and set its fangs upon the two witnesses, whom most it hateth, and began to dissolve and consume the papacy by degrees, it cometh not on in the phalanx of its destructiveness, till that last vial of wrath is poured out upon the earth.

PART III.

The Judgments on the Papacy which have been accomplished.

THE scene of judgment upon the little horn, and upon all the kingdoms which yielded to his blasphemous usurpa tion against the sovereignty of God over the earth, and the supremacy of Christ over the church, is thus sublimely expressed in that prophecy of Daniel which is the proper subject of our discourse: "I beheld until the thrones were cast down, (or, as it is in the margin, "till the thrones were placed,") and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool, his throne like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him, thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld that, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake, I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.-I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given to him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and kindreds, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom which shall not be destroyed."

We have not time to attend to any thing save the great issues which these words make known to the church; else the sublimity of the description, which hath oft arrested our mind to peruse and reperuse it, would arrest it now again to dilate upon the majestic scene which is represented to us in this vision. And yet, methinks, if God, in revealing

A

to us certain truths, hath judged it most comely and fit to embody them in a lofty style of diction, and present them with a noble and divine attire, it is but befitting that we, for whose various faculties such goodly entertainment hath been prepared, should bring those faculties forth to be entertained, and to acknowledge, with thanksgiving, the boundless liberality of our gracious Father. Wherefore, that tameness of faculties, and lameness of discourse, which oft doth seek a covering to its meagreness, under the pretence of studied humility and devout simplicity, is nothing to be commended in the interpreter of scripture, which is composed for the full organ of the human soul, and not for one or two of its tones which a particular age may favour. So that we have felt a constant desire to be awakened out of the drowsiness so natural to the human mind, into a frame of spirit wakeful and watchful for the breath of every high and holy inspiration; which may He who is mighty send in great abundance to his servant, ill-furnished and accomplished for the high undertaking of telling and foretelling to his church, the speedy doom of that hoary enemy of God

and all his saints!

Daniel, the man greatly beloved, wrapped in the visions of the night, beheld the little horn of power to make long and miserable havoc of the saints, and to utter blasphemies against the Most High, till the thrones were cast down; that is, placed or planted down (not thrown down, as the English version, not the original, might be misinterpreted ;)— the thrones of judgment, upon which the apostles and saints shall sit to judge the earth;* and among the thrones, was one whereon the "Ancient of days" did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and his hair like the pure woolthat is the FATHER coming, in his unstained holiness, to judge the arch enemy of his Son, and destroyer of his people, and to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. "His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire; and a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him," for he cometh to take vengeance in flaming fire upon those who have blasphemed his holy name, and the church, his earthly tabernacle, and all who dwell in heaven. "Thousand

* Rev xx. 4, 5.

thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand thousands stood before him," of that innumerable host of his saints and holy angels, in the sight of whom he is to be justified upon his enemies. "The judgment was set, and the books were opened," in which were written all the evil acts and inventions of that wicked and blasphemous power for whose destruction this glorious array of judgment is prepared. "I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” Twice, as if to mark the certainty and wonderfulness of it, doth the prophet mention this part of his beholding. And very marvellous it was, and will be reckoned, when that prosperous power, which in its time seemed to rival the endurance of the Eternal, as in its pretensions it had rivalled his power and glory, shall be consumed unto the end, and be no more seen under all the face of heaven. And.not itself alone, but all its supporters and abettors; yea, the whole beast of seven heads and ten horns, which had listened unto the voice of the great words which it spake. A most fearful lesson to all who harbour the endurance of her abominations, and keep patience with her horrid assumptions of divine prerogative, or execute the voice of her commands, through any delusion of ignorance, or for any ends of gain!

Thus doth the ancient of days accomplish the promise made unto his only begotten Son in the second Psalm, that he would give the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession, to break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel: a prophecy which we can refer to this period upon the authority of Christ himself, who, in his epistle to the church of Thyatira, thus promiseth to him that overcometh, and keepeth his words unto the end, "I will give him power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken in pieces; even as I have received of my Father." Thus doth the Lord accomplish the promise made unto David's Lord, in Psalm cx. "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies."

This work of judgment and destruction being accom

plished, the prophet proceedeth to report the further progress of his dream. "I saw in the night visions; and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."

In three several places of the Gospel by Matthew,* our Lord and Saviour appropriates to himself this description, and adds to it certain signs of this his second coming, some of which will apply only to the destruction of Jerusalem, others only to this time, and others only to the last judgment; which are the three acts of the same event carefully to be distinguished from one another, and between which, long periods intervene. These passages, and many others in the books of the New Testament, are sufficient to determine who is meant by the Son of Man, who came in the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days. And they brought him near before him, in order that he might receive the kingdom, and the power, and the glory: "And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away; and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Thus with all becoming majesty and impressive forms, is he invested in the sight of the saints and heavenly host, with that royal power over the earth, for the attainment of which he bowed the heavens, was "found in fashion as a man, and became obedient unto the death; wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth."

Thus terminates the vision. From which we learn, that before the coming of Christ, the papal power must first be judged and consumed to an end; after which, the time longed for will arrive, when the Son of Man shall take unto him his great power, and reign. Now, as it is our object to inquire into the beginning and ending of this judgment, and to reveal all the particulars thereof which have been fulfilled, which are even now fulfilling, and ready to be fulfilled; it becomes necessary, as in the former part of our

* Matt. xxiv. 30. xxv. 31. xxvi. 64.

discourse, to obtain all the light which can be had upon the subject, not only from this but from all other prophecies.

From the explanations of this prophecy, rendered to Daniel by the angel, we learn this important particular, that there shall be no pause or interval of time between the conclusion of the papal period of power, and the opening of the period of judgment thereupon. For it is written expressly, in the 21st and 22d verses, that the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. And, as hath been often repeated, it is said, that the saints shall be given into his hand, or, that he shall prevail against them, until a time, and times, and the dividing of time. Therefore, at the end of that period, which is A. D. 1792, the judgment sits.

Concerning which judgment, we have some further particulars given in the vision of the great image, where it is said, "Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and gold of the image, broken in pieces together; and they became like the chaff of the summer thrashingfloor; and the wind carried them away, that no place for them was found: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” Which is thus interpreted of the prophet:-"In the days of those kings, (that is, of the ten kingdoms into which the last of the four empires divided,) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. For as much as thou sawest the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass. And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." From which we learn these further particulars; that the stone first smites the ten toes upon the feet that were of iron and clay, and meddles not with the rest of the image till they are broken to pieces, agreeably to the former vision, where it is said, after the destruction of the fourth beast, "As concerning the rest of the beasts, they