Lord, than on this dreadful day. For the affairs of the kingdom of Christ now establishing, have assumed such a doubtful aspect, that, to calculate from physical force and natural possibility on both sides, the overwhelming power and disposition of the beast and its coalition would, at first sight, strike fear and despair into the ranks of the Lainb. It will no doubt, be a day of trial to many, and of ardent supplication to all; but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and confide in their King of kings. Dan. x1, 32. In order to form a more clear conception of what now follows, I would advice the reader to take a review of what has been said chap. xvi, 14. 16. and chap. xiv, 20. which passages also refer to this dreadful event. The first of these passages mentions the day, and the second the place where this decisive battle will be fought. The day is the great day of God Almighty; and the field of battle is called Armageddon ; which word signifies the destruction of the powerful, or the destruction of Megiddo. See Zechariah xu, 11. Judg. ch. v, 19. 31. 2 chron. xxxv, 22. 2 Kings 1x, 24. 27. It is very probable from these and other prophecies in Joel, that this word Armageddon, or Harmageddon, has a particular reference to Judea, and that Palestine will be the future theatre of this terrible scene. There the holy Seer saw the two mighty armies encamp, in opposition to each other. On one side the beast, and the kings of the earth had concentrated all their armies, and were now engaged in drawing them up by threatening divisions, in order of battle, breathing death and destruction against the kingdom of Christ at every moven.ent. On the other side St. John beheld the army of the Lord, clothed in byssus, with an immortal commander at their head, though invisible, yet represented to his people by the manly Son at the time. This seems to be the state and position of both armies the preceding evening, in which they await with eagerness, the coming day. Is not this a scene of folly and wickedness, sufficient to make angels weep! Is it not a work of Satanic delusion, equal to that among the Jews during the trial and crucifixion of our Lord! But Heaven has decreed, it shall terminate in a different way. The word of God is a word of truth, and the Lord is faithful to fulfil all his promises; but human expositors have often erred, especially in their anticipations of unaccomplished prophecies. This should make us careful in delivering an opinion on such a subject, like the one now under contemplation. I therefore offer what I shall now say, with caution and diffidence. A general survey of all the predictions in this book referring to this terrible catastrophe, would seem to authorize the following explanation. When that government in Europe, which is indicated by the iron-sceptre of the manly-son, chap. x11. shall, by divine intimation, commence an establishment in Palestine; the spirit of the Lord will at the sametime exite a great andgeneral commotion among the Jews, and Christians under the oppression of Antichrist, to assist and support that establishment. This important movement will excite the suspicion and envy of the beast from the bottomless pit, then at the zenith of its power, and raging with satanic fury; more especially as it is a movement, the success of which would be destructive to that great plan concerted by the beast, the dragon and the false prophet, and now brought to a state of great forwardness, by the agency of the three unclean spirits, chap. xvi, 13. 14. Wherefore, to oppose the people of God in executing their important designs, the beast and his coalition will collect their armies, and overtake the army of the Lord at Armageddon. Here the beast and the kings receive information, which induces them to resolve upon the total destruction of the first buddings of the kingdom of Christ. They take measures accordingly, and arrange their or der of battle the preceding evening, for the inhuman attack on the ensuing day. The people of God on the other side seem to be collected in great numbers, and no doubt, encamped in military order, and under leaders of great skill and prudence, to prevent mischief and surprise; but unprepared, and unwilling to oppose such an immense army, and avoiding all engagements of every kind. There never were two armies opposed to each other since the world began, so different in principle, spirit, sentiment and disposition, as these. Encompassed on every side, the followers of the King of kings, know the invisible presence of their immortal Leader, and spend no time in providing ammunition, or anxious consultation during the night; they trust in the promisses and fidelity of their faithful commander, and rest assured of his supernatural manifestation for their deliverance. How the Lord will manifest himself on that day, whether merely by a preternatural exertion of the powers of nature in the destruction of the allied armies; or in a pavilion of divine glory, moving through the air from Jerusalem to the front of the army of Antichrist; or personally with all the ensigns of his power and glory as the Son of God, and sole proprietor of the world, can not be determined with certainty. The awful and tremendous appearance of Christ, may probably take place, in all three ways on that day by a terrible earthquake, and preternatural tempest within the camp of Antichrist, arising upon the audible voice of the Lord, pronouncing judgment against his enemies; and by a most loving & condescending familiarity with his people, from the apparent Shechinah descending to the midst of their camp, making appointments and publishing statutes and arrangements for his kingdom, and giving them tokens of his divine pleasure and approbation, Verse 20. Both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. We find no description of an actual engagement between these two armies. The Antichris tian coalition will probably be struck with terrour, upon its first movement against the camp of the people of God. St. John says, the beast and the false prophet were taken in the first onset, but he does not inform us by whom they were taken alive. I am disposed to believe, that the invisible powers of light and darkness will be yet more cngaged on that day within the region of these two camps, than even these hostile armies themselves. Ephes. VI, 12. For why should Satan and his whole crew of infernal spirits, be punished with the beast and false prophet, if they had not been equally guilty; and that they are punished is evident from the following chapter. The beast and false prophet will be taken by executing angels, and carried soul and body to their final and eternal doom; as the followers of the Lamb would not dare to enter the howling tempest of incessant lightnings and fiery thunderbolts, raging in the camp of the enemy. Their punishment is here represented emblematically, by a lake of fire burning with brimstone, to indicate its piercing pain and severity. It seems to indicate more, than merely a similar manner of death to that of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose cities were turned into a sulphurous lake, Jude v, 7. Gen. XIX. The peculiar form of expression here would induce a belief, as if their bodies were changed into an incorruptible state, and their whole persons thus cast into the torments of hell. If the text authorizes this opinion, these two would be the first of all the unhappy dead, who suffer that full portion of torment in body and soul from that day, which awaits all others only after the day of general resurrection. This punishment is terrible beyond all conception! The remnant of these immense armies, were only slain with the sword, proceeding out of his mouth, i. e. they lose their lives in this preternatural tempest, called forth by the sentence of the Lord against them. Their corpses are devoured by ravenous animals, as a lesson of God's wrath for fu ture ages. Jer. xv1, 4. Jer. xxII, 19. xiv, 16. Here then is the period of the ten-horned beast, whose whole time of continuance, from its first ascent out of the sea until it is cast into the lake of fire, with all its different changes, and the prophetic numbers determining the same, has been given in the introduction to the xv chapter, to which I here refer the reader in order to avoid repetition. As for the period of the beast from the bottomless pit, and its furious rage against the Church of Christ, authors are generally agreed from the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, that it does not comprise many years. I have adopted the opinion of the ancient fathers of the Church, which is founded on a comparison with the years of Antiochus Epiphanes, the acknowledged type of Antichrist. See chap. XVII, 11. At this point of time, in the great year of our Lord 1850, will terminate all the prophetic parallel side-lines, into which this series of prophecies has branched out under the sound of the seventh trumpet. 1. The line of kings probably will terminate about the year 1839. 2. The line of the Church terminates about the year 1859. During the last nine years of her period she will come forth 3. The line which begins with the company of the Lamb chap. xiv, terminates with the vintage in this battle at Armageddon.. 1850 4. The line of the two beasts is closed by the seven vials, the seventh of which reaches the same great period of 1850 Thus in my humble conception of this series of prophecies, arranged after the system of prophetic chronology here adopted, the following events are yet future, and will be accomplished prior to the commencement of the Millennium. 1. The beast from the sea, which is at present in its state of Non-existence, will yet a while remain in that |