2. "At what epoch is it foretold, that this political monster shall appear in the world?" The prophet had before, in verse 2, declared, that the Gentiles should "tread the holy city,' or church of Christ, " under foot forty and two "months; and that the two witnesses should

prophecy 1260 days in sackcloth ;" and both these periods, in prophetic language, are 1260 years. Here he goes on to declare, that the "beast shall ascend, when the two witnesses "shall have nearly finished their testimony.' Now all the learned Protestant commentators have agreed, that the church of Christ began to be depressed, and to "prophesy in sackcloth," upon the rise of the Papal church. To which they might have added, as I have before said, and of the Mohamedan apostacy too, which has with equal violence and cruelty depressed it for it is a remarkable fact, that these two great schisms and apostacies from the primitive and uncorrupted doctrines of Christ, arose together in the same year, 606, the one as a scourge of the western, and the other of the eastern part of the general church, which had fallen from the primitive purity of the Gospel.

Let me state this question to the reader more at large. There is scarcely any great prophetic event concerning which commentators have differed more, than the time of the rise of the Pope. Mr. Mede dates in the year 456, Sir Isaac Newton and Mr. Lowman in 756, and Bishop Newton in 727. The opinion of the first pious and

learned commentator appears at once to be erroneous for the history of the Pope shows, that he was only bishop of Rome, and thus, "unus inter pares," possessing no more power than his fellow bishops; and that he remained in this state until the year 606, and therefore could not be Pope, or the father of the Christian churches in the year 456. The opinions of the other learned commentators, who have dated the rise of the Pope in the eighth century seem to have been founded on the mistaken apprehension, that the type of the little horn in Daniel*, and the beast which St. John "saw rise up out of the seat," were several denotations of the Pope. Hence they have conceived, that the bishop of Rome must have been a born, that is, a temporal prince, before he could be a Pope; and thus built one mistake on another, by dating the time of his rise in the eighth century, when he became a temporal prince. For I have no hesitation in asserting,

1. That the "little horn" is a type, not of the Pope, but of a very different political power, to be explained hereafter.

2. That the Pope in no part of the prophecies is referred to as a born, or temporal prince, but is only designated by the symbol of a beast which signifies a cruel and wicked power, whether civil or ecclesiastical; and it is to his ecclesiastical, and not to his civil authority, that we must look up for the character of a beast, for his

usurpation and inhumanity. In respect to his political consequence, it is well known, that among the kings and princes of Europe, he has been the most insignificant and contemptible. The extent of his territory, and the number of his subjects, have comparatively been small: nor has he, from incapability, made but little or no use of his temporal force, either to acquire or support his power and grandeur, or to exercise his acts of tyranny and cruelty. But, on the contrary, he has, by his ecclesiastical influence only over the minds of men, procured and upheld his superiority over the kings, princes, and bishops of Europe; and carried into execution his seductive, his fraudulent, his bloody schemes, for the destruction of all who would not submit to his ecclesiastical will, and embrace his idolatry. In the first character, in which he has been drawn, we perceive no marks of a beast; all is in a manner innocent and inoffensive: in the second he has been more ferocious and cruel, than any animal upon the earth.

But, to show these errors of commentators in their true light, let the prophet himself be our guide. He tells us, "I saw another beast rise up out of the sea.”" This beast, all commentators agree, is the type of the Pope. However, after describing him by a variety of marks so peculiar and appropriate, that it seems impossible for a discerning reader to mistake them, the prophet informs us by what means he should ac

quire his power; (and which all Protestant commentators agree is a type of imperial Rome:) "and the dragon gave him his power; and his seat, and great authorityf." Now the events attending his rise, strictly verify the prophetic declaration for while Boniface, the bishop, was possessing merely a right over the particular see of Rome, he obtained, from Phocas, the abandoned chief of the Roman empire, and by the most fulsome flattery added to shameful bribery, a commission of bishop over all the Christian churches. This commission was dated in the year 606.Thus clothed with ecclesiastical supremacy over the Christian world, the newly created universal Pope, lost no time in establishing his long meditated superstition; and, for that purpose, requested of the emperor a donation of the heathen Pantheon at Rome. That request being granted, he instituted his idolatry in that abominable temple, by changing the names of the images of the heathen gods and goddesses, into those of the dead saints and martyrs; and ordered them to be worshipped in the year 607. From that time the idolatry of the Pope spread over the West. Kings, princes and bishops became consecrated dependents upon ecclesiastical will. The benedictions of the universal Pope, his licences, indulgences, were granted to converts to his superstition; and his anathemas and excommunications were hurled against the refractory. Surely then the year 606 was the

* Ibid. ver. 2.

time when he rose, and became a beast, and no other.

If, then, we date the rise of the two apostacies in the year 606, which has just been proved to be the true time, the "witnesses have now prophesied in "sackcloth" 1195 years of the 1260; so that there are only 65 years to come, before they will have "finished their testimony," according to our present mode of calculation. But if the prophet calculated by synchronical years, or only 360 days to a year, according to the Jewish mode of computation, when he wrote, as some commentators suppose, and which indeed, is most probable, there remain only 48 years before the witnesses shall have finished their testimony in sackcloth." This is a very small proportion of 1260 years, the whole period of their depression and prophecy; so comparatively small, that it may, with strict propriety and truth, be said that they have now "nearly finished their testimony:" and, therefore, this is the true time foretold, by the prophet, when the beast is to "ascend from the bottomless pit," or the atheistical power, metaphorically described by it, is to appear in the world.

I may here add, that this accords with the testimony of St. Paul, who, in many instances, supports and confirms the truths of the Apocalypse, foretels the coming of the apostacy, and of the "man of sin,*" the latter of which, there can be no doubt, is only another descriptive ap

* 2 Thess. ii. 3.7.