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"reft of the beafts, they had their dominion taken "away; yet their lives were prolonged for a feafon " and time:" evidently meaning, that though they fhould lofe their civil powers, yet their fuperftitions and idolatries were to remain for a time. And as he further foretels, that the reign of Chrift is to take place immediately after the execution of the firft part of this decree, to what period can the time of the reprieve allude, but to the thousand years during which Chrift is to reign upon earth? To thefe brief obfervations upon the prophecy of Daniel, I fhall only add, that he foretels the coming of Chrift to take poffeffion of this kingdom in these words: "And I saw in the night vifions, and be"held one like the SON OF MAN, came with the clouds "of heaven (with the faints and martyrs not yet juftified by his righteousness), and came to the "ancient of days (THE GOD OMNIPOTENT from all 66 ETERNITY); and they brought him near before "HIM. And there was given unto him dominion "and glory and a kingdom, that all nations and

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languages fhould ferve him. His dominion is an "everlafting dominion which fhall not pass away; and "his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed."

Now Polytheism, or pagan idolatry, was the first great fyftem of wickedness into which the defcen dants of Noah were feduced from the precepts of their pious father by Satan, the great and indeed the only enemy of the Jewish church, the first perfecutor of the Gofpel of Chrift, and is, as we fhall find hereafter, to be the laft; and this eldest child of Satan is properly defignated by the figure of a dragon*, the most powerful of all animals, throughout the Old and New Teftaments. Mohamedan and Papal apoftafies, the fecond great * Pfalm lxxiv. 13. Ifaiah, li. 9. Ezek. xxix. 3. Rev. xii. 3.

aiii. 4. xix. 20. xx. 2. xxi. 10.

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enemies of the church of Chrift, which arose in the fame year, and are jointly to feduce and perfecute the church of Chrift, during the fame period, are here denoted by the beaft: and the third great enemy of the fame church, the abominable fyftem of atheism and blafphemy, very properly defcribed by the false prophet, because, refpecting a futurity, it foretels more deftructive and infernal falfehoods, in a more direct contradiction to the word of God, than either of its other enemies. Mohamed has been erroneoufly thought by former commentators to be the prototype of this monster, becaufe he has foretold a fenfual paradife; but atheism teaches us to believe, that the world is eternal, and fhall not hereafter be destroyed; that Chrift was an impoftor, and fhall not come to judge the world; that there will be no refurrection of the body, no future rewards or punishments, for that death is only the eternal fleep of the foul; and uniting all kinds of falfehoods into one great future LIE, it afferts that there neither is, nor that there fhall be hereafter, a God' to rule over the world. Is not this a greater false prophet than Mohamedanifm, popery, or even polytheifm? Is it not in the emphatic words of the text, THE FALSE PROPHET ?"

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THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF THE REVELATION.

Satan imprifoned and deprived of his power during a thousand years-The millennium, or reign of Christ, and first refurrection-The bleffednefs of his reignSatan releafed from his imprisonment, feduces the nations Gog and Magog to attempt the destruction of the kingdom of Chrift-His and their condemnation and eternal punishment-The deftruction of the prefent

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prefent world-Chrift's victory and triumph over Death and Hell-Who shall be faved.

WE have seen that the prophet, in his account of the battle between Chrift and the ungodly confederacy, has foretold the utter perdition of the Beaft and The false prophet, and faid nothing of the Dragon, or Pagans, but leaves us to conclude, according to the prophecy of Daniel, that their "* lives "(their fuperftitious idolatry) were prolonged for a "feafon and time." Daniel gives no intimation of the divine motive to this merciful reprieve of polytheism and idolatry, beyond the time of the execution of the sentence upon apoftafy and atheifm; but it may, I humbly apprehend, be clearly inferred, from the context of this chapter. St. John here informs us, immediately after he has foretold the deftruction of apoftafy and atheism, that " the dragon, "that old ferpent, which is the devil" (not meaning "the dragon," the type, or the leader of the pagan hoft, but exprefsly, that old ferpent the devil, who tempted our firft parents), fhall be bound, chained, and imprisoned; that is, that his power to do mifchief fhall be taken from him during "a thousand "years," the period of the reign of Chrift. And he further informs us, to what end Satan is to be thus deprived of all power, which is, " that he may "deceive the nations no more, until the thousand

years fhall be fulfilled." But to deceive what nations? There are to be none upon the earth, but thofe under the dominion and protection of Christ, and the pagan nations, for thofe of apoftafy and atheism are to be destroyed at his coming to reign; and we read of no others in the prophecies: and we cannot reasonably fuppofe it to mean the nations over which Chrift is to reign; for thefe, at his coming,

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are to be "juftified by his blood," and sanctified by his "righteoufnefs," imputed to them, far above all deception and temptation. It follows then, that it must be the pagan nations whofe "lives were prolonged for a feafon and time," or during the thousand years. And here another question arifes,

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to what end are thefe nations to be thus mercifully relieved from the power and temptations of Satan? The proper anfwer to this question is, that "God "is a rock, his work is perfect for all his ways are σε judgment: a God of truth without iniquity, JUST "and right is HE." It is therefore impoffible but that this reprieve of the pagan nations, and this difability of Satan, muft be founded in righteousness and mercy and if we may be permitted to conjecture, from temporal events, the motive of his infinite wisdom, it seems intended to give to the pagan nations a farther opportunity of faving themselves from the effects of his divine wrath, inasmuch as they will not have had fo complete an opportunity of knowing the revealed word and will of God through Chrift, nor have fo knowingly, wilfully, and audaciously blafphemed his holy name, as the apoftate and atheiftical nations and moreover, that being now no longer held in their darkness and captivity by Satan, but left to their free will; and having the peace, righteoufnefs, and beatitude of the kingdom of Chrift, as it were, before their eyes, they may, if they choose, "turn from their idols, and § "turn their faces from all their abominations," and come over to the church of Chrift, in his kingdom, before the expiration of the term of their reprieve Otherwife, after rejecting fo great an inftance of divine mercy, fhould they perverfely prefer their filthy idolatry to the word of God, they may fuffer

* Rom. v. 9. James, ii. 23.

Ibid. iv. 11. 22. 24. Gal. ii. 6. Deut, xxxii. 4 4. § Ezek. xiv. 6.

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according to the judgment paffed upon them at the time of their reprieve, when confederated against the coming of Chrift, with the powers of apoftafy and atheism.

A fimilar diftinction is made by Christ through the prophet, in his epiftle to the church of Thyatira, between those that have had a perfect knowledge of the word of God, and thofe that have not. For, when denouncing utter deftruction upon "that woman Jezebel, who calls herfelf a prophe"tefs," and all who had committed fornication with her, because the knew the word of God, and obeyed it not, and had a space given her to repent, and she repented not; "But," he adds, " unto you, and "the reft in Thyatira, as many as have not this doc"trine, and which have not known the depths of "Satan (through my Gofpel, as the bas), I will put "upon you no other burden; but that which ye have "already, hold fuft till I come:" evidently meaning, that no more will be required at the day of his coming, than according to that knowledge of his divine truth which has been received. However, this imprifonment of Satan, and temporary deprivation of his power by the Almighty power of Chrift, is foretold and defcribed in the following plain and beautiful figures. And I faw an angel come down "from heaven (from the church of Chrift, now ty"pified by the word heaven), having the key of the "bottomlefs pit (given to him by Chrift himself, "who is reprefented as having the keys of hell and "of death), and a great chain in his hand. And "he laid hold on the Dragon, that old ferpent, "which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a "thousand years, and caft him into The bottomlefs "pit, that he should deceive the nations no more, "till the thousand years should be fulfilled."

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* Kings, xvi. 31. Ibid. ix. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. + Rev. ii. 5.

Chap. xx. 1, 2, 3.

X 3

§ Ibid. i. 18.

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