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the earlier part of their history. It is said that they had breastplates of fire, and hyacinth, and brimstone; or in other words, red, blue, and yellow. This, says Bishop Newton, (from Daubuz)" had a "literal accomplishment, for the Ottomans from "their first appearance have affected to wear such "warlike apparel of scarlet, blue, and yellow."

"The heads of their horses were as the heads of "lions."-This may denote the fierceness and impetuosity of their onset. "Out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone."-Here there seems to be an allusion to the enormous artillery used by Mahummud II. in the siege of Constantinople,

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by the instrumentality of which he chiefly suc"ceeded in taking that city, and in thus slaying the "apocalyptic third part of men."*

It is added that "their power is in their mouth "and their tails: for their tails were like unto ser

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pents, and had heads, and with them they do "hurt." The power in the mouths of the horses, seems to indicate the power of inflicting temporal ill. The power in their tails, is however certainly indicative of the spiritual venom of the false religion of Mahummud, which every where followed their conquests. These heads in their tails, are the seat of their poison, in the same manner as were the stings in the tails of the locusts of the preceding vision, and must therefore be interpreted on a like principle.

I have thus endeavoured to trace the accomplishment of the six first trumpets, in the subversion of the Roman empire of the west, and its ruin in the

* Mr. Faber in loco.

east, by a series of events, whereof the mighty consequences continue even now to operate, upon the political, the intellectual and religious destinies of the human race, and which seem therefore, every way worthy of finding a place in this mysterious prophecy. The narrative being thus brought down to a very important era in history, new and no less important subjects are introduced in the following chapters, which will call for our most earnest attention.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE VISION OF THE ANGEL WITH AN OPEN BOOK.

AFTER the sounding of the sixth trumpet, relating to the fall of the eastern empire by the sword of the Turks, a prophetic intimation is given, that the plagues of the preceding trumpets did not produce the effects of repentance on those men who were not destroyed by them. In this notice there is probably a peculiar allusion to the corruptions of the Latin church, and to those more awful judgments which they should bring down upon the inhabitants of the Western empire.

A new and august object afterwards exhibited itself to the eyes of the apostle. "And I saw "another mighty angel coming down from heaven, "clothed with a cloud,"* to veil the effulgent brightness of his glory; "a rainbow on his head," the same emblem which surrounds the throne of God, and denotes the covenant of peace; "his "face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of "fire" which particulars agree with the description given of our Lord in the first chapter. "He "had, in his hand a little book open," or " having "been opened."

It is easy to see from the above most sublime description, that this angel is our Lord himself; for the glorious attributes ascribed to the angel cannot agree with any other than our Lord. Let the circumstance also of the angel holding in his hand " a

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"little book which had been opened," be compared with what is said in a former part of the Apocalypse: "The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the "Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, "and to loose the seven seals thereof;"-" and he came and took the book out of the right hand of "him that sat upon the throne."* And by connecting these passages with the one we are now considering, it will appear with irresistible evidence, that the holder of this little book can only be the Lion of the tribe of Judah; for it was not given to any other, even to look on the book, much less to hold it.

"And he set his right foot upon the sea and his "left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, (c as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, "seven thunders uttered their voices. And when "the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was "about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven, "saying unto me, Seal up those things which the "seven thunders uttered, and write them not. "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea, "lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him "who liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven "and the things that therein are, and the earth and "the things that therein are, and the sea and the "things which are therein, That there should be "time no longer; but 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."+

Having shown above, that the angel seen in this

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vision is our Lord himself, I shall now endeavour to ascertain to what precise period of time this descent of Christ belongs.

The whole vision has an evident reference to a similar one in the conclusion of the prophecies of Daniel;* and when the two passages are carefully compared, and it is further recollected that the Apocalypse is only a more enlarged prophecy of the same things as are contained in the book of Daniel, we shall see reason to conclude, that the descent of our Lord from heaven to earth, having a little book in his hand, which had been opened, and which is afterwards given to the apostle to eat, i. e. digest and understand, is intended to signify, that the time is at length arrived when these obscure prophecies of the book of Daniel, which were twice declared to be shut up and sealed unto the time of the end, should be fully understood by the servants of the Lord. Our Lord's descent, therefore, belongs to the time of the end.

The time of the end evidently reaches to the close of the seventh Apocalyptic trumpet, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; when also the Son of Man shall come with the clouds of heaven to receive the kingdom promised to him in the prophecies of Daniel; And the time of the seventh trumpet is likewise, as has been proved by some of the ablest interpreters, the signal for the pouring out of the seven vials of wrath afterwards mentioned.§ The time of the end is also the period which immediately

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