VOLUME 
I. 
NEW-YORK, 
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 
15, 
1842. 
NUMBER 
21. 
' Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie 
though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." 
BY 
JOSHUA 
V. 
HIMES. 
DAILY—NO. 3© 
PARK-ROW. 
PRICE 
TWO 
CENTS. 
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1842. 
LETTERS TO E. F. HATFIELD. 
NO. V. 
HONORED 
SIR,—Is Antiochus Epiphanes the hero of 
DanieVs prophecy 1 This now seems to be the main ques-
tion. 
If he was, our conclusions fail. 
If he was not, I 
think they are irresistably confirmed. 
Let us enter on the inquiry, with the closing words of 
the vision (which you apply to him) fully in our view. 
• ' Shut thou up the vision, for it shall be for 
MANY 
days." 
It was so grand and extensive that it over-
whelmed him. '-He fainted, and was sick certain days," 
after seeing it. 
The fact that the vision was " shut up," 
explains a little seeming obscurity in it,—which ceases 
to be obscure when we compare it with other parts of the 
Book, and, 
the rest of Scripture, and with a more enlarged 
view of the facts. 
This is exactly as might have been 
expected from the language of Christ, (Dan. xii. 9,) " Go 
thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed, 
till the time of the end,"—and the words of Gabriel, (Dan. 
xii. 4,) " Shut up the words and seal the book, even to the 
time of the end." 
What follows, in Gabriel's language, 
might be better rendered as it is in the French,—(auquel 
plusieurs le parcourrout et auquel la connoissance sera 
augmentee,)—" when many shall run all over it, (or all 
^through it,) [i. e. the prophecy,] and to them knowledge 
shall be increased." 
This teaches us to study Daniel, instead of Jewish his-
torians, who wrote before the time of the end, while the 
vision was shut up. 
Josephus may declare that the 
vision related to Antiochus, but he could not know it, for 
he did not live at the time of the end. 
We yesterday looked at three great lines of prophecy 
which reach to Christ's coming. 
The commencement of 
the 8th chapter is remarkable. 
The previous one, which 
reaches to " THE JUDGMENT," begins thus,—" In the 
FIRST year of Belshazzar, Daniel had a dream," &c. 
Then turning to the 8th chapter, we read : " In the 
THIRD year of the reign of king Belshazzar, a vision 
appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, AFTER that 
which appeared unto me at the FIRST." 
Did Daniel 
use this striking language, merely to inform his readers 
that the third year is later in time than the first 1 
Cer-
tainly not. 
It is after in resemblance as God created 
man after his likeness. 
This view of it is strikingly corroborated by the trans-
lation in the old Doway Bible, which shows how the 
Catholics have understood this vision from the earliest 
ages. 
The first verse is there rendered thus ; "In the 
third year of Baltasser, the king, a vision appeared to me 
I Daniel saw in my vision, after that which I had seen in 
the beginning," 
<fc. 
In the marginal note it is said, 
" Daniel here insinuateth that this vision was in explica-
tion of some part of the former, (chap. 7,) where four 
monarchies are mentioned." 
But do we find the four 
monarchies in this vision 1 
We do, all but the Babylon-
ian, and Daniel certainly needed no revelation about 
that, which was just then tottering to its fall. 
But you 
say we do not find the other three monarchies here, and 
ask for proof. 
The angel gives it. 
Hear him : " The 
ram which thou sawest, having two horns, are the kings 
of Media and Persia, and the rough goat is the king of 
Grecia." 
That " king" is here put for kingdom, is evi-
dent from the sense, but, beside that, we have positive 
proof that the angel uses the word to mean the SOVE-
REIGNTY of an empire, extending through a long suc-
cession of consuls, emperors, and kinga. In Dan. vii. 17, 
it is said : " These four beasts are four KINGS 
which 
shall arise."—and in the 23d verse, the same angel says, 
" the fourth beast shall be the fourth KINGDOM." 
As 
the third power is declared to be Greece, we have only to 
remember that Rome conquered Greece, and became the 
mistress of the world, see Luke ii. 1, to know that the 
empire of Rome, extending through hundreds of years, is 
spoken of as one of the four kings. 
Now we understand 
what the angel means by king, let us hear him further. 
Angel.—" 
A king of fierce countenance, and under-
standing dark sentences, shall stand up." 
Bible. Student.—I remember Moses prophesied very 
much like that, when he described the nation which 
should subdue the Israelites, and my reference Bible di-
rects me to his language to illustrate yours. (Deut. 28 : 
49,50.) 
"The Lord shall bring against thee a nation 
from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle 
dieth—a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand, 
a nation of fierce countenance." 
We all know that means 
the Roman power. 
Angel.—" 
And his power shall be mighty, but not by 
his own power." 
Bible Student.—I remember that the mighty Roman 
generals, confessedly, derived their power from the peo-
ple. 
In the three former dominions, the people were 
treated as if created only for the glory of the monarch. 
Angel.—1'' And he shall destroy wonderfully and shall 
prosper and practice." 
Bible Student.—No 
power ever so wonderfully " de-
voured the whole earth,"—to use an angel's language^-
as the Roman power. 
It was founded by two deserted 
children, who became leaders of banditti,and, by along se-
ries of astonishing successes, "broke in pieces and 
bruised" all other nations. 
Angel.— " And shall destroy the mighty and the holy 
people." 
Bible Student.—Moses said that same nation of fierce 
countenance should "besiege," and " distress" the Jews, 
till they should be " destroyed." 
The Roman power 
fulfilled this prediction ; and they have destroyed Chris-
tians more wonderfully than any other power,—both as 
Rome pagan and Rome papal. 
Angel — " And through his policy also, he shall cause 
craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself 
in his heart, and by peace, [or prosperity.] shall destroy 
many." 
Bible Student.—Paul, 
in his epistle to the Thessalo-
nians, speaks of a power which he calls the Man of Sin, 
" who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is 
called God or that is worshipped." 
Popery has " made 
craft prosper" by Jesuitism, and by its prosperity has 
destroyed many. 
Angel.—" He shall also stand up against the PRINCE 
of princes." 
Bible Student.—In the French Bible, published by the 
American Bible Society, I read your words, " Seigneur 
des seigneurs," that is, Lord of lords. 
No dominion 
could stand up against Christ, the Lord of lords, except 
the Roman. 
But how does this power end 1 
Angel.—" He shall be broken without hand." 
Bible Student.—Daniel could easily understand that,— 
for you told him before, that the fourth power was " bro-
ken in pieces" by the stone " cut out of the mountain 
without hands." 
We have an additional clue, however, 
for Paul describes the end of the Man of Sin which shall 
be consumed " by the brightness of Christ's coming." 
In all this there is no difficulty. Rome strikingly fulfils 
the whole. But you apply all this language to Antiochus. 
Let us consider a few of the many absurdities and difficul 
ties you thus run into, in order to avoid the natural con-
nection of the visions which lead us directly to the second 
coming of the " Prince of princes." 
First Absurdity.—The 
four dynasties, dominions, or 
sovereignties, which succeeded Alexander's dominion,— 
or Grecia —are represented, each by its appropriate horn, 
one for Egypt, one for Syria, one for Macedonia, and 
one for Thrace and Bythinia. Now Antiochus Epiphanes 
was but one of twenty-six individuals, who constituted 
the Syrian horn. 
Could he, at the same time, be another 
remarkable horn 1 
Second Absurdity.—The 
angel told Daniel, " At the 
time of THE END shall be the vision. ... 
I will ipake 
thee know what shall be in the LAST END of the indig-
nation, for at the time appointed, THE END shall be." Dr. 
Scott properly inquires, "in what sense could the persecu-
tions of Antiochus be called the last end of the indignation, 
seeing the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans was 
to follow, and all the calamities of the Jews to this day 1" 
We shall not come to the last end of the indignation till 
the fourth power is " broken without hand," and Christ's 
everlasting kingdom is set up.. Does not the angel identify 
this vision with the end of the world 1 
Third Absurdity.—The 
Medo-Persian power is simply 
called " GREAT," (verse 4.) 
This power, the Bible tells 
us, 4; reigned from India to Ethiopia, over a hundred and 
seven and twenty provinces." 
This was succeeded by the 
Grecian 
power, which 
is called " VERY 
GREAT," 
(verse 8.) 
Of course, it was stronger, or more extensive, 
tkan even the Persian. Then comes the power in question, 
which is " EX€EEM.\u00ab 
GREAT." 
Here we 
might close the discussion on this point, for you will not 
pretend that the power of Antiochus, was exceedingly 
great .' above that of Alexander, the Conqueror of the 
world ! 
Rollin gives us the following item in his history : 
"He was OBLIGED to furnish the Romans, by the articles of 
the peace concluded between them, 1000 talents annually, 
and the twelve years of this tribute end exactly with his 
life. 
He reigned but eleven years." 
Surely there need be 
no question which power was EXCEEDING GREAT,— 
that which was OBILGED to PAY TRIBUTE, or that which 
exacted it. 
Let us give the degrees of comparison, according to the 
angel's rules, and thus compare truth with error. 
How 
easy and natural is the following gradation : 
Great. 
Very Great. 
Exceeding Great. 
PERSIA, 
GREECE, 
ROME. 
How absuid and ludicrous is the following ! 
Great. 
Very Great. 
Exceeding Great. 
PERSIA, 
GREECE, 
Fourth Absurdity.—The 
power in question was "lit-
tle" at first, but it waxed or grew " exceeding great, 
toward the SOUTH and toward the EAST, and toward the 
pleasant land." 
What can this describe but the conquer-
ing marches of a mighty power 1 
Rome was almost 
directly north-west from Jerusalem, and its conquests in 
Asia and Africa were of course towards the east and 
south ; but where were Antiochus' conquests 1 
Did he 
rise up from a small beginning and conquer vast coun-
tries to the east and south of him 1 
Let two items from 
Rollin answer. 
One relates to Antiochus the great, (the j it always signifies a new kingdom ; and the kingdom of 
' . , 
. 
. 
. r 
i • j Antiochus w*as an old one. 
Antiochus reigned over one 
father of Antiochus Epiphanes,) a few years before hi, j Q
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death. 
He " enlarged his 
CONQUESTS daily, and was un- , ifs proper KIN<RS. 
This horn was at first a little one, and 
doubtedly preparing to cross over into Europe,"—towards 
the north-west, 
NOT south and east. 
Of the king 
whose greatness! 
we are now considering, 
Rollin 
says: 
" He assumed the title of 
Epiphanes, that 
is, illustrious, which title was 
never WORSE 
ap-
plied. 
The whole series of his life will show that he 
deserved much more that of Epimanes, (mad or furi-
ous,) which some people gave him." 
Rollin then re-
cords a catalogue of his foolish actions, to show " how 
justly the epithet vile is bestowed upon him 
proper 
waxed exceeding great ; but so did N O T Antiochus. 
His kingdom, on the contrary, was weak, and tributary 
to the Romans ; and he did NOT enlarge it. 
The horn 
was ' a king of fierce countenance, and destroyed won-
derfully, and prospered and practised :' but Antiochus 
was frighted out of Egypt by a mere message of the 
Romans, and afterwards routed and baffled by the Jews. 
The horn was mighty by another's power ; Antiochus 
cycled by his own. 
The horn cast down the sanctuary to 
the ground, and so did NOT Antiochus ; he left it stand-
ing. 
The sanctuary and host were trampled under foot 
then gives ! 2300 days, (14) and in Daniel's prophecies days are put for 
K*. - 
! 
'natural 
'Xst 
met with in attempting to take the city of Wymais, and j were t() lagt tQ , the en(] 
of 
the 
indignation' against the 
plunder the temple of Diana. 
It seems that Antiochus ; jewg . an(1 this indignation is NOT YET at aneud. They 
had grown so weak, (instead of waxing exceeding great) j were to last till the sanctuary which had been oast down 
had formerly paid tribute, were not j should be cleansed ; and the sanctuary is NOT YET 
cleansed." 
After writing thus far, I noticed, for the first time, that 
commanders, whom he had left to fight against Judea, i 
and what strength the Jews Had already gotten. When i 
this concern 
about these affairs was added 
to the ; 
former, he was confounded—and, by the anxiety he j 
was in, fell into a distemper, which, as itfilasted a j 
great while, and, as his pairis increased upon him, ! 
Antiochus's kingdom was nothing more than a con-
tinuation of one of the four kingdoms ; and cannot pos, 
sibly be reckoned as a fifth kingdom springing up among 
the four. 
When he stood up, ' the transgressors in the 
Jewish nation were not come to the full.' 
The holy-
city was inhabited ' with all peace ; and the laws were 
kept very well; because of the godliness of Onias the 
high priest, and his hatred of wickedness. 2 Mac. iii. 1." 
so he at length perceived he should die in a little time; ; Bp. Newton 
These and other [modern expositors, in 
so he called his friends to him, and confessed withal, that 
his calamity was sent upon him for the miseries he had j 
brought upon the Jewish nation, while he plundered their 
temple and contemned their God ; and, when he had 
said this, he gave up the ghost." 
We shall refer to Jose-
phus again, but we will now simply inquire where were 
Antiochus' exceeding great conquests 1 
Fifth Absurdity. 
The crowning absurdity of all is, to 
contradiction to the ancient,] therefore, suppose this little 
horn to mean the empire ol the Romans, from the time 
when they had got footing in Greece and Macedonia ; 
which formed one horn of the goat. 
They then entered 
on that stage, on which these events were to take place. 
At first they seemed to have little power in the regions 
which Alexander had governed ; yet that increased ex-
ceedingly, by the forces brought from Rome and Italy : 
and as these formed no part of this goat, " the horn 
grew strong not by its own power." 
The Roman em-
suppose that Rome is I ft out' of a vision which extends i perors also became terrible persecutors of the Christian 
to " the LAST end of the indignation." 
Daniel had a 1 church, putting to death many of the brightest ornaments 
view through the dark clouds which conceal the wonder- | »f 
Gospel, especially several of the apostles ot Christ _ 
b 
, 
. 
. 
, 
• • 
1 Yea, they " magnified themselves against this prmce of 
ful landscape of futurity from uninspired eyes. His vision , the ho&t„ 
the King of 
kjngs . both as Pllate the Roman 
is expressly directed to the things which shall befall his j governor ordered his crucifixion, and as they persecuted 
people in the LATTER DAYS. 
His eye pierces even to the ! his followers for three centuries. 
And after the empe-
resurrection of the dead, and the glorious kingdom be- i ™rs became Christians then the church and bishop of 
' 
, 
s 
o 
| Rome arose to great dominion, by power given from 
yond it. 
Now what are some of the objects in this won- j mhers . and they haye 
prove(] „rulers of fierce counte-
drous prospect'! 
The great object is his Saviour on the • naiice, and understanding dark sentences ;" being ever 
cross, dying under a Roman governor, and pierced by a notorious for savage cruelty and dark machinations 
Roman spear. 
Will he not see this object, on which all 
heaven gaze si 
There the " latter days" commence. 
Daniel's people, 
after that, are still Abraham's seed, Christ's true Israel, 
and will he see nothing relating to them 1 Will he not 
see that "exceeding great" power, under which the Jews 
" fell by the edge of the sword, and were led away cap-
tive into all nations,''—under which Jerusalem was deso-
against their opposers. 
Now, let us suppose that a natural landscape had been 
spread before Daniel, partly covered with clouds. 
Ir. 
that landscape, there is a huge volcano, piercing the 
clouds and sending forth vivid flames, and pouring red 
hot streams of lava on the thickly peopled cities in the 
plains below, where Daniel's people dwell. This volcano 
is so terrific that Moses saw it ei^ht hundred years far-
THE DAILY, CONTINUED 
TWO 
DAYS 
MORE.—In order 
to finish Brother Miller's Course of Lectures, we have 
decided, though short of funds, to continue the daily two 
days longer. 
The whole 26 numbers will then be bound 
up, in the form of a large pamphlet, and sold at the low 
price of 50 cents per set. 
that the people, who had formerly paid 
afraid to withhold it. 
When he came against them, they 
" took up arms to defend their temple, and gave him a 
shameful RE PULSE. 
Antiochus, enraged at this dis- | Dr. Jenks, whom I will venture to call ^ 
of the mo,, 
grace, withdrew to Ecbatana," where Josephus finishes | learned theologians in America, quotes Dr. Scott, as ap-
his history thus :-« When he was grieving for this dis- | Plying this prophecy to the Roman power. 
Here is a 
appointment, some person told him of the defeat of his ! Part of his note : 
THE MIDNIGHT CRY—WEEKLY. 
We hope our brethren will send their orders, with the 
money, immediately. 
We believe it is the Lord's will 
that the Cry should be kept sounding. 
" Behold, He 
cometh." 
We have used up nearly all the money He 
has given us, and, if this shall reach the eye of any 
steward of the Lord's money, who believes in his near 
approach, we hope he will devote some of it to the sup-
port of a weekly paper in this great city. 
Unless means 
are furnished for printing a large paper, we shall com-
mence just the size of the daily, but we are very anxious 
to print two numbers in one, on account of postage.— 
Price 50 cents for 24 numbers. 
A Shameful Fact. 
The Baltimore correspondent of the Tribune says : 
The Rev. Amos Herring, a colonist from Liberia, who 
is reputed a pious and most worthy colored minister, in 
the employ of the Methodist Missionary Society, being 
on a visit to the Uniied States, took passage a few days 
since in the rail-road line from New York to Philadel-
phia, on his way to Baltimore, with a view to sail in the 
vessel about to depart for Africa, on his return to his 
missionary labors 
The day was extremely cold on ac-
count of the snow-storm, and he was not permitted to 
ride in the cars with the gentlemen who were ' not 
guilty ^f a skin colored like his own," but was thrust in-
to the " negro car," where there was no stove. 
The re-
sult was, that he suffered an attack of pleurisy on the 
passage, which has confined him to his bed ever since, 
and his life is supposed to be in imminent hazard. Dr. Go-
heen, the late Mission Physician from Africa, being casu-
ally in the city, on his way to Virginia, visited him yes-
terday with Dr. McGill, and knowing the worth of Mr. 
Herring by personal acquaintance during his long sojourn 
at Monrovia, he manifested a becoming interest in his 
case, and expressed great anxiety as to the probable fa-
tal terminat.il n of his disease. 
Mr. Herring, though now dangerously ill, expresses 
great anxiety to return in the vessel about to sail, and 
says that he would go back to Africa in her, if he was 
only able to " crawl on board." 
How long will it take the Christianity of this nation to 
convert the world, so that there shall be none to hurt ? 
lated, and the temple burned,—under which 3,000,000 of j ther back ; yet Daniel, though guided by an angel to see 
Christians were killed, crucified, burnt, tortured, torn, j the LAST end of the indignation, does not once discern 
or devoured, while it denied Christ,—and under which i it. 
W by ] 
Because his eye is filled with the fire and 
FIFTY MILLIONS have fallen " by flame, sword, cap-1 smoke which Antiochus raises in Jerusalem ! ! ! 
I am 
tivity, and spoil," during " many days" since 1 O why, i not ridiculing the position you unfortunately occupy. 
It 
beloved brother in the Lord, why do you run into this j ridicules itself. 
absurdity 1 Is it not because Josephus, an unbelieving j 
To-morrow we shall consider the question, 
"How 
Jew, wishing to magnify the affairs of his own nation,! l°nS the vision 1" 
But that inquiry need not be long.— 
dared to give an oracular decision respecting a vision j 0ur premises being God's eternal truth, instead of Jew-
which was " shut up" till the time of the end 1 Oh, it' ish fancies, the conclusions follow irresistibly that the 
amazes me to see Christian teachers, under the com \ END of Daniel's visions must be next year. 
May the 
mandofthat same Jew, rank after rank, straining them- 
Lord enable us to be ready for the GREAT DAY. 
I remain, &c. 
N. 
SOUTHARD. 
selves to the utmost to puff up Antiochus, and make him 
fill this prophecy. 
A portion of the world, looking 
through your magnifying glasses, and forgetting a large 
part of the prophecy, have cried out, " How completely j 
it fits!" But such men as Sir Isaac Newton have told 
you how fallacious your reasoning is. 
That great pliilo-; 
sopher, after tracing God's laws in the heavens turned j 
B^ray? 
"[who is preaching against the 
to the still brighter revelation in his Word. 
There, as 
he had done before, he exposed the absurdity of long 
cherished notions. 
Hear him : 
"I am not Ready." 
So said a fashionable lady, who is in good standing in 
an evangelical chftrch in this city. 
She trembled as she 
spoke. 
'• I don't want to hear Mr. Miller," she added. 
I don't wish to have his doctrine true. I would much 
A horn of a beast is never taken for a single person : 
faith of Christ's near coming,] " I think he speaks beau-
tifully." 
Readers, Christ will soon try every man's work of 
what sort it is. 
ARE you ready 1 
As it was in Sodom. 
" As it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they 
drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded ; 
but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained 
fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: 
even thus shall it be when the Son of Man is revealed." 
" This was the iniquity of Sodom, PRIDE, fullness 
of 
bread., and abundance of idleness was in her and her 
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the 
poor and needy," Ez xvi. 49. 
That the whole of this description applies to the pre-
sent time, we have only to open our eyes and see. 
It was said on good authority, that ten thousand clerks 
were out of employment in this city during the past sum-
mer. 
The number of poor laborers who are idle is im-
mense, in all parts of this country, and in Europe. 
The 
" fullness of bread, and the pride, and the neglect of the 
poor and needy," are strikingly characteristic of this age. 
The following, from yesterday's Aurora, completes the 
picture of our resemblance to Sodom : 
" THE STREETS AT NIGHT —Since the horrible outrage 
at the Broadway Cottage, we hope the ladies will see the 
necessity of staying within doors after nightfall, unless 
they are attended by a gentleman. Humiliating as is the 
necessity of making the declaration, in the midst of the 
most refined and enlightened city on the continent, yet duty 
to the public compels us to say that no lady is safe in the 
streets of New York after dark, unless accompanied by a 
male friend." 
The Truth Blessed. 
The revival at Williamsburgh continues with great 
power. 
Eighteen souls rejoiced in finding a precious 
Saviour, Monday evening, in the prayer meeting which 
followed Bro. Chanlder's lecture. 
Mr. 
Miller's 
Lectures 
Continued, 
not being written or translated into any other languages 
in Europe, it became an easy task for the bishop to 
obscure the doctrine and discipline of the word of God, 
so far as suited his convenience, and to obtain universal 
power over the minds and consciences of men, and 
clothe the Scriptures in sackcloth. 
If, then, the Scrip-
tures were first clothed in sackcloth in A. D. 538, and 
were to prophesy 1260 years in this situation, their 
prophecy would end in 1798. 
About the close of the 
eighteenth century, in consequence of the abominable 
corruptions of the church of Rome being exposed to 
public view, the men of the world began to treat reve-
lation as a fiction, and religion 
as priestcraft; and 
instead of searching for the pillar and ground of the 
truth, 
" their imaginations became vain, 
and 
their 
foolish minds were darkened." 
They declared war 
against the Bible, the "two witnesses," which war 
became general all over Europe and America. 
Some 
of the most eminent and principal writers in this con-
troversy were in France, the principal kingdom among 
the ten, into which Rome had been divided at the close 
of the fifth century; and so successful were 
these 
writers, that almost the whole nation of the French 
became Deists, or Atheists, in a short time. 
This na-
tion had long been guilty of the abominations of the 
anti-Christian beast, the sins of Sodom and Egypt, and 
the persecution of those who protested against her na-
tional corruptions : the slaying of the witnesses ; their 
lying in a dead state three years and a half in the street 
of the great city; the revolution spoken of in this 
prophecy—all happened in the French revolution, be-
tween the years 1793 and 1798. 
A decree was passed 
by the council and directory of France, prohibiting the 
Bible to be read in public, in any of the chapels in 
France ; and Bibles were gathered in heaps, and bon-
fires were made of them, and great rejoicings were 
had all over the kingdom at the downfall of priestcraft, 
as they called it; and particularly at Lyons, where the 
Scriptures were publicly dragged through the streets, 
with circumstances of the greatest contempt, and other 
things transacted in the exultation of their triumph, 
which are too shocking to narrate. 
Let it suffice, then, 
to say, that after three years and a half the Bible was 
again permitted to be read, and religion had free toler-
ation in France ; and what is equally as remarkable, 
is, that the same year a few individuals in London 
established what has since 
been styled 
the 
Bible 
society, which has been instrumental in sending Bibles 
among all nations, and of translating them into more 
than 150 languages since that period ; and almost all 
the writers, who acknowledge the Bible to be the two 
witnesses, do agree that the events, prophesied of in 
this passage, were literally accomplished in the French 
revolution. 
Now, the Bible is more than restored to 
its former state in society; it is exalted, and every 
person can have, and read, and examine for themselves 
into its sacred truths. 
It is also a fact, that the pro-
gress of the Bible society has exceeded the most san-
guine expectations of its advocates ; and the atheists 
and deists of our day appear to be perfectly confound-
ed at these events. 
Instead now of declaring 
open 
war against the Bible, they make pretence at least of 
drawing their rules of morality from this blessed book ; 
and the man who should now undertake to write down 
the word of God, would be considered either a mad-
man or a fool. 
One thing more : In the French Revo-
lution, the names or titles of men were abolished; and 
it is said by some writers, that, in the long list of titled 
nobility, and the great catalogue of priestly orders, 
there were seven thousand destroyed at once. 
Well 
might the remnant be affrighted, and give^glory to the 
God of heaven! 
Let us now for a moment see what follows the his-
tory of the two witnesses. 
14th verse, "The second wo is past, and behold, 
.he third wo cometh quickly." 
The second wo be-
gan by the civil wars in France and Germany, and 
ended in the French revolution; 
and the third wo 
will come quickly. 
It is the last great wo denounced 
against the woman sitting upon the 
scarlet-colored 
beast, and against the earth, which she hath filled with 
her sorceries, and the kingdoms of this world, which 
must all be destroyed under this wo. 
15th verse, " And the seventh angel sounded, and 
there were great voices in heaven, saying, The king-
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and 
ever." 
The third wo and seventh trumpet are both 
the same thing, (see Rev. viii. 13;) and the seventh 
trumpet is the last trump, when the dead shall be 
raised. 
See 1 Cor. xv. 52. 
It is evident, also, that 
we are carried into the eternal state forever and ever. 
16th verse, " And the four and twenty elders, which 
sat before God on their seats, fell on their faces and 
worshipped God." 
By the four and twenty elders, I [ wise from Christ's first coming, down to his second ap 
understand the true ministers of Christ, alluding to the i pearance, the church have experienced, and, aceordim 
twenty-four courses of the priesthood appointed 
by 
David, 1 Chron. xxiv. 
17th verse, " Saying, Wre give thee thanks, O Lord 
God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come, 
because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and 
hast reigned." 
This is the language of every humble 
and devoted minister of Jesus Christ, who makes the 
word of God his study, and believes in the overruling 
hand of God 
as 
accomplishing 
the 
great 
designs 
therein revealed. 
18t.h verse, "And the nations were angry, and thy 
wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they 
should 1*2 judged, and that thou shouldest give reward 
unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and 
them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest 
destroy them which destroy the earth." 
This verse shows us what takes place at the sound-
ing of the seventh trumpet and third wo, which the 
angel says will come quickly after the French revolu-
tion, if I am right in my explanation of the two wit-
nesses. 
It is morally certain that the word of God is 
not now in an obscure state ; it is not hid from the 
world, neither is clothed in sackcloth. 
It is true that 
many voices have united in the Bible societies to spread 
the knowledge of the word 
of God ; and that it is 
translated into about all the known languages in the 
world. 
It is almost absolutely certain that the French 
people are the nation that is compared to Sodom and 
Egypt in the passage we have been examining; and 
likewise the earthquake spoken of is the French revo-
lution. 
Then if the two witnesses are the Old and 
New 
Testament, 
we 
are 
certain 
the third wo 
is 
coining quickly, and the seventh trump must shortly 
begin 
to sound 
YoU have undoubtedly 
seen, 
my 
friends, that we 
are likewise brought down to the 
judgment, when God will reward the 
righteous, 
and 
destroy the wicked, who have persecuted the saints 
and trampled them under foot. 
And once more let me inquire how it stands with yon, 
my dear hearer. 
Are you prepared for that great and 
solemn day? 
Are you ready to meet the judgment? 
The two witnesses will appear for or against you. 
Their testimony will not fail. 
Do you believe them? 
He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth 
not shall be damned. 
" The word that I have spoken," 
says Christ, "the 
same shall judge you in the last 
day." 
Why will you not be warned? 
If half the 
evidence that 1 have brought of our being on the end 
of this dispensation, was brought to prove there was a 
great treasure hid in your field, how soon would you 
search and how diligently would you seek until you 
found it! 
In this book of which we have now been speaking, 
are durable riches, gold tried in the fire, seven times 
purified. 
" Search for it as for hidden treasures ; seek 
and you shall find." 
Can you tell me where the 
word of God, the Bible, has failed of being 
accom-
plished literally, and in the time specified? 
Many 
events have been foretold, the times given, and not 
one failed. 
How can you disbelieve? 
Plow can you 
shut your eyes against so much light ? 
Where will 
you have an excuse in the day of judgment ? 
I have 
repeatedly brought you down to this time, and shown, 
by Scripture proof, the judgment must commence im-
mediately. 
You are in your hearts convinced that 
what has been declared concerning the two witnesses, 
in this discourse, is true. 
And if so, your reason must 
teach you that what follows under the third wo must 
be equally as true. 
" And the nations were 
angry, 
and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that 
they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give 
reward unto thy servants the prophets, ami to the 
saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, 
and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." 
LECTURE 
XI. 
THE WOMAN 
IN THE 
WILDERNESS. 
REV. xii. G. 
And the woman fled into the wilderness, wljere she liath a place pre-
pared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hun-
dred and threescore days. 
THE history of the church, in all ages of this pres-
ent world, is but a history of persecution and blood, 
when we follow her through all dispensations, from 
Adam to Moses, and from Moses to Christ; so like-
pearance,the church have experienced, and, according 
to the whole tenor of Scripture, must expect to rea-
lize from the kingdoms and men of this world, this one 
promise at least, " In the world ye shall have tribula-
tion." 
These facts are so plain and obvious, that it 
has given rise to a common saying among almost all 
writers, that " the blood of martyrs is the seed of the 
church.'' 
Yet there is a bright side to her history ; 
for she has come out of all her persecutions more puri-
fied, more faithful, and with more energy, to prosecute 
the work her divine Master has left her to perform. 
And one o^ier thing is certain—God has preserved her, 
whether in the wilderness or among the nations of the 
earth, in an extraordinary and miraculous 
manner, 
even 
her 
enemies 
themselves 
being 
her 
judges'. 
Where has a kingdom stood when all the 
nations 
about them have conspired their overthrow ? 
Where 
is the Assyrian, and populous Nineveh? 
Where is 
Chaldea, the queen of nations ? 
Where is the Grecian 
empire, once the colossus of the world? 
W^here is 
imperial Rome ? 
Gone, gone, by the power of earthly 
foes. 
But behold the church of Christ and of God, 
delivered first from Egyptian bondage by the mighty 
arm of the God of Jacob, led by miracles through the 
wilderness forty years, brought into the promised land, 
although all the nations of the earth were her enemies, 
preserved as a nation through the rise and fall of 
mighty empires, and experiencing a reverse of fortune 
only when she courted the aid of worldly kingdoms, 
or suffering diminution only when she adopted the more 
popular worship of heathen idolatry. 
Yet in her low-
est estate, God told his servant the prophet, that " he 
had reserved seven thousand that had not bowed the 
knee to Baal." 
And if men would reason on the sub-
ject of religion as they do on other subjects, there 
could not be an infidel in the world. 
For nothing is 
or can be more manifest than the miraculous interpo-
sition of Providence in the preservation of his people 
through the most severe trials, heaviest afflictions, and 
deadliest hatred of all men, that men or societies ever 
endured. 
Our present discourse will show us the history of 
the church by prophecy, through the darkest age the 
church has ever been permitted to experience since the 
days of Abraham. 
I. I shall show what we may understand by "the 
woman " in our text. 
II. I shall show what we are to understand by the 
great red dragon and beast. 
III. I shall give the history of the Avoman given iri 
the chapters of our text. 
IY. The time specified in the text, 1260 
days, 
their beginning and end. 
I. What 
may we 
understand by woman 
in 
our 
text? 
I answer, We must understand the people of God, 
in all ages of the church, whether among the Jews or 
Gentiles : she is"' called a woman 
because she is the 
spouse of Christ; she is likewise called a woman 
be-
cause of her dependence on Christ for all things. 
As 
a man is the head of the woman, so is Christ the head 
over all things to the church, says the apostle. 
As 
the woman 
depends 
on her husband for a 
name, 
for food, and for raiment, so likewise the 
church 
on Christ, for a name—" And thou shalt be called by 
a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name," 
Isa. lxii. 2—5. 
" And they were called 
Christians 
first at Antioch." 
For food, 
our text says " that they 
should feed her there," 
&c. 
The 
prophet 
Isaiah 
says, xl. 11, " He shall feed his flock as a shepherd." 
John vi. 53, "Except ye eat the flesh of 
the Son 
of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." 
For 
raiment, 
the psalmist, speaking of the church, 
says, " She shall be brought to the king in raiment of 
needlework; 
her clothing is wrought gold." 
The 
angel to the seven churches says, " He that over-
cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment." 
And again, " I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusa-
lem, coming down from God, out of heaven, prepared 
as a bride adorned for her husband." 
This 
shows 
conclusively that the people of God are compared to a 
woman. 
And now let me show, 
s. 
II. What we 
may understand by the great red 
dragon and beast that persecuted 
the 
church, 
or 
woman that fled into the wilderness. 
The red dragon 
is the same power as 
Daniel's 
fourth kingdom, the Roman, for the description is the 
same, having ten horns; 
his character, too, is the 
same. 
Daniel says he should break in pieces 
the 
whole earth, and stamp the residue with his feet; that 
he should work deceitfully, &c. 
John says that the 
dragon drewT a third part of the stars of heaven and 
did cast them to the earth, and that he deceiveth the 
whole world. 
The Roman government, then, must be 
the apocalyptical red dragon beast, having seven heads 
and ten hqins. 
The Roman power is called red, either 
because of their persecuting and bloody spirit, or on 
account of their emperors wearing purple robes, when 
dressed in state ; either might be sufficient to entitle 
them to the appellation "red." 
"Dragon" is un-
doubtedly given the Roman government from the fact 
that the Romans changed their forms of government 
so often, having seven different forms in about fiv'e 
hundred years, and from their deceitful, cunning, 
intriguing manner by which they obtained power over 
the nations around "them, that they were properly a 
nondescript; and could not be described by Daniel or 
John by anything seen on earth; and therefore they 
took one of the inhabitants of the bottomless pit, " the 
dragon," to describe to us by figure this dreadful, per-
secuting, and bloody power. 
The red dragon 
is, 
therefore, used as a figure to denote Pagan Rome, and 
the woman sitting on the scarlet-colored beast to de-
note the church of Rome, or Papal Rome ; and both 
together, civil and Papal, make the anti-Christian 
abomination, which would drive the church of Christ 
into the wilderness, where she would be fed 1260 
days, or time, times, and half a time. 
I shall, 
III. Give the history of the woman, as in the 
twelfth chapter of Revelation. 
Verse 1, " And there appeared a great wonder in 
heaven,"—John saw this wonderful sight as transpir-
ing under the gospel day, or government of God, with 
his people in the gospel, the circle in which the church 
moves, here called heaven,—" 
a woman clothed with 
the sun," the church adorned with gospel light; as 
the natural sun gives light to the world, so does the 
gospel the church,—" and the moon under her feet." 
This shows us that John had a view of the church 
while it was in its Jewish state. 
For the moon repre-
sents the ceremonial law, which was typical of the 
gospel, like the moon shining in a borrowed light, and 
liable to change when the Shiloh should come. 
" Un-
der her feet," shows that she walked or stood on the 
ordinances of God's house, which, like the moon, 
pointed to the 
sun both 
before and after Christ. 
<< And upon her head a crown of twelve stars,"—first 
the twelve patriarchs, afterwards the twelve apostles, 
Eph. ii. 20. 
Like stars, they are smaller lights in the 
government of God, and teachers under the law and 
gospel. 
Verse 2, " And she, being with child,"—having 
the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise 
the serpent's head,—"cried, travailing in birth,"—de-
noting prayer in faith,—" and pained to be delivered," 
.—that is, an anxious and deep longing for the advent 
of the promised Messiah, when she expected deliver-
ance from bondage, sin, and all her foes, Matt. xiii. 17. 
Verse 3, " And there appeared another wonder in 
heaven,"—another sight or view of God's government 
of the world in connection with the gospel,—" and 
behold, a great red dragon"—a figurative representa-
tion of the Roman kingdom. 
Verse 4, " And his tail drew a third part of the 
stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth." 
Judea became a Roman province before the Messiah's 
advent, which is figured by the tail, and the Jews had 
for a number of years been governed by tetrarchs or 
Jiings of the Romans' appointment. 
The Jew's were 
governed by three different offices, figuratively called 
stars—kings, high priest, and sanhedrim, or the seventy 
elders. 
When, therefore, the Jews were deprived of 
their right to appoint their own kings, one third part 
of their rulers fell to the Roman power, in this pas-
sage called " earth." 
" And the dragon stood before 
the woman which was ready to be delivered,"—Herod 
was then king of the Jews, at the birth of Christ, a 
representative of the Romans, because he was sup-
ported by their authority,—" for to devour her child 
as soon as it was born." 
Herod sought the young 
child's life, to destroy him. 
See Matt. ii. 13. 
Verse 5, " And she brought forth a man-child,"— 
Jesus Christ, born of a virgin. 
" For unto us a child 
is born, unto us a son is given," &c. 
Isa. ix. 6, 7. 
'( Who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron," de-
noting the power of Christ to break in pieces and sub-
due all the kingdoms of the earth, Psalms ii. 
9. 
Rev. xix. 15,—" and her child was caught up to God 
and his throne." 
Christ has ascended up on high, 
and is seated at the right hand of the Father until he 
makes his enemies his footstool. 
See John vi. 62. 
Eph. iv. 8—10. 
Verse 6, " And the woman fled into the wilderness, 
where she hath a place prepared of God." 
The 
church had grown weary of the protection of the Ro-
man power, for she found, by woful experience, that 
whenever she placed herself under the protection of 
this red dragon, 
he destroyed some of her blessed 
privileges, and brought in a flood of errors, which 
caused divisions and subdivisions in the church. 
The 
Jews had tried their friendship and protection for more 
than two hundred years before and after Christ, and 
the event proved the destruction of their nation and 
place. 
The Christians, too, had tried the friendship of' 
the same power, under Constantine and succeeding 
emperors, for little more than two hundred years, be-
ginning A. D. 313, and ending in A. D. 538, as we 
shall show ; which so corrupted the Romish church 
that she became the anti-Christian abomination, and 
the true children of God were driven into the wilder-
ness out from her connection with the anti-Christian 
church, "the city of the nations," as she is called. 
But God took care " that they should feed her there a 
thousand two hundred and threescore days," which is 
1260 years, from A. D. 538 until 1798, during which 
time a free toleration of religious rights was not per-
mitted in any of the kingdoms which formerly com-
posed the Roman empire ; but God raised up teachers 
among them, who retained in a good degree the doc-
trine and purity of the word of God, a,nd practised the 
ordinances as they were delivered to the saints in the 
apostles' days : yet but little is known of them for six 
or seven hundred years. 
Verse 7, " And there was war in heaven." 
After 
the prophet John had given us a history of the church, 
as in the preceding verses, he now goes back to bring 
up the history of the dragon, the Roman kingdom, and 
begins his history in the days of Christ and his apos-
tles. 
" Michael and his angels fought,"—Christ and 
his apostles; see Matt. x. 34, " Think not I am 
come to send peace on earth : I came not to send 
peace, but a sword,"—" against the dragon," 
against 
principalities and powers, and wickedness in high 
places. 
"And the dragon fought, and his angels," 
—imperial Rome and worldly men. 
Verse 8, " And prevailed not, neither was their-
place found anymore in heaven." 
Rome could not 
prevail against the kingdom of Christ or the gospel; 
for it differed materially from the Jewish mode of wor-
ship ; and although Rome in her Pagan state could 
find easy access into the Jewish sanctuary, because of 
the similarity of their worship, yet when Christ set up 
his gospel kingdom they wTere excluded, for none could 
enter this kingdom without regeneration, faith, and 
repentance. 
Verse 9, " And the great dragon was cast 
out," 
—Rome Pagan was deprived from having any authori-
ty in the gospel kingdom, as Christ says in John xii. 31, 
" Now shall the prince of this world be cast out,"— 
" that old serpent,"—Rome Pagan is compared to the 
old serpent because he works deceitfully and deceives the 
church, (woman,) 
as the serpent did Eve, the woman 
in the garden,—" called the devil," because they 
devour and persecute with a devilish spirit,—" and 
Satan," because, satan-like, he claims power over all 
kingdoms of the world—" which deceiveth the whole 
world." 
This may be said of Rome, for she con-
quered more nations by deceit and flattery than by fair 
warfare. 
" He was cast out into the earth, and his 
angels were cast out with him." 
This was literally 
fulfilled when Christ cut off the Jews and all unbe-
lievers; when he said, " My kingdom is not of this 
world ;" when he excluded the kingdoms of this earth 
from participating in the spiritual kingdom which thev 
claimed on account of their authority among men. 
Verse 10, " And I heard a loud voice saying in 
heaven,"—many voices in the church under the gospel 
dispensation,—" Now is come salvation, and strength, 
and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his 
Christ." 
This represents the grand chorus of all the 
saints, when they discover the true principle on which 
the kingdom of God is built. 
This was literally true 
at the day of Pentecost. 
" For the accuser of our 
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our 
God day and night." The Romans had, by drawing the 
Jews into idolatry, caused them to sin against God in 
all their evening and morning sacrifices. 
And by 
these means, they were accused before God, that is, 
God was angry with them, and destroyed our brethren, 
the Jews. 
Verse 11, " And they overcame him by the blood 
of the Lamb,"—by the blood of atonement, all be-
lievers in Christ do finally overcome the powers of 
darkness and princes of this world,—"and by the 
word of their testimony,"—preaching and testimony 
of the apostles. 
" And they loved not their lives unto 
the death,"—suffered martyrdom. 
This was fulfilled 
in the death of the apostles and others. 
Verse 12, "Therefore, rejoice ye heavens, and ye 
that dwell in them." 
It was a matter of great joy 
among the primitive Christians, to be counted worthy 
to suffer persecution for Christ's sake. 
" Wo to the 
inhabitants of the earth,"—those who live under the 
Roman government,—" and of the sea,"—meaning 
the principal kingdom among 
the ten 
kingdoms. 
France is generally meant by sea, in this prophecy. 
"For 
the devil is come down unto you, 
having 
great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a 
short time." 
The devil means destroyer, and the 
three woes, and seven last plagues, were all to be sent 
upon the earth and sea ; which denote wars, revolu-
tions, and changing of governments. 
These things 
would prevail in the close of this Roman kingdom, and 
war would be the closing up of the earthly scene of 
this fourth kingdom which Daniel saw, and John has 
been describing under the figure of the "great red 
dragon." 
Verse 13, "And when the dragon saw that he was 
cast unto the earth,"—when the Roman government 
saw they could have no control in the things of Christ's 
kingdom, they hated the church and the doctrine that 
taught that Christ's kingdom was not of this world, 
and they " persecuted the woman that brought forth 
the man-child," which is the church that had a Savior 
born unto her, Christ Jesus, the Lord of life and glory. 
Verse 14, "And to the woman were given two wings 
of a great eagle,"—by which wings I understand the 
means God used between the Arian and Papal contro-
versy, at the time of the division of the Greek or 
eastern church from the west or Roman church, which 
happened in the reign of Justinian, emperor of the 
'east, about A. D. 538, when the controversy arose 
concerning the worshipping of departed saints, images, 
and the infallibility of the church of Rome. 
In this 
controversy, many privately withdrew themselves, and 
settled in' the north-west part of Asia, and in the 
north-east part of Europe; and after a number of 
years, colonies were sent by them into Piedmont and 
valleys of the Alps, where it is supposed the true wor-
ship "of God was retained during the dark ages of 
Papal ignorance, bigotry, 
and superstition. 
(See 
Milner's Church History, and Benedict's History of 
the Baptists.) 
" That she might fly into the wilder-
ness, into her place,"—a separation from the world, 
as says the voice from heaven, " Come out of her, my 
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that 
ye receive not of her plagues," Rev. xviii. 4. " Where 
she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time," 
—fed and nourished by the spirit and word of God 
1260 years, " from the face of the serpent,"—from the 
knowledge of Papal Rome. 
Verse 15, " And the serpent cast out of his mouth 
waters as a flood, after the woman,"— Waters, in pro-
phecy, mean people, Rev. xvii. 15; therefore I un-
derstand this prophecy to have been fulfilled when the 
Pope, the head of papal Rome, sent forth his armies and 
inquisition to subdue the heretics, as he called them, 
who dwelt, in the valleys of the Alps, which was about 
the beginning of the thirteenth century,—" that he 
might cause her to be carried away of the 
flood,"—ex-
terminated and destroyed by his armies and inquisition. 
Verse 16, " And the earth helped the woman, and 
the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the 
flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth." 
This 
verse was fulfilled in the wars which followed the 
above-mentioned time of persecution, in which 
the 
German princes helped 
their 
subjects against the 
armies of the Pope, and destroyed and swallowed up 
many of the Papal armies, from the thirteenth to the 
fifteenth century. Or, as some authors have supposed, 
the waters which the dragon cast out of his mouth 
was the flood of errors which arose about the time of 
the French revolution, under the name of Deism, 
which was calculated to destroy the doctrine of the 
gospel, as they vainly supposed, backed by the repub-
lican armies of France, and afterwards by the power 
of Bonaparte, who was finally subdued by the combi-
nations of the kings of the earth. 
But, as this trans-
action seems to me to be too late to affect the woman 
in her exiled state, I have inclined, in my humble 
opinion, to my first exposition of these texts. 
Verse 17, " And the dragon was -wroth with the 
woman,"—Papal 
Rome 
was angry with the 
true 
church,—" and went to make war with the remnant of 
her seed." 
This war has not yet come ; for it is evi-
dent, by the expression " remnant of her seed," that it 
means the last of the church " who keep the command-
ments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 
This is the last struggle of this anti-Christian beast, 
and is described in many places as the last great battle, 
or the supper of the great God. 
Such expressions as 
" and went," as though this power would go to some 
place-out of their own territory, and " the way of the 
kings of the east might be prepared," show that they 
will go west. 
I am, therefore, constrained tobelievo