ran blood, as Sully tells us, in some places ankle deep in the city of Paris. This massacre was in cold blood; for the same historian tells us, that the king stood in his balcony, and shot down his naked and defenceless sub-jects as they were fleeing through the streets. This happened in France, the stoutest of the Papal horns the chief instrument in establishing, building up, and supporting that cruel, murderous power of Papacy.

Verse 4, "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood." By "rivers and fountains of water," I understand the nations and states who live around the centre, or sea, as it was called in the preceding vial. By "blood," I understand destructive war. "And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments." In these verses we have the reasons given, why they were visited with this scourge of war, because, in the preceding vial, they had shed the blood of saints; which proves that the exposition of that vial, which I have already given, is correct. This vial, then, was poured out upon the nations that had given their strength and their power to the beast; and the governments were filled with war and blood. This vial was poured out about A. D. 1630, and lasted nearly fifty years. Spain and Portugal carried on a bloody and destructive war for more than thirty years of this time. France was torn by civil and intestine wars during a long period. The civil wars in England began under king Charles I., 1642, which lasted with but little cessation, until king George I. ascended the throne, in 1714. Germany was filled with blood, between the contentions of the Evangelical league and Catholic league," which gave rise to a ruinous war, which lasted thirty years." See Guthrie, vol. i., page 443. This war was headed, on the part of the Protestants, by Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, who was killed at the battle of Lutzen, A.

tion of their rulers and sovereign princes. These were the heavy judgments which God saw fit to inflict upon the kingdoms and states of the church of Rome, for the innocent blood which she had shed of the Protestants who had protested against her cruel and blasphemous practices. "For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy." "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory." The sun is the great source of light and heat, and, in prophetic language, is an emblem of the gospel, as explained in the 19th Psalm, 4-10. "Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words

to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun," &c. To "scorch men" with fire, signifies

to make men angry; "great heat," uncommonly angry, vengeful, malicious. This vial was poured out in the last century, when the gospel was proclaimed in these kingdoms of the beast. Now, during the greater part of the last century, and in all the kingdoms where the gospel was preached, there were manifested insidious attempts and a systematic opposition against the gospel of Jesus Christ, or the Holy Scriptures. This opposition was headed by Frederick, king of Prussia, and aided by all the wits, men of genius and learning, as they boasted, of all Europe and America; and in their secret assemblies, or clubs, they went so far as to calculate about what length of time it would take for them to destroy and exterminate the religion of the "Galilean and his twelve fishermen ;" and no writers that ever wrote took such unwearied pains, showed so much virulence and anger, blasphemed the name of God to such a degree, as these writers; and none, either before or since, have ever dared to exhibit the like. "And they re

pented not to give him the glory." I believe it is not known, that any of these principal deistical writers were converted to the religion of Jesus Christ before their death, to give God the glory. Yet I think we have some account of many of them dying in horror, at the frightfu view of the future, in consequence of their blasphemous lives against the majesty of the King of kings. Therefore, in the history of the Deists in the eighteenth century, we have the history of the plague of the fourth vial. "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." "The seat of the beast" must mean those ten kingdoms on which the woman sitteth, which is ancient Rome. "Full of darkness must mean full of wickedness, confusion, and every evil work. "Gnawed their tongues for pain" shows shame, disgrace, and disappointment. This vial was poured out in the French revolution, about 1798. When Bonaparte began his extraordinary career, exalted to the pinnacle of power, he dethrones the pope, (whose power and authority had made kings and emperors quail at his feet, who had ruled over the nations with despotic sway for more than 1200 years,) and makes Rome the second city of France; conquers the ancient monarchies ; deluges every country with blood; masters every king; gathers spoils from every land, and humbles cities in the dust; changes the laws of kingdoms, and destroys the most sacred constitutions of the Roman states. In this revolution among the Roman kingdoms, and under this vial, the bastile was demolished, the inquisition destroyed, torture suppressed, and the power of the Papal clergy restrained. Their kingdoms were full of darkness; they were troubled, chafed, and grieved; a thousand plots were laid; many times they confederated against him, the master spirit of the times; but they prevailed not, until this vial had its accomplishment on the seat of the beast. Yet, after all this wonderful display of God's judgments upon the beast and kingdoms of ancient Rome, they repented not, but, Pharaoh-like, they blas

pared." The scene has now changed from Europe to Turkey. The "river Euphrates" means, in prophecy, the people of that country bordering on the river, and, of course, refers to the Turkish power, as I have formerly shown in my lecture on the fifth and sixth trumpet. "Water thereof was dried up," is an emblem of the power and strength of that kingdom being diminished, or taken away. This vial was poured out on Turkey, by the loss of a great share of the empire; first, Russia on the north, in her last war with the Turks, took away a number of provinces; then, by the revolt of Ali Pacha; then, by the rising of the Greeks; since, by the Albanians and Georgians, and other distant parts of the empire, becoming disaffected; which, all together, have so wasted the power of the Turks, that, now, it is very doubtful whether she can maintain her power against her own intestine enemies; and, to compare her now with her former greatness, would be like comparing a fordable stream with the great river Euphrates; so that the way now appears to be prepared for the kings to come up to the battle of the great day, in which the false prophet is now to take his part, as we shall see in

our next verse.

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty." Now, if we can decipher this passage, we can tell what are now and what will be the signs of the times. "Three unclean spirits." By this we must understand three wicked principles. "Frogs" I understand to show us that it is political. As frogs came over the land in the judgment on Egypt, and pervaded every house, even the palace of the king, so do politics. "Mouth" denotes orders or commands. The dragon is

a figure of the kings of the earth. The beast is used to represent Papacy. The false prophet evidently repre sents Mahometanism. These have all the spirit of devils. The devil pretends to claim power over all the kingdoms of the world, (see Rev. xii. 9,) there called the devil. Papacy is said, in Rev. xiii. 2, to receive its power from the dragon, and to come out of the bottomless pit, and shall go into perdition; of course, must belong to Satan's kingdom. The false prophet, too, is to be "cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." All these powers have pretended to work miracles, to establish their authority over the bodies and souls of men. But what are the principles which each of these teach their political followers? The dragon and his political party, in whatever nation they may appear, (as all three of these political principles must pervade the whole earth,) will support tyranny, slavery, and aggrandizement of the few at the expense of many. The beast and his political party will be known only by their hypocrisy, bigotry, and superstition. Their principal object will be to operate on the hopes and fears of men, and so gain an ascendency over the minds of the individuals who may be so unfortunate as to be found in their ranks. The false prophet will fill his party with notions of infidelity, lust, and conquest. And the spirit of all these parties, working at one and the same time, in all nations, and among all people, will produce an effect which only can be known to mortals in experiencing the conflict. "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." This verse gives us notice of the near approach of him who hath all power in heaven and earth. "For when they say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day shall overtake you as a thief." Watch, therefore, for if ye have put on the Lord Jesus Christ, keep your garment, and let none take your crown, that you may be found of him without spot and blameless. "And he gathered them together into a place called, in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon;" that