great and terrible day of the Lord. They were warned by them and obeyed the directions he gave, and were thereby saved.

Daniel says, 'And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?' Ch. xii: 6. This was as much as to say, How long shall it be to the end of these resurrections? The answer was, 'when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.' Ch. v: 7. The angel told Daniel the vision was closed up the end. This same book, was that prophecy unsealed to John on the Isle of Patmos. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book, and loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders said unto me, weep not; be

and sealed till the time of

hold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and loose the seals thereof.' Rev. v: 1-5.

'And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard, as it were, the voice of thunder, one of the four beasts, say, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given him; and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.' Rev. vi: 1, 2. This great conqueror was Vespasian, whom Nero the emperor of Rome, had authorised to subdue or destroy the Jews. So he went forth conquering as he went, and laying new plans of conquest as he proceeded, until he sat down before Jerusalem. But before he could subdue this last strong hold, Nero died, and he was recalled to fill his place, whereupon he sent out his son Titus.

This is represented by the opening of the second seal. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red; and power was given to him that sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another;

and there was given him a great sword.' Rev. This was the sword of Esau; the

vi: 3, 4.

same sword with which the Lord said the dragon should be slain, that was in the sea. Now Titus determined to subdue the whole country of Judea before he attacked the city of Jerusalem, so as to deprive them of all reinforcements. At this time peace was taken from this people, which was never again restored to them. Those within the city were divided among themselves, and fell to contending with each other. One party was marshalled in hostile array against another; and thus they had war without and war within. In this was fulfilled the saying of the Saviour. 'Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword.' Matt. x: 34. This was death and hell, which Christ opened in the city of Jerusalem, which was the seat of the beast.

'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 say, 'A measure of wheat for a peny,

and three measures of barley for a peny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.' Rev. vi: 5, 6. Here the Lord was judging Israel out of the things which were written in the books of the laws according to their works, the plagues written in the books of Moses was now fulfilling on Israel, And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant; (this was fulfilled when the Lord sent the Romans to destroy the Jews,) and when ye are gathered together in your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; this was fulfilled on Israel when death and hell, were let loose in the city, and killed and starved all the rest of their brethren in the city; this was the pestilence that the Lord informed Israel by the mouth of Moses, that he would send among them, in case they disobeyed his laws and his statutes, And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread by weight, and ye shall eat and not be satisfied; this was fulfilled on Israel when the Third Seal was opened, and the man came in with a pair of balances in his hand, and is represented as weighing out their provisions to

them. Then Israel had to take their bread by weight, according to the word of the lord, by the mouth of Moses. This denotes great scarcity and distress for food; so much so that every one had to be put upon allowance, which took place at the destruction of the holy city in accordance with the Saviour's prediction.

'And when he had opened the Fourth Seal, I heard the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.' Rev. vi: 7, 8. This represents the winding up of the fearful tragedy of the devoted city. Death and hell were opened in that city, and they were shut up there by the Roman army to complete the work of destruction, where terror and misery reigned triumphant.

Josephus, in his account of the siege of Jerusalem, well illustrates what we have said upon this point. He tells us that there was a terrific storm that broke out one night, accompanied with showers of rain and continual light