Suppose I should say to a man, Here is an animal that lives to a great age; many of the kind have lived 666 years; would that inform him of the age of the animal? Would it enable him to determine how long from that time it would live, providing it should live to be 666 years old? Certainly not. How, then, can we determine when this beast shall end, or when the 666 years shall be finished? Do you say, we can ascertain that from history, from the time when the beast came into existence, and when its existence ended? But here is another difficulty. What was the beast? Is there any way by which to answer this question? The author of the Lectures says, the beast was Pagan Rome; and then he goes on to show that Pagan Rome came into existence 158 years B. C. But can he be serious in such an idea as that? Romulus began the foundation of Rome 752 years B. C., and we know well that the Romans were Pagans from the beginning. Thus 666 years is by no means the number of the beast. Verily our author makes lame work, indeed; for in giving us the number of his beast, he has not given us half his days! Let us, however, pass all these difficulties, and go on with the calculations. The end of Pagan Rome, of which we shall speak in another Lecture, our author tells us was A. D. 508. This was the end of 666 years, which begun 158 years before Christ.

The next calculation is that which relates to the beast that succeeds Pagan Rome, which is Papal Rome; in other words, the Catholic Church. This beast was to live 1260 years. Now I want your special attention, for we have

1

got upon the last calculation. This is the time (1260 years) of the continuance of the Papal church.

On page 101 of the Lectures, I find it stated that the Papal power ended in 1798, that is, 42 years ago. On the same page, it is stated, that in 45 years after the end of Papal Rome, the world will end, which is three years from this!

Suppose now we subtract 1260 years from 1798. This will carry us to the beginning of the Papal power, if the author of the Lectures is right. Well, 1260 taken from 1798 leaves 538, which I find on page 101 is the year when the Papal abomination.commenced.

Let us now add together these different sums, and see where we shall come out. We started with 2300 years. Let us see, then, if the different calculations, when added together, make this

amount.

Take 1st, the 70 weeks of Daniel, or Take 2d, the Pagan beast, which stood after the death of Christ Take 3dly, the Papal beast, which stood

Then add 45 years, the time the world shall stand after the destruction of the Papal beast,

And you have

490 years

475 years

1260 years

45 years.

2270 years,

which falls short of 2300 years to the amount of 30 years.

Here is a great difficulty. What is to be done? The author of the Lectures wants 30 years to make up his 2300. According to this the world should have been destroyed in 1813; that is, 27

"I

years ago. Having passed that period, I suppose you are all convinced, if not satisfied, that the author of the Lectures is wrong. Perhaps the hearer may wish to know if the author saw this difficulty. I reply he did; and he swallows it so calmly that you would conclude he thought it of no importance. Just hear what he says; shall now go on with the illustration of the third part of his prophetic history, which is the history of the image beast, the deadly wound healed, or what Daniel calls the abomination that maketh desolate.' This beast would rule over the kings of the earth, and tread the church of God under foot forty-two months, or time, times and a half, which is twelve hundred and sixty years, in common time, or as the angel tells us in Daniel xii. 11, from the taking away the daily sacrifice to setting up the abomination that maketh desolate, should be a thousand two hundred and ninety days, showing a difference of thirty years from the statement of the actual reign of the image beast and the other, which includes all the time from taking away down through the setting up or reign of the image beast. Therefore, to reconcile these two statements, we must conclude there was 30 years from A. D. 508, when Paganism ceased, before the image beast or Papal Rome would begin her reign. If this is correct, then the 1290 began 508, and would end us in 1798. But the reign of Papacy would not be set up until A. D. 538, and would end us in the same year, A. D. 1798, being 1260." See Lectures, pp. 92, 93.

There! that is the way he gets over the difficulty! He supposes that there was 30 years between the overthrow of Pagan Rome, and the

setting up of Papa! Rome; and then says, IF this is correct, then the world will be destroyed in 1843. Now, who would suppose that there was sufficient power in this little word ir to support the world for 30 years! Yet so it is! For the last 27 years we have been resting solely on the this little IF. Well, my friends, this, great as it is, is not the greatest difficulty in the case.

How

Papal Rome was to stand 1260 years. are these years obtained? We will let the author of the Lectures speak for himself. He says, "John then goes on to describe the civil power of this Roman government under this last head, and shows the length of time they would exercise this last power, forty-two months,' which is the same as Daniel's time, times and a half, or John's 1260 days, mentioned Rev. xi. 3: xii. 6.

His

power to make war and overcome the saints is foretold. In the tenth verse he shows us how this civil power should be destroyed, by captivity and the sword, and this was fulfilled in 1798, when the pope was carried a captive into France, and the states of Italy were conquered by the sword of the French army." See Lectures, p. 75. Here we are referred to John's 1260 days, and also his 42 months, which is 1260 days. Besides, we are referred to Daniel's time, times and a half; all of which are supposed to mean the same thing. Let us look at his calculations with all the favor possible; for really, I am rather desirous that he should get something right in regard to his reckonings, for I am told that quite a number have believed his scheme; and, if it should turn out that he is wrong on every point, it would be rather too mortifying!

I should remark in connexion with such a statement, that the calculations about the 70 weeks of Daniel, are not peculiar to our author; he has nothing new on that subject; all Christians explain it substantially as he does, and most, exactly; or rather I should say, he explains it as hundreds have done before him.

But how does he make out his 1260 years? He refers us, as I have said, to Daniel's time, times and a half; and he says time, times and a half, mean 3 years, and that each day signifies a year, which makes 1260 years. Here the question arises, how does he know we are to reckon each day of these 3 years as a year? Does not his argument rest entirely on assumption? And is not his assumption against fact? Daniel predicted that Nebuchadnezzar should be driven from his throne, have the heart of a beast, and that 7 times should pass over him, before his restoration. How long were the 7 times here mentioned? Now we have no need of conjectures in answering this question. We want no fancy work in this case; facts only will answer here, and one fact is worth a million speculations and assertions. How long, then, did Nebuchadnezzar remain in this state? We answer, seven years: "Seven times shall pass over him."

Let us take the theory of the Lectures, which says, time, times, and a half are 1260 years, and see how it agrees with the fact before us. Do not forget, that this is one of the leading calculations in the Lectures. It is often brought in, and constitutes one of the main pillars in the building. Well, if three times and a half are 1260 years, how long is seven times? Here is a plain sum