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be for many Days, before it was poffible to unfold it without knowing the certainty of future Events. And when I come to flew that in this VIII. Chapter the whole Period from Daniel's Time to the Fall of Spiritual Babylon, is exactly fet down, it will appear very reasonable that fuch feeming Difficulties fhould be raised, as fhould prevent the eafy connexion of this with the VII. Chapter, left the Mystery fhould be discovered before it was proper: But this will be further confidered under the Fourth Beaft, to which I now proceed.

"After this, I faw in the Night Visions, and Dan. behold, a Fourth Beaft, Dreadful and Terrible, VII. 7.

"and Strong exceedingly, and it had great Iron

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"Teeth, it devoured and brake in Pieces, and

"ftamped the refidue with the Feet of it, and "it was diverfe from all the Beafts that were "before it, and it had Ten Horns.

"I confidered the Horns, and behold there came up among them another little Horn "before whom there were three of the firft Horns "pluckt up by the Roots, and behold, in this "Horn

Dan. VI 19.

20.

21.

23.

"Horn were Fyes like the Eyes of a Man, and a Mouth fpeaking great Things.

The fame Description is again Refumed a little after in the following words,

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"Then I would know the truth of the Fourth

Berft, which was diverfe from all the others, "exceeding Dreadful, whofe Teeth were of ❝Iron, and his Nails of Brafs, which devoured, "brake in pieces, and ftamped the refidue with "his Feet.

"And of the Ten Horns that were in his Head, "and of the other which came up, and before "whom Three fell, even of that Horn that had "Eyes, and a Mouth that spake very great "Things, whofe Look was more ftout than his Fellows.

"I beheld, and the fame Horn made War "with the Saints, and prevailed against them. The Interpretation of all this follows:

"Thus he faid, The Fourth Beeft shall be "the Fourth Kingdom upon Earth, which shall "be diverfe from all Kingdoms, and fhill devour "the whole Earth, and fhall tread it down and break it in Pieces.

This

This is the First State of the Roman Empire, it was diverse from the Others, because it had Seven Heads, or different forms of Government: Whereas the First Beeft or the Babylonian had but One Head or form of a single abfolute vonarch.

The Second, had at firft Two Heads, the Mede and Perfian: The Mede had the chief Government, till the Death of Darius the Mede: and then the Perfian grew Higheft.

The Third or Grecian had Four Heads, as I obferved before, under, 1ft, Alexander; 2dly, his Followers; 3dly, The Roman Proconfuls; 4thly, A New Greek Emperour, fprung from the Konans.

And now this Fourth Beaft had Seven of these Heads, which made it divers from all the Others.

This Diftinction of Seven Heads is not exprefly mentioned by Daniel, as the Characters of the firft Three Beafts are, who were either in being, in his Time, or foon after; But this Fourth Beaft was referved to be fully explained by St. John, who defcribes it thus,

« ----And behold a great Red Tragon having Rev. "Seven Heads and Ten tions, and Seven Crowns XII. 3. upon his Heads.

The

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The Reason why the Roman Empire is here defcribed by a Dragon, feems to be, because Trajan, the first Emperour, of whom St. John. Prophefies, and who Reigned very foon after the Revelations were written, did after his Conqueft of the Dacians, take their Standerd, which was a Dragon, and made it a Roman Standard.

St. John here, and in other places, follows Daniel's manner of Description, which reprefents in the Vision a Figure, as exifting at once in the Picture, which in the Explanation appears to contain feveral parts, that are Succeffive, in order of Time.

Thus the great Image appears all of one Piece, though the parts of it are found by the Interpretation to have exifted one after another.

So the Four great Beafts came out of the Sea, and feem to have been feen all at once, tho' in the Explanation they are plainly Succeffive.

And thus it is of this great Red Dragon, whofe Seven Heads are Succeffive, and were indeed all in Being before the Ten Horns, as St. John exprefly fays, where he comes to relate what he learn'd from the Angel,

--Here

Here is the Mind which hath Wifdom: Rev. The Seven Heads are Seven Mountains.

"And there are Seven Kings, Five are fallen, "and One is, and the Other is not yet come

and when he cometh, he muft continue a "fhort Space."

This is a plain Account both of the Scene of the Vifion, which was Rome, built on Seven Hills, and of the various Forms of Government, by which he was Remarkable, and of which Tacitus defcribes the firft Six in the firft Words of his Annals, to have been, ift, Kings; 2dly, Confuls; 3dly, Decemvirs; 4thly, Tribunes with Confular Power; 5thly, Dictators, as often as the Publick Danger required it; and 6thly, Emperors.

And these were all fallen in St. John's Time, Except the Sixth, which was of Emperors at Rome, and the Seventh of Emperors at Conftantinople, Was not yet come.

And under that Head the Empire was to be divided into two Parts, the Dragon which preferved a Crown upen its Seventh Head, and a L

Braft

XVII. 9.

10.

Rev.XII.

3.

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