CONVINCED of the prevalence and injurious
effects of ignorance concerning the times
that have passed over” the church of God,
the Author of the following Work delivered
a Lecture on Ecclesiastical History, which,
though rapid, and consequently incomplete,
excited so much interest as to call forth a ge-
neral request to see it in a more permanent
form. Another Lecture having followed, on
the Prospects of the Church, as unfolded by
the signs of the times, and the promises made
to religion in the volume of Revelation, a similar
request was made for its publication. A third,
on the scheme of prophecy, and the outline of
the book of Revelation, was suggested by the
wild theories that are now obtruded on the
church and the world. This has been deemed
a fit companion to the other two.
The author is well aware that such an account of the origin of the Work would not justify its