perished by the flood.

The next prediction we will notice is Gen. xv, 13-16. "And he said unto Abraham. Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterwards shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age; but in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."

The evil entreating of the children of Israel four hundred years, together with their coming out with great substance, and the judgment of God upon Egypt, as well as the death of Abraham in a good old age, are all facts too well known to need comment here; suffice it to say, that it is a striking example of the exact fulfilment of prophecy, uttered more than four hundred years before it had its accomplishment. From this we gather that none of those ancient men knew anything of the modern system of spiritualizing.

Our next is Gen. xix, 12, 13: "And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxed great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it." Now, Lot being simple enough to believe the thing in its literal sense, took as many of his family as would follow, and escaped for his life; to the great amusement, no doubt, of the Sodomites, who probably stood gazing after, crying "Delusion, delusion!" they thinking all the while that the prophecy was only a figure. Here is an example of a man escaping from the flames by foreknowledge imparted to him, while the whole city perished. O! what a blessing that Lot had no knowledge of the modern manner of interpreting prophecy. If it had once entered his heart that he must come out of Sodom spiritually, instead of literally, it would have cost him his life.

Let us examine a prophecy of Joseph in the land of Egypt. Gen. xli, 29-31: "Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land: and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous." Joseph then proceeds to give directions for corn to be laid up in great abundance during the seven plenteous years, in order to provide against the famine. And Pharaoh, being no better versed in the school of modern divinity than his predecessors, never once thought of any other interpretation but the most literal, And thus he was the means, together with Joseph, in the hand of God, of saving, not only their nation, but the house of Israel, from famine. This is another striking example of the power of foreknowledge. It not only saved from famine, but it exalted Joseph from a dungeon to a palace; from the lowest degradation to the highest honor; so that they cried before him, "Bow the knee!" But, O! what death and mourning would have followed had they dreamed only of spiritual famine and spiritual corn.

Having given a few plain examples of early ages, we will lightly touch upon some of the most remarkable events of prophecy, and its fulfilment, until we come down to the Jewish Prophets, where the field opens wide, touching in its progress the most remarkable events of all ages, and terminating in a full development of the opening glories of the last days.

One remarkable instance, concerning Elijah the Prophet, was, that he prophesied to Ahab that it should not rain for three years and upwards, which came to pass according to his word. There is also a remarkable instance of Hazael, the Syrian, who came to Elisha to inquire of the Lord concerning the king of Syria, his master, who was sick. The Prophet, earnestly beholding him, burst into tears: and Hazael asked him, saying, "Why weepest thou?" and he, answering, said, "The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria." And he then proceeded to unfold unto him the cruelties which he would afterwards exercise towards Israel, which are too horrible to mention here, lest in so doing I might offend the delicate ear. But Hazael, astonished to hear these things predicted concerning himself, which at that time filled him with horror, exclaimed with surprise, "But what? is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Yet astonishing to tell, all was afterwards fulfilled to the very letter.

In the 21st chapter, 2 Chron., it is written that there came a writing to Jehoram from Elijah, which, after stating the great wickedness of which he had been guilty, in turning to idolatry, and also murdering his brethren of his father's house, who were better than himself, proceeds thus: "Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods; and thou shalt have great sickness by disease of the bowels, until thy bowels fall out, by reason of thy sickness, day by day." In the same chapter it is written, that the Philistines and Arabians came against him, and took his wives, and children, and goods captive; and after all this, the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease, and his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, so he died of sore disease.

In the 6th chapter of Joshua, 26th verse, there is a wonderful prediction concerning Jericho: "Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho. He shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it."

After this curse the city of Jericho lay waste for ages, none daring to rebuild it at the expense of their first-born and of their youngest son; until after a long succession of judges and kings, when hundreds of years had passed, Hiel the Bethelite, who lived in the days of Ahab, probably supposing that the Lord had forgotten the curse pronounced upon it by Joshua, ventured to rebuild the city: but no sooner had he laid the foundation thereof than Abiram his first-born died, and, still persevering in the hardness of his heart, he set up the gates thereof, with the loss of his youngest son, Segub, according to the word of the Lord by Joshua; see 1 Kings, xvi, 34. We might fill a volume with instances of a similar kind, dispersed through the historical part of the Scriptures; but we forbear, in order to hasten to a more full examination of the books of the Jewish Prophets. We shall trace them in their fulfilment upon Jerusalem, Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, and various other nations.

Babylon, the most ancient and renowned city of the world, was pleasantly situated on the banks of a majestic river, that flowed through the plains of Shinar, near to which the tower of Babel once stood. It was laid out four square, and surrounded with a wall upwards of three hundred feet high, and sixty miles in circumference; having a hundred gates of brass with bars of iron; twenty-five gates on each side, which opened to streets running through the city, a distance of fifteen miles; thus forming the whole city into exact squares of equal size. In the midst of these squares were beautiful gardens, adorned with trees and walks, diversified with flowers of varied hue; while the houses were built upon the borders of the squares, directly fronting on the streets. In the midst of this city sat Nebuchadnezzar, enthroned in royal splendor and magnificence, and swaying his sceptre over all the kingdoms of the world, when it pleased God, in a vision of the night, to unveil the dark curtain of the future, and to present before him, at one view, the history of the world, even down to the consummation of all things. Behold, a great image