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rfgteed ,- ttiat tinder the 7 th trumpet fe a&irtmnced the filial bappy state of thfe wertd . Dr . Priestley thinks he per-€ fetves fch £ Fftefteh Resolution in eh . xi ; 13 * atld Bishop Newton says , vet . tB relates to the dowbfal or
AatiefoKst . 1 ehief difference between the t ** te tiiodes of interpretation is , that all former commentators have applied ib £ prophecies to comparatively nn&Mifeiderable events , greatly dependent
4 & the dispositions and actions of ifcjdiriduals . We , on the contrary , apply them to the character of whole ages , by ?( 4 iieh the dispositions and actions of individuals have been eoatrolled * The
prevaiKtig notions of the Romans differed but little from Augustus to Ati-|* usttihte . Peace or war , plenty or fafnme , were the mere incidental circumstanced of the times , in which the mass of mankind at present are by no -means iBterfested , and of which they
are And ever will be wholly ignorant ; ahd to them , of course , tlie Revela-Woti will always remain a sealed book , if it is only to be understood b y a minute acquaintance With the history of $ he Roman emperors . Is thfis book ^ tended only for k few book-worms ^
A&d e «; n of thosfc who have read the 4 iisttfry ^ how many are th ere who retain & distinct recollection of these minute fkcts > bo as immediately to re-^ cof ^ ahs ^ the a ^ p ^ opriateiiess of the emblems by * w « Icti they have been supposed to be desi g nated h l > bes tha ^ appropriateness m truth ejctefc ? Arid * a& $ r $ 11 , of what consequence
% r * 8 tt to givb prophecies relating to ^ ftoets trf cothpattttively trivial importance , lit the sa ^ me time omitting aH -notice of aueh circumstances as the ^ fian ^ es which have actually taken pktfe In the Ghurch of Christ , and m > m which so grave a moral lesson Tfciftr bfc leiirfrt ? We hoiht out dis ^ t \ i&tt'&ti& rtiiaiv ( er 8 f& revolutions of senthat the
^ rm ^ nt , ^ iid sl ^ tfw Revelations * rite fi h * ^ kejtfehes of feelings , pervadiiig' ^ f ^ y tjtosom * « h 4 forining the * Aiwjafg ^ tfprfaga of aH the events of thfe ^ ttrhes ; ^ ttt they foretold a series off -gBKteori&s which havie since actually ^ ifee ^ ti thfe ^ whale Christian tvdfclif , toh resA
3 ^ dd ^ icni % a ^ pf O ^ ristiWia , ad *^ e ttf persecutitig Christians , an ^ e bf ^ drfeUy-miria ^ d Chirtsiiahs , ah ^ ge of criiattd ing € hri * ti ^ n 8 , ttn ^ of Teforriilng ^ JhribtfariB , an ^ g ^ VVf
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i ^ tolutiobb ^ Ag € hr ) slklfid 4 WhaJt tlteae great changes and tio ^ Hliers h * m taken place , is beyond dilute ; and cati it be that they have been overlooked in the Revelation ? Yet so k is , if the usual interpretation be eor * re ^ t . In order to judge of the
propriety of our explanation , it is not by any means necessary to be a deep ^ read scholar . Every person , with the slightest knowledge of history , distinctly recollects that there have been these changing fashions in the character dl the Christian world . He can
never forget the order in which these mania have prevailed . Not , indeed , that the prevalence of one species has precluded the concurrent existence of the others . Persecutors are not restricted to the second age ; nor the
worldly-riilnded to the third . It is even difficult to name the year in which either begins to be characteris tic ef the age , as it is to mark precisely the change of strata in geology 5 but no one can mistake granite fof m&tbfte , arid the several ages are ** easily distinguishable in fei&tory . The
types also appear strikingly appro |> Ti . ate . It is undeniable that the iWela * tions were written long before the events to Which we would apply theio ; yet Will aay one bow veaturfc to attempt the « ubsti € l ^ on of b ^ Uer 4 m » Hems ? Whilst of the old explttUa *
tiom we Hiay feiriy say , with Dr . Iteddridge , ' * the correspondence betw ^ cm the prdpheei ^ and the events is not in all respects so dear a ** d evident fts might be ekpected > toor can wfe rfw ^ yfi : s « y why the events in question are repre&entfed by one of tlie emblems wed , rather than by another , ^ Sffljsly , ib a revelation from God \ ve outflrt t «
^ recognize a more aatistttctory te » tm-Wance betwe » the Wpe und wch&type-There are peouhair . pro ^ rie ^ to ^ almost every verse ; for m « tanc > ey ch . v ^ itoe book which Hone but the h * & h can open , to what must it relate ? <\ in it be to Pagaii Rome , t \\ e Hujib > <^ rths > Vandal ^ . S * race «**> . Tiwka ? if o \ v many prophets 'h ^ d b © e * fc prev ^ -
* msly-permitted to optfti ibto book «» futurity , and predict the > fttte of king " «« i ^ empires , and * totei ! « ff tfce Boma ^ empire ! The € a * e ^ f P ^»» . » o »^ ^ reiict as she was , fe of ^ miiag ia ^ P ^ ^ nce coiwpare 4 > wit ^ 4 he fete pf t »» < h « r < 4 v , m e * Uibl ** h tvbk ^ i « he X . « m » 1 vto r faifc . 1 it > Wasv 40 dAe * i mtum
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4 te A ^^ w ^ AeiM interpreting the Mmtkrtton
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1822, page 474, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2515/page/18/
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