3. "And place the abomination that maketh desolate." We understand this not to refer to the standards of the soldiers, as some do, because it gives prominency to things entirely too small to be noticed in a prophecy. about great objects only. The Roman power itself, as represented by the armies and their standards around Jerusalem, seems only that which can be understood. "To place the desolation," signifies to establish it permanently. To this passage Christ plainly refers, when he says, "when ye see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, standing where it ought not, then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains." He here plainly refers to the desolating and unholy army of Rome, which encamped in the suburbs of Jerusalem, or on holy ground, on the 14th of Nisam, A. D. 68.

4. "And such as do wickedly against the covenant, shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God, shall be strong and do exploits." Two classes are here mentioned; the first, who were averse to the covenant, and those who favored it. As at this time the old covenant had passed away, and the new covenant succeeded it, the term covenant here used must represent the gospel, or Christianity. They who did wickedly against it, and were corrupted by the Romans, must be those Jews who rejected it, or those who, having embraced it, apostatized. Many great offers were made to the primitive Christians to forsake their religion, and many were induced to comply by flatteries.

The other class remained firm to their profession, and performed miracles, and suffered martyrdom gloriously. This period seems to refer exclusively to the Apostolic

age.

city, set it on fire, and shed blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it. Josephus ascribes these calamities to the factions who communicated with Antiochus, and persuaded him to invade Judea. Thus, "he had intelligence with them that forsook the holy covenant."

Paragraph II.

ARMS, OR THE ROMAN MILITARY POWER.

1. "And after him (Antiochus) ARMS shall stand up." Bishop Newton says, this is the literal rendering of the original term mimmdu. Arms are always used to represent the military power of a kingdom.-Ezek. xxx. 21; Jer. xlviii. 25. As a symbol of a great power, it must properly represent a military nation, and thus coincides with Rome, which was, emphatically, a military empire. At this period of history, Rome conquered Macedon, one of the four horns of the he goat, in the preceding vision, and then grew up out of it in the east, and expanded toward Asshur and Eber. The countries of Illyricum, and Pergamos, soon became theirs; so that they "stood up" in the east, as far as the Taurus. All Egypt and Syria, including the Jews, also, soon fell to them. "Arms standing up," after "Antiochus in Asia," must refer to the Romans, who succeeded him in Asia and Egypt. This prophecy of Rome in Asia, matches the preceding vision.

2. "They (arms) shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice." The Romans polluted the temple with the blood of thousands; and they, by war, caused the daily worship in the temple to cease, by the interruption of the daily offerings.

3. "And place the abomination that maketh desolate." We understand this not to refer to the standards of the soldiers, as some do, because it gives prominency to things entirely too small to be noticed in a prophecy about great objects only. The Roman power itself, as represented by the armies and their standards around Jerusalem, seems only that which can be understood. "To place the desolation," signifies to establish it permanently. To this passage Christ plainly refers, when he says, "when ye see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, standing where it ought not, then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains." He here plainly refers to the desolating and unholy army of Rome, which encamped in the suburbs of Jerusalem, or on holy ground, on the 14th of Nisam, A. D. 68.

4. "And such as do wickedly against the covenant, shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God, shall be strong and do exploits." Two classes are here mentioned; the first, who were averse to the covenant, and those who favored it. As at this time the old covenant had passed away, and the new covenant succeeded it, the term covenant here used must represent the gospel, or Christianity. They who did wickedly against it, and were corrupted by the Romans, must be those Jews who rejected it, or those who, having embraced it, apostatized. Many great offers were made to the primitive Christians to forsake their religion, and many were induced to comply by flatteries.

The other class remained firm to their profession, and performed miracles, and suffered martyrdom gloriously. This period seems to refer exclusively to the Apostolic

age.

3

5. "They that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by captivity, and by flame, and by spoil, many days." This embraces the era from the apostles to Constantine. The "men of understanding" are plainly put for Christians generally, who, after Jerusalem's destruction, went every where preaching the word. During the ten persecutions of pagan Rome, they fell in multitudes, by sword, fire, captivity, and by the joyful spoiling of their goods.

6. "Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help, but many shall cleave to them with flatteries." This clearly coincides with church and state union under Constantine. During the ten great universal persecutions, the last of which was desolating, and immediately prior to Constantine, the Christians had fallen as if their fall was irrecoverable. The union of church and state gave them some relief for awhile; but it is prop. erly termed, "holpen with a little help." This very rest proved, ultimately, most disastrous to the piety of the church; for many adhered to it, or to the Christian power, allured by the flattering prospects of preferment; so that the state church became a most wicked and worldly political establishment.

During this state, it is said, "some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge them, and to make them white." Notwithstanding this "help," still many true Christians were to fall, and their sufferings were to continue down to "the time of the end," says the text. This has been most fearfully true, as all know.

7. "To the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed." This period, therefore, of falling, was

to continue from the time of the "little help," down to an appointed time. This era is called "the time of the end," and is, of course, a considerable era, as it is called a "time," and not the end itself. It is the period between the two endings of the three and a half times, or that between the 1,290 days and the 1,335 days. The first of these ended at the rise of the United States. Now, it is remarkable, that persecution and death for religion's sake ceased at the rise of the United States; and we have since heard of few judicial murders for religion's sake. The prisons that before were crowded with victims, are moldering and empty. An occasional sufferer is dragged to prison for conscience sake, but the beast is careful not to draw blood. It was not so before the Declaration.

Paragraph III.

THE WILLFUL KING-ROME AND RUSSIA.

"The king shall do according to his will." Two principal interpretations of this power have been given to this kingdom; one by Bishop Newton, and another by Mr. Faber. Newton thinks it was the Roman church in Europe; but Faber tries to identify it with France. Bishop Newton is partially right, and only so; for it is impossible to explain this power of the church only, for the willful king was, without doubt, one of the mightiest political powers on earth, as we shall see.

We shall identify it with the Roman empire in all the stages of its history, and also see that it coincides with the iron and clay, or church and state united in the Roman empire; and also with the restoration of