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16 — 47372-1 OPO
A
SOLEMN WARNING
TO ALL THE
DWELLERS UPON EARTH,
GIVEN FORTH
IN OBEDIENCE TO THE EXPRESS COMMAND
OF THE
LORD GOD,
AS COMMUNICATED BY HI3I, IN SEVERAL EXTRAORDINARY VISIONS AND MIRACULOUS REVELATIONS, CON- FIRMED BY SUNDRY PLAIN BUT WON- DERFUL SIGNS, UNTO
SIMBOD HUGHES,
Of the County of Washington, in Virginia.
Upon whom the Awful Duty of making this Publication luis been Laid and Enforced, by many Admonitions and se- vere Chastisements of' the Lord, for tlie space of Ten Months and Nine Days of unjust and close Confinement in the Prison of Abingdon, wherein he was shewn that the Certain
DESTRUCTION OF ONE THIRD OF MANKIND,
AS FORETOLD IN THE SCRIPTURES,
MUST TAKE PLACE ON THE
Fourth Day of June, 1812.
PRINTED B¥ LARGIN 8c THOMPSON, NO. 5 BURLING-SLI?.
1812.
a¥?V t -a.
A
SOLEMN WARNING
TO ALL THE
DWELLERS UPON EARTH.
THE truth of the existence of 2l great first cause o>i allthingSv so forcibly impresses itself on every rational mind, upon the first attainment to the use of our faculties, that to question, or doubt, for one moment, of the real being of a God, would be to do violence to our reason, and prove the absence of even common sense* Taking it to be entirely unnecessary to say any thing in proof of the Divine existence, it is sufficient to call the atten- tion of the reader to some of the universally received attributes of our Great Creator,
As GOD is universally acknowledged to be Almighty > so aT« so must we be convinced that he is All-wise ; knowing all things past, present and to come. For as U he worketh all things according to the counsel of his own willy* so also he hath all-wisdom to direct, and power to bring into being, whatso- ever his holy will ordaineth to come to pass.
His fore knowledge hath been made manifest by the fulfil- ment of many of the ancient prophecies concerning nations and individuals, which in his boundless love for mankind, he was pleased to reveal to his servants, the prophets, that they might testify them before the world, so that " whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, yet shall they know that there hath been a firofihet am ng them.'" Ezek'el ii. 5,
For the Lord, although his i( sjiirit shad not always strive with man" yet hath he not ceased to warn mankind of those judgments which by sin and wickedness they have brought, and still are bripging upon the earth, in or Jer that they might have an opportunity of escaping the calamities which the just- ice of God bringeth upon the world for the offences of its in-
4 habitants ; that those who will turn to the Lord by repentance and with prayer, may obtain faith and deliverance in the clay, when thi Wrath of God shall be poured out upon the children of men for their transgressions and obstinacy of heart.
And herein hath God shewn to the world, his infinite good- ness, which as the royal prophet David hath frequently declar- ed in the Psalms, " endureth for ever ;" and if the mercy and goodness of God endureth for ever, then surely the same good- ness may be hoped for by his chosen ones in these tim-s of givat peril and danger, as was to the people of Nineveh, when they repented at the warning voice of the pi ophet Jor.ah, whom the Lord in mercy, sent to warn the inhabitants of that great city, of impending judgments: or can we without blas- pheming, deny the power of that God who sent Jonah to Nine- veh, that they might be warned of their wicked ways, repent and be spared ; to send even in this day, his warning voice un- to an erring world. Or can we say that He, who in pity to six score thousand persons of that city, who could not discern between their right hand and their left, as also in pity even to their cattle; should on their repentance, avert their threat- ened destruction, would be less merciful and compassionate to his own elect, who are now scattered abroad in the world : doomed very shortly to experience, what was foretold by the prophet Daniel, that there shall be a time of trouble^ such as never was known since there was a nation. No, the Lord is gracious, and his merey endureth for ever ; and he will not destroy his people without his usual gracious warnings, he will send to admonish them, " and he will send by whom he will send ;" and those who repent and call upon his name, may be saved from the great destruction, now very near at hand.
And as it has happened in every age, that when the Lord commissioned any of his servants,, the prophets, to bear his word to the children of men, he qualified them for their awful mission by such visions, direct revelations, and often severe trials and exercises, as convinced Ihem that 'they must obey his voice, or perish ; so also hath he prepared him, whose task it is, to publish these words, in obedience to the Lord's com- mand, and that he may at least deliver his own soul.
But surely it is not a pleasant task to flesh and blood, to bear the tremendous messages of the Almighty God to an unbeliev- ing, scoffing world, which appears to be not only indifferent about the greatest concerns of this life, a preparotion for a fu- ture ; but who can mock at, and treat with scorn, every idea of any revelation on record, as well as every precept, doctrine and authority of the Holy Scripture Nay, amongst those who are most attached to the Sacred Writings, and profess to believe them as the word of God? few can be found who would
countenance the man, who could declare himself commissioned by the God of Daniel, to explain any hidden or mysterious matter which they of themselves did not perceive to be con- tained in the Holy Scriptures.
For even the evangelically inspired prophet Isaiah, com- plained in his d-.y, saying, * who hath believed our refiort" and even the surprising miracles performed by the word spo- ken by Elijah, could not secure him from the scorn and perse- cution of many of those to whom he was sent ; and every pro- phet, even to John the Baptist, have suffered persecution from that world, unto whom they were in mercy sent, in order to turn them from the evil of their own ways, lest iniquity might prove their ruin. Nay, even the Lord of life and glory him- self, when he came, not only to prophecy, but to redeem the world, was frequently laughed at, traduced, ridiculed and des- pised ; and finally persecuted, mocked, bound, spit upon, scourg- ed and put to death, and that by the very people who professed a veneration for the prophets who foretold his coming ; they who builded the tombs of the prophets whom their fathers had slain, because they admitted that these persecuted and mur- dered prophets were inspired by the spirit of God: Yet these were the murderers of Jesus, in whom dwelt the fulness of the; Godhead bodily II ' Yea, and we<e that blessed personage to make his second Advent now, and to preachand reprove as he did when before upon earth, it is most likely that he would be consid red as a lunatic, and an impostor ; rejected by the dif- ferent, congregations that profess his name and religion, and refused to occupy a single one of the many pulpits, now dedi- cated 1 1 his honor, by those who profess to believe in his resur- rection from the dead!! And if any one should perform a miracle in his name, or by Divine Revelation explain some of the mysteries of the scripture for the benefit of mankind, he may safely calculate on being treated with contempt, and being despised by those Avho profess faith in those very scriptures of the New Testament, which positively enjoins them, that they •* desjiise not lirofihecyings" 1st Thess. c. 5, v. 20.
But those whom the Lord appoints to bear his word must be content to suffer the reproach of men, and venture all hazards, rather than disobey ; for in vain would Jonah fly from God, to avoi 1 his duty. Even the depths of the sea could not hide him from his master's eye, nor could death itself overtake him until he executed the commands of the Lord ; therefore, wkat- ever may be the consequences in this life, to him whom the Lord shall call, and drive into his work, the person so com- manded must obey; for* however desirous he might be to be released from the work of the Lord, and to pursue his own! inclinations, he cannot be released until he has accomplished A 2
his mission ; nor can he say or do any thing in it but what he is commanded, nor in any other manner but as he is shewn and directed.
If then the manner in which the mysterious parts of the scrip- tures, which are unfolded in this work, shoula, to any one ap- pear inadequate to the purposes intended, or should ^ny one be offended on account of the simplicity in which their respec- tive coincidences are made to appear, I would caution such persons to beware, and judge not least they be judged: but let them " search the scri/itures to find if these things are true."
For in the scriptures are many important mysteries, so concealed from common eyes, that those who read them daily, and think they understand them, are nevertheless totally blind. to their most important meanings.
It was the manner of the inspired penmen of antiquity, to wrap up the richest treasures of their divine knowledge in mysterious figures, types, shadows and symbolic allusions ; so that they who would obtain the true understanding of their works, must evidei.ee their love for wisdom by a close and atcentive application, and laborious research, before they could obtain it, unless it were revealed in some vision, or direct in- spiration from God.
It has frequently been asserted, and not without reason, that not one word, letter nor figure in the scriptures, has been in- serted in vain, nor without some special design ; and even their divisions into books, chapters, verses and words, had their particular reasons and meanings ; and even the numbers of the books, the numbers of the chapters, the numbers of the verses, and even the numbers of the letters contained in each •word ; but especially the initial letters, were said to have their uses for various purposes, in explaining the grand revelations which the Almighty has been pleased in this way to deliver to mankind j but yet in so dark and mysterious a manner, that none were judged capable of understanding the meanings or allusions, except the learned Rabbins who composed the ancient Cabala ; and who frequently met in conclave to explain the mysterious matters, anagramatically contained in the different letters, words and figures of the scriptures.
As to the manner in which the Cabalistic Rabbins foretold future events, or explained the mysteries contained in the dif- ficult parts of scripture, the author had no knowledge nor con- ception at the time that the construction of the foregoing and succeeding tables were revealed unto him, nor did he even know, that there ever existed any person, or body of people possessed of such a knowledge, either by art or revelation, un- til this work was in forwardness for publication ; but since he has been in Richmond for the purpose of getting this "work
printed, it was suggested to him that his tables and calculations resembled the ancient Cabala ; which is thus spoken of in the Encyclopaedia Britanica Vol. 4, page 2, Art. Cabala.
•• Cabala according to the Hebrew style has a very distinct signification from what we understand it, in our language. The Hebrew Cftbala signifies tradition, and the Rabbins who are called Cabalists, study principally, the combination of words, letters and numbers, by this means to discover what is to come, and to see clearly into the sense of many difficult passages of scripture — They infoim us that the secrets of the Cabala were discovered to Moses on Mount Sinai.'"— *4 This is likewise termed the Oral law."
Much more is related shewing that the words, letters and numbers of which the holy scriptures are composed, were con- red by the learned of antiquity, as containing w.thin them- es certain keys for unlocking the treasures which they eontained, but could be clearly discovered only by those to -whom the Almighty thought proper to reveal them, as he had done to his servant Moses.
But although the history of this Cabalistic method of dis- covering the hidden mysteries of the scriptures may strongly support the method here used, yet the author is far from re- lying on any such proofs for the correctness of those facts which he here delivers, because whether that history be true, or whether it be erroneous, he well knows the voice of the Lord as revealed to him is true, and will most assuredly be fulfilled in the very time as herein laid down ; and blessed are all those who on hearing or reading these words, shall take due warning, and shall truly repent and turn with full purpose of heart unto the Lord God ; and through earnest prayer and purity of life, obtain the Grace of faith ; that they may be de- livered with all those whom the Lord hath resolved to save from the approaching destruction spoken of by Daniel, 12th chapter and first verse " And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standethfor the children of thy people* and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there wax a nation, even to that time — and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." This awful time of trouble hath not yet arrived, but is now near at hand, for no trouble hath happened since the days of Daniel, that can be said to have fulfilled this prophecy : But the Lord has been pleased to reveal to his ser- /
vant N. H. that at the end of two years and sixty-two days from the date of this book, this dreadful prophecy must be accomplished, and in its accomplishment, the one third of all mankind throughout the earth shall be destroyed, and all those whom it shall please the Lord to spare must also suffer such trouble as never was before,
. 8
Let no one presume to slight this warning : for it is deter- mined and will positively take place upon that very day ap- pointed, that is June 4th 1812. That is from the birth of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve years, five months and ten days ; ftom the crucifixion, one thousand seven hun- dred and seventy-nine years and sixty-two days; from the author's birth, forty years, three months and ten days ; and four years from the day he was condemned to prison. Woe be to those who can disregard the voice ot this warning, and who shall fall in that great destruction, which now hangs over the earth, because the earth is full of iniquity and violence, deception, fraud and blasphemy, with every species ot polu- tion and uncleanness, so that it has been only typified by an- cient Babylon against whom the prophet Jerenmh cries, ;< Thus saith the'Lord : Behold! I will raise u/i agai?ist Ba- bylon and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise u/i against me, a destrpying wind ; and will send into Ba- bylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land ; For in the day of trouble they shall be against her roundabout.'* Ch. 51, v. l/2.
And what is this Babylon, against whom the Lord denoun- ces this great judgment? It is not merely the ancient city of that name, but comprehends the wicked and ungodly of all nations whom the Lord hath devoted to destruction, and they shall not by force, nor by cunning, nor by the greatness of their possessions, be able to save themselves in that clay of their fearful visitation and dreadful calamities; for even John in the Revelations, long after that great city was no more, prophesied against Babylon in exceedingly strong language, and remarkably similar to the style used by the prophetJere- miah ; John most certainly spoke of the same judgments upon Babylon, which were foretold by the prophet Jeremiah ; the prophet and apostle both speaking of the same Babylon in a mystical sense; forjhe prophecies are the same, and the threattnngs of Jeremiah had not b^-en fulfilled in the days of John, although the city called Babylon had long before been destroyed by Cyrus, who turned the course of the river Eu- phrates, which ran through that city, under arches of the, strong walls that surrounded it, and marching his army in the dry channel, entered the city and destroyed it. How then could the belpved disciple speak of Babylon as yet to be de-? stroyed, if the prophecy of Jeremi th had been fulfilled ?
Let us but compare the two dreadful predictions, and they will she,w that they both relate to the same tremendous judg- ments, which hath not yet come to pass, but which will be executed as the word of the Lord has been declared by noe.
Saint J hn in the 17th chapter of Revelations, speaking of «* the great whore that sit tith upon many waters" saysc. 17, 4,
" And the woman was ar- Jeremiah, chap. 51, v. 7, rayed in purple and scarlet Babylon hath been a golden colour, and decked with gold cup into the Lord's hand, that and precious stones and pearls, made all the earth drunken of having a golden cup in her her wine : therefore the na- hand full of abominations and tions are mad. lilthiness of her fornications. v. 5.
And upon her forehead was a name written MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HAR LOIS, AND ABOMINA- TIONS OF THE EARTH Chap. 18, v. 2".
° And he cried mightily with a very strong voice, say- ing, Babylon the great is fal- len, is fallen, and is become the habitation of Devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3d verse.
•• For all nations have drunk of the wrath of her fornica- tions, &c.
4th verse-
" And I heard another voice from Heaven saying come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues : 5th. For her sins have reached unto Heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
And from the whole tenor of the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelations, we may perceive that the prophecies are the same, and meanethby Babylon the wickfonessof all nations, and the sudden destruction of the wicked and finally impeni- tent who shall be found upon earth in 'he day when the Lord shall take vengeance upon the sins of the wold. Arid this great destruction will come on the day andyear first mention- ed J remiab says suddenly, but J hn as he approached rTear- er to ».he time, sai h pi ,mlv that it >hall happen in one d >y. Rtv. 18, 8. M Therefore shall her plague come in one day/'
Verse 8. 44 Babylon is suddenly fal- len and destroyed : howl for her ; take balm for her pains if so be she may be healed.
6th verse.
l| Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his own soul : be not cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lotd's ven- geance : he will render unto her a recompense 9th verse.
w Her judgment reacheth unto Heaven, and is lifted up unto the skies.
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&c. and again, verse 10— " Forin one hour is thy judgment^ come" And again, verse 17th,—" Forin one hour so great- riches is come to nought." And again, verse 19th—" For in Giie hour she is made desolate.'* But now as the awful judg- ment draweth very near indeed, the Lord is pleased to make known by me, that very day, when his faithful word shall be accomplished ; namely, on that day which will not be soon f ^"gotten by the survivors, that great ?nd dreadful day, June the 4th, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twelve.
O ! ye inhabitants of this devoted Babylon, who think ye sit at ease, and are possessed of your comfortable habitations and store of all the good and valuable things of this worid's pro- duce. Ye who boast of your wisdom, your learning, ycur deep philosophy, and all sorts' of worldly attainments, beware how you treat this warning slightly, or say, " who is this that pre- tends to su^h superior penetration into the secrets of futuri- ty?" I say to you again, pause, and judge not too hastily.
" For who art thou who judgeth another's servant ? To his own master he must rise or fait." And what will avail your strong and comfortable dwellings, your rich furniture, your extensive freeholds, your numerous slaves your honorable connections, your wealthy stores, your brilliant genius, your eloquence, learning, or philosophy; when the great God, who made the world and all that now surrounds it. shall sweep the earth with the besom of destruction r" Think not that be- cause the threatenings of the Lord hath been so long delayed, that therefore they will never be put in execution. Alas! what profane thoughts enter into the minds of men, whom the deceitfulness of sin hath so misted, that they cannot dis- cern the great difference between their own purblind faculties, and the clear broad eye of JEHOVAH. " in whose sight a thousand years are but as yesterday " Nay, before whom the remotest periods of antiquity, as well as the present time and the immense extent of tutun'.y, are all present at a single glance. Yei, all eternity is His. and the past, the present, and the future, is but one eternal now before his all. seeing eye. Doth ho threaten Sodom or Gomorrah, and yet for the sake of righteous Lot the punishment is delayed ? Yet the faithful w^rd of the most high st-^ndeth sure, and his judg- nv nts are fulfilled upon those devoted cities. Hath he threa- tened Jerusalem, that once beloved city with destruction ! — Yet al«h nigh for the s ke of some righteous persons there> or o»her good and wise reasons, the judgment is delayed, his word which never can fail, is established : and under the comm -«nd of Titus Vespashn, th* / has been destroyed ;
and even the temple> dedicated to his name was levelled to
■n
the ground, for it also was polluted, and as the word of the Lord had declared " not one stone of it was left standing upon ano- ther"—And every word of the Lord must stand sure and faithful : Whether in mercy he promiseth a blessing, or in his justice he dooms destruction, faithful and true are all his sayings, and one title of his word shall not fail, though all the powers of the universe should league together to oppose it- True that the Lord is merciful, long suffering, slow to an- ger, and easily entreated, andoiten en the repentance of sin- ners, or for the sake of his own elect he may procrastinate his judgments ; yet his words are sure to be fulfilled if not in one generation, then most assuredly in some other. To the children of Israel whom he brought up out of Egypt, he had made the promise that he would bring them into a good land which he swore unto Abraham, that he would give it unto his seed for a possession and an inheritance ; Yet on account of their obstinacy, their hardness of heart and rebellions, the fulfilment of thnt promise was delayed during thht genera- tion : so that of the whole multitude which came through the Red Sea, not one of them entered into the promised land, except Joshua and Caleb. Yet hath his gracious promise been fulfilled in a succeeding generation. Therefore let no man presume to think that any thing which the Lord God hath promised or threatened, shall not be accomplished as if the all-wise God were a weak mortal, who could forget ! i Hoping, that through the great mercy of God, this solemn warning will have the blessed effect of bringing sinners to a due consideration of their awful situation ; and with earnest prayer that it may bring many to repentance, and that thro' grace they may obtain faith and forgiveness, and be saved in that Great Day when the Lord will most certainly accom- plish his threatened judgments upon the earth, but will also faithfully fulfil his gracious promise that he will spare his own elect, even every one whose name is written in the book of life. I earnestly entreat the serious attention of the rea- der, to the solemn matters contained in the following:
As the love of money, which the apostle terms " the root of all evil," hath spread itself so widely through the hearts of the present generation, it can be no matter of surprise, that this work should be considered, by such sordid minds, as a mere scheme, devised for the purpose of making money. But if such characters, who are not easily moved, by any other impulse than dollars and cents* would take the trouble to cal- culi te the expense of preparing and publishing such a book as this, and then look at the price of the book and the world- ly circumstances of the author, perhaps they would be incli- ned to ascribe it to some other motive. Indeed, were it no*
12
that justice requires that the expense attending the perfor- mance; must be discharged by the sale ; and the authors cir- cumstances being such, that in justice to his family, he cannot give it away it would be his sincere desire, as it would be his duty, to publish 144,000 copies and hive them distributtd gratis, over the whole earth, so that each of the sealed num- ber might have one. For it is not his object to accumulate money by delivering the word of God to mr.n; and it is his opinion that all those preachers and teachers, of every church who are constantly in the habit of spe king the word of Gorl, for hire, are xtually engaged in that vain and wicked attempt of serving two masters: and our blessed Lord declares that it is impossible that they can serve both faithfully *' Ye can- not se rve God-and Mammon ."
But some are like Lot, whtn he was called upon to flee out of the cities of Sodom, and far from the devoted place, beg- ged that he might be permitted to dwell in Zoar, alleging that it was but a little city : " let me dwell there, said he, and my soul, shall live." So some who wish to excuse themselves for touching the accursed thing, will say, •' O ! the trifle which I receive for preaching, is so small, that it need not be mentioned, it is but a little sum and not worth noticing." Aye! it is but a little sin, which these holy men would carry into Heaven with them ; but they may be assured that <c straight is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto eternal life." Nay, the gate is so narrow that they never can squeeze through it encumbered with any sin, small or great. Yet I would not be understood to say, that those preachers whose indigent cirsumstances require the aid of the church, should not receive food and raiment ; but therewith let them be con- tented for they will scarcely be entitled to greater compen- sation for their services, than our Lord and his apostles. In- deed some could be mentioned who instead of receiving any compensation at all, they ought rather to be shunned, and suffered to hold their discourses to empty walls. I mean such as preach a doctrine, not only unwarranted ny the holy scrip- tures, but plainly repugnant to all the attributes of God. — How frequently hath the sacred desk resounded with such words as these : ** The sin which Adam has entailed on his posterity is such, that there is now in hell children not a span long I ! ! ' Oh I that such men would reflect and pray in ear- nest to God for the light of his holy spirit, that they might «• rightly divide the word of truth !»' Might they not know that Ch- ist long ago hath cut off that entail, and nailed ori- ginal sin firmly to his cross ? Therefore, it is not for the sin of Adam that men are doomed to death and destruction in this day, but for their own evil and wicked ways. Oh ! ye
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blind leaders of the blind, how long will you continue to dis- honor God, and to mislead the souls for whom Christ hath di- ed? Read the 18th chapter of Ezekiel, which contains 32 verses, and know that the Lord hath sworn to the reverse of your doctrine; a doctrine by which you would arraign his justice, and charge the God of truth with a wilful perjury. — Verse 2, 3. •• What mean ye, that ye use this proverb con- cerning the land of Israel, saying that the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on ec ge ? As I live saith the Lord God, you shall not have occasion anymore to use this proverb in Israel ." Here then the Lord God so- lemnly swears by himself, because he could not swear by a
greater oath— what? That your doctrine is wrong. Have
these young children done any sin? no. But the Holy Ghost says all through the chapter that it is" the soul that sznnetA" that shall die. Verse 20th, M The soul that sinneth it shall die *' The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father; nei- ther shall the father the iniquity of thfe son: The righteous- ness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
I tell you, as our blessed Lord hath told ycu before, that " Whosoever receive not the king dom of Heaven as a little child, shall in no noise enter t her tin. iy Luke 18.17. Are these innocents, th se little children, to be the objects of the vengeance of your Go-!; of' whom Christ saith that '• of such is the kingdom of Heaven* Surely that saying is true of you ; that although God crtaed man in his own image, yet ye would profanely attempt to create a God in your own im ige, and cruelly as Moloch, would immoUte little children upon his bloody altars. The Lord God has created man in his own bh ssed image, the image of the holy Trinity, with three dis- tinct faculties, or powers of the one sou!, to wit: will, un- derstanding and memory. — And as the whole blessed Trinity is engaged -in the salvation of every soul that is saved, s» the whole trinity of the hum m soul must conspire to work the damnation of eve<y snul that is lost. If the will consent not, the offence is venial, but when the ivi'l s perverted, then the understanding is blinded, and the memory delights to reflect ■only upon those past transactions, and upon those scent- s that are not only shameful in themselves, but are also ruinous in their consequences; and whosoever dieth in th*t state, where •Christ is. he cannot come. But why should we be taught to believe that the great and merciful God of heaven and earth. Would exercise his infinite wisdom through ages, in the cruel employment of creating souls for no other purposes but to £ive thfir mothers pain, and afterwards endure eternal tor- ment themselves? The scripture expressly saith thut the
B
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sons shall not bear the iniquity of the fathers, and those little ones have no iniquity of their own to bear ; for whose iniqui- ty then must they suffer endless misery? The thought might lead to blasphemy
But *' God willeth not the death, even of a sinner ; but rath- er that he turn from his wickedness and live;" and the proph- et Ezekiel in the 18th chapter above alluded to, places the subject beyond the reach of controversy, that it is not by the will of God that souls are lost, but by their own perverse willy leading them into a wicked course of conduct, they plunge themselves into ruin. He affirms that his ways are equal, but that the ways of men are unequal, and in the 31st verse, he condescends to entreat transgressors, saying* " Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby you have trans- gressed, and make you a new heart and a new sjiirit ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel ?
But some pervert the scriptures in order as they think, or pretend to think, that they might honor God's free grace : and boastmgly quote the ca^e of Jacob and Esau from the 9th chapter of Romans, for proof that God can condemn children before they are born, and doom spirits to eternal torments who have never transgressed in any way whatsoever. Such a misapplication of the scripture is well calculated to make some doubting or hesitating, weak believers, become infidels; to confirm unbelievers in their infidelity, and make infidels horribly to blaspheme the christian's God- But they do not rightly interpret the holy scriptures, for the arguments us- ed by the Apostle, in the. 9lh chapter oi Romans refer not to individuals who are fore doomed to endless misery, but to God's election of the seed of Abraham, and of the particular limbs and branches of that seed, from which the promised saviour was to come. The Apostle, stating his sorrow for the Jews, recounts the great priveliges which they were fa- voured with, that to them pertaineth the adtrtion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God and the promises ; the authorities derived from the ancient fathers ; but lastly and above all he saith •' and of whom concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever — Amen." See the 4th and 5th verses.
The apostle then goes on to point out by argument from scripture and reason, the confidence which the Jews might have in their adoption and the promises. The promises re- late chiefly to the great redemption, through Christ, the promise was first m^de generally to all the children of Eve. saying, The seed of the woman shall bruise the ser/ient's head. Then with Noah the Lord established his covenant.
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Then out of all the families descended from Noah, Abraham wascrmsen, and the promise renewed to him, saying " And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. From Abraham the promise is continued, and renewed in Isaac, next in Jacob, who is called Israel, but the apostle further saith, •• they are not all Israel which are of Israel : neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children : But in IsHac shalt thy seed be called. Romans, Ch 9. v. 6
In reasoning further upon the Lord's adoption of the train or families through which the promised Saviour was to come, he states (in parenthesis) concerning the children of Isaac. " For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to elec- tion might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said un'o her, [Rebecca] the elder shall serve the young- er. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, v. 11. 12, 13
But no such meaning can be derived from these texts, as that the individual persons of either of these children were fore-doomed to hell's torments before their birth. Neither does the word *' hated?' as therein applied mean the same thing with cursed, for it is evident from the history of these two personages in the scriptures, that both were blessed ex- ceedingly and highly honored, and all that can be under- stood by it is, that the one was preferred to the other, as the progenitor of the Saviour (according to the flesh.) The text to which the apostle refers is in the 25th chapter of Genesis and 23d verse- When Rebecca enquired of the Lord concerning her situation; "And the Lord said unto her, two, nations are in thy womb, and two manner of peo- ple shall be separated from thy bowels, and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."
Most of those prophecies in the old testament allude to the nations that were to descend from certain individuals, and not unto the particular individual himself, and from a misun- derstanding of the true meaning of the scriptures many bick- erings amongst the professors of Christianity, which pride aiid party zeal h >th swelled into the most bitter animosities, dividing the church into numerous sects, who instead of having christian charity for each other, appear to entertain a most deadly hatred, and for no other cause but that each opposes the pride or opinion of the other ; hence thousands remain in unbelief, not being able to see the good effects of religion upon the lives of its professors. \
The points of difference which have so divided the profes*
16
sorscf the christian farth, and created such mortalanimcsit'ies, are geueraljy of much less consequence in themselves than the evil effects to which they give rise. The two great sa- craments ordained in the church of Christ, and which should 1)2 bends of unicn amongst true believers have been made the causes of the greatest dissention. It is allowed en all hands that a sacrament is an oui-vcird and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. That it was ordained by- Christ himself as a means in which that grp.ee is to be receiv- ed, and to the faithful a pledge to assure them cf its reception. Yet such is the spuit cf party to which many preachers and teachers have submitted, th.it more contention has been a- bout the manner and form of this outward and visible sign, than regard to the po?session oi the inward and spiritual grace itself: So that the sign seems to be ell with them ; and the thnigsignified nothing. For instance — The sacrament of bap- tism, which should unite all christians in one church, has been made the means of dividing them into several parties; one party is for washing, another for plunging or dipping, an- other lor pouring another for sprinkling with water. Some will be for baptising infants, while others are for confining this sacrament to those only who have already made ac? knowledgments of their conversion. And each &re so zeal- ous in the pride of their own opinion, that they hesitate not to consign their opponents to destruction. But they should remember the true scripture which is so often in their mouths, •' By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of your- selves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.*'
I do not mean to condemn any of these forms which may be judged the most expedient according to each person's res- pective conception of his duty or most conformable to the primitive practice; nor do I condemn those who believe it proper to dispense with the institution entirely : But the vain contentions which these various opinions give birth to; and the uncharitable tempers which these contentions create, are not only injurious to the souls of the parties themselves, but are also calculated to oppose the spreading of the gospel, and to detain many out of the christian church and communion, and leave them the more exposed to those pollutions that are in the world, and the more liable to fall into those crimes and abominations, for which thing's sake the wrath of God Com- eth upon the children of disobedience. But this is no time for quarrellings and dissentions, the time is at hand when ev- ery one will have a more important business to arrest theirat- ten ion, therefore let every one who names thename of Jesusj depart from all iniquity.
17
I cannot forbear here to warn those who make so much contention ibout the ether solemn sacrament, The Lords Sufifier. Some contend that the elements [bread and wine} should be taken in the ordinary position of sitting; others will insi>t that because the beloved disciple leaned upon the breast of our Lord, when this sacrament was first instituted, that the communion shouid be received in the posture of leaning on each other, whilst others believe that the more reveren- tial posture of kneeling is the most proper upon so sacred an occasion. None of these forms do I condemn : but let eve- ry one who presumes to approach the Lord's table, examine h'mself, whether he truly repent of his former sins ; and let him firmly resolve, in the strength of the Almighty, to lead a new life for the future, should God spare him to live, let him be well assured that he has a true and unwavering faith in Christ, greatfully and thankfully remembering the great sa- crifice which he made of himself upon the cross for the re- demption, and see that he bears no malice nor hatred in his heart, that if he hath wrcnged any, he takes the resolution to make him amends, and uses the best means in his power to effect it : and that he is in perfect good will and charity with ail mankind. For let men say what they may, it is certainly a dreadful case for any one to insult the Lord at his own table, by presuming to approach the hallowed elements in an unpre- pared state, or after the receiving this sacrament to exhibit a conduct unworthy the character of a faithful communicant, by drunkenness, debauchery, extortion, or any other wilful sin, whereby the church would be scandalized, and those who are thus guilty must bring grievous ills upon themselves. In the days of the apostles, some of the church of Corinth were dis- orderly in this particular, whom the apostle Paul severely admonishes for it in the first Cor. XI. chap, at the 2rth verse, he says, " Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and «* drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the " body and blood of the Lord. 28th, But let a man examine " himself, .and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that * cup. 29th. For he that r ateth and drinketh unworthily, ea- J< teth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the " Lord's body." O! that men would seriously consider on those things, before it be too late, for the Lord most assuredly will visit for these things, and thr apostle tells the Corinthians, verse 30, that ** For this cause many are weak and sickly a- mong you, and many sleep." And surely there is much reason to believe that in this corrupted age of the world, the number of unworthy communicants is greater than in the days of the apostles, and call for heavier judgments from an insulted God,
The taking of this blessed sacrament ^asalwavs understood B 2
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to be the most solemn act oT the christian's life and was fre* quently made, by law, a necessary qualifi ation previous to the taking an oath upon the gospels in certain cases ; and no crime was considered more henious amongst christians than the crime of perjury or false swearing : Indeed it must be a crime of the very blackest stain, both against God and man, for it not only goes to destroy every bond of confidence in so- ciety, to effect every species of fraud and even murder, to in- sult the courts injustice and treat the laws themselves with contempt; but also insults the majesty cf heaven, by calling upon the God of truth to witness to a lie. Yet this detestable crime is now so general on the earth, that there are but few people of 40 years old, but c^n refer to numerous instances of perjury within their own knowledge : But he who knoweth the secrets of all hearts, knoweth who they are, who can be and are guilty of this most horrible and soul-damning sin, and his terrible judgments are sure to find them out, nor can their consequence or standing in society save them from thepunish- ment that awaits them, nor can the secrecy in which they fan- cy that their crime is concealed, screen them from the pene- trating eye of thejudge of all the earth. Surely, if all liars are to have their portion in the lake that bur?is with f re and brimstone*'' those liars who can seal their own damnation with a Juda's kiss upon the holy gospels, should fear and tremble at the prospect of approaching judgments. But it is no wonder that this crime, which is the reproach of human nature, should be so prevalent on the earth at this time, when it is considered that amongst cur great men, our rulers, governors, legisla- tors, judges, lawyers and magistrates, few can be found who acknowledge the authorities of the holy scriptures in private or who would not smile at the simplicity of those weak and ignorant creatures, who can be so infatuated as to believe in revelation at all : Notwithstanding each of them acknowl- edge the scriptures in public by a solemn oath, which, howe- ver, they appear to consider only as a legal ceremony, to qualify them for their respective functions, whereas it is cer- tainly a solemn pledge of their own souls, for the truth of matters alleged, or the faithful discharge of the duties enga- ged to be performed. Is not every land polluted by the wick- edness of its inhabitants, who seem to be eagerly ripening the w rid for the great harvest of the Lord? In what country will not the words of the prophet Micah apply ? " The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, ami the prophets thereof divine for money ; Yet will •hey lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? Mo evil can come upon us " Micah III. 11. Let every one who reads or hears these words, stop Mr
19
mouth from uttering vain contradictions and useless criticisms ; there is not much time to spare fur such a trifling exercise, but rather let Uim look with a critical eye into his own past conduct and present t mpers and prop nsities. Let him care- fully examine himseH whether he has comformed himself at least to the general moral law, which is obligatory uj on every rational creature. Whether he has given his affi ctions and de ires to any thing more than to the Lord God, for in every such case he is guilty of idolatry, Whether he has ever pro- faned God's holy name or spoken blasphemy, whether he has ever slighted, hindered, or held in contempt the worship of God. Whether he has wronged his neighbour or fellow man in any respect, either by fraudulent over -reaching him in bu- siness, or by any more direct fraud deprived him of his right, or by envy or malice, or hatred, injured him in his person : or hy lies, slanders or falsehoods of any kind, injured him in his character or disturbed his peace of mind, or ever caused or procured any such to be done by others; let him reflect if he has ever defiled his neighbour's wife, or used any means to seduce he%, or any other woman, from her duty : let him also look with a severely critical eye into the motives of all his ac- tions that he c <n remember, - nd compare them with the pu- rity and spirituality of the moral law. In sh rt, let him ex- amine himself, whether he hath obeyed the admonitions of his conscience, and kept himself from pride, covetousness, drun- kenness, debauchery, fornication, adultery, uncleanness, gam- bling, cheating, arid'the rest of those vices which constantly oppose the moral law, and whether he hath con tantly m de the natural self-love implanted in his nature, the rule and mea- sure of his love to others, agreeably to that divi e precept : Whatsoever ye will that men shall do unto you; do ye even so unto them,^ Such a criticism upon his own life and con- duct might be more useful to him than the foolish honor of ha- ving opposed every good intention of this book. For whether he will believe these words or be ieve them not, the w( rd of the Lorn is most true. And as St. Paul says to theEphesians, chap. v. verses 5, G and 7, For this youknoiv, that no whore- monger nor unclean person^ nor covetous man who is an idola- tory Iiath any inheritance in the king dtrr< of Christ and of God, Let no man deceive you with vain words ; for because of these things cometh the warth of God upon the children of disobe- dience . Be ye not therefore fiar takers with them.''* And if any one on hearing or on reading these words should feel any misgivings in his own heart that s me of these are designed for him, let him not " give place to the devilf but bear it and bear it with thankfulness ; it i> Hke the voice of the prophet Nathan, saying unto David, " Thou art the man," It is the
20
touch of the good physician's hand, which comes to heal the
wounn which sin hath made, if indeed \ou ivill be healed.
Then suffer the wou.dto be probed to the very bottom, and ra- ther aid the physician, than petulantly refuse and condemn the means which the Lord God, the good physician, hath appoin- ted for the healing of the nations. O cherish eve y such emc tion of the heart; such reflections may lead to a true repen- tance unto life, which never will need to be repented of; but may be the blessed means of securing your present safety and eternal felicity.
There is a notion which greatly prevails in the world, and that not only amongst those who despise all scripture, and condemn all revelation, but also amongst the professors of re- ligion, who profess to believe the bible, that all prophecyings have ceased upon earth ; and that there is no more of di- vine revelation communicated to mankind ! This strange er- ror might be thought consistent if it were confined to deists and others, who openly disallow the holy scriptures, but to hear such language from those who call themselves bible christians, must excite surprise and pity. Upon whfct princi- ple or by what authority they can advance such a strange and unaccountable doctrine, it is hard to discover or imagine. Both the old and the new testament are directly opposed to it. The prophet Joel, chap 2. verses 28 and 29, says, " And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall propli- ecy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids, in those days will I pour out my spirit. — 32, and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be delivered." And n the acts, 2d chap. When the holy spirit came in a wonderful manner upon the Apostles, they spoke immediately with different tongues, so that of the multitude of all languages and nations then pres- ent, each man heard them in his own proper tongue. Yet
some nru>cked them, and said they were full of new wine
Whereupon Peter arose and addressed them in the boldness of style which his holy office required, quoting the above text from fhe prophet Joel, to convince them that the men were not drunk with wine, but filled with the spirit of God. Yet some will say, that day the prophecy of Joel was entirely ful- filled, and from that memorable day there ceased to be any more prophecyings! Strange as it may appear, yet there are some who not only profess to believe the gospel, but who take upon them to be ministers and teachers of religion, who will say, and sharply contend for it too, that all prophecyings have ceased ; or that all the spirit of prophecy has been with-.
i J — Yet Ic £ day, St. Paul wrote
his Epistle to the Corinth en he exhorts that ch
and all other ch istians of consequence, that they should ear- nestly covet the best gifts, but rath: t. might proph- i : . — see the 14th chapter of Paul's 1st Epistle to the (
s throoghoi] sDver,St John, long after this
saw visions in the Island of Patmos, and wl m gTeat
.scies contained in the Revelations. Others again will say that the word prophecy, as used ;.. the new te stai
not mean any thing like Revelation, or the notifying of
:• events ; they will have it mean no more than pre:
: gospel ; notwithstanding that preaching, is also dis- mencioned, as well as teaching, and the gifts of heal- ing, and of working miracles. Sec. Those who, contrary to the apostle's command, will venture to despise prophec
:eive must do it either from a belief that God cannot, or that he will net impart this gift to man in these days ; the
:s too absurd to he countenanced] and the sec trary to the whole tenor of the bible. T Elijah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah and the rest of those ?.: prophets, whom they have never seen, were true messengers from God, and wr :e by ii>§piration ; but they will not admit
oe whom they can have an oppoi I seeing and
conversing with, hath any such mission from God. How properly to such people will apply that admonition in Acts LI v. " Beware, therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken cf in the s ; Behold, ye despisers, and
der, and perish : for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it un- to you." Some will believe, but many will remain hardened; but I
deliver my I keep myself clear from the
blood of all men ; for the burthen of the Lord is upon me, and I must make a true report ; and happy are the; shall believe it. and - rnestly turning unto the Lcrd
with their whole heart, shall obtain deliverance in the great day af his v rs it a now.
I Nimrod Hughes, cf the county of Washington, in V testate of Virginia, was from my infancy, peculiarly warned and cal- led by the gracious admonitions of the Lord, to forsake all the trifling vanities of life, and enter fully into the service of the
By mar.y awful dreams and waking visiors, as well as ces cf the Lord, I have been shewn that it .'. and my duty, to give myself up entirely to his service ; but stilt I would not obev these rails and admonitions, but
22
time to time, would put it off until the Lord was pleased to shew me in a more effectual way. that I must obey or perish, lie was pleased to humble me and bring me very low, that I might know his power, and that knowing hi- power and deter- mination to punish for sin, I might warn and persuade my fel- low men, to avoid, by every possible means, the fearful judg- ments which are now at hand.
On the fourth day of June, 1808, being then 36 years and 99 days old, I was condemned to the prison of Abingdon, on the charge of being guilty of a crime wh ch I detested, and of which I was totally innocent. Yet there I was constrained to remain in false imprisonment, f >r the space of ten months and nine days before my innocence could be made to appear, and the depravity of my malicious accuser was made manifest. Yet here the Lord did not forsake me ; but he made the days of my age and the days of my captivity, signs to me of what he purposed to do; and there he revealed to me many things which hereafter shall come to pass ; some of which I may not communicate, but some I must make public at my peril, lest I be made to answer for the blood of thtm that perish, because they are not warned
Hear then all men ! and be ye assured that this is truly from the Lord.
As I lay in prison reflecting on the serious calls from the Lord, which I had kng slighted and disobeyed, and consider- ing what might be the meaning of my then present situation, I saw as it were, the root' of my prison opened, and I was im- mediately taken, in the spirit, and carried away into the wil- derness. And 1 saw a deep and dismal dark pit, and the sight of it filled me with horror : for it appeared to widen as- it de- scended, and I was placed upon the brink of it, and the depth of it, was beyond the reach of my sight. Then I looked and an innumerable crowd, the spirits of men and women, of every rank and station in the world, all rushing on from every direc- tion towards this pit, and as they came they tumbled head- long down; then indeed I feared and trembled exceedingly, and it was then given to me to know, that this vision repre- sented the suddenness of the destruction which the Lord bringeth upon the earth for the punishment of the sins of its inhabitants and the ease with which the Lord can effect his awful threatnings; for each seemed to hurry on the destruc- tion of each other, urging, pressing and pushing each other in- to ruin ; not resisting at all, or making the least effort to es- cape And 1 was carried from this place, but the dre^d of the vision filled my mind with awe and fear ; for it was com- manded me that I should publish these unwelcome tilings to the world. And I looked again and I saw three birds in one-
23
nest, each about tlie size of a dove, and two were white as snow, and one was red as biood, and the three birds arose from the nest, and they were separated, two and one ; the two that were white, fit w together towurds ihe east, and the one that was as red as blood, flew towards the north, and was de- voted to destruction : Then I sought to know the meaning of this vision, and it was then revealed tome, that for the gross wickedness of the world, the Lord had determined to brine a destructive wind over the face of the earth, and a hoi rible tempest, in which one third of mankind shall be destroyed : But those will be saved whom the Lord hath determined to spare, even every one-, as the scripture saith, whose name is written in the book of life. I felt that the task of making such a report to the world was truly a heavy burden, and I feared to undertake it ; and ardently desired to be released from a load which I believed to be too heavy for me to bear : But I looked and I beheld the sun, and in the sun the appear- ance of a man or rather of an angel : and the moment I beheld him my spirit was revived, and I felt the greatest comfort and happiness of soul ; and he shewed me to go easterly, and spoke to me distinctly, saying, " fear not — go on, and accom- plish the work which you have to do." Thus encouraged, I felt a kind of rapture of soul, which I cannot express. Yet when I recollected that my body was in prison, I felt an anxie- ty to return lest it might suffer some injury from those who might have believed that the spirit had finally flown. I was then brought again to the prison, and by a strong whirling mo- tion, my spirit was cast down to the floor, and entered again into my body aid those who were in the prison with me, saw my body in a shining light.
Let no man say that this vision was the effect of a crazed or disturbed imagination. It is no such dream, not effect of me- lancholy, or any other distemper of the mind or body, but an awful message from the Lord God ; which has been since fur- ther enforced, and more clearly revealed.
From this time I began to be seviously attentive to these vi- sion?, and frequently prayed to the Lord for further light and confirmation of what was his will concerning me ; and that he would uphold me, and strengthen me to do his will.
And the Lord was pleased to give me a further sight of his awful judgments, which will positively be executed upon the earth on that tremendous day which has so often been alluded to in the scriptures, and then will be fulfilled all those denun- ciations wherewith Babylon hath been denounced ; for the wicked and abominable of the earth are they who compose the true Babylon, whose dreadful destruction is foretold in the prophets Daniel and Jeremiah; and in the revelation of St. John the divine.
m
The Lord was pleased to give me a distinct view of ih«u dreadful day with all its horrors. I saw the commencement of that terrific and destructive storm, and marked its ruin and havock. I saw the gathering tempest, and heard its dreadful roarings, which seemed to me to be like the roaring and bursting of ten thousand cannons at once. Then I saw the trees of the forest torn by the violence of the wind, and dashed against e ch other and against every thing that stood before them, and houses and rocks and hiiis torn from their foundations, and shattced into atoms, and blown aboutlike the dust of the earth. And I saw the great hail which fell such as I had never before conceived the least thought of and the noise of it as it was dashed to the earth and blown along the surface of the ground, was like the roaring of thousands of guns continually firing and bursting without intermission. And I ^w thous nds of men and women blown along before the fury of the tempest ; and dashed about with violence amongst torn trees, shattered rocks, and broken buildings, un- til they were destroyed, torn to pieces and mangled amongst the ruins of the earth. And as they were blown past me- 1 could hear them exclaim amidst their frightful shrieks and bitter roaring: " O ! now I know that Hughes was right. He declared the truth, but we woud not believe it." And the Lord shewed me further that this fearful tempest should be general all over the earth on the same day. And I saw three men standing together, and a great tre, fell down and struck one, and left two without injuring them in the least. And I was alarmed and felt for the three men, for I thought they should all be certainly crushed to death, and mangled like min- ced meat, by the weight and force of the great tree that fell upon them ; and when I saw that two were safe and unhurt, and that on only was lost, 1 then knew th t this was a type of the great destruction at nand, when the one third of mankind are to be taken from the earth ; And although one unrighteous man or hypocrite, should join himself t9 two righteous per- sons, yet shall the judgments of God discriminate between them ' For the rod of the wicked shall not come into the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth his nan i to do iniquty." And with many other signs and wonderful visions did the Lord confirm me in the certainty of his lulfilling his judgments upon the present generation ; and also that he would uphold me, notwithstanding the great and powerful op- position which 1 must meet with from the multitude of unbe- lievers and scorners who mock at those words as they have always done at every gracious message which the long suffer- ing God hath sent to mankind, in all ages of the world. Moreover the Lord further revealed to me what he purpos-
ed to do among the nations of the earth after this great time of trouble should be past ; and of the great favour and loving kindness which he would confer even upon me, who though poor and in obscurity, yet the Lord careth for me : For after that will this scripture be fulfilled: " Many that are first shall be last and the last first." but I know that many will not relieve even until the last, and woe be to those whom that great convincing prophet Death only can persuade to believe the truth. And many will say of this prophecy, as the Greeks did of tise gospel, " It is foolishness." But " the world by wis- dom knew not God" Wherefore it was judged proper that by what the word calls foolishness the Lord was pleased to save those wno believe. For indeed the wisdom of God ap- peareth to be foolishness to the world ; but all the studied wis- dom of the world, is mere foolishness before the all-wise God. But 4< the secret of the Lord is with those who fear his name." And as the prophet Daniel observes, chap. 12, verse It. M Many shall be fiurifed and made white and tried ; but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand ; but the wise shall understand." And those are the moat truly wise wh >fear God and teeft his commandments, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ; and the knowledge of the hoiy is wader standing." *■ If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: But if thou scornestt thou a- lone shall bear it.''1 Prov. ix. v. 10. 12.
For how can the man have true wisdom who delighteth in folly, vice and wickedness? For it is indisputably true, that the virtuous and godly man is the most tru.y wise : and the vicious nd wicked man of consequence the greatest fool ; yea, and the more iearned and opulent such a man may be, the more conspicuous will he make his folly : and the more dangerous will be his example. ('
The great trouble spoken of by Daniel it will readily be ad- )
mitted, has not yet come upon the earth, but almost every one who protesseth to believe in the prophecies of the old tes- tament looks for the accomplishment of that prediction :— Therefore all those who have attempted to publish their thoughts upon the subject, have made calculations to shew how near they could b ing the fulfilment of the prophecy to some given period not remote from their own time. — But as error is calculated to make mystery more mystical, they have every one left the subject just as undetermined as they found it. Some indeed have shewn how near they could come to the truth without being able to find it exactly. But they are not to blame on that accouut, " Flesh and blood could not reveal it unto them.'* Yet their labours ought not to he despised, for Chey have endeavoured well to caution mankind of their ap-
c
26
proaching danger* and to rouse them up to a serious prepara- tion to meet their God. Sonne have found by calculation of scripture and of the signs of the time that this awful predic- tion will be accomplished Detween the years 1810 and 1820, but in this d;.y the g» xious goodness of God is still more plainly manifested, in that he is pleased to shewthe very year month and day when he shall most surely visit the earth with his '• strange work, his terrible work of judgment." Some have calculated by the uncertain rule of " a time, times and half a time,** as spokeh of by the pr-o^het Daniel, chap. XII verse 7- Admitting a time to be 700 years, then a time, times and half a time will be 1750 years, which reckoning from the time of the destruction of the temple by Vespasian. 70 years after the birth of Christ, will bring the fulfilment to the year 1820, but they allow for errors in the chronology which leave them in some doubt if the great day may not come sooner — Respecting this prophecy Daniel himself says, verse 8, 9, — '* And I heard, but! understood not ; then said 1, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things ? And he said^ go thy way Daniel, for the words are closed u/i and sealed till the time of the end.
What therefore, the prophet himself understood not, even by divine revelation can hardly be expected to be accurately discovered by human intelligence.
Another calculation which seems to stand upon surer ground is taken from the 1 1th verse. *• And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall betaken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days." Now in the language of the ancient drophecy, a day is frequently given for a year, and in- peed strictly speaking, every revolution of the earth, the moon or any other such body is a year.
We may therefore take the days of Daniel for years which will be 2190
And as these days go for years, so also roust the inter- calary days from the commencement of our date be ad- ded, which to the year 1812 — leaving cut one for the year 1800, which to preserve the equation of time was made a common year. 452
Then add the years to the time of the destruction of the temple when the daily sacrifices were removed which is seventy. 70
This will bring the prophecy of Daniel precisely to the year of our Lord. 1812
Further the prophet says in the 12th verse that '• Bles&ed
is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hnndred
27
and five and thirty days" That is, forty-five years after this great destruction . which will be in the year of our Lord 1857. But without plaeing any reliance upon thf correctness even of this calculation, the result is nevertheless true — for so it hath been fuily revealed unto me, and upon the truth of the revela- tion and not calculation, I do most firmly rely, venturing both bad/ and soul upon the veracity of the Loid. The great trou- ble and uuparalelled calamity will surely be experienced on that all important dark and dismal day — to wit : June the 4th 1812, wlrch is in the old style May, the 24th, of the same year — and surely blessed and happy will they be who survive that day 45 years. For then will that gracious promise of God be fulfilled ; spoken of in the 11th chapter of Isaiah, and the Lord himself will reign over the nations of the earth :— And 4t With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips bhall he slay the wicked
'• And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins
4i The wolf shall also dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the caif and the young lion and the fatling together, and a young child shall lead them.
" And the cow and tke bear shall feed, and their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eatstrawlike an ox.
" And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cocatrice's den.
" They shall not hurt, nor destroy in all my hnlv mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.*'
Then shall there be peace all over the whole earth and the arts of war shall no more be studied amongst men, and the Jaws sh «ll be few, and those who compose them shall be few, and those who administer them shall be few : for the fear of the Lord will be in the hearts of the people, and the knowl- edge of his laws will overspread the earth.
And the laws shall continue for seven years and then shall they be revised and continue unaltered for other seven years, and so on every seven years the laws shall be revised in every country
And after the destf~uet;on, the present style of counting the ye ir-stnll be changed, and the year 1813, will commence on the twelfth day of March, which will then be counted, as the first day, ind will continue so for at least forty -five years.
And when I considered deeply upon these strange and wort-
28
derful visions, and doubted in my mir.d how these things should be ; the Lord was pleased to give me another 6ign to confirm me in the truth of those matters before revealed tome. I s^w a vision astonishing and strange. The mGon shining brightly Jii the scuth and a large bright star which appeared to dance about in a strange manner, then it moved along towards the east, where it was joined to another star of the same size and brightness, and both moved in company until they erne to the north, where they both displayed themselves in the form of an X. in which position they remained until I cculd a full and distinct view of them ; and then it was strongly impres- sed upon my mind, that this vision referred me to the tenth chapters of the first book of the old testament, and the first book of the new testament, which are marked by the nume* tfal letter, X, ag appeared in the vision.
And when I was set at liberty I found that the time of my confinement w.s ten months and nine days. whereupoB I was confit med in the sign and referred to the Xth chapters for the months, and the 9th verses for the days, as set for th in table IL
And on my being liberated from prison after a confinement of ten months and nine days, and when I came home to my own house and family, I earnestly ontreated the Lord.inhum- ble prayer and suppheation, that if this awful prophecy was to be made, known to mankind by me. and if I was right in the application of those scriptures which are made use «f in the tables hereunto annexed, that he would be graciously pleased to give me another view of that wonderful sign of the stars. And agreeably to my earnest request, the Lord was pleased to favour me at my own house, with a repetition of the very same extraordinary vision ; which took place in exactly the same manner as I at first saw it in the prison. Thus was I confirmed in the correctness of the tables, which I had pre- viously prepared, in conformity with the former revelations made to me, when in prison, wherein I was shewn that al- though I was poor and in obscurity, and suffering in a prison, yet that I was highly favoured of the Lord and that my life and sufferings should be made signs and warnings to mankind to guide the rneek and humble into the ways of safety, and to warn the wicked, the scoffer and self-conceited of their dan- ger, that those who shall perish may be left without excuse.
In table I, there is an arch, en each side of which there are ten letters six of them are the six English vowels, and four of them are consonants corresponding with the figures used in common arithmetic ; the first six of which are vowels in al- phabetical order, and will count 21 The four last are T, S, N, R; which will count together 24 making in the whole 45 — In those letters are several meanings which J may not clearly
29
explain at this time. But those who are wise will find their meaning, especially all those who will be found worthy to re- main upon earth after the great year one thousand eight hun- dred and Twelve, when the Saviour will be honoured upon earth, and Nimrod will be found to be right- These four letters may also remind the intelligent reader of the fourth day of June in our calendar, when God's judgments are -sure to be executed, and the number of those letters being 24, may also remind hirn of the 24th day of May, old styla, which is the same fatal day of the Lord : And the whole number be- ing 45, may point to that blessed epoch spoken of by Daniel, ch. 12, and v. 12. which will commence 45 years after the time of trouble in the 12th year of the present century, when peace and righteousness shall cover the whole earth.
As the events of my life are also made signs, to confirm, at least myself in the truth of the revelation made to me, I was instructed by these visions to note in a table the days of the months of the birth of our Lord, and also of myself his very unprofitable but favoured servant. And as our Lord was born on the 14th clay of December old styla. but by the alteration of the style on the 3i of September 1752, when the 3d day- was made the 14th— consequently the anniversary of his birth has since been celebrated on the 25th of December; and as my humble birth hath not been unnoticed in heaven, it being on the 14th day of February, old style, 1772, and sixty -two days after the anniversary of our Lord's, I was directed to the book of Micah the 14th chapter. First because of months 10 that I was in prison which I find in the name of the Evan- gelist, and to the 14th chapter for the 14th days of the months of the birth of our blessed Lord and of me his humble and
unprofitable instrument, Of this chapter I take the first
verse lor our Lord, because he was born on the first year of our Era ; and the 72d verse, because my own humble birth was in the year 72 of the last century. On the first pillar of the arch, there is inscribed the first verse of the 14th chapter of Mark. This verse speaks of our Lord in the time of his humiliation, and contains 3.3 words, which correspond with th«» 33 years which the blessed Jesus had been upon the earth, and numbers 90. On the second pillar is written the 72d verse of the same ch pter, containing 36 words and numbers 116, which corresponds with the year 72 of the last century, the year ot my birth ; and the 36 words, in like manner, teaches me to remember that as our blessed Saviour was 33 years and 99 days of age, when he was unjustly condemned and crucifi- ed ; so also was I 36 years and 99 days old, when I was un- justly condemned to prison— For the servant is not greater than his master ; it is enough that he be equal to Ms master, c 3
so
And the scripture further wknesseth that persecutions wlil. attend the servants $t Christ. •* Yea, and every one who wilt live Godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution ".
It may be further observe^ that in this verse, there fire twelve words, whose initial letters are alike : they are Twelve T's or 7's. This further indicates to me, the Twelfth year of this century when the great Trouble spoken of by Daniel, will be upon the earth ; for this is not only applicable to the author, but to mankind at large— for few indeed can be found if any who have not in some instance, either by words or ac- tions, " denied the Lord toko bought them.1* And happy will they be whom this warning shall awake to a reflection upon themselves, as the warning voice of the Cock reminded Peter of the words that Jesus said unto him, and blessed wdl be their repentant tears, if, like him, they weep snd move the Compassionate God to pat don their sins and grant them pro- tection in the great time of trouble.
I know that many people who think themselves wise and teamed, will smile at the simplicity of these tables, or perhaps scoff at them, and deride them and their au'hor. But I must not in order to please them, nor even to gain reputation for myself, omit their publication ; for woe be unto me if I do not publish them, even although all mankind should laugh at them, and persecute their author — But let it be remembered, that " the wisdom of ?nan is foolishness with God " — And that God hath chosen the weak and foolish things of this world, to confound the strong and wise ; and what the world called weakness and foolishness, hath been made unto thes? who be- lieve, the wisdom and powrer of God unto salvation. But ma- ny will laugh because they would be thoueht to possess supe- rior knowledge, and that every such admonition as this, is ridi- culous; and yet, wh 1st they pretend to sneer at the folly of th> work, their hearts accuse them of thetr own sins, which must ei'her h\> pardoned for the sake of Christ, or fiunished in themselves. As Sol mon says, Prov. XIV. v. 13, ** Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness." And again "the wise man informs us, chap. XXIV. v. 12, fi Seestthou a ivise\mcm in his own conceit^ there is more hofie of a fool than ofhi?n" But he that is wise will not make haste co condemn what he doth not understand; but rather v he Sscketh knowledge, he will " ask of God^ who giveth liberally and ufibraideth not."
In this j2c verse, which belongs to all men, the reaHer will remember that there are twelve T's, and they may figure to mind the inhabitants of all countries, for even in our courts of justice, twelve men are called the country hut in the ether yeTse^ which belongs exclusively lo our Redeemer, there is
found but eight T's, which is two thirds of the whole number, and indicate at least to me, that in the great <'estruction ap- proaching two thirds of mankind only wilt be preserved, and one third will be taken away. Those eight T's ; lso remind me of the eighth year of the present centuiy, when I was falsely accused, and unjustly condemned, as the other twelve T's shew me the twelfth year, when the great destruction will certainly come upon the ea:th.
In this tinle there are many other important matters, which are m> sicriou, to the world, nut are m--.de clear to my mind. L t those who are wise, and with whom the secret of the Lord remaineth, search the scriptures and these tables, for therein is contained much knowledge, and it is hidden from the proud, and those who are wisr in their own conceit ; but the humble and obedient seeker f r true wisdom, may find them. But from many are these mysteries sealed until the time shall be accomplished. In this table, amongst other in portart mavUr, will be found the interpretation of that prophecy, written in the 17th chapter of the Revelations, and 10th verse — *' Jnd there are seven kings ; Jive are fallen, and one isy and the other is not yet come : and when he cometh, he must continue a short s/iace '
And this prophecy will be fulfilled in the coming day of ca- lamity, when five great kings shall be called off, and one ther king shall arise, who must continue for a short space, but the tiiucis not distant, when most of the e mysteries shall be fully revealed. In the mean time let every one prepare for the awful events of that tremendous day ot the Lord, when the great and the mighty of the earth cannot purchase exemption from that great trouble. But whosoever hath obtained an in- terest in the blood of the Redeemer, shall be saved, as those were of old in the land of Egypt, whose door-posts and lintels were sprinkled by the blood of the Paschal lamb, when the destroying angel slew the first-born of every other family of Egypt.
I have stated that I w?s directed to make cut tables of the ten months and nine days th t I was detained in prist:;, and •f the tenth chapter and ninth verse of the first book of the old and the first book 61 the new tesc-;ment ; thest tables are dis* played in table II. upon three pillars. Over tie centre is sketched a figure to remind me of that great king who is, and also is to be, even to the end of time ; the figure on his right iiand denotes a king that shall arise the first after the coming destruction, and continue but a short space ; and the other fig- ure on his left hand, denotes the first king after the great de- struction which has already come upon the earth ; and the difference between the tisae of the commencement of their
32
kingdoms will be four thousand, four hundred, and fifty -two years. And et them who think they have wisdom, count the number of the latter king, for his number is the number of the days in the month. On the first of these pillars is in- scribed the names of the months of my imprisonment. The middle pillar contains the 9th verse of the 10th chapter of Ge- nesis, and the third piltar the 9th verse of the 10th chapter of Matthew, as shewn to me in the first vision of the stars, and confirmed to me by a repetition of the same strange vision ac- cording to my earnest prayer On the pillar containing the names of the months, there are four words, which commerce with figures, an.: these^^r number twenty-two, or two 2's, which make four, these were shewn to me to confirm the prediction, that \xifaur years from the day when I was unjust- ly condemned to prison, which whs June the 4th, in the year 8, the great trouble would come upon the earth, as foretold in the scriptures, which will be June 4, year 12
On the middle pillar is inscribed twenty-one words, ten of whi h begin with figures, and count forty-eight, which is 4 and 8, that is twelve, confirming the prediction on the twelfth year. And further to establish the chronology which I have used, and which I did not receive from mau, these 21 words contain 11 words that cannot commence with figures, corres- ponding with the 11 days thrown out of the ye*r at the alter- ation of the style ; there are are also 11 words above the line of the darts pointing out the words — June — 8aid — Provide, which eleven words contain the number 14, referring to the 14th dav of the tenth month of the year that our Lord was born, that is, December 25th, of our present style the 12th month, and the ten words below the darts, corresponding with the ten months of my persecution in prison, contains the number 34, which points to me that Christ was in the 34th year of his iife when he was persecuted even to death. On the other pillar there is also ten words, exactly according with the ten months on the fivst pillar : rf these ten words there are four which do not begin with figures- reversing the case with the opposite pillar of the months, where four letters do count ; and the other words wh-ch comme&ce with figures, count 44, that is two 4's, or 8 ; which further corroborates the revelation made to, that from the day of my being so condemned, June 4, in the year 8, unto the day of the Lord's visitation, will be ex- actly four years, and the words themselves appear to be a suitable admonition on such occasion — to wit : " Provide nei- ther gold nor silver, nor brass in your purses :" For surely these articles will be no sort of defence against the arm of the Lord, nor of any kind of use to those whom He shall doom to destruction. The six figures added together by the single fig-
33 lire, make in the whole 24, which agree with the 24th clay at May, in the old style, which will be June the 4th, in the pre- sent calender. I was also directed by the spirit to take all the letters which compose the arch in table I. which form the key to the figures, which ascertain the numbers and the dates ; also all the initial letters of the months in table II. and all the initial letters of all the words which ate contained in the four texts of scripture to which I had been referred as in the two first tables, which on counting I found to be one hun- dred and twenty ; and when I had arranged them in order, placing all letters of one sort in a line to themselves* as in tab e III I found the T's to be 24 ; and the next greatest Dum- ber* the A's. to be 12; this further confirmed m in the truth of the visions which I had seen ; for the i!4 T's pointed to the true time, the 24th day of May, old style, June 4th, of our pre- sent style, and the 12 A's to the year 12 , when this predic- tion will be accomplished. And each of these lines of letters in this table, has important allusions which cannot at this time be clearly explained, for the time has not yet come to speak clearly of all that is mysteriously revealed.
Further I sought in my mind, what might be the signs of this approiching calamity. And it was impressed upon my mind, that the signs should be the same as the signs preced- ing the great deluge, when Noah and his family only were preserved out of all the children of men. ^nd that such signs would continue and increase in number until the great day of trouble. For the wickedness of mankind is full as great, and their crimes to the full as enormous as were the crimes and wickedness of the Antedeluvian world, whom God destroyed by the flood For we are told in the 6th chap, of Genesis, that ' When men began to multiply on the face of the earthy and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and took them wives of all which they chose " verse 1 and 2. And from this unequal connexion we are told that V there were giants on the earth in those days." So in these days, they who would be called the sons of God and heirs of heave% are wedded to the daughters of mm, and things of the earth, such as money, unlawful pleasures, powers, fame and authori- ty ; and it is no wonder if from such an alliance there should be a brood of the most gigantic crimes on the earth, such as cal- led down the vengeance of God upon the inhabitants of the old workd. Yet think not that they were taken without any warning being given ; no, the Lord also sent his prophets to the sinners of old, and Noah gave them warning from the Lord, not only by his words, but by his actions ; and the same chap. v. 3, " The Lord said, my s/iirit shall not always strive
34
with man, for that he also isjlesh : Yet his days shall be one hundred aud twenty years,"* And no doubt but the old world had many other warnings, but here was a direct, warning of 120 years, which were allowed them of time to' repent and prepare. This warning of 120 years was truly believed by Noah, who was not disobedient in warning his fellow-mortals of their impending fate, although it is probable that many of his hearers thought themselves wiser th m he, and mocked at and derided the prophecy of this righteous man. Now the 120 initial letters composing the words to which I have been directed, is at least to myself, a certain sign that their pre- diction is as true, and will be fulfilled as exactly as that word of the Lord was, which Noah received 120 years before the great flood came. Of these 120 letters, those which will ad- mit to be represented by figures, as in the arch of table I. I have so arranged, also the other letters which will not admit of being changed to figures, in two tables, IV and V.
I find that the 12C letters, when arranged, as in table III. make 21 lines, exactly as the words on the centre pillar of ta- ble II ; and like ihose words also, ten lines of them are repre- sented by figures, and eleven will not admit of being ch »nged. In this table there are 53 letters, which, as the for- mer, refer me to months and days, and which certify, me of the correctness of the dates. But they contain, as was before stated, many things which must now be explained. The 7th month of my confinement was December, formerly the 7th month of the year, and the 1st month of Christ, and here I find for that month 7 C's, denoting the month of Christ. And as a further proof that I have beea called to this work, I find for the ninth month of my confinement, which was February, my birth month, the initial of my name, Hughes, nine times in the table. Nine H's.
In table V. which is composed of the figures that represent the respective letters in the 120 letters, there are 67. These, as before, refer me to days and times, which, when added as in the other table, give three hundred and sixty-five, the pre- cise number of days in the year, which satisfies me of the true meaning of God's warning given to the world 120 years before the great deluge. The number of each line ot figures are brought out to aid those who may choose to seek for the vari- ous signs which they contain of the approaching calamity and day of wonders of the Lord.
And for other signs, there shall he seen " the stars of Hea- " ven falling upon the earth, as a fi^ tree casteth her untime- ly figs." Rev. VI. 13. But the stars here spoken of, are tho«e who slvne amongst men, as the great men, the opulent and the worthy, whose sudden deaths are signs and warnings to
35
the survivors, and such signs shall be frequent until the great day. 8ut say not in y ur hearts, that these were the greatest sinners who are thus taken away for your admonition and so- lemn warning : for it may be that they are taken away from the evil that is to come. " For the time is come that judg- M ment must begin at the house of God : and if it first be- *• g"<ns at such, what shall the er d be of them that obey not " the gospel of God. And if the righteous scarcely be saved ,{ where shall the ungodly and sinner appear ?" 1. Peter IV. 17 1.8. Judgment thus beginning at the hou«*e of God, or amongst the best of the people, shall go through all nations according to th^ words of Jeremiah, chap. XXV. v. 32, 33. — •■ Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, evil shall go forth M from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised " up from the coast of the earth. And the slain of the Lord •• shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the " other end ol the ear*h ; they shall n- • t be lamented, neither *' gathered nor buried, they «=hall be dung upon the ground.'' Ani indeed the slain of the Lord will be many in that day, f@r it was distinctly shewn to me, that they would bf one third of mankind. Then will be fulfilled the vision of St. Johr — Rev. IX. 15. " And the four angels were loosed which were pre- M pared for an hour, and a day and a month and a year for to " slay the third part of men." Yet the Lord will nv st assu- redly spare -hose whom he hath determined to save through Christ out of mankind : as the vision of St. John fore-shows, in the VII th chap Rev. where he saw the four angels that stood upon the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds •. f the e irth, and heard them commanded that they should not permit the winds to hurt the earth or the sea, until the servants of God were sealed in their forehead.
And further 1 was convinced of the certainty of this pre- diction by an extraordinary vision which I saw in the day time at my own house. I saw two shelves of that sort of grass called Timothy, standing up on the floor, before me, and 1 saw another sheaf of Timothy, as it were flung or pitched on the floor beside them, and it was immediately loosed, broken and shattered to the smallest pieces. This vision shewed me, that as two sheaves stood and remained whole, while one was ut- terly destroy d,th -t so in the twelfth year, two thirds of the inhabitants of the e rth should be preserved whole, ut that the other thi d would be shattered and destroyed. And by ma- ny other signs and vision , not herein explained nor mention- ed has the certainty of this pre iction been shewn to me
And the firm conviction of its fulfilment on the year and day first mentioned, has been so fastened on my mind, that I cannot entertain the slightest shadow of doubt of its strict accomplish-
36
ment. For righteous and true are all the words and ways of the LORD GOD ; his servants, even ah the redeemed of the earth, shall praise his name for the righteousness and truth of all his judgments.
Whatever the world may think respecting the truth of the words of this warning, yet the righteous, the serious and thoughtful reader, win lay them to heart. Those who rever- ence the scriptures and credit ancient prophecies, will not hastily condemn this book. For who that will reflect on the enormities of the present generation, but must be convinced that the sins of this age, can hardly escape the judgments of G d, " who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity with the least allowance."
The world, they will readily see, is full of violence and ev- ery 6pecies of wickedness. The great men, and the greatest amongst the teachers of the earth, in general, are open blas- phemers of the Lord God : Even amongst them who speak in his name, and preach to the people, how few of them discharge their duty with fidelity ? How aptly will the words, of Jeremiah apply to them ? Chap. 6. v. 13, 14. <• From the least of them <• to the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousne-ss, " from the prophet to the priest, every one dealeth falsely : «• They have healed the hurt of thedaughter of my people " slightly, saying peace, peace, when there is no pe*ce," But there is a bitter woe pronounced against all such teachers as those, who " pollute the name of the Lord among his peo- ple for handfulls of barley and pieces of bread/' by their false teachings, and " sowing pillows under all armpits." That is, promising ease and safety, when no such thing is to be expect- ed. See Ezek. 13. 28, 19.
Of these sort of teaching prophets, Jeremiah speaks, chap. 14. v. 4. •* Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets proph- ecy lies in my name ; I sent them not, neither have I com- manded them, neither speak unto them : They prophecy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." And in the next verse he assures these prophets who flatter the people with false hopes, and say to them, *' no sword or famine hall be in this land. By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed " — And a great proportion of modern preachers of the gospel, who call themselves ambassadors of God, were never called of him, nor sent into that work, but assumed the office in the presump- tion of their own hearts, and their labour i s not blessed, but cursed. I speak not of any particular sect or church, for the hypocrites and workers of iniquity are all in places. What the scribes and pharisees were in the days of Jesus Christ's hu- mility, the great men, teachers and clergy are in th s genera- tion. I cannot offer them a fitter reproof, than the words of our Lord himself, in the following chapter.
37 St MATTHEW, chap. 23.
The Scribe 8 and Pharisees' good doctrine, but evil examJ:-;& of life. The destruction of Jerusalem foretold.
Then spake Jesus unto the multitude, and to his disciples, Say mg the scribes and the pharisees sit in Moses seat : All therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do ; but do not ye after their works : for they say and do not. For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the up- permost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your master, even Christ ; and all ye are brethren. And call no wan your father upon the earth ; for one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be ve called masters ; for one is your mas- ter, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be a- based ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
But woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men : tor ye neither go \n yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto y u, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites j for ye devour widows' houses ; and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation, Woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites i for ye com- pass sea and land to make one proselyte, and wh* n he is made, ye make him two fold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides ! which say, Whosoever shall swe r by the temple, it is nothing ; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Ye fools, and blind I for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifi- eth the gold ? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing ; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools, and blind ! for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift ? Whoso, therefore, shall swear by the aftat, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that d welleth therein. And he th t shall swear by heaven, swe reth by the throne of God, and by him that srteth the- eon. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypo- crites ! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin , an<J
38
have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment,mer- cy, and faith ; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the others undone. Ye blind guides '. which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites 1 for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee ! cleans- first that which is withia the cup ad platter, that the outside ol them may be clean also. • Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites 1 ft r ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful omward.but are wiihin full of dead men's bones, and of all un- cleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, s ribes and pharisees. hyj;ocrkes I because ye build the tombs of the prophe-, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous. A nd say, if we had been in th days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses u to y urselves, that ye are the < hildren of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measuiv of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, a wd scribes ; and some of them ye sm«ll kill and cruci- fy, and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city : That upon you may come all the r ghteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of Righteous Abel unto th? blood of Zacharias. son of Barachias, •whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. — Verily I say unto you, All the-e th.in.rs shall co«ie upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which art- sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not! Behold your hou.ee is left unto you desolate For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that com- eth in the name of the Lord.
Even so, blessed Lord, thy wll be done, and let all thy •saints and people praise thee, and glorify thy holy name. Ga- ther thy people, O Lord, and sustain and uphold them by thy holy spirit. Strengthen the weak in heart, and confirm the hope of the feeble, and the humble, who puttheir trust in thetf. Amen t
TABLE I.
*•
f Mark 14, «. 1 I 0W* 33.
} Number 90.
S
s s
Ten Letters in the Arch, 6 Voxveis and 4 Consonants, Number 45.
■£oo/£ tmto me ail ye ends of the Earth
and be ye saved.
A Solemn Warning: from God, to
Kimrod Hughes,
Aged 36 Tear s, 99 Days,
t*~ f
S Jl/ar^ 14 v. 72. ^ S Wort//, 36. s
J[ Number 116. S
5 ?
•
L
f September
i 4ctober
• 9ovember
T December
i January
^ February
1 March
S 10 Months -> fe 9 Days in £ c Prison. *
S Number 22 S
ft
Verse 9. J Words 21. J
Number 48 S
ek- —
S Gen C
\
S Mat. C. 10. S S Verse 9. > 2 Words 10. >
S Number 21
TABLE III.
>^_ G
R
|
X L, |
||
|
F |
F |
|
|
E |
E |
|
|
Y |
Y |
|
|
U |
U U |
|
|
D D |
D D |
|
|
J J |
J |
J |
|
o o |
O |
O |
|
I I |
I |
I |
|
N N N |
N N N |
|
|
WWW |
W WW |
|
|
p p p |
p |
P P |
|
B B B |
B |
B 3 |
|
M M M |
M |
M M |
|
C C C |
C C |
C C |
|
H H H H |
H H |
H H H |
|
s -s s s |
s s |
s s s |
|
A A A A A A |
A A |
A A A A |
|
Itttttttttttttttttttttttt |
|
•A. |
|
|
G |
|
|
LIT |
|
|
F F |
|
|
DD DD |
|
|
J J J J |
|
|
"WWWWWW |
|
|
P P P P P P |
|
|
B B B B B B |
|
|
M M M M M M |
|
|
c c c c c c c |
|
|
HHHHHHHHH |
|
|
TABLE V. |
|
|
-A- |
i |
|
o |
|
|
22 |
4 |
|
66 |
12 |
|
5 5 5 |
15 |
|
4 4 4 4 |
16 |
|
3 3 3 3 |
12 |
|
tf 9 9 9 9 9 |
54 |
|
888888038 |
72 |
|
111111111111 |
12* |
|
777777777777777777777777 |
164 |
365