sacred Scripture, in neither of which will it admit of being rendered figuratively. In Romans viii. 7, the apostle declares, to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Would any one tolerate the expression to be figuratively minded, &c. In 1 Cor. ii. 14,'' The natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned," who would translate figura* tively discerned? If, then, "spiritually minded" means mind of the Spirit, or " spiritually discerned," discerned by the Spirit, does not," spiritually called," mean called by the Spirit? Now, what city has been called by the Spirit, Sodom and Egypt? We answer, Jerusalem. The Spirit by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, addresses her thus, " Hear the word of the Lord, 0 ye rulers of Sodom, and give ear unto the law of our Lord, ye people of Gomorrah;" ajid by the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah he asks her—" What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt?" the meaning of the word Egypt is oppression. And in Jer. vi. 6, '• The Lord of Hosts says, hew down trees and cast a mount against Jerusalem. This is the city to be visited. She is wholly opEression in the midst of her." And in Zephaniah iii. 1, er Sodomitish and Egyptian character is strongly declared: "Wo to her that is filthy and polluted; to the oppressing city;" and there are other passages in which the iniquity of Sodom and the oppression of Egypt is charged upon her. Ezek. xvi. 2, 26.

But as these characteristics may possibly bejfound to apply to other cities beside Jerusalem, we are prevented from making any other application of them (at least, in the present instance) by the subsequent clause; "the city where also our Lord was crucified." Observe, not "shall be crucified" the future; but" was cruc\fted," the past. Can any doubt now remain of the city referred to? In what place had our Lord been cruwfted, at the time John wrote? All history, sacred fane, agree that, as he foretold.—Matt. xvi. it came to pass; in the city of Jerusalem He his trial and sentence, and from thence was " \ed crucified." If Jerusalem then be the city in w Two Witnesses shall be slain, it will be i

those who maintain that these Two Witnesses are the two Testaments, or Waldenses and Albigenses, to shew •when and in what manner their dead bodies ever lay in her streets.

The circumstances recorded in verses 9 and 10 next claim our attention. "And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." From verse 9 it would seem that a great multitude from various parts was gathered together at Jerusalem about this time, and that this multitude sympathised with the beast in his indignation against these two prophets; for they "beholding their dead bodies three days and an half, would not suffer them to be put into their graves." Such indignity shown to their remains, displays the bitterest malignity to their prophetic character.

Now, is there any ground to believe that after the restoration of the Jews, there will be a general gathering together of the nations against Jerusalem, for hostile purposes? There is not one future event more clearly revealed in the prophets than this. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Micah, and others, have all foretold it. Let the reader look at the following passages—Isa. Ixvi. 15, —Ezek. xxxviii. 14—23, and xxxix. 17—22; Joel iii. 1, 2; Micah iv. 11—13. These references being too long to quote in full, let it suffice to record the testimony of Zachariah only. In chapter xii. 2, 3, the Lord saith, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people, round about when they shall be in the siege, both against Judah and Jerusalem. And in that day will 1 make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All that burthen themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered against it, v. 6. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf, and they shall devour all the people round about, &c. v. 6. And it shall come to pass on that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Ch. xiv. 2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem, to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city go forth into captivity and the residue of the people snail not be cut off" from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations as when He fought in the day of battle," &c. From this testimony we may learn whom they of the " people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations," are, which "shall see the dead bodies of these prophets lying three days and an half in the streets of Jerusalem, and shall not suffer them to be put into graves;" they are the "besiegers" of the holy city. In their success, (for the "city shall be taken and tlie houses rifled,") &c. ; these two prophets shall meet their fate, "shall be overcome and slain." The tidings of their death shall quickly spread through the ranks of their enemies; and cause great joy; v. 10, for, "they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." But how short lived shall be their joy; for after three days and a half, (literal days) the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy, when I fall I shall arise," &c., Micah vii. 8. We shall not here tarry to prove that this resurrection is literal: If the Two Witnesses are literal prophets, the city where our Lord was crucified, the literal Jerusalem, the death of the Two Witnesses a literal death, their "dead bodies," literally speaking, "dead bodies," then must their resurrection also .be a literal re-animation of these dead bodies, and the great fear which fell upon them that saw them, literally speaking, the terror which so unexpected a sight would naturally strike into the hearts of their murderers. The same is true of their ascension, v. 12. "And they heard a great voice from Heaven, saying unto then

come up hither. And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them." How this applies exactly to the Testaments, we are not informed. We hope, however, they never will become "dead bodies," in any possible sense, nor ever depart out of this world in a cloud.

Connected with this are terrors truly awful, v. 13,— great earthquake, tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake seven thousand slain, &c. v. 15. Voices proclaiming the kingdoms of this world, are become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, &c. and in verse 18 the resurrection of the just; let any one compare thisj with chapter xi. of Zachariah, from 1 to 0 verses, and notice the remarkable coincidence, and determine whether the two prophets are not describing the same event.

We now approach the greatest difficulty which meets us in relation to these two witnesses, viz. to designate the power which shall put them to death. "When they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, shall make war against them Rev. xi. 7. &c. Who is this Beast, and whence does he come, are questions on which we shall probably be found as much at variance with the commonly received opinion, as we have been in relation to the two witnesses themselves. We therefore submit our view with deference to the judgment of those better skilled in Apocalyptic interpretation, while we assign the reasons of our dissent from that which generally prevails.

Regarding the whole of Rev. xi. as an unfulfilled Prophecy, (of which we think there is sufficient internal evidence) the Beast there spoken of is also a power (we think) yet to arise, which shall be more wicked and oppressive than any that has ever yet wasted the church of Christ. Of such a power, the last form that AntiChrist shall asume before his destruction, we have frequent mention made in various parts of sacred scripture. Let us briefly notice the several forms under which Antichrist is exhibited in the book of Revelation, and then determine if possible to which of these the ^east that slays the two witnesses belongs.

The first representation we have in this book of this Great opponent of Christ, and his church, is in chap. xii. He is there exhibited in the hidious features of a great Red Dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns on his Head, standing ready to devour the man child which the woman, clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and in pain to be delivered, was about to bring forth. This Beast, by common consent, is acknowledged to be the Roman power in its pagan state under which Christ was born and which waged such long and cruel wars against him and his cause.

The second exhibition of Antichrist is given in chap, xiii. A Beast there arises out of the sea, having? heads and ten horns, and ten crowns on the Horns, and on the heads names of Blasphemy. This we understand to be Rome overrun by the Northern Barbarians, and the Empire divided into ten kingdoms. The sovereign power no longer residing at Rome, but in the kingdoms, the crowns are represented as being on the Horns. Though the desolations produced by these barbarians throughout Europe was very detrimental to Christianity, yet'a union was soon formed between these invaders and the conquered Romans, by which, while they retained their conquests and their separate estates, (or the civil kingdoms they had established,) they were yet brought under one head and became subject to a new authority residing at Rome which is described in verse 11 as another Beast coming up out of the earth, having two horns like a lamb, but spake as a dragon, and exercising all the power of the first Beast before him, &c. vide Rev. xiii. 12, 18. This is generally admitted to be Popery, or Rome in its Papal state, and is the second form of Antichrist mentioned in Revelation. The third and last form we have in Rev. xvii. 3. A scarlet colored Beast, full of names of Blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns, but no crowns of Antichrist on either the heads, or horns. On this Beast the woman declared to be in verse 5, "Babylon the great the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth" is represented as sitting, verse 3. That