shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Can this mean the Jews? Were they called "all people, nations, languages?" also, "an everlasting kingdom, which shall not pass away?" And yet in less than two hundred years it was taken away from the saints. Acts i. 6: "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" I do not understand all these things. Why did not our good professor enlighten us? Why leave the whole of this chapter, from the 7th to the 27th verse, all in the dark?

Now, sir, we will tell you what the rational, independent class of people believe about this vision: they believe that Daniel was a historical prophet; that he has given us a history of four great monarchies, which carries us to the end of all earthly powers, in the last of which (the Roman) they believe has arisen a power, combining in one blasphemous head (the pope) two pretended powers, civil and ecclesiastical, which by craft rule over kings, and pretend to have the power of God. They believe that his power is to continue three and a half times, forty-two months, or 1260 days. They know this power has come; they have felt its effects; they have suffered under its laws; they have heard, and do hear, its great blasphemous words. In this you cannot deceive them.

They believe-for why should they not?-that Daniel has, in his vision, numbered the time; and if we should understand it literally, they know that this power has already exercised the

same, 360 times its literal number. Then what shall we do? Shall we carry it back on to Antiochus? No. Why not? Because it will not apply to him, without making things figurative which God has not made figurative, and thus involve ourselves in darkness, and doubts, and inconsistencies. What then? Let us examine and see if time is not used in a figurative sense. If so, all may be harmonized. They examine and find, according to the professor's own concessions, two places, Num. xiv. 34 and Eze. iv. 6, where a day was used as a figure of a year. They apply it then to Daniel, and first to the seventy weeks. It measures exactly. They now believe, for they remember that the seventy weeks were to seal up (prove, or make sure, as a man's will is made sure, when the seal of the court is affixed) the vision and prophecy. This is common sense, that all can understand. We need not go to the schools of criticism and skepticism to learn to " doubt," and "cavil," and "wrest" God's word, to understand it.

But why, say you, did not God reveal these things in a plain, literal sense? Let Christ answer. Matt. xi. 25: "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." Read the context: he is talking of the judgment day. Compare Luke x. 21; also Daniel xii. 10; 1 Thess. v. 3, 4. But has God in all cases revealed the time, having reference to the end of the world, in types and figures? I answer, yes. Why not then keep it from us? Because he has said, (Amos

iii. 7,)"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants, the prophets." And it is to be as it was in the days of Noah. Was it in a symbol, then? I answer, it was. See Gen. vi. 3: "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years."

Now we suppose Noah began to preach that God would destroy the world in one hundred and twenty years. The professors, skeptics, and critics come around him and say, where is your proof? He refers them to the word of God, which I have quoted. "Ah," says the critic, "that does not say a word about drowning the world now; it only means that man's life shall be shortened to one hundred and twenty years." Noah replies to them as in Gen. vi. 7: “And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air: for it repenteth me that I have made them." "O yes, we believe that: but God does not tell us how nor when, in this place." Then he declares God's purpose, verse 17: "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die." 66 Yes, we admit that: but he does not tell us when not at least until he destroys the earth; as he himself has expressly declared: The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them: and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.' And we know God will not destroy

:

the earth, until the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head,' and that is not done yet. And another argument, too; the world is in its infancy yet-not all inhabited. And we know God told our first parents to go forth and multiply, and replenish the earth. This command is not fulfilled. No danger; we understand our duty. Do you think, Noah, we can be scared by your humbugs? God has not revealed the time." Yet he did reveal it, as Professor Stuart now acknowledges. But if that scene was now to be acted over again, do you think he would own it? Never. It is now acting again, and he wants to have it revealed in plain terms.

When God sees best, for wise purposes, to reveal himself in parables and dark sayings(Ps. lxxviii. 2: "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old;" Luke viii. 10: "And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to others in parables: that seeing they might not see, and hearing, they might not understand,")we have no right to complain. The reason is obvious; if it had been revealed in plain terms, sinners would have more abused God's mercies; and if it had been revealed any plainer than it is, how could scoffers say, "Where is the promise of his coming?" and at the same time be in the church? God's word must and will be fulfilled. It is evident that he did mean we should know when it would be near, even at the door. Matt. xxiv. 33: "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door." But it is just as evident

that those who vainly imagine themselves to have the key of knowledge, and boast of their Hebrew, and Greek, and Scripture exegesis, will not understand Matt. xiii. 10-16, Mark iv. 33, 34, Luke xi. 52.

If, then, this fourth kingdom in Daniel vii. 7, &c., is the Roman empire, then the little horn can only apply to papacy, and the 1260 days in this vision, or "time, times, and a half," must be, of necessity, understood as symbolical days. We know that papacy has had "eyes like the eyes of man," more than three years and a half. But we may inquire what the eyes mean? I answer, they are like man's eyes. And what are man's eyes? Prov. xxvii. 20: "Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." Daniel had just told us about a "horn between two eyes," which we all agree means the man Alexander. The eyes of Alexander were upon the kingdoms of the earth; he could not be satisfied until he had conquered the whole world; and then wept because there was not another for him to conquer. So would this horn seek for, and not be satisfied, until it had obtained universal power over the earth. Herein we have a clue to know when this horn began; when the pope began to desire and to seek after universal power over the saints, or the church, as in verse 21: "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them." "And a mouth speaking great things." This is certainly as applicable to the pope as to any power ever known on earth, and has proved to a demonstration the prophecy of Daniel and of John to be of divine origin.