present God, and with a mighty earthquake cleaves asuncler in the midst. It then advances to the valley of Megiddo, and hovers over the heads of the palsied troops of Antichrist. The divine Word displays himself to the assembled nations. The faithful look up with awful wonder, knowing that their redemption draweth nigh. Every eye seeth ́ him; and they also, his kindred after the flesh, which pierced him, now behold him in his glory. He cometh with clouds: and all kindreds of the Latin earth wail because of him. He descendetli in his wrath: he treadeth the wine-press in the fury of his indignation: his garments are sprinkled with the blood of his enemies.

8. It appears, from comparing various prophecies together, that the overthrow of the Antichristian confederacy will be effected partly by supernatural and partly by natural agency. Christ will indeed tread the wine-press alone, for to his sole might will the victory be owing: yet will he likewise use the instrumentality of others. While he miraculously smites his enemies with a dreadful plague, so that their flesh shall consume away while. they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth; he will send like wise among them a great tumult from the Lord, so that they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. Judah also, summoned

D 3

summoned to the dreadful task of vengeance by his God, shall take an active part in the destruction of his enemies; for, in that day, the Lord will 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, on the right hand and on the left. Thus will Antichrist come to his end, and none shall help him. Thus will the beast now under his last head be taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image. These both will be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone: but the remnant will be slain with the sword of that Almighty Conqueror who sitteth upon the white horse, even with the sword of the word that proceedeth out of his mouth. They will be spiritually slain as his enemies, but they will be converted to the profession of genuine Christianity*. Nevertheless, as some punishment of their rebellion, they will be deprived of their substance; all the fowls will be filled with their flesh t.

* This remnant I take to be the third part of the Antichristian army, which, according to Zechariah, will be spared and converted. Their being slain by the sword is analagous to the Roman beast's being slain by the sword, when the empire was converted to Christianity in the days of Constantine. See Brightman in loc. and Bp. Lowth on Isaiah xlix. 2.

+ Thus the flesh of the whore is said to be eaten by the ten kings in Rev. xvii. 16,

9. There

9. There has been so long a suspension of the visible interpositions of Providence, a suspension nevertheless expressly foretold by Isaiah*, that we are apt in the present day to feel a sort of hesitation in admitting that they will ever be renewed. The Jews perpetually required a sign of the Lord, at the period of his first advent: we, on the contrary, can scarcely bring ourselves to interpret literally even the most express predictions, relative to his miraculous and personal manifestation at the period of his second adventt. Few have felt the influence

⚫ See Bp. Horsley's Letter on Isaiah xviii. p. 96. "The time for the restoration of the Jews," says Bp. Horsley," is no otherwise defined than as the season of our "Lord's second advent." (Letter on Isaiah xviii. p. 16. See also p. 14). His Lordship might have added, with Mr. Mede, on the authority of Dan. xii. 6, 7, that the time of their restoration is likewise defined to be the season at the expiration of the 1260 years.

As I shall have frequent occasion, in the course of the present work, to mention the second advent of Christ, it may not be amiss briefly to state what I understand by it.

The second advent of Christ is commonly spoken of, from the pulpit and in ordinary conversation, as the time when sur Lord will come to judge both the quick and the dead, and to assign to all their everlasting portion either of happiness or misery. This notion of it is not perfectly correct. The second advent includes indeed the final destination of the whole race of mankind; but it includes likewise much more, commencing long before that time which we are wont familiarly to call the day of judgment. In fact, the great day of judgment synchronizes with the whole period of the second advent, comprehending at once the final destination of mankind and many other antecedent particulars.

influence of this prejudice more than myself: and nothing but a laborious comparison of prophecy with prophecy has enabled me to subdue it. Yet, while

It is necessary to form a clear idea of this point; otherwise, when it is said that the Jews will be restored at the era of the second advent, the reader might be in danger of imagining that they would not be restored till that era which is familiarly called the day of judgment, that is to say, the final consummation of all things: whereas, after their restoration and conversion, they are to flourish in their own land during the space of at least 1000 years.

Mr. Mede has treated this subject so well, that I cannot do better than avail myself of his remarks.

"When Daniel's times are done, the Son of man comes in "the clouds of heaven, to receive the empire of all the king"doms of the world. Dan. vii. 14.

"When St. Luke's times of the Gentiles are finished, then "shall be signs in the sun and moon; the Son of man comes "also in the clouds of heaven, the redemption of Israel and "the kingdom of God are at hand. Luke xxi. 27, 28, 31.

"The first coming of Christ was to be while the fourth "kingdom was yet in being; the second, when it should end." Works. B. IV. Epist. 8. p. 744, 745.

"The times of the Gentiles are that last period of the fourth "kingdom prophesied of, a time times and half a time; at the "end whereof the angel swears unto Daniel (Chap. xii, 7.)

that God should accomplish to scatter the power of the holy "people. This is that fulness of the Gentiles, which being "come, St. Paul tells us, The deliverer shall come out of Zion, " and all Israel shall be saved." Works. B. 111. Treatise on Daniel's Weeks. p. 709,

"The mother text of Scripture, whence the Church of the "Jews grounded the name and expectation of the great day of "judgment, with the circumstances thereto belonging, and

"whereunto

while I now fully assent to Mr. Mede's opinion, that there will be some such preternatural manifes tation, I cannot think that he assigns to it its proper

place

"whereunto almost all the descriptions and expressions "thereof in the New Testament have reference, is that vision " in the seventh of Daniel of a session of judgment when the "fourth beast came to be destroyed: where this great Assises "is represented after the manner of the great Synedrion or "consistory of Israel; wherein the pater judicii had his SC assessores, sitting upon seats placed semi-circle wise before' "him from his right hand to his left. I beheld (saith Daniel, "Chap. vii, 9.) till the thrones or seats were pitched down (namely "for the senators to sit upon, not thrown down, as we of late "have it), and the Ancient of days (pater consistorii) did sit. "And I beheld, till the judgment was set (that is, the whole' Sanhedrim,) and the books were opened.

"Here we see both the form of judgment delineated, and "the name of judgment expressed; which is afterwards yet "twice more repeated: first, in the amplification of the ty "ranny of the wicked horn (Ver. 21, 22), which (is said) con-' "tinued till the Ancient of days came, and Judgment was given "to the saints of the most High, i. e. potestas judicandi ipsis "facta; and the third time in the angel's interpretation (Ver. "26). But the Judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his "dominion to consume and destroy it to the end. Where, observe "also, that cases of dominion, of blasphemy, and apostasy, and ́ "the like, belonged to the jurisdiction of the great Sanhedrim. "From this description, it came, that the Jews gave it the name of the day of judgment and the day of the great judg"ment; whence, in the epistle of St. Jude (Ver. 6), it is "called the judgment of the great day.

"From the same description they learned, that the destruc"tion then to be should be by fire, because it is said (Ver. 9.) "His throne was a fiery flame, and his wheels burning fire ;

and