-He will rage the more furiously, as he beholds the events taking place, by which he will be assured that his time is very short. The children of God will be the continued objects of his malice, and they will also be partakers of his vengeance. Many shall be purified, made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.*

The great, the essential, the glorious difference will be, the one will suffer under "the sure and certain hope of a joyful resurrection to eternal life; the other under the "fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries."+

The friends of the glorified Redeemer are greatly encouraged, and the careless virgins, who refuse to hearken to the premonishing voice of the Gospel,. ought to be filled with fear and trembling, when they hear the awful address of Paul to the Thessalonians, referring to the great expected event. "And to you who are troubled, rest with us; when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them who believe, (because our testimony among you, was believed) in that day."‡

As this destruction that is thus coming on the world, is political as well as religious, it becomes every one of

Daniel, 12th ch. 10th v.

2 Thess. 1st ch. 7-9 v.

+ Hebrews, 10th ch. 27th v.

every denomination, party, and character, seriously to consider the forewarnings of the inspired Servants of God, and the prophetic declarations of Christ himself, and by them carefully to observe and compare the present signs of the times; not to puff up their pride and vanity by supposing themselves wiser than other men; or by pretending to know future events further than they are revealed in God's word. But that by a humble, teachable temper and disposition, with an unfeigned confidence in the divine veracity, they patiently wait with faith and hope, a full completion of the glorious things promised in his word.-His utmost desire will be to be found as a centinel at his post, constantly alert and watching unto prayer, that he may be found worthy at his master's coming, to enter in with him to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

What can the most sanguine friends of the Roman hierarchy say to the temporal power of that see being no more; and even its ecclesiastical power being vox et preterea nihil. It ought not to be forgotten, that when Daniel foretells the destruction of this beast, he also mentions, that the rest of the beasts or governments of Europe, shall also be destroyed.-The great day of the battle of God Almighty, in the valley of Armageddon,* is to be with the kings of the earth; "And I saw three unclean spir

That the reader may better understand this subject, he will not object to the following quotation from Mede's works, as he certainly was the ablest commentator on the revelation that the world has yet seen.

"That the seventh trumpet with the whole space of the thousand years, and the other prophesies thereto appertaining, do signify that great day of judgment, much spoken of by the ancient Church of the Jews, and by Christ and his apostles; not some

its, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon [the Roman temporal government] and out of the mouth of the beast [with seven heads and ten horns] and out of the mouth of the false prophet (it may be either the ecclesiastical powers of Rome, which are so called after the

short space of hours (as is commonly believed) but after the manner of the Hebrews, taking a day for time, a continued space of many years, and circumscribed within two resurrections, as it were the bounds. A day, I say, first to begin at the particular, and, as it were, morning judgment of antichrist and the rest of the living enemies of the Church, by the glorious appearing of our Lord in flaming fire. And then at length to determine (after the reign of the thousand years granted to new Jerusalem, his most holy spouse upon this earth: and after the utter destruction of new enemies yet to arise, the great day waxing toward evening, and Satan being again loosed) at the universal resurrection and judgment of all the dead. Which being thus finished, the wicked shall be cast into hell, to be tormented for ever. But the saints shall be translated into Heaven, to live with Christ for ever. This is indeed that time of the wrath of God upon the Gentiles, and of judging the cause of them that died for Christ, for which the triumphing elders give thanks at the sound of the seventh trumpet, "for then God would give reward to his servants the prophets and saints, and them who fear his name, small and great, and would destroy them who destroy the earth." This is that day of judg ment and perdition of wicked men, of which St. Peter speaks, "but be not ignorant of this one thing, beloved (to wit, the day which I even now speak of) that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." In which same day indeed, the apostle with his brethren of the same kindred, the Jews (to whom he writeth) expecteth that new form of things to come, of which by and by he saith, "But we look for new Heavens and a new earth, according to his promise, wherein dwelleth righteousness"-Observe, according to promise. But when was this promise of new Heavens and a new earth extant (when John had not yet seen the revelation) except that of Isaiah

reign of antichrist, or the Mahometan power, now in possession of the eastern part of the old Roman empire) for they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Al

ch. 65. v. 17. and ch. 66. v. 22. which promise surely, whoever shall read, I should marvel, if he should judge that it shall be fulfilled elsewhere than on earth. This is also that kingdom joined with the appearance of Christ ready to judge the world; of which 2d Epist. Paul to Timothy, 4th ch. 1st v. "I charge thee before our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his kingdom." For after the last and universal resurrection, according to the same apostle, 1st Cor. 15th ch. 24-28th v. Christ (the last enemy being destroyed, that is death) shall deliver up the kingdom to his Father, that he may be subject to him, who subdued all things to himself; so far is He (Christ) from being said then to enter upon any new kingdom. That kingdom, therefore, which neither shall be, before the appearance of our Lord, nor after the last resurrection, is necessarily to be included between them.

This is that kingdom of the Son of Man that Daniel saw, who when the times of the horn of antichrist were fulfilled, or the times of the Gentiles come to an end (Luke 21-24) shall appear in the clouds of Heaven, when there shall be given him power, glory, and a kingdom; that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; or when (as the angel by and by expoundeth it) a kingdom, power, and greatness of kingdoms under the whole Heaven (mark it well) shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high. Deut. 7. 13. and 18-27 verses. Neither yet, (as I said) shall this kingdom be after the second resurrection : since the Son of Man is not to enter upon a kingdom then; but as Paul witnesseth, to lay it down and deliver it to his Father. Now that the same kingdom is handled in both places, as well by John as Daniel, may be proved by these two arguments, 1st. That both begin at the same time, to wit, the overthrow of the fourth or Roman beast that of Daniel when the beast governing under that

mighty.*And he gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.† And the great city was divided into three parts (perhaps the Roman empire) and the cities of the nations fell; (perhaps Paris, Vienna, London, &c.) and great Babylon (Rome)

last regimen of the horn with eyes, was slain and his body given to the burning flame, Dan. 7th and 11-27. That of the Revelation, when the beast and false prophet (that wicked horn in Daniel having mouth and eyes as a head) are taken and both cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 2d. From the same session of judgment premised to both. For it will appear that the one is borrowed from the other and altogether tend to the same purpose. Furthermore I would have the reader to understandWhatever sound matter has been published by the Jews; whatever is declared by the Lord in his Gospel, or any where in the New Testament by the apostles, concerning the day of the great judgment; it is taken from this vision of Daniel, viz. that the judgment is to be accomplished by fire-Christ to come in the clouds of Heaven-to come in the glory of his Father with a multitude of angels-the saints to come with him to judge the earth -antichrist to be abolished" with the brightness of his coming, &c." so that they go about wholly to undermine the pillar of the evangelical faith concerning the glorious coming of Christ, who neglecting the ancient tradition of the Church, endeavour to turn this prophesy to another end.

Lastly. This is that most ample kingdom, which by Daniel's interpretation, was foreshowed to Nebuchadnezzar in that prophetical statue of the four kingdoms-not that of a stone cut out of a hill, while yet the series of monarchy remained (for this is the present state of the kingdom of Christ;) but that of the stone which was (when the monarchies were utterly broken and defaced) to become a mountain and to fill the whole world.

* Rev. 19-20.

† 16th Rev. 13-16. Arma signifies destruction, and Geddon a troop or army.