on the conclusion of the above canticles, and in it the Deity with the seven angels: but, after a short space of time, on the commencement of the new scene, the temple or sanctuary opens, and presently comes out from the presence of God, the seven angels holding the seven plagues, clothed in clean and white linen, the emblem of the immortal glory they enjoy; and girt about the breasts with golden girdles, to shew that they are vested with the divine authority, and that they are actually proceeding to execute the work they are charged with.

v. 7. "And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever and ever.

v. 8. "And the temple was filled with smoke from the Majesty 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." Here the seven angels receive seven vials full of the wrath of God: upon the pouring out of which, as we shall see, follow the seven plagues or divine judgments upon the enemies of religion. The vials are given to the angels by one of the four living creatures, that is, by a prophet, because at that time the effects of the vials have not happened, but are to happen in time to come, and therefore are here announced by the way of prophecy. Then the temple in heaven is filled with smoke, manifesting, first, the Majesty of God residing there; secondly, his power, which he is going to exert in the punishment of idolaters and heretics.

A similar scene to this was formerly seen by the prophet Isaiah: "I saw," says he, "the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated.-And the house was filled with smoke," Isai. vi. i. 4. In the present case, such is the overpowering force of the smoke, that no man is able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels be fulfilled; or, no man, soul and body together, is able to

enter into the temple, the temple of heaven, till the seven severe scourges of God, imported by the pouring out of the seven vials, have been inflicted on the enemies and persecutors of his Church. The Almighty by his power carries on his Church, through the period of time he thinks fit to allot it, and in its progress punisheth its opposers and enemies. When that period of time finishes, and the seven vials are poured out, and the punishments executed, then follows the general judgment; after which, the saints, will enter soul and body into the temple of heaven. Almighty God is patient in his anger, and waits for the conversion of his undutiful and rebellious children, but their obstinacy arms at last his justice, and compels him to strike. "The Lord is a jealous God," says the prophet, "and a revenger; the Lord is a revenger and has wrath: The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries, and he is angry with his enemies," Nahum, i. 2.

Apoc. Chap. XVI. v. 1. " And I heard," continues St. John, "a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels: Go, and pour out the seven vials of the 'wrath of God upon the earth."

A great voice is heard from out of the temple or sanctuary, as coming from God who resides there; and delivering this order to the seven angels who hold the seven vials: Go, and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."

Conformably to the remarks we made before the opening of the seals, and before the sounding of the trumpets, 46 & 51, so here, before the pouring out of the vials appears another scene of passing from the Jewish establishment to the Christian Church: the Jewish tabernacle with its sanctuary represented in heaven, being left by the angels going forth to pour out the vials of the wrath of God, which belong to the Christian age.

The pouring out the first Vial of the wrath of God.

v. 2." And the first (Angel) went, and poured out his vial upon the earth, and there fell a sore and grievous wound upon men, who had the character of the beast and upon them that adored the image thereof."

Let us begin with observing that as at the sounding of the first trumpet the shower of hail, fire, and blood fell upon the earth, that is, on the good part of the earth or the Christian Church, so here the first vial of the wrath of God is likewise poured out upon the earth, that is, upon the guilty part of the world, or the persecutors of the Christians. The sore and grievous wound here inflicted, means a grievous punishment, which falls upon those who have the character or mark of the beast, that is, on the pagan emperors of Rome and their governors of the Roman provinces, as they bore in a special manner the mark of the beast or of idolatry, by employing their whole power in the support of it and in persecuting the Christian Religion. The same punishment also falls upon those who adore the image of the beast, that is, on the idolatrous people of the Roman empire. The Roman state was the principal seat and bulwark of idolatry. Hence the pouring out of the first vial of the wrath of God announces the divine judgment on the monarchs of Rome and their subjects, for their supporting idolatry, an abomination so odious to God, and for persecuting his Church and his people. How this was fulfilled the following short account will discover:

Nero the first Roman emperor, that imbrued his hands in Christian blood, had by his cruelties made himself the detestation of mankind. The people of Rome would no longer bear with him; his armies revolted from him and set up a new emperor. He was deserted by his own guards,

and the Roman senate pronounced sentence of death against him. In this desperate and forlorn condition he fled from Rome into the country to a house belonging to his freedman, where, by the help of others, not having resolution himself, he got himself dispatched with daggers. Thus fell Nero a victim to the vengeance of God.

But Heaven was not appeased with this sole victim. The weight of divine justice, conformably to the tenor of the vial, fell also upon the whole Roman state, which was torn to pieces by intestine convulsions. Galba succeeded Nero; but soon after rose up Otho, who got himself proclaimed emperor by the soldiers. Galba was murdered in the Forum, and the people were trampled under foot in the streets of Rome by the brutal soldiers. During these troubles in the city, the Roman legions in Germany created their commander Vitellius emperor. This new contest between two competitors could not be decided but by the sword, and the blood of many thousands of Romans. Four considerable. battles were fought within the space of a few months, which gave the empire to Vitellius. But that same year the Roman armies in the east vested their own commander Vespasian with the imperial purple in opposition to Vitellius. This continued the civil war, and a battle was fought between the two parties at the gates of Rome, in which the Vitellians lost the day. Rome was made a scene of slaughter, being taken and ravaged by its own subjects, and the Capitol was laid in ashes.

Eight years after this calamity sprung up a fresh one. Such a terrible plague infected the city of Rome, that according to Eusebius it swept away ten thousand inhabitants in a day for several days together.

Domitian the second persecutor felt also the weight of divine anger. His own friends and

domestics, with his wife Domitia, conspired against him and slew him. And after his death the senate of Rome rescinded all his edicts, ordered all his statues to be pulled down, his name to be erased in all the public registers, and never more to be mentioned.

The emperors Trajan, Adrian, and Marcus Aurelius, having rather tolerated than raised persecution, escaped such visible judgments. But the Empire itself felt the dismal effects of the Christian blood that had been spilt during these reigns. In the eighteenth year of Trajan there happened a prodigious earthquake, which was almost general in the East, but Syria chiefly suffered. Many great towns were ruined. In the city of Antioch, where the Emperor Trajan then resided, almost all the buildings were thrown down, and many thousands of people lost their lives; the emperor himself narrowly escaping by leaping out of a window. In the second year of Marcus Aurelius the Tyber overflowed a considerable part of Rome, carried away a multitude of people and cattle, ruined the country, and caused an extreme famine. This inundation was followed by swarms of insects, which devoured all that the flood had spared. Four years after, Lucius Verus coming victorious from the Parthian war, brought the plague along with him, which communicated the contagion to all the Roman provinces through which he passed, and carried off multitudes of people.

Severus, the fifth persecutor, among other misfortunes, had for son Antoninus Caracalla, a most vicious prince, who attempted to take away his father's life by stabbing him with his own hand, but was prevented by some that were present. This behaviour of his son threw Severus into a deep melancholy, which put an end to his life. The hand of vengeance pursued even his children.