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and moft violent ftruggle, fhall be totally overthrown.

The following verfes of this chapter open to us a general view of these. Hence, the particular meaning of this verse, as introduced in this part of the prophecies, is this: So violent fhall be the last struggle which Antichrift shall make to preferve his dominion, fo bloody fhall the wars be which fhall immediately precede his final overthrow, and fo many fhall be the calamities of war to which men shall be exposed, that even death itfelf, however repugnant to the feelings of nature, would be defireable, when compared to the calamities of that war, to every man who is in such a ftate that happiness would be his portion after death.

Verfes 14th, 20th. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one fat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a fharp fickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that fat on the cloud, Thruft in thy fickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that fat on the cloud, thruft in his fickle on the

earth;

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earth; and the earth was reaped. nother angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a fharp fickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the fharp fickle, faying, Thruft in thy fharp fickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth: for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his fickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and caft it into the great wine-prefs of the wrath of God. And the wine-prefs was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-prefs, even unto the horse-bridles, by the space of a thousand and fix hundred furlongs.

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This paffage contains a general account of the wars by which Papal Rome shall be overthrown. As these are more particularly defcribed in fome of the following parts of this book, to which these verfes are introductory, it will be proper to defer the full explication of them until I shall explain thefe parts. I fhall therefore only in general take notice of a few ftriking things in this introduction. At that period, Chrift fhall appear on a white cloud, with a golden crown on his head, and

VOL. II.

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Tharp

a fharp fickle in his hand. Then the cloud which had hung over the church of Chrift fince the year 756 fhall not be totally difpelled: but having become gradually thinner fince the Reformation, it fhall be a white cloud. A thick cloud is always black. The thinner any cloud is, it is proportionally whiter, because more of the rays of the fun and more of the clear aether are feen through it. Soon after that time, the clouds fhall be totally difpelled, whenever the violent but short wars predicted in this paffage fhall terminate.

At the Reformation, the two witneffes reprefenting Chriftians, afcended up to heaven in a cloud, chap. xi. 12. It was not called a white cloud at that time, being then fo thick as to hang over the church for above four hundred years. But at the period to which this prediction refers, it is called a white cloud, because probably it shall not then hang over the church for more than one year.

Chrift h has a golden crown on his head, and a fharp fickle in his hand, to fignify, that at that period his kingdom fhall begin to fhew its strength and power over his enemies, particularly over that enemy, who with peculiar propriety is called Antichrift. It was the harveft of the earth which he was to reap, because it was ripe. At that time, the Papal Roman empire fhall be ripe in fin, and ripe for deftruction. God had allowed that peo

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ple above 1240 years under a great variety of dif penfations of his providence, to repent of their oppofition to that kingdom of God which is truth, righteousness, peace, and joy; but they repented not. They shall at that period become ripe for destruction, and the time predicted for their final overthrow fhall draw near.

The angel who has power over fire is introduced here. Fire purifies, warms, and alfo totally confumes. It is rendered beneficial or deftructive by the management of the person who has it under his power. In the fymbolical language, fire fignifies wars and contentions, frequently ftiled fiery trials. By the angel who had power over fire, it is fignified, that neither have any of the wars and contentions that have happened in the Roman empire fprung up by chance, nor fhall the laft and moft dreadful one come by chance, with which that empire fhall terminate, but they are all overruled by the fuperintendency of divine providence. They fhall all be directed by divine providence to the purposes which God intended, and not to thofe which these men intend, who are only the inftruments in them, though they imagine themselves the prime agents. Many of these were carried on by Papal Rome against the church of Christ, in order to deftroy her but divine providence overruled them to the purposes of purifying her and keeping her

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zeal in proper heat. In all these she is that bush which burned and was not confumed, because the angel of the Lord was in the flame of fire in the midst of the bufh. But when he who overrules wars fhall give the command, the war predicted in this paffage fhall, at once completely purify the church of Chrift and deftroy Papal Rome.

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The language of this war fhall be, "Thruft in thy fharp fickle, and gather the clusters of the "vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." It is still on the earth, the Roman empire, that deftruction fhall be brought by this war. In verfe 15th it is the harveft of the earth which fhall be reaped, and in verse 18th it is the clufters of the vine of the earth which fhall be gathered; and both for the fame reason, because they are fully ripe. There are two reasons why these two symbols are used to represent the final overthrow of the fame empire. ft, Because that empire though one, is made up of two diftinct and different parts, a civil and an ecclefiaftic government: parts in themselves effentially different, and yet infeparably interwoven in the very conftitution of the Papal government. Hence, the deftruction of each part is predicted by a fymbol peculiar to itself.

A ripe harvest, fignifies a civil government ripe for deftruction. The deftruction of Tyre and Zidon is thus expreffed in Joel iii. 13. “Put ye in "the fickle, for the harveft is ripe."

And of the

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