assertion of the prophet himself); that, as the wild beast was slain by the violent excision of his seventh head, he must revive by the healing of the same mortal wound which caused his death. p. 76. III. The naked fact of the wild beast's revival being thus expressly foretold by St. John, we have next to inquire under WHICH of his seven heads he will revive. p. 77. 1. On this point we can know nothing, beyond what prophecy has taught us. p. 77. 2. Yet, by a careful discussion of particulars, we may without much difficulty arrive at the conclusion after which we seek. p. 78. 3. This conclusion is, that, as the SEVENTH head is the head which was mortally wounded by the sword; that same SEVENTH head is the head, which is destined to -be healed. p. 81. 4. But the sword-slain seventh head is the Francic Emperorship. Therefore the Francic Emperorship is destined to be revived. And this seventh head, when revived, will be that eighth form of Roman government; which, whensoever it shall appear, is to be one of the preceding seven heads. p. 81. IV. To this conclusion we are equally brought by the excellent principle of homogeneity. p. 81. 1. The healing of the deadly wound must be homogeneous to its infliction. But the infliction of the deadly wound is the violent excision of the Francic Emperorship by the sword of war. Therefore the healing of the deadly wound must be the revival of the Francic Emperorship. p. 82. 2. Such a conclusion is wholly independent of any individual or individuals: so that it is quite uncertain, both at what time, and under what agent, the Francic Emperorship will be revived. p. 82. V. The present conclusion however is so important, that we cannot be too jealous in our admission of it. Hence it it will be useful to sum up the steps, by which we are regularly conducted to it. p. 84. 1. The principle of the argument is: to take as a basis cer tain positions, directly established by inspiration it self; and then to reason forward, by aid of the chronological prophecy, to the conclusion whither they conduct us. p. 84. (1.) The first position is, that the apocalyptic seven-headed wild beast is an hieroglyphic of the Roman Empire. p. 84. (2.) The second position is, that the sixth head of the Roman wild beast is the Emperorship of the Romans. p. 85. 2. Now these two positions will lead to the following train of conclusions. p. 86. (1.) The sixth head, which had begun to exist in the time of St. John, and whose representative for the time being always bore the official title of Emperor of the Romans, fell, like its five predecessors, in the year 1806. p. 86. (2.) But, since the economy of nature requires that the seventh head should arise, either shortly before, or in the very article of, the fall of the sixth head; this seventh head, most definitely characterized, as being at once short-lived and destined to fall by the sword of foreign violence, must have been in existence before the expiration of the year 1806. Now to the seventh head, thus characterized both circumstantially and chronologically, the Francic Emperorship alone perfectly corresponds. Therefore the Francic Emperorship must be the seventh head. p. 86. (3.) The excision of the seventh head produces the headless or defunct state of the Roman Empire. This state we now behold with our own eyes: for, at present, the Roman Empire has plainly No head. p. 88. (4.) After this defunct state of the Roman Empire, the prophet arranges a period of its reexistence; which in in the hieroglyphic is described by the revival of the slain wild beast, in consequence of the healing of his mortally wounded seventh head. But the mortally wounded seventh head is the Francic Emperorship. Therefore the Francic Emperorship will be revived: and, when revived, it will constitute that eighth form of Roman government, which is to be the same as one of the preceding seven. p. 91. VI. Both the person by whom, and the time when, the Francic Emperorship will be revived, is uncertain: but the latter is closely connected with the effusion of the sixth vial. p. 92. 1. The effusion of the sixth vial is acknowledged by our best commentators to describe the subversion of the Ottoman Empire. p. 92. 2. But, during the effusion of this yet future vial, we find the now defunct and headless wild beast restored to life and in full action. Therefore his deadly wound must be healed, either shortly before, or shortly after, or at the precise time of, the commencement of the sixth vial's effusion. p. 93. 3. Hence it is plain, that the downfall of the Ottoman Empire stands in close chronological connection with the revival of the now headless wild beast; which revival will be effected by the healing of his seventh head or the Francic Emperorship. p. 94. 4. Amidst all the convulsions of Europe, which have followed the French Revolution, the crazy Ottoman Empire has still continued to exist unchanged down to the present hour. p. 94. 5. Yet we are told, on the authority of an experienced military officer, that Russia and Austria conjointly might overturn it in a single campaign, and that nothing preserves it save the powerful mediation of England. p. 96. VII. The future ascent of the revived wild beast from the abyss is homogeneous to his past ascent from the sea: for the abyss and the sea are synonymous terms. p. 99. VIII. We VIII. We are now finally brought to the conclusion, that the revived Francic Emperorship will be that dominant Roman head or power, which will perform the deeds attributed by Daniel to his wilful king during the time of the end, and which will perish at Armageddon while presiding over a great confederacy of vassal Latin kings. p. 115. DISSERT. II. Respecting the death of the apocalyptic witnesses. p. 122. A DISCUSSION of the question, whether the death of the apocalyptic witnesses be still future, or whether it be already past. p. 122. I. Arguments in favour of the opinion, that it is future. p. 123. 1. Argument, from the want of a sufficiently definite and important event having already taken place, stated and discussed. p. 123. 2. Argument, from the chronological arrangement of the death of the witnesses, stated and answered. p. 125. 3. Argument, from the circumstance that the death of the witnesses is effected by the beast from the abyss. This argument can only be answered generally, by stating the arguments on the other side of the question. p. 126. II. Arguments in favour of the opinion, that it is past. p. 128. 1. Argument, from the chronological arrangement of the seven vials, stated and discussed. p. 128. 2. Argument, from the hypothetical circumstance that the third great woe commenced with the French Revolution, stated and enforced. p. 131. (1.) Proof (1.) Proof of that circumstance by an application of the. principle of homogeneity. p. 132. (2.) Proof of it deduced from its well defined chronological notation. p. 135. (3.) Argument built upon the preceding proof. p. 137. III. Still the argument, which is founded on the circumstance that the death of the witnesses is effected by the beast from the abyss, remains without any direct answer. p. 139. 1. It cannot be confuted, except by denying the premises on which it is built. p. 139. 2. Yet it is possible that the death of the witnesses may be still future, even though the third woe has commenced. p. 140. (1.) Proposed introduction of a parenthesis into the text. P. 140. (2.) The consequences of such an introduction. p. 143. DISSER T. III. Respecting Christ's prophecy delivered from the mount of Olives, as immediately connected with the period of the 1260 days. p. 150. THE HE occasion on which our Lord delivered his prophecy. P. 150. I. The prophecy, as given by three of the evangelists, harmonized in one continued series. p. 152. II. As the whole prediction is an answer to the question put by the disciples, we must begin with considering the purport of that question. p. 159. 1. The context requires, that we should refer the whole ques tion to our Lord's previous assertion relative to the utter |
