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of God to assist us and lead our minds into the truth of these things. 13th verse, "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God," 14th verse, "Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates." By the sounding of the trumpet I understand the commencing of those judgments which were to be poured out upon the earth under this trumpet, and by the "voice from the four horns of the golden altar," the agreement of all the powers of heaven and earth to execute the design of God in this thing. By loosing the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates, I understand that God was now about to suffer the four principal nations of which the Ottoman empire was composed, which had in vain attempted to subdue the Eastern empire at Constantinople and made but little progress in conquering Europe, now to take Constantinople and to overrun and subdue one third part of Europe, which was the fact about the middle of the 15th century.

15th (6 verse, And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men." The four angels we may reasonably conclude are a representation of the four nations that had embraced the Mahometan religion and were now under the control of the Ottoman, viz. Turks, Tartars, Arabs, and Saracens. The time expressed in the last mentioned verse is 391 years and 15 days. "To slay the third part of men," is to destroy and conquer one third part of the governments or kingdoms of which the Papal beast had the control, which was true in the end.

16th verse, "And the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them." In this verse the precise number of the army of horsemen is given, for John tells us "he heard the number of them." And if we should understand the prophet to mean as some suppose he does, 200,000 multiplied by a 1,000, then the sum total would be 200,000,000, which would be more men than were ever on our earth at one time capable of bearing arms; therefore I believe this is not the meaning of the prophet, neither do I think that it was a succession of armies during the whole period of 391 years, making the sum total of 200,000,000, for this, too, would be incredible; for allowing a standing army of

15,385,000 to be recruited every 30 years, it would only make the two hundred millions; and this sum would be more than five times the number of all the standing armies in the known world. And from these considerations I have for myself given this construction, that the prophet John heard the number of 200,000 repeated, or twice told, which would make an army of 400,000 horsemen, and this would not be incredible. And what is to me strong proof of the fact is, that the history informs us that Mahomet II. came against Constantinople about the year A. D. 1450, with an army of 400,000* horsemen, and after a long siege took the city in the year 1453, and destroyed the Eastern empire which had stood more than ten centuries from its foundation by Constantine.

17th verse, "And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breast plates of fire, and of jacinth and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone." 18th verse, "By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths." >> 19th verse, "For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt." In these verses which we have now read, we are plainly informed that it was an army of horses, and men on them, which John saw in the vision. And the implements and manner of fighting, such as the trapping of their horses, and the instruments offensive and defensive, gunpowder and guns, are as exactly described as any person could describe it without knowing the name by which we describe it at the present day. Fire, smoke and brimstone would be the most visible component parts of gunpowder. Fire and smoke we should see, and brimstone we should smell. And who ever saw an army of horsemen engaged in an action but would think of John's description, "out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone," and in the breech of the guns were bullets, "like heads and with these they do hurt." Every part of this description is exactly applicable to an army of horsemen with fire-arms. And what is equally as strong in the evidence is, that guns and firearms were invented but a short time previous to this trump

* Some authors say 300,000.

sounding, and the Turks claimed the honor (if honor it can be called) of inventing gunpowder and guns, and it is equally evident by the history that guns were first used by the Turks at the taking of Constantinople, they having one single cannon that took 70 yoke of oxen to draw it at the siege, as says Dr. Gill on this passage.

20th verse," And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk." 21st verse, "Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." In these verses we have the character of the persons or government on whose account these plagues were sent. In the first place · they are represented as idolaters, as worshiping devils, idols of gold, &c. full of murder, sorceries, fornication and theft. This exactly agrees with the description John has given of the " woman setting on the scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and the abominations of the earth." So we see that the fifth and sixth trumpets and the two first woes were sent as the judgments of God upon this anti-Christian beast, and clearly shows the decline of the power which she had exercised over the kings of the earth, and the people of God for more than eight centuries, to the commencing of the sixth trumpet, when the Turks were let loose upon those kingdoms under the control of Papacy, conquered all Asia and about one third part of Europe, and was in the end the means of opening the eyes of many of the inhabitants of the world, to see that the Pope's pretensions of being the vicegerent of God was not well founded, for if he could not foresee and resist the inroads of the Turks, that infidel nation, surely he could not perform those great miracles which he pretended to perform in order to support his ecclesiastical and civil power. And individuals, and afterwards nations began to disregard his authority, excommunications and bulls, until his power is now but a little more than a Bishop of Rome.

Here we see the wonder-working ways of our God who in wisdom and providence suffers the corrupt and infidel nations of the earth to pull down each other and to bring about his purposes and designs, and will eventually destroy all the kingdoms of the earth by such means and in such ways as the prophets have foretold. And whoever lives until the year 1839 will see the final dissolution of the Turkish empire, for then the sixth trumpet will have finished its sounding; which, if I am correct, will be the final overthrow of the Ottoman power. And then will the seventh trump and last woe begin, under which the kingdoms of the earth and the anti-christian beast will be destroyed, the powers of darkness chained, the world cleansed and the church purified.

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See the 10th chapter of Revelation, 5th, 6th and 7th "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven." This is the Angel of the covenant, the great Mediator. See the first verse, "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud." So is Christ to come in the clouds with power and great glory." And a rainbow was upon his head." This shows plainly that it is Christ; for the rainbow is a token of the covenant. "And his face was as it were the sun." The same as when he was transfigured, Matt. xvii. 2, "And his feet as pillars of fire." See Rev. i. 15, "His feet like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace." Surely this must be Christ, "And he had in his hand a little book open." None could open the book but the lion of the tribe of Judah. Another strong proof that the angel in Rev. x. 5, is Christ. And who but Christ could stand upon the sea, and upon the earth, and "lifted his hand to heaven and swear by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that therein are, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer." That is, gospel or mediatorial time should cease. No more time for mercy, no more Spirit to strive with you, sinner, no more means of grace, no more repentance unto life, no more hopes of heaven, for Jesus has sworn by himself, because he could swear by no greater, that your day of probation "should be no longer." For "he that is filthy shall be filthy still." The bridegroom has come and shut to the door. I know, sinner, you will then cry Lord, Lord, open unto us. But he will say unto you, depart from me ye workers of ini

quity, for I know you not: when I called to you to open the door of your hearts, that I might come in and sup with you, ye refused. When I stretched out my arm all the long day of the gospel, ye regarded it not. I will now laugh at your calamity and mock when your fear cometh. Then will the angel flying through the midst of heaven, cry with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, for when the last woe is pronounced, and "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. "The second woe is past, and behold the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." Rev. xi. 14, 15. By these passages we learn that when the sixth trumpet has done sounding, when the second woe is past, then the third woe comes quickly. The seventh trump begins to sound, the mystery of God is finished all that has been spoken by the prophets; that is, all that concerns the kingdom of Christ; for then will be brought to pass the saying, death is swallowed up in victory for when the last trumpet shall sound the dead in Christ shall be raised. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." "But every man in his own order. Christ the first fruits, afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming.' "The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly." And as we have borne the image of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this 1 say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." Behold, I shew you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed; for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." "Then will be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory." I. Cor. xv. 22-54.

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