PREFACE.
DEAR READERS, THE time is at hand. In proportion as it advances, the study of prophecy acquires a new importance, and believers give themselves up to it with more attention: a light always more living is shed by the Spirit upon the contents of the Revelation. Also, serious and faithful souls who fear the Lord, and who are attentive to His voice, ought to rejoice every time that a brother furnishes them in simplicity with the opportunity of searching again and more profoundly this book of the last days. This is the intention of him who places in your hands these feeble studies, dear brethren in Jesus. I am nothing; I arrogate to myself no authority; I submit simply the fruit of my long and, I dare to say, conscientious researches to the examination of holy brethren.
The route which I have followed in this labor is to me a guarantee that it should procure some gratification. It consists in general of explaining the Revelation only by the word of God, and thus of collecting upon each particular point the greatest number of parallel passages which have importance. I leave nut discovered this method, of which we have an example quoted with praise in Nehemiah 8:88So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. (Nehemiah 8:8); other interpreters before us have sought to apply it to the Revelation. I think it is the only one that can lead to happy and blessed results, Scripture always being the best interpreter of Scripture. There are teachers given of Jesus to the Church (Ephes. 4:1111And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (Ephesians 4:11)) who can speak with authority in the instructions which they are commissioned to make known, without leaving need of resting them continually upon citations of thee Word. If I had received from on high so precious a ministry, my explanations would have been briefer and more concise. But, feeble as I am, I have had constantly to take at once for stakes and supports in my route the passages of the Scriptures which the Lord has made me find on my road, without fearing excursions to right and left, or digressions, provided they were more or less directly bound up with my subject.
There leas quite naturally flowed from this route rho necessity of often making numerous quotations of passages; those of our readers who find them fatiguing, because they painfully interrupt a continuous reading, will please to reflect that in our plan they were indispensable. To cut them off would be to weaken the only value of these studies-their conformity to Scripture. At least we hope so. Now it is fit that this supreme authority should be verified every moment; but there are few readers able themselves, and without indications, to make researches into scriptural texts; others would not give themselves the trouble or lose the time; while some, designated by the Holy Spirit "more noble" (Acts 27:1111Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. (Acts 27:11)), loving to search the Scriptures to see whether those things were so, will be happy to see their labor facilitated by finding endorsed here the passages upon which the author rests. Finally, it has been sought to reconcile utility for the readers who seriously study prophecy, with agreeableness for those who read in a manner more rapid or more superficial, referring to the bottom of the pages the greatest number of the citations.
Lastly, if I put my name to these studies, it is not only to assume to myself all the responsibility of their contents, but still more in the hope that the brethren who may bestow attention to them will make me acquainted with the result of their examination of this work, and the different objections which such a subject cannot fail to create.
That the Lord has been with me in this work, often begun and cast anew, I have no doubt, for it is but from Him alone that blessing comes. May He be also with you, dear reader, who hold in your hands these leaves, to the end that there may be also blessing for you in this reading!
May peace and grace be multiplied to you in awaiting the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen.