280, &c. 
 
426 Appendix. 
 
 Page 280, Note 3. It can hardly, I think, be doubted 
 that heresies of the Gnostic family were those which the 
 apostles refer to, when they speak of false teachers, de- 
 ceivers, and Antichrists, as already in the world, and warn 
 their disciples against them. See 2 Tim. iii. 6 9 ; Tit. i. 
 11; 1 Johnii. 18, 19, &c. 
 
 Page 282, Note 6. " M. Matter, after noticing the minor 
 sects which harassed the outset of Christianity, and the 
 attempts to unite Judaism and Christianity, as shewn in 
 the Nazarene and the Ebionite sects, observes, that mis- 
 chievous as all these were, they were but the prelude of a 
 far more fearful defection, which shewed itself even at the 
 end of the first century, and which was foreseen by the 
 apostles. When they saw that Judaism introduced into 
 Christianity such heterogeneous elements, they must have 
 foreseen that Paganism, in its turn, would endeavour to 
 bestow on Christianity its philosophy, its mythology, and 
 its mysteries. They could, however, hardly have ima- 
 gined that such an innumerable quantity of sects, enter- 
 taining notions so absolutely opposed to each other, would 
 rise in the bosom of the same Church. (Hist. Univ. vol. 
 i. p. 166.) 
 
 " The following remarks, by the same author, deserve 
 attention : ' Les associations Gnostiques, se multipliant 
 ainsi a Pinfini, ne pouvaient que desoler les Chretiens. . . . 
 Les Gnostiques, a la richesse, a 1'eclat de leurs doctrines, a 
 Penthousiasme qui les animait pour elles, joignaient encore 
 les ressources d'une profonde erudition, les prestiges d'une 
 thaumaturgie artificieusement combinee, et, si nous en 
 croyons le severe Irenee, les seductions des intrigues 
 galantes. Us acquirent, par tous ces moyens, une telle 
 influence, et se firent une telle foule des partisans, qu'ils 
 passerent souvent pour les Chretiens par excellence. 
 Us jeterent, cependant, par leur culte, leurs moeurs, et 
 toutes leurs aberrations, une telle defaveur sur la societe 
 Chretienne, que 1'on comprend facilement la vehemence, 
 souvent injuste, avec laquelle les defenseurs de TEglise 
 orthodoxe les combattent.' p. 171." 
 
 Mr. Rose adds, " I have often, I confess, been in- 
 
Appendix. 427 
 
 clined to think, that the emersion of pure Christianity, 
 so to speak, from errors so very widely spread among 
 those who .... were so eminently calculated to corrupt 
 and destroy, was, of itself, a sufficient proof of the truth 
 of the religion." pp. 156, 157. 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 Page 296, Note 5. But see the remarks of Bp. 
 Horsley on the instances cited by Wintle. (Dissertation 
 " on the Prophetical Periods/' British Magazine, vol. iv. 
 p. 721.) 
 
 Page 298, Note 1. Dr. Maitland refers to Lev. xii. 5, 
 but would render the word D^Dttf simply " sevens/' ob- 
 serving upon it, " Whether this is any thing more than 
 such an elliptical form of expression as is common in all 
 languages, when (as in this case) the context renders any 
 mistake impossible, I do not determine." (Enquiry, p. 
 8.) We are not, howe'ver, at liberty, I think, to discard 
 the Masoretic points, which mark the word as dual, 
 D'T^ttf ; and our Authorized Version accordingly renders 
 it " two weeks." Dr. M'Caul, in opposition to a ground- 
 less hypothesis of the reviewer whom he is combating, 
 adopts the same interpretation, and quotes the Targum 
 as deciding " that D^JDttJ e two weeks ' means fourteen 
 days ; for, instead of the corresponding Chaldee word for 
 weeks, it puts "IDV HW1N, fourteen days, and the Septu- 
 agint the same, Sic em-a rj^tpac-" (Remarks on the Morn- 
 ing Watch, p. 23.) 
 
 It may be argued that, in Dan. x. 2, 3, the addition of 
 the word D^QJ proves that, without such addition, the word 
 
 D^yHttf, standing by itself, would signify weeks not of days. 
 
 But, beside that the occurrence of the same word, used in 
 the sense of weeks of years, in the prophecy immediately 
 preceding, would sufficiently account for this addition, it 
 
428 Appendix. 
 
 must be borne in mind how frequently the word D^ is 
 
 added where the whole of a continuous period is denoted. 
 Thus, according to the marginal rendering, D^jQttf H^ttf 
 
 DW signifies " three full weeks/ 5 i. e. three weeks, even so 
 many days ; in like manner as D^ ttflU signifies " a 
 full month/' "the space of a month/' E. V. (Gen. xxix. 14.) 
 
 Page 299, Note 3. And Laban said ____ Fulfil her 
 week n^T Jptfl N^D "the week of this one" (Leah), 
 
 A \ 
 
 i. e. the week of the marriage feast for her, " and we 
 will give thee this one also (ntft JIN D3)" i. e. Rachel, for 
 
 the service which thou shalt yet serve with me yet seven 
 
 other years" (JTHnN MttTyitfl). It had been already 
 
 related (v. 22) how Laban had " gathered together all the 
 men of the place, and made a feast," for the marriage of 
 his daughter to Jacob; and that the marriage feasts lasted 
 seven days, appears sufficiently from Judges xiv. 12. 17. 
 The history in Genesis continues, " And Jacob did so, 
 
 and fulfilled her week (f}& jatfMtaft) the week of 
 
 A -i\ : v -:r' 
 
 this one, Leah, duly celebrating his marriage with her, 
 by keeping the seven days of the marriage feast " and 
 he (Laban) gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also " 
 (v. 28). " And he went in also unto Rachel, .... and served 
 with him yet seven other years " (rft"inN D^T?^ Ity) 
 
 (v. 30). The week (JQttf), or seven days, of the marriage 
 feast, and the seven years (D^ttf $3$) of service, seem to 
 be clearly distinguishable from each other. 
 
 And so also Dr. M'Caul observes, " That the period of 
 the seven days of the marriage feast, which is expressed in 
 Gen. xxix. 27 by yo$ is expressed in Judges xiv. 12 by 
 D'lp* 1 /JJQttf. 6 Fulfil her week,' says Laban. ( Samson 
 made there a feast, for so used the young men to do, .... 
 and Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle 
 unto you : if ye can declare it me within the seven days of 
 the feast.' That 'week/ jnntf, Gen. xxix. 27, means the 
 seven days of the feast, is shewn by Patrick, who says, 
 6 Perfect this marriage with Leah by keeping a seven days 3 
 
Appendix. 429 
 
 feast (as the custom was), and then thou shalt have Rachel 
 also. For he doth not speak of a week of years, but of 
 days ; as Mr. Selden shews out of many authors, L. v. de 
 Jure N. et Gent. cap. v., where he hath this plain com- 
 mentary upon these words : ' Marriages are to be cele- 
 brated, according to custom, by a seven days' feast : com- 
 plete this marriage thou hast begun with Leah, and then 
 upon condition of another seven years' service, thou shalt 
 keep her wedding feast seven days' " (Remarks, pp. 23, 
 24). 
 
 Page 302, line 13. Thus Hippolytus, cap. 47. 
 yap 'lamyyrjc, .... Kat 7rpo0TiTuoma-ty i7jitpa ^cAtac Sia- 
 &f/KoyTa, 7repifie(3\ri[Jivoi GCLKKOVG' rourcart, TO 
 rie j3c)OjuaSoe, rjc t/or]K Aavtr^X .... Kat 6Yav 
 
 T\<J(jJ(Tl TOy ^pO/ULOV aVTWV KOL TJJV jUapTVpUiy Ol/TWV, Tt 
 
 6 7rpo0r]T)jc; ; TO Orjptoy TO avapcuvov IK. 
 
 JUST' avrwv TroXfjuov, Kat viK.i]Gi avToug, KOI a 
 vQ ..... Again (in reference to Rev. xii. 14), avrai t\aiv 
 al \i\Lai StaKOGiai L^KOvra, TO W/UIKTV rr\g tjSSojuaSoc, (the 
 latter half, apparently, of the week,) ac KpctTrjo-" Tuoawoc 
 TT)V KK\r}aiav fytvyovaav cnrb TroXtwg tc TroXtv, icat 
 
 JCpUTTTOjUEVIJV Iv TO7^ OptGLV .... (cap. 61.) ToUTOJf 
 
 ovv l(TOjulva>v, ayaTrr^Ta, /cai rr\q jumc; tjS^o/za^oc ftc ^wo 
 Kat TOV jSoEAU'yjuaTOC Tr)e prj|uwcra> TOTE 
 KOL TWV Suw TTjOO^rjTwy Kat Trpo^pojuwv TOV 
 Kvptov TeXtw(rayTti)V TOV t'Stov Spo^uoy, Kat TOV 
 
 KO(TjUOV IC (TVyrlXftav XotTTOy p^OjUVOV, Tl 7 
 
 aXX' )7 r] 7rt0ayfta TOV Kvptov Kat 
 XptdTov TOV OEOV a?r' ovpaywy, t 6y 
 (cap. 64.) 
 
 In like manner, the author of the treatise " De Con- 
 summatione Mundi," attributed to Hippolytus : Tov -yap 
 Aavirj\ inrovrog, 'E|3Sojua^a ^ttav Sriaojuat TY\V 
 TO 7TTa Trj i^Xwo-f* TO rj/xtdv TYIG |3ojuaoej TOV 
 
 /oo^rjTac' Kat TO r^jjuto-v TI)C ejSSojuaSocj rjyovy TO 
 Trj jSacrtXfVffft 6 ayTtXptCTTOC ITTI T)C yfj* Kat 
 TOVTO ap0r]C77-at TJ jSaatXtia avTov Kat ij Soa. (cap. 25.) 
 
 It is not, however, perhaps very easy to determine 
 absolutely from these or similar passages, whether the 
 
430 Appendix. 
 
 writers would not still take literally the period assigned in 
 the prophecy to the state of death of the witnesses ; and 
 it is, no doubt, as Dr. Maitland observes, " reasonable to 
 suppose that those who conceived of the individual wit- 
 nesses prophesying during 1260 natural days, .... and 
 who should then be literally slain and rise from the dead, 
 did also understand the three days and a half, during 
 which these witnesses should be dead, as natural days, 
 unless they explicitly stated the contrary." Reply to a 
 review in the " Morning Watch " (1830), p. 25. 
 
 Page 304, Note 7. On the question as to the age of 
 the author of this commentary, Mr. Elliott has a note, 
 p. 967. He would fix it between A.D. 430 and A.D. 530, 
 and thinks it clear that the writer belonged to the African 
 Church. He remarks, upon the " Admonitio" prefixed by 
 the Benedictine editors, that " Primasius and Bede may 
 have copied from the author of this Commentary, as well as 
 he from them." This point would deserve careful inquiry 
 and comparison of passages. Dr. Wordsworth observes 
 of this Exposition on the Apocalypse, that it " is very 
 valuable," and thinks it "very probable that these Ho- 
 milies contain considerable portions of Tichonius' trea- 
 tise, adapted to the use of the Church." Wordsworth's 
 Apocalypse, Appendix A. p. 114. 
 
 Mr. Elliott appeals to " yet another expositor of the 
 fifth century, viz. Prosper," as an authority for the inter- 
 pretation of the three days and a half as representing 
 three years and a half. He quotes the " Dimidium Tem- 
 poris," cap. 16. " ' Tres et dimidius dies tribus annis et 
 sex mensibus respondent, quibus potestas erit Antichristo ; 
 eisque suppletis coram oculis inimicorum Helias et Enoch 
 ascendentes in coelum ibunt/ Bibl. Patr. Max. viii. 48." 
 There seems, however, to be considerable doubt as to the 
 authorship of this treatise. Vid. Admonit. in lib. de Pro- 
 miss, et Praedict. Dei, apud Prosperi Op. (ed. Paris, 1711), 
 Append, p. 86. It would appear that the author be- 
 longed to the African church, and lived in the fifth 
 century. 
 
 It must be observed, however, that the writers referred 
 
Appendix. 431 
 
 to, do, certainly, not speak as modern expositors have 
 commonly spoken of the ee prophetic style/' as using a day 
 for a year; on the contrary, some of the instances to which 
 they refer, they refer to (as is observed in the Lecture) as 
 instances of the converse; which, however, they regard as 
 supplying parallel instances illustrative of the mode of 
 prophetic communication which they conceive to be 
 adopted here. That, as a general principle, in the " pro- 
 phetic style," a day must be understood to represent a 
 year, is undoubtedly a statement which it would be diffi- 
 cult to maintain. 
 
 Page 305, Note 8. Andreas Caesariensis is referred to, 
 inasmuch as he mentions this interpretation as held by 
 others. On the passage which speaks of the treading 
 down of the holy city forty and two months, he says, 
 " Quadraginta autem duo menses temporis brevitatem, quo 
 Novi Testamenti mysteria a primo Christi adventu ad 
 secundum obtinebunt, exprimere aiunt." (Interp. Lat.) 
 " His own opinion inclined, however," as Mr. Elliott 
 observes, " to construe it of the literal three years and a 
 half of Antichrist's expected reign." 
 
 Ambrosius Ansbertus, upon the ministry of the two 
 witnesses, says, " Ita plane in his duobus testibus Enoch 
 et Eliam accipimus, unum scilicet ante legem et unum in 
 lege ; ut tamen in illorum specie genus etiam attendamus, 
 id est, sanctam Ecclesiam in suis praedicatoribus : sicque 
 mille ducentis sexaginta diebus specialiter tempus Anti- 
 christi ; ut tamen retroacta tempora, quae nunc volvuntur, 
 illi dies comprehendant: quatenus initium fidei Christiana? 
 et consummationem, principium persecutions Christiana? 
 et finem, contineant. Quod etiam ante nos qui hanc 
 revelationem subtilius quam alii exposuerunt, secuti sunt." 
 (Bibl. Patr. Max. torn. xiii. p. 522. Cf. pp. 534. 545.) 
 
 Bruno Astensis, on Rev. xii. 6 : " Per dies 1260 omne 
 tempus a Christi praedicatione usque ad diem ultimum 
 intelligimus." (Ibid. torn. xx. p. 1697.) 
 
 The interpretation, however, which thus applied the 
 vision to the whole duration of the Church militant, was 
 essentially grounded, as it would appear, upon the belief 
 
432 Appendix. 
 
 that there would be three literal years and a half of trial 
 and persecution at the latter end of the Church's warfare, 
 even as there were three years and a half of the earthly 
 ministry of its Divine Head, at the first opening of the 
 Gospel dispensation. The period specifically marking the 
 first great scene and the last was regarded as mystically 
 extended to include the whole. 
 
 Page 306, Note 1. Joachim " taught that the period of 
 three times and a half 1 , or of forty-two months, or of 
 1260 days, signified no less than 1260 years: 'Accepto 
 haud dubie die pro anno, et 1260 diebus 2 pro totidem 
 annis/ And he explained the month of thirty days to 
 
 mean a generation of thirty years However, there 
 
 was really to be a period of three natural years and one- 
 half at the end of the corresponding mystical period ; and 
 that will form the especial period of the great Antichrist's 
 tyranny : c Qualiter anni isti ad totius Bestiae universi- 
 tatem pertineant, in opere Concordiae dictum est. Revera 
 autem anni tres et dimidius 3 esse creduntur, quibus 
 maxime haec tempestas desaeviet.' They constitute the 
 reign of the ' regulus/ or Daniel's eleventh king 4 , and in 
 them ( gravior inducetur venatio V 
 
 "The persecution and tribulations of 1260 years are 
 those of the Church militant from its earliest beginnings, 
 viz., from the nativity of its persecuted Founder; and 
 those years are accordingly computed from that great 
 epoch. f During all that number of years, the holy city 
 is trampled by the nations ; because, while that space of 
 time lasts which three years and a half designate, power 
 is given to the infidels to trample the faithful, though par- 
 tially indeed, and not in toto 6 ." British Magazine, vol. 
 xvi. pp. 370, 371. 
 
 Page 306, Note 3. To the writers referred to in the 
 Lecture may be added Rupertus Tuitiensis, of the twelfth 
 
 1 See Exp. in Apoc. fol. 9, b. 148, 4 See Expos, in Apoc. fol. 9, b. 
 b. ; in Hierem. c. 20, p. 285. 143, a ; Liber Concordire, 5, c. 112. 
 
 2 Liber Concordia?, 2, c. 16, and s In Hicremiam, c. 20. 
 5, c. 118. 6 In Apoc. 148, b. 
 
 3 in Apoc. 165, b. 
 
Appendix. 433 
 
 century, who, on the words " Et post tres dies et dimi- 
 dium," &c., says, " Quantum temporis supra signifi- 
 caverat, dicendo : Et civitatem sanctara calcabunt men- 
 sibus quadraginta duobus : itemque : Et prophetabunt 
 diebus mille ducentis sexaginta, tantundem significat, 
 dicendo nunc, tribus diebus et dimidio. Itemque, et 
 post dies tres et dimidium. Tempus ergo, et tempora, 
 et dimidium temporis, i. annos tres et semissem, tres dies 
 ac dimidium hie appellat. Cur hoc?" The explanation 
 which he gives is as follows, continuing the question : 
 "Cur dum prophetarent testes isti, tempus prophetiaa 
 illorum diebus mille ducentis sexaginta, id est, tribus 
 annis et dimidio praefinitum est, postquam autem prophe- 
 taverunt, postquam bestia occidit corpora, post haec non 
 habitura quid faciat, pro tribus annis et dimidio, tres dies 
 et dimidium dicere vel scribere complacitum est? Ni- 
 mirum quia sanctis Dei testibus in agno [agone] permo- 
 lesto pro veritate certantibus, dum instat, dum praesens 
 est molestiae tempus, dum quo nolunt ducuntur, sensui 
 fragilissimae carnis longum videtur; postquam autem abierit 
 tempus illud, ut jam ultra non sit mors, neque luctus, 
 neque clamor, neque dolor, quod prima abierunt, tune 
 demum positis in aeternitate beata, respicientibus post 
 tergum, breve videbitur fuisse quod pertulerunt, et tune 
 perpendent quam vere Apostolus dixerit : Quia non sunt 
 condignae passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, 
 quae revelabitur in nobis." Comment, lib. vi. (Op. t. ii. 
 p. 553. ed. Mogunt. 1631.) 
 
 The explanation here given is peculiar ; but the manner 
 in which the interpretation of three days and a half, as 
 equivalent to the three years and a half, is stated thus 
 undoubtingly, is very observable. 
 
 Page 312, Note 7." King Henry VI., in his charter 7 , 
 dated in the twentieth year of his reign, whereby he gives 
 certain lands to the University, saith thus of it . . . e ad 
 nostram notabilem et famosam Universitatem Oxon. quae 
 velut oliva in domo Domini fructifera, quamplures pal- 
 
 ' Pat. 20. Hen. VI. p. l.m. 5. 
 
 F f 
 
434 Appendix. 
 
 mites fructuosos, viros viz. fructuosos, in scientiis libe- 
 ralibus notabiliter imbutos .... a non modico tempore 
 transacto hue usque continue protulit et produxit.' . . ." 
 Anthony a Wood, /. c. Comp. p. 77. (History and An- 
 tiquities, by Gutch, vol. i.) where it is said, in reference to 
 the same university, as described in ancient charters, " A 
 place it is from which, as King Edward III. 8 saith, 'honores 
 et commoda nobis et regno nostro Angliae provenerunt et 
 
 provenire sperantur in futurum/ &c f a qua Uni- 
 
 versitate ' (saith he elsewhere 9 ) ' clerici fructuosi et de 
 scientia famosi pro directione reipublicae ante haec tem- 
 
 pora sunt extracti, &c quae Universitas, veluti vitis 
 
 abundans per exercitium literalis scientiae innumeros pro- 
 duxit palmites fructuosos, viros, viz. provides et discretos, 
 qui sicut novellae olivarum frondentes et foecundantes in 
 fructum, nedum regnum nostrum Angliae (they are the 
 words of the same King '), sed orbem terrarum in circuitu 
 
 intellectus et sapientiae dulcedine repleverunt, &c 
 
 Ex Universitatis nostrae praedictae (saith the said King 
 elsewhere 2 ) et studentium in eadem doctrina, fides dila- 
 tatur Catholica, et sancta DEI ecclesia, maxime Anglicana, 
 
 dilucide roboratur, &c de qua (etiam) tot ad re- 
 
 gendum populos, ad illuminationem multorum, doctores 
 hactenus processerunt," &c. 
 
 Page 313, Note 9. The University thus addresses its 
 appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury (Henry Chichele), 
 and other Bishops of the Church in Synod assembled, 
 anno 1438 : " O quam dolendum est, piissimi Patres, 
 vineam Domini Sabaoth, Ecclesiam scilicet unicam Dei 
 sponsam, tarn impudentibus atque indoctis cultoribus ad 
 excolendum esse traditam : quomodo lucernae ardentcs in 
 SS. Dei Ecclesia erunt, si nee oleum, nee lumen in 
 lampade fuerit : quid dicemus de his, nunquid primum 
 oleum sanctae conversationis ac vitae integritatem, nunquid 
 et lumen doctrinae scientiae et veritatis, quo officium 
 sanctae praedicationis ac administrationis Verbi Dei ex- 
 
 B Put. 27 Edw. III. p. 2. in. 4. ' Pat. 30 Edw. III. p. 2. m. 10. 
 
 P.-it. -JI> Ivhv. 111. p. 1. in. G. 2 Pat. 1ft KUv. III. p. 2. in. 41. 
 
Append i). 435 
 
 erceant intus in animis foveant ? " &c. ... Anthony a 
 Wood, vol. i. p. 589. 
 
 Page 322, Note 9. Bp. Horsley's interpretation, or 
 forebodings, of the sackcloth ministry of the witnesses 
 ought here to be noticed. He says : 
 
 " The Church of God on earth will be greatly reduced 
 (as we may well imagine) in its apparent numbers, in the 
 times of Antichrist, by the open desertion of the powers 
 of the world. This desertion will begin in a professed 
 indifference to any particular form of Christianity, under 
 the pretence of universal toleration, which will proceed 
 from no true spirit of charity and forbearance, but from a 
 design to undermine Christianity by multiplying and en- 
 couraging sectaries. The pretended toleration will go far 
 beyond a just toleration, even as it regards the different 
 sects of Christians. The governments will pretend an 
 indifference to all, and will give a protection in preference 
 to none. All establishments will be set aside. From the 
 toleration of the most pestilent heresies, they will proceed 
 to the toleration of Mahometanism, atheism, and at last 
 to a positive persecution of the truth of Christianity. In 
 these times, the temple of God will be reduced almost 
 to the holy place, i. e., to the small number of real Chris- 
 tians who worship the Father in spirit and in truth, and 
 regulate their doctrine, and their worship, and their whole 
 conduct strictly by the word of God. The merely 
 nominal Christians will all desert the profession of the 
 truth, when the powers of the world desert it. And this 
 tragic event I take to be typified by the order to St. John 
 to measure the temple and the altar, and leave the outer 
 court (national churches) to be trodden under foot by the 
 Gentiles. The property of the clergy will be pillaged, 
 the public worship insulted and vilified, by these deserters 
 of the faith they once professed, who are not called apo- 
 states, because they never were in earnest in the profession. 
 Their profession was nothing more than a compliance 
 with fashion and public authority. In principle they 
 were always, what they now appear to be, Gentiles. 
 When this general desertion of the faith takes place, then 
 
 Ff2 
 
436 Appendix. 
 
 will commence the sackcloth ministry of the witnesses. 
 For it is evident that they begin to prophesy in sackcloth 
 when the holy place has been measured and the outer 
 court is given up. They will then be clothed in sack- 
 cloth. There will be nothing of splendour in the external 
 appearance of these churches ; they will have no support 
 from governments no honours no emoluments no im- 
 munitiesno authority, but that which they derive from 
 Him who commissioned them to be his witnesses." Let- 
 ters, Brit. Mag. vol. v. p. 520. 
 
 Bp. Horsley's view of the prophecy derives additional 
 importance from the general course and apparent ten- 
 dency of events since his time. And the description given 
 of the prophesying in sackcloth, with the idea which 
 that imagery would convey, may appear, perhaps, more 
 easily to combine with the shorter period than with the 
 longer ; especially if the fulfilment of it be looked for in 
 national churches. It must be borne in mind, at the same 
 time, that the ministry of the prophets in Israel, from 
 which the imagery in the vision is borrowed, might well 
 have been so described throughout the period of its con- 
 tinuance ; although sometimes these ministers and wit- 
 nesses of God were in " honour," as well as sometimes in 
 " dishonour ;" and, even in the days of the captivity in 
 Babylon, those who " stopped the mouths of lions," and 
 " quenched the violence of fire," were chief ministers in 
 kings' courts. (Compare Bp. Ken's " Sermon preached 
 in the King's Chapel at Whitehall, 1685," on the history 
 and character of Daniel.) Bp. Horsley's interpretation, 
 it will be observed, closely connects the prophecy con- 
 cerning the two witnesses with national churches, although 
 he would limit the predicted ministry to a much shorter 
 period than twelve hundred and sixty years. If the appli- 
 cation of the prophecy to the longer period be admitted, 
 we might quote, in illustration of it, the language which 
 has been well employed in reference to the Church, even 
 where apparently in power and prosperity, 
 
 By monarchs clad in gems and gold, 
 She goes a mourner still." The ( li rift inn )'.-. 
 
Appendix. 437 
 
 On the other hand, the parallel presumed, as we have 
 seen, by some expositors of venerable antiquity, between 
 the first and the last times of the Gospel, the ministry 
 and sufferings of the Divine Head of the body and of His 
 mystical body, the Church, would be evidently the nearer 
 and closer, if the ministry of the witnesses were for three 
 literal years and a half, and their state of death for three 
 days and a half. But in either case it would seem that a 
 period of three literal years and a half, whether under the 
 description of twelve hundred and sixty days, or of three 
 days and a half, a period of special trial and affliction to 
 the Church, and temporary triumph to her enemies, was 
 ordained for her to pass through. 
 
 Page 332. (Comp. pp. 289. 295, 296. 339.) In regard 
 to any passages in which the different periods variously 
 designated as " a time, times, and a half," " forty and two 
 months/ 5 or a " thousand two hundred and threescore 
 days" are spoken of, in the Lectures, as marking "the 
 same period/' or " a like period," in regard, severally, to 
 the treading of the holy city by the Gentiles, the ministry 
 of the witnesses, the abode of the woman in the wilder- 
 ness, and the dominion of the wild beast, it is to be ob- 
 served, the words are used with the limitation expressed 
 in the following extract from Dean Woodhouse. " These 
 three prophetic periods/ 5 he observes, "are of the same 
 length or duration : they measure the same quantity of 
 time. But another question will arise; whether they 
 measure the same identical period ; for although allowed 
 to measure the same quantity of time, they may possibly 
 succeed each other ; or if they be contemporary in some 
 parts, yet it may not appear that they quadrate and agree 
 in all : their beginnings and their endings may not be at 
 the same points." From a careful comparison of the 
 several periods, he arrives at the conclusion that " all of 
 them appear to synchronize in some parts of their course : 
 but that they agree and coincide in all their points," as 
 Mede endeavours to prove, he thinks, "will not be so 
 easily admitted." He observes, that " there is an interval, 
 full of action, between the fall of the dragon and the rise 
 
438 Appendix. 
 
 of the beast, namely, that in which the dragon pursues 
 the woman, casting after her torrents of water ; and it is 
 not till after he has in vain tried this method of destroy- 
 ing her, that, enraged at his disappointment, he raises up 
 the beast to war against the rest of her offspring (see ch. 
 xii. 13 17; and ch. xiii. 1)." "The synchronism of the 
 beast with the prophecy of the witnesses seems likewise 
 defective in proof." " Nothing is more manifest than that 
 the beast does not come to his end at the same time with 
 the witnesses; for the witnesses are slain by him; and 
 when they are slain, they finish their prophetical office; 
 as is expressly declared in ch. xi. 7. Add to this, that 
 the earthquake and fall of one tenth of the city, which 
 concludes the prophecy of the witnesses, and also the 
 sixth trumpet (ch. xi.), cannot be the same with the great 
 slaughter and total victory under the seventh trumpet 
 (ch. xix.), when the beast is destroyed." 
 
 " The four grand Apocalyptic periods," the same writer 
 further observes, " are involved very much together, and 
 before the final completion of them all has taken place, it 
 may not be in the power of man to settle the times when 
 
 each of them had its commencement Commentators 
 
 seem to have been too adventurous in fixing the exact 
 commencement of these periods, which appear to be in- 
 volved in a purposed obscurity, which the event only can 
 clear." (Annotations, pp. 272277.) 
 
 LECTURE XL 
 
 Page 339, Note 5. "Ascetics," as Bingham shews, 
 " there were always in the Church ; but the monastic life, 
 neither name nor thing, was not known till toward the 
 fourth century. Mr. Pagi fixes its original to the time of 
 Constantine (Crit. in Baron, an. 318. n. 12), and he cites 
 Holstenius and Papebrochius for the same opinion." Its 
 first origin, indeed, is traced, in what follows, to the times 
 of " the Decian persecution, which was about the middle 
 
Appendix. 439 
 
 of the third century," when " many persons in Egypt, to 
 avoid the fury of the storm, fled to the neighbouring 
 deserts and mountains, where they not only found a safe 
 retreat, but also more time and liberty to exercise them- 
 selves in acts of piety and divine contemplations ; which 
 sort of life, though at first forced upon them by necessity, 
 became so agreeable to some of them that, when the per- 
 secution was over, they would not return to their ancient 
 habitations again, but chose rather to continue in those 
 cottages or cells which they had made for themselves in 
 the wilderness." Still there were "only a few single 
 persons scattered here and there in the deserts of Egypt, 
 till Pachomius, in the peaceable reign of Const antine, when 
 the persecutions were ended, procured some monasteries 
 to be built in Thebais in Egypt, from whence the custom 
 of living as regulars in societies was followed, by degrees, 
 in other parts of the world, in the succeeding ages." 
 (Bingham, b. vii. chap. i. sect. 4.) 
 
 In connexion with Bp. Taylor's observations, quoted in 
 the Lectures, may be cited the following, from Herbert's 
 " Country Parson." " He often readeth the lives of the 
 primitive monks, hermits, and virgins, and wondereth not 
 so much at their patient suffering and dying under perse- 
 cuting emperors (though that indeed be very admirable), as 
 at their daily temperance, abstinence, watchings, and con- 
 stant prayers and mortifications, in times of peace and pro- 
 sperity " (chap. 9.) With this may be compared the de- 
 scription given in his poem, "The Church Militant," 
 how 
 
 " Holy Macarius and great Anthony 
 Made Pharaoh Moses ; changing th' history. 
 Goshen was darkness ; Egypt full of lights." 
 
 Page 340, Note 6. "'We are not/ he justly observes," 
 says Mr. Elliott, continuing his reference to Milner, " ' to 
 form an idea of ancient monks from modern ones. It was 
 a mistaken thing in holy men of old to retire altogether 
 from the world. But there is reason to believe that it 
 originated in piety.' A sketch," Mr. Elliott continues, 
 "of the monk Antony's character and faith follows [in 
 
440 Appendix. 
 
 Milner], which should be read. Instead of Antony's 
 heading (as we might perhaps expect from his being a 
 monk)/ 5 says Mr. Elliott, " the gathering superstitions 
 of the times, he is actually associated with Vigilantius 
 by Mr. Daubuz, p. 538, as an opponent to them." (Horae 
 Apocalypticae, p. 798, note.) 
 
 " I fully agree/ 5 Mr. Elliott elsewhere says, " with the 
 sentiment so beautifully expressed by Mr. Maitland, in 
 his book on the Waldenses, as to the piety of many a 
 tonsured monk, &c., only with this difference, that he 
 would range them among the witnesses, I among the 
 members of the Church hidden in the wilderness' 3 (Horae 
 Apocalypt. p. 815, note.) Dr. Maitland, however, it may 
 be observed, would not "range them among the wit- 
 nesses," inasmuch as he regards that prophecy as yet 
 to be fulfilled. 
 
 I transcribe from Dr. Maitland's volume (" Facts and 
 Documents," &c., pp. 45, 46) the passage, not less full of 
 truth than of beauty, to which Mr. Elliott refers. 
 
 " I have just said, that if any papist should tell me that 
 our religion was not to be found before the time of Calvin 
 and Luther, I should be satisfied to answer him according 
 to his folly ; but I would, by no means, be understood to 
 admit the truth of his statement ; for I believe it to be as 
 false as it is foolish, and feel no doubt that, in the darkest 
 age, there were many true and accepted worshippers of 
 God. Not formed into churches, and eminently bearing 
 their testimony in corporate capacities as churches, against 
 the see of Rome (for then, I think, we should have heard 
 more about them), but as the sheep of Christ dispersed 
 abroad in the midst of this naughty world known, per- 
 haps, by this or that name of reproach, or, perhaps, the 
 obscure and unknown, whose names were never written 
 anywhere but in heaven. I doubt not that there were such, 
 living a life of faith, and prayer, and communion with 
 God, overlooked in the bustle of cities and the solitude 
 of cottages, and even shut up in what modern systems 
 require us to consider as the strongholds of Antichrist, 
 the cell and the cloister. I will not shrink from avow- 
 ing my belief, that many a tonsured head now rests in 
 
Appendix. 441 
 
 Abraham's bosom ; and that many a frail body, bowed 
 down with voluntary humility, and wasted with unprofit- 
 able will- worship, clothed in rags, and girt with a bell- 
 rope, was a temple of the Holy Ghost ; and that one day 
 a day when the follies of system, and the sins of party, 
 and man's judgment of his fellows, will have come to an 
 end these, her unknown children, will be revealed to the 
 astonishment of a Church accustomed to look back, with 
 a mixture of pride and shame, to the days of her barren- 
 ness. She may ask, ' Who hath brought up these ? Be- 
 hold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?' but 
 she will have learned to know the seal of the living God, 
 she will embrace them as her sons, and will find better 
 matter of discourse than their superstition and her illu- 
 mination. 
 
 " In the mean time, however, they are hidden, perhaps 
 more completely than they need be, if due pains were 
 take*n to look after them, and gather what might be 
 known." 
 
 Page 344, Note 3. Mr. Galloway, in his "Gate of 
 Prophecy" (London, 1846), takes notice of this. He ob- 
 serves (on Rev. xii. 3), "The mystery of the seven heads, 
 as shall afterwards be proved, is to be explained by sum- 
 ming together all the heads of all the four beasts described 
 in the vision of Daniel's seventh chapter." Vol. ii. p. 256. 
 Comp. pp. 305307. Vid. inf. Note, Appendix (p. 376, 
 Note 9). 
 
 "This first beast of the Apocalypse," says Dean Wood- 
 house, " appears to be that worldly tyrannical domination, 
 which, for many ages, even from the times of the Baby- 
 lonish captivity, .... had been hostile to the Church ; 
 but more especially under the fourth beast of Daniel, the 
 Roman usurpation." (Woodhouse, Annot. p. 263.) " Mede 
 very properly denominates this seven-headed beast Bestia 
 secularis, in contradistinction to the two-horned beast, 
 whom he calls Bestia ecclesiastica (Works, pp. 498 and 
 505). The former seems to have been in action from the 
 earliest times of government after the form patriarchal, 
 even from the times of Nimrod. But the later enormities 
 
442 Appendix. 
 
 which are displayed in the prophecy of Daniel, and in 
 this and the ensuing chapters of the Apocalypse, .... are 
 to be dated only from the junction and co-operation of the 
 two." Woodhouse, p. 271. 
 
 Page 356, 1. 18. In illustration of the view taken in 
 the Lecture, I would quote the following remarks/ which 
 coincide with my general meaning. 
 
 " It is important to observe, that if the prophecies of 
 the Old Testament are allowed to admit of a primary and 
 of a secondary accomplishment, there appears to be no 
 reason why a similar mode of interpretation should not 
 be adopted respecting the prophecies of the New Tes- 
 tament. Yet this point has scarcely ever been attended 
 to. Protestants, suffering under the power of the papacy, 
 or insensibly led by their religious opinions, have seen the 
 ivhole of Antichrist in the Church of Rome, or some 
 power or powers connected with it. They saw the pro- 
 phecy to be, in many parts, clearly applicable to the 
 Church of Rome, and they looked for no other accom- 
 plishment ; though the difficulty with which many pas- 
 sages are brought to apply to this object, indicates it 
 to be but a primary or partial fulfilment ; and this diffi- 
 culty led to differences of opinion, which, to the eye of 
 superficial readers, appear to have thrown an obscurity 
 over the whole subject. It is clear, however, from the 
 prophecies themselves, that a long series of time is re- 
 quired for their fulfilment ; and though it is designed that 
 we should see as much of the prophecies fulfilling in our 
 own time, as to guard us against the evils and dangers 
 prevalent in those times, we should be cautious in re- 
 stricting the sense of any to one particular period, except- 
 ing those which are evidently thus confined by Scripture. 
 If it be obviously absurd to imagine we can judge with 
 certainty respecting the time and manner in which events 
 plainly predicted will be accomplished in future, it is 
 equally so to imagine that our ancestors could judge of 
 the present times as clearly as we can do. Some portion 
 of novelty, therefore, in an interpretation can be no 
 objection to ts truth, provided it harmonizes with esta- 
 
Appendix. 443 
 
 blished opinion concerning the principal points of pro- 
 phecy itself." Kett on Prophecy, vol. i. pp. 300, 301. 
 
 The designation which Lord Bacon has employed of 
 " the springing and germinant accomplishment " of Pro- 
 phecy (cf. sup. p. 20), more fully and appropriately 
 expresses the idea to be conveyed, than the words 
 66 primary " and " secondary." For " herein/ 5 says Lord 
 Bacon, in regard to " prophetic history," " we must allow 
 that latitude which is agreeable and usual unto Divine 
 prophecies, that their fulfilment may be both continuous 
 and definite. For they answer to the nature of their 
 Author, with whom one day is as a thousand years, and 
 a thousand years as one day. And though their full and 
 entire completion be commonly fixed to some certain 
 age, yet they have, meanwhile, steps of fulfilment through 
 various ages of the world. This work is wanting; but, 55 
 he adds at the same time, " it is so weighty, that it should 
 be treated with great wisdom, sobriety, and gravity, or 
 altogether declined. 55 
 
 Page 357, Note 2. Irenaeus has been often quoted as 
 though he had proposed or adopted, without any doubt, 
 the word Lateinos as the solution of the mystic number. 
 Thus Bp. Newton says, "No name appears more proper 
 and suitable than that famous one mentioned by Irena3us, 
 who lived not long after St. John 5 s time, and was the 
 disciple of Polycarp, the disciple of John. He saith, that 
 ( the name Lateinos contains the number of 666 ; and it is 
 very likely, because the last kingdom is so called, for they 
 are Latins who now reign : but in this we will not glory ;' 
 that is, as it becomes a modest and pious man in a point 
 of such difficulty, he will not be too confident of his 
 explication. 55 
 
 Dr. Wordsworth, in like manner, says of Irenaeus, that 
 " proceeding to speak of this number, he adds, that it is 
 wiser to be patient, till the Prophecy is fulfilled, than to 
 pronounce confidently upon it ; but that in his own opi- 
 nion, the word AarcTvoc, Latinus, which contains the re- 
 quisite number, expresses the Anti-christian power. And 
 why, you may ask, does he fix upon this word ? Be- 
 
444 Appendix. 
 
 cause the Latins, or Romans, are they who now reign ; 
 alluding manifestly to the words of St. John, ( The woman 
 which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over 
 the kings of the earth.' 
 
 6e It is therefore clear/' Dr. Wordsworth continues, 
 " that Irenaeus interpreted the prophecies of St. John, 
 concerning the woman on the seven hills, the woman 
 which reigneth, the woman which is Babylon, the mother 
 of fornications, of no other city than Rome ; and we might 
 add, he did not apply them to Pagan Rome, for he ex- 
 pressly says that the Anti-christian power represented by 
 that name was not yet come. (S. Iren. v. 20. d aXXo t\wv 
 ovojua 'Aim'x/ot<rroe tXf uo-srai.) " Lectures on the Apo- 
 calypse, pp. 349, 350. 
 
 It might be inferred from this statement, that Irenaeus 
 identified the Antichrist with Babylon, and that in his 
 opinion Aaravo? was certainly the word which expressed 
 that power. Irenaeus, however, tells us that Antichrist, 
 in conjunction with the seven kings remaining of the ten 
 who were to arise out of the division of the Roman 
 empire (for Antichrist was to subdue three of those kings), 
 was to be the destroyer of Babylon. "Manifestum est 
 itaque, quoniam ex his tres interficiet ille qui venturus 
 est, et reliqui subjicientur ei, et ipse octavus in eis ; et 
 vastabunt Babylonem, et comburent earn igni, et dabunt 
 regnum suum bestiae, et effugabunt Ecclesiam." (lib. v. 
 cap. 26. 1.) And with regard to the number of the name, 
 he first explains it to be "in recapitulationem universae 
 apostasiae ejus, quae facta est in sex millibus annorum." 
 (cap. 28. 2.) This he proceeds to explain by a reference 
 to the six thousand years of the world's duration, taken in 
 connexion with the six days of creation, the six hundred 
 years of the age of Noah, and the sixty cubits in height 
 and the six in breadth which give the measure of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's image. " Universa enim imago ilia prae- 
 figuratio fuit hujus adventus, ab omnibus omnino homi- 
 nibus ipsum solum decernens adorari. Sexcenti itaque 
 anni Noe, sub qua fuit diluvium propter apostasiam, et 
 numerus cubitorum imaginis, propter quam justi in cami- 
 num ignis missi sunt, numerum nominis significat illius, in 
 
Appendix. 445 
 
 quern recapitulatur sex millium annorum omnis apostasia, 
 et injustitia, et nequitia, et pseudo-prophetia, et dolus, 
 propter quag et diluvium superveniet ignis." (cap. 29. 2.) 
 
 Irenaeus then discusses and determines the proper 
 reading of the number given by St. John, " reproves those 
 who hastily endeavoured to interpret it, and then en- 
 deavours to lay down correct principles of interpretation 
 for it. He suggests that we must wait till the other signs 
 of Antichrist begin to be fulfilled, such as the division of 
 the Roman empire into ten parts, and the sudden coming 
 of another power to their discomfiture. We must also 
 remark, he tells us, that Jeremiah (viii. 16) has foretold 
 that he will be of the tribe of Dan." (Beaven's Account of 
 S. Irenaeus, p. 247.) This tribe, he observes, is not enu- 
 merated in the Revelation (chap, vii.) with those who are 
 saved. He then goes on to say, as in the passage quoted 
 above (p. 356, note 1), 'Aa^aAtorEpov ovv K.T.\. . . . or, in 
 the Latin version, " Certius ergo et sine periculo est, 
 sustinere ad impletionem prophetiae, quam suspicari et 
 divinare nomina quaelibet ; quando multa nomina inveniri 
 possunt habentia praedictum numerum ; et nihilominus 
 erit haec eadem quasstio. Si enim multa sunt quae inveni- 
 untur nomina, habentia numerum hunc; quod ex ipsis 
 portabit qui veniet, quaeritur." And he proceeds thus : 
 
 (e Quoniam autem non propter inopiam nominum haben- 
 tium numerum nominis ejus dicimus haec, sed propter 
 timorem erga Deum et zelum veritatis : EYAN9AS enim 
 nomen habet numerum de quo quaeritur : sed nihil de eo 
 affirmamus. Sed et AATEINOS nomen habet sexcentorum 
 sexaginta sex numerum : et valde verisimile est, quoniam 
 novissimum regnum hoc habet vocabulum. Latini enim 
 sunt qui nunc regnant : sed non in hoc nos gloriabimur. 
 Sed et TEITAN, prima syllaba per duas Graecas vocales 
 c et t scripts, omnium nominum quae apud nos inveniuntur, 
 magis fide dignum est. Etenim praedictum numerum habet 
 in se, et literarum est sex, singulis syllabis ex ternis literis 
 constantibus, et vetus, et semotum; neque enim eorum 
 regum, qui secundum nos sunt, aliquis vocatus est Titan ; 
 neque eorum, quae publice adorantur, idolorum apud 
 Graecos et barbaros habet vocabulum hoc; et divinum 
 
446 Appendix. 
 
 putatur apud multos esse hoc nomen, ut etiam sol Titan 
 vocetur ab his qui nunc tenent : et ostentationem quam- 
 diu continet ultionis, et vindictam inferentis, quod ille 
 simulat se male tractates vindicare. Et alias autem et 
 antiquum, et fide dignum et regale, magis autem et tyran- 
 nicum nomen. Cum igitur tantum suasionum habeat hoc 
 nomen Titan, tamen l habet verisimilitudinem, ut ex multis 
 colligamus ne forte Titan vocetur qui veniet. Nos tamen 
 non periclitabimur in eo, nee asseverantes pronuntiabimus, 
 hoc eum nomen habiturum; scientes, quoniam si opor- 
 teret manifeste praesenti tempore praeconari nomen ejus, 
 per ipsum utique editum fuisset, qui et Apocalypsim 
 viderat. Neque enim ante multum temporis visum est, 
 sed pene sub nostro saeculo, ad finem Domitiani imperii. 
 Hunc autem numerum nominis ostendit, ut caveamus 
 ilium venientem, scientes quis sit: nomen autem ejus 
 tacuit, quoniam dignum non est praeconari a Spiritu 
 sancto." .... (cap. 30. 3, 4.) 
 
 It can hardly, I think, be doubted, by any one who 
 carefully studies the whole passage, that this last-men- 
 tioned word was that which, on the whole, Irenaeus ac- 
 quiesced in as the most probable. 
 
 It must be observed, however, that Dr. Wordsworth's 
 quotation from Irenaeus has reference chiefly to his allu- 
 sion to the Romans, and their city, as then reigning over 
 the earth, and so described in prophetic Scripture ; in 
 regard to which point his testimony is unquestionable. 
 (Cf. sup. p. 67.) 
 
 Perhaps the truth may be, that the word Lateinos was 
 the conjection of Irenaeus himself, which would account 
 for his modest manner of speaking of it; whereas Teitan 
 was one of those which had been already suggested 
 ("quae apud nos inveniuntur"), and the one which, of 
 these, he thought the most probable. 
 
 Hippolytus, however, manifestly following Irenaeus in 
 the three names which he mentions, decidedly inclines to 
 the word Lateinos as the true solution ; on the same ground 
 
 1 " Sic omnes codd. uno cxcepto et qua auctoritate ? non monet. Hie 
 Feuard. (quern sequutus est Gra- vero tamen accipitur pro utiqu?, pro- 
 bius)qui rrpnsuit tantam ; sed unde, feetb, proinde." Massuet. 
 
Appendix. 447 
 
 with Irenreus, in regard to the fourth empire being that 
 of the Latins, which he identified with the head whose 
 deadly wound was healed. The same spirit which cha- 
 racterizes Irenasus is observable in what Hippolytus says 
 on this subject, so full of mystery. Ilc/ot fjisv TOV ovo/iaroc 
 aurou OVK Iv i?jutv roaovrov acpt|3e efnrav, we Vi'orj<T 
 icat $tSax07 7Tpi aurou 6 [laKapiog 'Iwavvrje, o<rov juovov 
 r ava^atvovroe jap aurou Sa 6 /zaKaptoe TO 
 
 T\T}V otrov voou^ufv 
 
 TroXAa yap fu/ot(TKO^v ovoftara TOVT^ 
 7T6/otf xojUfva, oloy, wtrTTfp ciTTav, ro Tftrav OTtv, ap^atov KOI 
 6vo/za, rj ro Euav0a^* KOI yap auro rp ai/ry ^/70(j> 
 ^ KOI f'rfpa TrXftova tvptOrivai SuvajUfva. 'A XX' 
 )7 7rpol00rj/iv Xlyovrf^ (cap. 49. cf. sup. p. 352, note 
 ), ort WtpaTTEvOri 17 TrXrj'yr) rou 3"rjpiou row Trpwrou, KOI 
 
 V T?7V ElKOVa* TOVT(TTIV, t(T^U(T* 0aVjOOV O EOTl 
 
 , ort ot KjOarouvrfC Ti vuv fi(Ti 
 avOpwirov ova/no. jUfrayojUfvov yiverai 
 
 Set we ovroe TOUTOU ovo/uaroc, our TraXtv 
 ftv, ori JUTJ aXXwc ouvarai Xfyfaaat* ^ovrfe ^ TO 
 TOV 0fou Iv TTJ KOjO^tct jUTa 0oj3ou ^)uXao"rrfv 
 ra U7TO rwv juajca/oiwv TTpo^rjrwv 7T|OOfjOi7jUya, tva 
 O.VTWV, TrpoicovTeg /mrj o"0aXXa>/x0a* rwv 7^P 
 ytvojUvwv icat auroc, 7Tpt ou raura tprjra, 
 0avpct>0/ycrrat. (Hippolyt. de Antichr. cap. 50.) 
 
 He had before said, in the same spirit, Taura o-ot, 
 
 j3aXXou<rav XjOttrrou ajaTrrjv. Et ya/9 ot rrpo iij 
 
 yEytvwrifiivot, ticoTeg aura OUK rjOiXrjdav jUra 
 KTjpu^at, tva JUTJ Tapa^ov TTOLI]GW<JI rate rwv 
 u^ate, aXXa juuo-rtKwe 8ry^|<ravr0 Sta ?rapa- 
 /3oXwv /cat alvLjfjidT(jt)v \iyovreQ' oj$e 6 voue 6 %wv aotyiav' 
 juaXXov T7/ifTe KtvSuvU(TOjUv roXjUwvre ra UT' 
 tj077julva fie QavEoov Xlyetv; (cap. 29.) 
 
448 Appendix. 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 Page 371, Note 3. I have spoken, in the Lecture, of 
 the undoubted identity of the wild beast described in chap, 
 xvii. 8, with that of which we read in chap. xi. 7, as 
 ascending " out of the abyss," and also of the apparent 
 identity with that which is described, in chap. xiii. 8, as 
 ascending " out of the sea." I have spoken thus, because, 
 in the latter case, there is less perfect identity, and con- 
 sequently more room for doubt. Comp. Woodhouse's 
 Apocalypse (p. 337), with his Annotations (p. 359). Mr. 
 Elliott, in opposition to Mr. Brooks, Bengel, and others, 
 maintains their complete identity. (Horas Apocalypt. 
 pp. 818 828.) It would appear, from Rev. xvii. 8, as 
 though the ascent " out of the abyss," or " bottomless 
 pit," marked the last form and development of the wild 
 beast's manifold existence and tyrannic power. 
 
 Page 376, Note 1. Dr. Maitland points out, with great 
 force, the continual f( shifting forms of the Roman govern- 
 ment," between consuls, dictators, decemviri, military 
 tribunes, &c., and " the impropriety of representing these 
 (supposed) heads as consecutive." He says, " As far as I 
 can understand the history of the Roman empire up to 
 the time of St. John, it was simply this a Monarchy 
 existed until the people rose and destroyed it a Republic 
 was then formed, which existed, under various modifi- 
 cations, for several centuries, during which it tended, 
 generally and gradually (if I mistake not, I might say 
 naturally), to a Democracy in theory, and an Aristocracy 
 in practice, until, at length, Monarchy was restored. How 
 to make more changes, without descending to such minor 
 variations of constitution as would make too many, I 
 know not, and I believe the thing is impossible." 
 
 Page 376, Note 9. We find Rupertus thus explaining 
 the seven heads of the dragon, which is described, in the 
 vision of the twelfth chapter, as ready to devour the man 
 
Appendix. 449 
 
 child, the offspring of the woman : " Hujusmodi capita 
 veraciter septem sunt: quia nimirum ex quo pater 
 Abraham et posteri ejus fidem seminis (in quo benedi- 
 centur omnes gentes) susceperunt, septem sunt mundi 
 hujus regna, ex traditione sanctarum Scripturarum, quae 
 adversus eandem fidem dimicaverunt, sed nondum venit 
 regnum septimum. Primum namque ex quo credidit 
 Abraham, regnum fuit Pharaonis et utEgyptiorum, filios 
 Israel odientium : secundum regnum fuit Jezabelis, et 
 filiorum vel posterorum ejus impiorum, regnum Israel et 
 Juda, qui prophetas occiderunt : tertium Babylonium : 
 quartum Persicum sive Medicum : quintum Macedonicum : 
 sextum Romanum: septimum quod futurum est Anti- 
 christi regnum. Praeter haec regna septem nullum aliud 
 memorat Sancta Scriptura stetisse vel stare ante illam 
 mulierem ad devorandum filium ejus, contra sanctam 
 ecclesiam ex qua credidit Abraham, ad destruendam fidem 
 seminis ejus." (Comment, in Apocal. lib. vii. Op. torn. ii. 
 p. 558.) 
 
 And again, in like manner, of the wild beast out of the 
 sea, described in the vision of the thirteenth chapter. 
 " c Habentem/ inquit, ( capita septem et cornua decem/ 
 Hoc et de dracone illo magno et rufo supra dixit, quod 
 haberet capita septem et cornua decem : Nimirum quia et 
 bestia haec et draco ille unus idemque diabolus est, cum 
 corpore suo, i. e. cum universo impiorum populo. Nam 
 sicut illic jam dictum est, capita septem, regna sunt 
 septem, quorum persecutiones bene ex scripturis cognitae 
 eo tendebant, ut in mundo extingueretur sanctum verae 
 divinitatis nomen. Et quidem hactenus sparsim atque 
 successim capita ilia frenduerunt, unumquodque vice sua 
 contra Deum faciens bellum. Primo, regnum ^Egyp- 
 
 tiorum, &c Cum autem venerit quod tractamus, 
 
 quum bestia haec de mari ascendent, habens capita septem, 
 cuncta simul capita rictibus propriis hiabunt atque fren- 
 dent super Christianos dentibus suis, secundum inten- 
 tionem septimi et maximi capitis, quod Antichristus erit." 
 (Comment, lib. viii. ibid. p. 567.) 
 
 Mr. Galloway makes " the five heads which were fallen " 
 to be " the heads of the Babylonian lion, of the Medo- 
 
 Gg 
 
450 Appendix. 
 
 Persian bear, and three of the heads of the Greek leopard, 
 the fourth of them still surviving in the Roman or Latin- 
 Greek empire." " Gate of Prophecy/ 5 vol. ii. p. 319 
 (comp. pp. 306, &c.). This interpretation of the seven 
 heads has this advantage, over that proposed in the Lec- 
 ture, that it keeps closer to the imagery of Daniel's vision. 
 It seems to me, however, not free from difficulty in regard 
 to the heads belonging to the Macedonian empire. 
 
 Page 377, Note 4. Mr. Elliott is of opinion that " the 
 very symbol of a dragon, or wild beast, necessarily ex- 
 cludes the supposition of its ever representing a Christian 
 power ; besides which/' he adds, " and as if to force atten- 
 tion the more to the characteristic, it is said that all the 
 heads had on them names of blasphemy. This," he goes 
 on to say, " has of course been quite overlooked by those 
 who would make the Roman Christian emperors, inclusive 
 of Constantine and Theodosius, the beast's seventh head." 
 (Horae Apocalypt. p. 846, note.) 
 
 The emphatic word " all," on which Mr. Elliott thus 
 lays stress, is not found in the description given in St. 
 John's vision. It is there simply said, that the wild beast 
 had " upon his heads the names," or rather, as in our 
 Authorized Version, "the name of blasphemy" (marg., 
 " Or, names"). The wild beast never appeared with more 
 than these seven heads, the eighth being " of the seven," 
 while the seventh is described as "other" than these. 
 It was necessary that this seventh head should thus be 
 connected with the symbolic form descriptive of earthly 
 dominion, though it were divers from them, in being 
 Christian. The objection does not seem to me to have in 
 it any considerable force. 
 
 Page 378, Note 6. Mr. Elliott says, "It is to be ob- 
 served, that in the present instance the association of the 
 /*m with the /xtra rou S'rjptou makes the phrase as indi- 
 cative of a specific point of time, as the numeral seventh in 
 the former of the two examples just cited (cf. sup. p. 378, 
 note 5 X^ <*>pav cj38ojurjv a^rjicev aurrjv 6 Tru/ocrot;), or 
 other distinctive adjectives. For /ucra with the genitive 
 
Appendix. 451 
 
 following/' he goes on to observe, " is, as Matthiae says, 
 equivalent to aw with the ablative. And etc, /uua, iv 
 before an ablative, with aw expressed or understood, is 
 used in the sense of 6 auroe. So Phoeniss. 157, 'Oc quot 
 jumc eyevcr' EK /mrpoe who was born of the same mother 
 as myself: the etc and 6 auroc being sometimes both used 
 together, as in 1 Cor. xi. 5, iv yap eon KCU TO avro rrj 
 tSuprjjuev?,?. Which being so, the clause under consider- 
 ation becomes significant of a point of time : and the 
 whole passage the same as translated above, ( Receive 
 their kingdom at one and the same time with the beast? 
 
 " Such, in fact," Mr. Elliott continues, " is the signifi- 
 cation assigned to it, as Daubuz observes, p. 792, by Cyril 
 of Jerusalem. For he says, in his 15th Catechetical Lec- 
 ture, Ev Sm^opofc JUEV (ao>e roTrote, Kara Se TOV avrov 
 fiaaiXtvovai /cmpov. It is also the rendering, as Bossuet 
 has observed, of Irenaeus, Primasius, and the Vulgate." 
 (Horae Apocalypt. p. 872, note.) 
 
 Dr. Wordsworth understands it in the same way " at 
 one hour, that is, at one and the same time with the 
 beast." Lectures on the Apocalypse, p. 372. (cf. p. 274.) 
 
 Undoubtedly, in Mr. Elliott's words, as from Matthiae, 
 "juera with the genitive, is equivalent to aw with the 
 ablative " (or rather the dative), at least in certain senses; 
 or, to quote Matthias's own words, JUETCI " signifies, with the 
 genitive, ' together, with,' as aw, as well in order to shew 
 companionship as a mean." (Gr. Gr. 587.) It would 
 not, however, follow that, in all cases in which aw might 
 be used with the dative, jutra might equally well be used 
 with the genitive. And Matthiae no where says, nor 
 is it correct to say, that a'e? /mia, cv, before an ablative, with 
 aw expressed or understood, is used in the sense of 6 
 auroe." Matthiae says, " The words which signify e equality, 
 suitableness, resemblance,' or the contrary, as ojuotoe, i'<rocj 
 
 &c., govern the dative In the same manner as 6 avroz, 
 
 etc also is constructed with the dative. Eur. Ph. 157 
 [the instance quoted by Mr. Elliott], oe ljuot jutac lyivtr 
 IK juarlpoc." (Gr. Gr. 386.) So also in 1 Cor. xi. 5. 
 But no instance would be found of such a construction as 
 avv sfjiol fueic, or JUST' I/ULOV jurnc* For instances "of the 
 
452 Appendix. 
 
 imitation of this in Latin/ 5 Matthiae adds, " see Burm. ad 
 Ovid. Am. I. 4, 1. Cort. ad Sallust. Catil. 20, 3." There, 
 in like manner, it is the dative that is used, not the ab- 
 lative with cum [" nobis easdem," not "nobiscum"]. It 
 is not, in Irenaeus and Primasius, " una bestiae hora," but 
 " una hora accipient cum bestia." And Irenasus, it is to 
 be observed, does not make the rise of the ten kings to be 
 at the same time with that of the wild beast, though they 
 rose at the same time with each other. (Cf. sup. cit. 
 pp. 66, 67.) The same may be said of St. Cyril. 
 
 Page 381, Note 9. Bossuet says, in reference to St. 
 Jerome's speaking of Rome as Babylon, " il ne cesse de 
 repeter que Rome est la ville que Dieu a maudite dans 
 1' Apocalypse, sous la figure de Babylone; qu'encore 
 qu'elle ait en partie efface, par la profession du Chris- 
 tianisme, le nom de blaspheme qu'elle portoit sur le front, 
 ce n'est pas moins elle meme ( que ces maledictions re- 
 gardent, et qu'elle ne peut les eviter que par la penitence 
 (lib. de Script. Eccles. In Esai. xlvii. Ixiii. Lib. ii. adv. 
 Jov. in fin.) ; qu'elle est en effet cette prostituee, qui avoit 
 ecrit sur son front un nom de blaspheme, parcequ'elle se 
 faisoit appeler la Ville Eternelle (Epist. 151. ad Algas. 
 9. xi.) ; que c'etoit elle dont saint Jean avoit vu la chute 
 sous le nom de Babylon," &c. (Preface sur 1' Apocalypse, 
 p. 94.) 
 
 Bossuet is, not unnaturally, anxious to prove that Rome 
 was, in a great degree, heathen at the time of its capture 
 by tlje Goths; and he quotes St. Jerome as saying of 
 Rome, " qu'elle ait en partie efface, par la profession du 
 Christianisme, le nom de blaspheme," &c. St. Jerome's 
 words, however, are not thus qualified. " Sed ad te 
 loquar, quae scriptam in fronte blasphemiam Christi con- 
 fessione delesti." (Cf. sup. p. 69, note 1.) Rome had 
 dropped her heathen claim to be the Eternal City : she 
 has since, under a new form, revived it. 
 
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