chronology of the year for a day school of interpreters of prophecy, will have run itself out and the followers of that school, will find themselves in the predicament of the persons, whom Holy Scripture represents as saying-We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.

The writer of these pages, feeling assured, on Scriptural grounds, that the Millennium is much farther off, than the year for a day theory places it, and that when Time shall have exploded that theory, as it is about to do, recourse must be had to a new mode of prophetical interpretation-offers such a mode beforehand. He has advanced nothing, to

which the Word of God does not afford, as he believes, direct support. And, having taken that, as the basis of his argument, he feels himself to be standing on firm ground; and waits, with fearless confidence, the award of the Christian community; for whose edification he has written, and to whose candid consideration he commits his work.

St. Germain's, Lynn, Norfolk,
May 21, 1860.

H

98

COMPUTATION

OF THE PROPHETICAL PERIODS, IN THE

BOOK OF DANIEL,

AND IN THE APOCALYPSE.

I. Dan. viii, 14. Instead of two thousand and three hundred days, (which is the reading of our English version, following the Hebrew) the lxx, and other ancient versions, give two thousand four hundred days; which I am disposed to regard as the true reading, and to adopt accordingly, because of the exact agreement of this number 2400, with the other prophetical numbers, now to be discoursed of.

II. During these 2400 days," the sanctuary and the host are to be trodden under foot." Dan viii, 13, 14, in lxx.

III. "The Sanctuary," which is "to be trodden under foot," is the Holy City-i.e. Jerusalem. Luke xxi, 24. (See No. vii).

IV. "The host," which is "to be trodden under foot," is that of the rebel angels, on their being cast

down from heaven to the earth. (a) Dan. viii, 10. It

(a) The casting down of this host is attributed to

1. The Little Horn-i.e. Antichrist. "It waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host, and of the stars, to the ground, and stamped upon them." Dan. viii, 10.

2. Satan. "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns;" (indicating his presence in heaven, in behalf of the Antichristian "Beast,) and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth." Rev. xii, 3, 4.

3. Michael-i.e. Messiah. "And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought, and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out unto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Rev. xii, 7-9.

The Little Horn-i.e. Antichrist, will in effect cast them down; as this fearful disaster will ensue to them, when fighting for him in heaven, andas the consequence of their doing so. Satan, will be the instrument of their downfall; inasmuch as it will be he, who will move them to make the cause of Antichrist their own. Michael -i.e. Messiah, will be the Agent. They will be cast down actually by Him: virtually and causatively, by Antichrist—and instrumentally, by Satan. Holy Scripture, accordingly, as we have seen, represents each, as doing the deed. Taking the cause of Antichrist in hand, Satan is cast down. Making the cause of Satan their own, "a third part of the stars of heaven" are cast down, along with him. The battle, is the battle of Antichrist against the Man child (Rev. xii, 5.) fought by Satan and his angels, in behalf of the Beast. So that he is to be regarded as the occasion of that downfall, which the victorious arm of Michael will effect, and which Satan, as the Beast's instrument, will bring about; while intending to dethrone, and destroy, Messiah. Rev. xii, 4.

will comprise "the third part of the stars of heaven." Rev. xii, 4, 9.

V. This "host" is "to be trodden under foot by Antichrist--he being the Little Horn of Dan. viii, 9, and the "king of fierce countenance," of Dan. viii, 23. (b).

VI. The treading under foot of the host, is to

(b) "It cast down some of the host, and of the stars, to the ground, and stamped upon them." Dan. viii, 10. Holy Scripture often describes those as "trodden under foot," who are not strictly and literally treated so, but are merely in a state of complete subjugation to the will and power of another: the slaves of a crushing tyrant, such as Antichrist will unquestionably prove; who is to "magnify himself above all," "exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped." It should be remembered, too, that what is here foretold, will be done at a time, when the dragon will have given him his power, and his throne : (Rev. xiii, 2.) a gift, which will of course include the subjection of the evil angels to the rule of the Beast, so long as the donation shall continue in force. Rejecting the rule of the Righteous One, God's holy child Jesus," and uniting with Satan in an impious attempt to dethrone and destroy Him, it will be no unmeet punishment for them, that, on being cast down from heaven to the earth by Michael, they should be brought under compulsory subservience to the Man of Sin; and, by their chosen Prince and Leader, Satan, should be made for a while, in order to thef urtherance of his designs against Messiah in our world, the abject, though unwilling slaves, (see Dan. ii, 43) of a mortal ruler; having withheld their obedience from "the King Immortal"; and having themselves trodden under foot the Son of God. Compare Heb. X, 29.

continue through the entire 2400 days. Dan. viii, 10, 13, 14, lxx. (c).

VII. The treading under foot of "the sanctuary," is to extend over only 1260 of the 2400 days forty and two months. Rev. xi, 2.

VIII. Holy Scripture authorises us to place the ending of the 1260 days, at the distance of only three days and a half from the sounding of the Seventh trumpet, which is to usher in Messiah's Second Advent, and accession to his millennial reign. Rev. xi, 3, 7-15. It may consequently be presumed, that the 2400 days will then have their termination.

(c) For-these 2400 days having their beginning with the casting down of the rebel angels from heaven to the earth, and their ending (as will presently be shown) with Messiah's Second Advent on the Great Day of Wrath, we find that—

1. On that day, the rebel angels will be cast down by Messiah from the air to the earth; (Rev. vi, 13,) it may be presumed. for attempting, under the leadership of Satan, and in behalf of Antichrist, to hinder the approach to our world, of the Lord from heaven (Compare Rev. xix, 11-21.) as the downfall of the Beast, on earth, will, on the same day, follow that, of "the stars of heaven," in the air. Mark xiii, 25.

2. The subjection of the rebel angels to Antichrist, while thus found to extend to the time of Messiah's Advent, and to be terminated, on that day, by the downfall of the Beast, is represented (Dan. viii, 10.) as having its beginning, at the time of that casting down of the stars of heaven to the earth, which is noted in Rev. xii, 4, 9: from which the commencement of the 2400 days is to be reckoned.