"flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood "thereof," Gen. ix. 4; but if poured out, is death; if mingled with any thing of inferior quality, it partakes of that quality, and is either death, or corruption: here it is poured out with hail and fire, destruction and persecution, and is consequently death; and it is cast upon the earth, or the church.

I see no reason with the Dean to confine the persecution to the Jewish converts, arising from the unconverted Jews; it seems to me to be more general; and to signify the persecutions which fell upon the pure primitive church, whether proceeding from the Jews or Gentiles : the land or earth is used in other places to signify the church in general, and if it is to be here confined, it is a solitary instance.

The trees are those who are well rooted in the soil, and the grass, who have little or no root: " And he shall be like a tree planted by " the rivers of water," Ps. i. 3. "Let them be "even as grass growing upon the house-tops, "which withereth afore it be plucked up," Ps. cxxix. 6. By these persecutions a considerable proportion of the primitive church, and the steady, eminent professors of pure Christianity, are to be destroyed; and all the grass, all those who for want of root in the times of temptation fall away.

A great mountain burning with fire:-a mountain is the seat of power, as mount Sinai, mount Sion, and Christ's kingdom, which is described as a mountain, Isa. ii. 23. It is the symbol then of power burning with persecuting zeal; cast into the sea. The sea, in opposition to the land or earth, the church of God, is the Gentile world: a third part of which became blood; a large proportion of Gentiles had indeed at this time received the word of life, the pure blood, but being mixed with the waters of heathenism, their Christianity was corrupt, in consequence of which a third part of the living creatures in the sea lost their spiritual life, and a third part of the ships, or churches, those who were more conspicuously eminent, who were raised above the surface of the waves, were destroyed or corrupted.

"And there fell a great star from heaven, " burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the "third part of the rivers, and upon the foun"tains of waters; and the name of the star is "called Wormwood: and the third part of the

The Basilicæ were built in the form of ships, viz. long and narrow. These were converted into the first Christian churches, whence most churches have since been built in this form. Churches then in prophetic language are called ships with singular propriety. Kennet, Part II. chap. 5. • Ver. 10, 11.

"waters became wormwood; and many men " died of the waters, because they were made " bitter d." A star is a minister of religion : fallen from heaven, is fallen from the truth: burning like a lamp, a few remaining rays of truth shining with a dim light: the rivers and fountains of waters, spiritual and scriptural doctrines: made bitter, perverted by tradition and false glosses: and many men died of the waters, died a spiritual death.

Now though I may grant that these trumpets might sound simultaneously, or that the commands for persecutions and corruptions might go forth at the same time, and that they did even affect the church together in some degree, yet I must contend, that their respective effects were principally felt by the church at different and particular periods; and I think that the symbols will warrant a more particular interpretation. Hail and fire mingled with blood, I have interpreted to mean destruction and persecution unto death; there are no marks here of corruption, and therefore the death here is temporal. This especial interpretation of the symbols will in this instance fix their direction to the pure and primitive church; I do not mean to say that there were no corruptions in

▲ Rev. i. 20. Dan. xii. 3. Mal. ii. 7.

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the primitive church; the contrary is the fact'; but they were during this period of little or no account; and this period extended from our Saviour's ministry to the year 175, or thereabouts.

The next set of symbols contains the burning mountain, and the sea, with blood, death, and destruction. In the burning mountain I think we are agreed; in the sea also, excepting that Dean Woodhouse opposes it to the Jewish converts only, whereas I put it in opposition to the whole Christian church; blood mingled with water, according to my interpretation, is corruption: "All the waters that were in the river " were turned to blood, and the Egyptians " could not drink of the water of the river;" why? because " it stank," or was corrupt. Thus the Gentile world received the words of life which were sown amongst them by the power of the sword; but being mixed with the Pagan waters of superstition and philosophy, the fruit produced was corrupt. In consequence of this corruption of the sea, a third part of the living creatures in the sea died, that is, a spiritual death; and in consequence of the false and fiery zeal of the burning mountain, a third part of the ships were destroyed, or suffered by persecu

• Exod. ix. 20, 21.

tion a temporal death. Thus persecution and corruption went hand in hand to the detriment of the church. I must therefore, as I think I am fully justified in so doing, place the effects of this trumpet between the year 175 and the subversion of the Roman empire, when the mountain had burnt itself out, or rather when the fire was smothered for a time. From hence it appears that this burning mountain represents the power of a corrupt church bearing sway under the banners of imperial tyranny.

In the symbols of the third trumpet there is but little difference between the Dean and myself. I have indeed made the fallen star more particularly applicable than he has done; but there is one expression which he has not noticed, and which in my mind, when rightly understood, gives a particular application to the whole trumpet. It is observable, that under the first and second trumpets, the term of a third part, whatever proportion that may be understood to mean, is applied to the sufferers; a considerable proportion no doubt, but by no means all, or nearly all. Under this trumpet the expression is varied, and it is, many men shall die. Now the word many in its lowest

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Matt. xx. 28; xxvi. 28. Mark x. 45; xiv. 24. Rom. v. 15; viii. 29; xii. 5. 1 Cor. x. 17, 33. Heb. ix. 28.