X. REFORMATION OF THE ROMAN COMMUNION. Sympathies of the Continent, or Proposals for a New Reformation. By John Baptist von Hirscher, D.D., Dean of the Metropolitan Church of Frieburg, Breis- gau, and Professor of Theology in the University of that City. Translated and Edited, with Notes and Introduction, by the Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe, A Biblical and Theological Dictionary; Illustrative of the Old and New Testament. By the Rev. John Farrar, Classical Tutor at the Theological Institution, Richmond. A Short Explanation of the Nicene Creed, for the Use of Per- The Natural History of Animals; being the Substance of Three Courses of Lectures delivered before the Royal Institution of Great Britain. By Thomas Rymer Jones, F.R.S., Professor of Comparative Anatomy in King's College, London, late Fullerian Professor of Physiology. The History of the Christian Church. By Henry W. J. Thiersch, for the Higher Classes in Schools, &c. By the Rev. J. T. White, A.M., of C. C., Oxford, Junior Upper Master of Christ's Hospital, Editor of " Xenophon's Anabasis," &c. . 501 Irish Ethnology Socially and Politically Considered: Embracing a General Outline of the Celtic and Saxon Races: with Prac- tical Inferences. By George Ellis, M.A., T.C.D., Fellow of An Analysis and Summary of New Testament History, including the Four Gospels Harmonised into one Continuous Narrative: the Acts of the Apostles and Continuous History of St. Paul: an Analysis of the Epistles and Book of Revelation: the Cri- The Origin and Progress of Mariolatry; being intended as a Companion to the Rev. T. H. Horne's "Mariolatry." By the 1. The Monthly Packet of Evening Readings for the Younger 2. The Magazine for the Young. August and September, 1852. 3. Stories and Catechisms of the Collects. X. to XVII. Sun- Sunlight in the Clonds: Some Providences in a Life Time: The Outlines of Universal History, Synchronologically Arranged for the Use of Schools after the German Reality; or, Life's Inner Circle. By Mrs. Saville Shepherd (for- Preliminaries of Peace between Protection and Free Trade; or, Cheap Bread Compatible with Both. By F. C. The Bouquet, culled from Marylebone Gardens. By Blue Bell (Blue Belle?) and Mignionette. For Private Circulation The Parish Priest's First Warning. A Sermon preached in St. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Quarterly Review. JULY, MDCCCLII. ART. I.—1. An Exposition of the Fulfilled Prophecies of the Apocalypse. By JAMES ARMSTRONG, A.M., Curate of Ardoyne. Dublin: M'Glashan. 2. Thoughts on Some Portions of the Revelation of St. John the Divine. By the Rev. E. HUNTINGFORD, B.C.L., late Fellow of New College, Oxford. Rivington. 1852. 3. The Apocalypse Popularly Explained. Second Thousand. Wertheim and Macintosh. 1852. THE press still teems with expositions of the Apocalypse and issues little else of a religious character; and these are for the most part of a compendious nature and published in the cheap form of pamphlets or tracts, indicating that the demand for information on this subject is become general among the people, and is not, as used to be the case, limited to a few of the clergy. We are not surprised at finding such to be the fact; for we live in an age when more than at any former period "coming events cast their shadows before." And men instinctively turn to that quarter from whence alone they can obtain light as to the future-the word of God; and especially to that portion of Scripture which may be regarded as having been expressly given to the Church of all ages as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawn and the day-star arise in our hearts: for God gave the Revelation in order to VOL. XXXII.-B show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass (Rev. i. 1). These popular interpretations, however, are little more than indications of the existence of a want: they cannot be regarded as adequate to the supply of that want, or as satisfying that spirit of enquiry which is now so generally abroad. For each writer follows some one line of enquiry, adopted from some one of the various schools of interpretation, or strikes out a new path for himself; and in either case takes a limited view of the subject, which being partial must be incomplete at best, and will often be not only defective but erroneous. Like the knights in the fable, who had been looking at opposite sides of the shield, we need to exchange positions in order to learn that both parties may be right in the things which they affirm, and wrong only in the things which they so rashly deny. We do not think that the principle of allowing full weight to the truths held by others has been sufficiently attended to in works of far greater pretensions than those which we have at present in view; but we feel persuaded that until this is done, and the truth is carefully examined on all sides, and so balanced and harmonised as to find a place for every thing which has the stamp of truth upon it-in short, until the Apocalypse be presented as one consistent whole, with one intelligible system of interpretation running smoothly through every part of it--until it stands out as a Revelation and a guide, instead of being an enigma and opprobrium to the Church-these requirements of the public will not be satisfied, nor ought those whose duty it is to instruct the public to flatter each other into the persuasion that they have discharged this duty. Nihil actum reputans quamdiu quicquid superesset agendum. It appears to us that so large a portion of the Apocalypse has been now fulfilled, and there are so many points in which the majority of interpreters are agreed, that it would not be difficult, by combining these points of agreement and arranging the remainder of the book in conformity with these general principles, to produce an interpretation of the whole on one uniform plan, so as to become both intelligible and satisfactory to the great body of Christians. And we will endeavour to show in what manner such an arrangement may be effected, although our limits will not admit of more than a very succinct and imperfect development of what we mean; which, notwithstanding, will prove a better occupation of our space and of the readers' time than pointing out the defects in the works before us, or fruitless lamentation over the want, without proposing a remedy. We would suggest, as a preliminary, that the command given by our Lord to St. John, "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter" (i. 19), ought to receive a more extended meaning and application than are commonly attached to this injunction; and that, instead of regarding it as distributing the visions of the Apocalypse into three classes or visions of the past, visions of the present, and visions of the future, we would regard it as declaratory of the fact that, in each one of the visions, there is to be found these three elements—namely, a vision of the abstract or perfect thing which forms the subject of that particular vision; secondly, the actual condition of things as subsisting at the time embraced in that vision; and thirdly, the future results or ultimate consequences of that condition of things. Thus, the subject of the first vision is given in the first chapter, being Christ's abiding presence with the Church; the actual condition of things is declared in the epistles to the Churches; and the future consequences are announced in the rewards promised to every faithful servant at the coming of the Lord. But these epistles are addressed, not merely to the Seven Churches of Asia, but to the universal Church throughout all generations for each one of them closes with an exhortation to every one that hath an ear to hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches; and Christ did not walk in the midst of the Seven Churches in any other sense than he is walking in the midst of the Church now: nay, wheresoever two or three are met together in the name of the Lord, there he is in the midst of them. Nor are any of the promises to those several Churches fulfilled as yet: for they all wait for the time of the second advent and for the commencement of the Millennial reign. And as this first vision looks onward to the end of the Christian dispensation, so all the other visions look backward to its commencement: for all the visions stand on the same footing and are to be interpreted in the same manner; and we shall find that each one of them has its subject first presented complete and separate, and then the working out of that subject, which, unless thus explained, would seem to be a kind of tautology or repetition. If we thus take the visions together and allow the whole book to form one Revelation, it is divided into seven distinct portions by its visions, and these follow each other in the most |