The Dark Ages-Night.

Compared with the clear morning glory of the church, this awful period is well expressed by night. The clear light that shone so brilliantly in the apostolic age was eclipsed by the darkest superstition and errors that men and devils have ever invented. The earth was flooded with false doctrines of every kind. Image-worship, prayers offered to the Virgin Mary, licentious popes regarded as infallible, prayers offered for the dead, the Bible chained to the pulpit, martyred saints branded as heretics, and a thousand other things of like character were rife during that time.

"What are termed the Middle Ages commenced with the fifth and terminated with the fifteenth century. Of these the first six are denominated the Dark Ages. But throughout the whole period Christianity suffered a long eclipse of a thousand years."-Goodrich's Church History, page 478. This period was thus foretold in prophecy: "Watchman, what of the night?” The watchman said, "The morning cometh, and also the night." Isa. 21:11, 12. As before observed, the morning here referred to was the

ushering in of the Christian era, the clear, transplendent light of the gospel and the church of God in the beginning of this age. But it was foreseen that night would follow the morning. "The morning cometh and also the night." In the natural day night does not follow the dawn of morning; but in the day here referred tothe gospel day-night was to come immediately after the morning. And true to prophecy, "the people of God's holiness, possessed it but a little while." The morning glory of the church was early eclipsed by the great apostasy, and there followed a long dark night of more than one thousand years.

The Length of the Papal Reign Measured by Inspiration.

"And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25. The power here referred to was the papacy. The saints were to be given into his hand; that is, that power was to rule over them for "a time and times and the dividing of time.” In Dan. 12:7 the same period is allotted to this beast-power, which was to scatter the power of the holy people "a time, times, and a half.” What does a "time" signify? By turning to the fourth chapter of Daniel we find an answer. Here is given an account of King Nebuchadnezzar's being driven from men and living with the beasts of earth. The period of his humiliation is called seven times, in verses 23 and 32. That was seven years. So a time signifies a year. Times would be two years. It can not be less, and if more, the numerals would be given, as three times, four times, etc. The dividing of time, or a half time, would be one-half of a year.

So time, times, and a half equal three and onehalf years. This equals 42 months, or if reduced to days, counting 30 days to the month, according to the Jewish reckoning, 1,260 days.

In Rev. 12:14 we see the woman-churchfleeing from the dragon into a wilderness, "where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. "This wilderness signifies the obscurity into which the true church went, and in which she remained during the dark reign of the papacy. Thus during the reign of popery the woman-church of God-existed in the place prepared of God. She was nourished and kept alive for a time, times, and half a time; but during this period she was largely in obscurity, symbolized by a wilderness. Here again we have the papel reign or supremacy over God's people measured by inspiration. The wilderness state of the church is the same period as that in Daniel's prophecy-three and one-half times— years. This reduced to months equals 42 months, or 1,260 days. "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Rev. 12:6. Here again we have the same period

1,260 days-of the beast-popery. It was said he should continue "forty and two months" (Rev. 13:5). This reduced to days gives us 1,260. "And the holy city [church] shall they tread under foot forty and two months" (Rev. 11:2), or 1,260 days. "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." Rev. 11:3. Here are other texts giving the same period, or measurement-1,260 days. This can not refer to natural days, for then the period would cover only three and one-half years. The language of prophecy in Revelation is largely symbolic. These, then, must be symbolic days, each day for a year.

Under the law there was a week of seven days and a week of seven years. This was common among the Jews. In Num. 14:34 this thought is presented. "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years." Again, in Ezek. 4:6: "And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Ju