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But, whatever may be thought of this interpretation, certain it is that the Evangelist cites the passage as having then only been fulfilled; and this is sufficient for my purpose.

It will, perhaps, be unnecessary to follow this subject any farther, because I know of no instances more difficult to restrict to one sense than those already considered; and, if all others are also capable of being so restricted, which I believe to be the case, there can never be any necessity for having recourse to a double sense. I will readily grant, that we do occasionally find, in the same chapter of a prophet, particulars predicted which are to come to pass at different periods; and these too will sometimes be found in the very same discourse. The return from Babylon, for instance, will sometimes be followed by predictions of an infinitely more glowing description respecting the times of the Christian church; but in these cases we have nothing confused, nothing doubletongued. We shall always be able, by a little consideration, to separate the one prediction from the other, just as we can the several subjects which seem to have called forth many of the remarks of our Lord in the New Testament, from the subject matter of the remarks themselves. And, when we have done this, all will be simple, obvious, and easy.

The rule here urged, in favour of a single interpretation of prophecy, ought also to be extended to the historical accounts of the Scripture. It has been a practice, I know, and still is, to take the liberation from Egypt or Babylon, as typical of the Christian life, &c., while, in fact, they were events brought about solely for the furtherance of God's purposes, for the fulfilment of certain prophecies, or to prove and illustrate his dealings with his Church. To their application in this sense now, there certainly can be no objection, for so far the application will be just and scriptural; but, when these are cited, divided, subdivided, and particular doctrines elicited, just as if all this contained, under its primary meaning, another still more recondite and mystical, corresponding in all its parts with the more sublime declarations of the Gospel, I

Saviour's infancy, then, I find this text cited, not with reference to Christ's egress from Egypt, but to his being preserved there from the cruelty of Herod. It will not be too much, therefore, to suppose that, in the early times of the church, this view of the text may have generally prevailed.— Jones on the Canon, vol. ii. p. 177.

must object; and insist, that whatever else this may be, it is not a just interpretation of the Scriptures, but is an adaptation of its declarations to circumstances which do not appear ever to have entered the minds of the sacred writers; and to build up the Christian Church upon matter which may just as conveniently be extracted from the histories of Livy, Tacitus, or Thucydides; and, eventually, to bring into disrepute, that which it was intended to elevate to an unusual height of glory and admiration. From particular prophecy, therefore, and plain history, let the obvious intention of their authors be first sought and ascertained: when this is done, the preacher ought to apply them just as the sacred writers have done, for the purpose of magnifying the holiness, goodness, severity, or mercy of God; and this for the purpose of strengthening the faith of his hearers, or of deterring them from sin but not to enable them the more readily to discover mysteries in divinity, or to spiritualise all they may find in God's word. This will be to add to it, and extensively to ruin its authority and influence.

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In the next place, that kind of prophecy which we have termed general, will admit of repeated application; but still, this ought always to be made in the sense primarily intended by its authors. This sort of prophecy necessarily consists in commands, prohibitions, promises, threats, exhortations, and warnings; and, as these must, in a book coming from God, necessarily extend not only to the conduct but to the heart, they must always be interpreted in a manner suitable to their character. If it is said, "thou shalt not kill," we must understand, not only that the act is forbidden, but every thing which may in any degree lead to it; just as St. John has interpreted it, "he that hateth his brother is a murderer." For this comprehensive view of this kind of context, two reasons may be assigned: one is, God, who is the judge, sees the heart; the other, If this extended interpretation be not admitted, then must we have had a revelation containing a law for every particular case both of practice and of conscience that could possibly occur: which would have been impracticable, at the least. The whole tenour of Scripture, however, assures us, that this is the character of the moral law; and, when we are apprised of this, every doubt on the subject must vanish.

DISSERTATION II.

PART II.

AN EXPOSITION OF THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION.

SECTION I.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

IT is not my intention here to enter on the verbal criticism of every part of this interesting portion of holy Scripture; this I hope to do hereafter, should opportunity be afforded my object now is, to endeavour to ascertain its general scope and bearing, and nothing more.

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I pass over all inquiries, therefore, respecting the author of this prophecy, taking for granted that he was inspired, and that he lived some time before the destruction of Jerusalem.* This last opinion I ground upon the circumstance, that no mention of this event as a fact is found in this book: and, for my own part, I believe that the author was St. John. I omit these inquiries, because the limits prescribed to this work will not allow of their being introduced. Let us then, in the first place, transport ourselves as much as possible into the times in which this book first appeared, consider the state and expectations of the Christian church at that period; and proceed to consider, in the next place, whether these, taken in connection with the general context of the prophecy, will afford us any clew to the object and intention of the writer.

* This book was, according to Arethas, written at Ephesus sometime after John had left Jerusalem, and before the war against the Jews had commenced. This he mentions as a report in his days. Com. in Rev. cap. vii. 4—8. And Victorinus, on chap. iv. 14, says: "Nam Evangelium postea scripsit. Cum essent Valentinus et Cherinthus et Ebion et cæteri scholæ Sathanæ diffusi per orbem, convenerunt ad illum de finitimis provinciis omnes, et compulerunt ut ipse testimonium conscriberet." According to this, the Apocalypse was written before John's Gospel.

We know, from the combined and clearest declarations of prophecy, that, prior to the time of our Lord's appearance, he was to be expected; and that certain remarkable events were to follow his ministry and sufferings. To these declarations our Lord himself frequently alluded: after his death and resurrection, they were again and again insisted upon by the Apostles. We shall now cite a few of them. We have already seen, from the book of Daniel, that a succession of empires was to follow that of Persia, and that these were to end with the Roman. We have also noticed the abomination of desolation, as mentioned in these prophecies, and applied by our Lord to the times immediately succeeding his death; and we have adverted to the more particular detail of these events, as related in the latter part of the 9th chapter of the book of Daniel. It has likewise been observed, that predictions are to be found in other places, as alluded to by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans and elsewhere, predicting both the conversion of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews. These, I think, are intimations of which no doubt whatever, as to their real scope, can be entertained. Let us now turn to the predictions of our Lord, relating to the times and circumstances which should precede these events; and, for the sake of brevity, we shall notice only the most remarkable. Matt. xxiv. 2: "Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Ib. 3. Tell us, when shall these things be? and what (shall be) the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (rñs ouvreλeías Toũ aiãvos, of the completion of the period, or dispensation*). 4. Take heed that no man deceive you for

The context here makes it quite impossible that the end of the world generally can be meant, unless we suppose it was to end with that generation, which is absurd: vrsasía, therefore, in this place, must mean consummation, rather than end. In Mark, xiv. 62, this prediction is again made, in reply to a question put by the high priest on the mock trial of our Lord: "Ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." The passage is a citation from Daniel, vii. 13; and the high priest most likely considered it as such, and hence pronounced the use here made of it blasphemous, and decisive as to the high assumptions of Christ. That this prophecy of Daniel alludes to the event also predicted by our Lord, it is scarcely possible to doubt. That coming in the clouds signifies, in symbolical language, the coming with armies and multitudes, may be seen in Jer. iv. 13. Is. Ix. 8. And the same is clear, from the

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many shall come in my name, &c. 6. And when hear of wars, and rumours of wars, see that ye be not troubled : for all (these things) must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, &c. 10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. 12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and THEN SHALL THE END COME.* 15. When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place; 16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. 21. For then shall be

great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, &c. 25. Behold, I have told you before. 27. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 30. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ... 34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.† 42. Watch therefore; for ye

mention of the armies occurring in the prophecy of our Lord.-Some infidel writers, ignorant of what could be meant by this kind of language, have not hesitated to pronounce the Apostles, and others who have used it, as infected with superstition. See the Bishop of Lincoln's valuable work on Tertullian, p. 364.

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* "It is necessary, that searching diligently into those things which are near to come to pass, we should write to you. For the consummation of sin is come, as it is written. . . .' There shall ten kings reign,' &c. (Dan. vii.) 'And I saw the fourth beast,'" &c. Catholic Epist. of Barnabas. Archb. Wake's edit. p. 163. See also p. 165.

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† At ver. 32: "Now learn a parable of the fig-tree: When its branch is yet tender, &c. ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near," &c. Then, at the next verse : "This generation shall not pass till all these things (Távra Tata TENHTAI, i. e. the inceptive signs) BE;" not, as in the authorised version, be fulfilled: this gives an erroneous view of the subject.

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