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at the conclusion of the papal period, yet" in the night between the 5th and 6th of July, (1809,) the Quirinal Palace, in which his Holiness resided, was forcibly entered by soldiers, and General Rodet, presenting himself before the Holy Father, demanded that he should instantly execute a renunciation of the temporal estates belonging to the See of Rome. 'I ought not—I will not-I cannot make such a cession,' said Pius VII. I have sworn to God to preserve inviolate the possessions of the Holy Church-I will not violate my oath.' The General then informed his Holiness he must prepare to quit Rome. * * * At three o'clock in the morning, the Pope was placed in a carriage, which one cardinal alone was permitted to share with him, and thus forcibly carried from his capital." * Whether the leading of

the papal power into captivity, thus fulfilled, was designed to furnish a hint to the church whereabouts in time his imperial head should be wounded as it were to death, or slain by a sword, we shall not presume to be positive. The reader can form what opinion he pleases of the extent to which this coincidence corroborates our result of the year 1806 being the close of the papal period. We cannot close this exposition of the thirteenth chapter without adding another extract from the work of Sir Walter, to shew that Bonaparte really assumed to himself the character which we assigned him in our exposition of the twelfth chapter of the Revelations, of the seventh head of the Roman commonwealth, or the successor of the imperial or sixth head. length," says Sir Walter, "on the 17th May, Napoleon published a decree, in which, assuming the character of the successor of Charlemagne, he set forth, 1st, That his august predecessor had granted Rome, and certain other territories, in feof to the bishops of that city, but without parting with the sovereignty thereof," &c.; † the crowns being still upon the seven horns of the beast, not upon the seven heads or mountains of Rome.

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CHAPTER XIV.-Here we have a whole nation represented as standing upon Mount Sion with the Lamb, "having his Father's name written in their foreheads." Now, it were a curious question to determine which nation this is. In v. 4 we are told the reason why this nation was sealed unto God. 66 They were not defiled with women -with the love of idols; "for they are virgins" pure and immaculate from the whoredom of idolatry. "These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb;"— these were redeemed from among men from the papal apostacy, being the first nation that set itself apart from the abominations of popery. After this description of a whole nation thus set apart from some religious apostacy, we have an angel appearing abruptly in the midst of heaven, communicating information nothing, seemingly, relative to what had gone before, nor having any reference to that same sealed nation. But nothing of this sort ever occurs without some design. The message which the angel has to communicate has some relation to the nation set apart by God, else it had never been introduced here. "And I

*Life of Bonaparte, by Sir Walter Scott, vol. vi. p.

368.

† Ibid. p. 366.

saw another angel," says St John, "fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Now we are disposed to think, that the preaching of the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, and the hour of God's judgment, are meant to be synchronous events, from their being mentioned thus together. But still, what connection has the preaching of the everlasting gospel to all nations, or the hour of God's judgment, with the sealed nation? and if the two events are synchronous, what avails it when we know not when either of them fell out? But we are not ignorant when the hour of God's judgment fell out. It fell out when the judgment was set, and the books were opened, at the end of the papal period, Daniel, vii. 10, 26, in the year 1806, as we have already determined. But where, at this date, was the everlasting gospel preached to every nation? On looking over the History of the British Bible Society by the Rev. Mr Owen, we find, with 1806-7 in the margin, at the top of the page where it occurs, this passage, which we shall take the liberty again to quote:"The proceedings of the British and Foreign Bible Society were also characterized by certain communication of an interesting nature from other parts of the European continent, to which, as they fix the era of its entrance on stations, since become conspicuous for activity and influence, it will be proper to pay some attention." And we may observe, that Mr Owen has chosen v. 6 of this chapter-the very passage of which we are speaking- as the motto of his work.

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Great Britain, then, is God's elect among the nations,- proud and illustrious title indeed! Now we know who was our pilot that weathered the storm. Now we know that the Captain of our salvation saved us also from the foreign foe. However an infidel world may mock, God yet regards a faithful people, and fights in their cause. It is he who can confirm with the nerve of the Nemean lion, the heart and arm of the wavering soldier, or pale the visage of the boldest with fear. And who will deny that we have received high guerdon at his hand? See the hearths of papal Europe polluted by the myrmidons of the invader, while ours are kept inviolate from their feet. See the Gallic eagle, that in many a field of blood had stooped in triumph over the baffled ensigns of papal Europe, fly tainted with fear before the union of the isles. See that brave soldier of fortune, him who in the last encounters with his enemies had followed hard in the footsteps of Danger, till his vestments were riddled with the missiles of Death, fly before the host of heaven. -the British host with those words of fear upon his lips which they had never known before. See him next, a forlorn fugitive before the banded sovereigns of Europe, ready to dash the chains of their bondage upon his helpless head; next a suppliant at the foot of Britain's throne, seeking shelter from the generosity of him who, while the vassal sovereigns of idolatry were

56 ON THE PROPHECIES OF SACRED SCRIPTURE.

crowding in their tyrant's train, had raised high the hand of defiance, and shook it in his face ;-and say whether God has not glorified his faithful people indeed. It may be urged that wasted treasures are but ill exchanged for glory such as this. The hearts of kings are in the hands of God, and those of their ministers also. Let us blame them not.

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Well do we know that the worldly wise will laugh at such a descant as this, and be ready to think that the author has pinned his faith upon the sleeve of his old woman in the preface. He can assure the reader, that, with a heart impassive to every motive but the love of truth, he has taken heed to the light of prophecy shining upon the dark pages of the history of the Roman earth, till the day-star arose in his heart, and, clear as the summer noon, he came to see that the leading features of that history received their mould from the form and pressure of those of God's true church, Palestine and European Christendom being the scenes of action—the temple and city of Jerusalem and the Jewish people, the island of Great Britain and its inhabitants, being respectively the sanctuary of the true religion, and the host of Heaven.

DISSERTATION II.

ON THOSE PROPHECIES OF ANTICHRISTIAN POWER WHICH ARE NOT YET FULFILLED.

PART I.

Commentaries on the Eighth and Eleventh Chapters of Daniel.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE first distinct and unequivocal mention we have in scripture of an Antichristian power which is yet to make its appearance in the world, is in the eighth chapter of Daniel. This prophet informs us, that in the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar, or 553 years B. C., a vision appeared unto him after that which had appeared unto him in the first year of the same king, and which he has described to us in his seventh chapter; and that when he was at Shushan the palace, in the province of Elam, he saw in a vision, and thought himself to be by the side of the river Ulai. That he then lifted up his eyes and saw; and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had horns, and the horns were high, but one higher than the other, and the higher came up last. That he saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he (the ram) did according to his will, and became great. And that as he (Daniel) was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And that the goat came to the ram that had horns, which Daniel had seen standing before the river, and ran unto the ram in the fury of his power. And Daniel saw the goat come close unto the ram, and the goat was moved with choler against the ram, and smote him, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before the goat, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand; therefore the he-goat waxed very great and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land—le gloire,* decus.† And (ubi, where‡) it waxed great to (or,

:

*French version.

Tremellius's Latin version.

H

Ibid.

against) the host of heaven (exercitum cœli): and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he (the little horn) magnified even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily (le continuel, jugis cultus) was taken away, and the place of its sanctuary (domicile, domicilium) was cast down. And an host (an appointed time) was given him against the daily (le continuel, jugis cultus) by reason of transgression, and it (the little horn) cast down the truth to the ground; and it (the little horn) practised, and prospered. Then Daniel heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And the first saint said unto Daniel, Unto two thousand and three hundred days, (evenings and mornings); then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Such is Daniel's description of the vision. He tells us in v. 15, that when he had seen it, and sought for its meaning, then, behold, there stood before him as the appearance of a man, and he heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So the man came near where Daniel stood; and when he came, Daniel was afraid, and fell upon his face but the man said unto him, Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end (au temps marqué, apud tempus constitutum) shall be the vision. Now, as the man was speaking with Daniel, Daniel was in a deep sleep on his face toward the ground; but the man touched him, and set him upright, and said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation; for at the time appointed the end shall be.

The reader must understand that there are two portions of history typically set forth in this vision, which are separated from each other by a great interval of time. The one of them is long since past; the other is yet in the womb of futurity. The emblematical narrative of the former is contained between v. 3 and 8 inclusively, and its interpretation is given in v. 20, 21, and 22; the prophetical narrative of the latter portion is comprehended between v. 9 and 14 inclusively, and its interpretation is given in v. 23, 24, and 25. A very scanty knowledge of ancient history, with the aid of the information communicated by the interpreting angel, will enable us to decide upon the piece of history that is typically set forth in the former portion of prophetical narrative. Greater caution, however, will be required in the interpretation of the latter, as the events which it relates are yet future.

66

"The ram which thou sawest having two horns," says the interpreting angel, are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." The ram with horns is here typical of the Medio-Persian empire. "Cyrus, the founder of this empire," says Bishop Newton, was son of Cambyses king of Persia, and by his mother Mandane,

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