Star. — 1808-04-16 (London, England)

THE PROPHECIES. NUMBER V.  TAE SECOND SEAL. " When he had opened the second seal f Reti. 4i. S.) there went out another horse that was red, and power wai given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth; and that they should kill one another : and there was given unto him a great sword." From this passage, compared with the subseqUebt parts of this book, we learn two factsrirsi, that the; sword of persecution should be drawn against the ad; herents of itn, who has gone forth ronqutrint and to conquer. The horse was red, the emblem of bloodshed —Second, that those, who should be agreed in op; posing the truth, should yet become the prey of dissension, and destroy one another. How truly the first hath been verified, has been se amply detailed by almost eery commentator and ecclesiastical historian, that it is unnecessary to &ell upon it in this place. It will be sufficient to state, that no less than ten persecutions were carried on against the Christians before the overthrow of paganitin in the Roman Empire. It may, however, be Observed, that all of these together are not to be cm. pared with the persecution afterwards carried On by men Who had the audacity to call themselves Christians, against the subjects of dttaisragainst all whe; considering him as the only Lord and Law-giver in his Kingdom; refused to yield obedience to the man; dates amen in matters pertaining to the conscience. Of this I shall be obliged to speak hereafter. The other fact pointed out by the opening of the second seal has been as completely verified. NO sooner tvas a period set to the pagan persecutions, and protection given by Constantine to Churchmen, than they Mewed the same lint of conduct that had been pursued by the Priests, who had been estah;fished before them. That party, which could gain the ear of authority, never failed to call for the sworn of the civil power to destroy heretics—that is, every one who would not submit to theM ; and when the Weaker party, by a change of circumctanteS at any time, came into favour, they followed exactly the same course against their former oppressors. If we look into any Ecclesiastical History, We meet with nothing but disgusting narrations of outrages, excited by a lust of doniinion, carried on by deceit and fraud, and accompanied with murder; desolation and war ! The never-failing pretext for every otitrage was a zeal for the true worship, and the opprobrious ap. pellations bestowed upon those who alternately became the victims of each others malice, furnish a mass of jargon which can be compared to nothing but the Confusion Of tongues at Babel: The work of the rider on the red horse, Which has not yet ceased, began when the Jews and Romans for Med a combination against the Loan and his Cnnxsr (Psalm ii.) and slew the man child brought forth by the Church wit°, notwithstanding, shall rule all nations, hailing been raught up unto GOD and to his throne (Rev: ). The war and strife, that have prevailed :among Tfittencied Christians, only tend to 'Wily the words of Omer "He that taketh the iwsrd ihall 'tenth with the sword," (Mat. xxvi. 52.) He that leadok into eapkity ihall go into captivity 10). The Weapons of warfare" to be entployed in HIS kingdom " are not carnal, but," 41 gyhtg,grate ton, to the pulling down of strong holds, elating down imaginations and every high thing that estaiteth itself against the knowledge of GOD, and bringing fat* captivity every thought to the obedience of Cilltp.r,"— (2 Cor. x. 4,) who' übdues his people by the power of truth, making them such willing subjects that they rryoice when counted worthy to seer shame for his name, (Acts v. 4.1), and teke pleasure in itereeemeione for his sake. (2 Cor. xii. 10). _ _ .  By the opening of the second seal, then, ut are in.structed, that though the mighty one, svho hath gone forth; shall subdue his enemies, 'and give the kingdom and dominion under the whole heaven to the saints of the Most High, (Dan. vii. 27); yet •it was hot intended that this should take place at the first coming of TnE MrssrAti, at the expiration of certain determined weeks, (Dan. ix. 25).—For ten fangs Were fil-st to arise, (Dan. vii. 24) who yet had received no kingdom, (Rev. xvii. 12), and after them another mighty king, different from them ; not mighty by his own power (Dan. viii. 24), but by power and strength conferred on him by the ten kings, who were to unite with him in making war against