by John Thomas

“ These four centuries of punishment were a very calamitous period of Jewish history. They endured a captivity in Babylon for 70 years: for several years more their times were "troublous" they were vassals to the Persians till their dominion was overthrown by Alexander; afterwards, as we have seen, they were alternately subject to the king of the south and the king of the north, and their land became a field of battle for the hosts of these Powers, who defiled the temple, and at length converted it into a house for the worship of Jupiter. ”

“ All the power of the dragon in relation to Israel and the land of promise is embodied in the Little Horn of the East. The smiting of the Image, the breaking of the Goat's little horn, and the binding of the Dragon, are synchronous and synonymous catastrophes ”

“ Hence, any real, or supposed, persons adopted as protectors, guardians, or patrons, are mahuzzim, or munitions of strength and safety. Now the god whom the Little Horn of the Goat honoured in his kingdom, was a god of guardian saints, who are regarded by his worshippers as protectors and towers of strength and security against all "the ills that flesh is heir to." Such a god is the Bishop of Rome ”

“ The work of recognition thus far advanced by Justinian was perfected by the edict of the Emperor Phocas, who began to reign in 603. He also wrote to the Roman Bishop in 604, and acknowledged his spiritual supremacy. He was very liberal to the churches, and allowed the Pantheon, a temple dedicated to all the gods by his fathers, to be turned into a church, or "most strong hold," to all the saints. Phocas was a monster in crime, and therefore the better qualified for a patron of the Roman Bishop, who hailed him as the pious avenger of the church. ”

“ And the king of the south, Ptolemy Soter, shall be strong, and shall be one of his, Alexander's, princes, or generals; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion, extending over Egypt, Libya, Cyrenaica, Arabia, Palestine, Coele-Syria, and most of the maritime provinces of Asia Minor; with the island of Cyprus, and several others in the Aegean Sea, and even some cities of Greece, as Cicyon and Corinth. ”

“ Impious and cruel as Antiochus, and superstitious and fanatical as Justinian, with the arrogance, ambition, and profanity of the Roman Bishop in his halcyon days, this incarnation of the sin-power in the crisis of its fate, will fully answer to all that has been predicated of the king who does according to his will, and "for whom Tophet is ordained of old." ”

“ The temple in Jerusalem was dedicated to Jupiter Olympus, whose statue was placed within it. Thus he did in his great indignation against Jehovah and His people Israel.
32. And such of the Jews as do wickedly against the covenant shall Antiochus by flatteries cause to dissemble. These not only "forsook the holy covenant," but "had intelligence" with the king, and aided him all they could in the desolation with which he was overspreading their country. But the Maccabees and their adherents, people who do know their God shall be strong, and do valiantly in war. ”

“ Besides the immoderate ascendancy the Bishop of Rome had the address to obtain as the spiritual chief of the church, his consequent success in elevating the Germano-Roman emperor to the character of temporal chief, brought such an accession of authority to the latter, that most of the nations of Europe showed for some ages so great a defer ence to the emperor, that in many respects Europe seemed to form but one society, consisting of unequal members subject to one sovereign. ”

“ This power appeared on the territory of the north, and absorbed its dominion into itself, so that it became all in all. In the "vision of the evening and the morning" (Dan. 8) , it is represented by a Little Horn standing upon another horn, and is styled "a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences." Moses describes the same power in these words, saying to Israel, "The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongne thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance ”

“ Antiochus Epiphanes and Justinian represent "the king" as he will be manifested, when, as the king of the north, he appears upon the arena, standing up to contend with the Prince of princes, on the field of Armageddon; for he is to "prosper till the indignation be accomplished" against Israel. ”

“ To supply this desideratum the symbols of the eighth chapter, and the exposition of them in the ninth and eleventh chapters, were revealed to Daniel. These may be styled the vision and the prophecy of the East; while the Fourth Beast is the vision of the West; both of which are set forth briefly and unitedly in the image of divers metals. Having said as much as is necessary to the comprehension of our subject respecting the things which relate to the saints and the Western powers, our attention will henceforth be confined to a brief exposition of the vision and prophecy of the East. ”

“ Their customers growl exceedingly at being compelled to deal at Bazaars, where the profit is all on one side. This state of things, however, will not last much longer; for the time cometh, it is written, when "no man buyeth their merchandise any more." There is often more truth than fiction, though not much elegance, in the proverbs of the vulgar; but the reader will now perceive the scripture origin of the term "gospel shop," as applied to places of religious convocation, where men preach gospels at so much per sermon, or per annum. ”

“ I am aware that Paul says, "the Lord hath ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." This is just and proper. But this ordinance does not apply to those who do not preach the gospel, but preach mere human tradition instead. ”

“ The places where they deal out their traditions are well and truly designated shops, or bazaars; for the system which sanctifies them is mere trading in religion, and haggling for a crust of bread. But then, bazaars of priestly wares are distinguished from places of honourable trade by being dedicated to Mahuzzim. This is a remarkable featijre in the prophecy, which finds its counterpart in the dedication of the churches to guardian saints and angels. ”

“ After the destruction of the empire of the west in 493, the Hierarchical system naturally led the several Papal states to consider themselves in ecclesiastical matters as unequal members of one great society. ”

“ They are truly Bazaars of spiritual merchandise; and the prospering craft, "the great men of the earth," made rich by trading in their wares, are the bazaar-men, who extort all kinds of goods from their cus tomers by putting them in fear, and comforting them with heavenly pay. ”

“ The Little Horn, then, is representative of the dragon's power in the East -- that is, of the Roman; which was planted on the Assyro-Macedonian Horn B.C. 65, when it became a province of the dragon empire. It continued to wax exceeding great in these countries until it established its dominion over Syria, Palestine, part of Arabia, and Egypt. The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth verses represent the part it was to enact in the overthrow of the Jewish State ”

“ They are literally "dens of thieves," without ever having been the houses of the Father, where people are robbed of their money under divers false pretences. They are places where pews are sold by auction where fairs are held for "pious objects"; and where spiritual quacks pretend to cure souls in exchange for so much per annum. ”

“ The 430 years of national retribution being ended, and with it the prophecy concerning Israel and the king of the northern horn of the Macedonian Goat, a new power is introduced as superseding that of the northern king. ”

“ The reader may find the catalogue of sale in the eighteenth of Revelation. Among the articles of merchandise are bodies, and souls of men. But the trade of these soul-merchants is fast falling into disrepute. ”

“ Besides showing that a day is sometimes used prophetically for a year, the Lord's reply shows also the period of his ministry as equivalent to the latter half part, at the end of which he expected to die, and afterwards to be perfected by a resurrection to life. Exactly to the month "he was cut off, but not for himself," 490 years after the decree of Artaxerxes in the twentieth of his reign. "The matter" revealed to Daniel, who was at the same time exhorted to "consider the vision," to a part of which it referred, was all accomplished as far as the seventy weeks were concerned. ”