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only, Acts xi. 19. They were filled with prejudices against the Gentiles; and even the apostles themselves did not get quit of their prepossessions till a miracle was wrought to convince them, that, under the new dispensation, they were to call nothing common or unclean; and that it was their duty to make the same rich offer of salvation to Gentiles as to Jews. They were no sooner enlightened in this important part of duty, than they manifested the greatest ardour of spirit, to bring all men to the knowledge of the truth, that they might be saved. In the prosecution of this noble design, they set out in different directions. Wherever they went, they found some to oppose them, and others ready to receive them as the messengers of the Lord of hosts to their souls. They visited no country, without leaving some happy fruits of their ministry behind them. These were like a little leaven, which diffused itself through the lump till the whole was leavened. It is impossible to trace the course of the travels of all these missionaries; to say to what distant regions some of them journeyed, or through what extensive and populous countries they passed: it is equally impossible to tell the dangers to which they were exposed, the difficulties they overcame, or the amount of the success of their labours. Suffice it to remark here, that before John, the last of the apostles, died, there were few places within the limits of the Roman empire, in which the gospel had not been preached and churches erected.

The book of the Acts contains only a summary account of the propagation of Christianity. It comprehends a comparatively few facts respecting the earliest times of the Christian church, and does not come down to a period so late as the one in which this book of the Revelation was written; it closes with an account of Paul's arrival at Rome, and some general notices respecting his employment during a residence of two years in that city. It cannot therefore include a period of more than thirty years after the ascension. Yet, from this authentic record, it is

VOL. II.

H

manifest, that within this short period, the gospel of the Son of God had been propagated throughout the various districts of Syria, the Lesser Asia, and the states of Greece; it had obtained a footing in all the islands of the Ægean Sea, in Egypt, and all along the western shores of the African continent; it had found its way into every province, and into every city of any note, in the eastern parts of the empire; it had also begun to sap the foundations of Pagan theology and superstition in the West. Rome, the seat of government, and various other cities in Italy, were favoured with the gospel. By the time that the book of the Revelation was written, the converts to Christianity were become in many places the most numerous party; and if they had been inclined to resist the measures of their persecutors, they could easily have repelled force by force, and set all the rage of their enemies at defiance.

If we descend to the times which were immediately subsequent to the age of the apostles, we will find numerous and explicit testimonies, both from Heathen and Christian writers, respecting the extensive propagation of Christianity. I shall select only two of these; from which it will appear, with what propriety the hieroglyphic in the text has been employed. Justin Martyr was next in point of time to the apostles; he flourished in the first half of the second century. The period of his ministry may be considered as succeeding to the age of the apostles, as John lived till very near the close of the first century. This venerable father could say, 'There is not a nation, either of Greek, or Barbarian, or of any other name, even of those who wander in tribes, and live in tents, amongst whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered to the Father and Creator of the universe, by the name of the crucified Jesus.** Tertullian flourished in the latter half of the same century; and in his Apology for Christianity, he appeals to his persecutors, and says, We were but of yesterday, and we have filled your cities, islands, towns, and boroughs; the camp,

Dial. cum Tryph. quoted by Paley.

the senate, and the forum. Every sex, age, and condition, and persons of every rank, are converts to the name of Christ."* In another work of his, which was written chiefly against the Jews, speaking of the extensive propagation of Christianity, besides many other countries, he enumerates as belonging to Christ, the Moors and Gaetulians of Africa, the borders of Spain, several nations of France, and parts of Britain inaccessible to the Romans: the Sarmatians, Dacians, Germans, and Scythians.'+ Before the close of the second century, the visible kingdom of Christ was of greater extent than any of the four great monarchies had been; it was erected even in different places, where none of these mighty political associations had been able to acquire a single inch of territory.

These statements, it is presumed, will be sufficient to shew, that the prophecy of the first seal has met with a very remarkable fulfilment; they likewise furnish clear and decisive attestations to the truth of Christianity. The propagation of this system must have been of God, otherwise it could never have been accomplished. That twelve illiterate fishermen should have propagated, to such an extent, and in so short a space of time, a system of religious opinions so widely different from the common principles of belief in all countries, and that too in the face of such violent opposition, can never be accounted for, but in the way of admitting, that they had the countenance of the God of heaven in their work; and, therefore, the doctrines they taught, and the worship they established, must be divine.

Finally, these statements furnish matter of encouragement with respect to the future. John could not see any termination of the triumphs of the rider of the first horse, but with the subjugation of the whole world to his authority. He was in the act of conquest, and going forth to new victories; no adversary could check his career, or prevent the execution of any of his designs. And in what he has now done, we have

Tertul. Apol. e. 37.

+Ad Jud. c. 7.

a pledge or security for the fulfilment of what remains to be accomplished. And surely it cannot be more difficult for him, in the latter days, to fill the whole earth with his glory, than it was to produce, in the early periods of Christianity, by means so unlikely, so sudden and extensive a revolution of sentiment in the minds of men.

117

LECTURE XLI.

SECOND SEAL.

REV. vi. 3, 4. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the beast say, Come and see.

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was

given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another and there was given unto him a great sword.

THE circumstances previous to the account which is given of the contents of this seal, are similar to those which precede the account of the former; only it is the second of the four living creatures which now gives the invitation, and there does not appear to have been any thing peculiarly impressive in the tone of voice with which he spoke. The first had spoken with the majesty of the thunder-storm; but the voice of the second was much more familiar, as it bore a greater resemblance to the tones of the human voice.-The second of the living creatures had the general appearance of an ox, chap. iv. 7; and as this animal is remarkable for patience and submission, the symbol may be intended to intimate, that the ministry, in the period of this seal, would be distinguished by their patience under sufferings, and perseverance in discharging the duties of their office, notwithstanding the rude treatment to which they might be exposed. The ministry of the former seal were not without a very considerable share of sufferings; but they seem to have been called to active services, rather than to the patient endurance of wrongs. Their commission was to go and preach the gospel to every creature; and in executing this commission, it behoved them to attack the popular system of religious belief, and the established forms of Pagan worship, wherever

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