The proclamation of the angels on the preach- .... The destruction of the secular Roman empire predicted under the emblem of a harvest; and that of the ecclesiastical power under the image of a vintage The preparation of the angels to pour out the seven* vials of the wrath of God, being the seven last plagues which will be inflicted upon the enemies of God and his true church, previously to the universal prevalence of true religion.... The effusion of the first vial denotes the cala- The second vial poured out upon the sea is .... The reader is here particularly desired to notice that the seven vials are not to be considered as a subdivision of the last trumpet, as many modern commentators suppose. The prophecies can never be harmonized on this hypothesis. The seals and trumpets alone fill up the chronology. On this subject I have adopted the scheme of Mede in opposition to that of later expositors. Six of the vials are poured out during the period of the sixth trumpet; and the seventh will immediately be effused on the sounding of the seventh. d The effusion of the fourth vial upon the sun of the Roman empire, to which power was given to scorch men with fire, predicts the tyrannical government of France under Buonaparte, from 1802 to 1813 or 1814 The fifth vial predicts the successful attack made upon the seat of the beast, the Francic emperorship, from 1808, to June 18, 1815 The sixth vial, the predictions of which appear to have reference to Mahomedism and the Turkish nation, is yet future..... The seventh vial, predicting the destruction A description of the great harlot, or mystical A description of the seven-headed and ten- .... .... The fall of Babylon, and the lamentation of xvii. 12-18. xviii. xix. 1-8. The marriage-supper of the Lamb, &c. ...... xix. 9, 10. xix. 11–21. The direct chronology of the prophecies ceases with the effusion of the seventh vial, till it is resumed again in chap. xx. The xviith and two following chapters are considered as enlargements or illustrations of the predictions previously recorded. †The second series of prophecies has brought us again to the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and through the subsequent period in which Christ will obtain his victories by the success of the Gospel, to the commencement of the millennium, which it is supposed will take place about A. D. 2000. The seventh trumpet has now received its fulfilment. Whether the remaining prophecies should be considered as a continuation of the book of the seventh seal or of the seventh trumpet; or whether they should be viewed as a series of visions independent of them; is a subject of minor importance. The capture and confinement of Satan; the reign of At the termination of the millennium, Satan is again The resurrection of the dead; the last judgment; and the general conflagration A figurative description of the heavenly state, with its The practical improvement of the whole Book ..... AN EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. Preliminary Remarks. Division of the Book. THE Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John, which closes the canon of Inspiration, is on many accounts the most extraordinary book which the volume of sacred Scripture contains. The subjects of the book are mysterious; the structure is complicate; and the It language figurative, symbolical, and obscure. comprehends an hieroglyphical delineation of the principal revolutions, destined, in the holy providence of God, to befall the Christian church, from the time at which it was penned by the inspired The writer to the consummation of all things. facts, doctrines, and prophecies of the Revelation were made known to St. John the Evangelist and Apostle, in a vision, or visions; and the whole book is taken up with the account of these visions, except the introduction contained in the first eight verses, and the conclusion in the last verse. It appears, from most satisfactory and conclusive evidence, that this sacred book was written by St. John the Apostle, who is called the Divine, either B |