minion in the book, which is in combination with one of these, so that three dominions are Roman. The kingdom of God, however, makes the fourth dominion of the book. It necessarily follows, then, that as there are only four dominions in it, this kingdom and three Roman dominions constitute the whole subject of it.

Such is the subject determined by the three means of interpretation to which reference has been made. Let us follow the prophet's handling of it in the two versions of which his prophecy has been shown to consist.

Taking up the first version, which is delivered in chapters vi. and vii., we find that it contains the representation of four dominions. These appear under the symbols of the four horses and riders of the first four seals. This is that quaternal group which symbolic prophecy manifests in its representations of political dominions, which these symbols must be interpreted to be, on the ground, as has been shown, of the manner in which they are introduced. They do not represent the state of an empire, much less of the church, for a given time, an application which has been frequently but very erroneously given to them. The analogy between Daniel and Zechariah referred to, discoverable in the mode of their introduction, determines these four horses, with their riders, to represent four separate and distinct dominions alone in all their entirety, and in the whole extent of their duration, subsequent to the date of the prophecy. The analogy observable in the introduction, as well as the origina

tion made of the subject, involves this conclusion. They also necessitate the conclusion that these four dominions are all the dominions which the prophecy

concerns.

In the four equestrian figures, then, of the first four seals, we have a representation of the four dominions which the prophecy predicts concerning; one of these is a conquering dominion, and the three others are three defeated antagonists, as well from the representation here made, as because the whole plot of the prophecy, as more minutely developed in the second version, turns upon the victory of a conqueror who wars with three antagonists, who suffers under and is oppressed by them for 42 months, or 1260 symbolical days, but who gains a final victory over them, who takes two of them under the form of the Beast and the False Prophet, and casts them into a lake of fire and brimstone, and who seizes the third, the Dragon, and casts him likewise into a lake of fire and brimstone. The prophet then places on his canvas here the four combatants in that war, the description of which forms the burden of his prophecy. They are here represented as going forth to the contest with their weapons; the last having no weapon, for a reason that has been already mentioned, namely, that it is an ecclesiastical power.

The representations of the four dominions here made are not so minute and particular, are not accompanied with the same detail, nor are the portraitures so distinct as the corresponding representations in the second version of the prophecy. The portraitures in

chs. xii. and xiii. are in the highest degree graphic and distinct. Here there can be no doubt that the Woman clothed with the sun stands for the kingdom of God, that the great red, seven-headed, ten-horned Dragon stands for the Roman Empire-that the seven-headed ten-horned Beast stands for the Papacy, as a temporal power, and the Two-horned Beast represents the Romish Church. Still the delineations here are sufficiently distinct in themselves, and they may legitimately be shown to indicate these dominions with absolute precision and exactness, even without any reference at all to the second version. Such are the four dominions here displayed as they enter the lists prepared to wrestle for the prize, the dominion of the world. It is a contest in which one combatant is opposed to three, as the representation under the four seals itself imports, where a single victor is ranged with three antagonists, as the relations of the living-creatures to the respective combatants show, and as the whole tenor of the prophecy throughout establishes.

The fifth and sixth, the remaining seals of the first version, represent the general character of the events. predicted in reference to the four dominions, of which the representation has been made in the foregoing seals. The fifth seal, under the symbolization of the souls of the saints under the altar, calling for vengeance for their shed blood, prefigures the character of these events on the one side as being persecutions of the church by its enemies, and its oppression by them for an appointed time, which period of time in

the second version is defined exactly to be 1260 years. The vision here disclosed may be legitimately applied to the greatest act of persecution inflicted on the church; this act, however, is to be regarded here as the representative at the same time of the whole. This seal then predicts the persecution of the church, and holds out the prospect of triumph.

The sixth seal represents the character of the events of the prophecy on the other side as being judgments on the enemies of the church and its final victory. The judgments are represented under the symbolical image of a mighty tempest, which, properly speaking, prefigures the last judgment, but is to be understood here as representing all the judgments; a tempest, convulsing all the material universe; as a result of this judgment the political firmament departs away as a scroll when it is rolled together, every state and kingdom of the Roman world-the world subjected to this judgment-reels in its foundations and falls, for the firmament itself departs away, while those who had enjoyed power and pre-eminence in it are hurled from their places, and scattered like leaves from the tempest-beaten fig-tree. The security of the kingdom of God during this ordeal of judgment is represented by the sealing of the 12 tribes of Israel, described in ch. vii. 1-8. This tempest of judgment has overwhelmed the power of the Roman enemy; the kingdom of God reigns trumphant upon the destruction of its mighty adversary as the final and everlasting dominion on earth. This glorious consummation is described in that magnificent vision which

closes ch. vii., the representations of the six seals and the first version of the prophecy. The application above made of the visions of the fifth and sixth scals to the relationship of the kingdom of God to the Roman dominion, is necessitated by a regard to the representations of the first four seals, and unity and consistency of design in the prophetical composition.

The seventh seal is broken, and with the breaking of this seal which, by the arrangement made, is undivided from the previous six, as it should be, since the prophecy delivered in the seven-sealed book is one revelation, the first and comparatively short delivery of it ends.

At this point in the review of the plan and design of the prophecy, let us pause for a moment and direct our attention to a portion, at least, of the internal evidence which presents itself of the DOUBLE VERSION. This will not be a work of superfluity. If the prophecy is twice delivered, it is essential to the interpretation to know it; it is indeed impossible to advance a step in the interpretation without having decided the question whether it is single or double; and if it is twice delivered, we are then in possession of a commentary better than all others, since it is from the prophet's own hand. With this object in view, we shall now call attention to the weighty

INTERNAL EVIDENCE OF REDUPLICATION,

which is furnished by the following facts:

1st. The "silence in heaven about the space of half an hour," ch. viii. 1.