Miller’s Works, vol. 1. Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology

III. I SHALL SHOW THE TIMES AND PERIODS GIVEN IN THIS CHAPTER

First. In the ninth verse, we are told, that they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall burn the weapons of their enemies “seven years.” This must mean either literal or figurative years. If this passage has not been fulfilled, then I argue that it cannot be fulfilled in a literal sense; for we have no such weapons as are there described, at the present day. Again, it would be very unnatural to suppose that there could actually be weapons of war enough collected, contiguous to many cities, to supply the inhabitants of them with fuel seven years. It appears unnatural to me in every view of the subject to understand these things as describing a literal battle, and yet not to be fulfilled; for it is evident that the people of God are meant, as one party. It cannot be in the gospel day, for two reasons: Christ forbade his servants to fight, and the gospel does not permit its subjects to rob and spoil others, because they rob and spoil us. From these considerations, I must conclude that the 9th and 10th verses are figurative language, and that seven years are seven times 360, making 2520 common years; that these kingdoms denominated Gog in our text would lead into captivity the Israel or children of God, spoil and rob them of their peace and rights, and scatter over the earth Judah and Israel; and in process of time would smite the Shepherd of Israel and scatter the sheep. All this has been fulfilled in the history of the children of God for ages past. The next question which would naturally arise, would be, When did the seven years begin? Our text tells us, “They that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth.” This shows us what event will begin our prophecy: it will be the children of Israel going forth into captivity. 2 Kings 17:20: “And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.” Isaiah 42:22-24. Amos 7:11 and 17. Again, 2 Kings 17:23: “Until the Lord moved Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.” Isaiah prophesied that within sixty-five years Ephraim should be broken and be not a people. Isaiah 7:8. This was in the days of Pekah and Rezin, 742 years before Christ. Sixty-five years afterwards, B.C. 677, Esarhaddon, king of Assyria and Babylon, came with a large army into the land of Israel and Judah, carried away the last remnant of Israel, and they have not been a nation since. ¹ Then he also made war against Jerusalem, took Manasseh and carried him to Babylon; which begins the “seven times” Judah was to be in bondage to the kings of the earth, and also the “seven years” Israel should be a captive, robbed and spoiled people; both beginning and ending at one time, 2520 years, beginning B.C. 677, ending A.D. 1843. To 1843 add 677, and the sum equals 2520. MWV1 79.1

Perhaps the reader may not be aware that Ezekiel was commanded to understand a day for a year. See Ezekiel 4:5, 6. MWV1 80.1

We can hardly read a chapter in any of the prophets, but we find this thing prophesied of, i.e., the captivity of Israel, the spoiling and robbing of them, both Israel and Judah, by these great kingdoms of the earth, which Ezekiel has called Gog in our text. It must and will be acknowledged, by every man conversant with his Bible, that the times of their captivity have, in every case, been prophesied of by the prophets of God. And, in general, the cases of captivity, which would end in the dispensation in which the prophet lived who prophesied these things, are given to us in plain language; as 400 years’ captivity, or bondage, in Egypt, meant years. This was literally fulfilled before the law was given on mount Sinai, which was the beginning of the Mosaic dispensation. Then the 70 years’ captivity of Judah in Babylon was literally accomplished in the same dispensation. Judah was released, (not all Israel,) from their captivity in Babylon; but the captivity of Israel is nowhere limited to the law dispensation: but the release of Israel from their captivity is a gospel release, and the subjects of this release must be gospel subjects; for if the dispensation changes, so, of course, must the subjects change; for “old things are done away; behold, all things are become new.” See Paul’s most powerful reasoning on this subject, in Hebrews eighth and ninth chapters. Who can read these reasons of Paul’s and not be convinced? Moses was faithful over his house; so was Jesus Christ faithful over his house, “whose house are we, (says the apostle,) if we hold fast our confidence unto the end.” It was Israel in the flesh that was scattered then, and was never gathered under the law. The gospel came, the law of Israel was done away; he is not a Jew who is of the flesh, but circumcision is of the heart. They are not all Israel which are of Israel; but in Christ thy seed shall be called. For he will gather in one all the children of God (true Israel) scattered abroad. John 11:52. The high priest, although a Jew, understood that Christ was to gather not only that nation, the Jews, but all the children of God scattered abroad. How can our judaizing priests get over this text? But to return to our subject. The seventy weeks prophesied of in Daniel 9:24-27, are used in a figurative sense; a day stands for a year. Why so? Because these seventy weeks in their fulfilment would carry us seven years, at least, into the new dispensation; and as the veil was not yet taken away, and they could only see into the new as through a glass darkly, God therefore only spake to them by his law and prophets in types and figures. Therefore the “seven years” must be used in a figurative sense, for the above well-grounded reasons. And the children of God in the new dispensation are called Israel, for the same reason that papal Rome is called Babylon under the new. For the law was a shadow of good things to come; it made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better covenant did perfect the comers thereunto. MWV1 80.2

Now carry out this reasoning of Paul’s, and what must Israel be in order to be made perfect? They cannot be made perfect without us Gentiles. See Hebrews 11:40, also 9:8-12. How a man can read the arguments of the apostle, and retain these judaizing sentiments of gathering the Jews, as Jews, to their own land, and building up their temple and city again, I cannot conceive. But another time is specified in our context. See verse 12: “And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.” See also verse 14. This transaction is in the last days of Gog’s power, and probably under the last form which Gog may assume, and must mean Rome papal, which is the last head of abominations; who has, by her abominable doctrine and practices, filled the world with her sorceries and fornications;-she has made the kings of the earth support her ecclesiastical power, and commit fornication with her;-she has filled the earth with her murders, and drenched the soil with the blood of victims which she called heretics;-she has leagued herself with kings and princes to support a power, which she blasphemously pretended was given her by God. By these means, and many more, she has filled the world with the cup of her abominations, and covered the earth with her pollutions. The “seven months” spoken of in the verse we have quoted, are 210 days, or 210 years, as Ezekiel was commanded to reckon. Then the people of God would be 210 years putting away this rotten carcass of papal power, which had for ages ruled over kings and lorded it over his people. The year 1588, the edict in favor of Protestants, which was afterwards called the edict of Nantes, was first published by Henry IV., king of Navarre, one of the principal heads of the Protestant cause in France, who began a war in Europe between the Catholics and Protestants, which lasted, with very little cessation, for 210 years, until 1798; when finally the Protestants destroyed the power of the pope, and he that had ruled over kings, became weak and inefficient as any of the smallest dukedoms in Europe. The struggle between the Protestants on the one part, and the Catholic league on the other, was, with the former, to destroy the power of this Gog, of whom we have been speaking, and to humble in the dust this Meshech and Tubal of modern times; while with the latter it was to retain power, which papal Rome had long exercised over the kings of the earth, and over the consciences, lives, and fortunes of her subjects. All the civil power was finally taken from her, and nothing remains but the bones, or principles of the carcass. The kings of the earth have eaten her flesh, and burned her with the fire of their anger; nothing remains but a skeleton of this once most powerful empress, that had humbled kings at her feet, and had made princes vassals at her will. But John had, many centuries before, prophesied her consumption, and the manner of it. See Revelation 17:16: “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” He also has given us to understand that there would be kings and great men of the earth who would lament her fall and loss of power. See Revelation 18:8-16. All this was literally fulfilled in those wars to which I have directed your attention. MWV1 82.1

One thing more I will notice. After they had eaten her flesh and buried her power, they severed out men of continual employment, meaning missionaries, who were to go through the land and search for her bones, or principles, which would remain on the face of the earth, after the “seven months,” that is, after the civil power of Papacy should be destroyed, which took place A.D. 1798. And when any should see a man’s bone, they were to set up a sign by it, until the buriers should bury it in the valley of Hamon-gog. Who can but see, that the relics of Papacy are to be found in almost every church in our land? The love and practice of slavery is a bone of the old mother; the love and practice of war is another bone; sectarian prejudices, and a tyrannical display of physical force to put down principles not harmonizing with our views, is a great bone. Taking to ourselves titles that belong to God, or calling men Rabbis, which belong only to Christ, are men’s bones. Puffing each other in public papers, and passing resolutions in our own favor, are bones of the feet or the hands of man. To preach the traditions of men, instead of the word of God; and the laws and ordinances of the church and councils, instead of the laws of the Scriptures and ordinances once delivered to the saints by Jesus Christ and his apostles, is the backbone of Gog, and must and will be buried, and will no more come into mind. Some may inquire, Is this the same Gog in Ezekiel, as we find in the twentieth chapter of Revelation? I answer, it is the same, with this difference only: this is prophesying of his power, his acts, death and burial; that of his resurrection, judgment, and final and last destruction from the earth. Now, my dear reader, do you want to know whether you belong to Gog, or the saints? Try your spirit. If you are proud, haughty, tyrannical, selfish, worldly, dogmatical, full of bigotry, egotism and wilfulness, prone to misrepresent, deceive and lie against your neighbor, because he cannot see in every point exactly as you do; you may rest assured that your warrant is not a counterfeit,-you belong to the ARMY OF GOG. AMEN. MWV1 83.1