On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
Sir , ri ^ HE following mode of explaining JL the Revelation was lately
suggested to me , and appears so simple and satisfactory , that , though it professes to set aside all the systems of former commentators , I venture to submit a specimen to the criticism of your intelligent readers .
Chap . vi . 1 , 2 : "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals , and I heard as it were the noise of thunder , one of the four beasts saying , Come and see . And I saw , and behold a white ( XevKoq ) horse : and he that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown
was given unto him : and he went forth conquering and to conquer . " This is an appropriate type of the earliest ages of the Christian Church when clothed in the white and shining garment of innocence ; and , as St . Paul
oovro Itocrvrkrr ' * ' i t I * 4 " An tri 4 » larri /^ Io or says , having * ' put on the whole armour of God /* it " wrestled against principalities , against powers , against the Tillers of the darkness of this
world , against spiritual wickedness in high , places / ' and went forth conquering and to conquer . But , alas 1 scarce three short centuries , and the very success of the church became destruc-
Untitled Article
tive of the spirit * jf Clirfetiilblty . No 'longer could the l&gan s % , See how these ChrfetiaHs love ohe another Christians began to persecute Chris - tians . Vers . 3 ^ 4 : 4 € And when he had opened the second seal , I heard 4- . * ^ # ^ v * -k •* 4 s w * . «^ . r % ^ # ~ MMft tfi Wt * m ¥ i — ¦ " *! > ' ~ # ¦ lr < i 11 i -
the second beast say , Come and see . And there went out another horse that was red ( jrvppot ;) : and power was given to him that sat thefreon to take peace from the earth , and that they should kill one another : and there was
given unto him a great sword . " From this time the attention of the church became more and more engrossed in worldly matters , grasping at riches and dominion , till at length , about 741 , Pepin bestowed the exarchate on Pope Stephen II ., and
thenceforward the church became a temporal power ; and the sole care of clergy as well as laity of every rank was devoted to the acquisition and enjoyment of the good things of this life . Vors . 5 , 6 : " And when he had opened the third seal , I heard the third beast say , Come and see . And I beheld , and lo
a black horse ; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand . And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts sav , A measure of wheat for a penny , and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine /'
Can the Christian Church apostatize more completely from every Christian principle ? She can and does . She becomes a fanatical crusading church . About 1096 , the cross of Christ , the emblem of a religion of peace , ia hoisted as the standard of a war of
superstition . Military religious orders are every where established , and , under pretext of honouring Ohri 3 t , whole nations are excited to a terrific state of madness ; and for nearly three centuries driven to the perpetration of deeds of cruelty and horror , unparalleled in the annals of mankind .
Vers . 7 , 8 -. " And when fie had opened the fourth seal , I heard the voice of the fourth beast say , Corne and see . And I looked , and behold a pale ( % \ & > pos ) horse ; and his name that sat on him was Deathand hell
follow-, cd with him . And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth , to kill with sword , and with hunger , atad with death , and with the beasts of the earths
Untitled Article
47 £ New Scheme of interpreting tke ' -ft&thlation . T a . ^» . - * - *¦•¦ ~» 4 » 4- V ^ ^ -w »* . » w % . «» ~ 3 ^ *« . A .- « a 1 a «« . > v I took it thertiy dearest love
Untitled Article
** n , , The sweetest blessing from above ; I keep it now , my dearest friend , The richest blessing Heav'n can lend . With that dear hand , Eliza , came Virtues , O more than I can name ; Those virtues still my heart engage ; They charm'd my youth ; they cheer my age .
The lapse of time has only shewn How poorly once thy worth was known ; And still I cease that lapse to see ; Each fond affection turn'd to thee . Thus far together 1 we have trod The path of life : I leave to God Each future step , and only pray , For thy dear arm through all the way .
The moral instruction , as applying to domestic happiness , is evident ; and if you see no impropriety in their insertion , they are much at your service ; followed with that sigh and tear of sympathy , to which the circumstances so evidently give occasion . LAWRENCE HOLDEN . —^ tfto ^
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1822, page 472, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2515/page/16/
-