Page images
PDF
EPUB

the Turk into Palestine at the era of the restoration of the Jews. I have just explicitly avowed my total dissent from them, and have very fully given my reasons for such dissent: according however to all appearances, though I presume not to say how soon,* not many years will elapse before the question is decided between us for ever. If the Ottoman empire fall, as I myself firmly believe it will do, without undertaking the predicted expedition into Palestine contemporaneously with the return of the Jews; we shall then be sure, that it cannot be the subject of either of the two prophecies, whether the two relate to the same event or not to the same event. And, if it should prove not to be the subject of the prophecy contained in Dan. xi. 44, 45, which of course it cannot be unless it fulfil that prophecy by undertaking the expedition into Palestine; then neither can it be the subject of the prophecy contained in Dan. xi. 40-43. And, if it be not the subject of that prophecy; then it cannot be the king of the North, to whom the entering into the countries and all that follows is ascribed, erroneously indeed I believe, by Mr. Mede and Bp. Newton. And, if the Ottoman power be not the king of the North; then neither can the Saracenic power be the king of the South. In short, unless the now debilitated Turk shall perform at some future period all that is predicted in Dan. xi. 44, 45, which both Mr. Mede and Bp. Newton allow to be yet unaccomplished; their whole exposition of Dan. xi. 36— 45 will be untenable.

*The Turkish empire seems at present to exist, balanced as it were between the jealousy of France and Russia; and, what is more, its crisis, so far as human foresight can calculate, seems very rapidly approaching. The usurper is claiming all the Turkish provinces that ever belonged to the Venetian republic; and, if France and Russia seriously measure their strength, it will most probably be upon Ottoman ground. Can an empire, which totters to its very base, and which is faintly struggling with open rebellion, stand the shock of two such conflicting rivals? Unless I greatly mistake, the route of Antichrist or the infidel king to Palestine will be through the northern provinces of Turkey and Asia minor. Here the king of the South will butt at him and here the more mighty king of the North will come against him like an impetuous whirlwind, not only with land forces, but with many ships to prevent his crossing the Constantinopolitan strait. Yet, in despite of this resistance, he shall overflow the countries like a torrent and safely " pass over." Wonderful is the concurrence of facts with prophecy! Even now we behold the monster, who at one period seemed effectually excluded from Turkey by the powerful intervention of Austria, hanging upon the frontiers of the Ottoman empire, and devouring by antici pation his devoted prey. June 3, 1806.

Since then the infidel king is to spring up after the reformation and to continue to the time of the end, when he is to undertake an expedition against Palestine, we must look for his two antagonists, the kings of the South and the North, after the reformation also. And here it may be observed, that, since the king of the North is no where said to be a horn of the fourth beast, we may seek him either within or without the limits of the ancient Roman empire, according as we are directed by existing circumstances. The same remark applies with equal force to the king of the South. Now, when we consider that near twelve centuries have elapsed since the rise of the great Apostacy in the year 606, and consequently (if this be the true date of it) that it has to continue but little more than 60 years; when we next recollect, that the king of the North is to be contemporary with the infidel king, whose primary rise must be dated from the year 1789 when the French revolution commenced, who was fully revealed in the year 1792 when the reign of atheism and anarchy began,* and whose overthrow will begin to take place at the end of the 1260 years; when from this circumstance we obviously deduce, that the king of the North is to be the most powerful northern sovereignty of Europe that shall be in existence between the years 1789 and 1866, at which last period the 1260 years terminate if they be dated from the year 606; and when we lastly advert to the existing and probably future state of the great European commonwealth, we can scarcely doubt but that the king of the North is the colossal monarchy of Russia. What state is meant by the king of the South, is not quite so easy to determine.

As for the predicted wars of the infidel power with these two sovereigns, none of them have yet received their accomplishment. The prophet begins his account of them with declaring, that they shall happen at the time of the end. The time therefore is not yet: for the 1260 yeurs have not yet elapsed, consequently the time of the end is not yet come. Assuredly however will Antichrist hereafter invade Palestine in conjunction with

* These dates will be fully discussed hereafter.

...........

the false prophet and the kings of the Latin earth: and, though tidings out of the East and out of the North* may trouble him, will succeed in planting the curtains of his pavilions between the seast in the glorious holy mountain yet, notwithstanding the temporary prosperity of his affairs, he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. The series of events, which terminates with the destruction of the monster and his confederated host, will be contemporary with the restoration of the Jews. At the close of the 1260 years, and at the commencement of that intermediate period styled by Daniel the time of the end, Antichrist will undertake the expedition which will terminate in his destruction; and at that same period the Jews will begin to be restored. Few therefore of the present generation can expect to behold even the beginning of the expedition: none can hope to witness his predicted invasion of Palestine, his capture of Jerusalem, his tremendous destruction between the two seas.§ Awful as the scenes have been, which we have

* Daniel teaches us, that he will hear these tidings out of the East and out of the North, while engaged in the conquest of Egypt. Now we have reason to believe, that a large body of the Jews will be restored in a converted state by some great maritime power. Suppose then that these Jewish converts and their protectors should land in Palestine, while Antisbrist was in Egypt, the tidings of such a circumstance must undoubtedly come to him out of the East and out of the North. But the series of events, here detailed by Daniel, are considered at large in the work which I am now preparing for the press on the restoration of Israel and the destruction of Antichrist. To that work I beg to refer the reader.

The dead sea and the Mediterranean sea, between which Jerusalem is situated. Dan. xi. 40. xii. 1, 6, 7. That the declaration contained in these two last verses relates to the commencement and not to the accomplishment of the restoration of Judah, in other words, that Judah will only begin to be restored at the end of the three times and a half, is manifest from the following statement. We are taught in Dan. xii. 1, that the Jews will be delivered at the same time (according as we understand the passage,) either with the commencement of the infidel king's expedition in Dan. xi. 40, or with his overthrow in Dan. xi. 45. The last supposition is forbidden by other parrallel prophecies, which represent the Jews as being already in their own land at the time that the Antichristian confederacy is broken: consequently, they must have begun to be restored previous to its being thus broken. The first supposition therefore must be adopted; whence it will follow, that the Jews begin to be restored contemporaneously with the commencement of the infidel king's expedition. But this expedition commences at the time of the end (Dan. xi. 40.): and the time of the end commences at the expiration of the 1260 years therefore the expedition commences at the ex`piration of the 1260 years: and therefore the restoration of the Jews, which commences with the commencement of the expedition, must necessarily commence, not be perfected, at the expiration of the 1260 years likewise.

SI speak only as supposing my date of the 1260 years to be the true one. Should I be so mistaken in the date, as that the 1260 years expire sooner than I expect, these awful events will of course take place proportionably earlier likewise.

...........

beheld as it were with our own eyes, a yet more dreadful prospect extends before us, ere the blessed reign of Christ upon earth shall commence. The revealing angel, who shews to Daniel that which is noted in the Scripture of truth, concludes his prophetic narrative with informing him; that, at the period during which the atheistical tyrant is destroyed, and the Jews are restored, "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time."

Nor can we wonder, that that era should be marked with peculiarly horrible events, when we recollect that it is to witness the dying struggles, not only of Atheism, but likewise of Popery and Mohammedism. It is an era however, which will be terrible only to the enemies of the Church of Christ. Those, who have come out of the mystic Babylon, and have refrained from polluting themselves with the Antichristian abominations of Infidelity, will not be partakers of her last plagues.*

Thus have we seen, that this favoured servant of God has, with inimitable simplicity and wonderful accuracy, given us three distinct paintings of three great enemies of the Gospel of Christ; Popery, Mohammedism, and French Atheism. The two first, being (to use Dean Prideaux's expression) the two feet of the great Apostacy with which it trampled both upon the East and the West during the same period of 1260 years, are represented by the kindred symbols of two little horns; for Popery and Mohammedism had these features in common, that they were each a less or a greater deflexion from pure Christianity, and that they each equally affected to act not contrary to the will of Heaven but under its immediate sanction: while the last, being completely a monster sui generis, the very Antichrist predicted by St. John; the last, as if no symbol could be found adequate to describe the enormous wickedness of his character; the last is exhibited to our view by no hieroglyphic, but stands confessed in all his native horrors, as a king who should magnify himself above every god, who should speak marvellous things against the God

* The whole of this subject will be more fully discussed hereafter,

........

of gods, who should neither regard the god of his fathers, the desire of women, nor any god, but who, instead of the Lord of hosts, should impiously honour tutelary deities, and especially venerate a strange god whom his less daring fathers of the Apostacy never knew.

I shall now proceed to examine the kindred prophecies of St. John, who, like his illustrious predecessor Daniel, foretells, with the addition of various more minute circumstances, that the Church shall be in a depressed state during the 1260 years of a great Apostacy from the simplicity of the Gospel.

CHAPTER VII.

Of the four first apocalyptic trumpets.

AS the nature of my subject confines me to those parts of the Apocalypse which treat of the 1260 years of the great Apostacy, I shall pass over in silence the contents of the six first seals, and commence my observations from the last seal which comprehends all the seven trumpets.

"And, when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints, upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake."

The prophet had already, under the sixth seal, predicted the conversion of the Roman empire to Christi

« PreviousContinue »