THE END OF PAPAL DOMINION

Daniel says, (7:26,) “And they (the ten horns, or kings) shall take away his (the pope’s) dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” Who, I ask, can be so ignorant as not to know, that the power or dominion of the pope was taken away in the year 1798? Two hundred and ten years before, or “seven months” in prophecy, England had broken off the yoke of papacy, and some of the German states had joined England in the protestant declaration of rights, against the catholic league: but for the year 1798 was reserved the final stroke, which broke the last link of papal dominion over the kings of the earth, and a consumption was fastened upon papacy which has caused them who worship the beast, to gnaw their tongues with pain. (See the letters of the pope to the priests, of late date.)DTIS 37.1

Paul says, (2 Thessalonians 2:8,) “Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth (preaching of the gospel) and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Surely no one can deny, but that the gospel, as it has been preached for more than forty years, has produced a consumption on papacy, and has fulfilled this part of Paul’s prophecy to the very letter. Even the pope himself is our witness.DTIS 38.1

John says, (Revelation 13:9, 10,) “If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” It is evident that the prophet is here telling every man, who is not a bigot, or prejudiced against the truth who has an ear to hear, how this power would come to its end, of forty-two months, spoken of in the fifth verse. As he would lead into captivity the kings and their subjects during the forty-two months, so, in the end, would they, the kings and their subjects, lead this power into captivity. This was literally fulfilled in 1798. The pope was taken from his throne on the 15th day of February 1798, and by the French army made a captive, and kept a prisoner until 1799, when he died in captivity, in France. This power had wielded the sword of his civil authority over the kingdoms and states of Europe for many centuries, and had pulled down and set up at his will, and by the power of his armies had destroyed kings and their subjects. He now must be killed in like manner. When the twelve hundred and sixty years should be finished, his power would be killed, or taken away by armies, or by the authority of the kings. And sure enough, when the twelve hundred and sixty years had come to their end, behold, the power which the pope had exercised over others was now exercised over him, and he became a dependant on the breath of Bonaparte for his mere nominal existence as a bishop of the church of Rome.DTIS 38.2

“Here is the patience.” Paul had told the brethren not to be troubled as that the day of Christ was at hand. 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” This is the same power of which we have been speaking, which Paul tells us would precede the coming of Christ; and would make war with the saints, a time, times, and a half, as Daniel says; and continue forty-two months, as John tells us. Therefore the saints were to have patience, to wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, until this man of sin should be led into captivity, and his power be destroyed by the sword of kings. This would try their patience, and when they would see these things take place their “faith” would teach them that they might look for his coming, even at the door. Therefore, when they see these things come to pass, the true saints will believe. “This is the patience and the faith of the saints.”DTIS 39.1

Again; John has another rule by which we may know when the end of this power will come. Revelation 17:16: “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”DTIS 40.1

The ten kings of the Roman kingdom, shall hate the false church of Rome, and shall make her desolate, by the means of separating from her communion, taking away her benefices and tithes, confiscating her property, and abolishing her laws and ordinances, and renouncing her power by which she had ruled over the kings of the earth. See the 18th verse: “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” This prophecy has been literally fulfilled; and yet how many, who pretend to be teachers in Zion, deny the fulfilment as soon as they will the prophecy itself; for they say we may understand prophecy when it is fulfilled. Yet who believes this, forty-three years after it has all been fulfilled? I am truly astonished at the unbelief and blindness of professed Christians at the present day. The same unbelief which was manifested at Christ’s first coming, is as much if not more visible in professors now than then.DTIS 40.2

Take heed; if God spared not the natural branches, how will he spare those who live in the gospel day?DTIS 41.1

Thus, then, has this little horn of Daniel come and strutted out its short space of time, times, and a half; but his dominion is taken away. And Paul’s “man of sin,” who was then in the future, has been revealed; he has wickedly exalted himself above all that is called God; he has set in the temple of God; has been showing himself that he was God; but his proud looks have been humbled, his high titles have come down, he is no more a god, and the hectic fever has bleached his cheek, and his consumptive voice shows him on his decline. How can we help believing?DTIS 41.2

But we have another mystery to explore, of the same time as the former; it is that, which by Paul is called the “mystery of iniquity,” which did already work. It is what Daniel calls the “daily sacrifice,” meaning the “daily abomination:” this, too, is to continue a time, times, and a half. SeeDTIS 41.3

Daniel 12:6, 7: “And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”DTIS 42.1

This power, which is to scatter the power of the holy people, is a different one, quite, from the one we have been attending to. This scatters; that wears out. This treads under foot; that makes war against the saints. This carries us to the end of all wonders; that only to the end of the power of mystical Babylon, over the kings of the earth. This alludes to literal Babylon and the kings of the earth; that to mystical Babylon and the power of the popes of Rome.DTIS 42.2

Again; in Revelation 11:2: “But the court which is without the temple leave out and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” This is the same twelve hundred and sixty years, as in the time, times, and an half; and alludes to the time the Gentile kings would scatter the holy people and rule over them. This was prophesied of by Moses, in the 26th chapter of Leviticus; see 33rd verse: “And I will scatter you among the heathen and will draw a sword out after you; and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste! Deuteronomy 4:27: “And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.” Many places might be brought to prove the scattering of the Jews, and now I will prove the scattering of the Christians. Matthew 26:31: “Smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” The high priest said, (John 11:51, 52,) “that Jesus should die for that nation, and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.” This proves the fact of the scattering of the holy people, who will be gathered when the Lord Jesus shall come in the clouds of heaven, and send out his angels and gather together his elect from the four winds of heaven. And then comes the question, How long to the end of these wonders? The answer was, “for a time, times, and a half: or forty-two months; three years and a half prophetic, which is twelve hundred and sixty years common time. We now wish to know when the scattering of the holy people began? Isaiah prophesied, in the year B.C. 742, that within sixty-five years Ephraim should be broken, and be not a people. Isaiah 7:8. Sixty-five years from that time, in the year B.C. 677, the ten tribes, including the tribe of Ephraim, were carried away, and were never afterwards known as a nation. The same year Manasseh, king of Judah, was carried in fetters to Babylon, and the power of Judah and Benjamin was broken, and the Gentiles exercised their authority over them, and the kings of Judah only reigned by sufferance, paying tribute to Babylon, or the kings of the earth, afterwards. See Lamentations 2:9: “Her gates are sunk into the ground: he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more: her prophets find no vision from the Lord.” We see, by this, that the power of the holy people was already scattered among the Gentiles when Jeremiah wrote his lamentations. But the same prophet has told us plainly when this scattering of the holy people began. Jeremiah 15:4: “I will cause them (my people, verse 7,) to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.” Here, then, the power of the holy people began to be scattered in the days of Manasseh.DTIS 42.3

Now if we can find a fulfilment of these things in the history of Manasseh, we cannot err. 2 Chronicles 33:9-11: “So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hear him; wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters and carried him to Babylon.” This captivity took place in the year before Christ, 677. (See chronology over this passage.)DTIS 44.1

If this is the time when the kings of the earth began to rule over Zion, and to scatter the power of the holy people for a time, times, and an half, or twelve hundred and sixty years, when will it end? I answer, — when all these things shall be finished. First, the kings exercised their authority 677 years before Christ, and 538 years after Christ; which 677 added to 538 makes up 1215 years only, which did not accomplish the scattering of the holy people, nor the treading under foot of the court forty-two months; or the twelve hundred and sixty years; and this is the reason why John was not to measure, because it would not be fulfilled until mystical Babylon should wear out the saints, and change times and laws, a time, times, and an half; for God hath put it into the hearts of these kings to fulfil his will, and to agree and give their kingdom unto the mystery of Babylon, or papal Rome, until the twelve hundred and sixty years of mystical Babylon should be fulfilled; which 1260 years added to 538, — when the kings became of one mind, converted to the orthodox faith, gave up their power to the bishop of Rome, and the power of papacy began, — will carry us down to the year A.D. 1798, when the kings again took their power, and will now accomplish the scattering of the holy people, by reigning from A.D. 1798 to 1843, which is 45 years; add which to 1215 which the kings had reigned, before mystical Babylon obtained the power, and we have twelve hundred and sixty years of the kings’ reign, scattering the holy people, treading under foot the sanctuary and host, which is properly the court, where the host stands waiting the return of our great High Priest, who will return to bless his people, in turning every one of them from their sins and their iniquities in Zion. There is no wonder, then, that the angel told Daniel 12:12, 13, “Blessed is he that waiteth (that is, on the Lord) and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days;” for then the High Priest of our profession will come out of his temple, from his holy place, to shake terribly the earth, to dash in pieces the kings and kingdoms of this world, as a potter’s vessel, to carry them away that no place on the earth shall be found for them. “But go thou thy way till the end be, for thou shalt rest, (die,) and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” Then all those who have waited on, and for the Lord, will have part in the first resurrection; “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” Then the sanctuary will be cleansed, and the place of his feet made glorious. Then will be the resurrection of the just, and Daniel will stand in his lot.DTIS 45.1

When will this glory be revealed? I answer, at the end of these days, which is forty-five years after papacy should lose her power over kings, and after she should be led into captivity by the kings of the earth; when the “seven times” should pass over the holy people, and when the seven years of bondage of the church shall be ended; for God has said, (Deuteronomy 15:1,) “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release;” and none can dispute but these were shadows of good things to come; and God will release his children, at the end of seven years. And all must agree that the children of God have been in bondage now almost seven prophetic years.DTIS 47.1

I shall now show when the twelve hundred and sixty days had their fulfilment, in Revelation 11:3: “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth.” I shall ask and answer the following queries:DTIS 47.2

1. Whose witnesses are they?
2. What is a witness?
3. What are these witnesses?

Whose witnesses are these? I answer, they are Christ’s; because he is the speaker. See Revelation 1:1: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Again; he only has power to prophesy, or give the power; for “the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy;” and he has all power.DTIS 48.1

Then these witnesses are Christ’s witnesses.DTIS 48.2

What is a witness? I answer there are two kinds, oral testimony, and written testimony. Oral testimony is the testimony of a living person, who testifies to facts which he knows by means of one or all of his five senses. No man can testify to a matter of faith; and all must see the impropriety of supposing these two witnesses can be persons or men, when we read the time, — twelve hundred and sixty days; for we have already shown that these days have only been fulfilled in so many years, — “each day for a year;” and, as no man ever has lived so many years, and, as we have no evidence that any individuals will ever prophesy so long in this state of the world, we must therefore look for some other mode of testimony beside oral. Again; it cannot be a man or men: for Christ positively and plainly declares, (John 5:34,) “But I receive not testimony of man;” which sets that matter at rest forever, that men cannot be the two witnesses.DTIS 48.3

What are the witnesses, then? I answer, written testimony may be witnesses; and the last will and testament of a man, written, signed, sealed, and ratified by death, is considered the best testimony in the world, and is held almost sacred among all men and in all nations. Then we must conclude that Christ’s two witnesses must be the Old and New Testaments; for nothing short can testify, in this our day, concerning Christ. Yes; we have the testimony of Christ himself to this point. John 5:39: “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me.”DTIS 49.1

The very name, two testaments, signifies “two witnesses.” If, then, the Scriptures are the two witnesses, where and when were they clothed in sackcloth? I will answer. During the reign of papacy, the Bible was suppressed from the common people; the laws of that power prevented the Bible from being published in any language but the Greek and Latin, in those kingdoms and nations where the Roman church had or could obtain the ascendancy or power; and, for a long season, from the beginning of the sixth century to the reformation in the sixteenth century, more than nine tenths of our world was covered with gross darkness. The word of God was little known or read, if credit can be given to the histories of those times; and even down to the year 1798, but very little pains was taken to publish the Bible in or among the nations of the earth. And up to that time, protestant writers, many of them, clothed the Bible in mysticism, and taught that it could not be understood by common minds at least. But from that year we may date the rise of missionary efforts, and Bible societies. Then the Christian community began to awake, as from a long sleep of moral night, and began to see and feel the necessity of publishing the lamp of life, to a dark and a benighted world without note or comment. “Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps;” translations of the Bible began, and in the space of forty years since, four times as many languages have received the Bible or parts of it, as had received it in eighteen hundred years before. Well may we exclaim, — the sackcloth is rent in twain; the little book is open; the angel is flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth! We know the two witnesses are no longer clothed in sackcloth. If ever, since the days of the apostles, the Bible has been free and clear, it is so now. Who can say, in sincerity and truth, that the Scriptures are now darkened by a sackcloth covering? Even the Roman church, who so long suppressed its translation and circulation, are now translating, and circulating too, the Bible in many languages. Then, indeed, must the twelve hundred and sixty years have ended. And you may inquire, When? I answer, When the pope lost his dominion, and Italy was made a republic; when free toleration on religious opinions was given by the power of the French; and when the Bible was permitted to be read and published in any language under the whole heaven, — in the year of our Lord 1798. Then, from the year 538 to the year 1798, was the twelve hundred and sixty years completed, and the word of God fulfilled. Roman bishops may jeer at these calculations; but one thing is true, — the wounded bird will always flutter. So, my dear reader, when you see any of our would-be great men, whether protestant or catholic, begin to laugh or sneer at the writings of a poor old man, believe me, there is a wound.DTIS 49.2