and serious thoughts. And, if once they fhall be brought to thefe, then the means of inftruction and reformation, through the mercy of God, will every where be found in great abundance. But at any rate the natural difficulties, I would fay impoffibilities, in the way of a general reformation, are not greater than thofe which the Ifraelites had to encounter at the Red Sea. And fince God hath no where declared, that he will work no more miracles, but, on the contrary, we have reason, from many of the Old Teftament prophecies, to expect a repetition of them in the latter times; fo we ought ever to remember these remarkable words of God by the prophet Ifaiah, chap. lxvi. v. 8. 9. Who hath heard fuch a thing? Who hath feen fuch things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or fhall a nation be born at once? For as foon as "Zion travelled fhe brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not caufe to bring forth? And is it not very obfervable, that this prophecy must be conceived chiefly to relate to the fudden and unexpected converfion of the Jews in the last times? The few alterations which are in this edition will appear to every attentive reader, to be made not in the principles, nor general plan (for thefe, are precifely the fame as in the former edition), but either in the application of fome of the prophecies to particular events, or in the chronology. As to the first kind, the only material alteration is in page 58- where I have fixed the era of the papacy to A. D. 512, or to a year or two thereafter; whereas I had fixed it in the former edition to the year 503, or 504. However, by comparing both editions, it will be found, that I used the very fame medium, namely, the univerfal peace amongst the Ten Kings in the Roman empire, to ascertain the above mentioned mentioned æra. By this peace their Kingdoms were established, and, at their establishment, we are affured from Rev. xvii. 12. that the era of the papacy would commence. Such an univerfal peace happened A. D. 503, or 504, as I obferved page 57. But as it appears from hiftory, that the Princes who made this peace were very infincere, and that it continued only until A. D. 507. I therefore made no account of it for fome years before I printed the effay, and had placed the era of the papacy to the year 512, when the univerfal peace was confirmed. by the death of Clovis King of the Franks, and by the establishment of his four fons in the government of his dominions. But, the year before it was printed, I changed my opinion, and fixed this æra to the year 503. And, as the papal government, according to Rev. 13. 5. was to continue 42 months, or 1260 years, I imagined that it might fuffer fome remarkable depreffion in the year 1763 or 1764; concluding from the prodigious fuccefs of the British arms, the great provocation the King of Pruffia had received from the Queen of Hungary, and the extraordinary friendship then fhewn to him by the Emperor of Ruffia, that it was highly probable, that the fall of the papacy might be very near; and that the univerfal peace concluded in 503, or 504, altho' it was of short duration, might be intended as a mark of the æra of its commencement. However, from a regard to my original calculation, I fignified in my preface to the first edition, page vii. that I could not think, that I had antedated the ara of the papacy nine or ten years. It is also well known, whileit the effay was in the prefs, that I fent my firft calculation to be inferted by way of a note; but, as the printing was fo far advanced, that it could not be inferted in its proper place, I gave manufcript copies of it to feveral of my friends, who have ftill preferved them. The The only alteration which I have made in chronology, is in that long calculation of the 2300 prophetical days or years mentioned by the prophet Daniel, chap. viii. 13. 14. And, as this hath cott me a great deal of labour, I would fain hope, that it may meet with a favourable reception from the public. As to any other additions, they are either fuch as ferve to throw greater light ou the fubject, or are reflections upon the events which have happened fince the former edition was published, The only objection which occurs to the author against publishing this effay at pretent, is this obvious one, namely, if matters fhould iffue in a quite different manner from what is here fuppofed, in that cafe the hypothefis, inftead of ferving, in any degree, to confirm the authority of the book of Revelation, may have a tendency to expofe it to the contempt and deifion of the profane, and of fuch whọ have no established principles of religion, and the author of the ellay, to the charge of enthusiasm and cr.dulity. But though matters fhould not happen as the author fuppoles (of which he is not much afraid, when he confiders the number and ftrength of the arguments advanced by him in fupport of his hy pothefis); yet he does not fee, that either his, or the character of that facred book, which is infinitely more valuable, can juffly fuffer any thing by the ellay, fince the author does not pretend to an abfolute certainty as to the precile time of the accom plishment of thefe prophecies, but only to a probąbility, and coniequently allows that he may be miftaken. And it is not to be wondered at if he fhould, fince the hypothefis chiefly depends upon PREFACE. xiif fixing the æra of the papacy, and of the teftimony of the witneffes, concerning which, he only offers what he reckons a very probable conjecture, though indeed, upon the ftricteft and molt impartial review, he cannot think that he hath antedated it much. If then, any thing in this effay fhall contribute to engage serious people to their duty, the author will gain his principal point, and reckon himself very little concerned, to take notice of the groundlefs cenfures of profane and thoughtless perfons, who, whileft they continue flaves to their paffions, will always take the beft defigns by the worst handle, Before I conclude this preface, I must be allowed to acknowledge my furprife, that Sir Ifaac and Dr Newton, fhould have been fo free in their cenfures against those who have attempted to make a calculation of future events from the prophecies; fince both those learned gentlemen have made no fcruple, .pofitively to fix the era of the papal reign to the eighth century, and the end of it to the twentieth. And indeed he must be a very cool and difpaffionate commentator upon the apocalypfe, who, notwithstanding the great encouragement given to ftudy this book, and the long chain of accomplishments already paft, will not adventure to offer a probable conjecture concerning the firft of those important events, though it is generally believed, that it hath happened a great many centuries ago. In this I indeed agree with them, that the events are the best interpreters of the prophecies, and, in conformity to this fentiment, I again declare, that the the amazing events which happened in the second year of the German war, were the motives which induced me to attempt the following calculation; as also that the fucceeding ones, fo precifely correfponding with the explanations in the effay, have now fully refolved my doubts, concerning the propriety of this publication. INTRO |