Second advent library

`csa|s1='s slcolm course. 121attempted to subdue the Eastern Empire at Constantinople,and made but little progress in conquering Europe,now to take Constantinople, and to overmn and subdueone third part of Europe, which was the fact about tbamiddle of the fifteenth century.15th"verse, And the four angels were loosed, whichwere prepared for anhour, and a day, and a month, andayear, to slay the third of men."part The four angels,we may reasonably cone ude, are a representation o thefour nations that had embraced the Mahometun religion,and were now under the control of the Ottoman, viz.,Turks, Tartars, Arabs, and Saracens. The time expressedin the last-mentioned verse is 391 years und 15"days. To slay the third part of men," is to destroy andconquer one third part of the governments or kingdomsof which the Papal east had the control, which was truein the end.16th "verse, And the number ofthe arm of the horsemenwas two hundred thousand thousandy; and I heardthe number of them." In this verse the precise numberof the army of horsemen is given, for John tells us " heheard the number of them." And if we should understandthe prophet to mean, as some suppose he does,200,0(J0, multiplied b a 1000, then the sum total wouldbe 200,000,000, which would be more men than wereever on our earth at one time capable of bearing arms;therefore I believe this is not the meaning ofthe prophet,neither do I think that it was a succession of armies duringthe whole period of39l years, making the sum totalof200,000,000, for this, too, would be incredible; for allowinga standing army of 15,385,000 to be recruitedevery 30 years, it would only make the two hundredmillions; and this sum would be more than ilve times thenumber of all the armies in the known world.standingAnd from these considerations I have for myself giventhis construction, that the prophet John heard the numberof 200,000 repeated,or twice told, which wouldmake anarmy of 400,000 horsemen; and this would notbe incredible. And what is to meproof of thefact is, that the informs us that M omet II. camestronghistory against Constintinop e about the year A. D. 1450, with