For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: Behold he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together."-Matt. xxiv. 15-28.

This is beyond all question the end itself," Then shall the end come," says Christ, and immediately adds :-" When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, stand in the holy place," &c. The particle, therefore, plainly connects "the abomination of desolation" with the previous prediction, as its consequence," Then shall the end come ;" and when, according to this declaration, "the end is come, and ye see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place; then let them which be in Judæa flee into the mountains.”Hence, the "abomination of desolation" is synchronous with the end itself. But, what, it will be asked, is denoted by "THE END?" Evidently some period of dreadful misery and judgment,- "When ye hear of wars and rumours of wars," says Christ, "see that ye be not troubled, for the end is not yet." This caution against imagining that the previous troubles constituted the time of the end, proceeds upon the supposition, that it is itself a period of tremendous suffering, and the following expression, "these are the beginning of sorrows," proves the same thing. But of what is that period

of woe the end? Since it is termed by way of eminence THE END, it must be the termination of some great period. Accordingly, I think, there can be no doubt, that it is the period of the last judgments of God upon the Anti-christian powers, at present dominant throughout the world; the time when "the mystery of God shall be finished," and a voice out of the temple of Heaven from the throne, exclaim, "IT IS DONE," "BEHOLD I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW."

THE END, as we have seen, is introduced by "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, standing in the Holy Place." I have already noticed the emphatic manner in which the Saviour warns us against mistaking the import of this part of the prophecy,-" Whoso readeth, let him understand." The utter neglect of this caution, observable in all the Commentators I have consulted, is proof sufficient to my mind that the interpretation given of it must be erroneous. On this ground, and also from the fact of its introducing THE END, I would suggest that the "abomination of desolation," instead of referring to Dan. ix. 27, and xi. 31,— which passages describe the past destruction of Jerusalem,— refers to one of difficult comprehension, which can only be understood by diligent investigation and comparison with other parts of Scripture, and which then will be found clearly prophetical of a yet future destruction of that city.—“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” — (Dan. xxiv. 29.)

The common version of this passage has one gross error in it. It fixes a definite period of time, without stating what it is the time for. A glance at the original, however, will at once convince us, that this is the translator's error. The Hebrew is as follows, "From the time of taking away the daily sacrifice, to the setting up the abomination that maketh

desolate, is twelve hundred and ninety days."* That is, an interval of twelve hundred and ninety prophetical days shall elapse between the two events. Now, the taking away the daily sacrifice is, by all the Commentators, considered to denote the cessation of the spiritual worship of the Almighty, which followed the rise of Anti-Christ. Hence, twelve hundred and ninety years are to be reckoned from the rise of that apostacy in 606, A.D., and this will be the period of the second event mentioned-,the setting up "the abomination of desolation." That is thirty years after the close of the twelve hundred and sixty years, or reign of Anti-Christ, the “abomination of desolation,"-whatever that phrase denotes,-is set up, or, as Matthew gives it, "Stands in the holy place."

But the following verses in Matthew, clearly prove that some dreadful attack upon Jerusalem is connected with this abomination. The flight urged upon the Jewish people,—the extremity of the danger,—the especial misery of women with child,—all point out some tremendous attack upon the Jewish capital. Hence, thirty years after the close of the twelve hundred and sixty days, we have a future assault upon Jerusalem, predicted by Christ. This agrees, so far as we can ascertain beforehand, with the theory of the Great Tribulation and Battle of Armageddon, already advocated; for the latter event occurs under the seventh vial, and the twelve hundred and sixty days close just before the first vial, (see p. 3), and nearly thirty years may reasonably be supposed necessary for the inflictions of those plagues. Hence the period of the Battle of Armageddon coincides, as nearly as can be ascertained, with this attack upon the Jews which produces the

*On subsequently consulting Rosemmüller's "Scholia on Daniel," I find he renders the text precisely as I have done.

+ Metaphorice, i.e. Cultus N. T. que sæpe exprimitur phrasibus V. T. quem aufert Anti-Christus. -(Poli Synop.)

"Great Tribulation." There exists, therefore, strong presumptive evidence that they are identical.

The following verses relate to the "Great Tribulation," and have been treated at length in the previous chapter. Passing by the reference to false Christs, which clearly, I think, denote future impostors, I proceed to the next division of the prophecy.

3. The signs in the sun, moon, and stars, which immediately follow the end;-" Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”—(Matt. xxiv. 29.)

The mighty revolutions and awful judgments, here symbolized, are in complete accordance with every other description of the Battle of Armageddon, but can in no degree apply to the past destruction of Jerusalem. Every one at all conversant with the language of prophecy is aware, that the sun denotes the Supreme or Imperial power, the moon, Ecclesiastical government, and the stars, lesser dignities. What, then, was the boasted fulfilment of this part of the prediction, in the overthrow of the Hebrew commonwealth? the Roman Empire experienced no injury, no Independent power was dethroned, all that occurred bearing any similarity to this prediction was, the Governor of Judæa lost his office, but this being a subordinate and delegated authority, can not be represented by that symbol. Nor will any effort of ingenuity suffice to shew that the destruction of merely a province of Rome accomplished the eclipse of the sun. This, then, affords another and a decisive evidence that some future and similar event is denoted by the attack upon the Jews described in this chapter, and the circumstance of these signs in the sun and other heavenly bodies, universally following the awful conflict of Armageddon, is proof almost amounting to demonstration, that the two events are identical.

The next or last division of this chapter, contains the coming of the Son of Man, with its attendant circumstances (ver. 30 to the end.) From the illustrations employed by the Redeemer-the deluge of Noah, and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, it is evident to my mind, that this event is figurative, and denotes a tremendous and universal judgment upon the wicked. As the next chapter, however, is devoted to this subject, it is sufficient here merely to state, that the fact of this universal judgment, immediately following the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, which accompany the attack upon Jerusalem, is another powerful proof as will then be shewn that the attack is the same event, elsewhere denominated the Battle of Armageddon.

It is thus established, I think, both from the testimony of ancient prophets, and also from that of Christ himself,—that the battle of that great day of God Almighty, will consist in a universal war entered into by all the kings of the earth, at the instigation of unclean spirits out of the mouth of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, for the express purpose of spoiling the city of Jerusalem, and destroying the Jewish nation, shortly after their restoration to their own land; or, more definitely, thirty years after the close of the twelve hundred and sixty days. The attack of this innumerable and mighty host, will occasion to the Jews all that unparalleled misery which is denoted by the GREAT TRIBULATION. Famine and sword will destroy the greatest part of that guilty nation ; but eventually, the prayers of the residue of the people will be heard by their God, and He will suddenly and effectually interpose for their deliverance,-" Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." The whole of the countless hosts of enemies will, by the miraculous exercise of Almighty power, be speedily destroyed,-and the vast results of the overthrow will embrace, not only the destruction of "all the armies of

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