Second advent library

_'216 ucrvaz xvm;this beut,whichwasto drive into thewildemeosthchurch, "and tread her under foot forty and twomonths."We must look, then, for some law, passed bysomeRoman emperor, and sanctioned by the'ten kings, (forthey, too, had the same mind to give "their wer andstrength unto the beast," meaning,as I undeorstand it,Rome Papal,) in order to find the commencement of thechurch in the wildemess.We find that Justinian, emperor of Constantinople,formed a code of laws about A. D. 534, which werepublished and sanctioned, in_ the Western Empire atRome, about four years alierwards; on which code oflaws, the Pope has claimed his authority to rule overkings, and punish heretics with coniscation of theirgoods, imprisonment or torture of body, and even death;which laws continued in force until 1260 ears afterwards,in the year 1798, when the French peoplye, under GeneralBonaparte, abolished the laws, and constituted Italy aic.repuThen, in the year 1798, the church began to come up"out of the wilderness. What," says the objector, "halBonaparte or the wars of France to do with the churchcoming out of the wildernees?" I answer, Much; forthe same power that gave the anti-Christian beast hisauthority, must take it away. The political river Jordanmust be parted asunder; the law of outlawryagainst the church must be abolished, before she couldenjoy rights and privileges in the great city of nations.In this war, under the modem dragon, the emperor ofthe French, the bamers were broken down. And now,the church is permitted to exist in almost all kingdomsin the known world.This is "coming up out of the wilderness," for she isn_ow permitted to publish the gospel of her belovedall nations.She can now translate his word intoamong every anauage, and send his servants into every quarterof the glo e. By this were the armies of Christ to conquerhis enemies by the "sharp sword which proceedethout of his mouth." And as the Jews overran and conquereda large share of the promised land, after they