wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth and for ever: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man ; having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God. And the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine-press, even unto the horse-bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. Rev. xiv. He is not an old man who may have seen the first of the seven last plagues, and in whose days one vial. of wrath has been poured out after another, from the French revolution to the rapid dissolution, now seemingly in progress, of the Turkish empire. Hitherto, in past judgments, men have not repented to give God glory. But of the great earthquake, or revolution, in which are slain of names of men, or men of note, seven thousand, it is said, and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The whole history of the world affords clear and experimental demonstration, that sin is the ruin of any people while the word of a gracious God declares, that at what instant a nation shall turn from their evil, the Lord will repent of the evil that he thought to do unto them. He hath testified of his hatred of sin, and of his willingness to save, by the death of his Son upon the cross. He hath no pleasure in the death of a sinner, and his word of mercy ever is, Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die? With the consummation of his controversy with the nations, in near if not immediate prospect, the world is now come to this pass, that by judgments, if not by the signs of them, men shall know that God is the Lord, either by abiding his wrath when he riseth to shake terribly the nations, or by learning to fear His great and glorious name, who hath power over these plagues, and who executeth justice and judgment on the earth. The destroyers of the earth are devoted to destruction. And ere the indignation be overpast, a time of trouble is at hand, such as the world has never witnessed. The only safety, whether for the youthful or the hoary head, is to be found in the way of righteousness. The righteousness that is of faith, is the watch-tower of the Christian, built upon a sure foundation. Though the heavens and the earth shall be shaken, the hope of the righteous shall not perish with the convulsions, nor, even at last, with the wreck, of the world. All things shall be shaken, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. And when men's hearts shall fail them with fear, and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth, it is the glorious privilege of the faithful in Jesus, and an act of obedience enjoined by him as their Master, to lift up their heads, and to knowfrom those very things which shall appal the world, and cause the ungodly to say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,-that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand, and their redemption draweth nigh. Now, while it may be seen that the judgments of God have been made manifest, the words of the prophet may be heard and laid to heart, Sow to yourselves in righte ousness, reap in mercy; ; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. And having seen how the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ unveils the past history of man, and how all human power is nothing at last, but an illustration of his word, we may look to the glory that excelleth, and to the Lord who, blessing his people by redeeming them from all their iniquities, saves them from the wrath to come, and is preparing for them a kingdom that can never be moved,―and give the more earnest heed to his own warning, so suited to the time, "Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.' ." Luke xxi. 34-36. And under the sixth vial, this is the counsel of the same Saviour, Behold, I come as a thief; blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Rev. xvi. 15. 66 DANIEL'S VISIONS OF THE GREAT IMAGES AND OF the The successive empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome Division of the Roman empire into ten kingdoms Rise among them of the Papacy The persecuting of the Saints, &c. Duration of its dominion CHAPTER III. DANIEL'S VISION OF THE RAM AND THE HE-GOAT. Persian Empire Conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great Division of his empire iuto four kingdoms Duration of the Vision 2300 years Rise of Mahometanism in the East Character, conquest, prevalence, and fall of Mahometanism DANIEL'S LITERAL PROPHECY OF THE TRUTH. Page A.C. 534 CHAPTER IV. Revealed in the days of Cyrus 481 Three Kings in Persia from Cyrus to Xerxes 480 323 302 his empire Xerxes invaded Greece 334-331 Conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great His death, on the immediate consolidation of 323* 249 Subdivision of his empire into four kingdoms CHAPTER V. The Prophetic history of the Lagida and Ptolemy Lagus, king of Egypt, possessed at 311-281 Seleucus, strong above him, the greatest of 246 246 Divorce and death of Berenice Invasion and conquest of Syria by her bro- The era of the Lagida commenced in this year,-the very year of the death of Alexander; that of the Seleucidæ in 311, before Christ. |