III. That, just before the advent, there shall be _an increase of science and travelling_. Daniel, xii. 4.—“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” These words plainly refer to the latter days; not to the end itself, but to “the time of the end;” to the last period. Now, of this period there are two things predicted to the Prophet; the one religious, the other social; the religious change is the unsealing of the vision, or the opening of the eyes of believers to truths hitherto concealed in prophecy; the social change is the rapid progress of travelling and science throughout the world. It is the latter of these with which we are now concerned. At the time of the end, therefore, there is to be an increase of knowledge and of men running to and fro on the earth. Now, ask any common observer of mankind, one who looks on life without reference to prophecy or religion; ask him what he thinks the most remarkable feature in the present aspect of society, and he will tell you the rapid advance of science and increased facility of communication. Just contrast the world at large, in respect of _travelling_, with what it was fifty years ago. Most truly may it be said, “Men are running to and fro on the earth.” The leading commercial feature of the day is railway speculation; the habits of society are becoming materially changed through the ease and rapidity with which we travel. Thousands and tens of thousands have now become travellers, who, a few years since, had scarcely quitted the immediate neighbourhood of their native town. Nor is this confined to England. It is the same with America, Russia, India, and the whole continent of Europe. Look again at _science_, at the vast improvements in machinery, at the curious discoveries in every department of useful art, at the rapid increase of knowledge throughout the world. Look again at _the connexion_ between the two. The increase of travelling is foretold by the Prophet in connexion with the advance of science. “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” But in Daniel’s day there could appear no such connexion. The increase of knowledge could give no speed to the heavy motions of the camel. This connexion is a discovery of the last twenty or thirty years. The prophecy lay dormant for twenty-four centuries, when a new order of things sprang up amongst us; the connexion foretold in Daniel’s prophecy broke in upon the minds of men of science, and the immediate effect has been, that increased knowledge and increased travelling are going hand in hand throughout the world. Now I do not mean to strain this too far, or to represent it as a sign of the immediate approach of our Lord. It may be merely the commencement of a new era; “the time of the end” may be only dawning upon the world. But thus much we may safely say, that there has already been sufficient