mentioned in chap. viii. ver. 5. For the periods supposed to be occupied by these events are thus as much made independent periods in the arrangement of the Apocalypse, as are the periods of any of the seven Trumpets.

There is another opinion held by Mr. Faber, and I believe by other commentators, which it may be right to notice, as it appears to me to be erroneous-this is, that the Little Opened Book consisting of four chapters, viz., chap. xi. to xiv., the Prophet, after having passed from the Sealed Book to the Opened Book at the eleventh chapter, returns back again to the Sealed Book in the fifteenth. But this would be inconsistent with that simplicity of arrangement which we may expect to find, and which I have endeavoured to shew does exist in the Apocalypse of St. John.

Mr. Faber's theory, with respect to the Vials, also appears to me in some measure deficient in precision; for though he considers that they are poured out in regular succession, he does not make one Vial terminate before the succeeding Vial commences.

In thus pointing out those things which I consider to be erroneous in the arrangement of the Apocalypse, adopted by Mr. Faber and Mr. Cuninghame, I should feel that I was

doing them injustice, or rather proving myself deficient, either in judgment or candour, if I did not take an opportunity of declaring how much I think the Christian world indebted to them for their valuable works.

With Mr. Cuninghame I have the satisfaction of entirely agreeing in the interesting view he takes of the general character of the times in which we live; and to Mr. Faber I consider myself, in common with the rest of the Christian world, as greatly indebted for the rational and argumentative method of treating the subject of prophecy which he has introduced, or at least greatly encouraged by his example.

The following Tables have been made to shew their different arrangements of the Apocalypse; the dates are inserted, as far as they could be ascertained from their respective works, that the whole may be the better compared with the Chart inserted at the commencement of this volume. The scheme of Whiston I have not regularly laid down; for though I have been glad to avail myself of his authority in support of the principal synchronism of the Apocalypse, and though his work contains many excellent remarks, yet his general plan is not sufficiently regular to make it useful to insert it amongst those of modern commentators, for he con

siders the period of the 1290 and 1335 years, as having a different commencement from the period of the 1260 years, and supposes also, that there are two independent periods of 1260 years, of which one only ends at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet; which opinions being now exploded, render his general plan obsolete.

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Scheme designed to explain Mr. Faber's Arrangement of the Apocalypse.

Sealed Book,

Containing the general History of the Church and Empire.

Little Opened Book, containing the History of the Church during the period of 1260 years.

Period of 1260 years

ends 1866* Period of 30 years ends 1896

Period of 45 years ends 1941

Cotemporary periods of the 1260 years of the Great

Red Dragon-the Two-horned Beast-and the Beast out of the Bottomless pit, which is supposed to be the same as the Ten-horned Beast of the Sea.

N. B. The cleansing of the Sanctuary, or the expiration of the period of Daniel's Vision of the Ram and He-goat, is supposed both by Mr. Faber and by Mr. Cuninghame necessarily to synchronize with the expiration of the period of the 1260 years.

The Vision was seen in the year A. C. 553, Mr. Faber reckons 2400 years from the year A. C. 535, in which year he supposes the action of the Vision to commence, and thus brings the termination of the period down to the year 1866.

Mr. Cuninghame reckons 2300 years from the year A. C. 508, in which year he supposes the action of the Vision to commence, and thus brings the termination of the period down to the year 1792.