God muft not be profaned. But let it be given to Chriftians thus fhut up. Let them, in the mean time, worship in the tabernacle: But let them look forward with hope to that glorious period, when their wilderness period fhall end; when the temple shall be opened; when it shall be fully confecrated; when the cloud of its confecration fhall be difpelled; and when, in the millennium ftate, they shall worship God in purity, peace, and triumph. Into this opened temple or millennium ftate of the church, none fhall enter till all these feven plagues fhall be fulfilled. When we confider these seven plagues, in the following chapter, it shall appear that the last of them shall not be fulfilled till the final overthrow of Papal Rome, in the end of the year 1999; and, confequently, that the entrance of Chriftians into the opened and confeerated temple shall not be till after that year. It will be in the beginning of the year of Chrift 2000, which year fhall, in its proper place, be fhewn to be the commencement of the millennium.

CHAP. XVI.

Verse xft, ANI

ND I heard a great voice out of the temple, faying to the feven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

That

This chapter contains a long and connected chain of predictions, under the hieroglyphic of the seven vials full of the wrath of God. they are judgements, which fhall be inflicted for the fins of those, on whom they are poured, is evident from the expreffion, "vials of the wrath "of God."

They are to be poured out upon the earth; that is, according to the fymbolical language, and to the invariable ufe of the term in this book, upon the Roman empire; and upon the empire too in a fixed and uniform ftate: for it is upon the earth, not upon the fea, that diffolved and fluctuating state of the empire, out of which the Papal hierar chy rose to the rank of a temporal government, as in chap. xiii. 1.

But

But it may be asked, on what state or period of the Roman empire fhall these judgements fall? The question is important; the answer to it is very neceffary; and it is not more neceffary than clear from the plain language of this chapter itself. In verfe 2d, it is faid that the "firft vial was poured upon the earth; and there fell a noifome and

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grievous fore upon the men which had the "mark of the beaft, and upon them which wor"fhipped his image." But it was fhewn in chap. xiii. that the rife of the beaft, (ngor), fignifies the commencement of the Papal or feventh head of Roman government. In chap. xiii. 14-17. it was fhewn, that the men who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image, fignified the votaries of Papal Rome. Since then the first vial was poured out on them who had the mark of the beast, and upon them who worshipped the image of the beast, the first of these plagues could not happen till after the rife of the beaft, and till after he had votaries to worship him. Hence, it is as plainly expreffed in the fymbolical language that the first of thefe judgements fell upon Papal Rome, foon after it became a temporal government, that is, foon after the year of Chrift 756, as it could have been if it had been faid for in common language. From verfes 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21ft of this chapter, it is evident that the judgement poured out of the feventh or laft R 2

vial

vial represents the complete and final overthrow of Papal Rome. If then the firft of thefe vials was poured out on Rome foon after the commencement of the Papal government, and if the last of them contains those judgements which fhall completely overthrow that government, it must be as plain as words can make it that the state and period of the Roman empire, on which these plagues fhall fall, is the Papal one, from its rife in 756 to its final overthrow in 1999. If this fact needs any farther proof, it shall receive it as we proceed in the explication of the different vials in their order.

These vials predict judgements which fhall be brought upon Papal Rome in this world, in their national capacity, for thofe injuries which in that. capacity they have done to Chriftians. These judgements fhall follow one another in the exact. order of the vials themfelves. They shall not be inftantaneous; each of them fhall commence at the exact time when its refpective vial fhall be poured out, but it fhall continue for a confiderable time, moft probably to near the time of the commencement of the following vial.

The first five of these vials have already been poured out on Papal Rome. We, must therefore fearch for the judgements fignified by them in the hiftory of Papal Rome preceding the period in which we liye. As we proceed, her history fhall afford

afford an exact and complete comment on these predictions. These judgements too are to be confidered as one of thofe figns by which God calls upon us to distinguish between the church of Chrift and the church of Rome. By the alarming calamities predicted by the feven trumpets, and by the wilderness ftate of the church, the Christian church was to be known during this period. This was the great fign mentioned in chap. xii. and thefe judgements of the feven. laft plagues upon Papal Rome are the other fign mentioned in chap. xv. by which the church of Rome shall be known. Thefe plagues come not by chance: They are difpenfations of divine providence, in every respect obedient to the command of God.

These feyen angels cannot pour out their ref pective vials, till they receive the command from him whom all things, animate and inanimate, must obey. His is a great yoice, fuch as the moft dif tant of these events in point of time or place mult obey, as well as the nearest of them. This voice came out of the temple. Thefe judgements fhall be inflicted on Rome for her injuries to the church of Chrift. They are foretold in thofe infpired fcriptures, which contain the rule of faith and obedience, by which that church conducts herself; and when Chriftians fhall arrive at the ftate reprefented by the opened temple, they shall clearly fee how exactly all thefe judgements had been

predicted