prophesying of the awful calamities which were to come upon the world, at the very time when the three highest degrees of the gospel testimony should be sounded.

Verse 1, "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit." Signified that the testimony attacked an establishment, which the people had considered a heavenly establishment, but as it was then shown to be altogether of the wisdom of the earth, therefore it is said it fell" from heaven to the earth," "And unto him (that is, the star, or establishment that fell) was given the key of the bottomless pit," signified that this establishment was full of corrupt men, who had power to teach in such a manner, by their objections against the gospel, as to cause a thick darkness to cover the minds of the people, signified by the smoke of the pit," as in verse 2, which hindered the people from beholding the light of the gospel.

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VERSE 3, "And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: (that is, upon the minds of men,) and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power." Scorpions have power to bite so as to kill, not suddenly, but by a lingering death.

Verse 4, "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, &c. (explained before,) but only those men which have not the seal of Gad," &c. which meant those who did not be lieve in Christ.

Verse 5, "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months, and their torment was as the torment

of a scorpion when he striketh a man." It is certainly signified that out of the smoke, or darkness, occasioned by false teaching, there proceeded such suggestions, and tormenting perplexities in the minds of the people as to give them such pain as the bite of a scorpion gives a dying man, in which their minds were harrassed, as is described in the following:

Verse 7, on to 10, " And the shapes of the locusts like unto horses prepared unto battle; on their heads, as it were crowns like gold, faces like men, hair like women; as it were, breastplates of iron, teeth like lions, the sound of their wings as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle: tails like scorpions, stings in their tails.

Verse 11, "And they had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit." That is, the same star that fell, which, by the teaching of its corrupt votaries sent forth all this. "Whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue Apol lyon," that is, destroyer, of course in this time of calamity much destruction was effected, destruction of tranquility at least.

Verse 12," One wo it past; behold there come two woes more hereafter."

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VERSE 13,"And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden allar." Signified a voice from that state, or spirit, in which man offers himself to God. "Saying to the sixth angel," that is, that degree of understanding which sent forth the sixth degree of the testimony; " loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. As the river Euphrates ran through ancient Babylon, and was its support for water; so the principle current of vain thoughts is the support of "mystery Babylon the great." "Four angels bound in this Euphrates," signified four causes, or messengers of calamity and destruction which were bred in this source of vanity and ini-quity, and had hitherto been bound from destroy

ing the people, but that the time had now come for these four calamities to be let loose upon the. wicked world.

Versk 15, "And the four angels were loosed which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men." Signified the succession of calamities to destroy a large portion of the family of man, or the movements of

men.

Verse 16," And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand."

Verse 17, 66 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them having breastplates of fire, and of jucinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses as the heads of Lions, and out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone." This numerous army of horsemen signified the numerous evil movements in the people; the horses signified their faculties or abilities on which those movements rode; their breastplates of fire, jacinth and brimstone signified that they were performing the work of God in punishing sinners, and destroying sin, although they knew it not, but were themselves to share in the same punishment; "out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone," while the smoke implied that they still kept in darkness and unbelief; the "fire and brimstone" signified that the punishment of sinners, and the destruction of sin, would be the ef fect of their slaughter.

Verse 19, "For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt." The tails of those horses, in which it is said their power was, as well as in their mouth, signifies false teaching, or teaching lies: see Isaiah ix, 15, "The prophet that teacheth lies is the tail." As the tail covers the most filthy part of the beast, so a teacher of lies covers up the abomination, and destroys by deception, like a serpent which covers

himself till he has opportunity to bite; from which we see that in the time of this second woe, much destruction was effected by the deceptions of false teaching, as also in the time of the first.

Note. Let the reader still keep in view, that in this succession of calamities we are only going over the same things which were prophesied by our Lord in the opening of the 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 seals, and we shall by and by see that the things which took place at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, were precisely the same that were prophesied by the opening of the seventh seal; but now follows a description of some remarkable things which took place before the second woe was past.

CHAPTER X.

Verse 1, "And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven." Signified another dispensation of the gospel testimony which was not one of the seven degrees of it, because the witnesses received this, (which was a dispensation of prophecy.) in every degree of their understanding;— "clothed with a cloud," signified that there was a cloud of witnesses which stood in that spirit of prophecy; and a rainbow upon his head," signified that the thing to he prophesied in that dispensation was altogether merciful; "and his face as it were the sun," signified that its appearance was light-giving and glorious; "and his feet as pillars of fire," signified that it walked forth with the Burning testimony of truth.

Verse 2, "And he had in his hand a tittle look open," signified that in the hand, or working power of that dispensation was an open view of the glorious things to be predicted in the prophecy; "and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his lift upon the earth," signified that the sea of vain thoughts, and the earth, or ground in the minds of the witnesses were underneath the travailing powers of the testimony of prophecy.

VERSE 3, "And cried mightily as a lion roareth, signified that the spirit of prophecy sent forth its predictions with great strength.

Verse 5, "And the angel which I saw, 'e. lifted his hand to Heaven."

Verse 6," And sware by him that liveth forever and ewer, &c. that there should be time no longer," signified that the old dispensations were at a close, that the spiritual Kingdom of Jesus Christ was then immediately to succeed over all nations, which Kingdom, as its proceedings were not to be reckoned by spaces of time, as it was spiritual, and eternal in its nature; and as this prophecy alluded wholly to the reign of Christ, it was properly declared, "that there should be time no longer."

Verse 7, "But in the days of die voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." Meant that those things which had been mysterious to the saints, would then be opened and made easy to understand by the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Saints, and to rule all nations.

Verse 11, St John eating the little book from the hand of the angel, which was sweet in his mouth, but made his belly bitter, signified that he partook of the same dispensation of prophecy; that in prophesying, the subject was sweet like honey; yet it produced persecution, which in its process was bitter.

Note. From the above it will evidently appear, I hope, that this prophecy alluded to the finishing of the Jewish theocracy, and the spiritual reign of Christ to succeed it, which took place A. D. 70, or soon afterwards.

CHAPTER XI.

Verse 1, 66 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod," signified the rule, or power of the