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"were two hundred thousand thoufand: And "I heard the number of them. And thus I "faw the horfes in the vifion, and them that "fat on them, having breaft-plates of fire, and "of jacinth and brimstone; and the heads of "the horses were as the heads of lions; and ડ out of their mouths ifsued fire, and smoke and "brimftone. By these three was the third part "of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, "and by the brimftone, which iffued out of "their mouths. For their power is in their "mouth, and in their tails: For their tails "were like unto ferpents, and had heads, and "with them they do hurt. And the rest of "the men that were not killed by thefe plagues,

yet repented not of the works of their hands, "that they should not worship devils, and idols "of gold and filver, and brass, and stone, and "of wood; which neither can fee, nor hear, "nor walk: Neither repented they of their mur"ders, nor of their forceries, nor of their for❝nication, nor of their thefts." Every circumftance of this defcription has been verified, in the ravages committed by the Turks, and in the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.

The Turks were at first four small dynafties, in the neighbourhood of the Euphrates, who at the time appointed by God, successfully pushed their conquefts weftward. It is well known,

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that their army confifted chiefly of horsemen, and that they were remarkable for the ufe of gun-powder. The more we examine into their principles, government and manners, the more fhall we be convinced, that as they have been, so they still are, a horrible scourge to the Chrif tian world. Cruel in war, they have deftroyed multitudes, and fpread devaftation by their, arms: Inimical to the fciences and to every improvement, they have established ignorance, and resisted civilization, as far as their dominion extends: Brutal in their manners, they have trampled not only on the pure precepts of Chrif tianity, but on the finer feelings of the human heart, and the ties by which mankind are united together in fociety, for the gratification of their lufts: Zealously attached to the falfe prophet Mahomet, in propagating his religion they have deftroyed the fouls of millions; "their "tails were like unto ferpents, and with them, "they do hurt, ver. 19." Now, "the prophet, "that teacheth lies, he is the tail, Ifaiah ix. 15." Yet the juftice of God, in continuing this scourge, is vindicated by the conduct of profeffed Chrif tians. Of them it holds true at the prefent mo"the reft of the men which were not kill

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"ed by these plagues, yet repented not of the "works of their hands, that they should not

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worship devils (demons,) and idols of gold

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"and filver, and brafs, and ftone, and of wood, which neither can fee, nor hear, nor walk. "Neither repented they of their murders, nor "of their forceries, nor of their fornication, "nor of their thefts." The Greek and Latin Churches zealously propagate the demon-worfhip of the ancients, under the name of worship given to faints and angels. They have established image-worship by law; and a univerfal diffolution of manners prevails among them, by the teftimony of their own hiftorians.

SECTION II.

The Antichriftian Empire.

A fecond remarkable circumftance in the reprefentation of this period, is the reign of Antichrift. It is accurately described, and laid before us in various paffages of scripture; chiefly in thefe, Dan. chap. vii. verfe 7. and 8. 20.— 25.; chap. xi. verse 36.-39.; 2 Theff. chap. ii. verse 3.-12. ; 2 Tim. chap. iv. verfe 1.-5.; Rev. chap. xiii.; chap. xvii.

The prophecy in the firft paffage represents four univerfal monarchies, fucceffively following each other, of which the Babylonian empire, exifting in the prophet's time, was the firft. It

points out a remarkable circumftance in the fate of the fourth of these empires, "That it fhould "not be followed by another univerfal monar

chy, but should be divided into several sepa"rate independent kingdoms, represented by "the ten horns." And that this state of things should continue till the reign of the faints, or the commencement of the Millennium. Accordingly the Roman empire, allowed by all hiftorians to be the fourth univerfal monarchy, has been divided by the northern nations above a thousand years ago, into the feveral independent kingdoms of Europe; princes have arisen fince that division, ambitious of forming a univerfal monarchy. But He who regulates the balance of power, more effectually than the schemes of politicians, or the arms of contemporary princes, has uniformly disappointed their devices, and the order of things represented in the prophecy, has been preserved to the present moment.

The prophecy fhews the particular part of the fourth monarchy, which fhould be thus divided into separate kingdoms. For it is faid that the three first beafts had their lives prolonged, after their dominion was taken away; and all the horns are reprefented as ifsuing from the head of the fourth beaft. These two circumftances compared, imply that the original provinces of the fourth monarchy, those sur

rounding

rounding the imperial city, diftinct from the original provinces of the three former empires, should be thus divided into separate kingdoms. Accordingly we ought to look for them not in Babylon, not in Perfia, not in Greece, but in the European provinces of the Roman empire. There they have been erected. There they are ftill maintained. The fame God who disap pointed the European princes, affecting univerfal monarchy, fet limits to the ravages of the Saracens, and the conquefts of the Turks, fo as to prevent effectually their disturbing that order of things which his word had foretold.

The prophecy further fhews, "That in the "midft of, and contemporary with these king"doms fhould be that of Antichrift, reprefented

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by the little horn; that though a little horn, "he had a mouth speaking great things, and a "look more ftout than his fellows;" that it should be divers" from the contemporary king"doms; that he should speak great words against "the Moft High, and think to change times and "laws." Accordingly the Papal dominion has arifen from the ruins of the fallen empire, and has existed among the kingdoms of Europe for a thousand years. The territory of this potentate is fmall, compared with the other divifions of the empire; but his claims are unbounded, arro gating to himself authority over all created be

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