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for that predicted great battle-day of the Lord's vengeance, which He has appointed, and revealed for the total overthrow of all those confederate systems of antiChristian opposition; that the earth may be cleansed from their corrupting influence; and the way be prepared, for all surviving nations of the earth, to embrace the religion of the HOLY Bible.

The Scriptures abound with predictions of a dreadful day of the Lord's vengeance, when all the combined enemies of his truth shall be overthrown. Daniel saw the day in vision, thus: "I beheld, till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit,—the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." The angel explained this to be "The last end of the indignation," which would “be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there was a nation, even to that same time." Isaiah spake of it, emphatically, as "The day of the Lord's vengeance." Alluding to that day, our Saviour said, "There shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to that time; no, nor ever shall be.' Such are among the numerous Bible predictions of the great battle-day of the Lord, when the seventh, and last woe trumpet of the angel of God shall be sounded; and the seventh vial of the last plagues shall be poured out into the air by an angel from heaven, as the signal for battle when the anti-Christian powers of earth combined shall have gathered themselves together, and formed their line of battle against the God of the Bible, and against his truth. Then shall they fall into perdition before the sword of his truth, which goeth forth out of his mouth, to slay his enemies.

As this great battle-day is still future, all we are permitted to know about the time and circumstances of it, can be learned only from the nature and author

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THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS,

ity of the predictions, which will be considered in their proper place. The subject, at present before us, is to consider facts which have already come to pass, evidently, before the eyes of the present generation: viz., that the combined powers of Antichrist, in fulfilment of Bible predictions, have been, and still are engaged in preparing the nations of the earth for that great battle-day of the Lord.

John the Revelator describes the preparation which the powers of Antichrist are making for the battle of the great day, in his vision of Three unclean spirits. "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."-[Rev. xvi. 13, 14.]

In this prediction are comprised the emblematical designations, relating to the number, nature, origin, general character, and preparatory operations, of the confederate powers of Antichrist. The emblems of the number of anti-Christian powers, combined, were "three." "I saw three unclean spirits." Their natures were superlatively wicked; for uncleanness is always characteristical of abominable wickedness. The three spirits which John saw were "unclean." Moreover, they were prophetically represented as being “like frogs." Frogs are well known, croaking animals, amphibious in their nature, living both in air and water. They were multiplied into a peculiar judgment on Pharaoh and the Egyptians, covering the land of Egypt, filling the houses, beds, and kneading-troughs with animals, whose discordant voices in unanimous efforts to chant forth the uncultivated music of nature,

WHY THEY ARE LIKE FROGS.

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must have deafened human beings to a frightful state of horror and anxiety, even to desperation.

In accordance with this emblem, the confederate powers of Antichrist would be of a nature that can subsist in the heterogeneous elements of a mere profession of all the existing religions of the world; even to that of a profession of Bible religion, after the sovereignty of God, the divinity of Christ, the depravity of man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, salvation by grace, and liability to suffer endless punishment for sin, are philosophically explained out of it; and its ordinances multiplied and converted into innumerable traditional ceremonies of masquerade and affected pomposity. Or, they can subsist in the element which renounces all the religions of the world as contemptible priestcraft, that even profess to be founded on the Bible, or acknowledge the existence of the God of the Bible; and, if possible, croak the whole world out of the belief of any other religion than that which is emblematically represented by the natural music of the frogs, the Religion of Nature, founded on self-exaltation, unrestrained sensuality, and unmolested libertinism. Such are the combined powers of Antichrist. “Three unclean spirits like frogs." The number" three" is their generical trunk, comprising many branches of the same nature. Uncleanness is the emblem of their moral character. Croaking frogs are the prophetic symbols of their boasted, illuminated, noisy, incoherent, heterogeneous Religion of Sensuality.

But from whence came those spirits of Antichrist? What is their origin? What is their business on earth? And whither are they bound? One of them was seen to "come out of the mouth of the dragon!" The dragon is the devil. [See Rev. xii. 9.] "And

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INFIDELITY ALLIED WITH POPERY.

the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world."

The spirit which came out of the mouth of the dragon, was doubtless INFIDELITY, the last on the stage of time, but the first in qualification, "duly and truly prepared" for the office of GENERALISSIMO of all the combined forces of Antichrist. This mighty Infidel power (comprising ATHEISM in all possible degrees of knowledge and practicability, thus qualified by the philosophy of Illuminism to proclaim war with Almighty God, and lead on the hosts of Antichrist to the last, great, decisive battle, when due preparation should be made,) was prophetically known and emblematically described by a scarlet-colored beast, full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns, ascended out of the bottomless pit, (i. e. out of the mouth of the dragon,) and is the healed head that was once wounded to death; the eighth, and of the seven; with Lady Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth, drunken with the blood of saints and martyrs of Jesus, with her cup of abomination in her hand, mounted on the back of the beastly Infidel, Atheistical Power, which was posting her along as an invalid allied confederate, toward the battle-field of the great day which was to decide whether Almighty God or Antichrist should possess the dominion, and have the government of the world. Such preeminence belongs to ATHEISTICAL INFIDELITY.

The next unclean spirit like a frog, emblematically representing another confederate power of Antichrist, was prophetically seen to "come out of the mouth of the Beast." The BEAST, which emitted from its mouth this unclean spirit, we are to understand to be the emblem of the ancient Heathen Roman Empire which Daniel prophetically described by the emblem

POPERY ONE OF THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS.

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of the fourth great beast of seven heads and ten horns, among which a little horn came up and arose to power. This great Empire commenced existence long before the birth of Christ; was the ruling power of earth when Christ was born; and so continued in possession of the great balance of national power, till the fourth century, when its Imperial head, or form of persecuting government was wounded to death by the Revolution of the Roman Empire under Constantine, both in regard to religion and civil government. Subsequent to this event, Popéry arose from small beginnings, and progressed and flourished till it attained to the supreme authority of both Church and State. In this sense the origin of Popery was emblematically predicted by John the Revelator, in his description of an unclean spirit coming out of the mouth of the beast, the same beast which he had described in the thirteenth chapter of Revelations, [v. 1-8,] having seven heads and ten horns; with one head wounded to death and afterwards healed; having power "to continue forty and two months;" i. e. after his head was healed, it would have power given (by the "dragon, which gave him his power, and seat, and great authority,") to continue till the expiration of the notable 1260 years, thus: 42mo. + 30days = 1260 days of years.

Hence Popery is to be understood as the “unclean spirit" which emblematically was seen to come out of the mouth of (i. e. originate from) the old heathen Roman Empire as its legitimate offspring; and when matured became a beast itself, bearing the image and likeness of persecuting Rome under heathen emperors.

This unclean spirit like a frog, it appears, by a combination of the sexes, was hermaphrodite, being both masculine and feminine. In the civil government of

* Vid. Revelation xiii. 11-18.