with equal power. He made feveral attempts to ore the Pagan idolatry in the reign of Conftantine, afterwards in the reign of Julian; he traduced and fed the Christian religion by fuch writers as HieroLibanius, Eunapius, and others of the fame ftamp character; he rent and troubled the church with fies and schifins; he ftirred up the favourers of the ns, and efpecially the kings of the Vandals in ca, to perfecute and deftroy the orthodox Chriftians. fe things, as (8) Eufebius faith upon one of these ocons, fome malicious and wicked demon, envying the perity of the church, effected. But the church was under the protection of the empire, (ver. 14.) and he woman were given two wings of a great eagle. God faid to the children of Ifrael, (Exod. XIX. 4.) have feen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how are you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself; he church was fupported and carried as it were on Les wings: but the fimilitude is the more proper in cafe, an eagle being the Roman enfign, and the two gs alluding probably to the divifion that was then le of the eastern and the western empire. In this ner was the church protected, and these wings were en, that he might fly into the wilderness, into a place retirement and fecurity, from the face of the ferpent. t that the fled into the wilderness at this time, but ral years afterwards; and there he is nourished for a e, and times, and half a time, that is three prophetic rs and a half, which is the fame period with the fand two hundred and three/core days or years beforetioned. So long the church is to remain in a defoand afflicted ftate, during the reign of Antichrift; Elijah, (1 Kings XVII. XVIII. Luke IV. 25, 26.) le idolatry and famin prevailed in Ifrael, was fecretly and nourished three years and fix months in the lernefs. But before the woman fled into the wilder5, the ferpent caft out of his mouth, water as a flood,

· Ταυλα μεν εν φθονος [forfan φθος mon ecclefiæ felicitatem femper gre

ferens in noftram perniciem machi

(ver. 15.) with intent to wash her away. Waters in the ftile of the Apocalyps (XVII. 16.) fignify peoples and nations; fo that here was a great inundation of various nations, excited by the dragon or the friends and patrons of the old idolatry, to opprefs and overwhelm the Chriftian religion. Such appeared plainly to have been the defign of the dragon, when (9) Stilicho, prime minifter of the emperor Honorius, firft invited the barbarous heathen nations, the Goths, Alans, Sueves, and Vandals, to invade the Roman empire, hoping by their means to raise his fon Eucherius to the throne, who from a boy was an enemy to the Chriftians, and threatened to fignalize the beginning of his reign with the reftoration of the Pagan, and abolition of the Chriftian religion. Nothing indeed was more likely to produce the ruin and utter fubverfion of the Chriftian church, than the irruptions of fo many barbarous Heathen nations, into the Roman empire. But the event proved contrary to human appearance and expectation; the earth fwallowed up the flood; (ver. 16.) the Barbarians were rather fwallowed up by the Romans, than the Romans by the Barbarians; the Heathen conquerors inftead of impofing their own, fubmitted to the religion of the conquered Chriftians; and they not only embraced the religion, but affected even the laws, the manners, the cuftoms, the language, and the very name of Romans, fo that the victors were in a manner abforbed and loft among the vanquished. This course not fucceeding according to probable expectation, the dragon did not therefore defift from his purpofe, (ver. 17.) but only took another method of perfecuting the true fons of the church, as we fhall fee in the next chapter, It is faid that he went to make war with the remnant of

(9) Interea comes Stilicho, Vandalorum inbellis, avaræ, perfidæ et dolofæ gentis genere editus, parvipendens quod fub imperatore imperabat, Eucherium filium fuum, ficut a plerifque traditur, jam inde Chriftiano*rum perfecutionem a puero privato que meditantem, in imperium quoquo modo fuftinere nitebatur. Quamobrem Alaricum, cunctamque Gotho

rum gentem, &c.Eucherius, qui ad conciliandum fibi favorem Paganorum, reftitutione remplorum et everfione ecclefiarum imbuturum se regni primordia minabatur, &c. Orofii Hift. Lib. 7. Cap. 38. p. 571. Edit. Havercamp. Vide etiam Jornandem de Rebus Geticis et de Regn. Suçcef, et Paulum Diaconum Lib. 13.

her

her feed, who kept the commandments of God, and have the teftimony of Jefus; which implies that at this time there was only a remnant, that corruptions were greatly increafed, and the faithful were minished from among the children of men.

1

A

CHA P. XIII.

ND I ftood upon the fand of the fea, and faw a beaft rife up out of the fea, having feven heads, and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blafphemy.

2 And the beaft which I faw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his feat, and great authority.

3 And I faw one of his heads, as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

4 And they worthipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worthipped the beast, faying, Who is like unto the beaft? who is able to make war with him?

5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blafphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two monthis.

6 And he opened his mouth in blafphemy against God, to blafpheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

7. And it was given unto him to make war with the faints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

8 And all that dwell upon the earth fhall worship him, whofe names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb flain from the foundation of the world,

9. If any man have an ear, let him hear.

10. He that leadeth into captivity, fhall go into captivity: He that killeth with the fword, muft be killed with the fword. Here is the patience and the faith of the faints.

Here the beaft is defcribed at large, who was only mentioned before: (XI. 7.) and a beaft in the prophetic ftile is a tyrannical idolatrous empire. The kingdom of God and of Chrift is never reprefented under the image of a beaft. As Daniel (VII. 2, 3.) beheld four great beasts, reprefenting the four great empires, come up from a ftormy fea, that is from the commotions of the world; fo St. John (ver. 1.) faw this beaft in like manner rise up out of the fea. He was faid before (XI. 7.) to afcend Ex τns abvors, out of the abyss or bottomlefs pit, and it is faid afterwards (XVII. 8.) that he fhall afcend x Tns abvers out of the abyss or bottomlefs pit; and here he is faid to afcend EX TES Jaracons, out of the fea; fo that the sea and abyfs or bottomless pit are in thefe paffages the fame. No doubt is to be made, that this beaft was defigned to reprefent the Roman empire; for thus far both ancients and moderns, papifts and proteftants are agreed: the only doubt and controverfy is, whether it was Rome Pagan or Chriftian, imperial or papal, which may perhaps be fully and clearly determined in the fequel.

St. John faw this beaft rifing out of the fea, but the Roman empire was rifen and established long before St. John's time; and therefore this must be the Roman empire, not in its then prefent, but in fome future shape and form; and it arofe in another fhape and form, after it was broken to pieces by the incurfions of the northern nations. The beaft hath feven heads and ten horns, which are the well known marks and fignals of the Roman empire, the feven heads alluding to the feven mountains whereon Rome was fituated, and to the feven forms of government which fucceffively prevailed there, and the ten horns fignifying the ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire was divided. It is remarkable, that the dragon had seven crowns upon his heads, but the beast hath upon his horns ten crowns; fo that there had been in

the

the mean while a revolution of power from the heads of the dragon to the horns of the beaft, and the fovranty, which before was exercifed by Rome alone, was now transferred and divided among ten kingdoms: but the Roman empire was not divided into ten kingdoms, till after it was become Chriftian. Altho' the heads had loft their crowns, yet they still retained the name of blafphemy. In all its heads, in all its forms of government Rome was ftill guilty of idolatry and blafphemy. Imperial Rome was called, and delighted to be called, (1) the eternal city, the heavenly city, the goddess of the earth, the goddess; and, had her temples and altars with incenfe and facrifices offered up to her: and how the papal Rome likewise hath arrogated to herself divine titles and honors, there will be a fitter occafion of fhowing in the following part of this defcription.

As Daniel's fourth beast (VII. 7.) was without a name, and devoured and brake in pieces the three former: fo this beaft (ver. 2.) is alfo without a name, and partakes of the nature and qualities of the three former, having the body of a leopard, which was the third beast or Grecian empire, and the feet of a bear, which was the fecond beaft or Perfian empire, and the mouth of a lion, which was the first beast or Babylonian empire: and confequently this must be the fame as Daniel's fourth beaft, or the Roman empire. But still it is not the fame beaft, the fame empire entirely, but with fome variation; and (2) the dragon

(1) Urbem æternam. Ammian. Marcell. Lib. 14. Cap. 6. p. 19. Edit. Valefii, Paris 1681. Urbis ab æternæ, &c. Aufonii Epigram, 3 de Faftis. gavorones Paun. Athenæi Lib. 1. p. 20. Edit. Cafaubon. Terrarum dea, gentiumque Roma. Cui par eft nihil, et nihil fecundum. Martial. Lib. 12. Epigram. 8. Ita Romam, orbis caput, tanquam cælefte aliquod numen, feu terrarum deam gentiumque a Bilbilitano vate dictam, divinis honoribus, templis, facerdotibus, ædituis. ipfo EAÈ POMHΣ appellatione, quod plures Græcarum illarum civitatum nummi oftendunt, fibi condecorandam exiftimarunt. Quo autem referendum

mihi videtur illud nomen blafphemia, quod feptem capitibus infcriptum geltâffe legitur beftia in facro Revelationem libro, et quod Hieronymus ac Profper ad urbis æternæ appellationem retulerunt, Romæ cum alibi, tum in nummis ejus itidem familiarem. Spanhemii Differt. Tertia de Præftant. et Ufu Numm. Ant. Sect. 3. p. 138. Vol. I.

(2) Imperium Romano-Papale tunc natum videtur, quum papam omnium ecclefiarum caput effe dixit Juftinianus. V. Cod. L. i. T. 1. A. D. 533, et 534. idque non verbo tantum fignificavit fed miffis ad eum epifcopis, quafi legatis. Id Gregorius I. in fine feculi