had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time." So that the first judgment is to come upon the ten kingdoms of the west; then to extend itself over the territorial limits of the Macedonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Babylonian empires, so that no vestige of them shall remain. After this, the stone which smote the image, that is, the church, shall enlarge itself to a great mountain, and fill the whole earth. But no hint nor intimation is given to us at all, concerning the time which is to be taken up in this intermediate period of judgment, before the great increase of the church, and the reign of the saints in peace and righteousness. Yet hath not God left himself without a witness, or his church without consola. tion, in a matter so important.

For, in the last vision which Daniel received, concerning that "which is noted in the Scripture of truth," there are certain numbers and periods introduced at the end of it, which are not a little helpful to us in determining the time of the duration of the judgment. This revelation, into which we shall yet have to enter at large, contains a rapid history of kings from the time that Daniel wrote, down till the time of the end; and a most particular account of one king, who should, at the time of the end, exalt himself against God, and prosper in war beyond all prosperings, until he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." To one unacquainted with prophetic language, this would seem to refer to the general judgment; but being compared with the 20th chapter of Revelations, the same language will be found used of the period immediately preceding the reign

of Christ over the nations, which is the period after which we inquire. The insight which was given to Daniel into these things was nothing so minute and particular as that which was given to the apostle John, from whose prophecies our discourse will speedily derive its chief direction; but there are between them such marks of synchronism and notes of correspondence, as serve, in this instance, and many other instances, to convince all commentators on prophecy that they have the same event in view.

Yet though Daniel is not so minute in the detail of particulars, he is more full in the revelation of time, whereof we are now to give a remarkable example, in the conclusion of this very vision. In Daniel's hearing, one of the two who stood on the bank of the river, asked the man clothed in white linen, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" This man is particularly described in chap. x. 5, 6. which being compared with Revelations i. 13-15. leaves no doubt that it was the appearance of the Son of Man. Which is confirmed by the manner of his reply, so exactly answering in word and gesture to that in Rev. x. 5, 6. when he announces the termination of the first of the two periods, which he gives in his answer to the man who put the question" And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished."

Here are two periods, concerning the former of which, we have spoke sufficiently in the last head of discourse; concerning the latter of which, we can say nothing further than that it will declare itself. It simply informs us, that the end of the infidel king, who occupieth the latter part of the history, and for whose manifestation the whole history, I doubt not, was given, shall also be the end or accomplishment of God's purpose in dispersing the Jews. Which was most important information to Daniel, and is still most important to the children of the dispersion, and to the church of the Gentiles, whose fulness cometh not till the dispersed are gathered in again; in as much as it fixeth it to be contemporaneous with the downfal of this great infidel king, con

cerning whom, more anon: but this identity of time, or synchronism of these two events, doth not serve any thing to our present object, which is, to ascertain how long time is to intervene from the termination of the great papal period to the conclusion of the judgment upon the papacy, and the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. If, therefore, no other period had been given, it would have been out of place to have inquired here into this vision at all.

But it is added by Daniel, "I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" Here it is to be observed diligently, that the dialogue is between Daniel and one whom he addressed by the epithet "My Lord;" whereas, it was formerly between one of those upon the river, and the man "clothed in white linen." By referring to chap. x. where the introduction to the vision is, we find that this other personage was one who comforted and strengthened Daniel when he was overcome by the sublime apparition of the other. To this mediator between the prophet and the Son of Man, he makes his appeal for an explanation of what had passed between the two, and received these two other numbers in addition to the former "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days."

That these two numbers reckon from the same beginning with the former one, of time, and times, and half-a-time, there can be no doubt; for these emblems, "the taking away of the daily sacrifice, and the setting up of the abomination that maketh desolation," do always denote the supplanting of the true religion by a false one, and is used in the vision of the ram and he-goat of Mohammedanism-in this vision, and elsewhere, of the papacy. From the setting up of the papacy, therefore, there shall be 1290 days, till something, which is not determined by any event; and there shall be 1335 days till the term which is pronounced, BLESSED; blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to it. There can be no doubt that this is the commencement of the glorious time when all shall be blessed in Christ, and all men shall call him blessed. No other epoch in holy writ

is designated blessed. Therefore, we say, that in 75 years, over and beyond the 1260, that is, from the year of our Lord 1792, or in 43 years from this time (A. D. 1825), when I now write, the blessed reign of Christ shall have commenced. (The Lord lengthen out my life to see one of these days of the Son of man. Though in the extremest age, as of Simeon and Anna the prophetess, the Lord spare me to behold his glorious coming!) Also, at the end of 30 years, over the 1260, or into the period of judgment, we are to expect, not a remarkable event, but some alteration in the course of judgment, some recussion or increase of it, or something worthy to be noted, which may perhaps discover itself in the course of our progress. And these two periods of 30 and 45 years, onward from the period of the conclusion of the papal period, are all that we can learn concerning time out of the book of Daniel, or any other part of scripture. But it is sufficient to know, that with these two periods all trouble shall be accomplished, and the earth shall be fully blessed. The last of the first two mentioned periods, when the Jews shall be restored, must come in somewhere before this consummation; but when, no man knoweth. For the four periods are not in successive order, as some have supposed, but two distinct revelations, the one given in addition to the other, for the further satisfaction of the curious prophet. And the chronology amounts to this: that there are four periods, so remarkable as to have been deemed worthy to be given to the church. One of 1260 years, the beginning of which had been found in a former vision, and the end of it also. Another, when the infidel power shall come to his end, and the dispersion of the Jews be accomplished; but when, is not given. A third, at the end of 1290 days; but what, is not given. A fourth, at the end of 1335 days, which every one who abideth to see shall be completely blessed.

Now, this is all the information which is to be gathered from the book of Daniel, in which, no particulars of the judgment are given, that we might compare them with the events which have happened since the year of the French revolution, when the period of papal power came to a close, and the period of papal judgment began. For these judg ments, we must carry our attention to the book of Revelations; in which, we shall find them given in a regular

succession, which being compared with the historical events that have happened, will bring us down to the present time, and enable us to know both where we stand, and for what we are next to be prepared in the execution of the prophetic purposes of God. Now the question is, which portion of the Revelation applies to this period of judgment? that we may know to take it up, and compare it with the event. It is more than a century since the students of this divine yet difficult book discovered that, as soon as the 1260 years were accomplished, the seven last vials would begin to be poured out; in which opinion, they have been joined by almost all the systematic interpreters of prophecy who have written since. But, as many who hear me are, it is probable, unacquainted with their arguments and conclusions, and many altogether ignorant of the structure of this wonderful book, and not a few have given up the study of it in utter despair, I hold it good to show the scheme, and to follow out the continuity of it, in order that I may not be accused of any self-willedness of interpretation, but manifest clearly which part of it has reference to the judgments, and make use of it accordingly. And, for the sake of the continuity of the discourse, I shall throw this into the form of a digression.

DIGRESSION:

Containing the scheme and machinery of the Apocalypse, with a continuous line of that prophecy down to the beginning of the judgments upon the papacy.

THE book of the Revelations, to which we are now to go for the materials of our discourse, is to be studied first in its plan or machinery, and afterward in its fulfilment and the name of Joseph Mede were never to be forgotten in Theology, had he done no more than insist that the plan upon which the book was composed should be studied from the book itself, altogether independently of its fulfilment. It is not a prophetic narrative in chronological order, which is to be forced to apply to the order of history, or history forced by arbitrary divisions to apply to it. Neither is it a