. Whilst a third class, giving fall scope to
the hallucinations of mere imagination, aver their conviction that
republican America is the special and doomed object of all these
plagues!--Hence, the necessity of caution, sobriety, reverence for
divine authority, reliance on the teaching of the Holy Spirit, whom the
Saviour has promised to his humble disciples to "guide them into all
truth, and to show them things to come." (John xvi. 13.) That the
student of prophecy,--especially of the Apocalypse, may realize the
fulfilment of this promise, it is indispensably necessary that he be
absolutely untrammeled by all antichristian politics. Such cases are
very rare, (ch. xiii. 3.)

During the reign of Constantine, that monarch had transferred the
capital of the empire from the "city of seven hills" to another locality
and founded another metropolis, which as the future seat of imperial
rule, and to immortalize himself, he called after his own name,
Constantinople. This ambitious enterprise itself virtually divided the
empire, preparing the way for its total dismemberment by the trumpets.
And now the "seven angels prepared themselves to sound," for all things
are ready. The interceding Angel at the "golden altar" has prevailed to
obtain a period of tranquillity whilst preparatory steps are in progress
towards the next series of events; but that time shall be no longer, or
respite from impending judgments, is significantly intimated by the
symbolical Angel casting his "golden censer" from his hand, and hurling
it into the earth. Then without farther delay,

7. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled
with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of
trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

V. 7.--"The first angel sounded." The object of this judgment is the
_earth_, the population of the empire in general. The judgment itself
is, "hail and fire mingled with blood,"--desolating wars, like
successive storms of hail mingled with lightning, "hailstones and coals
of fire." (Ps. xviii. 12.) The effect is, a consumption of a third part
of the "trees and grass," people in high and low degrees. Green trees
and grass are the ornaments and products, of a land: and when the earth
is an emblem of nations and dominions, trees and grass may represent
persons of higher and lower rank.

The careful student of the Apocalypse will discover a striking analogy
between the effects of the