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Jew and the passages are not to be applied to the ancient city only. Verses 30 and 31 describe the messengers who follow one after the other, to announce to the Prince of Babylon, that his enemies have made a lodgment within his walls; "One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, and that the passages are stopped. And the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted."

In verse 35, the Church calls for vengeance upon Babylon. "The violence done to me, and to my flesh, be upon Babylon-shall the inhabitants of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldeashall Jerusalem say."

V. 46 intimates, that an alarm shall be given, before the final judgment comes to pass. Possibly, the alarm alluded to, was sounded at the French Revolution. "And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that, in another year, shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon all the graven

images of Babylon and her whole land shall be con

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founded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her."

7.

These Scriptures mutually reflect light upon each other; and, as their accomplishment proceeds, they will doubtless be more perfectly understood. And here the commentary must close: for, as the remaining chapters of the Apocalypse reveal the glories of the new dispensation, which cannot possibly be understood until it comes to pass, it were vain to attempt to treat of them, otherwise than in general terms.

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CHAP. XXIX.

Time and Signs of the Advent.

The time of the Second Advent, and the signs that shall announce its approach, come now to be considered; and in tracing out this part of the subject, it will be necessary to recapitulate some of the statements that have been already made. It is only by collecting into one focus the scattered rays of light, which present themselves in different parts of Scripture, that we shall be enabled to form any just opinion, either concerning the time which is ordained for the manifestation of these wonders, or concerning the signs of their approach, or concerning the events which may be expected.

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It is written, that the day of the Lord shall come as a snare upon all them, that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. In that tremendous day, the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ. That such a day shall come certainly, is one of the most positive revelations of Holy Writ; and that it shall come suddenly, and in an hour that

men think not, is declared with equal plainness. In the days of his flesh, the Lord Jesus said to his disciples, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man." But still he set before them clear and certain sign which should indicate its near approach. The great apostle of the Gentiles assures the children of the light, that that day shall not overtake them as a thief; and the prophet Daniel intimates, that in the latter day the wise shall understand-and who are the wise, but they whom the Spirit teacheth ?

As far as can now be discovered, the prophet Daniel alone affords the chronological date of the appointed time. An accurate understanding of the historical and ceremonial types, would, in all probability, bring with it a revelation of this mystery; but hitherto the Spirit of revelation has shone but faintly upon this portion of the Sacred Volume; and, as things at present stand, Daniel is the only guide to the date. That prophet, in his important prophecy, which occupies his three last chapters, mentions three periods of time, viz. 1260 years, 1290 years, and 1335 years, as before pointed out at p. 110, and at one or other of these periods, the coming of Messiah in glory might be looked for: for the prophet speaks of it, as a time, when "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting

life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." And it is revealed in other places, that the resurrection does not take place, till the Lord Jesus cometh. The period of 1260 years, is again mentioned in the Book of Revelations; but, as it has already been suggested, that probably this period expired in the year 1789, and as Messiah has not yet appeared, this date comes not here to be considered, except as it serves to fix the other periods, which in fact are additions to the 1260 years. The prophet Daniel, in his he-goat, declares that the

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cleansing of the sanctuary shall take place at the expiration of 2300 years, a time which is mentioned only in that prophecy. This period must

necessarily terminate with one of those already mentioned, viz. the 1290 or 1335 years; for, till the Lord cometh, the sanctuary cannot be cleansed, inasmuch as none but Michael, the great Prince, who standeth up for his people, even the Deliverer who cometh out of Zion, shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob : and it is not until after the Angel of the covenant hath come suddenly to his temple, and hath sat there as a refiner's fire, to purify the sons of Levi, that they can offer an offering in righteousness. (See Rom. xi. 26, and Malachi iii. 1-3. Thus it is seen that two periods are spoken of, having each one common termination in the second coming of Messiah.

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