MODERN PHENOMENA OF THE HEAVENS.
II.—PROPHETIC SIGNS IN THE SUN AND MOON.
Scripture Forstilling these Signs.
"FEARFUL sights and great signs shall there be from heaven . . . . And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon . . . . And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory.—Luke xxi, 11, 25, 27. And it shall come to pass in the last days, (saith God,) . . . . . I will show wonders in heaven above . . . . . The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.—Acts ii. 17, 19, 20; Joel ii. 10, 30, 31; iii. 15. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, . . . . . And the heavens departed as a scroll . . . . . For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?—Rev. vi. 12, 14, 17. THE ABOVE SIGNS FULFILLED, AND IN MODERN HISTORY. 1 Of the Sun darkened, &c.—Dark day of May 19, 1780. "In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark day in New England, when 'all faces seemed to gather blackness,' and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee lived: 'men's hearts failing them for fear' that the judgment day was at hand, and the neighbors all flocked around the holy man, for his lamp was trimmed, and shining brighter than ever, amidst the unnatural darkness. Happy and joyful in God, he pointed them to their only refuge from the wrath to come, and spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude. His nephew, who was then a little child, in after life retained a lively recollection of that scene, and his childish feelings are an interesting exhibition of the manner in which Mr. Lee was regarded, for he felt not the least alarm in his presence, thinking that he was perfectly safe where his good uncle was, even if the day of judgment had come."—Tract No. 379 of Am. Tract Society.—Life of Edw. Lee, of Mass. "The 19th of May, 1780, was a remarkable dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The birds were silent and disappeared. The fowls retired to rest. It was the general opinion that the day of judgment was at hand. The Legislature of Connecticut was in session, at Hartford, but being unable to transact business adjourned. A motion for adjournment was before the council; but when the opinion of Col. Davenport, [of Stamford,] was requested, he replied,—'I am against the adjournment. The day of judgment is either at hand or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for the adjournment; if it is, I wish to be found in the line of my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought.'"—President Dwight, in Ct., Historical Collections. "Dark day of May 19, 1780.—The sun rose clear, and shone for several hours; at length, the sky became overcast with clouds, and by ten o'clock, A. M. the darkness was such as to occasion the farmers to leave their work in the field, and retire to their dwellings; fowls went to their roosts, and before noon, lights became necessary to the transaction of business within doors. The darkness continued through the day; and the night till near morning was as unusually dark as the day."—Gage's History of Rowley, Mass. "Anniversary of the Dark day.—The Dark Day, May 19, 1780, is thus described by Mr. Stone, in his History of Beverly: "The sun rose clear, but soon assumed a brassy hue. About ten o'clock, A. M. it became unusually dark. The darkness continued to increase till about one o'clock, when it began to decrease.—During this time candles became necessary. The birds disappeared and were silent, the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew as at daybreak, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this unusual aspect of the heavens, was great, and tradition has preserved many anecdotes of terror.—An old gentleman of rather singular turn, supposing the judgment day at hand, dressed himself with unusual care, and taking his silver-headed cane, walked out into the field to await the event. As the darkness came on, Mr. Willard, who possessed some rare instruments, took a station on the common to make observations, and was soon surrounded by a large number of his parishioners, who gazed on his operations with awe and wonder. Mr. W. paid no attention to the conjectures and expressions of alarm uttered in his hearing, and calmly pursued his investigations.—In the midst of these, a person of excitable temperament, came running from the sea-shore, exclaiming in accents of terror, 'the tide has done flowing!' 'So it has!' replied Mr. Willard, who, with admirable presence of mind, took out his watch, so it has, for it is just high water."—Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843. "In the Dark Day, May 19, 1780, the heavens were covered with a dense cloud for three or four hours . . . . During this time, the clouds were tinged with a yellowish or faint red, for hours, for which no satisfactory cause has been assigned. I stood and viewed the phenomenon, but had not any fear that the world was coming to an end."—N. Webster, L. L. D.—New Haven Daily Herald. A host of living eye-witnesses are now testifying, substantially as above, though in different places there was some difference in the darkness. As to the natural cause of this unnatural darkening of the sun, it is well known, that philosophers have never been able to assign any, in which even themselves can agree. Dr. Webster of New Haven, has given a rational a supposed cause as any I have seen, in the following extract: "The most probable cause of that darkness, I suppose to have been the smoke of some Volcano in the Northern regions of this continent, wafted in a vast volume by the wind. I think no fire in our forests could have been sufficient to spread a dense cloud over the whole of New England, and even some part of the Middle States. New Haven, Feb. 18, 1843."—N. Webster.—Ibid. Surely, it is unphilosophical to suppose the smoke of such a Volcano, in the midst of dispersing and flying winds should be wafted such a distance in so dense a form, as to produce such darkness for 3 or 4 hours, "over the whole of New England," &c., and then suddenly leave all clear again. It is not so in a smoky atmosphere, the darkness in such cases, appears and disappears more gradually; and usually continues longer. Again, had such a cloud of volcanic smoke produced the dark day, it would seem still more unnatural, that after several hours of its entire passing over, it should thus cover the heavens again, in the total darkening of the largest part of the following night. And more strange it would be still, that a cloud of smoke should travel so swift as to pass over 1000 miles extent at once, when natural clouds are supposed to travel seldom more than 10 miles an hour, or 240 miles a day. And indeed, why would it not be as honorable to the word of God, and useful to man, for philosophers to presume on the probable natural cause of the darkening of the sun precisely so, and about as long, and for the rending of the rocks and veil of the temple, &c., when Christ was crucified, as in case of the dark day? See Matt. xxvii, 45, 51—53. The dark spots on the sun, seen a few years ago, by thousands, are not yet forgotten, while no satisfactory natural cause for them can be assigned, and so it must remain, except we admit the truth of the prophecies now fulfilled, of "signs in the sun," &c., to precede Christ's coming to judgment. 2. MOON DARKENED.—"SIGNS IN THE MOON" FULFILLED. The night after the dark day of 1780. "The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes, was equally invisible with the blackest velvet." Mr. Tenny of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage, "to the Historical Society." "The night succeeding that day, (May 19, 1780,) was of such pitchy darkness, that, in some instances, horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired brilliancy." Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843. Extract from Stone's History of Beverly. As in the case of the dark day, there are still thousands of living witnesses to the above darkening of the moon, and of the night following the dark day98though it being 63 years ago, many of them were then but small children, and naturally witnessed less of it than of the dark day. Some have described it as 'Egyptian darkness that might be felt.' And what is remarkable, is, that according to general testimony, and the almanac for 1780, the moon was but one day past the full, and there was no eclipse of the sun or moon during the whole day and night of that darkness, as in case of the sun's total eclipse in America, June 16, 1806, which caused much darkness for a few minutes only. Neither were there natural clouds, smoke, or anything else, thus to darken those luminaries in 1780, as is evident from the views then taken of the darkness, not merely by the weakest, but also, by some of the strongest minds in Connecticut and elsewhere, as already shown. III.—"Signs in the Stars."—Stars falling, &c.
And there shall be signs . . . . in the stars . . . and then shall they see the Son of man coming, &c.—Luke xxi, 25. The stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven . . . . and they shall see the Son of man coming, &c.—Matt. xxiv, 29, 30. Mark xiii, 25, 26. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely [or green] figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll . . . . For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?—Rev. vi, 13—17. Fulfilled, once at least, in the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833.—Observations of the phenomenon by Mr. Henry Dana Ward, of this city, then residing in Park Place, published in, and now copied from the New York Journal of Commerce of Nov. 15, 1833. FOR THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE.
'THE FALLING STARS.—In your paper this morning, some notice is taken of the phenomenon of yesterday. It comes so far short of the view taken of it by myself, and a number of friends who gazed upon it with me, that I send you the story of that eventful scene as we witnessed it. 'One of the family arose at five o'clock, A. M., to prepare for leaving the city in the seven o'clock boat. He threw up the window to see whether the dawn had come; and behold the East was lighted up, and the heavens were apparently falling. He rubbed his eyes, first in doubt, but seeing on every side the starry firmament, as if it were broken up, and falling like the flakes of snow and whitening the skies, he aroused the whole family. At the cry, 'Look out of the window,' I sprang from a deep sleep, and with wonder saw the East lighted up with the dawn and meteors. The zenith, the North, and the West, also, showed the falling stars, in the very image of one thing, and of only one, I ever heard of. I called to my wife to behold; and while robing, she exclaimed; 'see how the stars fall?' I replied, 'that is the wonder;' and we felt in our hearts, that it was a sign of the last days. For truly, the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Rev. vi, 13. This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by aster in Greek, and stella in Latin, the smaller lights of heaven.—The refinement of modern astronomy has made the distinction between stars of heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore, the idea of the prophet, as it is expressed in the original Greek, was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday, so as no man before yesterday had conceived to be possible that it should be fulfilled. The immense size and distance of the planets and fixed stars forbid the idea of their falling unto the earth. Larger bodies cannot fall in myriads unto a smaller body; but most of the planets and all the fixed stars are many times larger than our earth. They cannot fall unto the earth; but these fell toward the earth. 'And how did they fall? Neither myself, nor one of the family, heard any report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted. 'It rained fire' says one—another, 'It was like, a shower of fire!' Another, 'it was like the large flakes of falling snow; before a coming storm, or large drops of rain before a shower.' I admit the fitness of these for common accuracy; but they come far short of the accuracy of the figure used by the prophet. 'The stars of heaven fell unto the earth; they were not sheets, or flakes, or drops of fire; but they were what the world understands by 'falling stars,' and one speaking to his fellow, in the midst of the scene, would say, 'See how the stars fall?' And he who heard would not pause, to correct the astronomy of the speaker, any more than he would reply, 'the sun does not move,' to one who should tell him 'the sun is rising.' The stars fell 'even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but from one; those which appeared in the East fell toward the East; those which appeared in the North fell toward the North; those which appeared in the West fell toward the West; and those which appeared in the South (for I went out of my residence into the Park) fell toward the South. And they fell not as the ripe fruit falls. Far from it; but they flew, they were cast like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when under a violent pressure, it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force, but each one falls on its own side of the tree. Such was the appearance of the above phenomenon to the inmates of my house. I walked into the Park with two men of Pearl St., feeling and confessing that this scene had never been figured to our minds by any book or mortal, save only the prophet. What should be next, we were at a loss to conceive, consistent with the usual course of events. We asked the Watchman how long this had been; he said, 'About four o'clock it was thickest.' 'We gazed until the rising sun put out the lesser falling stars, with the lesser fixed stars, and until the morning star stood alone in the East, to introduce the bright orb of day. And here take the remark of one of my friends in mercantile life, who is as well informed in polite learning as most intelligent merchants of our city, who have not made science their study. Sitting down to breakfast, we spoke of the scene, and he said, 'I kept my eyes fixed on the morning star.' I thought while that stood firm we were safe; but I feared every moment that would go, and all would go with it.' Be assured, Messrs. Editors, this was the language of nature, in full flow of feeling just after an hour's watch of the magnificent scene, and was met with an open response of approbation from other intelligent eye-witnesses. The reader will see that this remark proceeded from an almost irresistible impression of intelligent eye-witnesses, that the firmament had given way—that the whole host of stars had broken up—yet, hope clung to the morning star, which never shone more glorious. 'In this narrative, I have spoken not of causes, but of appearances, and the appearances according to the impressions they made on men. I know not how to convey a more accurate notion of them, and yet some will say, 'It is fanciful.' Such may know my opinion, that no fancy is adequate to realize with any description the solemn interest of the scene; and that it required no fancy to heighten the picture, but a sound, well-informed, and enlightened reason, to check the fancy, and to restrain it from running headlong into the idea of the thing which this scene is made in prophecy to prognosticate. MR. WARD, on present inquiry, has furnished the following additional remarks on the phenomenon. 'This scene astounded men from two o'clock A. M., until half past six, A. M., and yet no alarm was made, no public notice was given. It is often asked, 'Why did they not arouse the city?' I reply, the overwhelming interest of the scene was such, that the man who went out of doors to wake his neighbors, forgot his purpose, in mute astonishment at the sight; and one who would extend his hand toward a bell knob, might be drawn from the reach of his design by the shower of stars that on every side alike caught his attention, and threatened his head, and seemed to fall all around him. 'Many witnesses did affirm, in the midst of the scene and after, that they saw the stars fall to the ground; but questioned closely, the fall was behind the house, or over the fences, and proved so far an optical illusion. 'The dawn was a full hour that morning earlier than usual, and the whole eastern sky was transparent like molten glass, so as I never witnessed before or since. An open arch of brilliant light arose from the east, above which arch stood the morning star, inexpressibly glorious for its brilliancy and firmness on the face of the dark, transparent, and bursting firmament. 'It is now nine years since the foregoing communication was furnished for the Journal of Commerce.—Not a word of the description seems to be overdrawn many things might be added to fill it up; but it is better for it to remain the honest and candid impression of the mind the day after the scene, than to be diluted with subsequent reflections. The description is right, whatever instruction it may convey to the reader's mind; but the writer's mind is disposed to receive it as in the beginning. The impressions were irresistible, and are abiding. New York, Dec. 7th, 1842. From the Baltimore Patriot.
"MR. MUNROE:—Being up this morning (Nov. 13, 1833) I witnessed one of the most grand and alarming spectacles which ever beamed upon the eye of man. The light in my room was so great, that I could see to tell the hour of the morning by my watch which hung over my mantle; and supposing that there was a fire near at hand, probably on my own premises, I sprang to the window, and behold the stars, or some other bodies presenting a fiery appearance, were descending in torrents as rapid and as numerous as ever I saw flakes of snow, or drops of rain in the midst of a storm. Occasionally a large body of apparent fire would be hurled through the atmosphere, which, without noise, exploded; when millions of fiery particles would be cast through the surrounding air. To the eye it presented the appearance of what might be called a raining of fire, for I can compare it to nothing else. * Yours, B." From the 'Christian Advocate and Journal,' Dec. 13th, 1833. 'The meteoric phenomenon which occurred on the morning of the 13th of November last, was of so extraordinary and interesting a character, as to be entitled to more than a mere passing notice. . . . The lively and graphic descriptions which have appeared in various public journals do not exceed the reality. No language, indeed, can come up to the splendor of that magnificent display; and I hesitate not to say, that no one who did not witness it, can form an adequate conception of its glory. It seemed as if the whole starry heavens had congregated at one point, near the zenith, and were simultaneously shooting forth, with the velocity of lightning, to every part of the horizon; and yet they were not exhausted—thousands swiftly followed in the tracks of thousands, as if created for the occasion, and illuminated the firmament with lines of irradiating light. Some coruscated in their course, and thus connected themselves with others by lateral paths of brightness; while many sped their way in straight and even lines, and left luminous streaks behind them, which continued some seconds after the meteors were lost in the distance, or extinguished in the density of our atmosphere. They differed both in magnitude and velocity, some appearing as mere points, and others of the size of Venus and Jupiter.' . . . (Signed) F. REED. 'The Connecticut Observer, of Nov. 25, 1833, copied from the Old Countrymen, reads as follows:—We pronounce the raining of fire, which we saw on Wednesday99morning last, an awful type, a sure forerunner, a merciful sign of that great and dreadful day, which the inhabitants of the earth will witness when the sixth seal shall be opened. The time is just at hand, described, not only in the New Testament, but in the Old. A more correct picture of a fig tree casting its leaves when blown by a mighty wind, it is not possible to behold.'—Signs of the Times, Nov. 9, 1842. 'Same Connecticut Observer, in an article signed B., respecting Thomas Burnett's 'Theory of the Earth,' published in 1697. He [Burnett] says, 'The last sign before the coming of Christ is the falling stars.' He adds: 'No doubt there will be all sorts of fiery meteors at that time, and amongst others, those called falling stars, though they are not considerable singly, yet if they were multiplied in great numbers, falling, as the prophet says, as leaves from the vines, or figs from the fig tree, they would make an astonishing sight.'"—Ibid. Extracts from the 'People's Magazine,' Boston, Jan., 1834, on the Falling Stars of Nov. 13, 1833. 'The Rockingham, Va., Register,' calls it, 'A rain of fire,'—thousands of stars being seen at once; some said, it began with a considerable noise. 'The Journal of Commerce,' informs, that 'three hundred miles this side of Liverpool, the phenomenon was as splendid there as here,'—and that in 'St. Lawrence Co.' there was a snow storm, during the phenomenon, in which the 'falling stars' appeared like lightning. . . . That in 'Germantown, Pa.' they seemed like showers of great hail. The 'Lancaster, Pa., Examiner,' says, 'The air was filled with innumerable meteors or stars . . . hundreds of thousands of brilliant bodies might be seen falling at every moment . . . sloping their descent towards the earth, at an angle of about 45 degrees, resembling flashes of fire.' The 'Salem Register' speaks of their being seen in 'Moos, in the Red Sea.' The 'Baltimore Gazette' accounts for them, as 'Solid bodies passing through the regions of the atmosphere, with prodigious velocity, producing light by the electricity they excite.' Some attribute them to 'stones ejected by the volcanoes of the moon, then coming to our earth.' Others to the earth's own volcanoes casting out 'stones to a sufficient height to give them centrifugal force enough to make them revolve round the earth, until from accidental causes, they fall within its atmosphere.'—Others consider them 'so many modifications of electrical agency: a field which fills all space.' Others that they are 'gaseous, and when inflamed by some cause not explained, appear darting through the heavens, generally in various directions.'" Some of the above extracts, from the People's Magazine, written at the time, are important, as they show the strange character of the phenomenon, and its wide extent over the world: but with regard to these clashing theories of their origin, they are doubtless one as good as another—while they all seemingly show their authors as driven to unusual straits, in their hazarding opinions so at variance with sound sense, and the first principles of philosophy. From Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College. The following important brief extracts from the observations of this gentleman and distinguished meteorologist, already selected from his many writings on the falling stars, I now copy from the Signs of the Times. He says,— 'The extent of the shower of 1833, was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth's surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the East, to the Pacific on the West; and from the northern coast of South America, to undefined regions among the British possessions on the North, the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance. 'In nearly all places, the meteors began to attract notice by their unusual frequency as early as eleven o'clock, and increased in numbers and splendor until about four o'clock, from which time they gradually declined, but were visible until lost in the light of day. The meteors did not fly at random over all parts of the sky, but appeared to emanate from a point in the constellation Leo, near a star called Gamma Leonis, in the bend of the sickle.' This is important testimony, as to the vast extent of the exhibition of the phenomenon, and also of the falling stars all emanating from a single point in the heavens, as represented by the preceding engraving. 'Those who were so fortunate as to witness the exhibition of shooting stars on the morning of Nov. 13, 1833, probably saw the greatest display of celestial fire-works that has ever been seen since the creation of the world, or at least within the annals covered by the pages of history.' 'I feel assured that this is no atmospheric or terrestrial phenomenon, but that these fiery meteors come to us from the regions of space, and reveal to us the existence of worlds of a nebulous or cometary nature, existing in the solar system, and forming constituent parts of that system. Nor are these conclusions built on mere hypothesis, but are necessary inferences from certain facts. 'This is no longer to be regarded as a terrestrial, but as a celestial phenomenon; and shooting stars are now to be no more viewed as casual productions of the upper regions of the atmosphere, but as visitants from other worlds, or from the planetary voids.' 'Subsequent inquiries have led me to the belief, that the body was so distant as hardly to exhibit any apparent parallax, but was projected on very nearly the same part of the sky, as seen by all observers.—This fact at once shows that the source of the meteors was far beyond the atmosphere, and confirms the preceding conclusion that it was wholly independent of the earth.' According to these just observations, the question being settled that those falling stars so called, were wholly independent of the earth, and had their origin beyond its regions, no where nearer than other worlds, or the 'planetary voids,' seems at once to put it out of the reach of science to assign a satisfactory, natural cause, for the phenomenon, inasmuch as the exhibition was beyond the reach of the understood laws of matter. Had the sight been positively confined to the atmosphere, a natural cause might seem indeed possible; but if now we attempt to assign such a cause for these 'visitants from other worlds,' we must needs first become acquainted with the science of matter in those worlds, in order to give the true cause. GENERAL OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. OBJ. I.—Some have objected to our position, in general, by saying that the foregoing prophecies of 'wonders,' &c., were figurative, and to be fulfilled in the downfall or darkening of the glory of certain human monarchs, &c., as great political lights; and others that they have had their fulfillment in the darkening of the light of the gospel, or the church, in certain periods of the triumph of infidelity. But certainly, this is wholly unauthorized by scripture, and based on the gross principle that the foretold scenes of the judgment are not to be literally understood, but rather as prefiguring mere secular or temporal events. And were we to follow this principle out, it would force us at once on to the sweeping rule of interpretation, as already published by many in high stations, that the Old Testament in particular is silent on the subject of the judgment and future state, which principle I must repudiate as a heresy of the worst character. OBJ. II.—It is objected, that Peter in saying—'This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel,' has settled the question that these so called 'wonders in the heavens,' were all fulfilled in the pouring out of God's Spirit on pentecost day, because as the objector, says, he mentions these 'wonders' also, as being what Joel foretold, and were then fulfilled.—Acts, ii, 16—20. I answer, by saying, that Peter, in affirming that the pouring out of God's Spirit, as then wonderfully witnessed, was what was foretold 'by the prophet Joel,' did not say that the whole connection of Joel's prophecy which he then quoted, was fulfilled on that occasion. And what reflecting mind would suppose, that Peter in proving simply, that the apostles were not 'filled with new wine,' as then accused, would attempt to do it, by telling the astonished multitude, that the power of the Spirit which they were then witnessing, was foretold by Joel in the figurative language of 'wonders' seen 'in the heavens'—'Blood and fire, and pillars of smoke,' darkening of the sun, &c. And why should it be necessary at all to foretell that effusion of the Spirit in figurative language, when it was first already most clearly foretold in literal language? And if to be foretold in figurative language, why should figures be chosen, so calculated, as these would be, to deceive the people? OBJ. III.—It is often objected, that according to the history of Josephus, these foretold 'wonders in the heavens' had a literal fulfillment in such things being actually seen at Jerusalem, shortly before its destruction by the Roman army about forty years after the crucifixion of Christ. In answering this, I would only say, that admitting the full authenticity of this popular history, it certainly fails of proving the assertion here made in the objection, inasmuch as it does not speak of such sights seen at that time, as those foretold in prophecy, and are since recently fulfilled in history. The 'wonders in heaven' spoken of by Josephus, as seen previous to Jerusalem's destruction, were, that 'There was a star resembling a sword which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year . . . . Chariots and troops of soldiers were seen running about in the clouds, and surrounding cities. At the ninth hour of the night, a light shone round the altar and the holy house, so that it appeared to be bright day time, which lasted for half an hour.'—Josephus' Jewish Wars, Book VI. Chap. V. These are all the 'wonders' seen 'in the heavens' before the siege of Jerusalem, which are mentioned in Josephus' history of these things; and they are certainly not the same as quoted from the prophets under the first three general heads of this treatise. These prophecies then, were not fulfilled 1800 years ago, but are recently come to pass. OBJ. IV.—It has of late, been published in several of our religious periodicals, that many of these phenomena of the heavens have already been seen quite too long—that they have not been seen sufficiently all at once—that they have not been seen sufficiently by all the inhabitants of the earth; and that they have not been sufficiently calculated to impress strong minds with the conviction of their being wonderful, to give them a fitness to be considered as signs of the judgment at hand. To this I must say, that it is all of it but mere human assertion, and unauthorized by scripture, while positive facts, sound philosophy, and the scriptures, are understood to condemn it. With regard to the necessity of their coming to pass all at once, Christ has rather assured us that they must come to pass gradually or not all at once; in saying, 'When these things begin to come to pass,' &c. Luke xxi, 28.—and surely their having begun to come to pass in sights of 'blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke,' more than a hundred years ago, is no more proof that the destruction of the wicked by fire, is not now at hand, than such an argument would be, that the living wicked were not soon to be destroyed by water, when Noah's '120 years' were just out, simply because God had given him so much time, in which to prepare for the coming flood. With regard to their not having impressed strong minds, &c., we see by the foregoing testimony that many among the strongest minds have been impressed and even made to trouble on first witnessing these foretold wonders. And in proof that it so continues, I mention the deep opposing public interest now felt on this subject.