Page images
PDF
EPUB

THE

CONSEQUENCES

OF THE

RESURRECTION,

OF THE

WITNESSES.

Verse 13th. And the same hour, was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and in the earthquake were slain of men (the names of men, as it is rendered in the margin) seven thousand-And the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The spirit of God, in order to confirm the truth of this interesting and important event of his communication to the beloved disciple, does not rest the certainty of the prediction on one or two facts, that might be mistaken; but proceeds to tell, what should happen, at or about the same time, in the civil department of the same government, as an unequivocal cheque, or certain demonstration of the period referred to—A great earthquake is to happen, by which the tenth part of the city, or one of the ten kingdoms, into which the empire of Rome was to be divided, should be

ruined, or rather changed. Another remarkable fact should also attend it, that is seven thousand of the names of men being slain or destroyed. An earthquake, in Latin terræ motus or a shaking of the earth, is not so expressive, as it is in the Greek, which is the language in which the prophet wrote-It is seismos, that is, a shaking of heaven and earth, relating to both civil and religious power-vide Heb. xii. 26, 27.

It is used therefore by the prophets generally, to signify the destruction of the form of things, so as wholly to be changed.

Here are three very interesting events, to attend the former predictions, which if understood, will by air fluent about the same time establish a most important era in the christian world, essential to the more clear explanation of the prophecies, which the wise are to attain to-A great earthquake, or violent agitating and overturning the political frame of the governments of the Roman empire which shall cause the fall of the tenth part of the city, or total change of the civil and religious government of one of the ten kingdoms into which the empire was to be divided—and the slaying of 7000 men of names or men of dignity and title by which the destruction and abolition of all orders of rank and grandeur in that govern. ment, shall be done away.

Throughout the scriptures, earthquakes are indicative of great confusions and uproars among the common people of a nation, the change and alteration of their political constitution, but not an absolute

destruction-as by a natural earthquake, the posture of the earth is only changed, by depressing hills, and exalting vallies, turning the channels and courses of rivers, &c. &c.—Thus Haggai speaks" I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the Heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots and those that ride in them, and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother."*

It is therefore a figure known at the time of St. John's writing, and was always emblematical of the change of political and religious governmentchanges of systems-loss of provinces-dethroning kings and princes-destruction of cities-dissolving of societies and suppression of various communities -high and lofty mountains are laid low as vallies; and low and humble vallies are raised to high and lofty mountains-The highest ranks of dignity destroyed and done away, and the lowest of the people raised to power and great authority.

This earthquake then, is predictive of some remarkable and eventful convulsion of the government, by which all its civil and religious polity will be overturned-its monarchy destroyed-its whole constitution and form of government subverted-its religious establishment will be altogether set aside and prohibited so as to be no more practised or allowed.

Haggai, ii. 21st, 22d.

Kk

In the vi. ch. and 13th v. of this book, an earthquake is also predicted at the opening of the sixth seal when the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as red as blood-the stars of heaven fell on the earth, as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when shaken with a mighty wind." This event has already taken place, and so fully justifies our explanation of the verse under consideration, that I shall give the fulfilment of it, in the words of the excellent Mr Mede, who was so able an expositor of this important book.*" The meaning of this seal is, a remarkable shaking of the heaven and the earth, whereby that astonishing change and subversion of the state of Rome Heathen, by Constantine the great, and his successors the standard bearers of the Lamb, is prefigured: in which you may suppose all the heathen gods shaken from their heaven; the pontifex maximus with all his priests degraded, ejected and

"Hujus autem sigilli casus est, Cœli terræque motus admirabilis, quo mirifica illa per Constantinum magnum ejus que successores, Agni signiferos rei Romanæ Ethnice mutatio & sub versio figuratur: qua puta omnes gentilium Dii cælo suo excussi, Pontifices & Sacerdotes exaugurati, dejecti, re ditibasque suis in perpetuum exuti; Templa, Fana and Delubra Dæmonum per omnem Romanum Orbem conquassata, direpta, inflammata, demolita.-Adhæc Imperatores, Reges, Dynastæ, qui Diis suis tam enormiter periclitantibus subvenire, bellum christi vexilliferis indicere, ingentibus copiis decaernere, etiam prælio superati bellum, vi summa instanurere in animum induxerint; inauditis stragibus cœsi, fusi, fugatique; donec tandem, redesperata, nemo amplius religioni Romanæ, tanto fragore ruenti, suppetias laturns reperiretur." Mede, 447.

he

deprived of their revenues forever: the temples, fanes and shrines, with the statues of their demons shaken to pieces, pillaged, burned and demolished through the whole Roman empire. Moreover the emperors, kings and nobles, in order to aid their gods, now in so great danger of being destroyed, denounced war against Christ's standard bearers, and fought with all their powers, and being beaten, renewed the battle with greater strength; but being cut to pieces with great slaughter, were discomfitted and put to flight: at last things growing desperate, no one could be found to succor the Roman religion any more, thus fallen into ruin, with so great a crash."

So in the case before us the same consequences will take place.-The Dekaton (as it is called in the Greek) or some remarkable one, of the ten kingdoms, is to fall.

Philip Nicolai a divine of the Augustine confession a learned and ingenious man who wrote during the 17th century, understood by DEKATON tes poleus or the tenth part of the city, one of the ten kingdonis into which Rome was sub-divided, which in this confusion of nations or earthquake, should secede, or be cut off from the authority of Rome, under whose power she had long submitted.-This coincides with what is elsewhere said, "the ten kings who gave to the beast his power, then, when the sayings of God (by his prophets) shall be fulfilled, shall hate the whore, and make her naked, eat her flesh and burn

« PreviousContinue »