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"And he gathered them together, unto a place, "called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon." The be here evidently refers to the fixth angel, in the beginning of verfe 12th. That is, by the inftrumentality of the devil, of the Roman hierarchy, of the Pope, of fome of the European kingdoms, and of the Turks, this difpenfation of divine providence fhall, without knowing that they are fulfilling the prophecies of God, collect all thefe forces to a particular place, as the principal field of action; which according to the import of the Hebrew word, may justly be called Armageddon. This word, in the Hebrew language, fignifies the turrets which are devoted to deftruction. Most probably it fignifies the many lofty turrets of Rome, which had long ago been devoted to deftruction by the predictions of God; and which shall be destroyed by the army, which at this time fhall forever bury the name of Rome under the rubbish of its fallen towers, to which the name of Armageddon fhall fitly apply. That Armageddon fignifies the city of Rome, for the reafon juft now given, is still farther evident from what is faid as to the field of action in this war, in chap. xiv. 20.

The precife time of the commencement of this war, or rather of this great and decifive battle, predicted in this fixth vial, I do not pretend to fix exactly; first, because it is not fixed in the predic

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tion itself; and next, because it cannot be fixed from history, the time of its commencement not being yet come. But it is probable, that it will be fometime in the year 1998, because it must immediately precede the feventh vial, which clofes that war, and announces the total overthrow of Rome as the clofe of it. It was formerly fhewn that Rome shall be finally overthrown in the end of the year 1999; and we may reasonably suppose that a little more than one year will be fufficient, and not more than fufficient time for collecting the forces, and fighting the battle predicted in the fixth vial; which would run it back to fometime in the year 1998. Its commencement may be either a little earlier or later; but its termination will be near the end of the year 1999.

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Verfes 17th, 21th.-And the feventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple in heaven, from the throne, faying, it is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, fuch as was not fince men were upon the earth, fo mighty an earthquake and fo great. And the And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance

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before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blafphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

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The feventh angel poured out his vial into the air. The air is the region and medium of lightening, thunder, hail, and ftorms. Thefe are produced by the changes which take place in the ftate of the air. As these are the judgements which are predicted in this vial, it is therefore faid to be poured into the air. Changes in the civil, political, and religious state of the world, are expreffed in the fymbolical language, by correípondent changes in the ftate of the natural world. Hence, as this vial predicts the total overthrow of Papal Rome, and a great change, for the better, of the general state of the civil, political, and religious condition of the world, the vial is faid to be poured into the air, to fignify that the very atmosphere of civil and religious government; under which men fhall live, after the time of this vial, fhall be purified and refined, having discharg

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ed itself of every noxious quality by thefe ftorms of thunder, lightening and hail.

The great voice, out of the temple in heaven from the throne, faying, “It is done,” is a reference to what was faid to John by a voice from heaven chap. x, when he was prohibited from writing the seven thunders, which he then heard, because the time for them was not then come; but was told that he should write them, in the days of the voice of the feventh angel, for the mystery of God should then be finished. When therefore this great voice out of the temple fays, "It is done," he gives him the fignal, that this is the proper place, in which he fhould write thefe feven or finishing thunders; becaufe this feventh vial is cotemporary with the founding of the trumpet by the seventh angel, and under it the mystery of God fhall be finished.

The thunders wrote out at full length under this vial, are those which John was prohibited from writing in chap. x, and which he is now allowed to write, by the great voice, which said unto him, it is done. To hinder a long repetition, the reader will please look back to the commentary on chap. x. 3,-7. and on chap. xi. 15,-19, from which paffages he will fee the connection between them and this one now under our view, and also that the feventh trumpet and feventh vial are cotemporary with each other.

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This voice is faid to come out of the temple in heaven; becaufe, at the time of the event to which it refers, the wilderness state of the church fhall be almoft at an end, and its triumphant state, represented by the opening of the temple, fhall be juft at hand: and from the throne, because it shall then appear that the church of Chrift is the kingdom of God, when every oppofing power must fall before Him whofe throne is in the heavens, and whofe kingdom ruleth over all. There was a great earthquake, accompanied with a violent storm. Is was formerly fhewn that, in the symbolical language, an earthquake fignifies a revolution in the civil, political, and religious ftate of the world; that it is always ufed in this book, to fignify a revolution in all the places in which revolutions are predicted in it; and that when the earthquake is accompanied with thunder, lightening, hail, and storms, it always fignifies that the revolution is brought about by wars.

This revolution fhall be upon the earth, that is, the Roman empire: but it fhall be fuch an one as has not been fince men were upon the earth. From the foundation of the Roman empire by Romulus and Remus to the present day, there have been many great and violent revolutions in Rome. It hath undergone, in its conftitution and government, a revolution from kings to confuls, from confuls to dictators, from dictators to decem

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