459. fore God, upon their thrones, fell down upon their faces and worshipped God.

17. Saying, We give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, O God, O Thou Who haft univerfal dominion, Who now exifteft, and Who waft, and Who art ftill to come! because Thou haft effec tually affumed Thy great power, and haft

SHEWN THY MIGHT IN REIGNING.

18. For truly the nations have raged, and THY anger [alfo] is come; and the TIME OF THE DEAD to be judged, and to give the reward to thy fervants the Prophets, and to THOSE WHO ARE BECOME] HOLY, and to thofe who fear Thy Name, both to the Small and to the great; and to spoil those who spoil the earth.

19. And the temple of God in Heaven was opened, and there appeared the Ark of His covenant in HIS TEMPLE; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and A GREAT HAIL.

the Great Ruling Power, who is the fole proper Judge whom to call forth to eminence for the beft advantage of the whole. Every one of these words, therefore, really imply diftinctions of true and everlafting nobility and if there is any opportunity possible for fcoffing, it is only because things earthly are not worthy to be compared with things heavenly.

And

And to these words we ought also to fub- 460.

join what is faid,

Revelations, ch. x. ver. 7.

7. ̓Αλλὰ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς φωνῆς τὸ ἑβδόμω ἀγγέλω, ὅταν μέλλη σαλπίζειν, καὶ τελέσθη τὸ μυςήριον τ8 Θε8, ὡς εὐηγγέλισε τὲς δέλες αὐτῷ τὲς προφήτας.

7. But in the days of the voice of the SEVENTH ANGEL, when he shall be about to found, THEN ALSO THE MYSTERY OF GOD SHALL HAVE BEEN FINISHED *, according to the GOOD NEWS which He has declared to His fervants the Prophets.

Such is the description given of what shall happen on the founding of the Seventh Trumpet. And, on reading this, it is, one would think, almost impoffible to avoid perceiving the ftrong analogy there is between these emble

*This may appear rather a fingular mode of expreffion in our own language; but I take this to be the exact translation of the Aoriftus primus paffive in this place. Perhaps it may not be impertinent, on this occafion, to refer those who do not immediately recollect the great nicety of this tenfe to the Note in Ward's Inftitutio Græcæ, &c. p. 42.

matical

461.

matical images, and the defcription given of the pouring out of the Seventh Vial. They feem therefore to be expressly declared to be contemporary, by this fimilitude of figures, as well as from their being both affirmed to be the final conclufion of the evils to come.

It is faid, on the pouring out of the one, Téyove, It is done : and on the founding of the other, κ ἐτελέσθη τὸ μυτήριον το Θεό, then alfo the mystery of God shall have been finished. Both which expreffions imply a final conclufion of all those things to which the emblems relate.

Under both are thunderings, and lightnings, and voices, and a great ftorm of hail; and they both concur in giving us a prophetical account of things, exactly concurring with our Lord's FIRST prophecy concerning the figns of his SECOND coming: namely, that as there fhould be falfe Chrifts, and falfe Prophets; fo there should be allo a dreadful fubverfion of all good government and order; and that men fhould be let loofe upon each other, in defiance of all civil power, and just rule, and of legal restraint.

It will be happy for those who shall live fome years hence, if they can prove me guilty of mistake in this point. I speak and write

with cautious reverence, and fear ;-acknowledging I am liable to error, and may be mistaken; and by no means pretending to prophecy-but ftill as apprehending myself bound not to conceal the truth, where any matter appears to be revealed in Holy Scripture; and especially when the bringing an impending denunciation to light, (if it be a truth,) may be an useful warning and caution to many, and prevent their becoming acceffary

to the evil.

VOL. II.

I CAN

I CANNOT help obferving, in the conclufion of these remarks, that the very words fo fingularly introduced at the first beginning of this Book of the Revelations, chap. i. ver. 3, fhew us plainly, that the emblems under the First Seal could not relate to any events (however recent) fuch as that of the deftruction of Jerufalem, and the conquefts of Vefpafian and Titus, that were paft at the time of the delivery of the prophecy; and that they therefore must have related only to events that were to begin to take place almost immediately after this Divine information was communicated to mankind. 462. Which circumflance manifeftly confines the interpretation of the emblem under the Firft Seal to the reign of Trajan. For the words are :

τοὶ

3. Μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων, καὶ οἱ ακέοντες τες λόγες τῆς προφητείας, καὶ τηρῶντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα· ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγούς.

3. Bleffed is he that readeth, (or rightly apprebendeth,) and they that hear the words of the Prophecy, and obferve the things written in it. For the time is at hand.

Such an expreffion and declaration cannot well be fuppofed to relate to the full accomplishment of the final end of the Prophecy, (which is not come to pass even yet, after fo many hundred years elapfed,) whatever diftinctions may be made concerning a thousand years being moft truly in the fight of God only as one day: neither can they relate to the whole of the period of time which the events defcribed in the Prophecy were to take up; for that was to be fo very long, that even 1260

years