THE struggle between truth and error has always been a bitter one. No great light has ever shone upon the earth for which the archenemy has not had a counterfeit, containing enough of the truth to make it palatable to those whose taste for spiritual food is not the keenest; and yet, with all this, God has used these very deceptions, to reveal the greatness of His love. The student of prophecy should bear in mind that before John was allowed to hear the trumpets, Christ was presented as full of righteousness.

God plans from eternity; and while Satan worked hard for the utter destruction of all things, yet the guiding hand of Jehovah still controlled affairs; and preceding the setting up of the papacy, the eye of the Infinite One saw those who would give the last message to the world and see the triumph of truth. Thus when the "mystery of iniquity" thought to reign supreme, it found that the seed of truth, which would inevitably cause its overthrow, had already been planted by God, in the Western Empire.

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Events which took place in the eastern third of the world, and which finally centered about Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Empire, show, with equal clearness, the wonderful foresight and wisdom of the Saviour. Satan may be rich in resources, but the God of heaven knows a thousand ways to thwart his every scheme. The history of the fifth trumpet is another exemplification of this fact.

The barbarian hordes had spent their strength in the overthrow of the Western Empire, and had, in the course of a few years, laid aside their savage ways, and assumed the manners of the conquered people with whom they lived. But the Eastern Empire was as full of weakness and pollution as the Western, and its downfall was just as certain, although it came in an entirely different way. "The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit." The north of Asia had sent forth its hordes of barbarians, who passed like waves of the sea over the entire continent of Europe, even to the British Isles. From the central portion of western Asia, the Gospel was spread as the life and light of all mankind.

Near the close of the sixth century there was born in Mecca, of the princes of Arabia, a man who claimed direct descent from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. This man was Mohammed, the son of Abdallah, and the founder of a faith, which, to-day has many thousand adherents.

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"Arabia," says Gibbon, "was free; the adjacent kingdoms were shaken by the storms of conquest and tyranny, and persecuted sects fled to the happy land where they might profess what they believed, and practice what they professed." In Arabia were gathered, at this time, Christians, Jews, Persian fireworshipers, and representatives of all sects and beliefs.

Mohammed was acquainted with them all as he mingled in the thoroughfares of Mecca, and in his journeys to Damascus, and seaports of Syria.

Mohammed was of a serious mind, and it was his custom to retire one month each year to a cave, a few miles from Mecca, where he gave himself to fasting and prayer. On his return from one of these seasons of seclusion he announced his belief in one God, and that Mohammed was the prophet of God. This was the beginning of Islamism. The prophet first taught in his own family, and gradually gained a number of converts. His flight, from Mecca, called the Hegira, [A.D.622] is the era of his glory, and the date from which the Mohammdeans compute their time. In opposition to the forms and ceremonies of the numerous worshipers who congregated at Mecca, and to the professed Christians who revered the images of saints and martyrs, the simple principles of the new religious leader called for prayer, fasting, and alms. Five times a day, his followers all over the world turn their eyes toward Mecca, and lift their hearts in prayer.

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Paradise, where the pleasures of this life are enjoyed in an exaggerated form throughout eternity, is the reward held out to the faithful. Wherever the followers of Mohammed met the foreigner, there was a single rule of action. “Confess," said the Mussulman, "that there is but one God, and that Mohammed is His prophet; pay tribute, or choose death." The atoning blood of Christ was spurned. Jesus was a prophet, they thought; but He, like Moses, was inferior to Mohammed. The Bible of the Christians was replaced by the Koran. True, the simple faith and austere practices of the Mohammedans were, to all outward appearances, a reform over the apostasy of the Greek Catholics; but in the rejection of Christ, the Mohammedan had nothing in which to place his faith, save in his own ability to obtain righteousness by works. So while the papacy was exalting man in the West, and perfecting its system of selfrighteousness, the new religion of the East was propagating, under another name, the same device of the devil to destroy the souls of men.

The Arabs, or the Saracens, had never exercised any influence in the earth. In the history of nations, these free men of the desert had passed with scarcely a notice. Mohammedanism united the scattered tribes, and sent them forth as the conquerors of nations. The rapid progress which attended the Saracen arms was due, in great measure, to the strife between the Romans and Chosroes, the head of the modern Persian Empire. This strife resulted in the fall of the latter.

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Modern Persia had stood as a barrier wall, keeping in check the power of Mohammed; but when that power fell, the barrier was gone, the "bottomless pit" opened, and the Saracens deluged the world. When the "bottomless pit" was opened, there arose a smoke which hid the face of the sun. The figure is a strong one, representing the darkening effect of Mohammedanism, as it spread over the face of the earth.

This same characteristic is emphasized in the symbols used throughout the history. "There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth." The Saracens themselves are called locusts by the prophet John, and the doctrine which impelled their actions was as a dense smoke, issuing out of a furnace. The work of these locust-like warriors is described in the eighth plague, sent upon the land of Egypt in the days when Pharaoh refused to let Israel go. "I will bring the locusts into thy coast: and they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, ... and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians."

The wisdom of Solomon led him to say, "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands." In using this one figure the divine historian tells the whole story of the Saracen conquest. There was no king, there was no organized government; but there was one common faith which bound the hordes of Arabia to their caliph. When Mohammed first advocated his doctrine, he gained adherents by the power of argument; but this process soon became too slow for his ambition, and arms were taken to defend and extend the territory of the new religion.

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In the course of a few years, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa and Spain had been conquered by Saracen arms. It was in 632 that Caled, the lieutenant of the first caliph, began the conquest of Persia. His efforts were crowned with victory. To every man was offered death, or the acceptance of the Mohammedan doctrine. With the sword above their heads, multitudes thanked God for Mohammed, His prophet.

When the tribes of Arabia were gathered for the conquest of Syria, the caliph Abubeker instructed the chiefs of the army as follows: "When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm trees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. ... As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way; let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries: and you will find another sort of people that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mohammedan or pay tribute."

It would seem that God put a spirit of gentleness into the hearts of these warriors toward those Christians, who, in the solitudes of Syria, were keeping the law of God; but the tonsured priests and monks were to be slain without mercy, unless they accepted the faith of Mohammed and paid tribute.

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Syria was soon wholly in the hands of the Saracens.

In 638 the conquest of Egypt was begun. The conquest of Africa, from the Nile to the Atlantic, was attempted by the caliph Othman in 647; but the Moors were not conquered until the beginning of the next century, and then the Moslem faith was accepted from Syria to the Straits of Gibraltar. In 711 the Arabs crossed these straits into Spain, and the horn of the Crescent, the Moslem standard, reached the Pyrenees. Thus the power of their arms was extended. They had hoped to encircle the Mediterranean, and, having driven out the papacy, to seat Mohammedanism in place of Christianity in the City of Seven Hills. But in 732 A.D., the onward progress of the Saracens was checked by Charles Martel, in the battle of Tours, in France, and relinquishing the hope of gaining Europe on the west, the Mohammedans retreated into Spain. Here they established schools, and by the cultivation of the arts and sciences, won, by the intellect, what they had failed to gain by the sword. It was from Toledo, Salerno, and other Spanish centers of learning, that the light of scientific knowledge shone into the darkness of Europe during the Middle Ages, and acted its part in breaking the strength of the papacy at the dawn of the Reformation.

This is the history of the Saracens as they marched south and west. They gradually lost their warlike characteristics, and conquered by the power of the intellect.

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The attacks on the Eastern Empire were of a different character. The constant pressure and oft-repeated assaults of the Saracens led men to wish for death. To the Saracens who fell in battle was given the sure promise of a life in paradise. This made them unmindful of death, and especially in the East the Saracens stung men with their false doctrines, and tormented them by repeated attacks.

Only forty-six years after the flight of Mohammed from Mecca, (A.D. 668), the Saracen army appeared under the walls of Constantinople. They were especially anxious to gain possession of this center of wealth and commerce, and there was a saying among the followers of the prophet, that the first army which besieged the city should have its sins forgiven. With this inducement ever before them, the troops landed and formed the siege. But they had underestimated the strength of the fortress, and were dismayed by the use of fire, recently introduced into Grecian warfare. On the approach of winter, they retreated; but for six summers, in succession, the siege was carried on without success. Finally in 677 a thirty years' truce was signed by the Greeks and Saracens at Damascus.

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During the years 716 and 718 a Saracen army again overran Asia Minor, crossed the Hellespont, and for the first time, landed on European soil. History states, that the general stood at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand Arabs and Persians, and that one thousand eight hundred ships approached the Bosporus, both armies intending to attack the capital at the same moment. The citizens of Constantinople loaded ships with combustibles, sent these into the midst of the fleet of the enemy, and the Arabs with their arms and vessels were consumed by the flames or the waves. The following winter was unusually severe, and this, together with the aid rendered the Greeks by an army of Bulgarians, and the report of still stronger forces who were arming in the West, made it advisable to give up, this second attempt, to capture Constantinople. These were the "locusts" that spread over the face of the earth. Like the insect from which they are named, they devoured everything that came in their way, and stung men as a scorpion stings with its tail.

The failure of the Arabs to capture Constantinople during these years was due to the absence of a centralized government; for the Saracens were still controlled by caliphs; and jealousy had led to the elevation of several leaders, each faction having its following. They went, as Solomon said of the locusts, in bands without a king. The dash of the Arab cavalry is proverbial in history. Arabia is considered to be the home of the horse; and Gibbon says (chapter 50):

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"These horses are educated in the tents, among the children of the Arabs, with a tender familiarity, which trains them in the habits of gentleness and attachment. They are accustomed only to walk or to gallop; their sensations are not blunted by the incessant abuse of the spur and the whip; their powers are preserved for the moments of flight and pursuit; but no sooner do they feel the touch of the hand, or the stirrup, than they dart away with the swiftness of the wind; and if their friend be dismounted in the rapid career, they instantly stop till he has recovered his seat." Since so much of the success of these human locusts depended upon the steeds which they rode, it is not surprising that the prophet John saw them "like unto horses prepared unto battle;" and it is also not surprising to find that the tail of a horse was often used as an ensign by the Bedouin chiefs. The crown worn by the Arab, was the turban which was unfurled when Mohammed became prince of Medina, and "to assume which is proverbially to turn Mussulman." Personally the Arab is grave and dignified; "his speech is slow, weighty, and concise; he is seldom provoked to laughter, his only gesture is that of stroking his beard, the venerable symbol of manhood." Though they wore long hair, which to the European has the appearance of effeminacy, yet from the days of Ishmael, a tenderness mingled with the savage nature of the lion, seems to have characterized the men of the desert. Gibbon, in his graphic description of the Arab, nicely illustrates this fact in these words: "If a Bedouin discovers from afar a solitary traveler, he rides furiously against him, crying with a loud voice, 'Undress thyself, thy aunt [my wife] is without a garment.'

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A ready submission entitles him to mercy; resistance will provoke the aggressor, and his own blood must expiate the blood which he presumes to shed in legitimate defence. A single robber, or a few associates, are branded with their genuine name; but the exploits of a numerous band assume the character of a lawful and honorable war. The temper of a people thus armed against mankind, was doubly inflamed by the domestic license of rapine, murder, and revenge." The breastplates of iron, spoken of by John, refer to the cuirasses with which the soldiers were provided from the days of Mohammed.

Enough has been said to show the vividness of the prophetic description on the charge of the Arab cavalry, who were armed with scimitars, protected by cuirasses, and seated on horses swift as the wind.

"They had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name is ... Destroyer." This character might in truth be imputed to the Arab caliphs, who directed the armies for so many years after the death of Mohammed; but it is especially applicable to Othman, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. This, the first attempted centralization of government was the outgrowth of the doctrines of Mohammed. "Othman," says the historian, "possessed, and perhaps surpassed, the ordinary virtues of a soldier; and the circumstances of time and place were propitious to his independence and success." The close of the thirteenth century was near. The Crusades had thrust Europe against the Turks in a most reckless manner.

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Constantinople had numerous emperors, but the Greek government grew weaker, and the time of its destruction was stealthily approaching. "It was on July 27, A.D., 1299," says Gibbon, "that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster." More than human foresight recorded this date with such definiteness. To the prophet on Patmos, it had been revealed that "their power was to hurt men five months."

Five prophetic months is the equivalent of one hundred and fifty literal years, one day meaning a year, and counting thirty days to the month, since the exact day for the beginning of this power is given, the expiration of the five months may be reckoned to the day. It closed July 27, 1449. It is these dates which enable the student of the trumpets, to locate the events which take place under each trumpet. These dates are "nails in a sure place" for both the first and the second woe.

To show that in 1299 power was given "to hurt men five months" we have the testimony of historians. After speaking of the invasion by Othman of Nicomedia, which was the eastern frontier of the Greek Empire, Gibbon continues: "The annals of the twenty-seven years of his reign would exhibit a repetition of the same inroads; and his hereditary troops were multiplied in each campaign by the accession of captives and volunteers." The successors of Othman, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, each pushed his conquests nearer to the coveted seat of power.

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A regular standing army of twenty-five thousand Moslems was organized by the son of Othman. Asia Minor was completely in his hands, and the seven churches referred to in the first chapter of Revelation were desecrated by the religion of Mohammed. So near was the Turkish rule to the throne that in 1346 Orchan, the successor of Othman, demanded and obtained, as a wife, the daughter of the Greek emperor, and the princess left her home in Constantinople to live in the harem of the Turk. Between 1360 and 1389, the third sovereign of the Turks, conquered Thrace, and fixed the capital of his empire and his religion at Adrianople, almost within the shadow of Constantinople. Never before had the Greek Empire been surrounded on all sides by the foe. The fourth king, Bajazet by name, was surnamed Ilderim, or "the lightning," because of the fiery energy of his soul, and the rapidity of his destructive marches. Constantinople was sorely pressed, and were not the hand of God recognized, the fact that the downfall was delayed for another fifty years might seem a mere accident. Called to contend with a Scythian force from the East, the Turks were obliged to postpone activities in Greece for a number of years. The Byzantine court, instead of profiting by the imminent danger, grew weaker.

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The one hundred and fifty years of torment, not destruction, was about to close. "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." The restraining hand of God had held contending forces in check, waiting, waiting, until the extreme limit of time, for men to acknowledge the righteousness of Jehovah. But at the sounding of the sixth trumpet a voice was heard from the four horns of the altar, -- the altar before which Christ offers the prayers of saints, -- saying, "Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates." During the one hundred and fifty years, the Turks had power to torment, but when their armies seemed on the very verge of victory over the Greek Empire, their force was abated by troubles from the regions of the Euphrates. (See Gibbon, Chap. 65). The time was coming when they would not only torment, but kill. In 1448 the death of John Palaeologus left the throne of Constantinople in a weak and precarious condition. Constantine, his successor, could claim no territory beyond the limits of the city, and the throne was already held by virtue of the grace of Amurath, the Turkish ruler. The gracious approbation of the Turkish sultan announced the supremacy of Constantine, and the approaching downfall of the Eastern Empire. The Turkish power had been bound, in a measure, by Rome; for as long as Rome held Constantinople, the Saracen power was limited in the East. When the sultan dictated to Rome, then, were fulfilled the words, "Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates." These words seem especially to refer to Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo and Iconium, -- four sultanies bordering on the region of the Euphrates.

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No power could now resist, and the Moslem ruler soon gained the long coveted fortress on the Bosporus. The death of Amurath in 1451, and the succession of Mohammed II., a wily man full of ambition and restless of restraint, did not retard the conquest. Mohammed's one design was to capture Constantinople. "Peace was on his lips but war was in his heart," and every energy was bent toward the accomplishment of this design. At midnight he once started from his bed, and demanded the immediate attendance of his prime vizier. The man came trembling, fearing the detection of some previous crime. He made his offering to the sultan, but was met with the words, "I ask a present far more valuable and important, -- Constantinople." Mohammed II, tested the loyalty of his soldiers, warned his ministers against the bribery of the Romans, studied the art of war and the use of firearms. He engaged the services of a founder of cannon, who promised weapons that could batter down the walls of the city. In April, 1453, the memorable siege was formed. At the sound of the war trumpet, the forces of Mohammed II, were increased by swarms of fearless fanatics until, as Phranza has said, the besieging army numbered two hundred and fifty-eight thousand. Constantinople fell; the last vestige of Roman greatness was gone, and the Moslem conquerors trampled the religion of Rome in the dust. This memorable event affected all future history. The fall shocked Europe; and the convulsions had not passed, before the light of the Reformation broke the darkness which shrouded the Western Empire.

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While the smoke from the "bottomless pit" was settling over the East, streaks of light heralded a coming dawn in the nations of Europe.

The characteristics, given by the prophet in describing the Turkish forces under the second woe, are similar to the description of the cavalry who fought for Mohammed under the first woe. The breastplate of iron and the scimitar of the Saracens, had been replaced by the firearms of the Turks, but the fury of the charge in the fifteenth century had lost none of the terrors of those earlier horsemen. fire, smoke, and brimstone issued from the mouths of these warriors. The discharge of the firearms, as seen by the prophet in vision, appeared like fire issuing from the mouths of the horses. The power was also in their tail. Isaiah says, "The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail." Their military valor was one thing in favor of the Turks; the unity of the faith of Mohammed and the zeal inspired by that prophet to kill the "infidels" (Christians), was a factor equally as potent.

The power which came on the stage of action July 27, 1449, was to bear sway for an hour and a day and a month and a year, -- three hundred ninety-one years and fifteen days, literally speaking.

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This is a wonderful prophecy, the only one in the Bible where the time of the fulfillment is given to the very day. At the end of this period, Turkey would cease to be an independent power. Three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days from July 27, 1449, brings us to August 11: 1840. There are four great waymarks in the world's history connected with Constantinople. First, when it was founded in 330 A.D. second, its capture by the Turks July 27, 1449; third, when the sultan of Turkey signed away his independence August 11, 1840. There is no date given for the fourth great waymark; namely, when the capital of Turkey will be removed from Constantinople to Jerusalem "between the seas in the glorious holy mountain."

In 1838 Josiah Litch and William Miller, after a careful study of the prophecies, came to the conclusion that on this last date nations might expect to see the Turkish sultan surrender his power. This prophecy was published to the world, but there were events transpiring which also called the attention of nations to Constantinople. The sultan of Turkey and Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt, were at war, the pasha refusing an indemnity demanded by the ruler of Turkey. In 1839 the pasha was victorious in battle over the Turkish army, and he sent another force under command of his son into Syria and Asia Minor, and threatened to carry his victorious arms against Constantinople. At this juncture, England, Austria, Prussia and Russia, combined in the demand that the pasha should confine himself to Syria and Egypt. A council of these four powers was held July 15, 1840. The ruler of Turkey agreed to abide by their decision, and was only too glad to have his life saved by their intervention.

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He thereby voluntarily surrendered all rights into the hands of the combined forces of Western Europe. In the official document drawn up by the representatives of the nations concerned, are these words: "It having been felt that all the zealous labors of the conferences of London in the settlement of the pasha's pretensions were useless, and that the only public way was to have recourse to coercive measures to reduce him to obedience in case he persisted in not listening to pacific overtures, the powers have, together with the Ottoman plenipotentiary, drawn up and signed a treaty whereby the sultan offers the pasha the hereditary government of Egypt, ... the pasha, on his part, evacuating all other parts of the sultan's dominions now occupied by him and returning the Ottoman fleet. ... If the pasha refuses to accede to them, it is evident that the evil consequences to fall upon him will be attributable solely to his own fault."

This treaty was signed, and the ultimatum was officially put in the power of Mehemet Ali on August 11, 1840. Since that time Turkey has been known everywhere as the "Sick Man of the East." Daniel prophesied concerning him, saying, "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." At any moment, when the jealous powers of Europe can decide, either peaceably, or in battle, which one of them shall occupy Constantinople, the "Sick Man' will speedily take his departure from Europe. That movement, for which nations are now on the alert, will be the sign of still more important changes in the heavenly court.

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The importance of the prophecy, and the exactness with when which it was fulfilled, to the very day, should lead to a careful investigation of that divine history, which circles about the years 1840 to 1844. Its study will lead men to look for changes in the heavens as well as upon earth; for when the capital of Turkey is removed to Palestine, then Christ, finishing His work in the sanctuary, throws His censer on the earth as a signal for the final dissolution of all things.

The closing words of the ninth chapter are a sad commentary on the condition of the world, and although the revelation of Jesus Christ is given in the Word, in nature, and may be read in the revelation of nations to each other, yet "the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood. ... Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."

As the end draws near iniquity waxes greater. The fall of nations has ever been used as a symbol of the final destruction of the earth. Men see these things and yet continue in their idolatry, their theft, and their fornication. How precious in the sight of the Lord is that little company who by faith see Jesus, and following Him in His work above, reflect His character to the world! The faithful ones are to-day being sealed; for we are nearing the close of time, and eternity will soon open to the redeemed.

MARGINAL REFERENCES

Page 161; Rev. 12:7; Heb. 12:4; Luke 2:32; Matt. 24:24; 2Cor. 11:14, 15; 2Thess. 2:10-12; Prov. 4:18, 19; Rev. 8:3; Matt. 22:11, 12; Rom. 4:5-7; Matt. 6:22, 23; Mark 4:4, 14; Psa. 19:4; Rom. 10:18; Rom. 1:19, 20; Acts 13:47; Isa. 49:6.

Page 162; 2Kings 19:28; Isa. 37:29; Matt. 8:11; John 6:64; Isa. 37:26-29; 2Pet. 2:19; Jer. 24:9, 10; Rev. 9:1; Eze. 26:20; Eze. 39:2-4; Isa. 62:1, 2; Isa. 1:23.

Page 163; Psa. 106:35-42; Eze. 14:4-10.

Page 164; Isa. 59:3-8; Isa. 58:3-7; 1Kings 22:21, 22.

Page 165; Rev. 9:2; Rev. 9:3; Ex. 10:12-15; Psa. 78:46; Psa. 105:34; Prov. 30:27; Judges 17:6.

Page 166; Micah 3:4-7; Deut. 30:19; Rev. 9:4; Isa. 54:17.

Page 167; Prov. 16:7; Acts 5:36-38; Hos. 10:4; Hos. 13:15.

Page 168; Psa. 55:9-11; Psa. 58:4; Psa. 140:3; Job 3:21,22; 1Tim. 6:10; Psa. 147:17; Prov. 20:21.

Page 169; Eze. 25:4; Nahum 3:17; Deut. 28:38; Prov. 15:22; 1Sam. 8:19, 20.

Page 170; Hab. 1:8; Zech. 10:3; Jer. 8:6; Prov. 21:31; Rev. 9:5-10; Prov. 18:21; 1Cor. 11:14; Gen. 16:12.

Page 171; Luke 6:29, 30; Prov. 17:11; Prov. 18:24; Jer. 46:3, 4; Rev. 9;17; Job 41:34; Job 29:25.

Page 172; Isa. 21:17; Isa. 45:21; Num. 14:34; July 27, 1299 plus 150 years = July 27, 1449.; Ezra 9:8; Isa. 46:11; Hosea 10:13.

Page 173; Dan. 11:41-43; Luke 10:18; Matt. 24:35; Matt. 18:34.

Page 174; Rev. 9:12; Gen. 15:16; Rev. 8:3; Job 14:4-6; Job18:7-10; Rev. 9:13, 14.

Page 175; Eccl. 4:1; Psa. 92:10; Eccl. 3:16; Eccl. 5:3; Eccl. 7:29; Dan. 2:40, 41; Eze. 21:26, 27; Rev. 9:15-17.

Page 176; Rev. 9:18, 19; Job 39:19-25; Explanation of Rev. 9:15; I have appointed thee each day for a year. Eze. 4:6; one prophetic day=1year, or 360 literal days. One prophetic hour=1\24 of 360 days, or 15 days. One prophetic day=one literal year. One prophetic month=30 literal years. One prophetic year=360 literal years. 360 years plus 30 years plus one year=391 years. Total 391 years and 15 days; July 27, 1449, plus 391 years, 15 days=Aug. 11, 1840.

Page 177; FOUR WAYMARKS IN THE HISTORY OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 1st. The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Rev. 13:2; 2nd. Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. Rev. 9:14; 3rd. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year. Rev. 9:15; 4th. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. Dan. 11:45.; Isa. 48:3-6; Psa. 107:43; Amos 3:10, 11.

Page 178; Obad. 7; Psa. 7:16; Dan. 11:45; Dan. 11:45; 12:1; Rev. 7:1; Luke 21:25-27.

Page 179; 1Pet. 3:15; Rev. 8:5; John 15:5; Isa. 5:12; Rev. 9:20, 21; 2Tim. 3:13; Mal. 3:17; Eze. 9:4.