The fall of the idolatrous city of Jericho, compared with the The preparatory work of the spies, or unarmed men of Israel, previous to the destruction of Jericho, compared with that of the Church on earth preparatory to the general destruction at Armageddon.-Recapitulation of the several A minute interpretation of the fourteenth Chapter of the Apo- calypse, as illustrative of the type of Jericho, and contain- ing-A description of the Protestant British nation;-Their dissemination of the Scriptures ;-Their prophetic an- nouncements ;—Their exhortation addressed to the Papists, to quit Babylon;-The blessing pronounced upon them as labourers in the cause of Christ;-The separation and LETTERS ON PROPHECY. LETTER I.* The Seventh Vial poured out on the 27th July, 1830;The approaching rise of the young Napoleon to the throne of Rome.-Reply to arguments urged to prove that the effusion of the seventh vial has not yet commenced. SIR, I do not know that I can meet your wishes, as obligingly expressed in the Record of Thursday week, in a more ready way than by transmitting to you the following extract from a letter, addressed by me, on the 9th August last, to a student, of prophecy; containing my unbiassed opinion as to the true character and future result of the present Continental Revolution, then recently commenced. "The great political event which the world has just now witnessed, I believe to be the commencement of the Revolution, i. e. the symbolical earthquake, of the seventh Apocalyptic vial; which, in its consequences, is of such stupendous importance, as to be the subject of no less than four different passages in the Apocalypse: viz., chap. iv. 5, viii. 5, xi. 19, and xvi. 18. It is unlike any former event except the earthquake of the first French revolution, spoken of in Rev. vi. 12, and xi. 13, which it will greatly exceed, both in extent and importance. *This Letter appeared in the Record newspaper of October 14th, 1830; being written upon the invitation of the Editor, in reply to another correspondent of that paper. B "The day of Christ's wrath, and the year of his redeemed, in which he will avenge upon the Papacy and the Papal nations, the death of his saints, having commenced in the year 1792, they were then visited by that wild revolutionary spirit symbolized by the four winds of Rev. vii. 1, by which it was appointed that the Roman earth should be destroyed; and thus were introduced the six first vials of the Apocalypse, which occupied the period of the thirty years of Daniel, extending from 1792 to Sept. 1823. The last of these six, which both in the Eastern and Western Roman Empire was a vial of preparation for the more eventful seventh, manifested itself in the Western Empire by the going forth again of the same spirit, or combination of all corrupt principles, symbolized by the three unclean Spirits going out of the mouth of the Pagan dragon, the Infidel beast, and the Papal false prophet, (Rev. xvi. 13, 14,) producing the preparatory only, and therefore the subdued, revolutions of Spain, Portugal, Naples, and Piedmont, which took place between 1820 and 1823. "The present earthquake of the seventh vial (upon the pouring out of which a great voice is heard in heaven, saying, It is done,') will extend itself to all the countries where the preparatory revolutions manifested themselves, that is, over all the Papal Continent, and will bring all the Papal nations under a revolutionary chief, who was formerly king and will then be emperor of Rome; thus solving, in the person of the young Napoleon, the wonderful enigma of the septimo-octave head, (Rev. xvii. 11,) under whose leading they will go into perdition at the battle of Armageddon; where it appears probable that the motive for the combat on the part of antichrist will be to oppose the return of the children of Israel to their own land. Thus will all the enemies of Christ and of his Church finally perish, and his kingdom of peace and righteousness be established on the earth; in the near prospect of which we are called upon greatly to rejoice; but cannot keep ourselves too estranged from that revolutionary and infidel spirit, which, though it is the rod with which Christ smites the nations and inflicts deserved punishment upon them, in these the last days, is described in Scripture as rising out of the bottomless pit, (Rev. xi. 7,) and as being sent thither again when its appointed work is accomplished. (Rev. xix. 20.)" Thus the seventh vial, from its immense importance, is distinguished from the preceding six, not only by being set forth (Rev. iv. 5, viii. 5, xi. 19,) in the prefaces to each of the three histories of which the Apocalypse consists, as being the great and ultimate object of those prophecies; but also by having a separate period assigned to it, viz., that of the forty-five years of Daniel; while the six first vials all occur in the preceding period of thirty years; and it will be found that whilst the whole six vials may be considered as containing judgments of various kinds, preparatory to the more important seventh, the last of these six is entirely and professedly of a preparatory nature, pointing verbally and in direct terms to this future seventh. If the sixth vial describes a judgment upon the Turkish empire, as taking place within its own period, which shall either subvert it, or greatly reduce its strength, it is declared that this judgment is inflicted as a preparation for the restoration of the ten tribes from the East, (Rev. xvi. 12,) at the close of the prophetic history of the world. If it is also said that while this judgment is taking place in the East, all manner of corrupt principles shall spread and work amongst the Papal nations of the Continent, (Rev. xvi. 13, 14,) it again points to the seventh vial, and proclaims that this is a preparation for that great revolution which shall take place at the commencement of its period, and which, by producing a new division of the Papal kingdoms of the Continent, and thus giving to the seven-hilled metropolis of the Roman empire a new temporal head, shall establish that eighth head, who shall gather under him the whole powers of the empire; and at the close of its period go with them "into perdition" at the battle of Armageddon. Again, if in the period of the sixth vial a warning voice is heard, addressed to the Church, saying, "Behold, I come as a thief, Blessed is he that watcheth," it is to be considered as a preparatory warning, pointing to the termination of the same period of the seventh vial, as being the time when Christ will come in judgment upon his enemies, and, destroying them with a great overthrow, close the Gentile dispensation; while he prepares for the establishment of a new and more glorious dispensation, by bringing back the long-lost tribes of Israel, as well as those of Judah, to their own land. But it would be a great mistake, to infer that, because these three contemporary events, the restoration of the ten tribes, the battle of Armageddon, and the coming of our Lord, are thus mentioned in the description of the sixth vial, they are therefore to take place within its period; thereby leaving no events for the future and more important period of the seventh. Your correspondent does not indeed refer to the third event, the coming of our Lord in judgment upon his enemies, as taking place previously to the effusion of the seventh vial; but others, upon the same grounds upon which he argues in reference to the two former events, have adopted this erroneous opinion; and have hence necessarily come to the same conclusion that the present |