_  _  _  _ 
 
R  I  B  R  A  R  X 
 
 OF  THE 
 
 Theological  Seminar 
 PRINCETON,  N.  J. 
 
 BR  115  .  P8  .  A48  1815  v.2 
 
 Allwood,  Philip. 
 
 Twelve  lectures  on  the 
 prophecies  relating  to  the 
 
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TWELVE 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE  PROPHECIES 
 
 RELATING  TO 
 
 THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH, 
 
 AND  ESPECIALLY  TO  THE 
 
 APOSTACY  OF  PAPAL  ROME, 
 
 PREACHED  IN  THE  CHAPEL  OF  LINCOLN’S  INN, 
 
 From  the  Year  1811  to  1815; 
 
 BEING  THE  NINTH  PORTION  OF  THOSE  FOUNDED 
 
 BY  THE 
 
 RIGHT  REVEREND  WILLIAM  WARBURTON, 
 
 LORD  BISHOP  OF  GLOUCESTER. 
 
 BY  PHILIP  ALLWOOD,  B.D. 
 
 FELLOW  OF  MAGDALEN  COLLEGE,  CAMBRIDGE, 
 
 IN  TWO  VOLUMES, 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 UfopriTsias  /*yi  iiovSevs ite. 
 
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 I.  Tiiess.  c.5,  v.20,  21. 
 
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L  E  C  T  U  R  E  S 
 
 ON  THE 
 
 PROPHECIES 
 
 RELATING  TO 
 
 THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH , 
 
 $c. 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 Delivered  December  5,  1813, 
 
 Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  3. 
 
 Blessed  is  he  that  readeth ,  and  they  that 
 heai  the  words  of  this  Prophecy ,  and 
 l  cep  those  things  that  are  written  therein: 
 for  the  time  is  at  hand . 
 
 THE  proposed  illustration  of  the  Pro¬ 
 phecies,  relating  to  the  Redemption  and 
 Restoration  of  Mankind,  has  now  been 
 brought  down  to  the  promulgation  of 
 
 VOL.  II.  n 
 
2 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 Christ’s  holy  Religion  in  the  world  ;  and 
 thence,  to  the  judicial  subversion  *  of  the 
 Hierarchy  of  the  Jews,  and  to  the  misera¬ 
 ble  confusion  and  dispersion  of  that  peo¬ 
 ple,  for  refusing  to  receive  it.  And  in 
 doing  this,  although  the  Survey,  that  has 
 been  taken,  must  necessarily  be  in  many 
 respects  defective,  yet  I  trust  there  have 
 resulted,  upon  the  whole,  many  direct 
 evidences  of  the  Truth,  and  divine  Authen¬ 
 ticity  of  this  sacred  System.  It  only  re¬ 
 mains,  therefore,  for  completing  the  plan 
 of  these  Lectures,  that  we  now  proceed  to 
 the  contemplation  of  some  of  the  principal 
 of  those  further  prophetic  Descriptions, 
 which  prefigure  the  States  of  the  Christian 
 Church  through  all  succeeding  Ages.  And 
 if,  through  as  much  of  this  space  as 
 the  lapse  of  time  has  already  extended, 
 we  are  able  to  perceive  a  similar  agree- 
 
 *  It  became  virtually  superseded  about  forty  years  be¬ 
 fore  this  final  overthrow,  in  consequence  of  the  typical 
 Rites  and  Ceremonies,  of  which  it  consisted,  having 
 been  fully  answered  in  the  Sacrifice  and  everlasting 
 Priesthood  of  Christ,  their  great  Antitype.  To  an  elu¬ 
 cidation  of  this  part  of  the  Subject  some  attention  has 
 been  already  paid,  in  the  second  Lecture. 
 
LECTURE  VIE 
 
 3 
 
 ihent  between  the  Predictions  and  the 
 Events  that  have  taken  place,  wc  may 
 then  reasonably  conclude,  that  these  Re¬ 
 velations  are  from  God  ;  and  that  they 
 were  designed  to  be  the  Sources  of  In- 
 struction  and  Comfort  to  his  Church  to  the 
 end  of  time. 
 
 And,  in  performing  this  interesting  part 
 of  our  Undertaking,  it  will  more  immedi¬ 
 ately  appear,  that  while  there  are  some 
 Anticipations  of  Futurity  afforded,  which 
 are  of  a  general  nature,  and  in  some  mea¬ 
 sure  applicable  to  every  age  of  Christianity, 
 there  are  others  of  a  chronological  form  ; 
 which,  by  the  peculiarity  of  their  Subjects, 
 and  the  very  order  in  which  they  are 
 placed,  point  out,  as  it  were,  the  precise 
 periods  of  their  respective  accomplish¬ 
 ments,  as  far  as  they  have  hitherto  re¬ 
 ceived  them  ;  and  even  serve  to  ascertain, 
 in  some  degree,  and  in  several  remarkable 
 instances,  the  nature  and  dates  of  Events 
 that  are  yet  to  be  brought  to  pass. 
 
 To  the  former  Class  belong  all  those 
 Prophecies,  which  describe  the  general 
 Characteristics  of  the  Messiah’s  Reign  : 
 such  as,  the  brotherly  Kindness  and  Cha¬ 
 rity,  the  Meekness  and  Forbearance,  the 
 
 b  2 
 
4 
 
 LECTURE  VIE 
 
 Harmony  and  Peace,  the  Righteousness 
 and  true  Holinesss  ;  which  will  ever  dis¬ 
 tinguish,  in  a  greater  or  Jess  degree,  the 
 dutiful  Subjects  of  liis  Dominion  ;  and 
 which  will  then  only  universally  prevail, 
 when  his  Kingdom,  at  length,  shall  “  rule 
 “  over  all.”  The  Predictions  that  come 
 under  this  denomination,  can  only  be  in¬ 
 cidentally  referred  to  in  the  course  of 
 these  Lectures*. 
 
 In  the  latter  Class  must  be  included, 
 more  particularly,  the  prophetical  Visions 
 detailed  by  St.  John  ;  and  those  Revela¬ 
 tions,  vouchsafed  to  Daniel,  which  run 
 parallel  with  them.  All  these  are  strictly 
 chronological ;  and  they  will  be  found  to 
 prefigure  Occurrences  of  the  utmost  mo¬ 
 ment,  which  have  hitherto  succeeded  each 
 other  in  a  regular,  and  unbroken  series. 
 Our  chief  attention  must,  in  the  sequel, 
 be  directed  to  these. 
 
 But  there  is  yet  another  Branch  of  ar¬ 
 rangement  to  be  noticed — that,  under 
 which  Predictions  of  an  insulated  nature 
 
 *  Several  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these,  it  is  hoped, 
 have  both  afforded,  and  received  additional  light,  from 
 such  reference  already. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 must  generally  be  inserted.  No  dates  are 
 usually  assigned  for  the  completion  of 
 these  *  ;  but,  supposing  them  to  have  been 
 fulfilled,  the  dates  to  which  they  refer  may 
 in  most  instances  be  discovered — either 
 by  comparing  these  Prophecies  with 
 others,  relating  to  the  same  Subjects, 
 which  are  more  precise  ;or  by  the  Facts  in 
 which  they  can  be  undeniably  proved  to 
 have  been  verified ;  or  by  both  these 
 means  being  applied  conjointly,  which 
 will  be  by  far  the  most  satisfactory,  as 
 holding  forth  the  strongest  possible  evi¬ 
 dence  for  Revealed  Religion.  If  they 
 should  still  be  unaccomplished,  it  may 
 nevertheless  be  possible,  in  some  few  in¬ 
 stances,  by  a  proper  attention  to  the  pecu¬ 
 liarities  of  the  Events  foretold,  and  a  re¬ 
 ference  to  those  chronological  Prophecies, 
 where  such  Events  are  introduced  in  their 
 
 *  There  is  a  most  illustrious  exception  to  this,  in 
 Daniel’s  prophecy  of  the  seventy  Weeks  ;  in  which  the  very 
 yea?' of  human  Redemption  was  pointed  out,  with  the 
 greatest  exactness,  about  568  years  before  the  event 
 took  place,  and  about  81  years  before  the  very  time 
 whence  these  seventy  Weeks  of  years  are  dated.  See  Ap¬ 
 pendix,  note  X,  Vol.  I. 
 
 B  3 
 
6 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 proper  order,  to  approximate,  in  no  small 
 degree,  towards  the  true  period  of  their 
 fulfilment. 
 
 Under  this  head  must  be  ranged  those 
 of  Isaiah,  and  some  of  the  other  Prophets, 
 which  foretel  “  the  Fulness  of  the  Gen- 
 li  tiles/'  and  the  universal  diffusion  of  true 
 Religion  and  Happiness  throughout  the 
 world  :  the  Conversion  and  Restoration  of 
 the  Jews,  and  the  Use  which  the  divine 
 Economy  will  then  make  of  this  wonderful 
 People,  for  advancing  the  Blessedness  of 
 all  Nations.  All  these,  holding  forth  pro¬ 
 spects  so  full  of  sublimity  and  delight, 
 must  be  referred,  it  is  probable,  for  any 
 'visible  commencement  of  their  completion 
 to  a  time  that  is  yet  future — to  the  close 
 of  the  grand  Period  of  One  thousand  two 
 hundred  and  sixty  years ,  so  particularly, 
 and  in  such  various  terms,  insisted  on 
 both  by  Daniel  and  St.  John  *  ;  an  epoch 
 
 f  All  the  periods,  thus  variously  denominated,  are 
 precisely  of  the  samp  duration,  and  contemporaneous.  And 
 it  may  be  worth  while  to  give  a  view,  in  this  place,  of 
 all  those  Prophecies,  whose  fulfilment  is  said  to  occupy 
 pxactly  the  same  time. 
 
 1.  The  Little  Horn  of  the  fourth  Beast,  or  of  the 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 7 
 
 to  which  we  are  now,  in  all  probability, 
 very  rapidly  approaching. 
 
 Roman  empire,  was  to  “  zoear  out  the  Saints  of  the 
 u  Most  High”  “  until  a  time,  times,  and  the 
 “  DIVIDING  OF  time.  Dan.  eh.  7,  V.  25. 
 
 2.  To  the  end  of  those  zoonders  whieh  Daniel  had 
 predicted  under  this  reign  of  Impiety  and  Superstition, 
 the  Angel  assured  him  it  would  be  “  a  time,  times, 
 “AND  A  HALF.”  Dali.  ell.  12,  V,  C,  7. 
 
 3.  The  ho/p  dtp  zcas  to  he  trodden  under  Joot  of  the 
 Gentiles ;  that  is,  the  Church  of  Christ  was  to  be  op¬ 
 pressed  by  the  persecution  of  idolators  professing 
 Christianity  in  the  West,  and  of  the  disciples  of  Maho¬ 
 met  in  the  East,  “for  forty  and  two  months.”  Rev. 
 eh.  11,  v.  2. 
 
 4.  The  Witnesses  were  to  have  power  given  them  to 
 prophecp  in  sack-cloth  “  a  thousand  two  hundred 
 and  three-score  days.  Rev.  oh.  1  ],  v.  3. 
 
 5.  Power  is  given  to  the  Beast  (the  Roman  empire, 
 or  foiu'th  Beast  of  Daniel,  under  the  influence  of  its  little 
 Horn)  to  continue  “  forty  and  two  months.”  Rev. 
 cl i.  Id,  v.  d. 
 
 6.  The  Woman,  symbolical  of  the  Church,  was  to  be 
 nourished  in  the  Wilderness,  to  ztbicli  she  had  fled  from 
 the  face  of  the  Dragon  “ a  thousand  two  iiun- 
 “  DRED  AND  THREE-SCORE  DAYS.”  Rev.  ell.  12,  V.  6. 
 
 7.  She  was  to  he  nourished  in  the  same  place  “  for  a 
 “  TIME,  AND  TIMES,  AND  HALF  A  TIME,”  “ from  the 
 “face  oj  the  Serpent Rev.  ch.  12,  v.  14. 
 
 .Among  the  portions  of  time  above  described,  the 
 “  time ”  evidently  denotes  the  interval  which  elapses  be¬ 
 tween  the  commencement  of  any  one  Season  of  the 
 
 B  4 
 
8 
 
 LECTURE  VIE 
 
 Of  llie  same  kind  are  also  those  highly 
 remarkable  and  awful  Representations, 
 which  St.  Paul  has  given  of  “  The  Man  of 
 “  Sin  and  the  Apostacy  of  the  latter 
 clays  f.  For  I  must  here  venture  to  affirm, 
 notwithstanding  the  Arguments  employed 
 by  one  of  my  learned  Predecessors  +  in 
 the  office  I  am  now  discharging,  to  prove 
 the  contrary,  that  these  are  really  pro- 
 phetical  Descriptions  ;  that  they  are  there¬ 
 fore  to  be  ranked  among  the  bulwarks 
 of  genuine  Christianity  ;  and  are  of  the 
 
 year,  and  the  return  of  the  same  season  again,  or  One 
 complete  year ;  and  therefore  “  a  time,  times,  and  a  half  f- 
 or  11  the  dividing  of  time,”  ill  represent  three  years  and 
 a  half,  or  “  forty  and  tzco  months  .”  i\nd  at  the  rate 
 of  30  days  to  the  month,  they  are  also  “  the  1260  days” 
 above  mentioned  ;  for  42  X  30=1260.  But  the  u  days,” 
 “  months,”  and  u  times”  are  all  prophetical  ;  and  there¬ 
 fore  a  day  will  stand  for  a  year,  a  month  for  30  years, 
 and  a  “  time ”  for  360  years. 
 
 *  2  Thessal.  ch.  2,  v.  1  — 12. 
 
 T  1  Tim.  ch.  4,  v.  1 — 6.  See  also  2  Tim.  ch.  4,  v,  3,  4  ; 
 and  Colos.  ch.  2,  v'  IS,  ip,  23.  These  are  all  pro¬ 
 phetic  more  or  less  of  Enormities  which  have  existed  for 
 ages,  and  which  stiil  exist,  dishonouring  the  native 
 beauty  and  excellence  of  Christianity. 
 
 i  See  Dr.  Pearson’s  Warburtonian  Lectures,  VI  f. 
 and  VI II.1 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 9 
 
 greatest  importance  to  the  Church  of 
 God.  The  proofs  of  this  will,  it  is 
 hoped,  be  hereafter  produced  in  their 
 place. 
 
 To  the  same  class  must  likewise  be  re¬ 
 ferred  those  epistolary  Addresses,  in  which 
 The  Holy  Spirit,  through  the  Ministry  of 
 St.  John,  after  exposing  to  their  view  the 
 respective  states  of  the  seven  Churches 
 that  were  then  in  Asia,  looks  forward  to 
 the  future  ;  and  pronounces  what  would 
 be  the  conditional  fate  of  each  in  succeed¬ 
 ing  times 
 
 As  these  constituted  some  of  the  prin¬ 
 cipal,  and  most  flourishing  parts  of  the 
 visible  Church  of  Christ,  at  the  latter  end 
 
 Rev.  chapters  1,  2,  and  3.  The  whole  Book  of  the 
 Revelation  embraces  two  grand  points;  namely,  the 
 things  which  then  were,  and  u  the  things  that  were  to  he 
 “  thereafter  in  relation  to  both  which  St.  John  was 
 commanded  to  write  the  things  that  he  had  seen,  (eh.  1, 
 v.  19).  What  he  wrote  concerning  the  former  of  these 
 is  contained  in  his  Letters  toll  Seven  Churches  ;  and, 
 with  the  sublime  and  awful  Sanction  by  which  it  is  in¬ 
 troduced,  occupies  the  three  first  Chapters.  And  “  the 
 11  things  that  should  be  thereafter ”  are  prefigured,  in  as  re¬ 
 gular  an  order  as  possible,  with  respect  to  time,  through 
 the  rest  of  the  Book . 
 
10 
 
 LECTURE  VI r. 
 
 of  the  Apostolic  age ;  and  as  there  is  much 
 peculiarity  in  the  Admonitions  and  Warn¬ 
 ings  that  were  afforded  them  ;  the  prophe¬ 
 tical  Denunciations,  which  involved  their 
 doom,  might  have  furnished  a  very  proper 
 introduction  to  the  consideration  of  those 
 other  sacred  Emblems,  or  more  express 
 Declarations,  which  describe  the  state  of 
 the  Christian  Church  through  every  sub¬ 
 sequent  age  of  the  world.  To  a  corres¬ 
 ponding  purpose  the  inspired  Writer  him¬ 
 self  has  applied  them.  He  has  made  them 
 introductory  to  a  series  of  Revelations, 
 that  are  most  surprising  in  themselves,  and 
 of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  latest  ge¬ 
 nerations  of  men. 
 
 But  our  time  will  not  admit  of  any  par¬ 
 ticular  disquisition  concerning  these  sub¬ 
 jects.  Nor  perhaps  is  this  much  at  pre¬ 
 sent  required  ;  for  they  form  a  ground 
 that  has  been  repeatedly  pre-occupied  ; 
 and  by  none  more  ably  and  satisfactorily 
 than  by  the  learned  and  venerable  Bishop 
 Newton  *.  Almost  every  traveller  of  note, 
 
 *  Dissertations  on  the  Prophecies.  Dissert.  XXIV. 
 Part  I. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 11 
 
 indeed,  who,  within  the  hist  two  centuries, 
 has  visited  those  parts  of  Asia  Minor  *, 
 where  these  churches  once  flourished,  has 
 been  able  to  discover,  in  their  modern 
 state,  the  general  accuracy  of  these  Pre¬ 
 dictions,  It  may,  notwithstanding,  be  ot 
 some  further  service,  if  I  venture  to  com¬ 
 pare  once  again  the  singular  catastrophes 
 that  have  befallen  two  of  these  churches, 
 with  the  threatenings  which  expressly 
 foreshowed  them.  The  two,  here  intend¬ 
 ed,  are  those  of  Ephesus  and  Laodicea  : 
 and  they  have  been  selected  from  the  rest 
 — because,  with  respect  to  the  first  of 
 these,  all  those  explications  of  the  Pro¬ 
 phecy  of  St.  John,  that  f  have  had  any 
 opportunity  of  consulting,  appear  to  be 
 deficient  in  one  very  material  point ;  and 
 because  the  second  will  exhibit  to  us  the 
 fatal  consequences  of  spiritual  pride,  and 
 indifference  to  religious  duty ;  and  will 
 thereby  furnish  an  example  far  too  strik- 
 
 #  Among  these  vve  may  enumerate  the  names  of 
 Uicaut,  Smith,  Wheler,  Spon,  Van  Eguiont,  Heyman, 
 and  Pococke  ;  who  have  all  written  something  on  these 
 subjects,  and  some  of  them  largely. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 12 
 
 ing  to  be  neglected,  and  especially  in 
 times  like  the  present. 
 
 Let  us  first,  then,  take  a  view  of  t he 
 State  of  the  Church,  that  had  been 
 founded  by  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus  ;  and  to 
 which  he  addressed  one  of  his  Epistles 
 from  Rome,  not  long  before  he  suffered. 
 
 The  dignity  and  eminence  of  this 
 City*  appear  to  have  communicated  to 
 the  Church,  which  was  established  within 
 it,  a  proportionate  degree  of  distinction 
 among  the  Churches  in  Asia  :  for  it  was  at 
 this  time  the  metropolis  of  Ionia,  and,  in¬ 
 deed,  of  the  Lesser  Asia  ;  and  one  of  the 
 most  illustrious  cities*)- in  that  part  of  the 
 world.  It  was  then  renowned  for  its 
 splendour  and  magnificence;  for  its  com¬ 
 merce,  arts  J,  and  civilization  ;  and  it 
 
 *  There  is  a  very  particular  description  of  its  former 
 grandeur  to  be  met  with  in  Ancient  Universal  History, 
 Vol.  7,  p.  41 6,  &lc.  Edit.  1747. 
 
 *f  Stephanus  of  Byzantium  expressly  styles  it  IIoAi* 
 ’Icovias  ’imtpaverum  ;  and  such  it  was  in  his  time,  in  the 
 fifth  or  sixth  century,  although,  long  before  that  time, 
 its  famous  Temple  had  been  destroyed. 
 
 Jits  celebrity  in  the  arts,  of  magic  in  particular,  is 
 recorded  in  Acts,  ch.  19,  v.  13 — 20.  Hence  also  the 
 title  of  “  Ephesian  Letters’'  became  proverbial. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 15 
 
 maintained  its  superiority,  and  nurtured 
 its  church,  for  several  ages  afterwards. 
 
 But  it  abounded  also  in  opposite  ex¬ 
 tremes.  From  its  first  reception  of  Chris¬ 
 tianity,  to  the  time  of  Constantine  the 
 Great,  it  seems  to  have  been  almost 
 equally  remarkable  for  the  cultivation  of 
 true  Religion,  and  for  its  addiction  to  the 
 Rites  of  pagan  Worship  *.  On  the  one 
 hand,  it  was  peculiarly  blessed  with  the 
 immediate  presence  and  ministry  of  St, 
 John,  during  many,  and  especially  the 
 latter  years  of  his  life-j-;  and,  after  his 
 decease,  with  the  superintendence  of  a 
 number  of  Prelates,  eminent  for  their 
 piety,  ability,  and  learning  +,  And,  in  the 
 
 *  The  Temple  of  Ephesus  is  supposed  to  have  been 
 destroyed  in  the  Reign  of  Constantine,  pursuant  to  an 
 edict  issued  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  Reign,  prohi¬ 
 biting  the  Rites  of  paganism,  and  ordering,  in  effect, 
 the  demolition  of  pagan  Temples. 
 
 f  The  circumstance  of  his  return  to  Ephesus,  after 
 his  liberation  from  Patinos,  by  order  of  Nerva,  is  noted 
 by  Eusebius  ;  and  according  to  Irenaeus,  he  lived  till 
 the  third  year  of  the  Reign  of  Trajan.  Euseb.  Chron. 
 Canon,  et  Epitome  and  Irenaeus  advers.  Haeres.  lib.  4. 
 ch.  3 - 
 
 t  Among  these  Polycrates  stands  particularly  distin¬ 
 guished,  at  the  close  of  the  second  Century,  as  one  of 
 
14 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 year  431,  it  had  so  little  declined  in  con¬ 
 sequence,  that  it  was  the  place  appointed 
 by  Theodosius  II.  for  the  meeting  of  a  Ge- 
 neral  Council in  order  to  suppress  the  He¬ 
 resy  of  Nestorius  the  Patriarch  of  Constan¬ 
 tinople*.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  ren¬ 
 dered  greatly  celebrated  by  the  Temple  of 
 “  the  great  Goddess  Diana  which  was, 
 for  some  ages,  the  wonder  and  admiration 
 of  surrounding  nations;  and,  till  it  was 
 plundered  by  the  Goths  in  the  year  2o2  -f, 
 was  perhaps  the  richest  shrine  in  the 
 world. 
 
 But,  already,  before  the  end  of  the 
 Reign  of  Domitian,  notwithstanding  all 
 the  advantages  they  possessed,  the  Chris¬ 
 tians  in  this  city  had  lost  much  of  that 
 fervency  of  piety,  and  zealous  regard  for 
 
 die  principal  champions  of  the  Eastern  Churches,  in 
 the  contest  which  so  long  divided,  and  at  last  finally 
 separated  them  from  the  Western.  The  most  proper 
 time  for  the  observance  of  Easter,  was  the  ground  of 
 this  Controversy. 
 
 *  This  was  the  third  general  Council  in  the  annals  of 
 the  Church.  See  Mosheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  cent.  5, 
 part  2,  ch.  5,  §  8  ;  and  Du  Pin’s  History  of  this  Coun« 
 cil  at  large,  in  Vol.  4,  p.  195,  edit.  1693. 
 
 +  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  p.  435* 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 15 
 
 the  interests  of  their  Religion,  which  had 
 so  eminently  distinguished  them  in  the 
 time  of  St.  Paul*  :  and  though  there  was 
 much  of  what  was  excellent  still  remain¬ 
 ing,  yet  it  became  necessary  for  St.  John 
 earnestly  to  exhort  them  '*  to  remember 
 ft  from  whence  they  had  fallen,  and  to  re- 
 i(  pent,  and  do  the  first  works  *j\”  They 
 had  still  much  in  their  power  ;  and  their 
 character  still  ranked  high  in  the  scale  of 
 Christian  Churches;  the  most  noble  re¬ 
 wards  were  therefore  promised  to  him, 
 who,  by  genuine  faith  in  God,  and  perse¬ 
 verance  in  well-doing,  should  overcome 
 the  terrors  of  persecution,  and  the  evils 
 which  were  then  beginning  to  prevail  J. 
 On  the  contrary,  it  was  denounced,  that 
 if  they  did  not  recover  themselves  from 
 those  Errors,  and  from  that  Indifference, 
 into  which  they  had  lapsed,  the  divine 
 Judgments  should  certainly  overtake 
 them  ;  and  “  their  Candlestick  should  be 
 ((  removed  out  of  its  place  §  ”  their  very 
 
 *  See  Acts,  ch.  19,  v.  1—20.  fRev.ch.  2,  v.  4,  5. 
 |  Rev.  ch.  2,  v.  2,  0.  $  Rev.  ch.  2,  v.  5. 
 
1 6 
 
 LECTURE  VIL 
 
 existence ,  as  a  Church  *,  upon  that  particu¬ 
 lar  spot ,  should  he  utterly  annihilated. 
 
 In  the  Revolutions  which  this  City  has 
 undergone,  and  in  its  state  at  the  present 
 time,  we  may  contemplate,  in  great  mea¬ 
 sure,  the  awful  fulfilment  of  this  Predic- 
 tion.  Though  that  part  of  Asia,  in  which 
 it  was  situated,  was  immediately,  as  it 
 were,  under  the  eye  and  protection  of  the 
 Greek  Emperors,  on  account  of  its  near¬ 
 ness  to  their  Capital ;  yet  it  partook  very 
 sensibly  of  the  various  fluctuations,  that 
 for  ages  harrassed  and  weakened  the  Em- 
 pire  of  the  East.  It  was,  besides,  exposed 
 to  misfortunes,  from  which  the  European 
 part  of  that  Empire  was  long  exempted  ; 
 namely,  the  destructive  Incursions  of  the 
 Tartar  or  Turkish  Tribes.  In  these  judi¬ 
 cial  Visitations  the  Prophecy  began  more 
 directly  to  receive  its  accomplishment. 
 Towards  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century 
 the  city  of  Ephesus  was  taken  possession 
 of  by  one  of  their  Chiefs  f  ;  and  though  it 
 
 *  A  Candlestick  is  here  employed  as  the  symbol  of  a 
 Church — “  The  seven  candlesticks,  which  thou  sawest, 
 “  are  the  seven  churches.”  Rev.  ch,  1,  v.  20. 
 
 T  Mod.  Univers.  Hist,  vol.  4,  p.  206.  Edit.  1759. 
 
LECTURE  VIE 
 
 17 
 
 was  afterwards  retaken  by  the  Emperor 
 John  Ducas,  yet  it  never  recovered  the 
 blow  it  had  received  ;  and  was  at  length 
 totally  ruined  in  the  year  1308,  when  the 
 inhabitants,  to  avoid  the  extremities  of 
 war,  surrendered  to  the  Turkish  General 
 — but  surrendered,  unhappily  for  them¬ 
 selves,  upon  terms  which  were  so  ill  ob¬ 
 served,  that  the  greater  part  of  them  were 
 sent  into  banishment,  for  fear  of  future 
 insurrection  ;  and  some  were  cruelly  mur¬ 
 dered  *. 
 
 With  respect  to  its  state  in  modern 
 times — When  the  celebrated  Spon  was 
 here  in  1675,  it  had  degenerated  into  a 
 wretched  village,  remarkable  for  nothing 
 but  the  ignorance  and  poverty  of  its  inha¬ 
 bitants,  and  the  magnificent  but  moulder¬ 
 ing  Remains  of  its  former  Grandeur.  At 
 that  time,  however,  Christianity  had  not 
 
 *  Modern  Univers.  Ilist.  vol.  12,  p.  36.  This  con¬ 
 quest  was  effected  by  the  Soltan  Saysan,  who  hud 
 thrown  off  his  allegiance  to  his  uncle  Karaman  Man- 
 takliia.  But,  in  the  30th  year  of  the  reign  of  An- 
 dronicus  Palseologus,  about  five  years  afterwards,  the 
 City  of  Ephesus,  with  the  whole  of  Caria,  were  sub¬ 
 jected  again  to  the  honors  of  war,  and  reduced  under 
 the  power  of  Mantakhia  himself.  Ibid,  page  3L>. 
 
 VOL.  II.  C 
 
18 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 been  altogether  removed  from  it.  There 
 were  still  some  Greek  families  residing 
 there,  who  might  be  said  to  represent,  in 
 some  degree,  the  Church  at  Ephesus  ;  but 
 these  were  found  in  so  degraded  a  state, 
 as  not  to  be  capable,  as  the  learned  Tra¬ 
 veller  observes,  of  understanding  the 
 Epistle  that  St.  Paul  had  written  to  that 
 Church* **. 
 
 About  sixty-four  years  afterwards,  the 
 same  spot  was  visited  by  Dr.  Pococke ; 
 and  then,  to  use  his  own  impressive  words 
 — “  The  Prophecy  in  the  Revelation,  that 
 “  the  Candlestick  should  he  taken  from  this 
 “  place ,  was  so  literally  verified,  that  there 
 u  was  not  so  much  as  one  Christian  within 
 “  two  leagues  of  the  place  *f\” 
 
 *  Wheler  and  Spon’s  Voyage,  Book  3. 
 f  Description  of  the  East,  Book  2,  ch.  3. 
 
 “  At  present,”  says  Mr.  Hobhouse,  “  one  Greek,  the 
 “  baker  of  the  village  at  Aiasaluk,  and  three  or  four 
 
 **  fishermen,  who  live  in  sheds  near  the  Ferry,  and  on 
 u  the  banks  of  the  river,  are  the  only  Christians  to  be 
 “  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Ephesus;  and  there  is  not  a 
 “  single  habitation,  not  even  a  shepherd’s  hut,  on  the 
 "  actual  site  of  that  (once)  splendid  city.  A  village  of 
 “  three  hundred  houses,  called  Kerkeyah,  four  miles  to 
 4t  the  east  of  Aiasaluk,  contains  the  principal  portion  of 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 19 
 
 But  the  Removal,  and  the  Annihilation, 
 of  a  Church  are  very  different  predica- 
 
 4<  the  lew  Greeks  inhabiting  the  southern  part  of  the 
 “  once  populous  Ionia.”  It  does  not  appear  that  Mr. 
 Hobhouse  had  ever  visited  Scala  Nuova;  which  is  the 
 chief  settlement  of  the  Christians  in  the  vicinity  of 
 Ephesus.  M.Tournefort  mentions,  in  his  “  Relation 
 d’un  voyage  du  Levant,”  that,  when  he  was  here,  the 
 place  with  its  suburbs  contained  1000  families  of  Turks, 
 6()0  of  Greeks,  10  of  Jews,  and  00  of  Armenians.  And, 
 when  Dr.  Pococke  came  to  the  same  place,  near  forty 
 years  afterwards,  the  Christians  were  still  in  such  num¬ 
 bers,  as  to  occupy  about  COO  houses.  See  Hobhouse’s 
 Journey  through  Albania,  and  other  Provinces  of  Tur¬ 
 key  in  Europe  and  Asia,  to  Constantinople,  during  the 
 years  1809  and  1810;  vol.  2,  letter  37,  page  666, 
 edit.  2. 
 
 “  Aiasaluk,”  says  this  writer,  “  until  the  time  of 
 “  Chandler,  was  considered  to  stand  upon  the  site  of 
 “  Ephesus*;  but  that  traveller  has,  with  his  usual  learn- 
 “  ing  and  perspicuity,  decided,  that  the  remains  at  this 
 “  place  must  be  referred  to  a  comparatively  modern 
 “  town,  established,  perhaps,  by  the  Mahometan  potcn- 
 “  tate  Mantakhia,  who  conquered  Ephesus  and  all  Caria 
 “  in  the  year  1313.”  “  Aiasaluk  is  now  a  miserable 
 
 “village,  and  a  scene  of  complete  desolation.”  ibid, 
 page  6oj. 
 
 *  There  must  be  a  little  inadvertency  here.  Dr.  Pococke 
 expressly  says,  that  “  the  village  of  Aiasaluk  is  to  the 
 “  North  East  of  the  ancient  city  of  Ephesus.”  ii.  2,  ch.  2, 
 ua.tr  the  beginning. 
 
 C  2 
 
*0 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 ments.  Bishop  Newton  and  Dr.  Pococke 
 appear  to  have  concluded,  from  the 
 total  absence  of  Christianity  from  this  spot 
 at  present,  that  the  prophecy  of  St.John 
 had  received  its  perfect  completion*.  But, 
 if  we  were  to  look  no  further  than  this, 
 it  might  reasonably  be  inferred,  that  the 
 Church  of  the  Ephesians  had  actually 
 ceased  to  exist .  This,  however,  would  have 
 been  inconsistent  with  the  words  of  the 
 prediction:  for  St.John  only  foretold +, 
 that  their  Candlestick  should  he  removed  out 
 of  its  place  ;  not  that  it  should  he  destroyed . 
 1 1  has  certainly  been  removed  from  the  spot 
 upon  which  it  once  conferred  so  much  dig¬ 
 nity  and  beauty ;  but  it  has  not  been 
 translated  to  any  great  distance;  for  at 
 Scala  Nuova,  about  three  leagues  W.S.W. 
 of  the  ancient  city,  is  its  present  position*. 
 
 *  Bp.  Newton’s  Analysis  of  the  Revelation,  in  ch.  2, 
 v,  5. 
 
 f  The  Apostle’s  words  are  very  precise — ximra  tw 
 Av%v(£sv  crou  ’sk  tzu  t O'Erov  cut TVf — u  1  W ill  remove  thy 
 “  Candlestick  out  of  its  place/’  The  personal  pro¬ 
 noun  aov ,  marks  it  still  as  the  peculiar  property  of  the 
 Ephesians,  wheresoever  it  might  be  removed. 
 
 +  Dr.  Pococke’ s  Desciiption,  in  the  place  before 
 cited. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 21 
 
 This  was  the  principle  Asylum  of  the  re¬ 
 fugees  from  Ephesus  ;  in  its  suburbs  they 
 have  been  permitted  to  live  ;  and,  as  if 
 nothing  should  be  wanting  to  the  exact 
 fulfilment  of  this  prophecy  in  all  its  parts, 
 the  Ecclesiastical  Establishment  at  this 
 place  is  still  denominated  the  See  of  Ephe¬ 
 sus.  It  is  still  nominally  an  Archbish- 
 oprick.  There  were  formerly  thirty-two 
 Bishops  in  its  province  ;  but  in  1740  it 
 possessed  not  a  single  suffragan.  The 
 fact  therefore  is,  that  the  Church  exists  to 
 this  clay ;  although,  agreeably  to  the  pre¬ 
 diction,  it  has  been  removed  out  of  its 
 original  and  more  peculiar  place. 
 
 No  such  fate  as  this,  however,  awaited 
 the  Church  of  Laodicea.  The  ingratitude 
 of  this  soil,  where  the  seed  of  divine  Truth 
 had  been  sown,  with  so  much  perseverance 
 and  ability,  by  St.  Paul,  and  his  fellow-la¬ 
 bourers  in  the  Gospel  *,  was  too  notorious 
 to  escape  the  severest  reprehension  En¬ 
 riched  with  the  good  things  of  this  life,  the 
 Members  of  this  Church  had  become 
 
 *  Acts,  ch.  19,  v.  10  ;  Coloss.  ch.  4,  v.  12,  13, 
 15,  16. 
 
 f  Rev.  ch.  3.  v.  14 — 22. 
 
qo 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 elated,  and  worldly-minded.  And  their 
 pride  and  self-conceit,  their  lukewarm¬ 
 ness,  and  the  destitution  of  zeal,  in  re¬ 
 spect  to  the  sacred  duties  of  Religion, 
 rendered  them  absolutely  loathsome  in 
 the  Sight  of  God  :  they  exposed  them  to 
 the  most  humiliating  exhibition  of  their 
 own  character  ;  and  brought  upon  them 
 a  threat  of  utter  Extermination  *,  if  they 
 remained  finally  impenitent.  They  are 
 nevertheless  earnestly  exhorted  to  repent¬ 
 ance  ;  and  excited  by  the  promise  of 
 every  thing  that  is  great  and  good  to  be 
 humble,  zealous,  and  obedient.  But  the 
 event  has  shewn,  that  they  did  not  repent. 
 It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say,  that  the 
 denunciation  of  Vengeance  against  this 
 Church  has  been  long  since  literally  veri¬ 
 fied  if.  The  Laodiceans  were  reputed  at 
 
 *  This  threat  is  contained  in  those  awful  words,  so 
 descriptive  of  the  just  abhorrence  their  works  had  ex- 
 pited,  at  the  end  of  the  16th  verse — /wEXXa  ere  'tpHroii  ’ eft 
 
 TOV  $0[*CIT0S  (JIV. 
 
 f  There  is  some  account  of  the  ancient  state  of  Lao- 
 dicea  on  the  Licus,  which  is  the  city  of  which  we  are 
 now  speaking,  in  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  4,  p.  437. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 23 
 
 One  time  the  most  wealthy  people  of  Asia 
 Minor,  but  their  source  *  of  opulence  has 
 long  since  failed  ;  and  their  city  has,  at 
 length,  become  totally  desolate.  There 
 are  sufficient  monuments,  nevertheless, 
 still  remaining  to  shew,  how  noble,  beau¬ 
 tiful,  and  well-peopled  a  city  it  was,  during 
 the  period  of  its  prosperity  ;  but  it  is  no 
 longer  a  place  of  human  habitation  -f.  It 
 once  contained  the  metropolitan  Church 
 of  sixteen  Bishopricks ;  but  there  are 
 scarcely  now  so  much  as  the  Ruins  of  a 
 single  Church  to  be  seen  J,  amidst  the 
 
 *  The  commerce,  more  particularly,  which  they  car¬ 
 ried  on  in  wool  ;  for  the  wool  of  the  district  of  Laodicea 
 was  in  high  estimation,  on  account  of  its  superior  fine¬ 
 ness. — Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  ibid. 
 
 t  Spon  and  Wheler,  on  the  State  of  the  Seven 
 Churches,  book  III.  and  Dr.  Pocoeke’s  Description  of 
 the  East,  book  Ill.ch.  12. 
 
 “  The  top  of  the  hill  on  which  Laodicea  stood,” 
 says  the  last-mentioned  writer,  “  is  somewhat  uneven  ; 
 “  and  appears  like  a  green  field,  except  where  there  are 
 "  the  remains  of  ancient  buildings;”  for  “  notwitli- 
 “  standing  its  miserable  desolation,  there  are  Remain* 
 “  in  it  of  very  great  Buildings.”  His  account  of  these 
 is  very  interesting  and  valuable. 
 
 J  “  At  the  south-west  corner  of  the  City,  there  are 
 t(  some  small  ruins  of  a  church/'  See.  Pocoeke’s  De- 
 rip.  ibid. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 24 
 
 massy  remains  of  its  Temples,  its  Theatres, 
 and  Circus  ! 
 
 The  calamitous  events,  that  have  hap¬ 
 pened  in  the  two  instances  we  have  been 
 constdering,  as  well  as  the  modern  states 
 of  those  five  other  Churches  of  Asia,  to 
 whom  the  warning  voice  of  Inspiration 
 was  more  immediately  addressed  by  St. 
 John*,  must  ever  be  regarded  as  unequi¬ 
 vocal  proofs  of  the  Truth  and  Justice  of 
 God  ;  and  decisive  evidences  of  the  di¬ 
 vine  Authenticity  of  the  Epistles,  in 
 which  they  are  so  clearly  foreshewn.  No 
 human  sagacity  could  have  foreseen  oc¬ 
 currences  so  peculiar,  and  so  distant:  no 
 combinations  of  human  power  or  policy, 
 abstractedly  considered,  could  have 
 brought  them  so  exactly  to  pass.  They 
 visibly  exhibit  to  us,  indeed,  the  Result 
 of  “  what  The  Spirit”  professedly  “  spake  * 
 
 *  What  the  Apostle  was  commanded  to  write  to  the 
 Angel  of  the  Church  of  Smyrna  is  contained  in  Rev. 
 ch.  2,  v.  8 — 1 1  ;  to  him  of  Pergamus,  in  ch.  2,  v.  12 — 
 
 17  ;  of  Thyatira,  in  ch.  2,  v.  19-  -29;  of  Sardis,  in  ch. 
 
 3,  v.  1 — G;  of  Philadelphia,  in  ch.  3,  v.  7 — 13.  And 
 Bishop  Newton’s  twenty-fourth  Dissertation,  Part  I. 
 will  furnish  a  very  able  and  useful  commentary  on  these 
 passages.  ' 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 25 
 
 “  unto  the  Churches*;5’  and  those  of 
 them,  that  “  had  an  ear  to  hear/'  have 
 profited  by  these  Admonitions,  and  con¬ 
 tinue  to  this  day,  as  we  may  more  parti¬ 
 cularly  perceive  in  t  lie  Churches  of 
 Smyrna  and  Philadelphia. 
 
 But  it  will  tend  much  to  strengthen  our 
 impressions,  in  favour  of  the  divine  In¬ 
 spiration  of  the  Writer  of  the  Apocalypse, 
 when  we  perceive,  that,  in  a  subsequent 
 part  of  his  book,  which  the  order  of  time 
 prevents  us  at  present  from  producing,  he 
 actually  points  out,  in  the  most  awful 
 and  descriptive  imagery,  the  very  means, 
 by  which  these  Churches  have  become 
 reduced  to  the  melancholy  conditions,  in 
 which  they  now  so  generally  appear -f*. 
 
 Treading  thus  upon  sacred  ground,  let 
 us  recollect,  “  that  all  these  things  hap- 
 “  pened  unto  them  for  ensamples;  and 
 “  that  they  are  written  for  our  Admoni- 
 “  tion,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world 
 
 *  This  awful  sanction  is  repeated  at  the  close  of  the 
 predictions  which  relate  to  each.  See  Rev.  ch.  2,  v.  7, 
 11,  17,  29;  and  ch.  S,  v.  6,  13,  22. 
 
 T  See  Additions  to  Lecture  IX. 
 
26 
 
 LECTURE  VIE 
 
 44  are  come*.’*  The  use,  to  which  we 
 should  apply  such  instances  of  divine 
 Retribution,  is — that  they  may  excite  in 
 us  a  more  fervent  spirit  of  vigilance,  zeal, 
 and  devotion,  in  the  service  of  God  ; 
 and  prevent  us  from  forfeiting  his  favour 
 and  protection,  through  any  luke-warm- 
 ness  or  disaffection.  13y  this  means  alone 
 shall  we  be  able  to  appropriate  to  our¬ 
 selves  the  blessedness ,  of  those  “  who  read, 
 “  and  of  those  who  hear,”  aright ,  “  the 
 “  words  of  this  Prophecy.” 
 
 The  whole  Book  of  “  The  Revelation”  is 
 here  called  “  a  Prophecy because  it  was 
 plainly  intended,  that,  throughout  the  whole , 
 there  should  be  a  Unity  of  Design;  and 
 one  grand  theme ,  to  which  all  the  various 
 parts  should  be  subordinate.  And  we  shall 
 accordingly  perceive,  that,  however  fre¬ 
 quently  the  sacred  Emblems  may  be 
 changed,  for  the  purpose  of  displaying, 
 in  their  proper  forms,  the  diversities,  which 
 should  either  characterize  succeeding 
 
 O 
 
 *  1  Cor.  ch.  10,  v.  11.  What  the  Apostle  Paul  thus 
 applied  to  his  Corinthian  converts  will  hold  equally 
 good  at  least  in  the  present  instance. 
 
LECTURE  VIT. 
 
 27 
 
 times,  or  different  Agents  acting  at  the  some 
 time ,  vet  still  there  is  one  great  Object  in¬ 
 variably  pursued ;  and  that  is — to  transmit 
 to  every  future  generation  a  proleptical 
 history  of  the  Church  of  Christ;  and 
 thereby  to  convey  continually  to  succeed¬ 
 ing  ages,  in  proportion  as  the  facts  fore¬ 
 told  should  develop  themselves,  increas¬ 
 ing  evidences  of  the  Certainty  of  Revela¬ 
 tion,  and  more  sublime  and  enlarged 
 ideas  of  the  God  of  Prophecy  and  Truth, 
 
 But,  before  we  proceed  to  the  contem¬ 
 plation  of  any  further  particulars  in  this 
 wonderful  book,  it  will  be  incumbent 
 upon  us  to  determine  the  time  when  it 
 was  written.  This  could  have  been  at 
 but  a  very  short  interval,  before  the  Serii  s 
 of  the  Events  it  predescribes  began  to  be 
 accomplished.  St.  John  expressly  says, 
 “  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they 
 “  that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy, 
 “  and  observe  those  things  that  are  writ- 
 
 CD  r 
 
 “  ten  therein  ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand*." 
 
 *  'O  yotq  xsapo(  ’syyvs — “  for  the  time  is  near”—  that 
 time  when  the  Prophecies,  or  sacred  Visions,  descriptive 
 of  the  most  early  in  that  series  of  Events,  which  is  to  be 
 gradually  developed  through  all  succeeding  times,  will 
 
28  LECTURE  VIL 
 
 In  order  to  clear  this  preliminary 
 ground,  it  will  be  proper  to  notice  an 
 
 begin  to  receive  their  accomplishment;  and  will  thereby, 
 if  a  proper  degree  of  attention  is  exerted,  afford  an  in¬ 
 dubitable  argument,  not  only  that  they  have  received 
 their  completion,  but  that  all  the  rest  will  be  fulfilled  in 
 their  season. 
 
 Thus  did  the  holy  Evangelist  endeavour  to  draw  the 
 attention  of  the  Christians  of  his  own  time,  to  the  awful 
 import  of  that  “  Revelation,”  with  which  he  was  in¬ 
 spired,  The  various  parts  of  it  were  all,  in  process  of 
 time,  to  admit  of  interpretation,  by  the  events  to 
 which  they  related  ;  and  some  of  these  were  very 
 shortly  to  succeed.  By  comparing  therefore  the  pre¬ 
 dictions  with  the  events,  as  far  as  they  were  accom¬ 
 plished  in  their  time,  they  would  have  been  able  to  ac¬ 
 quire  the  clearest  ideas  of  the  symbolical  language,  in 
 which  they  were  conveyed ;  and  to  transmit  to  future 
 generations  an  invaluable  clew  so  far ,  to  direct  them  in 
 the  same  consecrated  researches. 
 
 But  what  has  been  here  observed,  in  respect  to  these 
 Christians,  is  applicable  also,  as  I  have  elsew'here # 
 shewn,  to  those  of  every  succeeding  age.  So  that,  if 
 the  more  learned  of  the  Christians  of  former  times  had, 
 in  general,  regarded  either  their  own  interest,  or  the 
 impressive  admonition  of  the  inspired  Writer  above 
 cited,  it  is  probable  that  almost  every  difficulty  at¬ 
 tending  the  study  of  these  Prophecies,  would  now  have 
 ceased;  the  emblematical  Representations,  in  which 
 they  are  exhibited,  would  have  been  fully  compre- 
 
 *  See  the  beginning  of  Lecture  IX. 
 
LECTURE  VI!. 
 
 29 
 
 .Argument  adopted  by  the  learned  Prelate, 
 
 who  has  already  afforded  so  able  and  in- 
 
 %/ 
 
 genious  an  analysis  of  some  part  of  its  con¬ 
 tents.  The  period,  which  has  been  most 
 commonly,  and,  as  it  should  seem,  most 
 justly,  assigned  for  the  banishment  of  St. 
 John  to  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  and  for  the 
 writing  of  the  Apocalypse,  is — towards 
 the  latter  end  of  the  Reign  of  Domitian, 
 or  the  95th  year  of  the  Christian  Era. 
 And  consistent  with  this  is  the  cogent 
 testimony  of  Irenaeus*,  who  cannot  but 
 
 hended ;  and  we  should  have  had  little  else  to  do  in  this 
 respect,  than  to  read,  in  them,  a  most  striking  and  cha¬ 
 racteristic,  yet  sublime  and  highly  figurative  History  of 
 the  stute  of  Christianity,  through  every  past  period 
 since  they  were  written. 
 
 *  irenaeus  advers.  Has  res.  lib.  5,  c.  SO. 
 
 The  testimony  of  Irenaeus  concerning  St.  John  is 
 likewise  repeatedly  cited  by  Eusebius  as  an  authority 
 that  may  be  fully  depended  upon.  Tn  one  place  (Chron. 
 lib.  I,  p.  80.)  speaking  of  Domitian,  he  says,  “  he, 
 “  next  after  Nero,  persecuted  the  Christians ;  and  he 
 “  confined  the  Apostle  John,  the  Divine,  in  the  Isle 
 il  of  Patinos,  where  he  saw  the  Revelation,  as  the  holy 
 “  Irenaeus  saitk.” 
 
 And  again  (Chron.  Canon,  p.  208)  he  adduces  the 
 same  facts,  upon  the  same  authority.  These  pages  are 
 marked  from  Scaliger’s  edition.  See  also  further  upon 
 this  subject,  in  note  A,  page  IS,  of  this  volume. 
 
30 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 be  admitted  as  a  competent  authority  : 
 for  this  eminent  Father  was  the  Disciple  of 
 Polycarp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  who  had 
 been  a  Disciple  of  St.  John,  and  suffered 
 martyrdom  at  that  city  in  the  year  1 67- 
 Bishop  Newton,  however,  has  advanced 
 a  different  Opinion  ;  and  endeavoured  to 
 prove,  that  it  was  written  before  the  De¬ 
 struction  of  Jerusalem.  “  But,”  says  his 
 Lordship,  “  if  it  was  written  before  the 
 “  Destruction  of  Jerusalem,  it  might 
 “  naturally  be  expected,  tiiat  such  a  me- 
 “  movable  event  would  not  have  been 
 “  unnoticed  in  this  prediction ;  and 
 “  neither  was  it  unnoticed  in  this  predic- 
 “  tion,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter  *.  Our 
 “  Saviour’s  repeating  so  frequently  in  this 
 “  Book,  “  Behold  I  come  quick  If ’ — “  Be- 
 “  hold  he  cometh  with  Clouds,  and  every 
 “  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also  who 
 “  pierced  him,  and  all  the  kindreds  of 
 “  the  Earth  shall  wail  because  of  him” — 
 
 *  In  this  passage,  c<  as  will  be  seen  hereafter”  a  re¬ 
 ference  is  manifestly  made  to  the  Events,  which  were 
 supposed  by  this  Writer  to  have  been  predicted  umV- 
 The  First  Seal. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 SI 
 
 “  and  the  like  expressions,  cannot  surely 
 “  be  so  well  understood  of  any  other 
 “  event  as  of  the  Destruction  of  .Terusa- 
 “  lem  ;  which  Coming  was  also  spoken  of 
 “  in  the  Gospels:  and  what  other  Coining 
 “  was  there  so  speedy  and  conspicuous  *  ?” 
 
 Such  is  the  purport  of  the  principal  argu¬ 
 ment,  by  which  this  venerable  Writer  has 
 attempted  to  establish  the  point  for  which 
 he  was  contending.  And  it  is  with  much 
 reluctance,  and  with  undiminished  re¬ 
 spect  for  his  Character  and  Talents,  that  I 
 am  obliged  to  deny  the  validity  of  the 
 assumption  on  which  it  is  founded, and  the 
 justness  of  some  conclusions  he  has  drawn 
 from  it. 
 
 In  order  to  shew  the  fallacy  of  this  rea¬ 
 soning,  it  is  only  necessary  to  advert  to 
 the  Passages  that  have  been  here  cited, 
 and  to  the  Connexions  in  which  they 
 stand. 
 
 Idle  first  of  these  is  that  solemn  Warn¬ 
 ing,  or  Admonition — “  Behold ,  I  come 
 “  quickly or  “  I  am  coming  unto  thee 
 “  quickly  ”  And  the  very  first  time  it  oc- 
 
 *  Analys.  of  Revel.  Dissert.  XXIV.  ^art  1,  ch.  1. 
 
LECTURE  Vlf. 
 
 82 
 
 curs,  it  is  applied  to  the  Church  of  Ephe¬ 
 sus,  and  to  the  punishment  it  should 
 sustain  in  case  of  impenitence — “  Re- 
 “  member  from  whence  thou  art  fallen, 
 “  and  repent ;  and  do  the  first  works  :  or 
 “  else  1  am  coming  unto  thee  quickly  *9 
 “  and  will  remove  thy  Candlestick  out  of  its 
 “ place  f”  Here  the  expression  of  “  the 
 “  coming  of  Christ  quickly”  is  applied  figu¬ 
 ratively  to  the  judicial  visitations  of  this 
 degenerate  Church  ;  the  consequence  of 
 which  is  declared  to  be  “  the  removing  of 
 “  its  Candlestick  out  of  its  place.”  But 
 this  deplorable  Event  did  not  begin  to  take 
 place  till  several  ages  after  the  uttering  of 
 this  Prophecy  ;  and  therefore  there  can  be 
 no  allusion  in  it  to  the  Subversion  of  the 
 Jewish  State. 
 
 In  the  second  instance  in  which  it  is 
 used,  it  is  employed  as  a  threatning  against 
 the  depraved  members  of  the  Church  of 
 Pergarnus — “  Repent;  or  else  I  am  com • 
 “  ing  unto  thee  quickly  J  ;  and  will  fight 
 46  against  them  with  the  Sword  of  my 
 
 #  ’E px°l*M  a  *  TaXv-  +  'Efxoptia  trot  Tax,it. 
 
 f  Rev.  ch.  2,  v.  5. 
 
LECTURE  VIE 
 
 S3 
 
 **  mouth  This  also,  as  the  Event  has 
 shewn,  was  to  be  referred  for  its  Accom¬ 
 plishment  to  after  ages  ;  and  could  conse¬ 
 quently  have  had  no  allusion  whatever  to 
 the  Fate  of  Jerusalem. 
 
 In  a  third  instance,  it  was  addressed  as 
 an  exhortation  to  the  Church  of  Philadel¬ 
 phia — “  Behold ,  I  come  quickly  J- :  hold 
 “  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man 
 “take  thy  crown  J.”  And  the  happy 
 effects  of  this  Admonition  are  visible  to 
 the  present  time :  for,  to  this  very  day,  in 
 the  midst  of  the  open  enemies  of  Christi¬ 
 anity,  it  is  endeavouring  to  “  hold  fast 
 “  that  which  is  good.” 
 
 In  the  only  three  remaining  places  of 
 this  book,  in  which  the  same  sort  of  ex¬ 
 pression  occurs,  it  is  evidently  applied  ; 
 either  to  the  period  of  future  Retribution  ; 
 or  as  an  encouragement  to  such  a  devout 
 attention  to  the  Prophecies,  as  should  pre¬ 
 pare  the  minds  of  men  for  the  future  Dis¬ 
 pensations  of  divine  Providence — 
 
 *  Rev.  cli.  2,  v.  1(3.  T  I $ou/efx,°l*xnoixv. 
 |  Rev.  ch.  3,  v.  1 1. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 I) 
 
o4 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 “  Behold,  I  come  quickly ;  blessed  is  he, 
 “  that  keepeth  the  sayings  of  the  Pro- 
 44  phecy  of  this  book 
 
 “  Behold ,  1  come  quickly  ;  and  my  reward 
 “  is  with  me,  to  give  to  every  man  accord- 
 “  ing  as  his  work  shall  be  -j\” 
 
 “  He  that  testifieth  these  things” — that 
 is,  He  who  hath  given  this  Revelation  of 
 what  shall  be  hereafter  to  the  end  of  time, 
 saith,  surely  I  come  quickly  J.” 
 
 These  are  all  the  instances  in  which  this 
 passage,  upon  which  the  learned  Prelate 
 has  founded  the  stress  of  his  argument, 
 occurs  in  this  book;  and,  assuredly,  in 
 none  of  these,  judging  from  the  connexions 
 in  which  they  stand,  can  there  be  any 
 reference  whatever  to  the  Destruction  of 
 Jerusalem  [|. 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  22,  v.  7* — \$ou,  r axu. 
 
 +  Rev.  ch.  22,  v.  12. — ’i$ou,  't^x0^1  raX,u' 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  22,  v.  20. — vxi 
 
 j|  There  is  also  another  Inference,  which  naturally 
 suggests  itself  from  the  view  that  has  been  taken  of 
 this  subject,  and  which  is  necessary  for  the  further  elu¬ 
 cidation  of  the  present  argument :  and  that  is — that 
 the  Expression  “  The  Coming  of  Christ,”  may  have,  in 
 itself,  abstractedly  considered,  a  very  indefinite  Import  ; 
 and  requires  the  explication  of  the  circumstances,  with 
 
LECTURE  VIL 
 
 85 
 
 The  importance  of  this  deduction  to 
 some  of  the  future  parts  of  my  subject 
 
 which  it  is  connected,  in  order  to  enable  us  to  deter¬ 
 mine  the  particular  Event  to  which  it  applies. 
 
 Thus,  in  several  parts  of  the  holy  Gospels,  our  bless¬ 
 ed  Saviour  applies  it  to  the  manifestation  of  his  own 
 divine  Power  and  Justice,  in  the  inflicting  of  those  tre¬ 
 mendous  Judgments,  which  awaited  the  Jewish  Nation, 
 not  many  years  after  his  Crucifixion,  and  when  they 
 had  “  filled  up  the  measure  of  their  Iniquities.”  .And 
 in  this  case,  the  Pomp  and  Splendour  of  the  Divine 
 Majesty,  “  who  maketh  the  Clouds  his  Chariot ,  and 
 “  walketh  upon  the  Wings  of  the  Wind,”  are  most 
 justly  and  sublimel}’  attributed  to  Him.  See  Matth. 
 ch.  24,  v.  SO;  and  ch,  26,  v.  0'4.  Mark,  ch.  13,  v.  2G; 
 and  ch,  14,  v.  62.  Luke,  ch.  21,  v.  27 •  John,  ch.  21, 
 v.  22. 
 
 To  the  same  Catastrophe  it  is  also  clearly  applied  by 
 St.  James,  when  holding  forth  a  warning  to  his  more 
 opulent,  but  persecuting  Countrymen,  lie  says, — “  Go 
 “  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl  for  your  Mise- 
 “  ries  that  shall  come  upon  you.”  “Ye  have  con- 
 “  demned  and  killed  the  Just,  and  lie  doth  not  resist 
 “  you.”  “  Be  patient  therefore.  Brethren,  says  he,” 
 addressing  himself  to  the  believing  and  persecuted 
 Jews — “  until  the  Coming  of  the  Lord,”  “  for  the 
 “  Coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh.”  James,  ch.  5, 
 v.  1 — 8. 
 
 It  has  been  also  sufficiently  seen,  in  the  cases  of  the 
 Churches  in  .Asia,  that  it  is  fully  applicable  to  any  of  the 
 more  remarkable  Visitations  of  divine  Providence. 
 
 But  by  far  the  most  frequent  use  that  is  made  of  it  is, 
 
 D  2 
 
LECTURE  Vlf. 
 
 36 
 
 will  justify,  I  hope,  my  having  entered  so 
 much  at  large  into  the  premises  on  which 
 it  is  founded.  What  seems  to  have  be¬ 
 trayed  this  excellent  Writer  into  such  an 
 inadvertency  is — the  constant  use  of  the 
 word  “  quickly”  in  all  these  examples. 
 He  seems  not  to  have  recollected,  that  the 
 longest  periods  of  finite  duration  are  as 
 nothing,  in  the  estimation  of  Him,  who  so 
 frequently  employed  this  sublime  and 
 impressive  language  ;  or  that  “  one  day 
 i{  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
 
 in  describing  the  awful  circumstances,  that  shall  attend 
 the  commencement  of  the  period  of  general  Judgment 
 and  Retribution  :  when  he  “  will  come  in  his  own  Glory,” 
 and  “  in  the  Glory  of  his  Father  and  shall  “  render 
 u  to  every  man  according  to  his  works.”  Compare 
 Matth.  ch.  lG,  v.  27,  with  ch.  25,  v.  31,  &c.  The 
 manner  of  this  Coming  is  exquisitely  described  by  St. 
 Paul,  in  1  Thess.  ch.  4,  v.  1 G  ;  and  2  Thcss.  ch.  1, 
 v.  7—10. 
 
 From  what  has  been  said,  it  may,  I  think,  be  fairly 
 ©oncluded,  that  the  true  application  of  the  phrase,  “  the 
 “  Coming  of  the  Lord f  can  only,  in  particular  cases, 
 be  determined  from  the  Context  of  the  passage  in 
 which  it  occurs  :  and  that,  consequently,  where  there 
 is  nothing  to  confine  its  import  to  any  particular  Visi¬ 
 tation  or  Event,  it  can  only  be  understood  to  relate  to 
 13  is  second  Coming ,  in  Glory ,  emphatically  so  called. 
 
LECTURE  VIE 
 
 37 
 
 u  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day 
 Nor  does  he  appear  to  have  considered, 
 that  Christ  might  be  truly  said  to  have 
 come  quickly ,  (whether  in  a  figurative 
 sense,  as  we  have  already  instanced  in 
 his  visitations  of  the  Churches;  or  in  a 
 literal  sense,  as  for  the  period  of  future 
 Judgment)  if,  from  the  moment  that  his 
 Coming  was  thus  announced  through  his 
 Apostle  John,  all  the  events,  which  were 
 predetermined,  and  foreshewn,  to  be  pre¬ 
 paratory  to  it,  were  put  into  a  train  of 
 rapid  and  unbroken  succession. 
 
 *  2  Pet.  ch.  3,  v.  8.  It  is  remarkable,  that  this  passage 
 of  holy  Writ  is  applied  to  the  same  Subject;  and  used 
 to  point  out  the  unreasonableness  of  Sceptics,  denying 
 the  validity  of  the  promise  of  Christ’s  Coming,  from 
 the  apparent  delay  in  performing  it.  So  St.  Paul,  like¬ 
 wise,  to  caution  the  Thessalonians  against  error,  on 
 the  same  important  Point,  assures  them,  “  that  that  day 
 lt  should  not  come,”  so  soon  as  the}’  might  expect. — 
 “  Now  we  beseeeh  you,  Brethren,”  ,  .  . “  that  ye  be  not 
 “  soon  shaken  in  Mind,  or  be  troubled,  neither  by” 
 ( pretended  Inspiration  of  the)  “  Spirit,  nor  by  Word, 
 
 nor  by  Letter  as  from  us,  as  that  the  Day  oj  Christ  is 
 “  at  hand.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means: 
 ££  for  that  day  shall  nut  come,  except  there  come  a  fall-. 
 <c  ing  away  first,  and  that  Man  of  Sin  be  revealed .... 
 **  whom  the  Lord  shall  consume  with  the  Spirit  of  his 
 u  Mouth ,  and  shall  destroy  with  the  Brightness  of  his 
 
 Coming.”  2  Thess.  ch.  2,  v.  I- — 12. 
 
 D  3 
 
39 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 But  there  is  another  passage  here  cited 
 from  the  Apocalypse,  upon  which  some 
 stress  is  also  laid,  in  the  defence  of  this 
 Argument 
 
 “  Behold  he  cometh  with  Clouds  ;  and 
 
 every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also 
 44  who  pierced  him:  and  all  the  tribes  of 
 44  the  Earth  shall  wail  because  of  him 
 
 The  very  Universality  of  the  Grief, 
 which  is  here  represented  as  attending  his 
 Advent,  and  of  the  awful  Attention  it  will 
 command,  is  a  proof  to  me,  that  there  can 
 be  no  reference  in  this  text  to  the  ruin  of 
 the  Jewish  Nation.  For  this,  however  de¬ 
 plorable,  was  only  a  particular  calamity, 
 and  involved  only  one  particular  people. 
 But  a  more  accurate  examination  will 
 throw  an  additional  light  upon  this  grand 
 and  deeply  interesting  subject  -p. 
 
 St.  John  is  here  enumerating;  some  of 
 
 '*  Rev.  cl).  1,  v.  7. 
 
 t  To  afford  the  more  satisfactory  elucidation,  I  must 
 here  also  refer  to  the  Appendix,  Note  CC ;  where  there 
 is  a  particular  Comparison  of  the  two  Texts — Rev. 
 ch.  1,  v.  7  ;  and  Matth.  ch.  24,  v.  30;  between  which 
 there  is  certainly  a  greater  degree  of  analogy,  than  be¬ 
 tween  the  former  of  them,  and  any  other  passage  m 
 the  Gospels  whatever. 
 
LECTURE  VIE 
 
 39 
 
 the  chief  attributes  and  operations  of 
 Ch  list.  And,  in  completing  his  survey, 
 he  is  enabled  to  foresee  some  of  the  most 
 glorious  events  of  future  ages  ;  and  to  ap¬ 
 ply  to  him,  in  this  single  passage,  two  of 
 the  most  sublime  and  beautiful  prophe¬ 
 cies,  relative  to  the  style,  and  effects  of  his 
 Coming,  that  were  ever  uttered  by  the 
 Jewish  prophets:  thereby  illustrating  the 
 genuine  import  of  these  more  early  pre¬ 
 dictions,  and  restricting  that  import  to 
 its  proper  object. 
 
 “  Behold ,  lie  cometh  with  the  Clouds 
 says  the  Apostle :  and  to  Whom  else  can 
 those  ever-memorable  words  of  Daniel  be 
 applied — “  I  saw  in  the  night  visions, 
 “  and  behold ,  One  like  the  Son  of  Man  came 
 fi‘  with  the  Clouds  of  the  Heavens ,  and  came 
 si  to  the  Ancient  of  Days.”  “  And  there  was 
 “  given  Him  Dominion ,  and  Glory ,  and  a 
 £‘  Kingdom ,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  lan - 
 “  guages  should  serve  Him.  His  Dominion 
 6i  is  an  everlasting  Dominion,  which  shall  not 
 ££  pass  away  ;  and  His  Kingdom  that  which 
 u  shall  not  be  destroyed  To  this  magni- 
 
 *  Dan,  ch.  7.  v.  13,  14.  See  Mr.  Lowth’s  Paraphrase 
 
 D  4 
 
4ft 
 
 LECTURE  VI f. 
 
 ficent  Description  of  the  Advent  of  Christ 
 in  glory  to  take  possession  of  his  kingdom, 
 St.John  makes  an  evident  allusion  in  the 
 passage  above  cited ;  for  he  adopts  the 
 very  same  figure,  and  mode  of  expression; 
 and,  in  further  reference  to  the  Majesty  of 
 the  Person,  and  the  Supremacy  of  the  Do¬ 
 minion  here  foretold,  He  is  styled,  in  seve¬ 
 ral  places,  46  The  Almighty*;”  and  is 
 represented  in  another,  as  “  having  on 
 “  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  his  name 
 “  written,  King  oe  Kings,  an d  Lord 
 “  of  Lords  fl.” 
 
 But  it  is  remarkable,  that  Daniel  de¬ 
 scribes  this  glorious  Event  as  taking 
 place,  after  the  fourth  “  Beast  was  slain , 
 44  and  his  body  destroyed ,  and  given  to  the 
 “  burning  flame  J  that  is,  after  the  final 
 abolition  of  the  bestial or  idolatrous  and 
 persecuting,  character,  of  the  fourth  great 
 Empire  §,  whose  appearance  he  had  here 
 
 iipon  tliese  verses,  and  on  the  context  by  which  thejr 
 are  introduced. 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  8  ;  ch.  4,  v.  8  ;  and  ch.  16,  v.  14, 
 compared  with  ch.  19;  v.  14,  15. 
 
 +  Rev.  ch.  19,  v.  1G.  J  Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  11. 
 
 ^  The  Homan  Empire,  which,  according  to  all  the 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 41 
 
 foretold  ;  in  other  words,  after  the  con¬ 
 clusion  of  that  well-defined  period  of  “  a 
 
 most  approved  commentaries  that  have  been  written  on 
 the  subject,  is  the  Dominion  here  predicted,  is  thus  em¬ 
 blematically  described  by  the  Prophet — 
 
 “  After  this,” — after  the  rise  of  the  three  former 
 Beasts — “  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold,  a 
 “  fourth  Beast,  dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  ex- 
 “  ceedingly;  and  it  had  great  iron  teeth :  it  devoured 
 “  and  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the  residue  with  the 
 “  feet  of  it ;  and  it  was  diverse  from  all  the  Beasts  that 
 “  were  before  it ;  and  it  had  ten  horns.” 
 
 It  was  therefore  to  be  an  Empire,  which  should  de¬ 
 rive  its  tremendous  power,  and  widely  extending  do¬ 
 main,  from  the  relentless  and  persevering  prosecution 
 of  sanguinary  wars;  “  devouring  and  breaking  in  pieces 
 that  is,  swallowing  up  within  its  own  limits,  and  re¬ 
 ducing  to  entire  subjection,  every  power  that  had  pre¬ 
 sumed  to  oppose  it,  during  the  period  of  its  growth 
 and  greatness. 
 
 But  it  was  also  “  to  stamp  the  residue  with  its  feet 
 that  is,  whatever  had  been  regarded  as  hostile  to  it,  and 
 had  not  been  “  devoured  and  broken  in  pieces,”  by  means 
 of  its  “  great  iron  teeth,”  or  in  the  prosecution  of  open 
 fVar ,  it  was  to  endeavour  to  destroy  by  another  mode 
 — by  crushing  it  with  the  pressure  of  its  feet ,  or  by 
 its  oun  inherent  weight  and  authority.  Such  appears  to 
 be  the  most  natural  interpretation  of  the  words,  accord¬ 
 ing  to  the  connexion  in  which  they  stand  :  and,  thus 
 interpreted,  they  serve  to  shew,  how  peculiarly  this 
 Empire,  above  all  the  rest,  should  he  addicted  to  per¬ 
 secution,  on  account  of  Religion ;  whose  professors  con- 
 
45 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 <£  time ,  times,  and  the  dividing  of  time,”  or 
 of  three  prophetical  years  and  a  half,  or  of 
 
 sti  tntecl  a  power  opposing  its  idolatrous  propensities — not 
 indeed  by  the  display  of  open  jorce  in  the  field;  but  by 
 the  no  less  forcible  exhibition  of  the  effects  of  genuine 
 Christianity  in  the  fruits  of  a  virtuous,  zealous,  and 
 holy  life. 
 
 And  this  description,  portraying  the  most  striking 
 characteristics  of  the  fourth  Beast,  serves  very  naturally 
 to  introduce  to  our  notice  the  assumptions  and  achieve¬ 
 ments,  the  persecuting  spirit  and  outrageous  cruelties ,  of 
 his  Little  Horn  ;  which  grew  up,  almost  imperceptibly 
 at  first,  among  his  other  ten  Horns  ;  and  whose  Vitality 
 was  to  continue  just  so  long,  as  that  of  the  Beast  which 
 had  produced  and  supported  him. 
 
 This  contemporaneous  duration  of  the  fourth  Beast 
 and  his  little  Horn ,  after  the  production  of  that  Horn, 
 is  rendered  sufficiently  evident  from  the  words  of  the 
 inspired  Writer  himself — 
 
 “  I  considered  the  Horns,  and  behold,  there  came  up 
 u  among  them  another  little  Horn ,  before  whom  there 
 “  were  three  of  the  first  Horns  plucked  up  by  the 
 <c  roots :  and  behold,  in  this  Horn  were  eyes  like  the 
 a  e/jes  of  a  man,  and  a  mouth  speaking  proud  things.” 
 
 These  proud  things  wen,  indeed,  the  very  cause  of 
 the  Destruction,  both  of  the  little  Horn ,  and  of  the  Beast 
 to  which  he  belonged.  With  respect  to  th e  former  of 
 these  it  is  expressly  said,  that  “  the  Judgment  shall  sit , 
 a  and  they  (the  Saints  of  The  Most  High)  “  shall  take 
 «  away  his  dominion,  to  consume  and  to  destroy  it,  UNTO 
 “  THii  end.”  And,  as  to  the  fate  of  the  latter — 11  I 
 “  beheld,”  says  Daniel,  because  of  the  great  words 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 43 
 
 one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty  natural 
 years  *,  during  which  “  the  little  Horn ' 
 of  the  fourth  Beast,  or  the  spiritual  Poten¬ 
 tate ,  that  should  grow  out  of  and  depend 
 upon  the  Empire  of  the  JJ  est ,  “  should 
 “  make  war  zvith  the  Saints ,  and  prevail 
 “  against  them and  throughout  which 
 they  should,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
 a  he  given  into  his  hand  ”  The  time  of 
 this  Advent,  therefore,  is  still  future ; 
 “  for  “  all  people,  nations,  and  lan¬ 
 guages’'  are  not  yet  reduced  to  an  obe¬ 
 dience  to  this  supreme  Ruler.  The  little 
 Horn  is  still,  unhappily,  in  existence,  as 
 a  power  persecuting,  to  the  extent  of  its 
 ability,  the  professors  of  genuine  Chris- 
 
 <c  which  the  little  Horn  spake,  I  beheld— even  till  the 
 i(  Beast  was  slain ,  and  his  body  destroyed ,  and  given  to 
 t{  the  burning  flame.'1' 
 
 Thus  both  the  idolatrous  and  persecuting  Ecclesias¬ 
 tical  Power,  typified  by  the  little  Horn ,  and  the  idola¬ 
 trous  and  persecuting  secular  Empire ,  on  whom  it  de¬ 
 pended,  typified  by  the  fourth  great  Beast,  were  to 
 continue  after  their  coalition,  “  to  the  End ,”  that  is, 
 through  precisely  the  same  period ;  which  period  is  still 
 further  particula:ized  under  the  denomination  of  “  A 
 “  TIME  AND  TIMES,  AN  D  THE  DIVIDING  OF  TIME." 
 
 Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  7 — 27.  See  also  Note  DD  in  the  Ap¬ 
 pendix'. 
 
 *  See  note  page  6. 
 
44 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 tianity.  It  hath  still  “  a  mouth  speafc- 
 “  ing  very  great  things,”  and  “  a  look 
 “  more  stout  than  his  fellows.”  And 
 though  Judgment  hath  long  been  sitting 
 upon  him,  and  his  dominion  hath  long 
 been  consuming,  yet  is  he  not  utterly  de¬ 
 stroyed  *. 
 
 This  prophecy  of  St.  John  therefore, 
 concerning  the  Coming  of  Christ  with 
 Clouds,  if  it  be  compared  with  Daniel’s 
 Description  of  the  same  Event,  can  be 
 clearly  proved  to  have  no  relation  what¬ 
 ever  to  the  Siege  and  Destruction  of  Jeru¬ 
 salem  ;  but  to  Events  of  the  grandest  and 
 most  beneficial  nature,  and  which  still  re¬ 
 main  to  be  accomplished  in  God’s  ap¬ 
 pointed  time. 
 
 Yet,  perhaps,  the  latter  clause  of  the 
 
 *  The  consequence  of  the  consuming  and  destroying 
 unto  the  end,  of  the  Dominion  of  “  The  little  Horn,”  is 
 declared  expressly  to  be — that  “  the  Kingdom  and  Do- 
 “  minion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  Kingdom  under  the 
 “  whole  Heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the 
 “  Saints  of  T  he  Most  High;  whose  Kingdom  is  an 
 “  everlasting  Kingdom  ;  and  all  Dominions  shall  serve 
 “  and  obey  him.”  This  is  therefore  to  be  a  spiritual 
 ajid  universal  Empire,  which  will  be  established  on  the 
 downfal  of  that  which  is  as  yet  to  pass  away.  Dan, 
 ch.  7,  v.  26,  27- 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 43 
 
 passage  in  question  may  nevertheless  be 
 considered,  as  bearing  some  prophetic  al¬ 
 lusion  to  that  fatal  Calamity — 
 
 “  Every  eye  shall  see  him  ;  and  they 
 “  also  who  pierced  him  :  and  all  the  kin- 
 “  dreds  of  the  Earth  shall  wail  because  of 
 “  him  ” 
 
 There  is  certainly  something  more  ap¬ 
 propriate  in  these  words  to  the  peculiar 
 Character  and  Circumstances  of  the  Jew¬ 
 ish  Nation,  than  in  any  of  the  texts,  to 
 which  we  have  before  adverted,  in  the 
 course  of  this  Argument.  A  part  of  them 
 may,  indeed,  be  said  to  relate  exclusively 
 to  them  ;  for  they  were,  in  a  very  peculiar 
 sense,  the  people  “  who  pierced  him  but 
 the  whole  as  certainly  does  not.  As  far, 
 however,  as  this  reference  is  made,  who 
 does  not  perceive  in  this  sublime  and  evan¬ 
 gelical  Prophecy,  (for  such ,  standing  in 
 this  connexion,  it  unquestionably  is)  a 
 striking  allusion  to  that  most  wonderful 
 one  of  Zecharias,  which  is  conveyed  in  the 
 following  terms — 
 
 “  And  it  shall  be  in  that  day, 
 
 “  I  will  seek  to  destroy  all  the  Nations 
 “  That  come  against  Jerusalem. 
 
46 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 e<  But  I  will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David, 
 
 <c  And  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
 
 “  A  Spirit  of  Grace  and  Supplications  ; 
 
 (i  And  they  shall  look  towards  Him  whom  they 
 pierced  ; 
 
 <e  And  they  shall  mourn  for  Him,  as  mourning 
 for  an  only  Son  ; 
 
 “  And  they  shall  grieve  for  Him,  as  grieving  for 
 a  first-born  *.** 
 
 The  Wailing,  here  spoken  of,  is  evident¬ 
 ly  the  effect  of  sincere  and  deep  Repent¬ 
 ance  ;  not  of  the  hardened  and  fatal  Im¬ 
 penitence,  which  distinguished  the  expir¬ 
 ing  Pangs  of  the  Jewish  State.  And, 
 therefore,  this  Prophecy  must  relate  to 
 a  period  of  Penitence  and  Conversion 
 which  is  yet  future  :  for  that  race  are  still 
 in  a  state  of  as  great  enmity  against 
 Christianity  as  ever:  nor  have  they  yet 
 begun,  with  better  inclinations,  “  to  look 
 “  towards  Him  whom  they  pierced.”  And 
 therefore,  also,  the  Prophecy  of  St.  John, 
 including  the  same  circumstances,  and 
 
 *  Zechariah,  ch.  12,  v.  9,  10.  See  also  Lecture  VI. 
 Vol.  I.  p.  313 — 323,  where  the  same  sublime  and  won¬ 
 derful  subject  is  considered  more  at  large. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 47 
 
 adopting  in  a  great  degree  the  same  style 
 of  expression,  but  extending  its  purport 
 at  length  to  the  world  at  large,  must  have 
 a  reference  likewise  to  Events  that  are  yet 
 to  come  *• 
 
 It  might  be  observed,  in  further  invali¬ 
 dation  ot  the  Argument  above  cited,  that 
 the  symbolical  Representations,  exhibited 
 under  the  four  first  Seals,  are  much  more 
 applicable  to  the  succession  of  Events, 
 commencing  with  the  reign  of  Nerva,  and 
 terminating  with  the  accession  of  Diocle- 
 sian,  than  to  that  Series  which  the  Author 
 of  the  analysis  in  question  has  assigned  to 
 it,  beginning  with  the  reign  of  Vespasian, 
 and  ending  likewise  with  the  Era  of  Dio- 
 clesian.  But,  as  this  is  a  discussion,  which 
 must  be  deferred  to  a  future  opportunity, 
 we  cannot  perhaps  conclude  the  present 
 discourse  more  usefully,  than  by  noticing 
 the  Analogy ,  and  Unity  of  Design ,  that 
 appear  in  so  remarkable  a  degree,  to  per¬ 
 vade  those  parts  of  the  prophetic  Writ¬ 
 ings  of  Daniel  and  St.  John,  which  relate 
 to  the  same  Periods — those  periods  which 
 we  are  soon  about  to  consider. 
 
 #  See  Note  CC,  in  the  Appendix  before  referred  to. 
 
48 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 It  was  evidently  the  Intention  of  The 
 Holy  Spirit,  through  the  former  of  these, 
 to  portray  visibly,  as  it  were,  by  the  most 
 expressive  and  intelligible  sjmibols,  the 
 various  States  of  the  Christian  Church, 
 and  the  various  Enemies  it  would  have  to 
 encounter,  from  its  first  establishment,  to 
 the  period  of  the  Consummation.  And  it 
 was  equally  Ilis  purpose,  through  the  lat¬ 
 ter  of  them,  to  prefigure  the  same  momen¬ 
 tous  realities,  from  the  close  of  the  Apos¬ 
 tolic  Age,  to  “  the  time  of  the  end.”  For 
 this  reason,  the  Writings  of  these  two 
 illustrious  Prophets  will  be  found,  in  ma¬ 
 ny  instances,  to  resemble,  and  mutually 
 to  illustrate  each  other.  And,  by  these 
 means,  we  shall  be  furnished  with  a  clew 
 for  the  explication  of  these  Wonders,  too 
 manifest  to  be  readily  mistaken,  and  too 
 strong  to  be  easily  broken. 
 
 That  the  writings  of  the  latter  of  these 
 holy  Prophets  had  an  immediate  refer¬ 
 ence  to  those  of  the  former ,  will  ap¬ 
 pear  from  several  pecitliarities,  which  can 
 scarcely  escape  the  most  superficial  ob¬ 
 servation. 
 
 1.  To  that  Kingdom,  which,  as  Daniel 
 foretold,  “  the  God  of  Heaven”  should 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 49 
 
 set  up,  after  the  establishment,  and  daring 
 the  continuance,  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
 there  are  frequent  allusions  made  in  the 
 Apocalypse;  where  that  Kingdom  is  de¬ 
 scribed  as  having  already  commenced,  as 
 acquiring  strength  by  opposition,  and  glo¬ 
 riously  triumphing  at  last  over  all  *. 
 
 2.  Each  of  these  inspired  men  has  com¬ 
 pared  the  predictions  he  wrote  to  “  a  book 
 “  that  is  sealed.”  Daniel  was  commanded 
 to  “  shut  up  the  words,  and  seal  the  book” 
 of  his  prophecy -f;  for  that  it  could  not 
 be  perfectly  accomplished  and  compre¬ 
 hended,  till  “  the  time  of  the  end.”  He 
 was  authorized  nevertheless  to  foretel, 
 that  “  many  should  run  to  and  fro,  and 
 “  knowledge  should  be  increased  J."  And 
 
 *  Compare  Dan.  ch.  2,  v.  44,  and  ch.  7,  v.  9,  10,  11, 
 20 — 27,  with  Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  9,  ch.  4,  v.  1,  8tc.  ch.  7, 
 v.  10,  &c.  ch.  1 1,  v.  13,  ch.  19,  v.  1 1  — 16. 
 f  Dan.  ch.  12,  v.  4,  and  also  v.  8,  9- 
 J  Dan.  ch.  12,  v.  4.  “  Many,”  says  Mr.  Lowth  most 
 justly,  in  his  observations  upon  this  passage,  “  shall  be 
 “  inquisitive  after  truth,  and  keep  correspondence  with 
 “  others  for  their  better  information  ;  and  the  gradual 
 “  completion  of  this,  and  other  prophecies,  shall  direct 
 “  observing  readers  to  form  a  judgment  concerning 
 VOL.  II.  E 
 
60 
 
 LECTURE  Vi!. 
 
 St.  John  has  described  the  very  means  by 
 which  such  sacred  information  should  be 
 vouchsafed.  He  represents  “  the  Lion  of 
 “  the  Tribe  of  Judah,”  even  “  the  Lamb 
 “  that  vvas  slain,”  as  “  having  prevailed 
 “  to  open  the  book,  and  loose  the  seven 
 “  seals  thereof*;”  thereby  affording  to  his 
 Church  the  power  of  gradually  discover¬ 
 ing,  and  applying  to  their  own  comfort 
 and  edification,  the  awful  Secrets  con¬ 
 tained  within  it. 
 
 u  those  particulars,  which  are  yet  to  be  fulfilled Many 
 also  may  be  said  to  “  run  to  and  fro,”  when,  they  are 
 assiduously  employed  in  “  comparing  spiritual  things 
 11  with  spiritual,”  thereby  eliciting  the  clear  and  con¬ 
 sistent  signification  of  the  various  prophecies  of  Scrip¬ 
 ture;  and  then  referring  to  events  in  order  to  discover 
 in  what  facts,  or  to  what  degree,  they  may  be  truly  said 
 to  have  received  their  accomplishment.  And  such  are 
 the  zeal  and  ability,  which,  in  this  respect,  have  been 
 exhibited,  during  the  last  two  ages,  and  more  especially 
 in  this  country,  and  such  the  noble  discoveries  which 
 have  been  made,  that  it  would  almost  appear,  that  these 
 times  are  particularly  alluded  to  in  the  words  of  the 
 Prophet ! 
 
 #  Rev.  ch.  5.  These  Seals  were  affixed  to  that  book 
 of  Providence,  which  contained  the  particulars  in  the 
 grand  Series  of  Events,  of  which  Daniel  had  only  af¬ 
 forded  a  general  description. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 51 
 
 3.  But  one  of  the  most  singular  Circum¬ 
 stances,  that  will  strike  us  in  this  compa¬ 
 rison,  is  the  analogy  which  subsists  be¬ 
 tween  the  symbols ,  which  each  of  these 
 prophets  has  employed,  in  describing  the 
 powers  of  Paganism ,  as  contradistinguish¬ 
 ed  from  the  professors  of  a  Religion  of 
 Divine  Institution.  The  four  great  Em - 
 pires ,  which  occasionally  oppressed,  and 
 held  in  subjection,  the  peculiar  people  of 
 God,  in  times  antecedent  to  the  coming 
 of  Christ,  are  compared  by  Daniel  to  four 
 great  Beasts ;  corresponding  respectively, 
 in  their  natures,  with  the  predominant 
 qualities  of  each  Empire  *.  And  it  will 
 be  hereafter  perceived,  that  the  four  first 
 peculiar  States,  after  the  publication  of 
 this  prophecy,  under  which  the  Empire  of 
 Home  should  exist,  considered  as  having 
 the  power  of  Persecution,  and  frequently 
 exercising  it  against  the  Church  of  Christ, 
 are  represented  by  St.  John,  as  introduced 
 to  his  notice  by  four  living  Creatures ,  pos¬ 
 sessed  of  qualities,  characteristic,  in  some 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7. 
 E  2 
 
52 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 degree,  of  those  respective  States  or 
 Periods  *. 
 
 4.  Nor  must  we  omit  observing,  that 
 while  Daniel  exhibits  the  Roman  Empire 
 with  the  ten  Kingdoms  that  should  arise 
 out  of  it,  under  the  appearance  of  a 
 savage  Beast  with  ten  horns  *j* ;  St.John 
 also  applies  the  same  symbol  to  the  same 
 power — only,  for  the  sake  of  the  greater 
 distinctness  of  description,  he  annexes 
 to  it  the  symbols  of  the  various  forms  of 
 Government  under  which  it  had  existed, 
 in  the  vision  of  its  seven  heads  J. 
 
 5.  The  Origin  also  of  this  formidable 
 Enemy  of  Christianity  is  represented  un¬ 
 der  precisely  the  same  imagery  by  both 
 these  prophets  :  it  was  from  a  perturbed 
 and  revolutionary  state  of  things,  finely 
 compared  to  a  great  and  stormy  Sea .  “  I 
 “  saw,”  says  Daniel,  “  in  my  Vision  by 
 night ;  and  behold,  the  four  Winds  of  the 
 “  heaven  strove  upon  the  great  Sea.  And 
 “  four  great  Beasts  came  up  from  the 
 
 #  Rev.  ch.  4,  v.  6,  &c.  and  ch.  6 ,  v.  I — 8.  See  also 
 Lecture  VIII. 
 
 +  Ban.  ch.  7,  v.  7,  23,  24’  %  Rev.  ch.  IS,  v.  1,  &c. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 53 
 
 “  Sea” — *“  And  the  fourth  Beast  was 
 “  dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong:  ex- 
 <s  ceedingly  ;  and  it  was  diverse  from  all 
 “  the  Beasts  that  were  before  it,  and  it 
 “  had  ten  horns  Even  so  says  St.  John, 
 “  I  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  Sea,  and 
 “  saw  a  Beast  rise  up  out  of  the  Sea ,  hav- 
 “  ing  seven  heads,  and  ten  horns  J\” 
 
 6.  Each  of  these  highly  favoured  men 
 has  likewise  been  enabled  to  predict, 
 that,  within  the  peculiar  territory  of  this 
 Empire,  there  should,  at  a  certain  ap¬ 
 pointed  season,  arise  another  Power,  dis¬ 
 tinguished  chiefly  by  the  acquisition  and 
 abuse  of  a  Spiritual  Dominion.  Such  was 
 “  the  little  Horn”  of  the  fourth  Beast, 
 which  had  “  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  Man, 
 “  and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things  J;” 
 which  was  “  to  make  war  with  the  Saints, 
 “  and  to  prevail  against  them  ||.”  Such, 
 also,  was  the  Beast,  which  St.  John  saw 
 “  coming  up  out  of  the  Earth”  or  Roman 
 Empire,  “  which  had”  two  horns  “  as  a 
 “  Lamb,”  a  secular  as  well  as  a  regular 
 
 *  Dan.  eh.  7,  v.  1,  2,  7*  %  Dan.  cli.  7,  v.  8. 
 
 f  Rev.  eh.  13,  v.  1.  ||  Dan.  ch.  7*  v.  21. 
 
 E  3 
 
54 
 
 LECTURE  VII. 
 
 ecclesiastical  Dominion  ;  “  but  spake  as  a 
 Dragon 
 
 Such,  moreover,  was  the  Woman,  or 
 symbolized  Church,  who  is  described,  in 
 another  vision,  as  sitting  upon,  or  being 
 supported  by,  the  Beast,  which  had  seven 
 heads  and  ten  horns  ;  who  “  was,”  in¬ 
 deed,  “arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet;” 
 <£  and  adorned  with  gold,  and  precious 
 “  stones,  and  pearls  ;”  but  was  “  drunken 
 “  with  the  blood  of  the  Saints,  and  with 
 “  the  blood  of  the  Martyrs  of  Jesus 
 “  Christ 
 
 7.  The  period,  during  which  this  fero¬ 
 cious  spirit  of  persecution,  and  this  actual 
 abuse  of  power,  should  continue,  are  also 
 distinctly  marked.  “  He  shall  wear  out,” 
 says  Daniel,  “  the  Saints  of  The  Most 
 “  High;  and  they  shall  be  given  into  his 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  13,  v.  11,  &c.  As  both  the  Roman  Em¬ 
 pire,  symbolized  by  its  “  seven  heads  and  ten  horns  ” 
 and  this  Ecclesiastical  Dominion  that  was  to  arise  out 
 of  it,  having  “  two  horns  as  a  Lamb ,”  but  speaking 
 “  as  a  Dragon were  devoted  to  Idolatry  and  sangui~ 
 nary  Persecution ,  on  account  of  Religion  ;  so  in  this 
 Chapter,  they  are  both  equally  compared  to  or 
 
 wild  Beasts. 
 
 f  Rev.  ch.  17,  v.  3,  4,  &c. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 55 
 
 “  hand,  until  a  time  and  times ,  and  the 
 “  dividing  of  time  So  says  St.  John, 
 “  There  was  given  unto  him,”  that  is,  to 
 the  Beast,  or  idolatrous  Empire,  whose 
 deadly  wound,  received  by  its  conversion 
 to  Christianity  under  Constantine,  was 
 healed,  in  consequence  of  its  lapse  again 
 into  idolatry  under  the  auspices  of  the 
 Church  of  Rome -f- — “  There  was  given 
 “  unto  him  a  mouth,  speaking  great 
 “  things  and  blasphemies  ;  and  power” 
 “  to  continue  forty  and  two  Months +” — 
 through  exactly  the  same  Interval  with  the 
 former,  only  under  a  different  Denomina¬ 
 tion. 
 
 8.  A  similar  fate  is  figuratively  repre¬ 
 sented  by  both  these  inspired  men,  as  clos¬ 
 ing  the  career  of  this  Antichristian  Power. 
 “  I  beheld,”  says  Daniel,  “  because  of  the 
 **  voice  of  the  great  words  that  the  Horn 
 
 O 
 
 “  spake — I  beheld,  even  till  the  Beast  was 
 “  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed ,  and  given 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  25. 
 
 T  See  the  luminous  exposition  of  this  remarkable 
 peculiarity  in  Mr.  Faber’s  “  Dissertation  on  the  Prophe¬ 
 cies  Vol.  2,  p.  153,  8tc.  Edit.  1806. 
 
 £  Rev.  ch.  13,  v.  1 — 5. 
 
56 
 
 LECTURE  vrr. 
 
 44  to  the  burning  flame*."  But,  if  such 
 were  the  fate  of  the  Beast ,  such  also  must 
 have  been  that  of  his  little  Horn  ;  for  that 
 was  inseparably  connected  with,  or  rather, 
 formed  a  principal  part  of,  the  Beast  him¬ 
 self ;  and  the  44  great  words,”  it  spake, 
 “  against  The  Most  High,”  and  its  other 
 atrocities  were  the  only  cause  of  this 
 catastrophe  being  experienced  at  all.  Let 
 us  now  therefore  hear,  how  St.  John  con¬ 
 firms  this  opinion,  and  assigns  to  each  the 
 same  doom — 44  I  saw  the  Beast,  and  the 
 “  kings  of  the  Earth,”  (or  of  the  papal  Ro - 
 man  Empire)  “  and  their  armies,  gathered 
 “  together  to  make  war  against  Him  that 
 “  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against  his  army. 
 44  And  the  Beast  was  taken,  and  with  him 
 44  the  f  alse  Prophet,”  (that  same  little  Horn , 
 that  had  “  eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  man ,  and 
 “  a  mouth  speaking  proud  things ”  which 
 also  44  made  war  with  the  Saints,”  and 
 44  thought  to  change  times  and  laws”)  “  that 
 44  wrought  miracles  before  him,  with  which 
 44  he  deceived  them  that  had  received  the 
 44  Mark  of  the  Beast,  and  them  that  wor- 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  11. 
 
 |  Dan.  ch.  7>  v.  25. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 57 
 
 “  shipped  his  Image.  These  both  were  cast 
 “  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brim - 
 “  stone  *” 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  19,  v.  19,  20.  The  above  comparison  of 
 this  passage  with  the  former,  clearly  shews,  that  the 
 words  of  Daniel  must  be  interpreted  to  signify,  that 
 “  the  Beast  was  slain ,  and  his  body  destroyed in  conse¬ 
 quence  of  being  “  given  to  the  burning  flame  for  St. 
 John  saw  both  u  cas^  alive  into  the  Lake  of  fire” 
 This  final  Destruction  indeed,  whenever  it.  may  arrive, 
 will,  in  all  probability,  be  very  sudden  ;  for  though  it 
 was  expressly  foretold  that  “  the  Judgment  shall  sit, 
 “  and  they  shall  take  away  the  dominion  of  the  little 
 “  Horn,  to  consume,  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end ”  of 
 the  predicted  period  ;  and  though  we  have  seen  that 
 Judgment  sitting  upon  him,  and  gradually  consuming 
 and  destroying  his  Dominion,  ever  since  the  Era  of  the 
 Reformation ;  yet  thus  far  has  popf.ry  continued  al¬ 
 ways  the  same,  as  has  lately  been  most  ably  and 
 incontrovertibly  proved  by  a  Writer  of  great  eminence 
 and  distinguished  worth  + ;  and  such,  as  we  are  assured 
 by  the  words  of  Inspiration,  she  will  continue  till  u  the 
 “  lime  of  the  end”  before  alluded  to.  u  therefore 
 “  shall  her  plagues  come  in  one  dayfl  and  “  in  one  hour 
 “  her  judgment,”  or  final  doom — Death  and  mournings 
 ii  and  famine ,  and  she  shall  be  utterly  burned  with  fire  ; 
 u  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God  that  judgeth  her  J.” 
 
 +  The  admirable  work  here  intended,  is  entitled — u  A 
 i(  Comparative  View  of  the  Churches  of  England  and 
 u  Rome,  by  Herbert  Marsh.  D.  D.F.  R.S.  &c.” — a  Work 
 that  is  calculated,  in  times  especially  like  the  present,  to  be 
 productive  of  very  extensive  utility  ;  and  10  render  the  most 
 important  services  both  to  Church  and  State  in  this  Country. 
 
 J  Rev.  ch.  18,  v.  8, 10,  17,  19. 
 
5$ 
 
 LECTURE  VIE 
 
 9.  This  destruction  of  the  Enemies  of 
 “  God,  and  of  his  Christ,”  is  to  be  forth¬ 
 with  succeeded  by  that  glorious  State  of 
 things,  which  will  fully  complete  the  view, 
 that  has  been  feebly  sketched  out  in  a 
 former  Lecture  * — when  in  the  promised 
 Seed  <c  all  the  families  of  the  earth  shall 
 “  be  blessed  when 
 
 t(  The  Mountain  of  the  House  of  Jehovah  shall 
 be  established  on  the  top  of  the  Mountains, 
 
 “  And  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills, 
 ce  And  all  nations  shall  flow  unio  it f. 
 
 To  this  effect  is  that  sublime  Revela¬ 
 tion  made  to  Daniel — Then  44  the  King- 
 “  dom  and  Dominion,  and  the  greatness 
 “  of  the  Kingdom  under  the  whole  Hea- 
 “  ven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the 
 “  Saints  of  The  Most  High,  whose  King- 
 44  dom  is  an  everlasting  Kingdom  ;  and  all 
 “  Dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him*.” 
 Then  also,  agreeably  to  another  divine 
 Communication  made  to  the  same  holy 
 Prophet, — “  Then”  shall  44  the  Iron ,  the 
 44  Clay ,  the  Brass ,  the  Silver,  and  the 
 
 *  Lecture  I. 
 
 I  Dan.  cb.  7,  v.  27* 
 
 t  Laiah,  ch*  2,  y*  2* 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 59 
 
 Gold  ,”  of  the  symbolical  Image — every 
 pagan,  or  idolatrous  and  persecuting 
 Power,  which  endeavoured  to  counteract 
 the  designs  of  infinite  Goodness,  for  ad¬ 
 vancing  the  blessedness  of  all  Nations — 
 <c  be  broken  to  pieces  together,  and  become 
 “  like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  thresh- 
 “  ing  floors  ;  and  the  Wind  shall  carry 
 “  them  away,  that  no  place  shall  be  found 
 “  for  them  :  and  the  Stone,  which  smote 
 “  the  Image,  shall  have  become  a  great 
 ie  Mountain,  and  have  filled  the  whole 
 “  Earth 
 
 To  the  same  effect  is  also  that  wonder¬ 
 ful  vision  of  the  future  glory  and  prospe¬ 
 rity  of  the  Church  which  was  seen  by  St. 
 John. 
 
 “  And  I  saw  an  Angel  come  down  from 
 “  Heaven,  having  the  Key  of  the  bot- 
 “  tomless  Pit,  and  a  great  chain  in  his 
 “  hand  ; 
 
 “  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  Dragon, 
 “  that  old  Serpent,  which  is  the  Devil, 
 “  and  Satan  ;  and  bound  him  a  thousand 
 “  years ; 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  2,  v.  34,  35,  44- 
 
60  LECTURE  VII. 
 
 “  And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless 
 “  Pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and  set  a  Seal 
 “  upon  him,  that  he  should  deceive  the 
 “  Nations  no  more ,  till  the  thousand  years 
 “  should  he  fulfilled  : 
 
 “  And  1  saw  thrones ,  and  they  sat  upon 
 “  them,  and  judgment  was  given  unto 
 “  them  ;  and  (I  saw)  the  Souls  of  them 
 “  that  had  been  beheaded  for  the  Wit- 
 “  ness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  Word  of 
 *£  God,  and  which  had  not  worshipped 
 
 the  Beast ,  neither  his  Image ,  neither 
 46  had  received  his  mark  in  their  fore- 
 “  heads,  or  in  their  hands  :  and  they 
 “  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand 
 u  years  *” 
 
 Such  are  the  instances  of  striking  cor- 
 respondence  which  present  themselves, 
 even  on  this  superficial  view  ;  and  other 
 instances  of  close  analogy  will  occur  as 
 we  proceed.  Nor  can  perhaps  the  rela¬ 
 tions  between  these  superlative  Prophets 
 be  better  defined,  than  by  saying,  that  the 
 former  of  them  has  only  sketched  the 
 bolder  outlines,  and  laid  in  the  stronger 
 
 *  Rt'r.  ch.  ‘20,  v.  1 — 4. 
 
LECTURE  VII. 
 
 6t 
 
 and  more  massy  shades,  of  the  awful 
 Scene  to  be  represented  ;  while  the  lat¬ 
 ter  has  filled  it  up,  with  the  most  exqui¬ 
 site  variety  of  light  and  shade  ;  and  has 
 thus  completed  the  grandest  and  most 
 comprehensive  exhibition,  that  has  ever 
 been  made,  by  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy, 
 of  the  wonderful  works  of  God. 
 
:  - 
 
 .i  : 
 
 * 
 
 -  ■  i  ■  ‘  ,  •••'  - J 
 
 '  i;  J:  : 
 
 ■;$  i-  b  • 
 
 bjon  •  *io  $nrq&»  />(>•«?#  *»*xi 
 
 .  <iv.  )  \<  >  f.  /! : 07f  luty  ■'  no  v  oiU  :to 
 
 ■ 
 
 v 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 Delivered  January  23,  1814. 
 
 Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  3. 
 
 Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that 
 hear  the  words  of  this  Prophecy,  and  keep 
 those  things  which  are  written  therein  : 
 for  the  time  is  at  hand . 
 
 IT  was  one  object  of  the  last  Lecture,  to 
 determine  negatively  the  time  when  the 
 Apocalypse  was  written  ;  and  to  prove, 
 merely  from  the  invalidity  of  the  Argu¬ 
 ments  adduced  by  a  venerable  and  learn¬ 
 ed  Prelate,  in  favour  of  a  contrary  sup¬ 
 position,  that  its  date  is  not  to  be  referred 
 to  the  first  general  Persecution  under 
 Nero,  or,  indeed,  to  any  period  prior  to 
 the  Destruction  of  the  Jewish  State. 
 There  remains  now  only  one  further  Opi- 
 
64 
 
 LECTURE  Vlir. 
 
 nion  upon  the  Subject ;  which  is,  that  this 
 Revelation  was  granted  to  St.  John  dur¬ 
 ing  the  second  general  Persecution,  or 
 towards  the  latter  end  of  the  Reign  of 
 Dornitian  *. 
 
 It  will  therefore  be  my  endeavour,  on 
 the  present  and  some  future  occasions,  to 
 prove  from  the  internal  evidence  of  the 
 
 *  The  biblical  Scholar  is  under  great  obligation  to 
 Dr.  Woodhouse,  for  entering  so  much  at  large  into  this 
 question,  and  proving  so  satisfactorily  that  this  must 
 be  the  true  date. 
 
 After  conducting  the  investigation,  with  great  learn¬ 
 ing  and  ability,  through  upwards  of  eighty  pages,  he 
 says — “  Here  I  close  what  I  have  been  able  to  collect 
 “  of  the  external  Evidence  for  the  Apocalypse. 
 
 u  We  have  seen  its  rise,  as  of  a  pure  fountain,  from 
 u  the  sacred  rock  of  the  Apostolical  Church.  We  have 
 u  traced  it  through  the  first  century  of  its  passage, 
 u  flowing  from  one  fair  field  to  another ;  identified 
 u  through  them  all,  and  every  where  the  same.  As  it 
 **  proceeded  lower,  we  have  s^en  attempts  to  obscure 
 il  its  sacred  origin,  to  arrest  or  divert  its  course,  to  lose 
 u  it  in  the  sands  of  antiquity,  or  bury  it  in  the  rubbish 
 il  of  the  dark  ages.  We  have  seen  these  attempts  re- 
 <x  peated  in  our  own  times,  and  by  a  dexterous  adver- 
 “  saryf.  But  it  has  at  length  arrived  to  us,  such  as  it 
 “  flowed  forth  at  the  beginning.” — Dissertation  pre¬ 
 fixed  to  his  Translation  of  the  Apocalypse,  page  87. 
 
 t  The  late  Professor  J.  D.  Michaelis. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 65 
 
 sacred  Book  itself,  that  this  was  its  real 
 date  ;  and  that  it  contains  a  regular  series 
 of  prophecies,  the  fulfilment  of  which  ex¬ 
 tends,  in  exact  chronological  arrangement, 
 from  very  near  that  time  to  the  present. 
 
 That  the  most  early  of  these  predic¬ 
 tions  should  begin  to  receive  its  accom¬ 
 plishment  very  soon  after  it  was  written,  is 
 sufficiently  manifest  from  the  words  of  the 
 Text,  wherein  it  was  plainly  asserted,  that 
 “  the  time  is  at  hand*” — that  time  when 
 
 * 
 
 “  to  him  that  should  read,  and  those  who 
 “  should  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy, 
 “  and  observe  those  things  that  are  written 
 “  therein,”  a  gradual  developement  should 
 
 *  So  it  will  be  recollected,  just  before  our  Lord’s  en¬ 
 trance  upon  his  public  Ministry,  it  was  announced  by  the 
 holy  Baptist,  and  afterwards  by  Himself,  and  his  Dis¬ 
 ciples,  that  “  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  zvasat  hand ” — that 
 gracious  dispensation  which  had  been  so  long  promised  ; 
 and  which  (in  consequence  of  the  Merits,  Death,  Re¬ 
 surrection,  Ascension,  and  Intercession  of  Christ)  was 
 to  make  a  full  discovery  of  “  the  tender  love  of  GOD 
 u  towards  mankind.”  The  degree  of  proximity  is  ex¬ 
 pressed,  in  both  cases,  by  forms  of  speech  that  are  of 
 the  same  import — 
 
 riyyiKt  rj  @ acnteta  tcov  O yf«vwv.  Matth.  ch.  v.  *2,  ch.  4, 
 v.  17  ;  andch,  10,  v.7.  o  xa-igos  iyyv$.  Rev.  ch.  1,  v.L 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 ¥ 
 
LECTURE  VII r. 
 
 66 
 
 commence,  of  the  mysterious  dispensa¬ 
 tions,  peculiary  shadowed  forth  from  be¬ 
 neath  its  sacred  symbols. 
 
 And,  for  this  reason,  we  may  very  natu¬ 
 rally  look  for  the  earliest  of  the  events  fore¬ 
 told  upon  the  very  first  change,  that  should 
 take  place  in  the  state  of  public  affairs, 
 after  the  delivery  of  this  prophecy  ;  that 
 is,  during  the  short  reign  of  Nerva. 
 
 Before  we  proceed,  however,  to  exa- 
 mine,  whether  this  be  the  case  or  not,  it 
 will  be  requisite  to  offer  a  few  observa¬ 
 tions,  upon  some  of  the  principal  charac¬ 
 ters,  who  are  introduced  by  St.  John 
 into  this  sublime  and  wonderful  compo¬ 
 sition. 
 
 As  the  whole  was  written  for  the  com¬ 
 fort  and  instruction  of  the  Church  of 
 
 1  j  *  •  •  *  -  0  ■»  1 
 
 Christ ;  and  as  a  blessing  is  expressly  pro¬ 
 nounced  on  him,  who  should  pay  a  suit¬ 
 able  attention  to  it ;  so  we  may  reasonably 
 conclude,  that  that  Church  would  be  very 
 particularly  described ;  and  become  one 
 of  the  most  distinguished  Agents,  in  the 
 Scenes  about  to  be  represented.  And  a 
 moderate  share  of  observation  will  con¬ 
 vince  us,  I  think,  that  this  is  the  fact. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 07 
 
 1,  2.*  The  grand  Series  of  Revelation 
 
 J  O 
 
 begins  with  the  fourth  Chapter.  “  A  door” 
 is  there  figuratively  asserted  to  have  been 
 opened  in  the  heaven,”  -f  or  in  “  the 
 
 *  The  figures,  at  the  beginning  of  some  of  the  para¬ 
 graphs,  are  designed  to  point  out  the  particular  verses , 
 to  which  these  passages  relate  ;  the  Chapters  and  Verses 
 are  also  marked  at  the  bottom  of  the  pages  alternately, 
 for  the  sake  of  greater  distinctness. 
 
 •f’Ey  t u  ’ Oupavco — “  The  Heaven,”  according  to  the 
 figurative  language  of  this  series  of  Prophecy,  is  that 
 established  Form  of  Political  Government ,  under  which 
 the  Church  of  GOD  should  be  at  any  time  existing. 
 
 1.  In  th e present  instance,  therefore,  it  was  designed 
 to  represent  the  Dominion,  which  was  exerted  through¬ 
 out  the  Empire  of  Pagan  Rome. 
 
 2.  But  as  every  pious  man  is  fully  persuaded,  that  it 
 is  “  the  Most  High  who  ruleth  in  the  Kingdoms  of 
 “  Men,”  and  that  “  the  Powers  that  be  are  ordained  of 
 “  GOD,”  he  is  induced  to  look,  through  the  action  of 
 these  visible  and  inferior  Causes,  to  the  Great  Jirst 
 Cause  of  all.  To  every  such  person,  therefore,  who 
 applies  his  mind  to  the  contemplation  of  what  is  pass¬ 
 ing  around  him,  in  this  great  Scene  of  Divine  Admi¬ 
 nistration,  “  a  Door”  may  be  truly  said  to  be  “  opened 
 “  in  the  Heaven for  he  sees  beyond  the  exterior  sur¬ 
 face  of  things.  But  the  Door  was  certainly  opened ,  in 
 a  much  higher,  and  more  extended  sense  than  this,  to 
 St.John;  inasmuch  as  he  was  divinely  appointed  to 
 predict  the  things  that  were  to  be  thereafter. 
 
 3.  The  history  of  the  world,  through  every  subse- 
 Rev.  IV.  1,  2. 
 
68 
 
 LECTURE  Vlll. 
 
 “  Kingdom  of  God;"  in  order  that,  through 
 this,  the  prophet  might  acquire  some  in- 
 
 quent  age,  will  fully  convince  us,  that  the  Face  of  the 
 symbolical  Heaven  is  undergoing  perpetual  changes ; 
 partaking  of  all  that  mutability  to  which  human  affairs 
 are  subject.  And  in  this  light  it  is  exhibited  to  us,  in 
 this  wonderful  scene  of  Prophecy. 
 
 4.  And  in  two  instances  particularized  by  the  Pro¬ 
 phet — namely,  where  he  predeseribes  the  total  change  in 
 the  Roman  Government,  which  was  effected  by  Constan¬ 
 tine  the  Great;  and  that  total  change  also  to  be  made 
 hereafter,  when  the  kingdom  of  Christ  shall  be  firmly 
 and  universally  established,  at  the  close  of  the  appointed 
 period  of  1260  years — “  the  Heaven  ’  is  represented  as 
 entirely  passing  away,  in  the  first  instance,  to  be  suc¬ 
 ceeded  by  “  the  Heaven ,”  which  should  so  pass  aicay,  in 
 the  second,  “  that  there  should  he  no  place  found  for  it.” 
 In  this  latter  case,  indeed,  the  Earth,  it  is  said,  or 
 the  Roman  Empire  itself,  as  then  subsisting,  will  be  in¬ 
 volved  in  the  same  catastrophe,  and  cease  entirely  to  exist. 
 See  Rev.  ch.  6,  v.  14  ;  and  ch.  20,  v.  1 1. 
 
 5.  A  Cloud  of  “  the  Heaven ”  will  well  represent  a 
 single  Nation,  or  people,  under  one  particular  govern - 
 ment,  comprehended  within  the  ancient  limits  of  the 
 Empire ;  and,  consequently, “  the  Clouds”  will  de¬ 
 note  the  Nations,  generally,  of  which  it  consists. 
 
 Thus,  the  Angel  of  the  Reformation  is  described  as 
 descending  from  the  Heaven,  “  clothed  with  a  Cloud*’ 
 that  is,  fostered  and  protected  by  that  part  of  the  Ger¬ 
 manic  Body  who  signed  the  Treaty  of  Smalcalde  :  and 
 our  Lord  is  said  to  come  upon  u  the  Clouds  of  the 
 Heaven,”  when  with  the  combined  arms  of  the  different 
 Nations,  that  composed  the  Roman  army  under  Titus, 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 69 
 
 sight  into  the  future  course  of  divine  Dis¬ 
 pensation.  And  he  was  enabled,  under 
 the  influence  of  Inspiration,  to  behold,  by 
 a  typical  resemblance,  the  Glory  of  the 
 Divine  Majesty,  seated  on  the  Throne  of 
 Universal  Dominion,  and  attended  by  the 
 lively  Emblems  of  the  Church  Universal. 
 The  whole  of  this  magnificent  Description 
 is  evidently  symbolical :  for  44  no  man 
 44  hath  seen  God  at  any  time  yet  so 
 much  of  it  may  be  easily  and  clearly  ex¬ 
 plained,  as  to  render  it  highly  interesting 
 and  instructive. 
 
 3.  44  He  that  sat  upon  the  throne  was  to 
 “  look  upon  as  a  Jasper  and  a  Sardine 
 44  Stone/'  Like  his  august  Representative 
 among  his  peculiar  people  in  ancient 
 times,  he  appeared  clothed,  with  the  sym¬ 
 bols  of  purity,  supreme  authority ,  and  jus - 
 tice ,  in  an  Ephod  of  fine  blue  and  purple , 
 bordered  with  red. 
 
 44  And  there  was  a  Rainbow,”  the  ora- 
 cious  token  of  future  sunshine  and  safe - 
 
 he  inflicted  the  menaced  Destruction  upon  Jerusalem, 
 and  the  Jewish  State.  See  Lecture  X  ;  and  Kev.  ch. 
 10,  v.  1;  aiso  Matth.  ch.  24,  v.  SO;  and  the 
 ponding  passages  in  the  other  Gospels. 
 
 Rev.  IV.  3. 
 
 F  3 
 
 cones- 
 
70 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 ty*  “  round  about  the  Throne.”  It  was 
 “  in  sight  like  unto  an  Emerald  ”  and 
 therefore  well  accorded  with  the  period 
 of  suffering,  and  apparent  desertion ,  under 
 which  the  Church  was  so  long  to  labour. 
 
 4.  46  And  round  about  the  Throne  were 
 41  four-and-twenty  Thrones  ;  and  upon 
 
 *  If  we  consider  the  purpose,  to  which  infinite  Good¬ 
 ness  ordained  this  beautiful  Phenomenon,  it  will  be¬ 
 come  an  Emblem,  eminently  calculated  to  drive  away 
 despondency ,  and  to  inspire  a  pious  resignation,  and 
 grateful  reliance  upon  God. — “  I  do  set  my  Baw  in  the 
 “  Cloud,”  said  the  Almighty,  “  and  it  shall  be  for  a 
 “  token  of  a  Covenant  between  me  and  the  Earth,  that 
 u  the  Waters  shall  no  more  become  a  Flood  to  destroy 
 “  all  flesh.5’  Genes,  ch.  9,  v.  12—17. 
 
 And  its  figurative  allusions,  as  employed  in  this  Pro¬ 
 phecy,  are  peculiarly  pleasing.  It  was  never  to  be  seen 
 but  in  a  Cloud ;  and  the  darker  that  Cloud,  the  more 
 brilliant  it  would  appear.  So  would  the  seasons,  when 
 the  Church  should  be  most  menaced  by  the  malignity 
 of  her  enemies,  be  those  which  would  most  call  forth 
 the  exercise  of  her  faith,  and  confidence  in  God  :  and 
 under  the  darkest  dispensations  would  these  holy  affec¬ 
 tions  be  exhibited  in  their  brightest  lustre.  What 
 examples  to  illustrate  this  do  not  the  annals  of  Chris¬ 
 tianity  present ! 
 
 t  KvxXodt v  78  0£>cvs  Qgovot  ’sixo/Ti  xai  TtaaaqiS,  &c. — 
 The  very  Thrones,  upon  which  the  four-and-twenty 
 Elders  were  seen  sitting,  are  emblematical  of  the  high 
 Dignity  these  symbolical  Personages  should  attain  in 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 71 
 
 u  tlieThrones  were  four-and- twenty  Elders 
 “  sitting,  clothed  in  white  Raiment ;  and 
 “  they  had  on  their  heads  Crowns  of  Gold!' 
 Surely  no  Imagery  can  more  fully  portray 
 some  of  the  principal  Characteristics  of 
 the  true  Church  of  God,  than  this  De¬ 
 scription  !  'The  very  Number  of  these 
 Elders  seems  designed  to  show,  that  this 
 Church  is  founded  both  on  the  Law  and 
 the  Gospel — on  the  Law,  as  contained  in 
 the  Old  Testament,  as  professed  by  the 
 
 a  judicial  point  of  view,  as  Judges  of  the  thoughts ,  zcords , 
 and  actions ,  of  Men  ;  or  rather,  as  laying  dozen  the  lazes 
 of  God  so  clearly,  as  to  enable  those,  who  might  be  dis¬ 
 posed  to  consult  them  with  diligence  and  integrity,  to 
 “judge  themselves 1  Cor.  ch .  1 1,  v.  31.  To  the  same 
 kind  of  Thrones  our  Blessed  Saviour  made  an  immedi¬ 
 ate  allusion,  when  he  said  to  his  Disciples — “  Verily  I 
 “  say  unto  you,  that  ye  who  have  followed  me,  in  the 
 “  Regeneration,  when  The  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  on  the 
 “  Throne  of  his  Glory,  ye  also  shall  sit  (szn  frud'sKct 
 “  Qgovxf)  upon  tzeelve  Thrones,  judging  the  tzoclve  Tribes 
 ii  of  Israels*  Matth.  ch.  19,  v.  23.  To  the  same  topic 
 Daniel  also  makes  a  most  sublime  and  wonderful  allu¬ 
 sion,  when,  in  describing  the  judgment  upon  The  Lit¬ 
 tle  Horn  of  the  fourth  Beast ,  he  says — “  I  beheld 
 “  till  the  Thrones  were  placed,  and  the  Ancient  of  days 
 “  did  sit” — “  the  Judgment  zoas  set ,  and  the  Books  mere 
 il  opened.”' — Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  9 — 1 1* 
 
 Rsv,  IV.  4. 
 
7C 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 twelve  Tribes  of  Israel,  and  prefiguring 
 those  “  good  things  that  were  to  come 
 and  the  Gospel,  as  completing  the  merci¬ 
 ful  Designs  of  God  towards  man,  and 
 therefore  promulged  by  the  twelve  Apos¬ 
 tles  under  the  New  Testament.  Their 
 white  Raiment  is  emblematical  of  the  purity 
 of  its  principles,  and  the  innocency  of  its 
 manners.  And  the  Golden  Crowns ,  by 
 which  they  were  adorned,  were  the  Evi¬ 
 dences  of  the  Victory  it  had  obtained, 
 and  should  in  future  obtain,  over  all  its 
 spiritual  Enemies  ;  they  were  indicative  of 
 that  “  Inheritance,  incorruptible,  unde- 
 “  filed,  and  that  f'adeth  not  away,”  reserv¬ 
 ed  for  it  hereafter,  as  the  ultimate  Reward 
 of  its  Constancy  and  Virtue. 
 
 5.  c‘  And  out  of  the  Throne  proceeded 
 u  Lightnings ,  and  Thunderings,  and  Voices’’ 
 Clouds  being  emblematical  of  Nations  *, 
 Lightnings  will  correctly  represent  the  de¬ 
 solating  Ifars,  excited  by  their  opposite 
 and  jarring  Interests;  the  Thunderings ,  or 
 the  sounds  of  the  Clouds  in  a  state  of  dis¬ 
 ruption,  will  denote  the  Rumours,  and  Pro - 
 
 *  See  Note  f,  5,  page  67 . 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 73 
 
 clamations ,  of  these  Wars  ;  and  the  Voices , 
 the  violent  personal  feuds,  or  more  general 
 political  agitations,  that  produced  them. 
 All  these  are  observed  to  be  proceeding 
 from  the  Throne,  or  Seat  of  supreme  Judg¬ 
 ment  and  Dominion,  in  order  to  afford  an 
 evident  demonstration,  that  they  should 
 happen  to  the  Adversaries  of  Christianity 
 agreeably  to  the  divine  will ;  and  were  in¬ 
 tended  to  be  indicted  in  a  judicial  manner, 
 as  punishments  for  their  impiety,  their  cru¬ 
 elty,  and  injustice.  As  the  Church,  there¬ 
 fore,  was  destined,  for  the  trial  of  its 
 strength,  to  undergo  a  long  series  of  per¬ 
 secutions,  before  it  was  to  be  triumphantly 
 established  by  the  downfal  of  all  opposi¬ 
 tion  ;  so  these  Lightnings,  Fulminations,  and 
 Voices  will  correctly  represent  the  dreadful 
 Execution  of  divine  Judgments,  upon  the 
 various  Enemies  it  would  have  to  encoun¬ 
 ter,  by  means  of  the  fierce  animosities ,  and 
 deadly  discords,  that  should  prevail  among 
 themselves .  The  history  of  Europe,  since 
 the  time  when  this  Prophecy  was  written, 
 will  furnish  continual  examples  to  justify 
 the  validity  of  this  interpretation*. 
 
 *  The  prophet  Daniel,  also,  foretold  of  this  state  of 
 
74 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 “  And  there  were  seven  Lamps  of  fire 
 “  burning  before  the  Throne,  which  are 
 “  the  Seven  Spirits  of  God.”  As  John  the 
 Baptist,  in  his  prophecy  of  Christ,  fore¬ 
 told  that  he  should  baptize  his  disciples 
 with  the  Holy  Ghost ,  and  with  Fire  *,  the 
 emblem  of  his  illuminating  and  purifying 
 Influences ;  and  as  the  Descent  of  this 
 Holy  Spirit  upon  the  Apostles  on  the  day 
 of  Pentecost,  in  fulfilment  of  this  very 
 prophecy,  was  symbolized  by  “  the  cloven 
 “  Tongues  like  as  of  fire ,  which  sat  upon 
 “  each  of  them  j* so  here,  the  continued 
 presence  of  the  same  Divine  Spirit  with 
 the  Church  is  denoted  by  “  Lamps  of  fire 
 “  burning  before  the  Throne.”  And  their 
 number  is  limited  to  seven  ;  either  to 
 signify  the  perfection  of  his  nature  ;  or 
 in  allusion  to  his  residence  in  the  seven 
 
 things,  when,  speaking  of  the  fourth  great  Kingdom 
 typified  in  Nebuchadnezzar’s  Dream,  and  describing 
 the  various  materials  of  which  it  should  be  composed, 
 he  says — u  And  whereas  thou  sawest  Iron  mixed  with 
 miry  Clay ,  they  shall  mingle  themselves  with  the  seed 
 <c  of  Men  ;  but  they  shall  not  cleave  one  to  another ,  even 
 <c  as  bon  is  not  mixed  with  clay.','>  Dan.  ch.  2,  v.  40 — 43. 
 See  also  Bishop  Newton’s  luminous  exposition  of  this 
 passage,  in  bis  XIII  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies. 
 
 #  Matth.  c.b,  3,  v.  1 1.  t  Acts,  ch.  2,  v.  1 — 4. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 75 
 
 Churches  of  Asia,  to  whom  the  Apocalyse 
 was  more  immediately  addressed. 
 
 6  **  And  before  the  Throne  was  a  Sea  of 
 “  Glass,  like  unto  Crystal  This  is  the 
 
 *  1.  “  Many  Waters, ” says  the  interpreting  Angel 
 u  to  St.John,  are  Peoples,  and  Multitudes,  and  Nations, 
 u  and  Tongues .”  Rev.  ch.  17,  v.  15.  Consequently 
 one  portion  of  this  aggregate  will  denote  one  single 
 People ,  or  Nation. 
 
 2.  If  Water  flow  in  one  stream,  as  a  River,  it  will 
 represent  a  Nation  that  has  preserved  its  political  exist¬ 
 ence,  and  descended  with  the  lapse  of  time  under  that 
 Character .  See  Rev.  ch.  8,  v.  10,  and  ch.  10,  v.  4. 
 
 3.  And  therefore  a  Fountain  will  be  the  proper 
 symbol  of  a  Colony  just  formed,  or  of  a  State  in  its  in. 
 fancy ,  ibid. 
 
 4.  The  Sea,  which  is  the  common  Receptacle  of 
 all  the  Rivers  that  flow  into  it,  will  exhibit  a  correct 
 Emblem  of  a  great  Empire,  considered  as  composed  of 
 the  people  of  a  variety  of  Nations,  whose  languages 
 and  dialects  become  more  or  less  mixed,  by  mutual  in¬ 
 tercourse  or  collision.  Rev.  ch.  8,  v.  8  ;  ch.  10,  v.  2; 
 and  ch.  12,  v.  12, 
 
 5.  The  Sea  in  a  State  of  agitation,  as  it  is  generally 
 supposed  to  be  throughout  the  symbolical  parts  of 
 Scripture,  where  the  contrary  is  not  expressed,  denotes 
 that  perturbed  state  of  things  in  a  great  Empire,  which 
 arises  from  the  clashing  of  so  many  interests,  and  the 
 conflicting  of  so  many  violent  and  depraved  passions. 
 Compare  Rev.  ch.  13,  v.  1,  with  Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  2. 
 
 Rev.  IV.  5,  6. 
 
76 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 most  expressive  Emblem  that  could  have 
 been  devised  of  “  the  determinate  Counsel 
 14  and  foreknowledge  of  God,”  bringing  to 
 pass  those  great  Events  of  futurity,  that 
 should  be  revealed  to  the  Sons  of  Men,  with 
 perfect  precision, and  the  most  perspicuous 
 arrangement.  Unlike  that  great  and  trou- 
 
 6.  But,  as  in  the  present  instance,  a  Sea  with  &  per¬ 
 fectly  smooth  surface  (u  a  Sea  of  Glass ,  like  unto  Crys - 
 44  talf  ’) — and  such  a  Sea  can  only  be  u  before  the 
 11  Throne  — will  justly  represent  in  allegory,  that  all 
 that  perturbation  to  which  the  affairs  of  the  World  are 
 subject,  vanishes  in  respect  to  the  Deity ;  that  his 
 Omniscience  penetrates  with  the  utmost  clearness  to 
 the  most  unfathomable  depths  of  antiquity,  and  views 
 with  equal  distinctness  the  complicated  events  of  the 
 most  distant  futurity. 
 
 7.  The  Sea,  considered  as  in  contrast  with  the  Land, 
 has  a  peculiar  signification,  as  being  its  boundary,  and 
 independent  of  it.  It  will  therefore  denote  those  Na¬ 
 tions  of  Europe,  which  though  once  included  within 
 the  limits  of  “  tlia  Earth  ”  or  Roman  Empire,  ventured 
 nevertheless,  on  account  of  their  remoteness,  or  from 
 some  other  cause,  to  preserve  any  liberty  of  conscience, 
 or  any  independence  of  the  Roman  See,  which  exerted 
 its  spiritual  dominion  in  full  vigour  over  all  the  rest  of 
 this  symbolical  Earth.  And  these  also  prescribed 
 bounds  in  some  measure  to  its  extent,  preventing  it 
 from  occupying  the  whole  of  what  was  once  its  surface, 
 ill  these  Regions  of  the  West.  Rev.  cli.  10,  v.  2. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 77 
 
 bled  Sea,  that  revolutionary  and  perturbed 
 State  of  things,  from  which  Daniel  saw  the 
 rise  of  the  44  four  great  Beasts ?  and  St. 
 John  that  of  44  the  Beast  with  seven  heads 
 44  and  ten  horns?  this  was  permanently 
 fixed,  subject  to  no  fluctuation  and  disorder , 
 and  clear  as  Crystal. 
 
 44  And  in  the  midst  of  the  Throne,  and 
 44  round  about  the  Throne,  were  four  living 
 44  Creatures, full  of  Byes  before  and  behind.” 
 These  are  respectively  employed  in  the 
 vision,  in  pointing  out  to  St.  John  the 
 commencement  of  the  four  first  periods 
 that  are  included  within  it:  and  it  has 
 been  already  observed,  that  they  are 
 described  as  possessed  of  Qualities  cor¬ 
 respondent,  in  some  degree,  with  those 
 several  States  or  periods.  These  sacred 
 Emblems,  however,  although  they  are 
 appointed  to  answer  this  purpose,  have 
 manifestly  another,  and  much  more  im¬ 
 portant  Office  assigned  them  in  the  divine 
 Economy.  They  are  represented  as  being 
 44  in  the  midst  of  the  Throne,  and  round  about 
 44  the  Throne  ”  in  other  words,  as  originat¬ 
 ing  from  the  Seat  of  the  divine  Government : 
 
 and  asserting,  in  every  direction ,  the  Supre- 
 Rev.  IV.  5,  6. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 78 
 
 macy  and  Perfection  of  that  Government . 
 As  therefore  we  have  seen  that  “  the  four 
 “  and  twenty  Elders’  are  descriptive  of  the 
 sacred  Sources ,  from  which  the  Christian 
 Church  derives  its  Principles  ;  so  from  the 
 Position  and  the  Characters  of  these ,  they 
 become  symbols  of  its  Universality ,  its 
 various  Graces ,  Virtues ,  and  Endowments . 
 And,  in  consistency  with  this,  they  are  re¬ 
 presented  as  partaking  in  all  those  solemn 
 Acts  of  Adoration  and  Praise,  in  which 
 the  Elders  themselves  are  engaged ;  and 
 which  so  often  elevate  and  adorn  the 
 style  of  the  Prophet. 
 
 They  are  called  Zwa,  or  “  living  Crea- 
 “  turesf  to  denote  the  vitality  and  efficacy 
 of  the  principles ,  on  which  pure  Chris¬ 
 tianity  is  founded  :  as  also  to  distinguish 
 them  from  those  Ovpct,  “  Wild  beasts,”  or 
 idolatrous  and  persecuting  Empires,  which 
 make  so  conspicuous  an  appearance  in 
 some  subsequent  parts  of  this  prophecy. 
 
 They  are  said  to  be  “  full  of  Eyes  before 
 “  and  behind,”  to  signify  the  illumination  of 
 the  Church  by  the  Holy  Spirit*;  and  the 
 
 *  Eyes  being  the  Organs  of  Vision  ;  and  Light  that 
 which  makes  things  visible. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 79 
 
 application  of  its  mental  powers  to  the 
 sacred  laws,  the  prophetic  communica¬ 
 tions,  and  wonderful  works  of  God,  both 
 as  recorded  for  its  instruction  in  the  Old 
 Testament,  and  held  forth  for  its  more 
 particular  observance  and  edification  in 
 the  New. 
 
 8.  They  were  also  “  full  of  Eyes  within” 
 This  is  an  attribute  which  is  strictly  pecu¬ 
 liar  to  all  sincere  Christians  ;  who  direct 
 their  attention  frequently  to  themselves ; 
 turning  “  the  eyes  of  their  understanding * 
 inwards ,  in  order  to  examine  the  state  of 
 their  own  hearts,  and  the  nature  of  their 
 own  conduct. 
 
 “  And  they  had  each  of  them  six  Wings 
 In  this  respect  they  resembled  the  Sera¬ 
 phim  described  by  Isaiah,  for  each  of 
 them  also  had  six  Wings :  and  the  uses,  to 
 which  that  evangelical  prophet  has  repre¬ 
 sented  them  as  applied,  will  conduct  us  to 
 the  true  import  of  this  part  of  the  symbol. 
 <c  With  twain  he  covered  his  face /’  in  token 
 of  profound  veneration ,  as  being  in  the  pre¬ 
 sence  of  God.  “  With  twain  he  covered  his 
 
 #  Isaiah,  ch.  G,  v.  2. 
 
 Rev.  IV.  8. 
 
80 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 “  feet”  or  the  lower  parts  of  his  body, 
 from  a  humble  sense  of  his  own  imperfec¬ 
 tions.  “  And  with  twain  he  did  fly  to  ex¬ 
 ecute  with  the  utmost  alacrity  the  grateful 
 Commands  of  God. 
 
 7.  But  it  is  now  of  importance  to  consi¬ 
 der  the  distinguishing  forms  of  these  “  liv- 
 “  ing  Creatures and  the  relation  they 
 bear  to  the  periods  which  they  severally 
 point  out*. 
 
 *  Mr  Mede,  and  (after  his  hypothesis)  Bishop  New¬ 
 ton,  have  imagined,  that  u  the  scene”  of  this  Vision 
 i(  is  laid  in  Heaven  :  and  the  scenerv  is  drawn  in  allusion 
 “  to  the  encampment  of  the  Children  of  Israel  in  the  wil- 
 “  derness'p — that  therefore,  among  other  points  of  Re¬ 
 semblance,  the  four  living  Creatures ,  here  described, 
 correspond  with  the  Standards  of  the  four  principal  Di. 
 visions  of  those  tribes.  But  this  is  not  affirmed  with 
 much  confidence,  as  a  matter  of  certainty,  although 
 the  learned  Prelate,  and  his  venerable  predecessor  in 
 this  scheme,  have  acted  upon  it,  as  if  it  had  been  a  de¬ 
 cided  point ;  and  have  thereby,  in  their  interpretation 
 of  the  four  first  Seals,  been  seduced  into  great  and 
 manifest  inconsistencies.  See  Mede’s  Clavis  Apoca- 
 lyptica,  in  his  Works.. 
 
 “  And  in  the  midst  of  the  Throne,”  says  Bishop  New¬ 
 ton,  “  were  four  living  Creatures,  representing  the  Heads 
 iC  of  the  whole  Congregation  in  the  four  quarters  of  the 
 a  world  ;  and  resembling  the  Cherubim  and  Seraphim  in 
 “  Ezekiel’s  and  Isaiah’s  Visions  ;  or  rather ,  resembling 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 81 
 
 “  The  first  was  like  a  Lion and  was 
 the  Emblem  of  Fortitude ,  Magnanimity, 
 
 u  the  Standards  or  Ensigns  of  the  four  divisions  in  the 
 “  Camp  of  Israel,  according  to  the  traditionary  de- 
 u  scription  of  them  by  Jewish  writers. 
 
 “  The  first  living  Creature  was  like  a  Lion}  which 
 “  was  the  standard  of  Judah,  with  the  two  other  Tribes 
 in  the  Eastern  division.”  It  is  therefore  concluded, 
 that  the  period  contained  under  the  first  Seal  was  to 
 commence,  with  the  achievements  of  some  illustrious 
 personage,  deriving  either  his  extraction,  or  his  great¬ 
 ness,  from  the  East ,  And  this  period  is  to  continue, 
 however  dissimilar  the  general  circumstances  may  be 
 from  the  other  parts  of  the  prophecy,  till  an  Emperor 
 should  arise  deriving  his  extraction  from  the  JVest. 
 The  interval,  therefore,  denoted  by  the  first  Seal,  is  to 
 begin  with  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  which  was 
 the  only  remarkable  conquest  obtained  during  the  whole 
 time,  and  to  be  continued  till  the  accession  of  Trajan, 
 who  was  by  birth  a  Spaniard.  Allowing  the  utmost 
 that  can  be  said  respecting  the  Event  of  the  Jewish 
 War,  as  justifying  the  representation  of  him  that  u  zcent 
 "forth  conquering,  and  that  he  might  conquer yet  the 
 whole  time  that  Vespasian  and  Titus  commanded  in 
 Judaea  did  not  exceed  four  years,  including  about  six 
 months  only  of  the  twenty-eight  years ,  to  which,  the 
 learned  Writer  informs  us,  this  scene  of  prophecy  relates. 
 The  Jewish  Wat,  and  the  successes  of  Agricola  in  Bri¬ 
 tain  in  the  reign  of  Vespasian,  were  the  only  events  that 
 in  the  least  corresponded  with  the  prophetical  symbols 
 of  conquest ;  while,  whatever  may  be  allowed  to  the 
 
 Rev.  IV.  7. 
 
 Q 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
LECTURE  Will, 
 
 8g 
 
 and  Victor if,  Referred  to  the  Churchy 
 this  type  must  evidently  be  interpreted  in 
 a  spiritual  sense  ;  but,  in  its  connexion 
 with  the  Events  exhibited  afterwards  to  St. 
 
 magnanimity ,  the  fortitude ,  and  generosity  of  Vespa¬ 
 sian,  Titus,  and  Nerva,  as  answering  to  the  qualities  ot 
 the  symbolical  Lion,  it  is  certain  that  Domitian,  who 
 reigned  fifteen  years  of  the  time,  was  a  monster  in  cru¬ 
 elty,  and  a  disgrace  to  human  nature. 
 
 <c  The  second  living  Creature  was  like  a  Calf  or  Ox, 
 x  which  was  the  Standard  of  Ephraim,  with  the  two 
 “  other  Tribes  in  the  Western  division.”  So,  whatever 
 other  incongruities  may  exist,  the  second  Seal  must  ty 
 pity  the  period  commencing  with  the  reign  of  Trajan, 
 and  terminating  with  the  accession  of  Septimius  Seve- 
 rus,  who  was  an  Emperor  from  the  South/'  in  ]t)L 
 
 In  like  manner,  “  the  third  had  a  face  as  a  man , 
 il  which  was  the  standard  of  Reuben,  with  the  two  other 
 c<  Tribes  in  the  Southern  division.”  This  was  to  point 
 out  the  distinguishing  characteristics  implicated  under 
 the  third  Seal,  and  the  leading  Events  from  the  acces¬ 
 sion  of  Severus  to  that  of  Maximus,  because  the  latter 
 came  from  the  North ,  and  the  former  from  the  South ! 
 
 So  also,  “  the  fourth  was  like  a  fifing  Eagley  which 
 “  was  the  Standard  of  Dan,  with  the  two  other  Tribes 
 u  in  the  Northern  division.”  The  period,  therefore, 
 denoted  under  the  fourth  Seal,  was  to  begin  with  Max¬ 
 imus,  for  the  abovementioned  reason,  and  to  end  with 
 the  elevation  of  Dioclesian. 
 
 See  Bishop  Newton’s  Dissertation  XXIV.  Part  I. 
 on  Rev.  ch.  4,  v.  6,7  ;  and  ch.  6,  v.  1 — 8.  See  als® 
 Appendix,  Note  EE. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 85 
 
 John  by  the  first  living  Creature ,  it  will 
 be  found  to  predescribe  a  period  of 
 Conquest  and  extensive  Dominion ,  during 
 which  Courage ,  Generosity ,  and  invincible 
 Strength ,  the  qualities  of  the  Lion,  were 
 particularly  conspicuous. 
 
 w  The  second  was  like  a  Calf  ”  in  allu¬ 
 sion  to  the  Simplicity ,  Humility ,  and  virtu¬ 
 ous  Contentment ,  which  are  inseparable 
 from  genuine  Christianity ;  but,  relating  to 
 the  period  to  which  it  directed  the  eye  of 
 the  prophet,  it  will  foreshew  a  season,  of 
 which  a  Want  of  Ambition,  a  Disregard  of 
 superfluous  Grandeur ,  and  a  cheerful  Acqui¬ 
 escence  in  moderate  Enjoyments ,  would  be 
 some  of  the  prevailing  features;  and  when, 
 consequently,  the  exertions  of  Power,  and 
 the  extent  of  Dominion  would  be  greatly 
 diminished. 
 
 The  third  of  these  hieroglyphical  Beings 
 “  had  a  face  as  a  Man  and  was  designed 
 to  indicate  the  Humanity  and  moral  Good¬ 
 ness,  which  should  invariably  characterize 
 the  true  Church  of  God.  But  it  also 
 served  to  demonstrate,  that  the  period, 
 which  was  to  be  denoted  by  it,  was  to 
 Ret.  IV.  7* 
 
84 
 
 LECTURE  VUE 
 
 be  rendered  remarkable  by  the  exercise  of 
 Jus/ ice,  Mercy,  and  all  other  human  Virtues. 
 
 The  fourth  44  was  like  a  flying  Eagle  ’ 
 —descriptive  of  strong  Ambition ,  and  an 
 adventurous  Flight  in  quest  of  the  Objects 
 which  had  excited  it.  As  an  emblem 
 applied  to  the  Church,  it  will  well  exhibit 
 its  continual  Aspirations,. and  strenuous  En¬ 
 deavours,  after  44  things  that  are  high  and 
 44  heavenly  but,  referring  to  a  future  pe¬ 
 riod  of  history,  it  will  equally  well  adapt 
 itself  to  a  lawless  Thirst  of  supreme  Power , 
 and  to  the  Cruelty ,  Rajiacity,  and  Violence , 
 which  would  be  generally  exercised  in  or¬ 
 der  to  obtain  it. 
 
 8 — 11.  To  finish  this  part  of  the  de¬ 
 scription,  these  lively  Symbols  of  44  the 
 44  Holy  Church  throughout  all  the  world ” 
 are  sublimely  represented,  as  engaged 
 without  ceasing  in  that  happy  and  glori¬ 
 ous  employment,  which  will  hereafter  oc¬ 
 cupy  it  for  ever  ;  in  acknowledging,  with 
 the  most  rapturous  gratitude,  and  the 
 most  profound  humility,  that  to  God 
 alone  is  to  be  ascribed  every  thing  that  is 
 great  and  good  in  the  Universe,  that  all 
 his  works  are  done  in  truth  and  judg- 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 83 
 
 ment,  and  that  the  dispensations  of  his 
 
 providence  are  the  never-failing  proofs  of 
 
 his  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness. 
 
 # 
 
 “  And  they  *  cease  not  day  and  night, 
 44  saying,  Holy,  Holy,  Holy  f,  Lord  God 
 44  Almighty,  which  was,  and  which  is,  and 
 44  which  is  to  come.”  And  while  all  the 
 pious  affections,  and  moral  excellencies 
 of  the  Church,  are  thus  called  forth  in 
 praise  of  the  Great  Creator — 44  when  those 
 44  living  Creatures  give  glory,  and  honour, 
 44  and  thanks,  to  Him  that  sitteth  on  the 
 44  throne,  who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  the 
 44  four -and- twenty  Elders” — those  inspired 
 sources  from  which,  under  the  assisting 
 influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  these  emi¬ 
 nent  qualifications  were  derived — concur 
 throughout  in  celebrating  the  same  divine 
 Original :  they  44  fall  down  before  Him 
 44  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  worship 
 44  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever  and, 
 in  evident  acknowledgment  that 'His  44  is 
 44  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the 
 44  glory  and  that  to  Him  alone  could 
 
 *  The  four  living  Creatures. 
 
 t  Such  also  was  the  sublime  exclamation  of  one  t)f 
 the  Seraphim  described  by  Isaiah,  ch.6,  V.  3. 
 
 Rev.  IV.  8—11. 
 
86 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 be  justly  ascribed  every  Victory  they  had 
 obtained,  or  should  in  future  obtain,  either 
 over  “  the  unruly  wills  and  affections  of 
 “  sinful  men/'  or  over  their  great  “  Adver- 
 “  sary  the  Devil “  they  cast  their  Crowns 
 <{  before  the  throne,  saying,  Thou  art 
 “  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory  and 
 “  honour,  amFpower  ;  for  Thou  hast  cre- 
 “  ated  all  things  ;  and  for  Thy  pleasure 
 “  they  are,  and  were  created. 
 
 1.  The  Scene  however,  is  still  incom¬ 
 plete  ;  for  no  Revelation  had  hitherto  been 
 made  to  the  prophet,  concerning  the  pe¬ 
 riods  to  be  afterwards  pointed  out  by  the 
 four  living  Creatures,  or  any  other  successive 
 portions  of  duration.  “  The  holy  Catho¬ 
 lic  Church/'  although  it  derived  its  prin¬ 
 ciples  from  the  most  sacred  sources,  and 
 was  adorned  with  all  the  illustrious  quali¬ 
 ties  above  enumerated,  would  still  have 
 wanted  one  essential  requisite  for  the  per¬ 
 petual  confirmation  of  its  Faith,  and  se¬ 
 curity  of  its  Obedience.  To  supply  this 
 deficiency,  a  Volume  of  Prophecy,  which 
 should  answer  the  purpose  of  a  continued 
 Series  of  Miracles,  by  the  particular  De¬ 
 scriptions  it  would  afford  of  the  Events  of 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 87 
 
 after  Ages,  is  brought  forward  to  view; 
 and  adequate  means  are  provided  for 
 the  gradual  Discovery  of  its  Contents. 
 4t  1  saw/’  says  St.  John,  “  in  the  right 
 “  hand  of  him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  a 
 **  Book  written  within,  and  on  the  outside, 
 ce  sealed  with  seven  Seals.”  It  seemed  to 
 be  a  Volume,  consisting  of  seven  distinct 
 Parts;  which  were  bound  up  together  in 
 a  certain  determinate  Order ;  and  sealed  in 
 such  a  manner,  that  each  might  be  opened 
 according  to  that  Order ,  without  unsealing 
 any  of  those  which  followed-  This  figure 
 therefore  beautifully  represents  the  succes¬ 
 sion  of  times ;  and  the  profound  ignorance 
 that  must  inevitably  envelop  all  the 
 events  of  futurity ,  any  otherwise  than 
 as  the  Divine  Being  may  be  pleased  pre¬ 
 viously  to  reveal  them.  All  these  things 
 are  in  His  hands,  to  be  disposed  of  ac¬ 
 cording  to  his  own  Will ;  and  therefore, 
 in  this  Vision,  the  book  is  seen  “  in  the 
 “  Bight  Hand  of  Him,  that  sat  on  the 
 “  Throne.” 
 
 4 — 5.  The  solicitude  and  laudable  cu¬ 
 riosity,  which  should  excite  the  Church  of 
 Rev.  V.  1 — 7. 
 
83 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 Christ,  in  every  age,  to  know  tho  e  re¬ 
 vealed  things  of  futurity,  which  may  most 
 nearly  concern  her  own  welfare  and  inte¬ 
 rests,  is  here  very  impressively  denoted  by 
 the  correspondent  feelings  of  St.  John. 
 Seeing  that  sacred  Book  produced,  which 
 he  expected  would  contain  a  description 
 of  the  various  fortunes  that  would  befal 
 her  through  all  succeeding  ages,  he  was 
 transported  with  a  vehement  desire  to 
 view  its  contents ;  and  “  wept  much/* 
 because  he  saw,  at  first,  no  possible  means 
 of  attaining  his  object.  In  this  respect, 
 then,  as  well  as  in  every  other,  throughout 
 this  wonderful  scene  of  allegorical  repre¬ 
 sentation,  he  stands  forward  as  an  emi¬ 
 nent  Type  of  the  faithful  Members  of  the 
 Christian  Church,  through  all  the  ages, 
 and  in  all  those  parts  of  the  world,  con¬ 
 cerning  which  he  has  written  any  predic¬ 
 tions.  The  concern ,  which  he  felt  on  the 
 present  occasion,  it  was  natural  for  them 
 to  feel.  The  joyful  devotion ,  with  which 
 he  embraced  the  means  of  becoming 
 acquainted,  though,  as  it  were,  only 
 66  through  a  glass,  darkly/’  with  the  lead¬ 
 ing  events  of  futurity,  is  analogous  to 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 89 
 
 that,  with  which  they  should  apply  their 
 minds  to  the  study  of  that  “  Revelation,” 
 wind)  he  has  been  the  means  of  transmit¬ 
 ting.  And  what  he  saw,  only  in  allegory 
 and  vision,  they  were  to  behold  in  actual 
 accomplishment. 
 
 2 — ?•  But  no  created  Being  in  “  the 
 “  lieaven,  or  on  the  Earth,  or  under  the 
 “  Earth,  was  able  to  open  the  Book/’  or 
 “  even  to  look  thereon,”  so  as  to  understand 
 its  various  import.  It  was  reserved  to  be 
 the  peculiar  prerogative  of  Him,  to  whom 
 “  all  power  was  given  in  Heaven  and  in 
 “  Earth”—  of  “  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of 
 “  Judah,  the  Root  of  David,”  even  of  “  the 
 “  Lamb  that  had  been  slain,” — “  to  take 
 “  the  Book  out  of  the  right  hand  of  him 
 “  that  sat  on  the  throne,”  “to  open  it, 
 “  and  to  loose  the  seven  Seals  thereof.” 
 
 And  this  Circumstance  serves  also  to 
 complete  the  sublime  and  magnificent 
 Description,  which  St.John  had  already 
 begun,  of  the  Nature  and  Attributes  of 
 God.  We  have  seen  an  emblematical 
 Representation  of  The  Father,  as  seated 
 upon  the  throne  of  Universal  Dominion; 
 and  of  7 he  Holy  Ghost ,  as  enlightening, 
 Rev.  V.  2 — J . 
 
90 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 purifying,  and  animating  the  Church : 
 and  to  these  is  now  added  the  second  Per¬ 
 son  in  the  “  holy,  blessed,  and  glorious 
 “  Trinity,"  in  His  character  of  “  Re¬ 
 deemer”  and  the  Revealer  of  the  future 
 Dispensations  of  divine  Providence. 
 
 8 — 10.  And  his  acting  in  this  last-men¬ 
 tioned  Capacity  is  admirably  described, 
 as  exciting  to  the  utmost  the  Veneration 
 and  Gratitude  of  the  Church  Universal. 
 Their  praises  and  thanksgivings  had  be¬ 
 fore  this  been  of  a  more  general  purport; 
 in  pious  confession  of  the  transcendent 
 Nature  of  God,  and  of  the  blessings  which 
 had  hitherto  flowed  from  his  goodness. 
 But  this  inestimable  Gift  of  Heaven,  this 
 additional  Revelation,  one  of  the  pur¬ 
 chases  of  Redemption,  constitutes  the 
 theme  of  their  most  rapturous  delight ; 
 and  “  puts  a  new  Song  into  their  Mouth." 
 “  When  he  had  taken  the  book,  the 
 fi‘  four  living  Creatures,  and  the  four-and- 
 “  twenty  Elders,  fell  down  before  the 
 “  Lamb,  having  each  of  them  harps"  to 
 accompany  their  chorus  of  praise,  “  and 
 “  golden  vials  full  of  odours,  which  are 
 st  the  prayers  of  the  Saints.  And  they 
 fi<  sang  a  new  Song ,  saying — Thou  art  wor- 
 
LECTURE  VIU. 
 
 91 
 
 “  thy  to  take  the  Book,  and  to  open  the 
 “  seven  Seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain, 
 “  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 
 “  blood,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
 “  and  people,  and  nation.  And  hast  made 
 “  us  unto  our  God  Kings  and  Priests  ;  and 
 “  we  shall  reign  on  the  Earth/' 
 
 11 — 12.  But  these  are  things,  which  the 
 very  Angels  also  “  desired  to  look  into 
 for  they  are  “  all  ministering  Spirits,  sent 
 “  forth  to  minister  for  them,  who  shall  be 
 “  heirs  of  Salvation/'  And,  for  this  rea¬ 
 son,  they  are  likewise  represented  as  tak¬ 
 ing  part  of  the  same  sacred  Service.  “  I 
 “  beheld,"  says  St.  John,  “  and  I  heard 
 “  the  voice  of  many  Angels  round  about 
 “  the  throne,  and  the  living  Creatures, 
 “  and  the  Elders :  and  the  number  of 
 “  them  was  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
 “  sand, even  thousands  of  thousands : say- 
 “  ing,  Worthy  is  the  Lamb,  that  was  slain, 
 “  to  receive  Power,  and  Riches,  and  Wis- 
 <4  dom,  and  Strength,  and  Honour,  and 
 “  Glory,  and  Blessing/'  The  Dilference 
 between  this  Doxology  and  the  former 
 is  immediately  apparent.  Having  never 
 
 Rev.  V.  8—12. 
 
93 
 
 LECTURE  Vllf. 
 
 fallen  from  that  State  of  Rectitude  and 
 Happiness  in  which  they  were  created, 
 these  blessed  Spirits  could  only  celebrate 
 the  wonders  of  Redemption,  as  they  had 
 been  exemplified  in  favour  of  the  human 
 Race.  They  could  not  say,  with  the  four 
 living  Creatures ,  and  the  four-and- twenty 
 Elders ,  that  they  had  been  44  redeemed  to 
 44  God  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  ”  and 
 hence  arises  another  Evidence  in  proof, 
 that  these  symbolical  Representations  are 
 applicable  exclusively  to  those  who  had 
 been  thus  redeemed ;  that  is — to  44  the  holy 
 44  Church  throughout  all  the  world.” 
 
 13 — 14.  But  every  created  Being  must 
 contribute  its  portion,  in  some  way  or 
 other,  to  the  glory  of  the  Creator;  for  all 
 his  works  are  formed  to  praise  him  * :  and 
 therefore,  upon  this  further  and  more  ex¬ 
 plicit  Revelation  of  the  future  Dispensa¬ 
 tions  of  God,  by  which  these  excellent 
 purposes  will  be  effected,  the  whole  Cre¬ 
 ation — every  thing  at  all  connected  with 
 the  scenes  about  to  be  brought  to  pass — is 
 represented,  with  peculiar  sublimity,  as 
 uniting  in  the  acknowledgments  inspired 
 
 *  Psalm  145,  v.  10;  and  150,  v.  6. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 93 
 
 by  this  great  occasion.  44  And  every  Crea- 
 “  ture,”  says  the  Prophet,  44  which  is  in 
 44  the  Heaven,  and  on  the  Earth,  and 
 44  under  the  Earth,  and  on  the  Sea,  and 
 44  all  things  that  are  in  them  *,  I  heard 
 44  saying — To  Him  that  sittetli  upon  the 
 44  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  be  the 
 14  Praise,  and  the  Honour,  and  the  Glory, 
 44  and  the  Power,  for  ever  and  ever.”  And 
 the  holy  Church  Universal  bears  also  its 
 accustomed  part  in  this  transcendent  act 
 of  Adoration — 44  the  four  living  Creatures 
 44  said,  Amen.  And  the  four-and-twenty 
 
 *  If  we  consider  the  emblematical  import  of  11  the 
 “  Heaven of  l(  the  Earth ,”  and  of  44  the  Scai” — we 
 shall  then  attain  the  full  scope  of  this  allegorical  and 
 beautiful  description:  we  shall  be  led  to  infer  from  it, 
 that  44  The  Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  Men,” 
 although  “  they  mean  not  so,  neither  doth  their  heart 
 “  think  so that  it  is,  therefore,  their  public  proceed¬ 
 ings,  not  excepting  even  those  that  result  from  the  ma¬ 
 chinations  of  his  most  determined  enemies,  which  he 
 so  overrules  by  his  Providence,  as  eventually  to  bring 
 good  out  of  evil ;  and  to  evince,  that  II  i  s  only  can  be 
 44  the  praise ,  and  the  honour,  and  the  glory,  and  the 
 44  power.” 
 
 ^  These  are  respectively  explained  in  Note  +,  page  67  : 
 Note  *,  page  101  ;  and  Note  *,  page  75. 
 
 Rev.  V.  13—14, 
 
94 
 
 LECTURE  VIIL 
 
 “  Elders  fell  down,  and  worshipped  Him 
 “  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever/' 
 
 The  preceding  Observations  contain  a 
 humble  attempt  to  analyze  the  sublime 
 and  impressive  Imagery,  with  which  this 
 Series  of  Prophecy  commences :  and  the 
 reasons,  which  have  induced  me  to  offer 
 them,  arise  out  of  the  very  nature  of  the 
 subject. 
 
 For,  first,  the  Characters  thus  denoted 
 are  some  of  the  principal ,  in  the  grand 
 Representation  which  follows  ;  and  with¬ 
 out  a  proper  understanding  of  them,  the 
 Events  themselves,  in  which  they  are  con¬ 
 cerned,  cannot  be  so  clearly  compre¬ 
 hended. 
 
 And,  in  the  second  place,  I  have  never 
 yet  seen  any  Explanation  of  them,  which 
 was  consistent  in  all  its  parts,  or  agreeable 
 throughout  to  the  general  Expression  of 
 the  symbolical  Language  of  Scripture  ;  or 
 which,  in  consequence  of  some  miscon¬ 
 struction,  did  not  lead  to  some  neglect  of 
 Evidence  which  might  have  been  adduced, 
 pr  to  some  misapplication  in  respect  to 
 Events.  It  remains  to  be  seen,  how  far 
 what  has  been  now  advanced  has  a  ten- 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 95 
 
 dency  to  remedy  some  of  these  last  men¬ 
 tioned  inconveniences. 
 
 1 — 2.  The  Opening  of  the  first  Seal  in 
 this  stupendous  Volume  is  announced  to 
 St.John  by  th  e  first  living  Creature.  This 
 was  like  a  Lion ;  and  denoted  a  period  of 
 Conquest  and  Renown.  “  And  I  saw,”  says 
 the  Prophet,  “  and  behold,  a  white  Horse  : 
 “  and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  Bow ;  and 
 “  a  Crown  was  given  unto  him  :  and  he 
 “  went  forth  conquering ,  and  that  he  might 
 “  conquer.”  Such  was  the  figurative  de¬ 
 scription  contained  under  this  Seal :  and 
 none  can  better  correspond  with  the  par¬ 
 ticulars  it  was  designed  to  express. 
 
 The  white  Horse  was  a  symbol  of  Vic - 
 tory ;  and  was  used  as  such  by  the  Ro¬ 
 mans,  to  adorn  the  triumphs  of  their  most 
 illustrious  Commanders. 
 
 The  Bow  was  the  most  ancient  and  uni¬ 
 versal  of  all  the  implements  of  War;  and 
 was  especially  used  by  the  Barbarians  in 
 the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  and  by  the 
 Parthians,  and  some  other  warlike  people 
 in  Asia,  over  whom,  it  may  be  presumed, 
 the  Conquests  here  foretold  were  to  be 
 obtained. 
 
 Rey.  VI.  1—2. 
 
96 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 And  “  the  Crown”  which  was  given  to 
 the  Rider,  was  an  Emblem  both  of  Tri¬ 
 umph  and  Supreme  Dominion. 
 
 What  space  of  time,  then,  soon  after 
 the  delivery  of  this  prophecy,  answered 
 entirely  to  these  characteristics  ?  At  the 
 decease  of  Augustus,  and,  indeed,  at  the 
 very  time  when  the  Revelation  was 
 written,  the  boundaries  of  the  Roman 
 Empire  were  the  Euphrates  to  the  East ; 
 and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  West ;  the 
 Danube,  and  the  Rhine,  on  the  North  ; 
 and  Arabia,  the  Cataracts  of  the  Nile,  the 
 Deserts  of  Africa,  and  the  extensive  chain 
 of  Atlas,  on  the  South  *.  It  might  rea- 
 
 *  See  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  14,  p.  179,  (K);  as  also 
 the  luminous  exposition  of  Mr.  Gibbon,  relative  to  this 
 subject;  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  1,  p.  1 — 5.  Having 
 spoken  of  the  Moderation  of  Augustus,  in  confining 
 the  Empire  within  the  limits  above  described,  he  says — 
 “  Happily  for  the  repose  of  Mankind,  the  moderate 
 “  system  recommended  by  the  wisdom  of  Augustus, 
 te  was  adopted  by  the  fears  and  vices  of  his  immediate 
 “  successors.  Engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  or 
 “  in  the  exercise  of  tyranny,  the  first  Ctesars  seldom 
 “  shewed  themselves  to  the  Armies,  or  to  the  Pro- 
 “  vinces ;  nor  were  they  disposed  to  suffer,  that  those 
 “  triumphs  which  their  indolence  neglected,  should  be 
 “  usurped  by  the  conduct  and  valour  of  their  Lieute- 
 “  nants.  The  military  fame  of  a  Subject  was  con?i- 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 sonably  be  supposed,  that  such  limits  as 
 these  would  be  amply  sufficient  to  gratify 
 the  ambition  of  any  prince,  not  affecting 
 universal  sway  ;  for  they  comprehended 
 the  best  and  most  flourishing  parts  of  the 
 then  known  world.  Yet,  notwithstanding 
 all  this,  the  prediction  asserts,  that  One 
 should  arise,  who  should  “  go  forth  con- 
 “  quering,”  and  “  for  the  express  purpose 
 “  that  he  might  conquer*.” 
 
 “  dered  as  an  insolent  invasion  of  the  Imperial  Prero- 
 “  gative  ;  and  it  became  the  duty,  as  well  as  interest,  of 
 “  every  Roman  General,  to  guard  the  frontiers  intrusted 
 u  to  his  care,  without  aspiring  to  Conquests,  which 
 “  might  prove  no  less  fatal  to  himself  than  to  the  van- 
 
 quished  Barbarians .” 
 
 #  ’E|nXSe  vixwr,  nai  hat  vunvn. — “  Tiie  first  period,” 
 says  Bishop  Newton,  “  commenceth  with  Vespasian 
 “  and  Titus,  who,  from  commanding  in  the  East,  were 
 “advanced  to  the  Empire.” They  went  forth  to 
 il  conquer  ;  for  they  made  an  entire  conquest  of  J  udma, 
 “  destroying  Jerusalem,  and  carried  the  Jews  captive 
 “  into  all  Nations.7 
 
 Independently  of  the  Objection  that  arises  against 
 this  interpretation,  from  the  time  here  spoken  of  (for 
 that  was  certainly  antecedent  to  the  date  of  these  pro¬ 
 phecies),  there  is  another,  which  presents  itself  in  the 
 very  words,  as  above  cited,  in  which  this  prophecy  is 
 expressed.  For  these  imply,  that  the  person  to  whom 
 
 Rev.  VI.  1,  2, 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 II 
 
98 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 In  coincidence  with  this,  there  ap¬ 
 peared,  after  the  Death  of  Domitian, 
 two  Emperors,  Nerva  and  Trajan  ;  under 
 the  latter  of  whom  the  Roman  Empire 
 attained  its  utmost  limit  of  Grandeur  and 
 Extent.  But  Nerva  himself  was  made 
 instrumental  tp  the  fulfilment  of  the  pro¬ 
 phecy  ;  for,  in  the  year  97,  he  adopted 
 Trajan ;  who  accordingly  succeeded  to 
 
 they  relate,  should  not  only  effect  new  and  extensive 
 conquests  ;  but  that  he  should  go  forth  for  the  express 
 purpose  that  he  might  do  so.  But  what  new  conquest 
 did  Vespasian,  or  Titus,  achieve,  in  the  reduction  of 
 the  Jewish  State?  Judaea  had  been  long  a  province  of 
 the  Empire;  and  when  its  inhabitants  were  driven  into 
 war,  partly  by  their  own  infatuation,  and  partly  by  the 
 oppressions  exercised  upon  them  by  their  own  Procu 
 rators ;  the  sole  object  of  the  war,  on  the  part  of  the 
 Romans,  was  the  reducing  of  this  rebellious  pro¬ 
 vince  again  to  obedience.  Here  was  no  new  conquest 
 achieved,  no  new  territory  acquired,  which  the  Empire 
 had  not  been  before  possessed  of.  Here  was  nothing 
 to  correspond  with  the  very  words  in  w'hich  the  predic¬ 
 tion  is  conveyed. — See  Bishop  Newton’s  Dissertation 
 on  the  Prophecies,  XXIV.  Part  I.  on  Rev.  ch. 
 v.  1,  2. 
 
 The  Reader  may  consult  likewise,  what  Mr.  King 
 has  written  upon  this  subject,  in  his  “  Morsels  of 
 **  Criticism,”  Vol.  2,  p.  54 — 57  ;  and  Vol.  3,  p.  330, 
 «dit.  2,  octavo. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 99 
 
 the  throne,  on  the  death  of  his  prede¬ 
 cessor,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  98*. 
 
 And  he  was,  without  dispute,  the  best 
 Commander  of  his  age,  and  equal  to  the 
 greatest  Generals  of  Antiquity  ;  and  his 
 Conquests  kept  pace  with  his  Talents. 
 Spurning  the  former  boundaries  of  the 
 Empire,  he  became  the  first  that  had  ever 
 triumphed  over  the  Dacians  ;  and  he  at 
 length  reduced  their  extensive  country  to 
 the  state  of  a  Roman  Province.  And,  to¬ 
 gether  with  the  Dacians,  he  subdued 
 several  nations  that  were  in  alliance  with 
 them  :  so  that  the  fame  of  his  victories  ex¬ 
 tended  to  very  remote  regions,  even  as  far 
 as  India,  for  he  received  ambassadors  from 
 thence.  He  effected  the  entire  reduction 
 of  Arabia  Petrsea  ;  he  also  made  himself 
 completely  master  of  Armenia  ;  and  re¬ 
 ceived  the  voluntary  submissions  of  the 
 kings  of  Edessa,  Sarmatia,  Iberia,  the 
 Bosphorus,  and  Colchis.  In  Scythia,  he 
 gave  a  new  king  to  the  Albani,and  a  new 
 prince  to  the  Apsilaj.  He  next  reduced 
 
 *  Am  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  15,  p.  104 — 147  ;  Decline 
 and  Fall  of  The  Roman  Empire,  v.  1,  p.  8—10. 
 
 Ret.  VI.  1,  2. 
 
 U  2 
 
100 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 Assyria ;  obtained  possession  of  the  rich 
 and  noble  Countries  of  Parthia  and  Chal- 
 dsea;  and  brought  much  of  Arabia  Felix 
 under  Subjection.  According  to  Eutro- 
 pius,  indeed,  he  subdued  all  the  Countries 
 lying  between  Babylon  and  India  * **. 
 
 Such  is  a  brief  Epitome  of  the  Con¬ 
 quests  of  Trajan ;  with  which,  in  truth, 
 those  of  any  former  Emperor  can  by  no 
 means  be  put  in  competition  :  and,  com¬ 
 bined  with  the  Magnanimity,  the  Gene¬ 
 rosity,  and  Bravery,  by  which  he  was  also 
 most  eminently  distinguished,  they  fully 
 verify  the  prophetical  Imagery  contained 
 under  the  first  Seal. 
 
 3,  4.  Upon  the  death  of  this  illustri¬ 
 ous  Sovereign,  in  the  year  118,  the  scene 
 became  greatly  changed.  Then  suc¬ 
 ceeded  the  Events  prefigured  under  the 
 second  Seal ;  the  opening  of  which  was 
 
 *  “  He  enjoyed  the  honour,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  “  of 
 u  being  the  first ,  as  he  was  the  last,  of  the  Roman 
 *'  Generals,  who  ever  navigated  the  Persian  Gulph. 
 “  Ilis  fleets  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Arabia  ;  and  Trajan 
 H  vainly  flattered  himself,  that  he  was  approaching  to- 
 if  wards  the  confines  of  India.” — Eutropius  and  Sex- 
 st  tus  Rufus  have  endeavoured  to  perpetuate  the  ilUtn 
 
 **  sion 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 *01 
 
 announced  by  the  second  living  Creature. 
 This  was  “  like  a  Calf and  denoted  a 
 time,  during  which  Insensibility  to  the 
 allurements  of  Ambition,  and  Content¬ 
 ment  with  moderate  Acquisitions,  should 
 principally  characterize  the  ruling  Power. 
 “  And  there  went  out,”  says  St.  John, 
 M  another  horse  that  was  red ;  and  it  was 
 “  given  to  him  that  sat  thereon  to  take 
 “  Peace  from  the  earth  *  and  that 
 
 *  There  is  a  memorable  passage  in  the  history,  to 
 which  I  have  so  often  to  acknowledge  my  obligations, 
 which  will  point  out,  with  admirable  perspicuity,  the 
 Extent  of  the  Surface  that  is  here  alluded  to;  and  will 
 explain  several  particulars  in  the  Apocalypse,  the  eluci¬ 
 dation  of  which  might  otherwise  be  attended  with  ex¬ 
 treme  difficulty. 
 
 After  a  correct  and  very  valuable  display  of  the  terri¬ 
 torial  dominions,  comprehended  within  the  limits  of  the 
 Roman  Empire,  the  learned  historian  proceeds  thus — 
 
 “  This  long  enumeration  of  Provinces,  whose  broken 
 “  fragments  have  formed  so  many  powerful  kingdoms, 
 “  might  almost  induce  us  to  forgive  the  vanity  or  igno- 
 iC  ranee  of  the  Ancients.  Dazzled  with  the  extensive 
 li  Sway,  the  irresistible  Strength,  and  the  real  or  affected 
 “  Moderation  of  the  Emperors,  they  permitted  them- 
 “  selves  to  despise ,  and  sometimes  to  forget,  the  outlying 
 “  Countries ,  which  had  been  left  in  the  enjoyment  of  a 
 
 Rev.  VI.  3,  4. 
 
102 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 “  they  should  kill  one  another  :  and  there 
 “  was  given  unto  him  a  great  Sword  ” 
 
 “  barbarous  Independence  ;  and  they  gradually  usurped 
 ((  the  licence  of  confounding  the  Homan  Monarchy 
 c 6  with  the  Globe  of  the  Earth."  Decline  and  Fall, 
 vol.  1,  p.  43. 
 
 1.  Hence  it  appears,  that  this  mighty  Empire 
 was  confounded  by  the  Ancients  with  u  the  Earth 
 “ itself and  that,  consequently,  when  St.John  sym¬ 
 bolized  the  Empire  under  that  Title ,  it  was  an  Image 
 which  was  perfectly  intelligible  to  learned  Christians 
 during  the  early  ages  of  the  Church,  as  indeed  it  is  to 
 us  at  the  present  time,  and  was  therefore  the  most  ap¬ 
 propriate  that  could  have  been  adopted. 
 
 Thus,  the  very  first  thing,  in  this  grand  development 
 of  the  future  operations  of  God,  is — the  Extent  of 
 the  Scale  on  which,  as  far  as  this  Revelation  details 
 them,  they  were  to  be  carried  on.  This  is  clearly  im¬ 
 plied  in  the  Volume  unfolded  by  the  opening  of  the 
 first  Seal . 
 
 2.  But  an  immediate  alteration  takes  place  under  the 
 second  Seal ;  in  consequence  of  which,  at  least  one  third 
 of  the  whole,  it  is  probable,  is  abandoned,  or  given  up 
 by  the  Ruling  Power:  so  that  the  Empire  is  intention¬ 
 ally  reduced  to  about  two  thirds  of  the  Extent  it  occu¬ 
 pied  at  the  death  of  Trajan. 
 
 3.  Another  Reduction  afterwards  took  place,  under 
 Valens  and  Valentinian  in  365,  in  which  the  Empire  was 
 resolved  into  two  distinct  parts,  under  two  independent 
 heads, 
 
 4.  So  that,  at  length,  the  great  Theatre,  on  which 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 103 
 
 The  red  Colour  of  the  horse,  in  this 
 vision,  is  the  lively  emblem  of  Slaughter 
 and  Devastation, 
 
 It  was  given  to  him  that  sat  thereon 
 u  to  take  peace  from  the  Earth  ”  that  is, 
 
 these  grand  Scenes  were  to  be  represented,  became 
 divided  into  three  parts  ;  each  of  which  might  very 
 properly  be  denominated  a  third  part  of  the  Extent  it 
 possessed,  at  the  close  of  the  period  denoted  under  the 
 first  Seal. 
 
 And  these  facts  will  serve  to  explain  very  clearly  the 
 import  of  all  those  passages  in  the  Apocalypse,  in 
 which  “  the  third  part”  of  the  Earth  is  espe¬ 
 cially  alluded  to.  See  Rev.  ch.  8,  v.  7,  8,  9;  10, 1 1,  12  ; 
 where  the  phrase  “  the  third  part,”  is  applied  to  the 
 Western  Empire,  to  its  political  Heaven,  and  to  the  va¬ 
 rious  other  particulars  it  involved;  and  Rev.  ch.  9*  v. 
 15,  18,  where  the  same  expression  is  applied  to  the 
 Empire  of  the  East, 
 
 5.  In  various  passages  of  the  Apocalypse,  we  meet 
 with  the  phrase — “  under  the  Earth,”  the  import  of 
 which  may  be  thus  explained.  a  The  Earth,”  beneath 
 its  political  Heaven ,  is  evidently  employed  by  St.  John 
 to  denote  the  Roman  people  generally  throughout  the 
 Empire,  including  those  also  who  had  obtained  the  im¬ 
 munities  of  Roman  Citizenship.  Those,  therefore,  that 
 are  mentioned  as  u  under  the  Earth,”  are  suoh  as  are 
 beneath  the  rank  of  Citizens, — Slaves,  with  whom  the 
 Empire  every  where  abounded.  See  Hev.  ch.  5,  v. 
 3,  13. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  3,  4. 
 
 II  4 
 
 * 
 
104 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 by  some  means  or  other,  to  be  the  occasion 
 of  much  Misery  and  Destruction  among 
 the  human  race,  throughout  the  limits  of 
 the  Roman  Empire.  And  one  consequence 
 of  this  permission  is  declared  to  be  the 
 mutual  Trucidation  of  those,  over  whom  it 
 was  granted. 
 
 Yet,  nevertheless,  great  attention  should 
 be  paid  by  the  supreme  Ruler  to  the  ad¬ 
 ministration  of  public  Justice  ;  for  there 
 45  was  given  unto  him  a  great  Sword  ”  the 
 well  known  representative  of  executive 
 Justice. 
 
 All  these  particulars  will  be  found  to 
 have  been  most  strikingly  combined  in 
 the  Reign  of  Adrian. 
 
 H  is  unambitious  Temper  was  evident 
 from  its  very  commencement.  He  had 
 no  sooner  succeeded  to  the  Empire,  than 
 he  resolved  to  abandon  all  the  Conquests 
 that  Trajan  had  made ;  and  he  accordingly 
 withdrew  his  forces  from  Armenia,  Meso¬ 
 potamia,  and  Assyria  ;  making  again  the 
 Euphrates  the  boundary  of  the  Roman 
 Dominions  towards  the  East*.  He  allowed 
 
 *  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  p„  15S,  See  Decline  and 
 pall,  vol  1,  p.  11,  12. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 105 
 
 the  Armenians  to  choose  themselves  a 
 King ;  and  the  Parthians,  to  recal  Coz- 
 rhoes,  who,  two  years  before,  had  been 
 driven  out  by  Trajan.  He  had  also  deter¬ 
 mined  to  relinquish  the  possession  of 
 Dacia  ;  but  that  intention  was  over-ruled. 
 He  ordered,  however,  the  famous  Bridge 
 which  his  predecessor  had  built  across 
 the  Danube,  to  facilitate  his  Conquests  in 
 the  North  of  Europe,  to  be  broken  down  ; 
 being  apprehensive  that  the  Barbarians 
 might  make  themselves  masters  of  it,  and 
 invade  the  Roman  territories.  Thus,  con¬ 
 tracting  his  views,  he  voluntarily  resigned 
 much  of  what  had  been  already  acquired  ; 
 and  rested  fully  satisfied  with  defending 
 that,  which  he  had  deemed  it  expedient  to 
 retain. 
 
 But  it  was,  notwithstanding,  given  to 
 him  “  to  take  peace  from  the  Earth  As 
 the  Roman  Empire  before  these  retrench¬ 
 ments  had  comprehended  by  far  the  great¬ 
 est  part  of  what  was  then  known  of  the 
 
 *  See  Mr.  King’s  interpretation  of  these  words,  in  his 
 “  Morsels  of  Criticism” — Vol.  2,  p.  45 — 50,  and  57 — 6'0, 
 edit.  2,  octavo. 
 
106 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 habitable  world,  so  we  shall  find,  that, 
 throughout  this  series  of  Revelation  it  is 
 generally  denominated  “  The  Earthy  This 
 was  a  term  which  was  borrowed  from  the 
 ideas,  that  were  very  commonly  enter¬ 
 tained  of  its  Extent ;  and  by  this  also  it 
 was  distinguished  from  the  System  of 
 established  Government  under  which  it 
 was  placed,  and  which  was  thence  deno¬ 
 minated  The  Heaven  This  being  pre¬ 
 mised,  it  will  be  easy  to  see,  how  truly 
 this  part  of  the  prophecy  has  been  ful¬ 
 filled. 
 
 The  cruel  and  suspicious  Temper  of 
 Adrian  was  the  cause  of  the  most  serious 
 Mischiefs  ;  and  of  such  as  his  friends ,  more 
 than  any  others,  had  reason  to  deplore  •f'. 
 
 *  See  Note  *,  page  101  ;  as  also  Note  f,  page  67. 
 
 *j-  Anc. Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  p.  1(31,  &c.  and  175.— 
 
 “  He  was  courteous  and  affable  towards  persons  of 
 11  all  ranks but  with  respect  to  his  friends ,  “  he  fre- 
 “  quently  entertained  them  at  his  table,  and  honoured 
 “  them  with  his  company  at  their  houses,  without  being 
 tl  invited,  conversing  with  them  more  like  a  private 
 “  person  than  a  prince.  He  refused  them  nothing 
 u  which  he  thought  reasonable  to  grant  them  ;  and  en- 
 “  liched  some,  who  had  never  asked  him  the  least  fa- 
 “  vour ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  gave  ear  to  slanderers, 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 107 
 
 But  his  indulgence  of  this  was  only  the 
 taking  of  Peace  from  the  Earth  on  a  small 
 scale ,  compared  with  the  effects  of  his  de¬ 
 terminations  in  respect  to  the  Jews.  He 
 had  thought  proper  to  send  a  Roman 
 Colony  to  Jerusalem  ;  to  call  that  City, 
 after  the  name  of  his  own  family,  iElia 
 Capitolina;  to  erect  a  temple  to  Jupiter 
 Capitolinus,  on  the  very  spot,  where  the 
 temple  of  God  had  formerly  stood  ;  and, 
 at  last,  to  publish  an  edict,  forbidding  the 
 Jews  to  circumcise  theii  children  *.  These 
 obnoxious  measures  impelled  them  to  a 
 revolt,  which  occasioned  one  of  the  blood¬ 
 iest,  and  most  vindictive  wars,  that  ever 
 was  waged.  Five  hundred  and  eighty 
 thousand  were  slain,  on  the  side  of  the 
 Jews  ;  besides  vast  multitudes,  who  pe¬ 
 rished  by  fire,  famine,  and  other  calami¬ 
 ties  ;  and  the  loss  of  the  Romans  was  in 
 
 u  and  believed  every  tale  that  was  whispered  against 
 “  them  ;  whence,  all  those  whom  he  had  most  favoured, 
 “  and  raised  to  the  highest  honours,  were  in  the  end 
 u  disgraced,  treated  by  him  as  enemies,  and  either  put 
 u  to  death,  or  banished.”  Ibid.  p.  156. 
 
 *  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  p.  170. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  3,  4. 
 
IDS 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 proportion  *.  So  truly,  for  the  sins  of 
 these  enemies  of  Christianity,  was  power 
 given  during  this  interval,  u  to  take  peace 
 “  from  the  Earth  ”  and  that,  with  the 
 most  determined  enmity,  and  the  most 
 inhuman  ferocity,  “  they  should  kill  one 
 St  another  ” 
 
 Yet  still,  the  period,  denoted  under  this 
 Seal,  was  to  be  marked  by  a  signal  adhe¬ 
 rence  to  the  Laws.  To  him  that  sat  on 
 the  horse  “  there  was  given  a  great  Sword  ” 
 analagous  to  a  Sword  of  State.  Adrian  is 
 accordingly  said  to  have  been  generally  a 
 very  impartial  executor  of  Justice ;  to 
 have  spent  much  of  his  time  in  visiting  the 
 provinces  of  his  Empire,  in  order  to  secure 
 its  more  equal  administration ;  and  to 
 have  narrowly  inquired  into  the  conduct 
 of  his  Officers,  discharging  them,  when 
 found  guilty  of  the  least  Injustice  or  Mis¬ 
 demeanour  And,  consistently  with  this 
 love  of  Justice,  he  showed,  on  all  occa- 
 
 *  Mod.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  13,  p.  149 — 156. 
 
 f  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  p.  1 62— 172,  where  an 
 account  of  his  travels,  and  of  the  generous  conduct 
 and  various  improvements  that  every  where  attended 
 itis  movements,  is  given  at  large. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 109 
 
 sions,  a  high  respect  for  the  Senate,  the 
 Consuls,  and  other  Magistrates,  adopting 
 no  public  measure  without  their  concur¬ 
 rence*.  And  that  there  might  be  one 
 universal  standard  of  reference,  and  such 
 as  should  be  of  perpetual  obligation,  he 
 ordered  a  collection  to  be  made  of  all  the 
 Laws  which  had  been  annually  published 
 by  the  Praetors  in  their  Edicts-f.  This  has 
 deservedly  rendered  his  name  famous  ; 
 and  proves,  in  connexion  with  the  preced¬ 
 ing  circumstances,  how  mindful  he  was, 
 in  the  performance  of  his  public  functions, 
 of  the  awful  Charge  with  which  he  was 
 invested. 
 
 This  Emperor  died  in  139;  and  with 
 his  reign  closed  the  period,  the  emblema¬ 
 tical  representation  of  which  is  included 
 under  the  second  Seal. 
 
 *  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  p.  157* 
 t  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  p.  167.  This  compila¬ 
 tion  was  called  Edictum  perpetuum  “  bacause  it  was 
 intended  to  continue  in  force  for  ever,  to  be  as  a  body 
 “  of  standing  Laws,  to  prevent  the  great  confusion  oc- 
 «  casioned  by  the  new  Edicts,  and  to  serve  as  a  guide 
 “  and  rule  in  the  administration  of  Justice  throughout 
 “  the  whole  Empire.” 
 
110  LECTUHE  VIII. 
 
 5,  6.  66  And  when  the  Lamb  opened  the 
 “  third  Seal,”  says  St.  John,  “  I  heard  the 
 *4  third  living  Creature  say,  Come  and  see. 
 “  And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a  black  horse ;  and 
 “  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  Balance  in  his 
 “  hand.  And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  ?nidst 
 “  ofthe  four  living  Creatures  say — A  mea- 
 “  sure  of  wheat  for  a  penny,  and  three 
 “  measures  of  barley  for  a  penny  ;  and 
 “  (see  that)  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and  the 
 “  wine." 
 
 The  third  living  Creature  “  had  a  face 
 “  as  a  Man  and  denoted  Humamity , 
 Beneficence ,  and  moral  Goodness ,  in  the 
 ruling  Power,  during  the  period  it  pointed 
 out. 
 
 The  black  Colour  of  the  horse  indicated 
 that  it  would  be  a  season  of  Privation,  Dis¬ 
 tress ,  and  Mourning . 
 
 The  Balance ,  nevertheless,  in  the  hand 
 of  the  Rider,  shewed,  that  it  would  also  b(# 
 distinguished  by  all  the  exactness  of  Dis¬ 
 tributive  Justice. 
 
 And  consistent  with  these  symbols  was 
 the  Voice  from  the  midst  of  the  Throne  (and 
 which  therefore  argued  peculiarly  a  divine 
 Dispensation)  announcing  a  dearth  of  the 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 Ill 
 
 necessaries  of  life,  and  the  necessity  of 
 securing  as  far  as  possible  its  primary 
 comforts. 
 
 The  interval  here  prefigured  had  its 
 commencement  with  the  reign  of  Antoni¬ 
 nus  Pius,*  and  concluded  with  that  of  his 
 successor  Marcus  Aurelius. 
 
 No  Monarch,  perhaps,  ever  sustained  a 
 higher  character  than  each  of  these  ;  and 
 it  is  sufficient  barely  to  mention  their 
 names,  in  order  to  be  reminded  of  every 
 thing  that  is  great  and  good  in  the  most 
 exalted  station.  Their  gentleness,  con¬ 
 descension,  and  facility  of  access  ;  their 
 frugal^,  temperance,  and  aversion  from 
 superfluous  pomp;  their  contempt  of 
 flattery,  sincerity  in  friendship,  and  scru¬ 
 pulosity  in  forming  it ;  their  ability  for 
 the  duties  of  their  high  office,  the  virtu¬ 
 ous  examples  they  placed  before  their 
 subjects,  their  conscientious  respect  for 
 
 #  For  a  particular  account  of  the  distinguishing 
 events  and  circumstances,  attending  the  reigns  of  these 
 two  excellent  monarch*,  consult  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol. 
 15,  p.  Ib3 — -205,  for  that  of  Antoninus  Pius,  and  p.  206 
 -—246,  for  that  of  Marcus  Aurelius. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  5,  6. 
 
12 
 
 LECTURE  VUI. 
 
 the  laws,  and  observance  of  public  jus¬ 
 tice:  their  tender  concern  for  the  welfare 
 of  their  people,  and  pious  regard  to  the 
 religion  of  their  country — these  excel¬ 
 lences  may  justly  cause  them  to  be  ranked 
 among  the  very  best  of  Princes  *. 
 
 *  The  following  just  and  elegant  remarks  of  Mr* 
 Gibbon,  upon  the  reigns  of  Trajan,  Adrian,  and  Anto¬ 
 ninus  Pius,  will  give  additional  support  to  the  arrange¬ 
 ment  that  has  now  been  made,  in  the  distribution  of 
 these  reigns  respectively  among  the  three  first  seals  : 
 
 “  The  martial  and  ambitious  spirit  of  Trajan,  formed 
 4t  a  very  singular  contrast  with  the  moderation  of  his 
 “  successor.  The  restless  activity  of  Adrian  was  not  less 
 “  remarkable,  when  compared  writh  the  gentle  repose  of 
 “  Antoninus  Pius.  The  life  of  the  former  was  almost 
 u  a  perpetual  journey ;  and  as  he  possessed  the  various 
 “  talents  of  the  soldier,  the  statesman,  and  the  scholar, 
 u  he  gratified  his  curiosity  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty. 
 u  Careless  of  the  difference  of  seasons  and  of  climates, 
 t(  he  marched  on  foot,  and  bare-headed,  over  the  snows 
 “  of  Caledonia,  and  the  sultry  plains  of  the  Upper 
 u  Egypt ;  nor  was  there  a  province  of  the  empire, 
 u  which,  in  the  course  of  his  reign,  wras  not  honoured 
 “  with  the  presence  of  the  Monarch.  But  the  tranquil 
 “  life  of  Antoninus  Pius,  was  spent  in  the  bosom  of  Italy ; 
 “  and  during  the  twenty-three  years  that  he  directed 
 “  the  public  Administration,  the  longest  journies  of 
 “  that  amiable  Prince  extended  no  farther  than  from 
 “  his  palace  at  Rome,  to  the  retirement  of  his  Lanuvian 
 “  Villa.”  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  1,  p.  12. 
 
LECTURE  VIIL 
 
 113 
 
 Yet  their  reigns  were  rendered  si aoru- 
 
 o  o 
 
 larly  remarkable  by  the  misfortunes  of 
 their  people — such  misfortunes  as,  agree¬ 
 ably  to  the  prediction,  proceeded  not  from 
 the  Will  and  Agency  of  Man,  but  from 
 the  sovereign  Determinations  of  God. 
 
 The  symbols,  under  which  this  pro¬ 
 phecy  is  conveyed,  would  naturally  lead 
 us  to  expect  the  miseries  of  Famine  in 
 particular.  And,  agreeably  to  this,  in 
 the  year  155,  the  Tyber,  overflowing  his 
 banks,  laid  the  lower  parts  of  Rome,  as 
 well  as  a  vast  tract  of  adjacent  Country, 
 under  water.  This  destroyed,  to  a  dread¬ 
 ful  degree,  the  fruits  of  the  ground  ;  and 
 became  the  occasion  of  a  most  distressful 
 Dearth.  To  this  Inundation  succeeded  a 
 Fire ,  which  consumed  a  considerable  part 
 of  the  City  ;  and  destroyed  much  of  what 
 the  flood  had  spared.  Hence,  to  these 
 Calamities  at  Rome  was  added,  the  same 
 year,  a  Famine ,  which  swept  off  great  num¬ 
 bers  of  the  Inhabitants,  notwithstanding 
 every  precaution  had  been  adopted  by 
 the  Emperor,  to  have  Corn  conveyed  to 
 the  City  from  distant  parts.  In  this  ter- 
 
 Rev.  VI.  5,  6, 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 LECTURE  VIIL 
 
 rible  emergency,  the  price  of  the  neces¬ 
 saries  of  life  was  such,  that  the  poorest 
 people  could  not  literally  afford  to  live. 
 It  was,  in  effect,  “  a  Measure  of  Wheat  for 
 “  a  Penny,  and  three  Measures  of  Barley 
 “  for  a  Penny/’  But  a  Measure  being  the 
 daily  subsistence  of  a  labouring  man,  and 
 a  Denarms  the  only  wages  he  was  capa¬ 
 ble  of  earning,  the  Prophecy  most  fully 
 announces,  that  the  Dearth  and  Misery 
 were  to  be  extreme. 
 
 But 'it  was  also  under  these  circum¬ 
 stances,  that  the  affectionate  Regard  of 
 Antoninus  for  his  suffering  Subjects  shone 
 eminently  conspicuous.  It  was  a  favour¬ 
 ite  saying  with  him,  that  u  he  had  rather 
 “  save  one  Citizen,  than  destroy  a  thou- 
 M  sand  Enemies/1  And,  in  consistency 
 with  this,  he  moderated  most  of  the  im¬ 
 posts  and  tributes;  and  took  every  pos¬ 
 sible  means  to  prevent  extortion.  He 
 disposed  of  the  greatest  part  of  his  own 
 private  property,  which  was  immense,  in 
 order  to  relieve,  at  various  times,  the  ne¬ 
 cessities  of  the  poor  and  distressed  Citi¬ 
 zens:  and,  in  the  present  instance,  he  was 
 at  a  vast  expense,  in  having  Corn  con- 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 115 
 
 veyed,  from  distant  countries,  to  the  Seat 
 of  Indigence  and  Famine. 
 
 Thus  strikingly  did  the  events  of  his 
 reign  elucidate  the  emblems  by  which  it 
 was  foreshewn  !  Nor  were  those  of  the 
 succeeding  less  correspondent. 
 
 Aurelius  had  not  been  long  seated  on 
 the  throne,  when  another  dreadful  Inun¬ 
 dation  of  the  Tyber  caused  a  repetition 
 of  all  the  Miseries ,  that  had  been  experi¬ 
 enced  from  the  same  cause  under  the 
 preceding  reign.  It  destroyed  many  pri¬ 
 vate  houses,  and  public  edifices  in  the 
 City  it  carried  off  a  great  number  of  the 
 Inhabitants,  and  of  Cattle  ;  and  laid  under 
 water  the  neighbouring  Country  to  a  great 
 distance.  And  this  Inundation  was  fol¬ 
 lowed  by  a  general  Infection  of  the  air , 
 which  occasioned  a  great  mortality ;  it 
 was  also  the  means  of  producing  an  infi¬ 
 nite  number  of  Imectsy  which  destroyed 
 what  the  flood  had  spared,  and  caused  a 
 Famine  in  Rome. 
 
 These  calamities,  however,  like  the  for¬ 
 mer  of  the  same  kind,  were  greatly  alle¬ 
 viated  by  the  Humanity  and  Prudence  of 
 
 Ret,  VI.  5,  6, 
 
 l  2 
 
3 16 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 the  Emperor;  who,  at  his  own  expense, 
 supplied  the  City  with  Corn  ;  and,  with  a 
 noble  munificence,  compensated,  as  far  as 
 he  could,  the  losses  that  had  been  sus¬ 
 tained  by  his  people. 
 
 But  the  most  dreadful  by  far,  of  all  the 
 disastrous  Events,  that  happened  during 
 this  reign,  was — the  importation  of  the 
 Plague  from  Parthia,  by  the  Army  of 
 Lucius  Verus.  This  was  peculiarly  a 
 divine  Visitation,  and  verified  most  fully 
 the  symbol  of  Distress  and  Privation  at¬ 
 tached  to  this  period.  The  return,  in¬ 
 deed,  of  this  Army  from  the  East,  may 
 be  said  to  have  proved  fatal,  in  some 
 degree,  to  the  whole  world ;  “  for  it  car- 
 “  ried  the  plague  into  all  the  provinces 
 “  through  which  it  passed  so  that  the 
 infection  diffused  itself,  not  only  through 
 Itaty,  but  through  the  most  distant  Coun¬ 
 tries,  that  were  subject  to,  or  had  any 
 communication  with,  the  Romans.  It 
 raged  with  great  violence  for  several 
 years,  especially  in  Italy,  and  at  Rome, 
 where  it  carried  off  many  thousands,  and 
 among  the  rest,  great  numbers  of  illustri¬ 
 ous  persons.  Nor  did  it  come  unattended 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 117 
 
 by  other  evils  ;  for  it  was  followed  by  a 
 dreadful  Famine,  by  Earthquakes  and  i/z- 
 undations  in  various  parts. 
 
 Yet  under  this  complication  of  misery 
 were  the  Humanity  and  Beneficence  of 
 the  Emperor  again  conspicuous:  for  he 
 caused  such  of  the  common  people  as 
 died,  to  be  buried  at  his  own  expense  ; 
 and  enacted  some  laws,  in  respect  to  bu¬ 
 rials  and  sepulchres,  which  were  still  in 
 force  in  the  time  of  Dioclesian  *. 
 
 *  Anc.  Univ,  Hist.  Vol.  15,  p.  217-  Thus  far,  how¬ 
 ever,  notwithstanding  all  these  and  other  misfortunes, 
 the  Roman  Empire  had  been  preserved  from  any  de¬ 
 cline.  The  great  and  cumbrous  additions,  which  Tra¬ 
 jan  had  made  to  its  dominions,  having  been  resigned 
 by  his  successor,  the  System  of  Moderation  adopted 
 and  recommended  by  Augustus,  was  invariably  pursued 
 by  Adrian  and  the  two  following  Emperors  ;  and  the 
 general  conduct  of  these  princea  converted,  in  no  small 
 degree,  the  advantages  of  this  System  to  the  good  of 
 their  Subjects. 
 
 “  If  a  Man,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  were  called  to  fix 
 “  the  period  in  the  history  of  the  world,  during  which 
 “  the  condition  of  the  human  race  was  most  happy 
 “  and  prosperous,  he  would,  without  hesitation,  name 
 “  that,  which  elapsed  from  the  death  of  Domitian,  to 
 “  the  accession  of  Commodus.  The  vast  extent  of  the 
 “  Roman  Empire  was  governed  by  absolute  power,  un- 
 
 Ret.  VI.  5,  6. 
 
118 
 
 LECTURE  Vlll. 
 
 7 — 8.  Upon  the  death  of  this  Prince  in 
 the  year  181,  the  period  designated  under 
 the  fourth  Seal  had  its  commencement: 
 and  the  opening  of  this  part  of  the 
 Volume  was  announced  by  the  fourth 
 living  Creature.  This  “  was  like  a  flying 
 <f  Eagle  and  was  therefore  emblema¬ 
 tical  of  a  lawless  Ambition  to  attain  su¬ 
 preme  Elevation  ;  and  of  the  Cruelty , 
 Rapacity ,  and  Violence ,  with  which  such 
 attempts  would  be  attended  *. 
 
 "  der  the  guidance  of  virtue  and  wisdom.  The  Armies 
 “  were  restrained  by  the  firm  but  gentle  hand  of  four 
 te  successive  Emperors,  whose  characters  and  authority 
 a  commanded  involuntary  respect.  The  forms  of  civil 
 u  administration  were  carefully  preserved  by  Nerva, 
 “  Trajan,  Adrian,  and  the  Antonines,  who  delighted  in 
 “  the  image  of  liberty,  and  were  pleased  with  consider- 
 “  ing  themselves  as  the  accountable  ministers  of  the 
 “  laws.” 
 
 And  u  the  labours  of  these  Monarchs  were  overpaid 
 “  by  the  immense  reward  that  inseparably  waited  on 
 u  their  success  ;  by  the  honest  pride  of  virtue,  and  by 
 “  the  exquisite  delight  of  beholding  the  general  hap- 
 “  piness  of  which  they  were  the  authors.”  Decline 
 and  Fall,  Vol.  J,  p.  126,  127. 
 
 How  quickly  and  how  awfully,  was  the  very  reverse 
 of  this  pleasing  description  to  be  exhibited  on  the 
 same  great  theatre  of  .Nations! 
 
 *  See  page  34. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 U9 
 
 u  And  I  looked,”  says  the  Prophet, 
 44  and  behold  a  pale  horse :  and  his  name 
 s(  that  sat  upon  him  was  Death ;  and 
 44  Hades  followed  with  him.  And  power 
 44  was  given  unto  them  over  the  fourth 
 44  part  of  the  Earth,  to  kill  with  the 
 44  Sword,  and  with  Famine ,  and  with 
 44  Pestilence ,  and  with  the  wild  Beasts 
 44  of  the  Earth” 
 
 The  pale  Colour  of  the  horse,  in  this 
 vision,  may  be  figurative  both  of  the  Ter¬ 
 ror,  which  would  fill  the  minds  of  Men  ; 
 and  of  the  totally  diseased  State  of  the 
 Body  politic ,  in  the  Roman  Empire,  during 
 the  dreadful  time  that  it  has  foretold. 
 
 The  name  of  the  Rider  was  Death ;  by 
 which  is  evidently  signified,  that  the  Sea¬ 
 son,  here  foreshewn,  should  be  much  more 
 distinguished  by  the  Scenes  of  Murder , 
 and  Destruction,  than  by  any  other  Cir¬ 
 cumstances  whatever  ;  that,  in  short,  the 
 sovereign  Power  in  the  Empire  should  be 
 vested  in  Men  so  destitute,  in  general,  of 
 Humanity,  so  devoted  to  Slaughter  and  the 
 work  of  Extermination,  and  should  be  so 
 often  transferred  from  one  to  another, 
 
 i  4 
 
 Rsr.  VI.  7,  8. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 120 
 
 that  it  could  only  in  truth  be  personified 
 in  Death  itself. 
 
 Of  such  a  power  as  this,  Hades,  or  the 
 Grave*,  was  the  natural  Concomitant. 
 
 As  both  Death  and  Hades  were  perso¬ 
 nifications,  so  the  business  of  Destruction 
 is  attributed  to  them  both  ;  and  “  power 
 “  is  given  to  them  over  the  fourth  part  of 
 “  the  Earth  or  over  a  fourth  part  of  the 
 population  of  the  Empire,  “  to  kill  by  the 
 “  Szcopd,  and  by  Famine ,  and  by  Pestilence , 
 “  and  by  the  wild  Beasts  of  the  Earth.” 
 
 Such  are  the  awful  Characteristics  of 
 the  period,  concerning  which  we  are  in¬ 
 quiring  !  And  if  we  examine  the  inter¬ 
 val  which  elapsed  between  the  death  of 
 Marcus  Aurelius,  and  the  accession  of 
 Dioclesian  to  the  throne  *]•,  little  doubt 
 will  remain,  that  they  are  exclusively  ap¬ 
 plicable  to  it.  Throughout  this ,  Rebel¬ 
 lions  were  continually  excited,  in  some 
 parts  or  other  of  the  Roman  Dominions, 
 in  order  to  gratify  the  fell  Ambition  of 
 those,  who  aspired  to-  the  imperial  Dig¬ 
 nity.  This  will  furnish  us  with  a  bloody 
 
 *  But  more  properly — The  Receptacle  of  Souls  in  a 
 separate  State. 
 
 •f  Ancient  Univers.  Hist,  Vol.  15,  p.  2E6— 48S. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 lCi 
 
 Catalogue,  a  list  of  Slaughtered  Princes , 
 which,  taking  every  Circumstance  into 
 consideration,  cannot  certainly  be  paral- 
 leled  in  the  Annals  of  Mankind.  In  the 
 short  period  from  181  to  284,  which  was 
 the  year  in  which  Dioclesian  commenced 
 his  reign — a  period  of  only  103  years — 
 not  less  than  sixty  persons*,  either  Empe¬ 
 rors,  or  such  as  aspired  to  the  Empire  in 
 consequence  of  having  been  proclaimed 
 by  the  Armies  they  commanded,  made 
 their  appearance  ;  and  Avere  all  swept  off, 
 without  exception,  during  this  interval ; 
 and  ad  of  them,  Avith  the  exception  of 
 only  jive  at  the  most,  by  violent  and  un¬ 
 timely  deaths. 
 
 It  is  remarkable  further,  that  exclu¬ 
 sive  only  of  Commodus  and  Tacitus,  the 
 Armies,  in  the  different  provinces  of  the 
 Empire,  had.  or  rather  usurped,  the  Power 
 of  electing  all  these  Personages  to  the 
 Throne.  By  the  & 'word  therefore  they  rose 
 to  their  fatal  Dignities;  and  by  the  Sword 
 they  generally  fell.  And  it  is  observable, 
 
 *  See  Appendix,  Note  IT. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  7,  S. 
 
122 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 that  many  of  them  perished  by  the  hands 
 of  the  very  Soldiery,  who  had  been  the 
 means  of  their  exaltation. 
 
 Such  was  the  Destruction,  which  the 
 Sword  made  among  those,  whose  Ambi¬ 
 tion  it  was  to  be  the  heads  of  this  exten¬ 
 sive  Empire !  And,  if  we  consider  the 
 Characters  of  many  of  these  Princes,  and, 
 in  particular,  of  Commodus,  with  whom 
 the  direful  change  denoted  under  this  Seal 
 began,  of  Septimus  Severus,  Caracalla, 
 Heliogabalus,  Maximinus,  Decius,  Gal- 
 lus,  and  Gallienus — we  shall  have  no  rea¬ 
 son  to  believe,  that  their  wretched  Sub¬ 
 jects,  or  those  attached  to  their  respective 
 interests,  were  spared.  Indeed  we  know, 
 from  the  most  authentic  sources,  how  ex¬ 
 tensively,  and  how  dreadfully,  the  very 
 reverse  of  this  was  the  case. 
 
 In  general  it  appears,  that  when  a  Com¬ 
 petitor  for  the  throne  was  not  murdered 
 by  his  own  troops,  his  downfall  was  the 
 consequence  of  the  utter  defeat  of  the  ill- 
 fated  forces,  that  followed  his  fortunes. 
 And  instances  of  this  were  very  common. 
 The  Empire,  during  almost  the  whole  of 
 this  disastrous  period,  was  torn  with  all 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 123 
 
 the  violence,  and  cruel  distractions,  of 
 civil  Discord :  and  after  the  work  of  mu¬ 
 tual  Slaughter  was  past,  the  victorious 
 party  seldom  failed  to  commence  and 
 complete  the  work  of  Vengeance  upon 
 the  partisans  and  adherents  of  the  van¬ 
 quished.  By  this  means,  innumerable 
 multitudes  were  almost  annually  cut  off, 
 in  different  parts  of  the  Empire  ;  and  no 
 age,  sex,  or  condition  in  life,  was  exempt 
 from  the  cruelties  resulting  from  the  vin¬ 
 dictive  malice,  or  natural  ferocity,  of  the 
 conquerors  *. 
 
 *  Speaking  of  one  portion  of  this  unparalleled  period, 
 Mr.  Gibbon  most  impressively  says — “  Of  the  nineteen 
 “  tyrants,  who  started  up  under  the  reign  of  Gallienus, 
 “  there  was  not  one  who  enjoyed  a  life  of  peace,  or  a 
 “  natural  death.  As  soon  as  they  were  invested  with 
 “  the  bloody  purple,  they  inspired  their  adherents  with 
 “  the  same  fears  and  ambition  which  had  occasioned 
 “  their  own  revolt.  Encompassed  with  domestic  con- 
 “  spiracy,  military  sedition,  and  civil  war,  they  trem- 
 “  bled  on  the  edge  of  the  precipices,  in  which,  after  a 
 “  longer  or  shorter  term  of  anxiety,  they  were  inevita- 
 “  bly  lost.  These  precarious  monarchs  received,  how- 
 “  ever,  such  honours,  as  the  flattery  of  their  respective 
 “  armies  and  provinces  could  bestow  ;  but  their  claim, 
 “  founded  on  rebellion,  could  never  obtain  the  sanction 
 “  of  law  or  history.” 
 
 Rev.  VI.  7,  8. 
 
124 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 “  The  Sword ,  Famine ,  Pestilence,  and 
 i(  the  noisome  Beasts  ”  are  expressly  de¬ 
 clared  by  Ezekiel,  to  be  “  the  four  sore 
 “  Judgments”  of  the  Almighty  ;  inflicted 
 occasionally,  for  the  punishment  of  wick¬ 
 ed  and  idolatrous  nations.  We  have  seen, 
 in  some  degree,  what  havock  the  first  of 
 these  was  allowed  to  make,  during  the 
 Interval  of  which  we  are  speaking  :  the 
 three  last  were  related  to  'this  as  Effects 
 flowing  from  the  same  Cause  ;  they  were 
 the  natural  consequences  of  these  almost 
 incessant  Wars.  By  the  ravages  they 
 
 “  The  rapid  and  perpetual  transitions  from  the  cot- 
 “  tage  to  the  throne,  and  from  the  throne  to  the  grave, 
 “  might  have  amused  an  indifferent  philosopher;  were 
 u  it  possible  for  a  philosopher  to  remain  indifferent 
 u  amidst  the  general  calamities  of  human  kind.  The 
 “  election  of  these  precarious  Emperors,  their  power, 
 f‘  and  their  death,  were  equally  destructive  to  their  sub- 
 “jects  and  adherents.  The  price  of  their  fatal  eleva- 
 “  tion  was  instantly  discharged  to  the  troops,  by  an 
 “  immense  donative,  drawn  from  the  bowels  of  the  ex- 
 “  hausted  people.  However  virtuous  was  their  charac- 
 “  ter,  however  pure  their  intentions,  they  found  them - 
 (<  selves  reduced  to  the  hard  necessity  of  supporting  their 
 <(  Usurpation  by  frequent  acts  of  rapine  and  cruelty. 
 “  When  they  fell ,  they  involved  Armies  and  Provinces 
 i:  in  their  fall.” — Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  1,  p.  448—450. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 125 
 
 would  occasion  in  the  Countries  where 
 they  were  carried  on  ;  and  by  depriving 
 those  Countries  of  the  most  able  and 
 active  of  their  male  population  ;  the 
 lands  would  become  in  great  measure 
 desolate,  and  the  means  of  Subsistence 
 would  fail  in  proportion  *.  And  to  the 
 multitudes,  who  wrould  thus  perish  by 
 
 *  “  Our  habits  of  thinking,”  says  the  able  Writer 
 whom  I  have  so  often  cited,  “  so  fondly  connect  the 
 “  order  of  the  Universe  with  the  fate  of  man,  that  this 
 “  gloomy  period  of  history  has  been  decorated  with 
 “  inundations,  earthquakes,  uncommon  meteors,  pre- 
 (t  ternatural  darkness,  and  a  crowd  of  prodigies,  ficti- 
 “  tious  or  exaggerated.  But  a  long  and  general  famine 
 ((  was  a  calamity  of  a  more  serious  kind.  It  was  the  ine- 
 “  vitable  consequence  of  rapine  and  oppression,  which 
 “  extirpated  the  produce  of  the  present,  and  the  hope 
 “  of  future  harvests.  Famine  is  almost  always  followed 
 “  by  epidemical  diseases,  the  effect  of  scanty  and  un- 
 “  wholesome  food.  Other  causes  must  however  have 
 “  contributed  to  the  furious  plague ,  which,  from  the 
 “  year  two  hundred  and  fifty,  to  the  year  two  hundred 
 “  and  sixty-five,  raged  without  interruption  in  every 
 “  province,  every  city,  and  almost  every  family,  of  the 
 “  Roman  Empire.  During  some  time,  five  thousand 
 “  persons  died  daily  in  Rome  ;  and  many  towns,  that 
 u  had  escaped  the  hands  of  the  Barbarians,  wrere  en- 
 “  tirely  depopulated.” — Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  1.  p.455. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  7>  8. 
 
126 
 
 LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 JVai' ,  and  by  Famine ,  would  be  added, 
 in  vast  numbers,  such  as  would  die  of 
 the  Pestilence — the  fatal  effect  of  poor¬ 
 ness  of  living,  and  of  breathing  conti¬ 
 nually  an  infected  air.  But  it  is  well 
 known,  also,  that  “  wild  Beasts'  multiply 
 in  a  land,  in  proportion  as  it  becomes 
 uninhabited  ;  and  these  would  likewise  be 
 the  occasion  of  destruction  to  many. 
 
 By  these  Calamities  were  the  various 
 provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  more  or 
 less  visited,  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
 awful  period  represented  under  the  fourth 
 Seal ! 
 
 Such  are  the  principal  of  those  Scenes 
 in  the  political  heaven  of  Pagan  Rome, 
 (that  heaven  under  which  the  Church  of 
 Christ  was  then  existing  *),  which  were 
 revealed  by  the  opening  of  the  four  firsi 
 Seals;  and  respectively  pointed  out  to  the 
 view  of  the  Prophet,  and  through  him,  for 
 the  observation  of  all  sincere  Christians, 
 by  the  four  living  Creatures .  And  it  has, 
 I  trust,  been  seen,  that,  agreeably  to  the 
 Words  of  the  Text,  “  the  time,”  for  begin - 
 
 *  Note  f,  page  67. 
 
LECTURE  VIII. 
 
 127 
 
 ning  the  completion  of  this  Series  of  pro¬ 
 phecy,  “  was  at  hand,”  at  the  very  time 
 when  it  was  written  ;  and  that,  as  far  as 
 we  have  proceeded,  the  chain  of  evi¬ 
 dence,  in  favour  of  its  divine  Authen¬ 
 ticity  has  been  unbroken.  For  who  but 
 God  could  have  foreseen  portions  of 
 duration,  immediately  succeeding  each 
 other,  at  once  so  various  and  surprising  ? 
 What  but  Infinite  Wisdom  could  have  ex¬ 
 hibited  them  beforehand,  under  imagery 
 so  expressive,  so  simple,  and  sublime  ? 
 What  an  exquisite  ordination  also  does  it 
 argue  in  the  Divine  Economy,  that  the 
 verjr  Emblems  under  which  the  Endow¬ 
 ments  of  the  Christian  Church  are  sha¬ 
 dowed  forth,  should  be  also  made,  in  some 
 degree,  the  Prognostics  of  analogous  Dis¬ 
 positions,  in  the  Princes  who  should  go¬ 
 vern  the  Roman  Empire  during  these 
 intervals.  By  bringing  forward,  in  an 
 unreserved  manner,  all  the  sacred  Sym¬ 
 bols,  beneath  which  the  knowledge  of 
 these  parts  of  futurity  was  veiled;  and 
 by  appropriating  to  each  its  legitimate 
 and  most  ordinary  Import ;  we  have  been 
 conducted  to  the  Conclusions  we  have 
 
128 
 
 LECTURE  vnr. 
 
 now  attained.  By  these  means,  every 
 difficulty,  that  lias  hitherto  been  consi¬ 
 dered  as  attaching  itself  to  these  passa¬ 
 ges  of  Scripture,  appears  to  be  removed  ; 
 and  we  are  presented  with  a  lively  and 
 luminous  representation  of  a  succession 
 
 of  times,  which  the  events  of  those  times 
 
 \ 
 
 have  fully  verified  and  explained.  Thus 
 has  the  illustration  been  mutual ;  and  we 
 become  happily  furnished  with  a  clew,  to 
 open  to  us  a  further  insight  into  those 
 wonderful  works  of  God,  which  are  re¬ 
 vealed,  for  our  contemplation,  our  in¬ 
 struction,  and  establishment  in  the  faith, 
 in  this  sacred  Volume. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 Delivered ,  February  13,  1814. 
 
 Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  3. 
 
 Blessed  is  he  that  readeth ,  and  they  that 
 hear  the  words  of  this  Prophecy ,  and  keep 
 those  things  that  are  written  therein :  for 
 the  time  is  at  hand. 
 
 The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John,  being  the 
 last  of  those  Revelations,  by  which  it  has 
 pleased  Divine  Wisdom  to  communicate 
 any  Knowledge  of  Futurity  to  the  sons  of 
 men,  is,  for  that  reason,  the  most  compre¬ 
 hensive  and  explicit  of  all.  The  grand 
 Events  it  foretels  are  indeed  veiled  be¬ 
 neath  the  disguise  of  allegorical  Descrip¬ 
 tion  :  but  every  Symbol  that  is  employed 
 has  its  own  appropriate  Meaning  ;  and  is 
 indispensable  to  the  consistent  appear- 
 YOL.  II.  K 
 
ISO 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 ance  of  the  whole.  Hence,  all  the  sacred 
 Emblems,  contained  within  any  given  Pro¬ 
 phecy,  must  be  particularly  interpreted, 
 according  to  the  authorized  Import  of 
 each,  before  the  Accomplishment  of  that 
 Prophecy  can  be  peculiarly  and  fully  as¬ 
 certained. 
 
 The  variety  of  Opinions,  which  has 
 hitherto  prevailed,  concerning  the  inte¬ 
 resting  Series  of  Events  predicted  in  this 
 Book,  appears  to  have  originated  in  an  in¬ 
 attention  to  this  essential  point.  All  the 
 constituent  parts  of  the  Scenes  represented 
 have  not,  in  general,  undergone  the  requi¬ 
 site  investigation.  Some ,  of  various  ap¬ 
 plicability,  have  been  brought  forward 
 to  view,  and  strongly  insisted  on :  while 
 others ,  which  contain  the  exclusive  Cha¬ 
 racteristics  of  the  Circumstances  actually 
 intended,  have  been  either  slightly  passed 
 over ;  or  have  had  such  significations  as¬ 
 signed  them,  as  are  not  warranted  by  the 
 usual  tenour  of  the  symbolical  Language 
 of  Scripture.  As  therefore  the  Analysis 
 has  been  partial,  so  has  the  Result  been 
 unsatisfactory  and  incomplete. 
 
 But,  for  the  happy  effects  which  would 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 131 
 
 arise  from  a  suitable  attention  to  such  Evi¬ 
 dences  as  these,  we  have,  in  the  text,  the 
 express  assurance  of  the  inspired  Writer 
 himself.  “  Blessed,”  says  he,  “  is  he  that 
 “  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words 
 “  of  this  Prophecy,  and  observe  those 
 “  things  that  are  written  therein  :  for  the 
 “  time  is  at  hand.” 
 
 We  have  thus  far  considered  this  An¬ 
 nunciation  of  Blessedness,  as  relating  more 
 immediately  to  the  Time,  when  the  Apos¬ 
 tle  wrote ;  and  declared  to  the  Churches 
 in  Asia,  that  the  Series  of  Events,  which 
 he  predicted,  would  soon  begin  to  come 
 to  pass.  But  it  is  evidently  capable  of  a 
 much  more  extensive  and  important  ap¬ 
 plication. 
 
 It  was  well  adapted  to  the  diversified 
 State  of  the  Church,  in  the  second  and 
 third  Centuries.  When  the  Christians  of 
 those  ages  beheld  the  noble  Achieve¬ 
 ments,  the  far-famed  Conquests,  the  Mag¬ 
 nanimity  and  Generosity  of  Trajan  * ; 
 when  they  contemplated  the  Indifference 
 of  Adrian  to  those  very  Objects,  which 
 
 #  See  pages  95 — 100,  of  this  Volume* 
 
 K  2 
 
152 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 had  excited  the  Ambition,  and  called  forth 
 the  Talents  of  his  Predecessor;  jet  com¬ 
 bined,  nevertheless,  his  rigorous  Adminis¬ 
 tration  of  executive  Justice,  with  the  cruel 
 and  revengeful  Disposition  which  induced 
 him  “  to  take  peace  from  the  Earth  * 
 When  they  saw,  under  the  reigns  of  his 
 two  Successors,  all  the  mildness,  equity, 
 and  beneficence  of  genuine  Humanity  ex¬ 
 emplified,  during  periods  of  peculiar  cala¬ 
 mity,  in  alleviating  the  Sufferings  of  their 
 Subjects  f  :  when  they  next  came  to  wit¬ 
 ness  those  sanguinary  Contests,  that  Mi¬ 
 sery  and  Destruction,  which  attended  the 
 Steps  of  inordinate  Ambition,  and  ren¬ 
 dered  Elevation  to  Empire  so  fatal  to 
 almost  every  one  who  attained  it  j — when 
 they  adverted  to  these  things,  they  had 
 then  also  an  opportunity  of  observing  the 
 verification  of  those  prophetic  Symbols,  by 
 which  they  were  clearly  foreshown ;  they 
 would  have  continual  Evidences  before 
 them,  of  the  Truth  and  Faithfulness  of 
 God  ;  they  would  be  easily  able  to  deter¬ 
 mine,  under  what  Seal ,  or  peculiar  Portion 
 
 *  Pages  100— 109.  f  Pages  118— 126. 
 
 f  Pages  110—117. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 13S 
 
 <?f  Divine  Dispensation,  they  were  living; 
 and  under  all  their  Distresses  and  Per¬ 
 secutions,  they  might  still  derive  sup¬ 
 port  from  the  animating  persuasion,  that 
 against  the  genuine  Church  of  Christ  “  the 
 “  Gates  of  Hell  shall  not  prevail  *. 
 
 The  same  Observations  will  equally 
 adapt  themselves  to  every  other  Period  of 
 Christianity.  It  was  the  principal  scope 
 of  this  sacred  Volume,  to  prefigure  <f  the 
 “  things  that  were  to  be  thereafter,”  in  a 
 certain  determinate  order,  and  in  an  unin¬ 
 terrupted  Series,  through  all  succeeding 
 ages;  so  that  there  should  be  no  subse¬ 
 quent  portion  of  duration,  in  which  some 
 of  these  great  purposes  of  God  would  not 
 be  in  the  train  of  actual  accomplishment. 
 Whence  it  appears, that,  strictly  speaking, 
 there  is  no  space  in  the  lapse  of  these 
 Ages,  of  which  it  may  not  be  truly  said, 
 that  “  the  time”  for  some  further  Develop¬ 
 ment  of  the  predicted  Designs  of  God  “  is 
 at  hand'”  and  to  which,  therefore,  the 
 encouraging  Assurance  of  Blessedness,  to 
 those,  who  shall  pay  a  due  degree  of  at- 
 
 *  Matth.  ch.  lG,  v.  18. 
 
 £  3 
 
134 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 tention  to  the  words  of  this  Prophecy, 
 may  not  be  extended. 
 
 Having  offered  these  remarks  on  the 
 general  importance  of  the  words  of  the 
 Text,  we  saall  now  proceed  to  their  fur¬ 
 ther  illustration. 
 
 Under  the  four  first  Seals  we  have  only 
 seen  exhibited  those  four  first  different 
 States  of  the  Roman  Empire,  which  im¬ 
 mediately  succeeded  each  other,  after  the 
 delivery  of  this  Prophecy.  Nor  does  any 
 notice  appear  to  have  been  taken  of  the 
 Church  of  Christ  during  these  changes  ; 
 any  otherwise,  than  as  their  having  been 
 respectively  pointed  out  by  “  the  fourliv- 
 “  ing  Creatures”  affords  an  evident  indi¬ 
 cation,  that  they  were  intended,  by  Divine 
 Wisdom,  for  the  exercise  of  its  Faith,  its 
 Patience,  and  other  Virtues.  These,  in¬ 
 deed,  were  severely  put  to  the  test  on 
 various  occasions  ;  for,  during  the  con¬ 
 tinuance  of  this  diversified  scene,  there 
 were  no  less  than  seven  general  Persecu¬ 
 tions  *.  Yet,  however  dreadful  these  may 
 
 *  There  is  a  brief  statement  of  these  persecutions  in 
 Note  *,  page  35,  Vol.  I.  but  a  much  more  particular 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 135 
 
 have  been,  they  were  comparatively  of  short 
 duration  ;  they  did  not  furnish  any  pecu - 
 liar  Criteria  of  the  times ;  they  rather 
 served  to  prepare  the  professors  of  Chris¬ 
 tianity  for  that  tremendous  trial,  which 
 was  to  await  them  under  the  next  Dis¬ 
 pensation,  in  the  period  denoted  under 
 fifth  Seal . 
 
 9.  44  And  when  the  Lamb  had  opened 
 44  the  fifth  Seal ,  1  saw  under  the  Altar  the 
 44  Souls  of  them  that  had  been  slain,  for 
 44  the  Word  of  God,  and  for  the  Testimony 
 44  which  they  held. 
 
 10.  44  And  they  cried  with  a  loud  Voice , 
 44  saying — How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and 
 44  true,  dost  thou  not  judge,  and  avenge 
 44  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the 
 44  Earth. 
 
 11.  44  And  white  Robes  had  been  given 
 44  to  every  one  of  them  ;  and  it  was  said 
 44  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  a 
 
 account  of  them  in  Mosheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  2, 
 Part  1,  ch.  2,  and  Cent.  3,  Part  1,  ch  2,  and  in  Anc. 
 Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  15,  under  the  reigns  of  the  Princes 
 who  respectively  agitated  these  persecutions  against  the 
 Christians.  Mr.  Gibbon  has  likewise  treated  of  this 
 Subject  in  “  Decline  and  Pall,”  V  ol.  2,  ch.  16,  p.  38 1,  &c. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  9»  l°j  H* 
 
1S6 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  little  while,  until  their  fellow- servants 
 “  also ,  and  their  brethren ,  that  should  be 
 “  killed  even  as  they  had  been ,  should  be 
 “ fulfilled 
 
 In  these  descriptive  words  we  perceive, 
 at  once,  the  intimate  connexion,  which 
 subsists  between  this  and  all  the  pre¬ 
 ceding  Seals.  Those  had  prefigured  the 
 four  following  characteristic  States  of  the 
 same  pagan  Empire  ;  possessing  the  power 
 of  Persecution,  and  frequently  exercising 
 it  against  the  Church  of  God  :  but  this 
 represents  a  Season,  wherein  the  ani¬ 
 mosity  of  Paganism  against  Christianity 
 should  be  carried  to  its  utmost  limit,  and 
 the  most  violent  means  be  adopted  for  its 
 extirpation. 
 
 To  illustrate  the  tender  regard  of  God 
 for  his  suffering  Servants,  “  the  Souls  of 
 “  those  who  had  been  slain,”  in  the  former 
 persecutions  are  here  brought  forward,  as 
 it  were,  to  view.  They  are  seen  at  the 
 foot  of  the  Altar ;  or  about  the  very  place, 
 where  they  had  yielded  up  their  lives,  as 
 a  Sacrifice  for  the  Truth.  The  Scene  of 
 this  Vision  is  therefore  laid,  within  the 
 precincts  of  the  Roman  Empire  ;  for  these 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 137 
 
 inhumanities  had  been  more  or  less  prac¬ 
 ticed  in  all  its  Provinces. 
 
 “  And  white  Robes*  were  given  to  every 
 “  one  of  them  to  denote  the  innocence 
 and  the  purity,  of  all  these  faithful  Ser¬ 
 vants  and  Martyrs  of  Jesus  Christ. 
 
 And  “  the  Voice  of  their  blood,”  like 
 that  of  the  blood  of  Abel,  “  cried  to  God 
 “  from  the  ground  f.”  “  Mow  long,  they 
 
 “  said,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou 
 “  not  judge,  and  avenge  our  blood  on 
 “  them  that  dwell  on  the  Earth  ?”  They 
 knew,  and  very  probably  from  this  very 
 prophecy,  that  a  time  of  retribution  was 
 quickly  approaching,  when  Heathenism 
 would  be  disarmed  of  its  terrors  ;  and  a 
 
 #  The  inspired  Writer  himself,  as  if  to  prevent  the 
 possibility  of  mistake,  generally  affords  some  means  of 
 ascertaining  the  import  of  the  sacred  symbols  he  em¬ 
 ploys,  with  the  greatest  precision.  ft  is  thus  in  thepre- 
 sent,  as  well  as  in  almost  every  other  instance,  we  have 
 to  consider.  “  And  to  her,”  that  is,  to  the  Church  of 
 Christ,  most  beautifully  symbolized  as  the  Bride  of  the 
 Lamb — “  to  her  was  granted,  that  she  should  be  arrayed  in 
 “  fine  linen,  clean  and  white, for  thejbie  linen 
 
 “  is  THE  RIGHTEOUSNESS  OF  THE  SAINTS.”  Rev. 
 ch.  19,  v.  8 
 
 •f  Genesis,  ch  4,  r.  10. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  9 — 11. 
 
138 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 just  account  be  demanded  of  all  those, 
 
 who  had  been  the  instigators  and  the 
 
 actors  in  these  enormities :  vet  the  tri- 
 
 «/ 
 
 umph  of  “  the  Powers  of  darkness”  seemed 
 long;  and  therefore  they  ask.  “  how  much 
 “  longer  it  should  continue  ?** 
 
 The  answer  to  this  question  introduces 
 the  Subject  of  the  present  Prophecy.  “  It 
 “  was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should 
 fi<  rest  yet  a  little  season,  until  their  fellow - 
 “  servants  also ,  and  their  brethren ,  that 
 “  should  be  killed  even  as  they  had  been , 
 
 should  be  fulfilled” 
 
 Such  is  the  period  denoted  under  this 
 Seal  !  It  is  evidently  to  be  far  more 
 distinguished  by  sanguinary  proceedings 
 against  Christianity,  than  by  any  other 
 circumstances  whatever. — And,  though  it 
 is  here  denominated  “  a  little  season,” 
 yet  we  shall  soon  perceive,  that  it  was  in¬ 
 comparably  more  dreadful,  on  account  of 
 the  duration  and  unremitted  violence  of  this 
 Persecution,  than  any  that  had  preceded 
 it.  As  a  portion  of  time,  it  was  indeed 
 short ,  in  respect  to  that  which  had  elapsed 
 since  the  opening  of  the  first  Seal  ;  but  as 
 a  period  of  violence ,  oppression  and  cruelty , 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 139 
 
 it  must  have  appeared  tedious  and  distress¬ 
 ful  beyond  measure. 
 
 The  Prince,  the  latter  part  of  whose 
 reign  is  disgraced  by  these  events,  was 
 Dioclesian  ;  who  ascended  the  throne  in 
 the  year  284  *.  The  Edict  against  the 
 Christians,  which  gave  rise  to  the  last 
 general  Persecution  of  them  throughout 
 the  Roman  Empire,  was  published  at  Ni- 
 comedia,  by  Dioclesian,  at  the  instance 
 of  Galerius,  on  the  23d  of  February  303. 
 And  it  was  not  till  towards  the  close  of 
 the  year  3*2,  that  Constantine,  jointly 
 with  Licinius,  published  a  Decree  in  their 
 favour  ;  which  allowed  them  the  free  use 
 of  their  Religion,  and  the  power  to  build 
 Churches.  This  was  therefore  a  Calamity 
 of  nearly  ten  years  continuance. 
 
 *  11  Dioclesian  was  proclaimed  Emperor  at  Chalce- 
 “  don,  on  the  seventeenth  of  September,  of  the  year 
 “  £84 ;  which  epoch  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  it  is  the 
 “  beginning  of  a  new  Era,  called  the  Era  of  Dioclesian, 
 (<  and  sometimes  The  Eia  of  Martyrs,  which  for  many 
 “  ages  obtained  in  the  Church,  and  is  still  in  use  amongst 
 “  the  Cophts  in  Egypt,  the  Abyssines,  and  some  other 
 “  African  Nations.”  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  15,  p.485. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  9—11. 
 
140 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 It  may  perhaps  be  interesting,  as  con¬ 
 taining  a  clearer  elucidation  of  the  Pro¬ 
 phecy,  if  we  trace  the  gradual  progress  of 
 this  evil,  till  it  attained  its  greatest  extent 
 of  mischief.  And  in  doing  this,  I  shall  fol¬ 
 low  the  arrangement  of  a  very  learned 
 ecclesiastical  historian,  who  has  written 
 more  largely  upon  the  subject  *. 
 
 It  commenced,  then,  with  the  Edict 
 above  mentioned  ;  the  purport  of  which 
 was — 44  to  destroy  the  Churches  of  the 
 44  Christians  ;  to  burn  all  their  books  and 
 44  writings  ;  and  to  take  from  them  all  their 
 44  civil  rights  and  privileges,  and  to  render 
 44  them  incapable  of  any  honours  or  civil 
 44  promotion." 
 
 This  order,  however,  although  it  occa¬ 
 sioned  the  destruction  of  man}',  and  espe¬ 
 cially  of  those  who  refused  to  deliver  up 
 the  sacred  Books,  was  not  yet  deemed 
 sufficiently  severe ;  and  therefore  by  a 
 second  Edict  it  was  enjoined,  44  that  all 
 44  the  Bishops,  and  Ministers,  of  the  Chris- 
 44  tian  Church  should  be  cast  into  prison." 
 
 Nor  did  the  implacable  Enmity  of  Ga- 
 
 *  See  Mosheinfs  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol,  1.  Cent,  IV. 
 Part  I.  Chap.  2. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 141 
 
 lerius  rest  here  :  for  a  third  Edict  was  soon 
 after  issued,  by  which  it  was  commanded, 
 “  that  all  sorts  of  torments  should  be  em- 
 “  ployed,  and  the  most  insupportable  pu- 
 “  nishments  invented,  to  compel  these 
 <c  venerable  Captives  to  renounce  their 
 “  Profession,  by  sacrificing  to  the  heathen 
 “  Gods/’  The  consequence  was,  as  my 
 Author  has  eloquently  observed,  that  “  an 
 “  immense  number  of  persons,  ill ustri- 
 “  ously  distinguished  by  their  piety  and 
 “  learning,  became  the  victims  of  this 
 “  cruel  stratagem,  throughout  the  whole 
 “  Roman  Empire,  Gaul  excepted,  which 
 “  was  under  the  mild  and  equitable  do- 
 <c  minion  of  Constantius  Chlorus. 
 
 Thus  far  the  Bishops  and  Ministers  of 
 the  Church  had  been  chiefly  selected,  as 
 the  Objects  of  Vengeance;  a  fourth  Edict 
 was  therefore  published  soon  afterwards, 
 in  order  to  include  the  whole  Christian 
 Community  within  this  proscription. 
 “  By  this  the  Magistrates  were  ordered 
 <c  and  commissioned,  to  force  all  Christi- 
 “  ans,  without  distinction  of  rank  or  sex, 
 “  to  sacrifice  to  the  Gods  j  and  were  au- 
 fUv.  vi,  9 — 11. 
 
142 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  thorized  to  employ  all  sorts  of  torments, 
 “  in  order  to  drive  them  to  this  Act  of 
 u  Apostacy.” 
 
 This  last  Decree  completed  the  dread¬ 
 ful  Climax  of  Oppression  ;  and  the  inde¬ 
 fatigable  Zeal  of  the  Magistracy  in  the 
 Execution  of  it  threatened  Destruction  to 
 the  Christian  Cause  itself*. 
 
 #  u  Dioclesian  and  Galerius  passed  the  winter  (of  302) 
 H  at  Nicomedia  in  Bithynia,  in  consultation — not  about 
 u  the  means  of  extending  the  Empire,  and  securing  it 
 “  against  the  incursions  of  the  Barbarians,  but — con- 
 u  cerning  the  most  effectual  methods  of  utterly  extir • 
 u pating  The  Christian  Religion,  to  which  Gale- 
 “  rius  had  imbibed,  from  his  infancy,  an  irreconcileable 
 te  hatred.  He  found  means  to  inspire  Dioclesian  with 
 u  the  same  fury,  and,  as  we  may  call  it,  madness ;  the 
 u  effect  of  which  was  the  most  bloody  and  dreadful 
 u  Persecution  the  church  had  yet  suffered. 
 
 “  It  raged  ten  whole  years  with  a  fury  hardly  to  be 
 “  expressed,  the  Christians  being  every  where,  without 
 “  distinction  of  sex',  age,  or  condition,  dragged  to  ex- 
 “  ecution,  and  tortured  with  the  most  exquisite  tor- 
 <f  ments,  that  rage,  cruelty,  and  hatred  could  invent. 
 ss  Such  numbers  of  Christians  suffered  death  in  all  the 
 “  provinces  of  the  Empire,  that  the  t}Trants,  imagining 
 €<  they  had  compassed  their  wicked  intent,  and  entirely 
 “  abolished  Christianity,  told  the  world  in  a  pompous, 
 "  but  lying  inscription,  that  they  had  extinguished  the 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 14S 
 
 Such  are  the  leading  features  of  a  Per¬ 
 secution,  which  “  fulfilled"  the  Number  oi 
 those  that  “  should  be  slain,  for  the  Word 
 66  of  God,  and  for  the  Testimony  which 
 “  they  held,"  before  the  triumphant  esta¬ 
 blishment  of  Christianity  in  the  world. 
 This  is  the  next  great  Subject,  that  re¬ 
 quires  our  attention;  and  it  occupies,  in 
 the  Prophecy,  the  remaining  verses  of  the 
 sixth,  and  the  whole  of  the  seventh  chapter. 
 
 “  Christian  name  and  superstition,  and  every  where 
 tl  restored  the  worship  of  the  Gods  to  its  former  purity 
 “  and  lustre.  But  the  Church  triumphed  over  all  the 
 “  powers  and  artifices  of  men ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  ut~ 
 “  most  efforts  of  tyranny,  prevailed,  a  few  years  after, 
 **  in  the  very  Metropolis  of  Idolatry  and  Superstition.” 
 
 Such  is  the  brief  epitome,  which  the  Writers  of  the 
 Ancient  Universal  History  have  given  us,  from  Euse¬ 
 bius,  of  this  hitherto  unparalleled  period  of  distress, 
 in  vol.  15,  p.  50 2.  Mr.  Gibbon,  with  the  evident  view 
 of  apologizing  in  some  degree  for  the  inhumanity  and 
 tyranny  of  the  persecutors,  attempts,  in  opposition  to  the 
 same  historian,  to  extenuate  the  sufferings  of  this  dread¬ 
 ful  period;  and,  by  reducing  them  to  a  calculation,  to 
 diminish  the  numbers  of  those  who  are  said  to  have 
 suffered.  Nevertheless,  according  even  to  his  state¬ 
 ment,  it  must  have  been  a  season  of  great  distress  and 
 difficulty  to  the  Church.  See  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol, 
 2,  p.  489—494. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  9—11, 
 
144 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 12. — “And  I  beheld/’  says  St.  John, 
 “  when  the  Lamb  had  opened  the  sixth 
 “  Seal ;  and  lo,  there  w*as  a  great  Earth - 
 “  quake  :  and  the  Sun  became  black  as 
 “  sackcloth  of  hair  ;  and  the  Moon  be- 
 “  came  as  blood  ” 
 
 Under  this  sublime  and  awful  Imagery 
 is  represented  the  beginning  of  that  glori¬ 
 ous  Revolution,  which  should  take  place 
 in  the  symbolical  Earth ,  or  Roman  Em¬ 
 pire,  in  consequence  of  the  accession  of 
 Constantine  to  the  throne.  The  Scene 
 commences,  as  we  might  expect,  with 
 “  a  great  Earthquake and  such  was  the 
 destructive  War  carried  on  between  Con¬ 
 stantine  and  Maxentius ;  which  shook  the 
 Empire  to  its  very  foundations  ;  and  ter¬ 
 minated  in  the  total  overthrow  of  the 
 Power  that  had  hitherto  supported  Pa¬ 
 ganism  in  Rome  *. 
 
 This  Concussion  therefore  was  not  con¬ 
 fined  to  the  Earth  ;  it  equally  affected  the 
 
 *  For  the  history  of  this  memorable  War,  and  a  de¬ 
 tail  of  the  causes  in  which  it  originated,  as  well  as  of 
 the  wonderful  changes  that  ensued,  consult  Anc.  Univ. 
 Hist.  Vol.  15,  pages  536 — 564,  and  Decline  and  Fall, 
 vol,  2,  chap.  14;  pages  199— 264. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 145 
 
 Heaven  that  was  connected  with  it  :  for 
 that  was  an  emblem  of  the  higher  Powers 
 that  then  governed  the  Empire  *. 
 Accordingly,  the  Sun  becoming  black 
 
 *  See  Note  f,  page  67. 
 
 T  Bishop  Lowth  most  elegantly  observes— 
 
 "  Imago  Lucis  et  Tenebrarum  ad  exprimandas  res  Pro- 
 u  speras  et  Adversas  translata  communi  omnium  lin- 
 il  guarum  usu  frequentatur,  quemadmodum  omnium 
 lt  hominum  communis  est  rerum  ipsarum  sensus  et  per- 
 “  ceptio.” 
 
 “  Hebrsei  vero,  ut  in  argumento  longe  sublimiore  et 
 u  in  Imagine  notissima,  efferunt  se  atque  exultant  lieen- 
 “  tius,  et  audaciae  poeticae  fraenos  omnes  laxant.  Ex- 
 “  hibent  nimirum,  non  Veris,  non  Auroras,  non  caligi- 
 t(  nosae  Noctis  Imaginem,  sed  Solern,  et  Sydera  quasi 
 fc  nova  Creatione  aucto  in  immensum  Splendore  exsur- 
 a  gentia,  aut  in  antiquum  Chaos  et  primeevas  Tenebras 
 “  iterum  demersa.”  De  sacra  Poesi  Hebrseorum  Prae- 
 lectio  VI.  p.  68,  edit.  1810. 
 
 But  there  is  a  very  remarkable  degree  of  truth  and 
 propriet}',  in  these  figurative  representations  of  St. 
 John.  For  since,  as  we  have  seen  *,  the  Roman  Em¬ 
 pire  is  symbolized  by  the  Earthy  the  Powers  that  go¬ 
 vern  that  Empire  must  necessarily  be  the  Heaven  that 
 is  extended  above  it;  consequently  the  Sun  will  be  the 
 Imperial  Dignity,  the  Moon  the  Senate  having  the 
 principal  charge  of  the  Religion  of  the  Empire,  and  the 
 Stars  the  inferior  Rulers  and  Magistrates  throughout  its 
 Provinces. 
 
 *  See  Note  *,  page  101. 
 
 Rev-  V.  12. 
 
 VOL.  II*  L 
 
146  LECTURE  IX. 
 
 as  the  blackest  Sackcloth,  denoted  the 
 entire  Obscuration  of  the  Sun  of  this 
 pagan  World  ;  in  other  words,  the  total 
 Alienation  and  Aversion  of  the  Imperial 
 Dignity  from  that  dazzling  and  idolatrous 
 System,  under  which  it  had  hitherto  ex¬ 
 isted.  And  the  Moon  (the  luminary  which 
 so  peculiarly  governs  the  night,')  becoming 
 as  blood  did  well  represent  the  total  Priva¬ 
 tion  of  the  spiritual  Power  of  the  Senate  ; 
 which  had,  hitherto  assumed  to  itself  the 
 guardianship  of  the  public  Religion.  In 
 consequence  of  this,  we  behold  the  Roman 
 Hierarchy,  deprived  of  all  its  Opulence 
 and  Splendour ;  with  its  Temples  at  first 
 shut  up,  and  afterwards  despoiled  ;  and 
 unable  any  longer  to  support  its  rank 
 among  the  Luminaries  of  the  world. 
 
 13.  But“  the  Stars”  also,  “of  the  Hea- 
 <c  ven  fell  to  the  Earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree 
 “  casteth  her  untimely  figs,  when  she  is 
 “  shaken  by  a  mighty  wind."  And  just 
 so  rapid  was  the  Fall  of  the  Magistrates 
 and  subordinate  Rulers,  who  had  derived 
 their  borrowed  Lustre,  their  Authority  and 
 Stations,  from  the  Supremacy  that  was 
 then  become  extinct. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 147 
 
 14.  Not  only,  however,  was  there  a 
 total  privation  of  Light  in  the  Heaven  of 
 Pagan  Rome  ;  but  that  Heaven  itself  “  de- 
 “  parted ,  as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  toge* 
 “  ther.”  Upon  the  defeat  and  death  of 
 Maxentius,  the  Government  of  the  Empire 
 considered  as  pagan ,  became  altogether 
 abolished  ;  leaving;  no  visible  trace,  no  le- 
 gible  inscription,  to  prove  that  such  a 
 System  had  ever  existed,  except  in  the 
 Records  of  History,  and  the  spoliated  Re¬ 
 mains  of  its  Temples  and  Altars.  Indeed 
 “  every  Mountain  and  Island  were  moved 
 “  out  of  their  places/'  A  corresponding 
 degree  of  Derangement  pervaded  every 
 part  of  the  Roman  Earth  ;  and  not  only 
 every  Kingdom  of  any  eminence  and  ex¬ 
 tent  within  its  limits,  but  every  State  just 
 emerging,  as  it  were,  above  the  surface  of 
 this  general  receptacle  of  Nations,  felt 
 the  mighty  effects  of  this  Concussion. 
 Then,  also,  those  elevated  Spots ,  which 
 were  once  regarded  as  the  peculiar  Resi¬ 
 dences  of  Oracular  Inspiration,  were  all 
 deserted.  Those  noble  Structures ,  which, 
 by  the  mouldering  vestiges  of  their  ancient 
 
 Rev.  VI.  13,  14. 
 
 L  2 
 
148 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 magnificence,  excite  to  this  day  the  admi¬ 
 ration  of  the  curious,  and  which  were 
 once  the  principal  Seats  of  an  idolatrous 
 and  cruel  Superstition  ;  those  detached  and 
 insulated  Alt  arSy  which  were  so  often  reared 
 to  Deities  unknown — were  all  equally  de¬ 
 voted  to  Plunder  and  Desolation. 
 
 15 — 17.  Now  therefore  had  arrived  the 
 Season  of  the  most  just  and  terrible  Retri¬ 
 bution  :  and  when  those  cruel  and  blood¬ 
 thirsty  Persecutors,  who  had  shewed  no 
 mercy,  should  themselves  also  experience 
 none.  “  And  the  kings  of  the  Earth”— 
 those  pagan  princes,  Maximin  and  Lici- 
 nius*,  who,  after  the  fall  of  Maxentius, 
 still  harboured  the  most  inveterate  enmity 
 against  Christianity ;  and  who  had  only 
 remitted  for  a  time  the  rigours  of  perse¬ 
 cution,  from  a  dread  of  the  Power  of  Con¬ 
 stantine — “  and  the  great  men,  and  the 
 “  rich  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and 
 16  the  mighty  men;  and  every  bondman, 
 “  and  every  freeman” — the  whole  heathen 
 Community,  “  hid  themselves,”  as  it  were, 
 M  in  the  dens ,  and  in  the  rocks  of  the 
 
 *  See,  for  proofs  of  the  enmity  of  Licinius  to  Chris¬ 
 tianity,  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  15,  p.  581,  (R). 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 149 
 
 “  mountains  *”  Losing:  all  confidence  in 
 
 O 
 
 themselves,  they  fled  for  refuge  to  their 
 oracular  Caverns,  and  to  the  Sanctuaries 
 
 *  Isaiah  appears  to  have  prophecied,  in  some  measure, 
 of  this  memorable  period,  when  he  said — 
 
 “  And  the  pride  of  man  shall  bow  down  ; 
 
 ££  And  the  heighth  of  mortals  shall  be  humbled  ; 
 
 “  And  J ehotah  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day  : 
 
 ££  And  the  idols  shall  totally  disappear. 
 
 <£  And  they  shall  go  into  caverns  of  rocks,  and  into  holes 
 of  the  dust  ; 
 
 £<  From  the  fear  of  Jehovah,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
 majesty, 
 
 ££  When  he  ariseth  to  strike  the  earth  with  terror. 
 
 “  In  that  day  shall  a  man  cast  away  his  idols  of  silver, 
 
 ££  And  his  idols  of  gold  which  they  have  made  to  worship, 
 
 ££  To  the  moles  and  to  the  bats  : 
 
 ££  To  go  into  caves  of  the  rocks,  and  into  clefts  of  the  craggy 
 rocks  ; 
 
 n  From  the  fear  of  Jehovah,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
 majesty, 
 
 <£  When  he  ariseth  to  strike  the  earth  with  terror.” 
 
 Isaiah,  ch.  2,  v.  17 — 21,  Bp.  Lowth’s  translation.  Yet 
 however  applicable  these  sublime  words  may  be  to  the 
 occasion  here  alluded  to,  they  will,  beyond  all  doubt, 
 receive  their  accomplishment  in  a  more  complete  and 
 impressive  manner,  w  hen  hereafter  the  Idolatry  of  Ro¬ 
 mish  Superstition  shall  finally  yield  to  the  repeated  and 
 terrible  concussions  by  which  it  will  be  assailed. 
 
 Rev.  VI.  15 — 17. 
 
 L  3 
 
150 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 of  their  Gods  :  bat  they  fled  in  vain  ;  for 
 the  very  Tripods  were  soon  removed,  and 
 the  Gods  themselves  were  forcibly  carried 
 off*.  Their  Consternation  at  the  sudden 
 and  wonderful  Change  which  was  then 
 taking  place,  and  the  Vanity  of  the  Con¬ 
 fidence  wherein  they  trusted,  are  thus 
 sublimely  described  by  thesaeied  Writer 
 — “  they  said  to  the  mountains  and  rocks 
 “  fall  on  us,”  so  as  to  overshadow  us  ; 
 “  and  hide  us  from  the  Face  of  Him  that 
 “  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the 
 
 *  C(  Constantine,  not  thinking  it  yet  advisable  to  pull 
 “  clown  the  temples  of  the  Idols,  ordered  them  to  be 
 11  shut,  up,  in  all  the  places  where  that  might  be  done 
 tf  without  tumults  and  bloodshed;  to  he  stripped  of  their 
 a  riches  and  ornaments ,  and  even  of  their  Idols ;  and  all 
 “  the  lands ,  houses,  and  revenues  belonging  to  them  to  be 
 “  applied  to  pious  uses.  In  virtue  of  this  Ordinance, 
 u  the  Pythian  and  Sminthian  Apollo,  the  Tripod  of  Del - 
 11  phos ,  the  Muses  of  Helicon,  the  famous  Pan,  whom 
 “  all  the  Cities  of  Greece  had  consecrated  after  the 
 u  Persian  war,  and  whatever  misled  antiquity  had,  for 
 “  many  ages,  revered  and  adored,  were  publicly  dragged 
 “  through  the  streets,  and  either  dashed  in  pieces,  or 
 “  made  use  of,  as  master-pieces  of  Art,  to  adorn  the 
 “  squares,  villas,  palaces,  public  galleries,  &c.”  Anc. 
 “  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  15,  book  S,  ch,  25,  p.  586. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 151 
 
 u  Wrath  of  the  Lamb  ;  for  the  great  Day 
 “  of  his  Wrath  is  come  ;  and  who  shall  be 
 “  able  to  stand  ?” 
 
 So  complete  was  the  Discomfiture  of 
 the  ancient  Hierarchy  of  the  Empire  !  So 
 forcibly  were  the  Illusions  of  her  Glory  dis¬ 
 pelled  !  The  Extinction  of  the  Light  of  her 
 Heaven ;  the  Departure  of  that  Heaven 
 itself ;  and  the  Removal  of  all  those  Moun¬ 
 tains  and  Islands,  which  had  contributed 
 to  its  support,  and  over  which  it  had  been 
 extended  ; — all  these  Events  served  only 
 to  prepare  the  way  for  another  State  of 
 things,  widely  different  in  its  Nature,  and 
 replete  with  the  most  glorious  and  bene¬ 
 ficial  Ptesults. 
 
 1.  After  these  things,”  says  the  pro¬ 
 phet,  s<  I  saw  four  Angels  standing  on  the 
 “ four  Corners  of  the  Earth ,  holding  the 
 “  four  Winds  of  the  Earth ,  that  they  should 
 “  not  blow  on  the  Earth ,  nor  on  the  Sea , 
 “  nor  on  any  Tree.”  Thus,  by  the  imme¬ 
 diate  Appointment  of  God,  (for  the  figu¬ 
 rative  ministration  of  the  Angels  seems 
 designed  to  establish  this  belief)  the  furi¬ 
 ous  blasts  of  War  and  Persecution  were 
 
 Rev.  VII.  1. 
 
152 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 compelled  to  subside  ;  and  were,  for  a 
 season,  retained  in  subjec  io  1  !  These 
 are  said  to  have  been  “  the  Winds  of  the 
 “  Earth  because  they  had  been  excited 
 at  the  will  and  command  of  the  supreme 
 temporal  Powers,  that  then  governed  ike 
 Empire.  The  Princes,  who,  during  the 
 period  denoted  under  the  fifth  Seal  and 
 the  former  part  of  the  sixth,  had  been 
 principally  concerned  in  Acts  of  outrage¬ 
 ous  Cruelty  against  the  Church,  were  1) i- 
 oclesian,  Valerius,  Maximian,  Maxentius, 
 and  Maximin ;  and  all  these,  with  the  ex¬ 
 ception  of  Dioclesian,  who  had  been  led 
 to  sanction  these  Enormities  merely 
 through  the  Artifices  and  Instigation  of 
 Galerius,  died  miserably  and  prematurely; 
 affording  to  every  succeeding  generation 
 the  most  unequivocal  Examples  of  Divine 
 Vengeance  and  Retribution.  So  that  the 
 Justice  of  God  was  no  less  strikingly  dis¬ 
 played  in  the  awful  Deaths  of  these  men  ; 
 than  his  Mercy  and  Goodness  were  in  the 
 Successes  of  Constantine,  and  his  Elevati¬ 
 on  at  length  to  the  entire  Sovereignty  both 
 in  the  East  and  West.  Upon  the  death 
 of  Maximin  in  August,  313,  all  proceed- 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 153 
 
 ings  against  the  Christians  were  finally 
 stopped,  in  all  parts  of  the  Empire;  and 
 upon  that  of  Licinius,  in  323,  the  whole 
 became  happily  united  under  one  Chris¬ 
 tian  head.  Then  succeeded  a  Season,  me¬ 
 morable  tor  its  Tranquillity;  nor  was  “  the 
 “  Wind"  permitted  to  blow  upon  “  the 
 “  Earth"  or  Empire  considered  in  its  inte¬ 
 gral  Capacity  ;  upon  “  the  Sea"  or  any  of 
 that  multitudinous  aggregate  of  Nations 
 of  which  it  consisted  ;  or  even  “  upon  any 
 “  Tree  *”  or  any  single  Individual,  for  all 
 
 *  In  Psalm  1,  v.  3: — a  good  man  is  compared  to 
 “  a  Tree ,  planted  by  tne  water-side,  that  will  bring  forth 
 li  his  fruit  in  due  season.”  And  the  same  beautiful  em¬ 
 blem  is  again  employed  to  represent  the  same  charac¬ 
 ter  in  Jerem.  ch.  17,  v.  8. 
 
 So  on  the  contrary,  men,  who  had  descended  to  the 
 various  depths  of  depravity,  are  compared  by  St.  Jude 
 to  “  Trees,  whose  fruit  withereth,  without  fruit,  twice 
 l<  dead,  plucked  up  by  the  roots/'  v.  12. 
 
 But  our  Blessed  Lord  still  further  amplifies  the  same 
 expressive  figure — Speaking  of  the  false  prophets,  who 
 were  then  rising  in  Judaea,  he  said— a  Ye  shall  know 
 “  them  by  their  fruits.  Bo  men  gather  grapes  of 
 “  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ?  Even  so  every  good  Tree 
 u  bringeth  forth  good  fruit :  but  a  corrupt  Tree  bringeth. 
 "forth  evil  fruit.”  See  Matth.  ch.  7,  v.  15 — 20. 
 
 Hence,  Trees,  generally  speaking,  are  employed  to 
 Ret.  Y1X.  1. 
 
154 , 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 were  equally  protected  by  the  Observance 
 of  wise  and  wholesome  Laws. 
 
 Such  is  the  general  Scene  (for  there 
 were  certainly  some  exceptions  *),  which 
 the  reign  of  Constantine  presents  to  the 
 view,  after  he  had  become  sole  Master  of 
 the  Empire.  And  the  Means ,  which  were 
 
 represent  Men,  agreeably  to  that  beautiful  sentiment  of 
 the  Poet, 
 
 ■Otn  OyAAav  yevE*,  roivde  y.ai  ’AvSfwi/. 
 
 &c.  Iliad,  VI.  146 — 149. 
 
 *  Thes e.  exceptions  were  chiefly  to  be  observed  in  the 
 conduct  of  the  Emperor  himself.—  Such  was  his  beha¬ 
 viour  towards  Licinius,  who,  after  his  resignation  of  the 
 purple,  having  been  received  by  Constantine  with 
 great  demonstrations  of  kindness,  and  sent  by  him  into 
 Thessaly,  with  an  assurance,  that  he  should  live  unmo¬ 
 lested,  so  long  as  he  created  no  new  disturbance,  was, 
 nevertheless,  soon  after  strangled  by  his  order. — Such 
 was  his  unjust  and  cruel  treatment  of  his  own  son  Cris- 
 pus  ;  whom,  contrary  to  all  the  laws  of  justice  and 
 equity,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  usual  clemency  of 
 his  own  nature,  and  without  giving  the  prince  an  op¬ 
 portunity  of  clearing  himself  of  an  accusation  which  had 
 been  preferred  against  him,  he  ordered  to  be  put  to 
 death. — Such  was  the  cruelty  with  which  he  conducted 
 himself  towards  his  nephew,  the  young  Licinius,  whom 
 he  caused  to  be  slain  in  the  twelfth  year  of  his  age  ; 
 towards  Fausta,  the  young  prince’s  mother-in-law  ;  and 
 many  other  persons  of  distinction.  See  Anc.  Univ. 
 Hist,  vol,  15,  book  3,  ch.  25,  p.  588. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 155 
 
 employed  to  produce  it,  will  be  found  to 
 verify  the  Vision  to  the  most  minute  par¬ 
 ticular.  Four  Angels  are  described,  as 
 standing  on  the  four  Corners  of  the  Earth, 
 to  hold  its  four  Winds,  or  to  restrain  its 
 power  of  doing  mischief.  But  the  term 
 Angel ,  in  a  prophetical  sense,  expresses 
 any  person  or  thing ,  that  is  made  use  of 
 for  conveying  a  Message  from  God,  or  ex¬ 
 ecuting  his  Will.  And  therefore  the  four 
 Angels,  who  had  these  Stations  and  Powers 
 assigned  them,  are  evidently  emblema¬ 
 tical  of  those  four  Prafecti  Pratorio *,  who 
 
 *  The  Praetorian  Projects,  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  “rising 
 (t  by  degrees  from  the  most  humble  condition,  were  in- 
 “  vested  with  the  civil  and  military  administration  of 
 “  the  Roman  world.  From  the  reign  of  Severus  to 
 “  that  of  Dioclesian,  the  Guards  and  the  Palace ,  the 
 “  Lazos  and  the  Finances,  the  Armies  and  the  Provinces 
 “  were  intrusted  to  their  superintending  care  ;  and,  like 
 “  the  Vizirs  of  the  East,  they  held  with  one  hand  the 
 <(  Seal,  and  with  the  other  the  Standard  of  the  Empire. 
 
 “  The  ambition  of  the  Prefects,  always  formidable, 
 u  and  sometimes  fatal,  to  the  Masters  whom  they  served, 
 “  was  supported  by  the  strength  of  the  Proctorian  Bands; 
 °  but  after  those  haughty  troops  had  been  weakened  by 
 tc  Dioclesian,  and  finally  suppressed  by  Constantine,  the 
 “  Prefects,  who  survived  their  fall,  were  reduced  without 
 
 Rev.  VII,  1. 
 
156 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 bad  been  created  by  Constantine  ;  and 
 appointed  to  superintend  respectively  the 
 four  great  Prefectures  into  which  the  Em¬ 
 pire  was  now  divided.  These  were  the 
 first  Magistrates  in  their  several  depart¬ 
 ments,  and  they  shared  among  them  the 
 care  of  the  whole  State.  Unlike  those 
 Prefects,  whose  office  had  hitherto  been 
 of  a  mixed  nature,  partly  civil ,  and  partly 
 military ,  and  whose  number  had  never  till 
 
 “  difficulty  to  the  station  of  useful  and  obedient  Minis - 
 il  ters .  When  they  were  no  longer  responsible  for  the 
 il  safety  of  the  Emperor’s  person,  they  resigned  the  ju- 
 <(  risdiction,  which  they  had  hitherto  claimed  and  exer- 
 cised,  over  all  the  departments  of  the  palace.  They 
 "  were  deprived  by  Constantine  of  all  military  command, 
 “  as  soon  as  they  had  ceased  to  lead  into  the  field,  under 
 *f  their  immediate  orders,  the  flower  of  the  Roman 
 t(  troops  ;  and  at  length,  by  a  singular  revolution,  the 
 Captains  of  the  Guards  were  transformed  into  the 
 u  civil  Magistrates  of  the  Provinces. 
 
 “  According  to  the  plan  of  government  instituted  by 
 tc  Dioclesian,  the/our  Princes  had  each  their  Prastorian 
 “  Praefect ;  and,  after  the  Monarchy  was  once  more 
 u  united  in  the  person  of  Constantine,  he  still  continued 
 “  to  create  the  same  number  of  four  Prefects,  and 
 u  entrusted  to  their  care,”  with  the  limited  power  above 
 mentioned,  “  the  same  Provinces  which  they  had  al- 
 u  ready  administered.”  Decline  and  Fall,  vol.  3,  chap. 
 17,  p.  42. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 157 
 
 lately  exceeded  two;  These  four,  confined 
 now  to  the  exercise  of  a  civil  authority, 
 were  peculiarly  appointed,  that  they  might 
 enforce  the  due  administration  of  the 
 Laws,  and  hold  in  check  the  four  Winds 
 of  the  symbolical  Earth. 
 
 2,  3.  And  the  Person  from  whom  they 
 derived  their  peaceful  Commission,  as 
 well  as  the  sacred  Purpose  for  which  it 
 was  issued,  are  most  distinctly  pointed 
 out  in  the  Emblems  before  us.  “  And 
 “  I  saw,”  says  St.  John,  “  another  Angel , 
 “  ascending  from  the  East,  having  the 
 “  Seal  of  the  living  God  :  and  he  cried 
 “  with  a  loud  voice/’  in  a  tone  that  en¬ 
 forced  Obedience,  “  to  the  four  Angels , 
 “  to  whom  it  was  given,”  except  for  this 
 mandate,  “  to  hurt  the  Earth  and  the  Sea, 
 “  saying — Hurt  not  the  Earth ,  neither  the 
 “  Sea ,  nor  the  Trees ,  till  we  have  sealed 
 “  the  Servants  of  our  God  in  the  fore - 
 44  heads  ” 
 
 Th Q fifth  Angel ,  who  was  endued  with 
 Authority  so  superior  to  that  of  the  rest, 
 was  evidently  Constantine  the  Great.  He 
 was  seen  “  ascending  from  the  East 
 
 Rev.  VII.  2,  S. 
 
158 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 because  in  the  year  530,  and  seven  years 
 after  the  death  of  Licinius,  he  formally 
 transferred  the  Seat  of  Empire  from  Rome 
 to  Constantinople,  which  magnificent  and 
 beautiful  City  he  had  then  completed  for 
 that  express  purpose.  He  had  “  the  Seal 
 “  of  the  living  God.”  He  encouraged, 
 by  every  means  in  his  power,  the  propa¬ 
 gation  of  Christianity  throughout  his  ex¬ 
 tensive  Dominions.  The  peculiar  initia¬ 
 tion,  requisite  for  the  right  profession  of 
 this,  is  by  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism, 
 wllfch  is  <f  the  Seal  of  the  Covenant”  be¬ 
 tween  God  and  his  Church* ;  and,  accord¬ 
 ingly,  Baptismal  fonts  were  now  erected 
 in  the  porch  of  each  Church  *f,  for  the  con- 
 
 *  In  the  same  manner  as  the  Rite  of  Circumcision 
 was  “  the  Seal  of  the  Covenant/'  between  God  and  his 
 peculiar  people,  in  ancient  times.  Compare  Gen.  ch. 
 17,  v.  7,  9—12,  with  Rom.  ch.  4,  v.  1 1. 
 
 f  Mosheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol.  I.  Cent.  IV.  Part  II. 
 Chap.  4,  Sec.  7.  Besides  these  places  peculiarly  set 
 apart  for  the  commodious  administration  of  this  ini¬ 
 tiatory  Sacrament,  there  were  also  particular  seasons 
 appointed  for  its  solemnization.  These  were  during  the 
 vigils  of  Easter  and  Whitsuntide  ;  and  it  was  performed 
 by  the  Bishop,  and  the  Presbyters  commissioned  by 
 him  for  that  purpose.  In  cases,  however,  of  urgent 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 159 
 
 venient  solemnization  of  that  holy  Rite. 
 He  himself  participated  in  it  before  his 
 death  *.  From  him,  under  the  favour  of 
 Divine  Providence,  the  other  Angels ,  here 
 mentioned,  received  a  Commandment,  and 
 were  enabled  to  fulfil  it — “  not  to  hurt  the 
 “  Earth ,  neither  the  Sea,  nor  the  Trees” 
 that  is,  to  preserve  the  whole  Empire  in  a 
 
 necessity,  and  in  such  only,  a  dispensation  was  granted 
 for  performing  it  at  other  times  besides  those  here  men¬ 
 tioned.  Ibid. 
 
 *  “  Being  apprized  that  his  end  was  approaching,  he 
 “  declared  in  a  speech  which  he  made  to  the  Bishops 
 “  who  attended  him,  his  eager  desire  of  being  baptized; 
 “  adding,  that  he  had  designed  to  have  received  the 
 “  Seal  of  Salvation  in  the  waters  of  the  Jordan;  but 
 “  since  God,  in  his  infinite  wisdom  had  otherwise  dis- 
 “  posed  of  him,  he  acquiesced  in  his  will.”  Anc.  Univ. 
 Hist.  Vol.  lG,  Book  4,  Chap.  2,  p.  135,  from  the  authors 
 there  cited.  In  thus  receiving  Baptism  a  few  days  only 
 before  his  death,  he  conformed  to  a  practice  which  pre¬ 
 vailed  much  in  this  Century  :  for  it  was  a  custom  with 
 many  in  this  age,  to  put  off  their  baptism  to  the  last 
 hour  as  it  were,  of  Life,  under  an  impression,  that  by 
 this  means,  immediately  after  receiving  by  this  holy  rite 
 the  remission  of  their  Sins ,  they  should  ascend  pure  and 
 spotless  to  the  mansions  of  life  and  immortality.  Mo- 
 sheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol.  I.  Cent.  IV.  Part  I.  Chap.  1, 
 Sect.  8. 
 
160 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 State  of  comparative  tranquillity,  till  true 
 Religion  should  be  firmly  established, 
 “  till  the  Servants  of  God  should  be  seal- 
 “  ed  in  their  foreheads*'  and  there  “  signed 
 “  with  the  sign  of  the  Cross,”  in  the  con¬ 
 secrated  Ordinance  of  Baptism. 
 
 4 — 8.  it  has  been  shewn,  in  a  former 
 Lecture  *,  how  remarkably  the  religious 
 Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  peculiar  peo¬ 
 ple  of  God,  under  the  Mosaic  Dispensa¬ 
 tion,  were  emblematical  of  those  holy 
 Mysteries,  on  which  the  Church  of  Christ 
 was  to  be  established,  in  after  ages:  and 
 we  are  here  presented  with  another  and 
 most  striking  exemplification  of  the  same 
 analogy.  In  a  secondary  sense,  They  de¬ 
 rived  their  extraction  from  the  twelve 
 Patriarchs  ;  and  the  Christian  Church  de¬ 
 duced  its  origin  from  the  twelve  Apostles. 
 With  them ,  Circumcision  was  “  the  Seal 
 “  of  the  Covenant”  between  God  and 
 them  ;  with  Christians ,  Baptism  possesses 
 the  same  compacting  Efficacy.  As  there¬ 
 fore  the  Jewish  Church  was  allusive  to 
 the  Christian ,  and  the  former  Ordinance 
 was  typical  of  the  latter  ;  and  as  the  Apo- 
 
 *  Lecture  II.  pages  68—89,  Vol.  I. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 161 
 
 calypse  is  confessedly  written  in  a  figura¬ 
 tive  style;  we  may  clearly  see  the  reason, 
 why  St.  John  has  represented  the  vast  ad¬ 
 ditional  Number  of  persons,  wdio  were 
 now  admitted  into  Covenant  with  God 
 by  Baptism ,  under  the  semblance  of  those 
 of  the  twelve  Tribes  of  Israel,  who,  in 
 ancient  times,  were  admitted  to  the  same 
 privilege  by  Circumcision . 
 
 “  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them  who 
 “  were  sealed/'  says  the  Prophet;  “  and 
 “  there  were  sealed  an  hundred  and  forty 
 M  and  four  thousand,  from  all  the  Tribes 
 “  of  the  Children  of  Israel’* — twelve  thou¬ 
 sand  from  each  Tribe. 
 
 A  great  and  determinate  Number  is  here 
 put  figuratively,  and  according  to  the  fre¬ 
 quent  practice  of  the  Ancients,  for  a  vast 
 Multitude ;  and  a  little  consideration  will 
 easily  conduct  us  to  the  sublime  Truth 
 that  is  veiled  beneath  it.  As  the  Sources 
 of  those  sacred  Principles,  on  which 
 the  Holy  Catholic  Church  is  founded, 
 were  denoted,  in  a  former  part  of  this 
 book,  under  the  sacred  Imagery  of  “  four- 
 “  and-twcnty  Elders ,  sitting  before  the 
 Ret.  VII.  4— *8- 
 VOL.  II,  M 
 
102 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  Th  rone  so,  in  this  passage,  the  Church, 
 as  it  existed  in  the  time  of  Constantine, 
 is  represented  also,  as  established  on  the 
 Doctrines  transmitted  through  the  twelve 
 Tribes  of  Israel,  and  by  the  twelve  Apos¬ 
 tles ,  conjointly.  But,  in  order  to  shew 
 the  Latitude  *|-,  as  it  were,  of  this  Basis  ;  to 
 prove  how  essentially  subservient  each  of 
 these  grand  divisions  of  Revelation  re¬ 
 spectively  is,  to  the  wonderful  and  sa¬ 
 lutary  purpose  for  which  the  whole  was 
 granted  ;  this  number  12,  is  multiplied 
 into  itself.  And  again,  for  the  purpose 
 of  pointing  cut  the  substajitial  Effects  of 
 these  holy  principles ;  and  of  exhibiting 
 more  completely  the  great  numbers  who 
 now  flowed  into  the  Church  ;  every  144th 
 part  of  this  Area  or  Basis,  is  represented 
 as  occupied  by  a  thousand  persons,  a  defi¬ 
 nite  for  an  indefinite  number :  thus  pro¬ 
 ducing  a  nominal  aggregate  of  144,000  j 
 but,  in  reality ,  “  a  multitude  which  no 
 46  man  can  number  \*  and  such  as  is  in  every 
 respect  correspondent  with  the  universal 
 Importance  of  the  Religion  they  professed, 
 
 *  See  Lecture  VIII.  pages  70 — 72. 
 
 St.  Paul  represents  the  Church  of  Christ  as  esta¬ 
 blished  on  the  same  Foundation.  Ephes.  ch.  2.  v.  20 — 22. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 103 
 
 and  the  Vastness  of  the  Empire  over 
 which  it  was  extended. 
 
 9,  10.  That  this  is  a  true  exposition 
 will  immediately  appear,  from  the  suc¬ 
 ceeding  part  of  the  vision;  where  the  Pro¬ 
 phet  declares,  that,  after  this  “  Sealing  of 
 “  the  Servants  of  God  in  their  foreheads,” 
 — he  “  beheld,  and  lo,  a  great  Multitude, 
 “  which  no  man  could  number,  of  all 
 “  Nations,  and  Kindreds,  and  People, 
 “  and  Tongues,  were  standing  before  the 
 “  Throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed 
 “  with  white  Robes,  and  with  Palms  in 
 “  their  hands ;  and  crying  with  a  loud 
 “  voice,  saying  ;  Salvation  unto  our  God 
 “  who  sitteth  upon  the  Throne,  and  unto 
 “  the  Lamb.” 
 
 The  Church,  composed  of  all  the  Nations 
 that  were  included  within  the  precincts 
 of  the  Roman  Empire,  had  now  attained 
 a  firm  Establishment  and  Consistency  : 
 they  are  therefore  described  as  “standing 
 
 J5 
 
 “  before  the  Throne’’  and  constituting  the 
 visible  and  acknowledged  Church  of  Christ 
 upon  Earth 
 
 *  For  a  perspicuous  account  of  the  Changes  intro- 
 Rey.  vir.  9,  10. 
 
 M  2 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 Iff* 
 
 They  were  seen  <c  clothed  in  white 
 <c  Robes and,  in  this  respect,  there  is  a 
 literal,  and  very  remarkable  agreement 
 between  the  Prediction  and  the  Event : 
 for  “  those,  who  were”  now  “  admitted 
 u  into  the  Church  by  Baptism,  were 
 <c  obliged,  after  the  Celebration  of  that 
 “  holy  Ordinance,  to  go  clothed  in  white 
 M  Garments  for  the  space  of  seven  days  *.” 
 This  Custom  had  an  evident,  though  em¬ 
 blematical,  allusion  to  the  Purity  of  their 
 newly  regenerated  State,  and  to  the  In* 
 nocency  that  would  be  expected  in  the 
 future  parts  of  their  lives  -j\ 
 
 duced  by  Constantine,  with  respect  to  the  rights  of  the 
 several  orders  of  the  Church  -r  of  the  ecclesiastical  form 
 of  Government  he  established ;  and  of  the  manner  in 
 which  he  arranged  the  administration  of  the  Church 
 into  external  and  internal,  see  Moshcim's  Eccles. 
 Hist.  VoL  1,  Cent.  4,  Part  2,  Chap.  2,  Sect.  1— - 4„ 
 There  is  a  copious  dissertation  upon  the  Christian 
 Hierarchy,  as  constituted  by  him,  in  Bower’s  Hist,  of 
 the  Bishops  of  Rome,  Vol.  1,  p.  1)9— 110.  There  i» 
 likewise  a  very  particular  relation  of  every  thing  that 
 Constantine  did  in  favour  of  Christianity,  in  Du  Pin’* 
 Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  4,  Vol.  2,  p.  1 1—20,  Edit.  1693. 
 
 *  MosheimV  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol.  1,  Cent.  4,  Part  8,* 
 Chap.  4,  Sec.  7* 
 f  See  Note  *,  page  137* 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 \65 
 
 The  Palms  in  their  hands  were  symbo¬ 
 lical  of  the  Victory  they  had  thus  far  ob¬ 
 tained,  over  both  their  temporal  and  spiri¬ 
 tual  Enemies  :  yet,  they  are  beautifully 
 represented,  as  ascribing,  in  the  Spirit 
 of  genuine  Christianity,  the  sole  glory  of 
 their  Salvation  to  God  and  the  Lamb. 
 
 II,  12.  But  if,  as  our  Blessed  Saviour 
 has  assured  us,  44  there  is  joy,  in  the  pre- 
 44  sence  of  the  Angels  of  God,  over  one 
 44  Sinner  that  repenteth,”  how  must  they 
 have  exulted  upon  the  view  of  such  a 
 Reformation  as  this  ?  These  “  minister- 
 44  ing  Spirits"  are  therefore  again  intro¬ 
 duced  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the 
 Interest  they  take  in  the  Affairs  of  the 
 World  ;  and  the  Delight  they  felt  on  this 
 new  and  extensive  Augmentation  of  hu¬ 
 man  Happiness. 
 
 44  And  all  the  Angels  stood  round  about 
 44  the  Throne,  and  about  the  Elders,  and 
 44  the  four  living  Creatures ;  and  fell  be- 
 44  fore  the  Throne  on  their  faces,  and  wor- 
 44  shipped  God  ; 
 
 •  See  Lecture  VIII.  page  01*  .  ' 
 
 rbt.vii.  n,  12. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 ICO 
 
 “  Saying,  Amen  :  Blessing,  and  Glory, 
 “  and  Wisdom,  and  Thanksgiving,  and 
 i(  Honour,  and  Power,  and  Might,  be  unto 
 “  our  God,  for  ever  and  ever,  Amen.” 
 
 We  have  now  been  enabled  to  trace,  by 
 the  light  which  History  has  afforded  us, 
 how  completely  that  part  of  the  “  Reve- 
 “  lation,”  which  has  been  already  includ¬ 
 ed  in  the  present  Lecture,  has  been  veri¬ 
 fied.  We  have  seen  the  havock  of  a  Per¬ 
 secution^  which  formed  the  peculiar  cha¬ 
 racteristic  of  its  day  ;  and  seemed  to 
 threaten  the  extirpation  of  Christianity 
 itself.  We  have  contemplated,  in  the  next 
 place,  the  entire  Subversion  of  those  pagan 
 Powers,  by  whom  these  dreadful  Inhuma¬ 
 nities  were  excited ;  and  the  abolition  of 
 the  very  Means  by  which  they  were  car¬ 
 ried  on.  And  we  have  now  beheld  the 
 Establishment  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  in 
 greater  Honour,  Authority,  and  Extent, 
 than  it  had  ever  before  attained.  All 
 these  things  were  minutely  foretold  in  the 
 Prophecy  before  us  :  they  were  also,  on 
 every  account,  most  surprising  in  them¬ 
 selves;  and  such  as  could  not  have  been 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 167 
 
 anticipated  by  any  human  Foresight  what¬ 
 ever  :  they  therefore  stand  forward  as  irre¬ 
 fragable  Arguments  for  the  Divine  In- 
 spiration  of  this  Book ;  and  for  the  Truth, 
 and  superlative  Importance,  of  our  holy 
 Religion. 
 
 13,  14.  To  remove,  however,  any  doubt 
 that  might  still  arise,  with  respect  to  the 
 peculiar  circumstances  of  the  People,  who 
 were  the  subjects  of  the  preceding  De¬ 
 scription,  the  inspired  Writer  has  con¬ 
 trasted  their  present  State  with  the  past  ; 
 and  the  pleasing  Prospects,  which  now 
 presented  themselves,  with  those  which 
 had  before  occasioned  only  apprehension 
 and  dismay.  For  this  purpose,  he  avails 
 himself  of  the  plain  declarations  of  St. 
 Paul,  as  of  one  of  the  four-and-tzventy 
 Elders.  That  holy  Apostle  has  written  to 
 this  effect — that,  those,  who  during  the 
 predominance  of  Jewish  or  Pagan  Super¬ 
 stition,  “  would  live  godldy  in  Christ 
 “  Jesus,  should  suffer  Persecution  and 
 “  that  they  must  through  much  Tribula* 
 
 *  2  Tim.  ch.  S,  v.  12. 
 
 Ret.  VII.  13,  14. 
 
 M  4 
 
1 68 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  tion  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God 
 so  as  to  become,  and  to  remain,  the  dutiful 
 Subjects  of  his  Dominion.  But  “  the 
 Kingdom  of  God”  had  now  obtained  a 
 'visible  Establishment  in  the  world  :  it  had 
 “  triumphed  gloriously”  over  all  the  oppo¬ 
 sition  of  its  pagan  Adversaries  :  and  there¬ 
 fore  the  particular  Afflictions,  under  which 
 the  Church  had  hitherto  laboured,  had 
 necessarily  ceased.  All  this  is  finely  il¬ 
 lustrated  in  the  emblematical  Imagery 
 before  us.  As  if  anxious  to  discover 
 whether  the  Prophet  had  fully  under¬ 
 stood  the  Scene,  which  had  just  been 
 exhibited  to  his  view,  one  of  the  Elders 
 is  represented  as  asking  him — “  Who  are 
 “  these  that  are  arrayed  in  white  Robes  ? 
 “  And  whence  come  they  ?"  And  upon 
 the  Prophet's  referring  to  him  for  an  an¬ 
 swer — a  These  are  they,”  said  he,  “  who 
 “  came  out  of  great  Tribulation,  and  have 
 “  washed  their  Robes  and  made  them 
 “  white  in  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb.”  Their 
 period  of  Probation,  by  means  of  the  im¬ 
 placable  Enmity  of  Heathenism,  was  now 
 
 #  Acts,  ch.  14,  v.22. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 169 
 
 past;  and,  through  the  Merits  of  their 
 Redeemer,  they  had  been  enabled  “  to 
 “  hold  fast  the  Profession  of  their  Faith/ 
 and  to  escape  the  Pollution  that  was  in 
 the  World. 
 
 15.  “  Therefore/5  continues  the  sacred 
 Interpreter,  “  they  are  before  the  throne 
 “  of  God  They  are  now  exalted  to  be 
 the  visible  and  established  Church  of  The 
 Most  High  ;  “  and  serve  Him  day  and 
 “  night  in  his  Temple  ;  and  He  that  sitteth 
 u  on  the  Throne  shall  dwell  among  them.” 
 
 16.  “  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  nei- 
 “  ther  thirst  any  more.”  They  shall  in 
 future  have  the  enjoyment  of  “  the  means 
 “  of  Grace  eating  of  “  that  living  Bread 
 M  which  came  down  from  Heaven  ;”  and 
 drinking  of  that  “  living  Water,”  that 
 floweth  from  “  the  Rock  of  ages.”  Nei- 
 ther  shall  the  Sun  light  on  them,  nor  any 
 Heat.  They  shall  not  again  be  exposed 
 to  the  scorching  rays  of  imperial  Des¬ 
 potism  under  pagan  Influence ;  nor  to 
 any  of  those  “  fiery  Trials”  they  had 
 hitherto  undergone. 
 
 17.  “  For  the  Lamb,  which  is  in  the 
 
 Ret.  VII.  15—17. 
 
170 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  midst  of  the  Throne,  shall  feed  them, 
 
 “  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  foun- 
 “  tains  of  waters;  and  God  shall  wipe 
 “  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  5”  he  shall 
 remove  all  those  peculiar  Causes  of  Dis¬ 
 tress,  to  which  they  had  recently  been 
 compelled  to  submit. 
 
 But  though  the  Church  had  nothing 
 more  to  dread  from  the  Efforts  of  pagan 
 Enmity,  she  had  much  to  apprehend  from 
 other  causes — from  the  intestine  Divisions 
 of  tlie  Empire  ;  from  the  Incursions  of 
 
 barbarous  Nations;  from  the  unprincipled 
 
 /  _ 
 
 Ambition  of  some  of  her  own  Prelates  ; 
 and  from  the  Heresies  and  Schisms,  which 
 began  now  to  spring  up  with  peculiar 
 luxuriance  within  her  own  Pale.  All 
 these  Sources  of  Vexation  will  fully  deve¬ 
 lop  themselves  as  we  proceed. 
 
 1.  Upon  the  Death  of  Constantine, 
 which  happened  in  the  year  357,  the 
 period  comprehended  under  the  seventh 
 Seal  had  its  commencement ;  and  this  Seal 
 includes  all  the  subsequent  Prophecies ,  that 
 are  contained  in  this  book. 
 
 “  And  when  the  Lamb  had  opened 
 “  the  seventh  Seal ,  there  was  Silence  in  the 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 171 
 
 “  Heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour  ” 
 There  ensued  an  awful  Pause ,  as  it  were, 
 in  the  -Administration  of  the  Affairs  of 
 the  World  ;  and  a  State  of  most  anxious 
 Suspense.  Constantine  had,  by  his  Will, 
 divided  the  Empire  between  his  three 
 Sons,  Constantine,  Constantius,  and  Con- 
 stans,  and  his  two  Nephews,  Dalmatius 
 and  Hannibalianus.  This  Pause ,  or  Si¬ 
 lence,  therefore,  only  continued,  till  this 
 Will  was  partially  set  aside,  and  became 
 thereby  the  occasion  of  almost  immediate 
 War  *.  But  the  Account  of  his  Death  no 
 
 *  “  Notwithstanding  the  claims  of  the  Senate  and 
 u  People  ot  ancient  Rome,  the  corpse  of  the  deceased 
 “  Emperor,  according  to  his  last  request,  was  trans- 
 u  ported  to  the  city,  which  was  destined  to  preserve 
 “  the  name  and  memory  of  its  Founder.  The  body  of 
 “  Constantine,  adorned  with  the  vain  symbols  of  great- 
 “  ness,  the  Purple  and  Diadem,  was  deposited  on  a 
 “  golden  bed  in  one  of  the  apartments  of  the  palace, 
 “  which,  for  that  purpose,  had  been  splendidly  furnished 
 “  and  illuminated.  The  forms  of  the  court  were 
 u  strictly  maintained.  Every  day,  at  the  appointed 
 “  hours,  the  principal  officers  of  the  state,  the  army, 
 “  and  the  household,  approaching  the  person  of  their 
 “  sovereign  with  bended  knees  and  a  composed  counte- 
 
 nance,  offered  their  respectful  homage  as  seriously  as 
 
 Rev.  VIII.  1. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 172 
 
 sooner  reached  the  Armies,  than  they  all 
 agreed  to  acknowledge  no  other  Emperors 
 than  his  three  Sons,  whom  they  accordingly 
 proclaimed.  The  Senate  of  Rome  did  the 
 same  soon  after ;  taking  no  notice  what¬ 
 ever  of  his  two  Nephews*.  Here  then 
 was  the  breaking  of  this  symbolical 
 lence ,  which  is  well  said  by  St.  John  to 
 
 u  if  he  had  been  still  alive.  From  motives  of  policy 
 "  this  theatrical  representation  was  for  some  time  con- 
 u  tinued  ;  nor  could  flattery  neglect  the  opportunity  of 
 remarking,  that  Constantine  alone,  by  the  peculiar 
 indulgence  of  heaven,  had  reigned  after  his  death. 
 
 “  But  this  reign  could  subsist  only  in  empty  pagean- 
 u  try  ;  and  it  was  soon  discovered,  that  the  will  of  the 
 “  most  absolute  monarch  is  seldom  obeyed,  when  his 
 il  subjects  have  no  longer  any  thing  to  hope  from  his 
 “  favour,  or  to  dread  from  hi*  resentment.  The  tame 
 u  ministers  and  generals ,  who  boosed  with  such  reverential 
 u  awe  before  the  inanimate  corpse  of  their  deceased  So - 
 il  vereign ,  were  engaged  in  secret  consultations ,  to 
 exclude  his  two  nephews ,  Dalmatius  and  Hannibalianus, 
 “from  the  share  which  he  had  assigned  them  in  the  tuc~ 
 tl  cession  of  the  Empire  ”  Decline  and  Fall,  vol,  3, 
 chap.  18,  p.  128,  &c. 
 
 I  have  cited  the  above  passage  in  order  to  shew  how 
 short  a  time  must  have  elapsed,  before  measures  were 
 agitated,  for  setting  aside  the  succession  of  these  two 
 young  princes. 
 
 *  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  1 6,  book  4,  ch.  2,p.  145—147^ 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 173 
 
 have  lasted  “  about  the  Space  of  half  an 
 u  hour” — only  till  the  nearest  Armies 
 could  be  fully  apprized  of  the  death  of 
 the  Emperor,  and  their  Generals  had  de¬ 
 termined,  what  line  of  conduct  to  pur¬ 
 sue.  Supposing,  agreeably  to  the  ordinary 
 mode  of  calculating  the  duration  of  pro¬ 
 phetical  periods,  that  “  a  day ”  is  used  to 
 signify  a  natural  year ,  “  half  an  hour' 
 will  just  be  one  forty-eighth  part  of  360 
 days,  or  seven  days  and  a  half ;  which 
 would  allow  sufficient  time,  in  all  proba¬ 
 bility,  for  the  conveyance  of  the  Intelli¬ 
 gence,  and  the  first  formation  of  the  Reso¬ 
 lution  that  followed.  I  need  scarcely  add, 
 that  this  Resolution  proved  fatal  very 
 soon  afterwards  to  the  two  young  Princes, 
 and  to  all  the  Family  of  Constantine  *, 
 
 i 
 
 *  “  See  Anc.  Univ,  Hist.  Vol.  16,  book  4,  ch.  2,  p„ 
 150—152. 
 
 “  The  intrigue”  against  these  two  young  princes, 
 °  was  conducted  with  zeal  aud  secrecy,  till  a  loud  and 
 **  unanimous  declaration  was  procured  from  the  troops, 
 “  that  they  would* suffer  none,  except  the  sons  of  their 
 u  lamented  inona-ch,  to  reign  over  the  Roman  Empire.” 
 u  Whatever  reasons  might  have  been  alledged  by 
 these  unfortunate  prince*  to  defend  their  life  and  ho- 
 Rsy.  VIIL  1. 
 
174 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 except  liis  three  Sons,  and  two  other  Ne¬ 
 phews  ;  and  that  the  Division  of  these  ad¬ 
 ditional  Territories  became  ere  long  the 
 ground  of  an  unnatural  War  between  the 
 three  remaining  Sovereigns. 
 
 O  O 
 
 “  nour  against  so  incredible  an  accusation,”  as  that 
 cited  by  Mr.  Gibbon  on  the  authority  of  Philostorgius, 
 “  they  were  silenced  by  the  furious  clamours  of  the 
 “  soldiers,  who  declared  themselves,  at  once  their  ene- 
 “  mies,  their  judges,  and  their  executioners.  The 
 “  spirit,  and  even  the  forms  of  legal  proceedings  were 
 u  repeatedly  violated  in  a  promiscuous  massacre  ;  which 
 “  involved  the  two  Uncles  of  Constantius,  seven  of  his 
 u  Cousins,  of  whom  Dalmatius  and  Hannibalianus  were 
 <(  the  most  illustrious,  the  patrician  Optatus,  who  had 
 “  married  a  Sister  of  the  late  Emperor,  and  the  Praafect 
 u  Ablavius,  whose  power  and  riches  had  inspired  him 
 “  with  some  hopes  of  obtaining  the  purple. 
 
 “  If  it  were  necessary  to  aggravate  the  horrors  of  the 
 u  bloody  scene,  we  might  add,  that  Constantius  him- 
 u  self  had  espoused  the  Daughter  of  his  Uncle  Julius ; 
 u  and  that  he  had  bestowed  his  Sister  in  marriage  on 
 “  his  Cousin  Hannibalianus.  These  alliances,  which 
 u  the  policy  of  Constantine  had  formed  between  the 
 “  several  branches  of  the  Imperial  House,  served  only 
 to  convince  mankind,  that  these  princes  were  as  cold 
 “  to  the  endearments  of  conjugal  affection,  as  they 
 “  were  insensible  to  the  ties  of  consanguinity,  and  the 
 “  moving  entreaties  of  youth  and  innocence."  Decline 
 and  Fall,  vol.  3,  ch.  18,  p.  132. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 175 
 
 2.  But  this  space  is  also  sublimely  de¬ 
 scribed  as  the  interval,  during  which 
 “  the  seven  Angels,  which  stood  before 
 “  God”  as  the  Ministers  of  his  Vengeance, 
 received  “  their  seven  Trumpets,”  and 
 their  dread  Commission  to  sound.  The 
 Angels  *  with  the  Trumpets  may  be  under¬ 
 stood  to  sionbfv,  those  grand  and  leading 
 Events ,  which  were  appointed  by  Divine 
 Wisdom  to  announce  to  the  Church  the 
 commencement  of  the  periods ,  respectively 
 denoted  by  the  sounding  of  those  figurative 
 trumpets . 
 
 3,  4.  The  inspired  writer  has  also  ex¬ 
 quisitely  contrived  to  point  out,  in  what 
 manner  the  Church  of  Christ  was  em¬ 
 ployed  during  the  same  period.  It  was 
 to  her  a  season  of  deep  Humiliation,  under 
 an  apprehension  of  approaching  Evils; 
 and  of  earnest  Supplication  fora  continu¬ 
 ance  of  the  Blessings  she  had  lately  en¬ 
 joyed.  “  Another  Angel  came,”  who 
 was  emblematical  of  the  Christian  Priest¬ 
 hood,  “  and  stood  at  the  Altar,  having  a 
 “  golden  Censer ;  and  there  was  given 
 
 *  See  the  general  Definition  of  “  Angel,”  in  page  155. 
 
176 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  unto  him  much  insense,’'  that  he  should 
 “  offer  it  with  the  Prayers  of  the  Saints , 
 “  upon  the  golden  Altar  that  was  before 
 “  the  Throne.”  And,  to  prove  the  Divine 
 Acceptance  of  these  sacred  Services,  “  the 
 “  Smoke  of  the  Incense  which  came  with 
 “  the  Prayers  of  the  Saints ,  ascended  up 
 “  before  God,  out  of  the  Angel's  hand.” 
 
 5.  It  soon  appeared,  however,  that 
 though  their  Prayers  operated  favourably 
 in  respect  to  themselves,  yet  then  was  the 
 time  of  Wrath .  Many  enormities  *  had 
 recently  been  committed,  which  required 
 
 *  “  The  inexcusable  cruelty  and  injustice  of  Constan- 
 
 “  tine  for  instance,  “  drew  down  upon  his  family  di- 
 
 41  vine  vengeance  ;  for  his  Brothers,  his  Nephews,  and 
 
 “  his  favourite  Ministers,  were,  soon  after  his  death,  all 
 
 “  massacred  by  Constantius,  his  second  Son  by  Fausta, 
 
 u  whom  he  loved  and  cherished  above  the  rest.  Con- 
 
 • 
 
 44  stantine,  his  eldest  Son,  was  killed  by  Constans  the 
 “youngest;  Constans,  by  Magnentius  ;  G alius,  their 
 '*  Cousin,  by  Constantius  ;  and  Constantius,  by  Julian 
 u  the  Brother  of  Gallus.  Julian  perished  in  a  most 
 u  miserable  manner  ;  and  in  him  ended  the  numerous 
 44  family  of  Constantine,  which  every  one  expected 
 u  would  have  furnished  the  Empire  with  Princes  for 
 “  many  ages  ;  the  Emperor  having  three  Brothers, 
 “  four  Sons,  several  Sisters  and  Daughters,  and  nine 
 4(  Nephews/*  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  15,  book  3,  ch.  25, 
 p,  589. 
 
 *  See  Note  •,  page  154£ 
 
LECTURE  lit. 
 
 377 
 
 the  solemn  Denunciation  of  it ;  and  it  was 
 one  part  of  the  province  of  the  same  sym¬ 
 bolical  Angel  to  perform  this  sad  task, 
 fie  is  therefore  said  to  have  “  taken  the 
 “  Censer,  and  filled  it  with  fire  from  the 
 “  Altar ;  and  to  have  cast  it  upon  the 
 “  Earths  The  Fire  of  the  Altar,  which 
 consumes  the  Sacrifice,  is  a  striking  Em¬ 
 blem  of  Divine  Wrath  ;  and  the  casting  of 
 it  upon  the  Earth  plainly  intimates  the 
 destination  of  it  against  the  Roman  Empire * 
 The  consequence  was,  that,  during  the  pe¬ 
 riod  here  designated,  “  there  were  Voices, 
 “  and  Thunderings,  and  Lightnings  and 
 “  an  Earthquake.”  The  Voices  will  pro¬ 
 perly  represent  the  violent  Contentions 
 and  Animosities,  that  should  prevail  be¬ 
 tween  Individuals  of  the  most  distinguish¬ 
 ed  Rank  in  the  State.  The  Thunderings  and 
 Lightnings  are  the  Din  and  Havock  of  de¬ 
 structive  Wars  rapidly  succeeding  each 
 other.  And  the  Earthquake  predicted 
 the  Concussion  of  the  Empire,  and  its 
 Disruption  into  two  or  more  Parts,  inde¬ 
 pendent  of  each  other.  The  Season  of 
 Calamity,  therefore,  denoted  by  these 
 
 Rev.  VIII.  5. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 Symbols,  commenced  with  the  Rejection 
 of  Dalmatius  and  Hannibalianus  from 
 their  Share  of  the  Empire  ;  and  continued 
 till  the  final  Partition  of  the  Empire,  be¬ 
 tween  Valentinian  and  Valens,  in  the 
 year  365 ;  comprehending  a  space  of 
 about  twenty-seven  years. 
 
 The  Earthquake,  indeed,  that  is  here 
 loreshewn,  was  preceded,  through  almost 
 the  whole  of  this  period,  by  convulsive 
 Agitations,  which  seemed,  at  times,  to 
 threaten  a  total  Subversion  *.  These 
 
 *  Among  these  may  be  enumerated — 
 
 1.  The  murder  of  the  Princes  before  mentioned,  in 
 consequence  of  the  factions  of  the  Court,  in  33 7. 
 
 2.  The  new  partition  of  the  Empire  among  the  three 
 Sons  of  Constantine,  which  was  the  occasion  almost 
 immediately  of  a  civil  war,  in  337. 
 
 3.  The  destructive  war  between  the  Romans,  and 
 Sapor,  King  of  Persia,  which  began  in  337,  and  termi¬ 
 nated  only  with  the  accession  of  Jovian,  in  363. 
 
 4.  The  civil  war  between  Constantine  and  his  brother 
 Constans,  in  which  the  former  of  these  with  his  army 
 was  totally  cut  off  near  Aquileia,  in  340. 
 
 5.  The  revolt  of  Magnentius  and  Vetranio,  each 
 assuming  the  purple,  the  one  in  Germany,  and  the  other 
 in  Pannonia,  and  the  murder  of  Constans,  in  S4Q; 
 which  occasioned  a  civil  War,  that  wns  concluded  only 
 with  the  utter  defeat,  and  death,  of  Magnentius,  in  333. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 173 
 
 brought  the  barbarous  Nations  around 
 into  closer  Contact  with  the  Empire;  and 
 prepared  the  way  for  still  further  Disas¬ 
 ters.  These  sapped  the  foundation  of 
 
 .* 
 
 6.  The  ravaging  of  Mesopotamia  by  the  Saracens, 
 ill  353. 
 
 7.  The  Alemanni  making  frequent  inroads  into  the 
 province  of  Gaul ;  and  compelling  Constantins  to  a 
 disgraceful  peace,  in  354. 
 
 8.  One  Army  of  the  Alemanni,  making  an  incursion 
 into  Italy  ;  and  another  body  of  them  joining  with  the 
 Franks  and  Saxons,  and  breaking  into  Gaul;  commit¬ 
 ting  immense  havock  and  devastation  ;  and  not  being 
 repelled  without  extreme  loss  and  difficulty,  by  the  Im¬ 
 perial  forces,  in  335. 
 
 Q.  The  Barbarians  of  the  North  forcing  their  wav 
 with  greater  violence  than  ever  into  some  of  the  Pro¬ 
 vinces,  plundering  a  great  many  Cities,  and  threatening 
 the  Empire  with  their  numerous  and  combined  forces, 
 in  355. 
 
 10.  The  civil  war  between  Julian  and  Constantius, 
 Which  was  concluded  by  the  death  of  the  latter  of  them, 
 in  S6l. 
 
 11.  The  Quadian  and  Sanitarian  war,  in  357,  358, 
 359. 
 
 12.  The  invasion  of  Mesopotamia  by  Sapor,  in  3G0. 
 
 13.  Another  invasion  of  Gaul  by  the  Alemanni,  in  360. 
 
 14.  The  rapid  transfer  of  the  Empire  from  Julian 
 to  Jovian,  and  from  Jovian  to  Valentiniao,  in  363  and 
 864. 
 
 N  2 
 
 Rev,  VIII,  5. 
 
ISO 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 every  tie  of  Nature  amongst  the  ruling' 
 Powers  ;  and  swallowed  up  every  remain¬ 
 ing  branch  of  the  numerous  Family  of 
 Constantine — a  Race,  “  which,  every  one 
 “  expected,  would  have  furnished  the 
 “  Empire  with  Princes  for  many  Ages." 
 In  short,  the  most  superficial  glance  at 
 the  Events,  by  which  this  short  Interval 
 was  distinguished,  will  shew,  how  crowded 
 it  was  with  unnatural  Feuds,  and  intestine 
 Divisions  ;  with  the  Horrors  of  civil,  and 
 the  Miseries  of  foreign  War:  thus  verify¬ 
 ing,  to  the  most  minute  particular,  the 
 figurative  Description  that  is  here  given 
 by  the  Prophet.  , 
 
 6.  During  this  also,  “  the  seven  Angels, 
 “  which  had  the  seven  Trumpets,  pre- 
 “  pared  themselves  to  sound." 
 
 7.  “  The  first  Angel  sounded,  and 
 “  there  followed  Hail  *  and  Fire  mingled 
 
 *  A  Cloud  being  the  emblem  of  a  Nation,  ancl  Hail 
 being  always  generated  in  a  cold  and  ’perturbed  region 
 of  the  air,  the  symbol  here  employed  will  correctly  re¬ 
 present  the  vengeful  descent  of  barbarous  Nations  ;  pour¬ 
 ing  down  from  the  frigid  regions  of  the  North,  and 
 North-East,  upon  the  more  hospitable  climates  in  the 
 South,  and  South-West — upon  the  more  rich  and  fer¬ 
 tile  provinces  of  the  Empire. 
 
 The  Coldness  of  the  Hail  will  likewise  well  prefigure 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 181 
 
 &i  with  Blood,  and  they  were  cast  upon 
 **  the  Eartli ;  and  the  third  part  of  the 
 “  Trees  was  burnt  up,  and  all  green  Grass 
 u  was  burnt  up/' 
 
 Proclamation  is  here  made,  that  the 
 Earth ,  or  Roman  Empire,  should,  for  a 
 certain  appointed  time,  be  particularly 
 infested  with  the  incursions  of  barbarous 
 Nations,  numberless  and  impetuous  as  the 
 Hail ,  and  laying  waste  all  before  them 
 with  Fire  and  Sword .  This  Empire  being 
 now  divided  into  the  Eastern  and  Western, 
 and  occupying  only  about  two  thirds  of 
 the  extent  it  had  covered  in  the  time  of 
 Trajan,  whatever  happened  to  either  of 
 these  grand  divisions  might  be  justly  said 
 to  have  happened  to  one  third  part  of  the 
 Earth  *  }  and  therefore  every  thing,  men- 
 
 the  cold  blooded  Indifference ,  with  which  they  should 
 contemplate  the  miseries  they  were  to  be  the  means  of 
 inflicting. 
 
 The  natural  Concomitants  of  such  Ilail  as  this  are 
 
 Fire  mingled  zsi/h  Blood  for  these  people  would 
 carry  with  them,  in  all  their  movements,  the  une¬ 
 quivocal  evidences  of  the  Divine  Vengeance,  in  the 
 Devastation  and  Slaughter  they  were  every  where  to 
 occasion. 
 
 #  See  Note  *,  p.  101. 
 
 Rev.  VIII.  6,  7. 
 
182 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 tioned  under  tbe  four  first  Trumpets  as 
 belonging  to  one  of  these  parts,  is  also 
 denoted  by  the  same  fractional  part.  Un¬ 
 der  the  Emblem,  therefore,  of  44  the  third 
 44 part  of  Trees*,  and  all  green  Grass 
 44  being  burnt  up,”  is  foreshewn,  that 
 there  should  be  a  most  dreadful  Oppression 
 and  Destruction  of  the  People  in  one  part 
 of  the  Empire ;  and  that  no  Age  or  Sex, 
 not  even  the  tender  germs  of  Infancy  and 
 Youth,  would  be  allowed  an  exemption. 
 Such  are  the  Characteristics  of  the  Period, 
 which  commenced  with  the  Division  of 
 the  Empire,  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign 
 of  Valentinian. 
 
 44  As  soon  as  the  death  of  Julian  had 
 44  relieved  the  Barbarians  from  the  terror 
 41  of  his  name,  the  most  sanguine  hopes 
 44  of  rapine  and  conquest  excited  the  Na- 
 44  tions  of  the  East,  of  the  North,  and  of 
 44  the  South  p.” 
 
 But  4f  as  the  Empire  was  threatened  thus 
 44  with  a  general  Invasion  from  the  barba- 
 44  rous  Nations  that  surrounded  it,  Valen- 
 ct  tinian,  the  better  to  make  head  against 
 44  them,  thought  it  advisable  to  divide  the 
 
 *  See  Note  *,  page  153. 
 
 T  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  4,  ch.  25,  p.  277. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 18.3 
 
 “  Provinces  between  himself  and  his 
 “  Brother  ;  and,  accordingly,  made  this 
 “  famous  Partition  at  Mediana — commit- 
 “  ting  to  the  Government  of  Valens  the 
 “  East ”  that  is,  the  Asiatic  Provinces, 
 with  Egypt  and  Thrace  ;  “  and  reserving 
 “  to  himself  Ulyricum,  Italy,  Gaul,  Spain, 
 “  Britain,  and  Africa,  that  is,  all  the  West.” 
 
 Such  was  the  issue  of  those  terrible  Con¬ 
 vulsions,  which  had,  of  late  years,  shaken 
 the  Empire  to  its  very  foundations.  Ne¬ 
 cessity  now  required,  that  it  should  be  re¬ 
 solved  into  two  parts ,  in  order,  in  some 
 degree,  to  preserve  the  whole.  This  was, 
 indeed,  a  most  memorable  Epoch,  on 
 every  account;  and  Nature  herself  ap¬ 
 pears  to  have  fixed  it  by  indelible  signs  : 
 it  almost  seemed,  as  if  she  sympathized 
 with  suffering  humanity,  and  underwent 
 corresponding  agitations.  “  In  the  se- 
 “  cond  year  of  the  reign  of  Valentinian 
 “  and  Valens,  on  the  morning  of  the 
 i(  twenty-first  day  of  July*,  the  greatest 
 
 *  A.D.  365 — The  Treaty  of  Mediana,  by  which  the 
 Empire  was  divided  into  two  parts,  was  concluded  on 
 
 Rev.  VIII.  7- 
 
184 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  part  of  the  Roman  world  was  shaken 
 *e  by  a  violent  and  destructive  Earthquake . 
 44  The  impression  was  communicated  to 
 44  the  waters;  and  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
 “  terra nean  were  left  dry  by  the  sudden 
 “  retreat  of  the  Sea.”  “  But  the  tide 
 “  soon  returned,  with  the  weight  of  an 
 “  immense  and  irresistible  Deluge ,  which 
 “  was  severely  felt  on  the  Coasts  of  Sicily, 
 44  of  Dalmatia,  of  Greece,  and  of  Egypt : 
 “  large  boats  were  transported,  and  lodg- 
 “  ed  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  or  at  the 
 “  distance  of  two  miles  from  the  shore  ; 
 “  the  people,  with  their  habitations,  were 
 u  swept  away  by  the  waters ;  and  the  City 
 “  of  Alexandria  annually  commemorated 
 “  the  fatal  day,  on  which  fifty  thousand 
 “  persons  had  lost  their  lives  in  that  Inun- 
 a  dation.  This  Calamity  astonished  and 
 “  terrified  the  Subjects  of  Rome:  they 
 <c  considered  these  alarming  Strokes  as  the 
 44  prelude  only  to  still  more  dreadful  Cala- 
 4*  mities ;  and  their  fearful  vanity  was 
 
 the  18th  of  June  the  same  year  ;  so  that  this  tremen¬ 
 dous  natural  Earthquake  took  place  after  the  political 
 pqe  only  three-and-thirty  days. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 185 
 
 u  disposed  to  confound  the  symptoms 
 “  of  a  declining;  Empire,  and  a  sinking 
 “  World *  " 
 
 The  Storms,  which  had  so  long  obscured 
 the  political  heaven  of  the  Western  Em* 
 pire,  now  fell  upon  the  devoted  regions 
 beneath  with  unrelenting  fury.  The  His¬ 
 tory  of  this  period  bears  ample  testimony 
 to  the  number,  and  extent  of  their  Ra¬ 
 vages.  However  various  the  savage  hordes 
 who  were  concerned  in  these  expeditions 
 may  have  been,  and  however  differently 
 situated  the  territories  over  which  they 
 extended  themselves,  in  one  thing  they  all 
 agreed  ;  and  that  is,  in  sparing  nothing, 
 that  they  could  either  destroy,  or  carry 
 off  with  them.  And  these  devastations 
 were  repeated  at  frequent  intervals,  till 
 the  death  of  Theodosius  the  Great,  in  the 
 year  895  -f*,  when  the  Scene  soon  again 
 
 *  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  4,  ch.  26,  p.  338; 
 
 |  “  The  mischievous  effects  of  an  Earthquake,  or 
 “  Deluge,  a  Hurricane,  or  the  Eruption  of  a  Volcano, 
 “  bear  a  very  inconsiderable  proportion  to  the  ordinary 
 “  Calamities  of  War,  as  they  are  now  moderated  by 
 “  the  prudence  or  humanity  of  the  princes  of  Europe, 
 
 Key.  VIII.  7. 
 
180 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 became  greatly  changed,  but  changed 
 still  for  the  worse. 
 
 “  who  amuse  their  own  leisure,  and  exercise  the  cou- 
 “  rage  of  their  subjects,  in  the  practice  of  the  Military 
 “  Al  t.  But  the  laws  and  manners  of  modern  Nations 
 “  protect  the  safety  and  freedom  of  the  vanquished  sol- 
 u  dier;  and  the  peaceful  citizen  has  seldom  reason  to 
 “  complain,  that  his  life,  or  even  his  fortune,  is  exposed 
 “  to  the  rage  of  War.  In  the  disastrous  period  of  the 
 i(  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  which  may  he  justly  dated 
 “  from  the  reign  of  Valens,  the  happiness  and  security 
 “of  each  Individual  were  personally  attacked  ;  and  the 
 “  arts  and  labours  of  ages  were  rudely  defaced  by  the 
 
 “  Barbarians  of  Scvthia  and  Germany.  The  invasion  of 
 
 •/  %/ 
 
 “  the  Huns  precipitated  on  the  provinces  of  the  West 
 “the  Gothic  nation;  which  advanced,  in  less  than 
 “  forty  years,  from  the  Danube  to  the  Atlantic  ;  and 
 “  opened  a  way,  by  the  success  of  their  arms,  to  the 
 “  inroads  of  so  many  hostile  Tribes,  more  savage  than 
 “  themselves.  The  original  Principle  of  Motion  was  cou~ 
 “  cealed  in  the  remote  Countries  of  the  North  :  and  the 
 “  curious  observation  of  the  pastoral  life  of  the  Scythi- 
 “  ans,  or  Tartars,  will  illustrate  the  latent  cause  of  these 
 “  destructive  emigrations.”  See  the  passage  above 
 cited,  as  well  as  an  admirable  dissertation  on  the  Scy¬ 
 thian  Tribes,  &c.  in  “  Decline  and  Fall,”  vol.  4,  ch.  26, 
 p.  340—443. 
 
 Among  the  calamities  incident  to  the  period  that 
 is  now  under  consideration,  and  which  serve  most  fully 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 187 
 
 8,  9*  For  “  the  second  Angel  sounded  ; 
 “  and,  as  it  were,  a  great  Mountain ,  burn- 
 
 to  verify  the  prophetic  symbols  relative  to  it,  may  be 
 enumerated  the  following — 
 
 1.  In  3 6,5,  the  Empire  was  attacked  on  all  sides  by 
 the  Barbarians;  especially  Thrace  by  the  Goths,  and 
 the  Libya  Tripoli  tana  by  the  Asturians. 
 
 ‘2.  The  Germans,  in  366,  passed  the  Rhine  on  the 
 ice,  and  defeated  the  Romans  in  a  pitched  battle  ;  but 
 were  afterwards  overthrown  themselves. 
 
 3.  In  367,  the  Piets,  Scots,  Saxons,  Attacots,  &c. 
 broke  into,  and  ravaged  the  Roman  provinces  in  Bri¬ 
 tain;  but  were  at  length  driven  out,  with  great  slaugh¬ 
 ter  by  Theodosius. 
 
 4.  The  same  year,  the  Alemanni  took  and  plundered 
 the  City  of  Mentz  ;  and  ravaged  the  neighbouring 
 provinces. 
 
 5.  The  Maratacupri,  near  Apamea  in  Syria,  in  369, 
 turned  robbers,  and  committed  horrid  ravages  and  cru¬ 
 elties;  but  were  at  length  utterly  destroyed. 
 
 6.  In  370,  the  maritime  Saxons  made  a  dreadful 
 irruption  into  the  Empire;  but  were  totally  cut  off  by 
 Severus. 
 
 7.  In  S74,  The  Quadi  crossed  the  Danube,  and  put 
 all  within  their  reach  to  tire  and  sword. 
 
 8.  Valens  permitted  vast  numbers  of  the  Goths,  who 
 had  been  expelled  from  their  own  territories  by  the 
 Huns  and  Alans,  to  settle  in  Thrace,  in  376;  and  al¬ 
 lowed  them  lands,  8tc.  But  they,  in  378,  were  reduced 
 to  such  straights  for  want  of  provisions,  that  they  plun- 
 
 Rev.  VIII.  8,  g. 
 
iss 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  ing;  witli  fire,  was  cast  into  the  Sea 
 
 O  9 
 
 “  and  the  third  part  of  the  Sea  became 
 
 “  Blood r 
 
 dercd  and  ravaged  Macedon,  and  Thessaly,  and  ad¬ 
 vanced  as  far  as  the  suburbs  ot  Constantinople,  keeping 
 that  Metropolis,  in  some  measure,  for  a  time,  under 
 blockade. 
 
 9.  The  Goths  next  laid  siege  to  Adrianople,  but 
 with  no  effect;  they  therefore  returned  to  Constanti¬ 
 nople,  where  meeting  with  the  same  ill  success,  they 
 in  revenue  committed  the  most  dreadful  ravages  in 
 Thrace,  Scythia,  Moesia,  &c.  without  opposition, 
 
 10.  The  Quadi  likewise,  the  same  year  378,  again 
 invaded  the  Empire,  and  committed  greater  cruelties 
 than  even  the  Goths,  wherever  they  came. 
 
 11.  The  Alemanni,  also,  again  crossed  the  Rhine, 
 and  ravaged  the  countries  adjacent  to  it ;  but  were  at 
 length  defeated  with  great  loss. 
 
 12.  In  379>  the  Eastern  Empire  was  surrounded  on 
 all  sides  with  swarms  of  Northern  Barbarians,  who 
 ravaged  everv  where  unresisted.  Dacia,  Thrace,  and 
 Ulyricum,  were  for  some  time  dismembered  from  it;  the 
 Goths,  Huns,  and  Alans,  acquired  possession  of  other 
 provinces;  and  the  Iberians,  Armenians,  Persians,  &c. 
 were  all  in  arms,  and  ready  to  fall  on  some  other  parts 
 of  the  Empire. 
 
 13.  In  380,  the  faithless  Goths,  who  the  preceding 
 year  had  concluded  a  peace  with  G  rati  an,  re-entered 
 Thrace  and  Pannonia,  and  advanced  as  far  as  Macedon, 
 putting  all  before  them  to  fire  and  sword  ;  but  they 
 were  defeated  and  driven  back  by  Theodosius. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 139 
 
 As  Mountains  are  the  most  elevated 
 parts  of  the  Surface  of  the  Earth ;  so 
 they  well  represent,  in  prophecy,  the 
 established  Seats  of  Government,  whe- 
 
 14.  In  381,  the  Scyrri  and  Cappadocae,  in  conjunc¬ 
 tion  with  the  Huns,  broke  into  the  Empire;  but  were 
 soon  forced  back  across  the  Danube. 
 
 15.  The  Huns  overran  Mesopotamia,  and  laid  siege 
 to  Edessa  ;  but  were  forced  by  the  Goths  to  retire.  This 
 happened  in  383. 
 
 16.  In  384,  the  Sarmatians  made  an  irruption  into 
 the  Western  Empire,  but  were  at  length  repulsed  with 
 great  slaughter. 
 
 17.  The  Franks,  in  388,  ravaged  the  province  of 
 Gaul  more  furiously  than  ever;  and  peace  was  not  con¬ 
 cluded  with  them  till  the  next  year. 
 
 18.  The  Huns,  in  39  L  committed  grievous  ravages 
 and  hostilities  in  Moesia,  Thrace,  &c. 
 
 Such  were  the  principal  of  those  destructive  ravages 
 by  which  this  period,  consisting  only  of  30  years,  was 
 distinguished.  They  certainly  infested  both  the  East - 
 ern  and  Western  Empires;  but  their  effects  on  both  were 
 not  equal.  Their  power  of  weakening,  and  rapidly  re¬ 
 ducing  to  decay,  the  Empire  in  the  West  was  much 
 more  conspicuous,  than  their  influence  upon  that  in  the 
 East:  and  to  that  alone,  or  principally ,  at  least,  the 
 connexion  of  the  symbols  in  the  sacred  text,  with  those 
 that  follow  under  the  three  succeeding  Trumpets ,  proves 
 that  their  application  is  to  be  restricted.  See  Anc. 
 Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  16,  p.  290 — 394. 
 
 Rev.  VIII.  8,  p. 
 
190 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 ther  sacerdotal  or  civil ;  for  these  also 
 stand  pre-eminent  over  all  the  other  parts 
 of  a  Country.  We  have  already  seen  *, 
 how  the  Mountains  of  Pagan  Idolatry 
 were  overthrown,  when  Christianity  first 
 became  the  Religion  of  the  Empire ;  and 
 here  is  an  instance  of  the  overwhelming 
 of  one  of  the  two  Mountains  of  the  Ro¬ 
 man  State.  “  It  was  cast  into  the  Sea/' 
 The  Sea  being  composed  of  a  great  aggre¬ 
 gate  of  Waters ;  and  Waters  being  emble¬ 
 matical  of  “  People  and  Nations  ;  the  ob¬ 
 vious  import  of  these  symbols  will  be, 
 that  one  of  the  Imperial  Cities  was  com¬ 
 pelled  to  relinquish  the  Station  it  had 
 hitherto  held  ;  and  was  given  up  as  a  prey 
 to  that  inundation  of  Barbarians  which 
 now  overflowed  it.  It  was  seen  “  burning 
 zmth  fire  because  it  was  to  be  given  up 
 to  the  terrible  effects  of  the  Divine  Ven¬ 
 geance  ;  and  perhaps,  also,  because  one 
 essential  part  of  this  terrible  Calamity 
 consisted  in  the  destruction  of  a  consider¬ 
 able  portion  of  the  City  “  by  Fire.”  And 
 “  the  third  part  of  the  Sea  became  Blood  f 
 
 *  Page  147.  - 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 101 
 
 because  these  tumultuous  fluctuations 
 were  always  attended  with  tremendous 
 havock  by  the  Sword .  “  And  the  third 
 
 “  part  of  the  Creatures  which  were  in  the 
 “  Sea,  and  had  life,  died.”  Those  who 
 had  been  the  Creatures  of  the  Imperial 
 power,  and  discharged  the  vital  functions 
 of  the  State  in  the  infested  provinces, 
 were  generally  cut  off.  “  And  the  third 
 “  part  of  the  Ships  were  destroyed.”  The 
 means  of  Communication,  and  of  Internal 
 Commerce ,  were  totally  suspended. 
 
 Such  were  the  Circumstances  that  at¬ 
 tended  the  Castino;  of  “  this  «;reat  Moun- 
 “  tain  into  the  Sea.”  The  Period,  that  is 
 rendered  remarkable  by  its  correspond¬ 
 ence  with  this  Description,  commenced 
 with  the  Accession  of  Honorius  to  the 
 Empire  of  the  West,  in  395,  and  termi¬ 
 nated  with  the  Invasion  of  Italy  by  Odo- 
 acer,  in  47 6.  In  the  year  404,  Honorius, 
 dreading  the  ravages  of  Alaric  in  Italy, 
 finally  transferred  the  Seat  of  his  Empire 
 from  Rome  to  Ravenna ;  and,  by  this 
 means,  that  ancient,  but  now  degraded 
 Metropolis,  became  much  more  exposed 
 Rev.  VIII.  8,  9. 
 
192 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 to  the  effects  of  hostile  Incursion  than  it 
 had  been  before.  Thus  far ,  indeed,  the 
 woful  Consequences,  of  the  fierce  and 
 tumultuous  Inroads  of  the  Barbarians, 
 had  been  confined  principally  to  the  Pro¬ 
 vinces  ;  but  in  410  the  City  itself  was 
 taken,  pillaged,  and  partly  burnt,  by  Ala- 
 ric,  at  the  head  of  his  Goths  *;  in  455  it 
 was  taken  a  second  time,  and  plundered, 
 by  Genseric,  the  King  of  the  Vandals, 
 from  Africa  +  ;  and  in  472  it  was  taken 
 
 *  In  Vol.  5,  eh.  31,  p.  310 — 322,  of  “  The  Decline 
 “  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire/*  there  is  a  very  par¬ 
 ticular  account  of  this  melancholy  event,  and  of  the 
 circumstances  that  attended  it.  Thus,  as  the  historian 
 eloquently  observes,  “  eleven  hundred  and  sixty-three 
 “  years  after  the  foundation  of  Rome,  the  Imperial 
 “  Citv,  which  had  subdued  and  civilized  so  consider- 
 (<  able  a  part  of  mankind,  was  delivered  to  the  licen- 
 t(  tious  fury  of  the  Tribes  of  Germany  and  Scythia.” 
 Consult  also,  upon  the  same  subject,  Anc.Univers,  Hist. 
 Vol.  16,  Book  4,  ch.  7,  p.  512. 
 
 T  Anc.  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  16,  Book  4,  ch.  7,  p*  576, 
 and  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  6,  ch.  36,  p.  151 — 154.  “  In 
 
 “  the  forty-five  years,  that  had  elapsed  since  the  Gothic 
 “  Invasion,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  “  the  pomp  and  luxury 
 “  of  Rome  were  in  some  measure  restored;  and  it  was 
 “  difficult  either  to  escape,  or  to  satisfy,  the  avarice  of 
 “  a  Conqueror ;  who  possessed  leisure  to  collect,  and 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 193 
 
 a  third  time,  and  almost  ruined,  by  the 
 Rebel  Ricimer,  at  the  head  of  an  Army 
 consisting  partly  of  Romans,  and  partly 
 of  Barbarians  *.  During  the  interme¬ 
 diate  periods,  moreover,  the  Western  Em¬ 
 pire  was  rendered  almost  continually  the 
 Scene  of  Ravage,  by  the  unrelenting  cru¬ 
 elty  of  the  barbarous  Hordes,  which,  in 
 numberless  multitudes,  were  then  diffusing 
 themselves  over  its  most  beautiful  and  fer¬ 
 tile  Provinces  :  so  that  the  ancient  Capital, 
 now  abandoned  to  its  fate,  only  shared, 
 in  these  fluctuating  Inundations,  the  com¬ 
 mon  lot  of  the  Territories  over  which  she 
 had  presided.  So  truly  was  “  this  great 
 
 u  ships  to  transport,  the  wealth  of  the  Capital.  The 
 “  Imperial  Ornaments  of  the  Palace,  the  magnificent 
 u  furniture  and  wardrobe,  the  sideboards  of  massy 
 “  plate,  were  accumulated  with  disorderly  rapine:  the 
 a  gold  and  silver  amounted  to  several  thousand  talents  ; 
 t(  yet  even  the  brass  and  copper  were  laboriously  re- 
 “  moved.” — “  The  pillage  lasted  fourteen  days  and 
 “  nights  ;  and  all  that  yet  remained  of  public  or  pri- 
 “  vate  wealth,  of  sacred  or  profane  treasure,  was  dili- 
 “  gently  transported  to  the  vessels  of  Genseric.” 
 
 *  Anc.  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  16,  Book  4,  ch.  7,  p.  591; 
 and  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  G,  ch.  36,  p.  217. 
 
 Rev.  VIII. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 O 
 
194 
 
 LECTURE  IX, 
 
 “  Mountain  cast  into  the  Sea  V’  So  justly 
 might  it  be  said,  that  “  the  waves  and 
 “  billows**  of  The  Almighty  “  had  gone 
 “  over  it !” 
 
 To  this  period  of  calamity  we  must 
 look  for  the  greater  number  of  those 
 Events,  which  verify  the  Prophetical  De¬ 
 scription  that  Daniel  has  given  of  the 
 fourth  great  Beast ,  or  Roman  Empire, 
 when  he  mentions  its  ten  Horns  * ;  and 
 that  attest  the  truth  of  the  Representa¬ 
 tion,  which  St.  John  has  also  afforded  of 
 the  same  Beast ,  when  he  exhibits  it  under 
 the  same  peculiar  Characteristic  J*.  The 
 Changes,  indeed,  that  took  place  were 
 no  less  remarkable  than  the  Sufferings 
 that  were  endured  ;  and  within  the  space 
 of  sixty  years,  the  Romans  saw  them¬ 
 selves  totally  expelled  from  some  of  their 
 finest  Provinces  ;  and  no  less  than  seven , 
 out  of  the  ten,  of  these  Horns,  or  King¬ 
 doms,  established  in  their  place. 
 
 In  the  year  409,  the  Vandals,  in  con¬ 
 junction  with  the  Suevi  and  Alani,  after 
 they  had  ravaged  those  territories  of  Gaul 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  7- 
 
 t  Rev.  ch.  13,  v.  1 ;  and  ch.  17,  v.  3,  12. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 195 
 
 through  which  they  passed,  threw  them¬ 
 selves  into  Spain  *  ;  and,  having  acquired 
 possession  of  it  by  the  sword,  and  broken 
 the  spirit  of  the  Natives  by  the  most  cruel 
 treatment,  they  divided  its  Provinces  by 
 lot  among  themselves.  This  Partition  took 
 place  in  411  ;  when — 
 
 I.  Gonderic,  King  of  the  Vandals, 
 spread  his  subjects  over  Bretica,  and  part 
 of  Galicia,  that  part,  most  probably, 
 which  afterwards  constituted  the  King- 
 dom  of  Old  Castile  ; 
 
 II.  Ermeric,  King  of  the  Suevi,  obtained 
 the  remaining  part  of  Galicia,  as  his  por¬ 
 tion  of  the  dismembered  Provinces ;  and 
 
 III.  The  Alani,  under  Respendial,  were 
 scattered  over  Lusitania  and  Carthagena. 
 
 *  11  These  Barbarians,  meeting  with  greater  opposi- 
 “  tion  than  they  expected  from  the  inhabitants  of  Gaul, 
 “  who  had  taken  arms  in  their  own  defence,  and  ac- 
 “  quainted  with  the  distracted  state  of  Spain,  which 
 “  was  represented  to  them  as  a  wealthy  and  fruitful 
 “  country,  resolved  to  try  whether  they  could  settle 
 “  there.”  .Anc.  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  1G,  Book  4,  ch.  5, 
 p.  51 1.  See  further  particulars  in  respect  to  this  subject 
 in  the  same  Work,  Vol.  19}  Book  4,  ch.  28,  Sect.  3  and 
 4,  p.  335 — 338,  and  3G0;  and  in  “The  Decline  and 
 Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,”  Vol.  5,  ch.  31,  p.  350 — 353. 
 
 Rev.  VIII.  8,  9. 
 
196 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 Nor  did  the  fertile  regions  of  Gaul  meet 
 with  milder  usage  than  those  of  Spain  : 
 they  were,  on  the  contrary,  exposed  to  all 
 the  insults  and  aggressions,  which  these 
 Barbarians,  enraged  by  opposition,  could 
 inflict,  in  their  passage  through  them  ;  but 
 in  addition  to  these,  as  evils  of  greater 
 permanency — 
 
 IV.  In  the  year  407,  the  Burgundians 
 followed  the  Vandals,  Suevi,  and  Alani, 
 (who  had  entered  Gaul  at  the  close  of  the 
 preceding  year)  in  order  to  share  among 
 themselves  the  spoils  of  some  of  its  weal¬ 
 thy  Provinces  ;  and  in  413,  after  some 
 sanguinary  conflicts,  were  enabled  to  esta¬ 
 blish  a  Kingdom  in  that  Country*. 
 
 V.  In  the  year  418,  Wallia  founded  the 
 Kingdom  of  the  Visigoths  in  Gaul,  mak¬ 
 ing  Tholouse  the  Metropolis  of  his  Domi¬ 
 nions.  This  was  held  at  first  as  a  present 
 from  the  Emperor  Honorius,  and  as  a  re¬ 
 ward  for  his  services  against  the  Suevi  and 
 
 *'  They  gradually  acquired  the  two  provinces,  which 
 till  lately  retained,  under  the  titles  of  Duchy  and  of 
 County ,  the  national  appellation  of  Burgundy.  See 
 Decline  and  Ball,  Vol.  5,  ch.  31,  p.  359,  and  Anc.  Univ. 
 
 Hist.  Vol.  19,  Book  4,  ch.  28,  Sec.  6,  p.  437,  See. 
 
 > 
 
LECTURE  IX, 
 
 197 
 
 Alani ;  but  in  468,  the  same  people,  un¬ 
 der  Euric,  entirely  drove  the  Romans  out 
 of  Spain,  and  founded  the  Kingdom  of 
 the  Visigoths  in  that  Country  also*. 
 
 VI.  About  the  year  418,  Pharamond  is 
 supposed  to  have  led  his  Franks  into  Gaul, 
 and  to  have  acquired  some  territories  in 
 that  Country  ;  but  in  498  Clovis  firmly 
 established  his  Kingdom  there,  by  en¬ 
 tirely  expelling  the  Romans^:  and  thus 
 terminated  their  Dominion  in  that  exten¬ 
 sive  Region,  after  they  had  been  masters 
 of  it  upwards  of  five  hundred  years.  It 
 was  now  occupied  only  by  the  Visigoths, 
 Burgundians,  and  Franks. 
 
 VII.  The  Saxons,  having  been  invited 
 into  Britain  by  Vortigern  in  450,  to  assist 
 its  miserable  inhabitants,  then  lately  aban¬ 
 doned  by  the  Romans,  in  repelling  the 
 destructive  incursions  of  the  Piets  and 
 
 *  See  Ane-  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  19,  Book  4,  ch.  23, 
 Sect.  2,  p.  298 — 308  ;  and  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  5,  ch. 
 31,  p.  355.  Sic. ;  and  Vol.  6,  ch.  35,  p.  93,  &c. ;  and  ch. 
 38,  p.  308- 
 
 i*  f  See  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  6,  ch.  35,  p.  98,  &c. ; 
 ahd  ch.  38,  p.  310,  &c.  ;  also  Anc.  Univers,  Hist.  Vol. 
 19,  Book  4,  ch.  28,  Sect.  5,  p.  391— 415. 
 
 Re?.  VIII.  8,  9. 
 
 O  3 
 
193 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 Scots,  and  being  soon  joined  by  succes¬ 
 sive  reinforcements  of  their  Countrymen, 
 and  their  near  Neighbours  the  Angles, 
 founded  the  Kingdom  of  Kent  about 
 seven  years  afterwards,  and  by  degrees 
 completed  the  Heptarchy*. 
 
 Thus  were  the  Roots ,  as  it  were,  of  “  the 
 “  great  Mountain  *  of  the  Western  Em¬ 
 pire,  first  overwhelmed ,  and  then  violently 
 broken  off, \  by  that  same  raging  and  tu¬ 
 multuous  Sea  of  Nations,  which  was  per¬ 
 mitted  so  repeatedly  to  overflow,  and 
 afterwards,  under  the  two  next  Trumpets? 
 entirely  to  destroy  its  most  elevated  Parts . 
 The  Metropolis,  indeed,  did  not  long  sur¬ 
 vive  the  loss  of  the  rich  and  fertile  Pro¬ 
 vinces,  that  had  been  thus  dismembered 
 from  it ;  losing  the  support  it  had  been 
 accustomed  for  ages  to  derive  from  them, 
 it  sank  into  the  Deep;  nothing  that  bore 
 the  name  of  Imperial  was  spared  ;  and  the 
 whole  was  devoted  to  indiscriminate  ruin 
 and  subversion. 
 
 *  Rapin’s  Hist,  of  England,  Vol.  1,  Books  2  and  3  j 
 Anc.  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  19,  Book  4,  ch.  27,  Sect.  3, 
 p.  170 — 203  ;  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  6,  ch.  38,  p.  379^ 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 199 
 
 Thus  far,  however,  the  Imperial  Dignity 
 itself  had  suffered  no  very  essential  Di¬ 
 minution  ;  that  was  therefore  to  be  next 
 assailed  :  for — 
 
 10.  The  third  Angel  sounded  ;  and  there 
 fell  a  “  great  Star  from  the  Heaven,  burn- 
 “  ing  as  it  were  a  Lamp  ;  and  it  fell  upon 
 “  the  third  part  of  the  Rivers,  and  upon 
 6i  the  Fountains  of  Waters.*' 
 
 “  A  great  Star  falling  from  the  Hea- 
 “  ven  *”  is  emblematical  of  a  great  Prince 
 
 *  From  the  manner  in  which  this  Personage  is  here 
 introduced  to  our  notice,  we  might  naturally  imagine, 
 that  he  had  been  elevated  to  some  very  ostensible  situ¬ 
 ation  in  the  Roman  State:  for  “  the  Heaven is  ail 
 evident  symbol  of  the  political  Government  at  that  time 
 existing;  and  therefore  his  falling  from  the  Heaven  will 
 denote  his  betraying  the  trust  assigned  him ,  and  relin¬ 
 quishing  his  place  in  that  System.  And  this  was  strictly 
 verified  in  the  present  instance. 
 
 Odoacer  at  first,  Mr.  Gibbon  observes,  “  led  a  wan- 
 u  dering  life  among  the  Barbarians  of  Noricum,  with  a 
 u  mind  and  fortune  suited  to  the  most  desperate  adven- 
 "  tures.”  He  afterwards  went  to  Italy,  and  “  was  ad- 
 u  mitted  into  the  service  of  the  Western  Empire,  and  soon 
 “  obtained  an  honourable  rank  in  the  Guards.  His  man- 
 “  ners  were  gradually  polished,  his  military  skill  was 
 “  improved,  and  the  Confederates  of  Italy  would  not 
 
 +  See  Note  +,  page  07. 
 
 Re?.  VIII.  10. 
 
 O  4  v  , 
 
200 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 or  Leader,  deserting  his  own  proper  and 
 accustomed  Sphere  of  movement.  Its 
 (i  burning  as  it  were  a  Lamp,”  denotes 
 his  being  employed  as  an  Instrument  of 
 Divine  Wrath  ;  and  his  lighting  the  way 
 for  the  adoption  of  similar  means  of 
 Punishment  afterwards.  “  It  fell  upon  the 
 third  part  of  the  Rivers  *”  upon  the  na¬ 
 tive  Inhabitants  of  the  Empire  of  the 
 West,  who  had  descended  in  an  uninter¬ 
 rupted  course  from  its  founders  ;  “  and 
 “  upon  the  Fountains  of  Waters,  on  those 
 People  whose  incursions  had  been  only 
 accidental,  and  who  happened  to  be  in 
 the  Roman  Territories  at  that  time. 
 
 This  <s  great  Star"  was  Odoacer,  who 
 in  476,  after  much  sanguinary  Conflict, 
 established  the  Kingdom  of  the  Heruh  in 
 
 “  have  elected  him  for  their  General,  unless  the  exploits 
 u  of  Odoacer  had  established  a  high  opinion  of  his 
 11  courage  and  capacity.”  In  accepting  this  Command, 
 in  thus  revolting  against  his  lawful  Sovereign,  he  might 
 he  truly  said  to  have  fallen  from  the  Heaven  that  then 
 vvas,  and  in  which  he  had  been  so  conspicuous.  See 
 the  whole  history  connected  with  this  revolution  in 
 u  Decline  and  Fall,”  Vol.  6,  ch.  36,  p.  223 — 233  ;  and  in 
 Anc.  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  ]6,  Book  4,  ch.  7,  p-595 — 51)7. 
 
 *  See  Note*,  page  75. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 201 
 
 Italy  ;  and  prepared  the  way  for  a  more 
 permanent  Dominion  of  the  same  kind ,  un¬ 
 der  the  Gothic  Sovereigns  who  succeeded 
 him.  In  49%  he  was  finally  subdued,  and 
 slain  by  Theodoric  ;  and  the  Ostro-gothic 
 Kingdom,  which  was  then  founded,  conti¬ 
 nued  till  the  year  553  ;  when  it  was  sup¬ 
 planted,  in  its  turn,  by  the  arms  of  Jus¬ 
 tinian,  under  the  Conduct  of  Narses,  who 
 governed  Italy  as  Lieutenant  to  the  Em¬ 
 peror  of  the  East  till  the  year  56 S. 
 
 The  Dominions  of  Rome,  however,  were 
 now  no  longer  Imperial ;  that  Dignity  had 
 expired  in  the  Dethronement  of  Augus- 
 tulus.  Yet  the  Polity  of  the  Heruli  and  the 
 Goths  in  Italy,  made  no  essential  Altera¬ 
 tions  in  the  form  of  Government ,  that  had 
 hitherto  prevailed  in  Rome,  or  in  that 
 Country  *.  The  Title  of  Emperor  was  in- 
 
 *  With  respect  to  the  Subjects  of  Odoacer — <c  Roy- 
 tl  alty  was  familiar  to  the  Barbarians  ;  and  the  submis- 
 ff  sive  people  of  Italy  were  prepared  to  obey,  without  a 
 “  murmur,  the  authority  which  he  should  condescend 
 
 to  exercise,  as  the  Vicegerent  of  the  Emperor  of  the 
 “  West  But  Odoacer  had  resolved  to  abolish  that  use- 
 il  less  and  expensive  office.”  He  nevertheless,  “  though 
 “  a  concjueror  and  a  Barbarian,  respected  the  institu- 
 Rt.  VIII.  10,  1  1. 
 
202 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 deed  lost;  but  the  Power  remained  under 
 the  denomination  of  Regal ;  Odoacer,  and 
 
 u  tions,  and  even  the  prejudices  of  his  Subjects.  After 
 “  an  interval  of  seven  years,  he  restored  the  Consulship 
 “  of  the  West.  For  himself,  he  modestly,  or  proudly, 
 “  declined  an  honour,  which  was  still  accepted  by  the 
 “  Emperors  of  the  East;  but  the  curule  chair  was  suc- 
 u  cessively  filled  by  eleven  of  the  most  illustrious  Sena- 
 “  tors.  The  laws  of  the  Emperors  were  strictly  en- 
 “  forced,  and  the  civil  administration  of  Italy  was  still 
 “  exercised  by  the  Praetorian  Pracfect,  and  his  subordi- 
 “  nate  officers.”  Decline  and  Fall,  in  the  chapter  before 
 referred  to,  p.  226,  232. 
 
 And  the  case  was  similar,  under  the  reigns  of  Theodo- 
 lic,  and  the  Gothic  Sovereigns  that  succeeded  him  ;  and 
 who  all  appear  to  have  followed  the  steps  of  Odoacer. 
 
 “  Theodoric  not  only  retained  the  same  laws,  but  the 
 if  same  form  of  government,  the  same  distribution  of 
 “  provinces,  the  same  magistrates  and  dignities.  As 
 <(  the  Emperors  had,”  ever  since  the  time  of  Honorius, 
 “  translated  the  Imperial  seat  from  Rome  to  Ravenna, 
 “  to  be  near  at  hand,  and  ready  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
 “  irruptions  of  the  Barbarians,  who,  on  that  side, 
 “  broke  into  Italy,  he  likewise  chose  that  city  for  the 
 “  usual  place  of  his  residence  ;  governing  from  thence 
 “  the  provinces  by  the  same  magistrates  that  had  pre- 
 (C  sided  over  them  in  the  times  of  the  Emperors,  to  wit, 
 <c  by  the  Consulares,  the  Correctores,  and  the  Prsesides.” 
 
 Thus  Italy,  from  the  dominion  of  the  Romans,  came 
 under  that  of  the  Heruli,  and  the  Goths,  f<  almost  with* 
 “  out  perceiving  the  change.”  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol. 
 
 Book  4,  ch,28,  sect.  2,  p.  329 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 203 
 
 bis  Gothic  Successors,  governed  the  Em¬ 
 pire,  in  the  dismembered  state  in  which 
 they  found  it,  with  the  title  of  Kings ;  and 
 the  Romans  had  still  their  Senate ,  Con - 
 sals,  and  Lazes.  Under  the  administra¬ 
 tion  of  N arses,  moreover,  no  Changes 
 appear  to  have  been  attempted  in  these 
 respects  ;  for  we  find  upon  the  arrival  of 
 his  Successor,  in  the  year  568,  that  those 
 Laws,  and  high  Offices  of  the  State,  were 
 still  in  existence. 
 
 11.  The  Effect  of  the  Mixture  of  Peo¬ 
 ple  in  Italy,  arising  from  these  settlements 
 of  Barbarians  in  that  Country,  is  particu¬ 
 larly  adverted  to  by  the  inspired  Writer. 
 “  The  name  of  the  Star/’  he  declares,  “  is 
 “  called  Wormzeood ;  and  the  third  part  of 
 “  the  waters  became  Wormwood/’  From 
 the  bitter  Enmity,  which  subsisted  at  first 
 between  these  People  and  the  Romans, 
 they  are  very  justly  compared  to  Worm¬ 
 wood  ;  but,  by  means  of  long  and  mutual 
 Intercourse,  the  Romans  themselves  ac¬ 
 quired  a  striking  Resemblance  of  Charac¬ 
 ter  and  Manners.  “  And  many  Men,” 
 native  Subjects  of  the  Empire,  “  died  of 
 Rev,  VIII.  12. 
 
'204 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 “  the  waters,  because  they  were  made 
 “  bitter — •”  lost,  as  it  were,  their  political 
 Life ,  their  distinguishing  Name  and  Qua¬ 
 lities,  in  consequence  of  this  Admixtion. 
 
 It  is  only  necessary  to  advert  to  the 
 Language  of  the  Country,  which  once  con¬ 
 tained  the  Seat  of  this  Empire,  to  perceive 
 the  Extent  of  the  Effects  which  originated 
 from  this  Cause .  For  the  modern  Italian 
 has  been  evidently  formed  by  the  Mixture 
 of  Nations*. 
 
 Nothing  now  remained,  after  these 
 rapid  stages  of  Decline,  but  the  total  Sub¬ 
 version  of  the  Empire  of  the  West, 
 
 12.  “  And  the  fourth  Angel  sounded  ; 
 66  and  the  third  part  of  the  Sun  was  smit- 
 “  ten,  and  the  third  part  of  the  Moon , 
 “  and  the  third  part  of  the  Stars ,  so  as 
 “  the  third  part  of  them  was  darkened ; 
 “  and  the  Day  shone  not  for  the  third 
 “  part  of  it,  and  the  Night  likewise.” 
 
 “  The  third  part ”  being  evidently, 
 throughout  the  sounding  of  these  four 
 Trumpets,  to  be  understood  of  the  Western 
 Roman  Empire ,  this  Prophecy  plainly 
 
 *  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  8,  ch.  45,  p.  148. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 205 
 
 foreshews  the  total  Extinction  of  all  those 
 Luminaries,  which  had  hitherto  conferred 
 Dignity  and  Splendour  upon  it. 
 
 And  this,  accordingly,  came  literally  to 
 pass  in  the  year  568.  In  this  year  com¬ 
 menced  the  famous  and  long-contested 
 Division  of  Italv,  between  the  Exarchate 
 of  Ravenna,  and  the  Kingdom  of  Lom¬ 
 bardy  ;  and,  in  both  States,  every  trace  of 
 the  former  Administration  of  Affairs  was 
 totally  effaced . 
 
 Longinus,  the  first  Exarch,  put  a  final 
 period  to  every  post  of  honour  and  prefer¬ 
 ment,  which  had  before  supported,  or 
 been  dependent  upon,  the  Imperial  Dig¬ 
 nity.  All  these  had  been  spared  even  by 
 the  Heruli  and  the  Goths;  but  he  abolished 
 the  very  name  of  Senate  and  Consuls  ;  and 
 appointed  an  Officer  to  govern  the  former 
 Metropolis  of  the  Empire,  under  merely 
 the  Title  of  Duke ,  an  appellation  which 
 was  common  to  him  with  the  Governors 
 of  other  Cities  ;  so  that  there  was  no  longer 
 any  Pre-eminence  granted  to  Rome  *. 
 
 *  “  The  Provinces  of  Italy  had,  ever  since  the  time  of 
 
 Re?.  VIII.  12. 
 
206 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 And  the  Lombard ic  Princes,  in  like  man* 
 ner  altogether  changed  the  face  of  things 
 in  their  part  of  Italy.  They  entirely  extin¬ 
 guished  what  had  till  now  remained  of  the 
 Imperial  Forms  and  State  ;  and  governed 
 exclusively,  till  the  time  of  Rotharis,  by 
 their  own  traditional  Laws  *.  They  com¬ 
 pletely  suppressed  and  annihilated  every 
 thing  that  had  borne  the  name  of  Roman, 
 which  they  held,  indeed,  in  the  greatest 
 Contempt.  Thus,  under  them,  likewise, 
 the  Empire,  and  Form  of  Government, 
 which  had  existed  for  so  many  ages,  un¬ 
 derwent  a  total  Alteration  ;  and  a  new 
 order  of  things  succeeded,  which  fully 
 verified  the  words  of  this  Prophecy. 
 
 We  are  now  enabled  to  determine,  from 
 
 “  Constantine  the  Great,  been  governed  by  Consulares^ 
 “  Correctores,  and  Prsesides,  no  alteration  in  the  go- 
 “  vernment  having  been  made,  either  by  the  Emperors 
 “  who  reigned  after  Constantine,  or  by  the  Kings  of  the 
 u  Goths.  But  Longinus,  being  sent  to  succeed  Narses 
 u  with  an  absolute  power  and  authority,  suppressed 
 “  those  magistrates,  and  in  their  room,  placed  in  every 
 “  City  of  note,  a  Governor,  whom  he  distinguished 
 “  with  the  title  of  Duke.”  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  19, 
 Book  4,  ch.  <29,  p.  614. 
 
 *  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  19,  book  4,  ch.  29,  p.  634. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 Q07 
 
 the  prophetical  Symbols  employed  by  St. 
 John,  which  were  the  three  other  King¬ 
 doms,  in  addition  to  the  seven  already 
 mentioned,  into  which  the  Western  Em¬ 
 pire  was  resolved,  previously  to  its  final 
 dissolution  ;  and  they  have  been  found  to 
 be — 
 
 VIII.  The  Kingdom  of  the  Heruli, 
 under  Odoacer,  in  Italy,  from  47b  to  493; 
 
 IX.  That  of  the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy, 
 established  by  Theodoric,  in  493;  and, 
 
 X.  That  of  the  Lombards,  founded 
 by  Alboinus  in  568. 
 
 And  we  cannot  but  observe  with  admi¬ 
 ration,  how  the  Events,  connected  with 
 this  Series  of  emblematical  Represen ta- 
 tions,  have  verified  the  concise,  but  most 
 comprehensive  Imagery  employed  by  the 
 Prophet  Daniel.  He  merely  foretold, 
 that  on  the  head  *  of  the  fourth  great  Beast 
 
 *  That  the  Western  Empire  atone  is  intended 
 by  that  part  of  the  Imagery  of  the  Prophet,  in  which 
 he  describes  the  existence  of  the  ten  Horns,  is  evident 
 from  this  circumstance — that,  according  to  the  princi¬ 
 ple  of  universal  analogy,  the  horns  of  a  beast  can  only 
 grow  upon  its  head,  which  is  the  anterior  part  of  the 
 animal ;  but  what  is  anterior  in  respect  to  situation,  is 
 
 Rev.  V  III,  12. 
 
208 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 there  should  grow  ten  Horns  ;  or  that  the 
 Western  Empire  should  be,  in  some  man¬ 
 ner,  resolved  into  ten  different  Kingdoms  ; 
 but  St.  John  has  allegorically  presented 
 us  with  all  the  grand  Steps,  which  were 
 preliminary  to  this  Resolution,  and  that 
 actually  attended  it.  This  sublime  and 
 wonderful  Coincidence  plainly  proves, 
 that  they  both  wrote  by  the  Inspiration 
 of  the  same  Divine  Spirit ;  that  they  pre- 
 
 symbolical  of  what  is  prior  in  point  of  time  :  the  head 
 therefore,  on  which  the  ten  horns  grew,  must  represent 
 the  Western  Empire,  which  existed  upwards  of  390  years 
 before  the  commencement  of  the  Eastern,  as  a  separate 
 Dominion. 
 
 Sir  Isaac  Newton  has  mentioned  “The  kingdom  of  the 
 u  Huns  in  Pannonia,”  as  one  of  the  ten  Horns  of  the 
 fourth  Beast ;  but  there  appears  to  be  a  little  error  in 
 this  statement  :  for  though  the  Huns  were  allowed  to 
 occupy  that  country,  this  privilege  was  granted  them, 
 out  of  gratitude  for  Services  they  had  performed,  and  as 
 friends  and  allies  of  the  Emperor  of  the  W  est ;  it  did 
 not  become  theirs  by  any  right  of  Conquest.  Besides, 
 they  did  not  establish  any  Seat  of  Government  in  that 
 province,  it  did  not  become  a  separate  and  independent 
 kingdom  The  Seat  of  the  Hunnish  Empire  was  far  to 
 the  North  East ;  in  the  vicinity,  very  probably,  of  To¬ 
 kay  ;  but  at  all  events,  between  the  Teisseand  the  Car¬ 
 pathian  Ridge.  See  Mr.  Gibbon’s  account  of  this,  in 
 Decline  and  Fall,  Vol,  6,  ch.  34.  p.  37,  &.c. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 209 
 
 described,  by  various  Types,  the  same 
 great  Scene  of  Divine  Administration  ; 
 and  that  the  Predictions,  they  have  thus 
 written,  were  designed  as  Indications  of 
 “  the  Signs  of  those  times,”  for  the  com¬ 
 fort  and  support  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
 during  those  disastrous  periods,  and  for 
 its  edification  in  all  succeeding  ages. 
 
 Having  exhibited  the  final  downfal  of 
 the  Empire  of  the  West,  the  Prophet 
 next  directs  our  view,  to  what  would  soon 
 be  passing  in  the  East ;  but  we  must  defer 
 the  discussion  of  this,  and  other  Subjects 
 connected  with  the  present  course,  to 
 some  future  opportunities. 
 
 Vol.  II. 
 
 P 
 
A. 
 
ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 For  the  Purpose  of  continuing  the  History ,  contain¬ 
 ed  under  the  next  Apocalyptical  Representa¬ 
 tions  ;  and  of  completing  the  Connexion  between 
 the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Lectures . 
 
 I. 
 
 Of  the  Series  of  Events  connected  with  the  Sound¬ 
 ing  of  the  first  Woe-Trumpet.  * 
 
 With  the  Sounding  of  the  fourth  Trumpet  ter¬ 
 minated  that  Series  of  Prophecies,  which  related 
 to  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  in 
 the  West ;  and  it  has  been  shewn,  in  what  a  variety 
 of  instances,  they  have  exhibited,  by  the  most  im¬ 
 pressive  imagery,  the  vicissitudes  to  which  it  was 
 subjected,  previously  to  its  final  Dissolution. 
 
 A  dreadful  Pause  now  ensued  :  and  the  further 
 development  of  these  Revelations  is  introduced,  in 
 the  most  sublime  and  awful  manner,  by  a  Voice  of 
 high  authority  proclaiming  the  dismal  Calamities, 
 
 P  2 
 
212 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 that  were  still  in  reserve  ;  and  which  were  coming 
 upon  the  Roman  Empire  generally — upon  the  Em¬ 
 pire  of  the  East  more  immediately  ;  and  upon  se¬ 
 veral  of  those  Regions  afterwards,  which  had  con¬ 
 stituted  parts  of  that  in  the  West. 
 
 13.  “  And  I  saw,”  says  St.  John,  e<  and  I  heard, 
 “  one  Angel  flying  in  the  midst  of  the  Heaven,  say- 
 “  ing  with  a  loud  voice.  Woe,  Woe,  Woe,  to  the 
 “  Inhabitants  of  the  Earth,  because  of  the  remain- 
 i(  ing  Voices  of  the  'Trumpet  of  the  three  Angels 
 <£  who  are  yet  to  sound.” 
 
 This  Angel,  it  appears,  had  only  a  warning 
 Voice  ;  and,  in  words  of  power,  gave  timely  notice 
 of  those  Woes,  which  were  appointed  to  succeed. 
 By  an  attention  to  this,  the  sincere  Christian  might 
 have  been  admonished  to  escape  some  of  the  dan¬ 
 gers,  to  which  he  was  to  be  now,  perhaps,  more 
 than  ever  exposed  ;  and  to  preserve  himself,  in  some 
 measure,  unpolluted,  amidst  the  various  conup- 
 tions,  the  lamentable  ignorance  and  depravity, 
 which  were  at  this  time  beginning  almost  univer¬ 
 sally  to  prevail*. 
 
 *  Ecclesiastical  Historians  have  presented  us  with  the  most 
 deplorable  descriptions  of  the  State  of  Christianity,  hoth  in 
 the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches,  during  the  tfth  and 
 sixth  Centuries  ;  and  have  shewn  much  at  large  the  truth  of 
 that  prophetical  declaration  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy,  that 
 “  evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax  worse  and  worse ,  de • 
 i(  ceiving ,  and  being  deceived."  2.  Tim.  ch.  3.  v.  13.  See 
 particularly  Mosheim,  and  Du  Pin,  on  these  ages. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 *213 
 
 We  are  now,  indeed,  arrived  at  that  critical  pe¬ 
 riod,  when  a  general  falling  off  from  the  pure  Re¬ 
 ligion  of  Christ  had  amply  prepared  the  way  for 
 those  heavy  punishments,  that  were  soon  to  be  in¬ 
 flicted,  throughout  the  Christian  World . when,  ac¬ 
 
 cording  to  the  memorable  predictions  of  Daniel, 
 £<  the  Saints  of  The  Most  High’*  were  to  “  be 
 “  given  into  the  hand  of  the  Little  Horn ”  of  the 
 fourth  Beast  in  the  West ;  and  the  “  Little  Horn" 
 also,  of  the  Macedonian  He- goat*,  was  to  com¬ 
 mence  the  means  of  effecting  their  subjugation  in 
 the  East.  These  upstart  and  usurped  Authorities 
 were  the  apparent  causes  of  all  the  Woes  in  ques¬ 
 tion  ;  but  they  were  suffered  to  establish  themselves, 
 only  in  consequence  of  that  deplorable  degeneracy 
 of  manners,  those  unhappy  divisions,  those  mani¬ 
 fold  errors  and  heresies,  which  seemed  to  have  al¬ 
 most  eradicated  the  principles  of  Virtue  and  true 
 
 *  Daniel,  ch.  8.  v«  8.  — 14.  See  the  ingenious,  and  satis¬ 
 factory  remarks  of  Mr.  Faber  upon  this  Subject ;  wherein  he 
 has  prored  very  clearly,  that — a  the  little  Horn  of  the 
 44  He-Goat  is  not  Antiochus  Epiphanes ;  nor  the  Roman 
 44  power  in  Macedon  and  the  East;  neither  a  compound 
 44  symbol,  typifying  at  once  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  Ro- 
 44  man  power  in  the  East,  Mohammedism,  and  the  infidel 
 4f  republic  of  France  but  that  44  it  relates  to  Mohamme- 
 ,4  dism  alone,  because  nothing,  except  the  spiritual  empire 
 44  of  Mohammed,  corresponds  with  it  in  every  particular, 
 44  local,  circumstantial,  and  chronological.”  Dissert,  on  the 
 Prophecies,  &c.  Vol.  1.  ch.  5.  p.  190,  &c.  Edit.  1806. 
 
 P  S 
 
 Ret.  VIII.  13. 
 
214 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 Religion.  Whence  it  sufficiently  appears,  that 
 any  highly  distinguished  Person  earnestly  endeavour¬ 
 ing,  at  this  time,  to  correct  the  Errors  of  the  age, 
 and  protesting  openly  against  the  spirit  and  tenden¬ 
 cy  of  such  Usurpations,  will  very  justly  represent 
 the  emblematical  Angela  who  is  here  brought  for¬ 
 ward  to  our  notice. 
 
 And  such  was  Gregory  the  First,  Bishop  of 
 Rome — a  Man,  on  whom,  for  his  magnanimity 
 and  eminent  endowments,  his  own  age,  and  every 
 succeeding  age,  have  concurred  in  bestowing  the 
 epithet  of  “  The  Great.”  His  very  office  placed 
 him  in  a  most  elevated  and  commanding  situation, 
 in  the  ecclesiastical  part  of  the  political  Heaven  : 
 and  the  zeal  and  earnestness,  with  which  he  pro¬ 
 tested  against  the  ambition  of  John,  the  Patriarch 
 of  Constantinople,  who  had  lately  assumed  the  Title 
 of  Oecumenical  or  Universal  Bishop* ;  and  the 
 correspondence  he  carried  on  with  that  Prelate, 
 
 *  In  the  year  586  John  had  taken  upon  himself  this  Title,  in 
 a  Council  held  at  Constantinople  the  same  year  ;  and  as  that 
 Council  indulged  the  Prelate  with  the  admission  of  his  newly 
 assumed  Dignity,  Pope  Pelagius  arrogated  to  himself  the  pow¬ 
 er  of  annulling  the  Acts  it  had  decreed.  The  use  of  this- 
 Title  was  not  objected  to,  because,  according  to  the  construc¬ 
 tion  which  the  Greeks  put  upon  it,  there  was  nothing  inju¬ 
 rious,  or  insulting  in  it.  So  that  when  Gregory  afterwards 
 wrote  to  the  other  Patriarchs  upon  the  subject,  as  to  persons 
 who  w'ere  greatly  concerned  to  oppose  it,  they  paid  little  at¬ 
 tention  to  his  remonstrances  ;  and  suffered  the  Patriarch  of 
 Constantinople  quietly  to  enjoy  a  Title,  which  did  them  no 
 prejudice.  Du  Pin’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol.  5.  p.  67,  78.  Edit. 
 1693. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 215 
 
 with  the  Emperor  Mauritius,  and  other  Persons  of 
 eminence,  in  relation  to  that  subject ; — might  well 
 be  compared  to  his  “  flying  in  the  midst  of  the 
 Heaven,”  and  announcing  the  approach  of  the  sue- 
 ceeding  Woes.  And  the  application  of  the  term 
 Angel,  to  such  a  Dignitary  as  this,  is  fully  warrant¬ 
 ed  by  the  authority  of  St.  John  himself ;  who,  in 
 effect,  styles  the  Bishops  of  the  seven  Churches  of 
 Asia,  to  which  he  wrote,  the  Angels  of  those 
 Churches. 
 
 The  style  and  substance  of  this  correspondence 
 with  the  Patriarch  will,  indeed,  sufficiently  justify 
 this  application  of  the  symbols  employed  by  the 
 Prophet. 
 
 In  one  place  he  enquires — “  Whom  do  you  imi- 
 “  tate,  in  assuming  that  haughty  Title  ?  Is  it  not 
 “  him,  who,  swelling  with  pride,  exalted  himself 
 fC  above  so  many  legions  of  Angels ,  that  were  his 
 “  Equals ;  that  he  might  be  subordinate  to  none, 
 “  but  that  all  might  become  subject  to  him  ?  The 
 “  Apostle  Peter  was  the  first  Member  of  the  Uni- 
 t(  versal  Church.  In  respect  to  Paul,  Andrew,  and 
 <c  John,  they  were  only  the  heads  of  particular 
 “  congregations ;  but  all  were  members  of  the 
 “  Church  under  one  head,  and  none  would  ever  be 
 rr  styled  Universal In  another  part  of  the  same 
 letter,  he  employed  this  argument — u  If  none  of 
 “  the  Apostles  would  be  called  Universal,  what 
 “  will  Ton  have  to  answer  for  at  the  last  day  to 
 “  Christ,  the  Head  of  the  Church  Universal — You. 
 
 Rsv.  VIII.  13. 
 
 P  4 
 
216 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 “  who,  by  arrogating  that  Title,  labour  to  subject 
 tc  all  his  members  to  yourself  ?”  And  he  proceeds, 
 at  last,  to  express  his  melancholy  anticipation  of  the 
 consequences.  "  But  this  is  the  time  which  Christ 
 <c  himself  foretold.  The  Earth  is  now  laid  waste, 
 “  and  destroyed,  with  the  plague,  and  with  the 
 “  sword  ;  all  things,  that  have  been  predicted,  are 
 “  now  under  accomplishment :  the  King  of  Pride 
 “  is  at  hand ;  and,  I  dread  to  say  it,  an  Army  of 
 
 Priests  is  prepared  for  him  :  for  they,  who  were 
 “  chosen  to  point  out  to  others  the  way  of  humility 
 “  and  meekness,  are  themselves  now  become  the 
 (i  slaves  of  pride  and  ambition*/’ 
 
 Thus  did  the  Roman  Prelate  inveigh  against  the 
 Assumption  of  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople ; 
 and  forcibly  state  his  apprehensions,  that  the  ap¬ 
 pearance  of  <s  The  King  of  Pride ,  with  the  most 
 dismal  calamities  in  his  train,  might  be  justly  and 
 speedily  expected.  He  little  suspected,  at  the  time, 
 that  the  accomplishment  of  his  forebodings  would 
 commence  in  his  own  immediate  Successor ;  or 
 that  the  very  next  Bishop  of  Rome  would  actually 
 
 *  Gregorii  Epist.  lib.  4.  Ep.  36.  Upon  this  Subject  see 
 also  what  Mr.  Bower  says,  in  his  Lite  of  Gregory  I.  Vol.  2. 
 p.  505,  &c.  Edit.  3.  of  his  History  of  the  Bishops  of  Rome  ; 
 and  Du  Pin,  in  his  account  of  the  same  Prelate,  Cent.  VI. 
 Vol.  5,  p.  78,  Edit.  1693. 
 
 It  may  be  necessary  to  add,  that  John  first  assumed  the 
 lofty  title  of  Universal  Bishop  in  the  year  586 ;  and  that 
 the  Letter  here  alluded  to  was  written  in  595. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 217 
 
 attain  to  that  Office  of  Oecumenical  or  Universal 
 Bishop ,  in  power  and  spiritual  jurisdiction,  as  well 
 as  in  title,  which  his  Brother,  in  the  ocher  Imperial 
 City,  had  enjoyed  only  in  name*. 
 
 i.  Soon  after  these  heavy  forebodings  “  th e  fifth 
 “  Angel  sounded:  and  I  saw,”  says  the  Prophet, 
 “  a  Star  fall  from  the  Heaven  to  the  Earth  :  and 
 “  to  him  was  given  the  Key  of  the  Pit  of  the  A- 
 “  byss,”  or  of  <c  the  bottomless  Deepf.” 
 
 A  Star  is  the  figurative  representation  of  a  Per¬ 
 son  in  some  degree  of  elevation ,  whether  in  an  ec¬ 
 clesiastical,  or  a  civil  point  of  view.  Thus,  we  are 
 informed,  that  u  the  seven  Stars*'  which  St.  John 
 saw  in  the  right  hand  of  Him  who  is  the  Supreme 
 Head  of  the  Church,  were  “  the  Angels  of  the 
 “  seven  Churches  ”  to  which  he  addressed  his  Re¬ 
 velation  Thus,  also,  in  typifying  the  wonderful 
 
 *  Respecting  the  purity  of  those  motives,  which  urged  the 
 Roman  Pontiff  <o  oppose  thus  strenuously  the  Usuip&tiGns  of 
 John,  there  has  been  a  variety  of  Opinions  among  ectlesi&s. 
 tical  historians:  but  with  these  the  present  Argument  has  no 
 concern.  It  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  verificadon  of  the  Sym¬ 
 bols  here  adopted,  that,  in  thus  transmilting  his  solemn  Pio- 
 test  against  such  unprecedented  Assumptions  to  Constantino¬ 
 ple,  and  giving  the  most  public  warning  possible  of  the  Con¬ 
 sequences  he  apprehended,  he  did,  li  in  mid  heaven ,”  as  it 
 w'ere,  announce  the  speedy  appearance  of  u  The  King  of 
 il  Pride,"  and  the  IVoes  that  would  result  from  it. 
 
 +  This  is  the  very  appropriate  phrase,  by  which  Dr. 
 Woodhouse  has  rendered  the  original  words  in;  A£u7<ro$. 
 f  Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  20. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  1. 
 
218 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 changes  effected  under  Constantine  the  Great,  it  is 
 said,  u  the  Stars  of  the  Heaven  fell  to  the  Earth 
 that  is,  the  pagan  Magistrates  of  the  Empire  were 
 deprived  of  the  commissions  by  which  they  had 
 acted,  under  its  pagan  Princes ,  in  consequence  of 
 the  annihilation  of  the  powers  which  had  placed 
 them  in  those  situations*.  But  that,  in  the  present 
 instance,  an  Ecclesiastical  Person  is  intended,  will 
 immediately  appear  from  the  subsequent  parts  of 
 the  description. 
 
 He  was  seen  to  <£  fall  from  the  Heaven  to  the 
 “  Earth  that  is,  to  desert  his  elevated  and  pro¬ 
 per  Sphere  of  Movement ;  to  apostatize  from  the 
 principles  he  had  professed,  in  order  to  be  placed  in 
 that  Sphere ;  and  to  follow  those  degrading  and  mis¬ 
 chievous  pursuits,  to  which  he  had  been  judicially 
 appointed. 
 
 And  to  him  was  given  the  Key  of  the  bottom- 
 <f  less  Pit.”  As  to  St  Peter  were  committed  “  the 
 i(  Keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heavenf that  he 
 might  be  the  first  to  unlock  (for  there  his  pe¬ 
 culiar  privilege  ceased)  the  Mysteries  of  the 
 
 *  Page  145. 
 
 +  See  Matth.  ch.  16.  y.  18,  19.  This  is  one  of  the  Texts, 
 ■which  the  Church  of  Rome  has  dreadfully  misapplied,  for  the 
 support  of  the  Usurpation  of  her  own  Bishop.  Upon  this 
 subject  the  Reader  may  consult  with  much  advantage  an  ad¬ 
 mirable  little  work,  written  by  Dr.  Burgess,  the  present 
 Bishop  of  St.  David’s,  and  entitled — (e  Christ,  and  not  St. 
 “  Peter,  the  Rock  of  the  Christian  Church ,  &c.  1812. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 219 
 
 “  Kingdom  of  Heaven”  first  to  the  Jews,  and  af¬ 
 terwards  to  the  Gentiles  ;  so  to  the  Person  here  in¬ 
 tended  was  committed  the  Key  of  the  Pit  without 
 bottom.  He  was  therefore  to  be  the  first  to  de¬ 
 velop  a  system  of  Opinions,  founded  upon  no 
 ground ,  either  of  true  Religion,  or  of  right  Reason. 
 Deserting  the  Religion  from  which  he  had  derived 
 the  eminence  of  his  Station,  he  was  to  employ  him¬ 
 self  in  inventing,  and  in  preparing  for  publication, 
 a  new  species  of  Imposture ,  deceptive  as  “  the  base- 
 <c  less  fabric  of  a  vision,”  yet  fraught  with  fumes 
 of  the  most  destructive  poison. 
 
 2.  fC  And  he  opened  the  Pit  of  the  Abyss  ;  and 
 u  there  arose  a  Smoke  out  of  the  Pit,  as  the  Smoke 
 of  a  great  furnace.”  From  the  quantity  and  quality 
 of  these  Exhalations ,  the  Understandings  of  those 
 who  imbibed  them  became  obscured  ;  and  the  very 
 Elements  of  Morality  and  Religion  were  rendered 
 indistinct,  or  rather,  perhaps,  were  in  many  cases 
 entirely  lost  sight  ofi  Even  fC  the  Sun,”  that  in¬ 
 spired  Source  of  sacred  Knowledge,  which  had  be¬ 
 fore  diffused  a  portion  of  light  and  warmth  through 
 this  part  of  the  Christian  World  ;  and  “  the  Air 
 which  had  been  the  means  of  transmitting  them^ 
 became  c<  darkened,  by  reason  of  the  Smoke  o  f  the 
 “  Pit”  The  native  excellence  and  dignity  of  the 
 Holy  Scriptures *  continued  no  longer  visible ;  and 
 
 *  That  pre-eminent  Station  which  the  Sun  occupies  in  the 
 System  of  Nature ,  and  the  Imperial  or  Regal  Dignity  ia 
 
 Rev.  IX.  2. 
 
220 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 the  Ministry,  which  should  have  maintained  their 
 authority,  and  luminously  enforced  the  doctrines 
 and  precepts  they  contain,  were  themselves  involv¬ 
 ed,  in  a  great  measure,  in  the  general  perversion. 
 
 Such  is  the  obvious  import  of  these  Symbols,  if 
 we  apply  them  merely  to  the  awful  effects  of  these 
 baneful  doctrines,  upon  the  interests  of  Religion , 
 in  the  Countries  over  which  they  were  diffused. 
 But  they  will  stand  equally  verified,  if  they  are 
 considered  with  respect  to  the  influence  of  the  same 
 execrable  System  upon  the  civil  Administration  of 
 those  regions. 
 
 By  this  the  Imperial  Dignity  in  the  East  was  sul¬ 
 lied  and  impaired  j  its  authority,  and  the  benefits  it 
 had  been  the  means  of  conferring,  were  soon 
 effaced  and  forgotten  ;  and  the  public  administra¬ 
 tion,  by  which  they  had  been  thus  far  transmitted* 
 became  weakened,  corrupted,  and  unable  any  long¬ 
 er  to  perform  its  accustomed  duties. 
 
 This  was  the  case,  in  the  infected  Provinces  of  the 
 East ;  and  if  we  supply  the  Regal  instead  of  the 
 Imperial  Dignity,  the  Description  will  equally  cor¬ 
 respond  with  the  effects  of  the  same  Principles  on 
 those  Kingdoms  and  States,  over  which  they  were 
 permitted  to  prevail  in  the  JVest. 
 
 the  political  Systems  of  Nations,  the  Written  Word  of 
 GOD''  also  possesses  in  the  great  realm  of  Christianity. 
 Without  it  there  can  be  no  intellectual  light,  no  spiritual 
 ardour ,  or  life . 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 221 
 
 What  professed  Minister  of  Religion,  then,  (I  do 
 not  say — \*  hat  man  invested  with  any  considerable 
 degree  of  secular  authority)  shall  we  find,  about  the 
 time  of  which  we  are  speaking,  who  exhibited  the 
 truth  of  these  Characteristics  in  his  own  Personal 
 Conduct  ?  That  Mahomet  began  to  promulge  his 
 Doctrines  at  this  important  crisis  is  not  to  be  denied  ; 
 and  that  those  Doctrines  are  actually  represented  by 
 the  Smoke  which  proceeded  out  of  mouth  of  the 
 Pit,  will  appear  equally  certain,  from  the  remaining 
 parts  of  this  Prophecy  :  but  Mahomet,  and  the 
 succeeding  Caliphs  of  the  Saracens,  were  as  evi¬ 
 dently  the  Power,  to  be  soon  symbolized  by  the 
 destroying  King ,  who  was  tc  the  Angel  of  the  bot¬ 
 tomless  pit.”  It  follows,  therefore,  that  Mahomet 
 himse'f  could  not  have  been  the  Person  intended. 
 In  addition  to  this  it  may  be  observed,  that  Maho¬ 
 met  had  never  been  appointed  to  any  sacred  func¬ 
 tions,  or  advanced  to  any  post  of  secular  authority, 
 before  he  assumed  the  prophetical  office  ;  and 
 could  not  therefore  be  said  to  realize  the  imagery 
 of  the  Star  fallen  from  the  Heaven .  There  is  this 
 further  circumstance  still  more  strongly  in  proof 
 of  the  same  point  — that  the  person,  indicated  by 
 <£  the  Star '  in  question,  was  employed  in  open¬ 
 ing  the  mouth  of  the  Pit,  and  setting  free  the 
 Locusts  which  came  forth  from  thence,  at  the  head 
 of  whom  was  this  King  Abaddon  ;  but  the  libera¬ 
 tor  could  not  be  the  same  as  the  person  liberated; 
 
 Rev.  IX.  2. 
 
222 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 and  therefore  the  Arabian  Impostor  himself  could 
 not  have  been  the  man  immediately  pointed  out  by 
 these  emblems. 
 
 He  then,  who  was  the  first  mover  in  this  busi¬ 
 ness  of  deception,  who  instructed  Mahomet  so  far  in 
 the  principles  of  the  Christian  and  Jewish  Religions, 
 as  to  enable  him  to  select  those  parts  of  both,  which 
 best  suited  the  purpose  of  his  Fabrication,  and 
 from  whom  he  received  other  essential  assistance 
 in  the  composition  of  his  Koran,  must  be  The  In¬ 
 strument  of  evil  here  anticipated  by  the  Prophet. 
 By  his  knowledge  of  these  principles  ;  and  by  his 
 power  of  distorting  them,  and  of  forming  erroneous 
 comparisons  and  combinations — he  might  be  of 
 singular  service  in  the  framing  of  a  System, 
 which  6<  should  change  the  truth  of  GOD  into  a 
 “lie;”  which  should  contain  something  of  both 
 the  Dispensations  He  had  ordained,  and  yet  be  al¬ 
 together  dissimilar  to  either. 
 
 And  such  a  man  was  Boheira,  or  Sergius a 
 Nestorian  Monk  at  Bosra,  who  appears,  from  an 
 early  period  of  the  life  of  Mahomet,  to  have  at¬ 
 tached  himself  to  him.  From  him  did  the  crafty 
 Arabian  receive  the  most  important  hints  for  his 
 pretended  Mission;  by  him,  in  all  probability,  was 
 
 *  It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  perceive,  that,  in  asserting 
 this,  I  have  on  my  side  the  suffrage  of  so  learned  and  able  a 
 Writer  as  Mr.  Faber.  See  his  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies 
 telating  to  the  grand  period  of  the  1260  years,  Vol.  2.  p. 
 29,  &c.  Edit,  1. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 223 
 
 the  project  of  that  Mission  first  suggested  #  j  with 
 him  was  a  correspondence  artfully  maintained,  for 
 the  purpose  of  promoting  it ;  and  to  his  intimations 
 do  many  parts  of  the  Koran  itself  owe  their  ex¬ 
 istence!. 
 
 +  I  am  induced  to  form  this  opinion,  from  the  testimony 
 of  the  Mahommedan  historians  themselves,  as  cited  by  tha 
 learned  Authors  of  the  Modern  Universal  History — 
 
 “  Upon  Mahommed’s  first  approach  lo  Boheira,  the  Monk 
 l(  observed  a  sort  of  luminous  or  transparent  cloud  round 
 <c  his  head,  that  preserved  him  from  *he  solar  rays;  as  also, 
 <c  that  the  dry  trees,  on  which  he  sat,  were  every  where 
 u  covered  instantly  with  green  leaves,  that  served  him  for  a 
 
 shade — certain  signs  that  the  prophetic  dignity  resided 
 e(  in  him.  He  likewise  discovered  the  seal  of  Prophecy  im- 
 <c  pressed  between  his  shoulders,  whilst  he  kissed  the  hinder 
 “  part  of  his  garment.  Turning  then  to  Abu  Taleb,  Depart , 
 <£  said  he,  with  this  child ,  and  take  great  care ,  that  he 
 t(  does  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews;  for  your 
 <(  nephew  will  one  day  become  a  very  extraordinary  per- 
 t(  son.,y  Abu  Taleb  hereupon  immediately  returned  to 
 Mecca,  and  gave  an  account  to  the  Koreish  of  the  discove¬ 
 ries  that  had  been  made.  If  this  were  not  to  suggest  the 
 idea  of  the  future  Imposture,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  what 
 could  be  :  and  this  is  the  account  gravely  given  by  Abulfeda, 
 A1  Kodai,  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef,  &c.  As  far  as  it  goes  to 
 prove  their  belief  of  the  instrumentality  of  Boheira,  or  Ser¬ 
 gius,  towards  the  first  striking  out  of  the  design,  afterwards 
 matured  and  carried  into  effect  by  Mahomet  with  his  assist¬ 
 ance,  it  is  convincing. 
 
 See  Mod.  Univ.  Hist,  Vol.  1,  book  1,  ch.  1.  p.  26. 
 
 t  Mod.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  1.  p.  25,  30,  317 — 319,  and 
 Dr.  Prideaux’s  Life  of  Mahomet,  p.  11,  35 — 37.  Edit,  8. 
 
 4 
 
 Rev.  IX.  2. 
 
2-24 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 Such  then  was  “  the  Star ,”  that  in  this  instance 
 <tf  fell  from  the  Heaven — Such  was  the  man,  who 
 apostatized  from  the  faith  he  had  professed ;  de¬ 
 serted  the  sphere  that  had  been  assigned  him  ;  and 
 with  the  key  ,”  which  had  been  given  him — with 
 the  help  of  the  knowledge  he  had  acquired  of  sa¬ 
 cred  things,  yet  v/ith  greater  artifice  and  malignity 
 — “  opened  the  pit  of  the  bottomless  deep." 
 
 3,  The  consequences  were  immediately  appa¬ 
 rent.  “  The  Smoke”  cr  fumes  of  false  doctrine, 
 began  to  spread  in  every  direction  ;  and  to  induce 
 a  fatal  darkness  over  the  regions  beneath.  No 
 existing  authority,  sacred  or  profane,  divine  or  hu¬ 
 man,  was  now  to  be  regarded  ;  even  “  the  Sun ” 
 itself — the  Sun,  not  only  of  the  Political ,  but  of 
 the  Theological  world,  was,  as  it  were,  to  be  blotted 
 out  of  the  System  ;  and  every  thing,  within  their 
 reach,  was  to  yield  to  the  desolating  influence  of 
 Mahommedan  tyranny  and  aggrandizement. 
 
 For  “  out  of  the  smoke  came  forth  Locusts 
 “  upon  the  Earth.”  Under  the  influence  of  these 
 false  and  pernicious  principles,  Men,  having  the 
 voraciousness  of  Locusts,  and  “with  the  reins  thrown 
 Cf  upon  their  lusts,”  issued  forth  from  the  region 
 of  Hedsjas,  the  focus  of  Imposture.  Over-run¬ 
 ning  the  rest  of  Arabia,  and  every  where  emitting 
 the  pestilential  breath  of  their  new  Doctrines,  they, 
 in  a  short  time,  broke  into  the  Eastern  Empire ; 
 and,  after  despoiling  it  of  some  of  its  finest  Pro¬ 
 vinces,  they  overspread  and  ruined  many  Coun¬ 
 tries  of  the  West . 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 225 
 
 So  rapid,  indeed,  was  the  progress  of  the  Sa¬ 
 racenic  Arms,  that  before  the  expiration  of  the 
 thirty-second  year  of  the  Hegira  they  had  made 
 themselves  masters  of  Arabia,  Armenia,  Egypt, 
 and  some  other  parts  of  Africa,  Mesopotamia, 
 Persia,  Palsestine,  Phoenicia,  and  the  whole  of  Sy¬ 
 ria;  and  of  the  islands  of  Aradus,  Cyprus,  and 
 Rhodes. 
 
 But  the  first  of  all  these  Locusts ,  who  was  thus 
 let  loose  upon  the  Earth ,  was  the  founder  of  the 
 Caliphate  himself.  Appealing  to  the  predictions  of 
 the  Jewish  Prophets  concerning  Christ,  and  apply¬ 
 ing  them  to  himself,  Mahomet  assumed  the  pecu¬ 
 liar  and  distinquishing  Title  of  te  The  Prophet  of 
 GOD  but  in  the  year  606,  he  had  previously 
 retired  to  a  cave,  in  the  mountain  of  Hara,  about 
 three  miles  from  Mecca,  to  forge  the  credentials  of 
 his  mission.  This  was  the  first  overt  act  of  that 
 great  Apostacy  in  the  East,  which  has  lasted  for 
 so  many  ages;  and  it  stamps,  in  indelible  cha¬ 
 racters,  the  commencement  of  the  period,  during 
 which  it  should  continue  f. 
 
 *  Corresponding  with  the  year  652.  For  an  account  at 
 large  of  the  conquests  of  the  Saracens  to  the  time  here  men¬ 
 tioned,  see  Modern  Universal  History,  Vol.  1.  book  1,  ch.  2, 
 p.  274—535. 
 
 f  u  It  is  to  be  observed,”  says  Dr.  Prideaux, (e  that  Maho- 
 i(  met  began  this  imposture  about  the  same  time  that  the 
 “  Bishop  of  Rome,  by  virtue  of  a  Grant  from  the  wicked 
 
 Ret.  IX.  3. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
226 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 “  And  unto  them  was  given  power,  as  the 
 “  Scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power.”  Wherever 
 they  were  able  to  penetrate,  they  left  behind  them 
 the  deplorable  effects  of  their  conquests ;  either  in 
 those  false  and  infatuating  doctrines,  which,  by 
 these  means,  they  were  enabled  to  propagate  ;  or 
 in  the  cruel  oppressions  they  exercised  upon  those, 
 whom  they  could  not  induce  to  receive  them. 
 
 4.  Yet  their  power  of  inflicting  injury  was  con¬ 
 fined  within  certain  predescribed  limits.  Unlike 
 the  natural  *  Locusts,  which,  sent  occasionally  as 
 
 “  Tyrant  Phocas,  first  assumed  the  title  of  Universal  Pastor. 
 ii  Phocas  made  this  Grant  in  606,  and  Mahomet  in  the  very 
 
 same  year  retired  to  his  cave  to  forge  that  deception, 
 i(  which  he  began  in  60S  to  propagate  at  Mecca.  From  this 
 “  time,  both  having  contrived  to  foujid  to  themselves  an 
 ‘c  Empire  in  Imposture,  their  followers  have  been  ever  since 
 i(  endeavouring  by  the  same  methods,  that  is,  by  those  of 
 il  fire  and  sword,  to  propagate  it  among  mankind.”  u  So 
 c(  that  Antichrist  seems  at  this  time  to  have  set  both 
 “  his  feet  upon  Christendom  together ,  the  one  in  the 
 <{  East ,  and  the  other  in  the  West  ;  and  how  much  each 
 “  hath  trampled  on  the  Church  of  Christ ,  the  ages 
 “  mer  since  succeeding  have  abundantly  experienced .” 
 Life  of  Mahomet,  p.  13.  Edit.  8. 
 
 *  This  part  of  the  description,  as  well  as  that  which  re- 
 presents  them  as  having  their  chief  power  of  inflicting  injury 
 in  their  tails,  proves  at  onco  the  symbolical  nature  of  these 
 Locusts.  In  reality,  the  people  thus  prefigured  had  a  mixed 
 character  j  partaking,  in  some  respects  of  the  qualities  of 
 the  Locust ;  but  in  others  of  that  of  the  Scorpion.  In 
 their  destructive  and  predatory  propensities ,  and  in  the 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 227 
 
 a  Scourge  upon  sinful  nations,  devour  the  fruits 
 of  the  ground ,  and  every  thing  it  produces  that  is 
 necessary  for  human  subsistence,  these  were  com¬ 
 manded  “  not  to  hurt  the  grass  of  the  earthy  nor 
 any  thing  green ,  nor  any  tree.”  By  a  beautiful 
 figure,  not  unfrequent  in  the  sacred  writings,  the 
 various  productions  of  vegetation  are  here  employed, 
 to  represent  the  various  degrees  of  vital  Christianity 
 in  those  churches,  which,  in  that  time  of  general 
 depravity,  were  just  rising,  as  it  were,  into  esta¬ 
 blishment,  or  had  still  held  fast  some  portion  of 
 their  former  integrity.  Over  those,  who  were  still 
 actuated  in  some  degree  by  the  principles  of  genu¬ 
 ine  Religion,  this  prophecy  assures  us,  these  sym¬ 
 bolical  Locusts  were  to  have  no  power  of  real 
 injury.  The  pernicious  influence  they  elsewhere 
 exerted  was  calculated,  indeed,  to  promote  an 
 effect,  quite  opposite  to  that  of  iitjuring  the  moral 
 
 multitudes  in  which  they  at  length  proceeded  forth  from  the 
 Region  that  had  produced  them,  they  might  well  be  com. 
 pared  to  swarms  of  Locusts,  desolating  and  consuming  every 
 thing  that  was  good,  as  far  as  their  power  extended,  in  every 
 country  where  they  alighted:  while,  inflicting  the  most  fatal 
 mischiefs,  by  means  of  those  pestilential  doctrines  which 
 they  carried  in  their  train ,  they  might  with  equal  justice  be 
 assimilated  with  the  Scorpion,  whose  power  of  wounding  is 
 in  his  Tail.  See  the  comparison  between  the  Arabians  and 
 Locusts  most  ably  and  satisfactorily  made  out  by  Mr.  Mede, 
 in  his  fi  Commentationum  Apolypticarum,  Pars  1.  de  prima 
 ViE-TUBA.  pag.  579,  of  his  works,  Edit.  IG64. 
 
 Ret.  IX.  4. 
 
ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 tzn 
 
 and  religious  principles  of  sincere  Christians  j  for 
 it  would  cause  them  to  be  more  tenacious  and  cir- 
 tumspect,  in  respect  to  both,  in  those  evil  days'* 
 
 The  effects  of  their  malignity  were  permitted  to 
 fall  only  upon  “  those  men ,  who  had  not  the  seal 
 u  of  GOD  in  their  foreheads  upon  those,  who 
 either  (as  the  Persians,  and  most  of  the  tribes  of 
 Arabians)  had  never  been  received  by  baptism  into 
 the  church  of  Christ ;  *  or  who,  having  cast  off  the 
 profession  of  the  true  faith,  had  lapsed  into  the 
 grievous  sins  of  Heresy  and  Schism — into  those 
 Heresies  more  particularly,  which  prevented  the 
 due  administration  of  Baptism,  according  to  Christ’s 
 holy  ordinance!,  “  in  the  Name  of  the  Father, 
 <s  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
 
 1'hese  last,  indeed,  had  placed  themselves  in 
 situations  of  great  exposure  {.  They  had  lost  that 
 
 *  With  these,  and  other  pagan  nations,  orer  which  the 
 principles  of  the  Mohammedan  Religion  hare  been  extended, 
 this  prophecy  has  no  concern. 
 
 i  Matth.  ch.  28.  v.  19. 
 
 t  What  a  frightful  picture  does  Mr.  Gibbon  present  of  the 
 consequences  of  this  exposure,  when  he  tells  us,  that 44 In  the 
 "  ten  years  of  the  administration  of  Omar,  the  Saracens  re. 
 44  duced  to  his  obedience  thirty-six  thousand  Cities  or  Cas- 
 41  ties,  destroyed  four  thousand  Churches  or  Temples  of  the 
 44  Unbelievers,  and  edified  fourteen  hundred  Moscbs  for  the 
 44  exercise  of  the  religion  of  Mahomet.”  At  the  same  time, 
 the  number  of  churches  destroyed,  when  compared  with  the 
 number  of  Cities  and  Castles  reduced,  is  small  indeed ;  and 
 shews  how  many  must  have  been  spared.  Decline  and  Fall, 
 Chap.51,  Vol.  9,  p.36l. 
 
LECTURE  IX, 
 
 2fc$ 
 
 strength  and  fixedness  of  right  principle,  which 
 might  now  have  preserved  them.  They  had  ne¬ 
 glected  to  “  cleave  steadfastly  to  GOD  and  he 
 had  now  given  them  up  to  follow  their  own 
 devices;  to  be  led  still  further  astray,  by  the 
 peculiar  seductions  to  which  they  were  now  ex¬ 
 posed  ;  and  to  lapse  into  those  extremes  of  infidelity, 
 from  which  there  was  no  hope  of  their  ever  re¬ 
 turning. 
 
 This  was  also  both  an  infatuation  and  a  punish¬ 
 ment,  that  had  been  justly  deserved.  By  the  errors 
 they  had  embraced,  by  the  unhappy  divisions  they 
 had  excited  in  the  Church,  and  by  their  flagitious 
 and  disgraceful  conduct,  they  had  long  been  a 
 heavy  scourge  * ;  and  they  now  operated  most 
 powerfully  in  assisting  the  progress  of  Mohamme- 
 dism  :  for  they  not  only  fell  easy  victims  to  this 
 Imposture  themselves;  but,  by  their  former  pro¬ 
 fligacy  and  impiety,  they  brought  disgrace  upon 
 the  very  profession  of  Christianity,  thereby  afford¬ 
 ing  to  her  enemies  the  opportunities  for  insult  they 
 had  so  eagerly  desired. 
 
 *  u  The  most  bitter  dissensions  and  cruel  animosities 
 if  reigned”  at  this  time,  44  among  the  Christian  Sects,  par- 
 44  ticularly  the  Greeks,  Nestorians,  Eutychians,  and  Mono- 
 44  physites — dissensions,  that  filled  a  great  part  of  the  East 
 44  with  caruage,  assassinations,  and  such  detestable  enormi- 
 *'  ties,  as  rendered  the  very  name  of  Christianity  odious  to 
 4‘  many.”  See  Mosheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  7,  parti, 
 ch.  2,  §  4. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  4. 
 
 Q  $ 
 
230 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 5.  “  And  to  them  it  was  given,  that  they  should 
 “  not  kill  them  ;  but  that  they  should  be  torment* 
 6‘  ed  Jive  months .”  Generally  speaking,  they  were 
 not  permitted  during  this  period  to  destroy  any  of 
 those  Christian  communities,  who  chose  to  pay 
 tribute  for  the  toleration  with  which  they  were  in¬ 
 dulged  j  or  to  carry  on,  merely  on  account  of  Re¬ 
 ligion,  any  sanguinary  persecution  #  against  them, 
 in  regions,  where  their  own  power  was  fully  esta¬ 
 blished  f.  It  was  their  usual  practice,  whenever  they 
 
 *  History  seems  to  hold  out  one  remarkable  exception  to 
 this  assertion.  In  the  year  719,  Omar  II.  Prince  of  the 
 Saracens,  having  besieged  Constantinople,  and  been  obliged, 
 after  having  Iain  before  the  city  for  thirteen  months,  to 
 abandon  his  enterprize  ;  irritated  at  the  disappointment  his 
 fleets  and  armies  had  experienced,  “  he  began  to  rage  with 
 “  great  fury  against  the  Christians  in  his  dominions;  forbid- 
 “  ding  them  at  first  the  exercise  of  their  Religion,  and  soon 
 >(  after  commanding  them,  on  pain  of  death ,  to  renounce 
 “  it,  and  embrace  the  principles  of  Mahomet.”  On  this 
 occasion,  <f  many  to  avoid  death,  made  an  outward  pro- 
 "  fession  of  the  Religion,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  of  their  insult. 
 “  ing  Masters;  while  some  few,  notwithstanding  the  igno. 
 “  ran3e  a(lti  depravity  of  that  age,  maintained,  with  unshaken 
 “  constancy,  the  true  Religion,  at  the  expense  of  their 
 li  Lives.'’  But  this  very  relation  obviates  the  inference, 
 that  might  otherwise  be  drawn  from  the  events:  for  this  was 
 a  persecution  raised,  not  me> ely  on  a  religious  account  ;  but 
 from  the  sole  motive  of  revenge^  on  account  of  the  perse¬ 
 vering  and  masterly  defence,  which  the  Christians  had  made 
 during  the  siege  of  Constantinople.  Anc.  Unix.  Hist.  Vol. 
 17,  page  39,  Edit.  1748. 
 
 +  Much  less  were  they  permitted  to  overthrow  either  the 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 231 
 
 declared  war  against  any  people  of  a  different  faith, 
 to  give  them  their  choice  of  three  conditions — 
 either  to  embrace  Mohammedism  ;  or  to  submit, 
 and  pay  tribute  ;  or  else,  to  decide  their  quarrel  by 
 the  sword  *.  If,  after  an  unsuccessful  contest, 
 which  was  usually  the  case,  their  enemies  were 
 reduced  to  submission,  the  two  first  of  these  con¬ 
 ditions  were  still  allowed  for  their  option :  for  the 
 object  of  these  invaders  was  not  the  total  destruc¬ 
 tion  of  the  vanquished;  but  the  propagation  of 
 their  own  Religion  in  the  first  instance ;  or,  if 
 unable  to  effect  that,  the  enriching  of  themselves 
 with  the  annual  tribute,  which  they  extorted  from 
 those  who  would  not  embrace  it.  Thus  were  the 
 strokes  they  gave  attended  with  a  permanent  pain ; 
 and  the  torment  they  occasioned  “  was  as  the  tor- 
 ii  meat  of  a  Scorpion,  when  it  striketh  a  man” 
 
 “  For  some  time,”  says  the  learned  Mosheim,” 
 45  these  enthusiastic  invaders  used  their  prosperity 
 “  with  moderation,  and  treated  the  Christians,  and 
 “  particularly  those  among  them,  who  rejected  the 
 “  decrees  of  the  Councils  of  Ephesus  and  Chalce- 
 ct  don,  with  the  utmost  indulgence  and  lenity. 
 “  But,  as  an  uninterrupted  course  of  success  and 
 <r  prosperity  renders,  too  generally,  corrupt  mor- 
 “  tals  insolent  and  imperious,  so  the  moderation  of 
 
 Eastern  Empire  ;  or  to  subjugate  any  of  those  European  Coun¬ 
 tries,  Spain  excepted,  which  had  constituted  Parts  of  that  in 
 the  Wes t. 
 
 *  Mod.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  1,  p.  374,  Edit.  1759. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  5. 
 
 q  4 
 
2S2 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 e{  this  victorious  Sect  degenerated,  by  degrees,  into 
 <e  severity ;  and  they  treated  the  Christians, 
 
 “  length,  rather  like  slaves  than  citizens ;  loading 
 “  them  with  insupportable  taxes,  and  obliging  them 
 <e  to  submit  to  a  variety  of  vexatious  and  oppressive 
 *e  measures.*” 
 
 The  Period,  during  which  their  power  of  tor- 
 meriting ,  or  inflicting  additional  injury ,  was  to  con¬ 
 tinue  is  distinctly  stated  to  be  five  proptietic  Months 
 or,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  f.  And  this  period 
 
 *  Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  7?  part  1,  ch.  2.  sec.  5. 
 
 +  We  may  form  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  Torment 
 they  were  permuted  to  inflict,  from  that  of  the  Dominion 
 they  were  enabled  to  acquire.  44  At  the  end  of  the  first  cen- 
 44  tury  of  the  Hegira,  the  Caliphs  were  the  most  potent  and 
 44  absolute  monarchs  of  the  globe.  Their  prerogative  was 
 44  not  circumscribed,  either  in  right  or  in  fact,  by  the  power 
 le  of  the  nobles,,  the  freedom  of  the  commons,  the  privileges  of 
 44  the  church,  the  votes  of  a  senate,  or  the  memory  of  a  free 
 44  constitution.  The  regal  and  sacerdotal  characters  were 
 44  united  in  the  successors  of  Mahomet.”  44  Under  the  last 
 44  of  the  Ommiades,”  (Merwan,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne 
 in  the  l32d  year  of  the  Hegira,  A.  D.  749.)  44  the  Arabian 
 44  Empire  extended  two  hundred  days  journey  from  East  to 
 44  West,  from  the  confines  of  Tariary  and  India  to  the  shores 
 44  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  And  if  we  retrench  the  sleeve  of 
 44  the  robe,  as  it  is  styled  by  their  writers,  the  long  and  nar- 
 44  row  province  of  Africa,  the  solid  and  compact  dominion 
 44  from  Fargana  to  Aden,  from  Tarsus  to  Surat,  w ill  spread 
 44  on  every  side  to  the  measure  of  jour  or  jive  months  of  the 
 44  March  of  a  Caravan.”  Decline  and  Fall,  Vo!.  9,  ch.  51, 
 p.  500.  The  prophecy,  however,  of  which  we  are  speaking, 
 does  not  extend  its  notice  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Empire  of 
 the  RomanSo 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 233 
 
 commenced,  in  one  point  of  view  *,  with  the  first 
 fabrication  of  this  dreadful  system  of  imposture  and 
 oppression ;  and  continued  till  it  had  attained  the 
 utmost  diffusion  they  were  empowered  to  give  it : 
 that  is,  from  the  year  606,  when  the  imposition  was 
 first  devised,  to  the  year  756,  when  Abd’alrahman, 
 having  revolted  from  the  Caliph  A1  Mansor,  of  the 
 race  of  Abbas,  assumed  to  himself  the  Caliphate 
 over  the  West,  in  Spain,  and  established  a  dynasty 
 of  the  Ommiades  in  that  country,  which  continued 
 upwards  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  T hus  was 
 finally  weakened  by  division .  the  grand  fabric  of  the 
 Saracenic  power  ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  stop  was 
 put  to  its  effecting  any  further  Conquests,  of  any 
 extent,  in  the  West.  “  The  mutual  designs,  or  de- 
 “  clarations  of  offensive  war,”  between  the  two  Ca¬ 
 liphs,  “  evaporated  without  effect ;  but,  instead  of 
 *c  opening  a  door  to  the  conquest  of  Europe,  Spain 
 “  was  dissevered  from  the  trunk  of  the  Monarchy , 
 “  engaged  in  peifetual  hostfity  with  the  East,  and 
 “  inclined  to  peace  and  f  riendship  with  the  Chris - 
 “  tian  sovereigns  of  Constantinople  and  France  f. 
 
 At  the  close,  therefore,  of  the  predicted  period, 
 the  torment  ceased,  which  had  been  produced  in 
 
 *  See  Appendix,  Note  GG. 
 
 +  See  Mr,  Gibbon’s  account  of  this  Dismemberment  of  the 
 Monarchy  of  the  Arabians,  and  of  the  Revolution  which  pre¬ 
 pared  the  way  for  it,  in  his  History,  Vol.  10.  ch  52  p.  28— 
 34.  Upon  the  same  subject  consult  also  Modern  Universal 
 History,  Vol.  2,  Book  ],  ch.  2,  Sec.  20. — 22.  p.  ?41 — 271. 
 
 Rev.  IX,  5. 
 
234 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 the  minds  of  men  by  the  rapid  progress  and  un¬ 
 precedented  successes  of  the  arms  of  the  Arabians, 
 and  by  those  baneful  principles,  and  that  degrading 
 system  of  oppression,  which  had  been  so  extensively 
 propagated  through  them.  This  had  been,  indeed, 
 a  most  awful  season  ;  and  must  have  exercised  to 
 the  utmost  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  wise  and 
 good  ;  who  must  have  trembled  with  apprehension, 
 on  account  of  the  strokes  so  repeatedly,  and,  in 
 many  instances,  so  fatally  inflicted,  by  the  scorpion- 
 like  tails  of  these  symbolical  Locusts*.  But  the 
 dismal  apprehensions,  that  were  entertained  of  the 
 universal  extent  of  their  Empire,  had  evidently 
 begun  to  subside  before  the  close  of  this  period  ; 
 
 *  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  geographical  appearance  of  the 
 aggregate  of  the  Mohammedan  Conquests,  as  sketched  out 
 upon  a  Map  of  the  World,  bears  some  general  analogy  to  the 
 form  of  a  Scorpion.  The  space  it  covered  with  its  head , 
 body,  and  limbs ,  were  those  regions  of  the  East,  over  which 
 the  dominion  of  the  Saracen*  was  more  immediately  extend¬ 
 ed  :  Egypt,  disjoined  from  Arabia  by  the  narrow  Isthmus 
 of  Suez,  was,  as  it  were,  the  first  joint  of  the  Tail ;  the  long, 
 narrow,  and  curved  districts  of  Africa,  along  the  Southern 
 coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  were  the  intermediate  joints  ; 
 and  Spain  the  last  joint;  from  whence  they  inflicted  many 
 severe  strokes,  and  meditated  the  entire  destruction  of  the 
 West.  To  the  profound  research  of  Mr.  Mede  I  am  in¬ 
 debted  for  the  notice  of  this  curious  coincidence.  He  says— 
 a  Toto  examine  corpori  assimilato,  anterioribusque  parti. 
 “  bus ,  ut  par  est,  Orienti  assignatis,  quid  agmiua  Africana 
 ,c  erunt,  tanto  a  Capile  intervallo  in  Occidentem  porrecta, 
 “  nisi  Cauda?”  See  his  Works,  p.  582.  ^ 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 235 
 
 when  powerful  Monarchies  were  erected  in  France, 
 and  in  the  northern  part  of  Italy,  capable  of  oppos¬ 
 ing  their  aggress'ons,  and  stopping  short  their  pro¬ 
 gress.  Under  Leo  the  Isaurian,  and  his  son  Con¬ 
 stantine,  moreover,  the  Saracens  received  some 
 terrible  defeats  in  the  East ;  and  their  further 
 encroachments  were  prevented  in  that  Empire. 
 
 6.  It  is  no  wonder  then,  that,  during  such  a 
 period  of  wretchedness  as  this,  under  continual  tor¬ 
 ment  and  anxiety  of  mind,  and  the  most  vexatious 
 tyranny  and  oppression  in  regard  to  their  external 
 circumstances,  “  he  Men who  were  actuated  by 
 no  strength  of  religious  principle,  should  tf  seek 
 “  death  ,”  as  an  asylum  from  the  evils  of  the  life 
 they  were  then  living  * . 
 
 They  might  “  seek  it but  what  are  we  to  un¬ 
 derstand  wnen  it  is  said — they  shall  not  find  it 
 and  when,  to  render  the  awful  truth  still  further 
 striking,  it  is  added — •  they  shall  earnestly  desire 
 “  to  die ,  but  death  shall  fee  from  them  f” 
 
 T  here  is  a  vein  of  allegory  pervading  the  whole  of 
 this  passage,  the  import  of  which  it  shall  be  my 
 endeavour  to  bring  to  light. 
 
 In  order  to  do  this,  it  must  be  observed,  that 
 
 *  This  natural  sense  of  the  words  is  that  which  has  been 
 adopted  by  JYIr.  Mede  ;  but,  as  the  whole  prophecy  is  expres¬ 
 sed  in  figurative  terms,  it  cannot  properly  be  admitted. 
 He  says,  u  Lanta  esset  istorum  temporum  Calamitas,  ut  ho. 
 “  mines  vitae  suae  taederet.”  See  his  Works,  p.  581 . 
 
 Rev.  IX.  6. 
 
236 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 u  Life'*  and  Death  ”  used  in  a  symbolical  sense, 
 are  merely  relative  terms,  denoting  States  in  the 
 greatest  possible  degree  opposite  to  each  other  :  so 
 that  “  to  die ”  implies  to  cease  to  he  what  any  one 
 has  been  *.  What  was  then  the  life  which  these 
 degenerate  Christians  had  been  living?  It  was 
 evidently  that,  which  was  so  particularly  condemned 
 in  the  Church  of  Sardis — they  had  a  name  that  they 
 lived  while  they  were  f  dead — dead  generally  in 
 respect  to  every  thing  good — “  dead  in  trespasses 
 “  and  sins.”  They  had  lapsed  into  the  most  de¬ 
 plorable  errors,  both  in  principle  and  practice  :  they 
 were  rendered  miserable  by  continual  contests  and 
 dissensions  among  themselves  :  they  were  exaspe¬ 
 rated  by  those  calamitous  oppressions,  to  which,  as 
 bearing  the  name  of  Christians ,  they  were  now  be¬ 
 come  additionally  subject.  Such  was  the  life  they 
 were  living,  at  the  time,  when,  to  avoid  the  farther 
 endurance  of  this  complication  of  woe,  they  willingly 
 incurred  that  apparent  change  of  State ,  which 
 seemed  to  promise  relief ;  and  eagerly  embraced 
 
 *  li  Mori  ea  notione  dicitur  qui  in  quocunque  statu  con- 
 ££  stitutus,  sive  politico ,  sive  ecclesiastico ,  seu  quovis  alio , 
 li  desinit  esse  quod  fuit ;  unde  et  occidit,  qui  tali  morte 
 u  quemquam  afficit.  Siquidem  in  stylo  sacro  Vivere  subinde 
 11  est  Esse ,  Mori  non  Esse.  Qua  mente  Satance  et peccato 
 ii  mori  dicimur  cum  eorum  Mancipia  in  posterum  esse  desi- 
 u  nimus ;  Christo  vivere,  cum  ejus  esse  incipimus/’  Mr. 
 Mede’s  Works,  pag,  601. 
 
 +  On Ja  era  spy  a,  on  ovop,x  on  gys,  kou  vtxpos  in 
 
 Rev.  ch,  3.  v.  1. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 237 
 
 the  Religion  of  their  Conquerors.  This  was  pre¬ 
 sented  to  them  under  a  garb  of  the  most  fascinating 
 allurement ;  and  they  were  led  to  believe,  that,  in 
 embracing  this,  they  should  be  immediately  enrolled 
 among  the  Elect  of  GOD,  and  become  entitled  to 
 all  the  joys  of  the  Mohammedan  paradise. 
 
 In  thus  seeking  to  lose  the  name ,  or  character , 
 in  which  they  had  lived,  c<  they  sought  death 
 but  they  did  “  not  Jind  for  the  change  of 
 Religion  in  them  made  no  difference  of  real  cha¬ 
 racter  whatever.  There  was  the  same  addiction  to 
 immorality  and  irreligion  as  before;  their  animo¬ 
 sities  tended  only  more  determinately  to  complete 
 the  mischiefs  they  had  begun,  and  instead  of  being 
 excited  against  each  other,  were  now  directed 
 against  the  existence  of  Christianity  itself ;  and, 
 under  the  influence  of  a  desperate  infatuation,  they 
 fought  the  battles  of  Infidelity.  The  true  happi¬ 
 ness  which  they  were  in  quest  of,  but  to  the  success¬ 
 ful  pursuit  of  which  they  were  judicially  blinded, 
 could  only  be  acquired  by  another  sort  of  Death 
 — not  an  imaginary  one,  such  as  this  was  ;  but  by 
 “  (t  Death  unto  sin" — those  sins,  in  which  they 
 had  been  living,  and  which  had  been  the  cause  of 
 all  their  woe.  Their  conversion  to  Islamism  left 
 them,  in  reality,  at  least  as  sensual,  as  wicked ,  and 
 miserable ,  as  it  found  them:  they  underwent  no 
 change  for  the  better ,  in  consequence  of  it.  It  was 
 such  a  Death  as  this ,  a  total  Change  for  the  better , 
 
 Rev.  IX.  6. 
 
238 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 which  they  had  earnestly  desired;  but,  ie  giveri 
 <f  over  to  a  reprobate  mind  and  under  “  a 
 “  strong  delusion  that  they  should  believe  a  lief,” 
 token  they  sought  it,  it,  as  it  were,  “ fled  from 
 “  them”  The  very  system  they  had  adopted 
 tended  only  irretrievably  to  confirm  them  in  the 
 life  they  had  been  living  :  if  it  made  any  change, 
 in  a  moral  point  of  view,  it  was  only  from  bad  to 
 worse:  it  completely  verified  the  prediction,  re- 
 specting  these  Scorpion-locusts ,  that  “  to  them  it 
 “  was  given,  that  they  should  not  kill”  but  “  only 
 £t  hurt  them.” 
 
 If  then  we  remember,  that  this  tremendous  plague 
 was  permitted  “  to  hurt  only  those  men ,  who  had 
 ie  not  the  seal  of  GOD  in  their  foreheads,  we  shall 
 perceive,  that  in  the  remarkable  passage  we  have 
 just  been  considering  there  is  as  remarkable  a  pre¬ 
 diction  j  portending  the  extensive  diffusion  of  the 
 pestilential  doctrines  of  Mahomet,  among  the  cor¬ 
 rupt  Sectarians  of  those  times  ;  and  the  little  real 
 difference  there  should  be,  between  those  principles 
 which  they  abandoned  and  those  which  they  em¬ 
 braced 
 
 *  Rom.  ch.  1.  v.  28. 
 
 +  2  Thess.  ch.  2.  v.  1 1. 
 
 ^  It  is  upon  this  very  ground,  that  the  Arians  and  Socu 
 nians  of  the  two  last  ages  have  expressed  themselves  so  con¬ 
 fident  of  the  facility  there  would  be,  in  converting  Maho¬ 
 metans,  as  well  as  Jews  and  Pagans,  to  the  profession  of 
 what  they  call  Christianity.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is 
 represented  by  them,  as  standing  desperately  in  the  way  of 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 2  39 
 
 7 ‘—10.  The  inspired  Writer,  having  pointed 
 out  the  distinguishing  moral  Characteristics  of  the 
 Saracens,  the  extent  of  their  Commission,  the 
 Period  during  which  they  should  have  the  power 
 of  inflicting  torment  by  the  repetition  of  their  scor¬ 
 pion  'itce  strokes,  and  the  particular  nature  of  the 
 Torment  they  would  inflict,  proceeds  now  to  de¬ 
 scribe  the  other  Qualifications  or  Peculiarities  bv 
 which  they  should  be  distinguished. 
 
 7.  “  The  appearances  of  the  Locusts  were  like 
 “  horses  prepared,  for  battle*”  This  imagery 
 
 this  Conversion  ;  and  is  therefore  a  subject  of  heavy  com¬ 
 plaint  vvith  them,  for  that  very  reason.  The  justice  of  this 
 complaint,  however,  ha*  been  considered  at  large,  and  in  a 
 masterly  manner,  by  the  late  Bp.  Horsley,  in  his  Letters  to 
 Dr.  Priestley,  Lett.  ]6.  p.  2S8,  &c.  Edit.  3.  and  by  the  late 
 Mr.  Jones,  in  his  “Letter  to  the  Common  People,”  sub¬ 
 joined  to  his  i(  Catholic  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity,”  sect.  11. 
 p.  104.  Edit.  7.  These  are  Books,  which,  in  times  like  the 
 present,  cannot  receive  too  much  attention,  on  account  of 
 their  incalculable  importance. 
 
 *  The  same  expressive  Imagery  is  employed  by  the  Pro. 
 phet  Joelj  when,  speaking  of  the  natural  Locust,  he  says— 
 
 “  Their  appearance  is  like  the  appearance  of  Horses ; 
 
 u  And  like  Horsemen ,  so  shall  they  run,  Ch.  2.  v.  4. 
 
 And  Theodoret,  in  his  paraphrase  on  this  passage,  very 
 justly  observes,  that  if  any  one  attentively  considers  the  head  of 
 a  Locust,  he  w  ill  find  that  it  bears  a  great  resemblance  to  that 
 of  a  Horse  ;  Mr.  Ray  has  characterized  the  same  animal  nearly 
 in  the  same  way  in  his  work  on  Insects — u  Caput  oblongum, 
 u  Equi  instar,  prona  spectans.” 
 
 Rev.  IX.  7—10. 
 
240 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 clearly  exhibits  to  us  a  nation,  attached  above  all 
 others  to  equestrian  exercises,  and  powerful  chiefly 
 in  cavalry  in  the  waging  of  War.  Viewed  in  front, 
 (and  it  was  a  front  view  which  the  Prophet  obtain¬ 
 ed  of  them)  they  seemed  to  be  almost  identified 
 with  the  fieiy  steeds,  which  bore  them  to  the  at¬ 
 tack.  And  is  there  not  much  in  the  country  and 
 customs  of  the  Arabs  to  justify  this  description  ? 
 <c  Arabia,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Naturalist,  is  the 
 “  genuine  and  original  country  of  the  Horse ;  the 
 <£  climate  most  propitious,  not  indeed  to  the  size, 
 u  but  to  the  spirit  and  swiftness  of  that  generous 
 “  animal.  The  merit  of  the  Barb,  the  Spanish, 
 u  and  the  English  breed,  is  derived  from  a  mixture 
 “  of  Arabian  blood:  the  Bedoweens  preserve,  with 
 (i  superstitious  care,  the  honours  and  the  memory 
 “  of  the  purest  race  :  the  males  are  sold  at  a  high 
 “  price,  but  the  females  are  seldom  alienated  ; 
 <c  and  the  birth  of  a  noble  foal  was  esteemed, 
 Ci  among  the  tribes,  as  a  subject  of  joy  and  mutual 
 ic  congratulation.  These  horses  are  educated  in  the 
 tl  tents,  among  the  children  of  the  Arabs,  with  a 
 “  tender  familiarity,  which  trains  them  in  the 
 “  habits  of  gentleness  and  attachment.  They  are 
 accustomed  only  to  walk  and  to  gallop ;  their 
 “  sensations  are  not  blunted  by  the  incessant  abuse 
 “  of  the  spur  and  the  whip  :  their  powers  are  re- 
 “  served  for  the  moments  of  flight  and  pursuit ; 
 “  but  no  sooner  do  they  feel  the  touch  of  the  hand 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 241 
 
 % 
 
 *'  or  the  stirrup,  than  they  dart  away  with  the 
 “  swiftness  of  the  wind ;  and  if  their  friend  be 
 “  dismounted  in  the  rapid  career,  they  instantly 
 cc  stop  till  he  has  recovered  his  seat  Such 
 was  the  mutual  attachment  between  the  Arabian 
 Horses  and  their  Riders  !  And  the  amazing  rapi¬ 
 dity  f  of  the  conquests  of  the  Saracens  proves,  in 
 what  a  constant  state  of  preparation  for  battle  they 
 must  have  maintained  themselves,  during  the  first 
 hundred  years  of  the  Hegira  at  least ;  till,  indeed, 
 their  further  progress,  from  the  South-West,  was 
 entirely  stopped  by  Charles  Martel,  in  the  year 
 732. 
 
 <e  On  their  heads  were,  as  it  were.  Crowns  of 
 “  Gold  j”  and  such  richly  ornamented  Turbans  are 
 generally  worn  to  this  day,  by  persons  of  any  con¬ 
 sequence  among  them.  “  Nothing”  says  M. 
 Niebuhr,  “  can  be  more  inconvenient,  or  expen- 
 sive,  than  the  head-dress  worn  by  Arabians  of 
 <c  fashion.  They  wear  fifteen  caps,  one  oveT  ano- 
 “  ther,  some  of  which  are  indeed  of  linen,  but 
 “  the  rest  of  thick  cloth  or  cotton.  That  which 
 <{  covers  all  the  rest  is  usually  richly  embroidered 
 “  with  Gold ,  and  has  always  some  sentence  of  the 
 “  Koran  embroidered  upon  it.  Over  all  these 
 “  caps  they  wrap  a  large  piece  of  muslin,  called  a 
 
 i 
 
 *  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  9.  ch.  50.  p.  224. 
 t  See  pages  225,  228  note  and  232. 
 
 Rey.  i  X  7. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 K 
 
ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 o 4  <2 
 
 4<  Pasch,  ornamented  at  the  ends,  which  flow 
 “  loose  upon  tf  e  shoulders,  with  silk  or  golden 
 “  fringes  And  correspondent  with  this  was  one 
 manner  of  adorning  their  heads,  in  the  time  of 
 Pliny  f  ;  and  at  a  period  of  much  higher  anti¬ 
 quity  ;  for  the  Prophet  Ezekiel  particularly 
 remarks  of  the  Sabeans,  that  they  put  bracelets 
 fC  upon  their  hands,  and  beautiful  crowns  upon 
 “  their  heads  J.”  This  custom  of  wearing  Turbans 
 appears  to  have  originated,  among  these  people, 
 from  the  high  opinion  they  had  formed  of  their 
 own  dignity  and  independence.  But  they  had 
 afterwards  an  additional  motive  for  adopting  it, 
 from  the  surprising  celerity  and  extent  of  their 
 conquests ;  for  it  was  the  symbol  of  Sovereignty 
 acquired  by  conquest.  And  through  how  many  re¬ 
 gions  did  they  not  extend  the  dominion  of  the 
 Caliphs  §  ! 
 
 *  Niebuhr’s  Travels  in  Arabia,  chap.  122. 
 
 +  So  we  may  judge  from  his  Description — u  Arabes  mi¬ 
 tt  irati  degunfe,  aut  intonso  crine  utuntur.”  These  are  the 
 two  prevailing  fashions  among  the  Arabians  to  this  very  day, 
 Plin,  Nat.  Ilist.  lib.  6.  cap.  28.  See  also  Mr.  Daubuz  and 
 Mr.  Lowmau’s  Observations  on  this  passage  of  the  Apoca¬ 
 lypse. 
 
 J  Ezek.  ch.  23.  v.  42. 
 
 §  This  species  of  Crop'll  was,  in  fact,  both  a  regal  and  a 
 sacerdotal  badge  of  distinction  ;  and  was  therefore  well 
 adapted  to  the  peculiar  situation  of  those,  who  conquered, 
 with  the  Sword  in  one  hand,  “and  the  Koran  in  the  other. 
 a  The  Mitre  of  the  High  Priests  was  called  by  the  ancient 
 i<  Greeks,  Tiara,  Cidaris,  and  sometimes  DiadOroa  ;  they 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 243 
 
 At  the  same  time,  their  Crowns  being  only  (c  as 
 (e  it  were  Crowns' of  Gold,*  and  not  such  in  rea¬ 
 lity,  shewed,  that  the  Dominion  thus  acquired 
 conferred  only  a  kind  of  counterfeit  Greatness  ; 
 which,  wanting  the  solidity,  and  intrinsic  worth 
 of  that  Metal,  would  want  also  its  durability. 
 
 <c  And  their  Faces  were  as  the  Faces  of  JMen . 
 Notwithstanding  the  Voraciousness  of  these  Lo¬ 
 custs,  and  the  Ravages  they  were  every  where  to 
 commit,  in  the  countries  of  which  they  could  ac¬ 
 quire  possession,  still  they  would  assume  the  appear¬ 
 ance  of  Humanity  and  Moderation  ;  and  represent 
 the  very  JVarfare  they  had  waged  as  directed  only 
 to  the  general  Good — towards  the  universal  diffusion 
 of  the  Religion  of  the  Prophet.  Their  Counte¬ 
 nances,  also,  would  be  manly  and  sedate  *  ;  afford- 
 
 wore  a  sort  of  linen  Turban,  commonly  white:  and  such 
 “  were  the  Diadems  of  Kings,  which  Ammianus  calls  Fas- 
 “  ciolam  candidam,  7 legice  Majestatis-  insigne  ”  Bishop 
 Patrick  on  Exod.  ch.  28.  v.  37. 
 
 *  ‘‘  No  two  things,”  says  M.  Niebuhr,  u  can  differ  more, 
 tlian  the  Education  of  the  Arabs  from  that  of.  the  Euro- 
 u  peans.  The  former  strive  as  much  to  hasten  the  age  of 
 maturity,  as  the  latter  to  retard  it.  The  Arabs  are  never 
 ii  Children;  but  many  Europeans  continue  Children  all 
 tC  their  life. 
 
 “  In  Arabia,  boys  remain  in  the  Haram,  among  the  wo- 
 <c  men,  till  the  age  of  five  or  six,  and  during  this  time  follow 
 “  tfie  childish  amusements  suitable  to  their  years  ;  but,  as 
 41  soon  as  they  are  removed  from  that  soeine  of  frivolity,  they 
 
 Rev.  XI.  7. 
 
 R  2 
 
244 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 ing  no  ground  for  the  anticipation  of  that  effeminacy 
 and  gross  sensuality,  to  which  they  were  so  remark¬ 
 ably  addicted* 
 
 8.  <c  And  they  had  hair  as  the  hair  of  Women” 
 Long  hair  on  the  head  of  a  man  was  generally 
 considered  among  the  ancients  as  the  evidence  of  a 
 weak  and  effeminate  mind  In  giving  us  this, 
 therefore,  as  one  peculiar  characteristic  of  the 
 people  intended,  the  Prophet  has  afforded  us  a 
 criterion  which  can  hardly  be  mistaken  ;  for  both 
 their  religious  principles,  (if  such  the  profane  and 
 immoral  precepts  of  the  Koran  may  be  styled)  and 
 their  natural  constitution,  incline  them  to  the  full 
 indulgence  of  their  sensual  appetites,  and  depraved 
 affections.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  observed, 
 that  the  long  hair  (crinis  intonsus  f )  of  some  of 
 their  Tribes  was  noted  particularly  by  Pliny  ;  and, 
 at  the  present  time  “  in  some  parts  of  Yemen,” 
 says  M.  Niebuhr,  “  all  men,  even  the  Scheichs, 
 “  preserve  their  hair,  wrap  it  in  a  handkerchief, 
 
 are  accustomed  to  think  and  speak  with  gravity,  and  to 
 pass  whole  days  together  in  their  father’s  company,  at 
 “.least,  if  he  is  not  in  a  condition  to  retain  a  preceptor  io 
 Ci  form  them.”  And  “  the  young  Arabs,  in  consequence 
 “  of  being  always  under  the  eyes  of  persons  advanced  to 
 “  maturity,  become  pensive  and  serious,  even  in  infancy.’' 
 Travels  iu  Arabia,  chap.  116. 
 
 *  St.  Paul  has  afforded  a  complete  elucidation  of  this  subject, 
 in  1  Cor.  ch.  11.  v.  14,  15  ;  where  he  appeals  to  the  plain 
 dictates  of  Nature  to  determine  the  point. 
 
 f  In  the  passage  before  cited* 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 245 
 
 **  and  knot  it  up  behind.”  <£  Some  of  the  high- 
 landers  keep  their  hair  long  and  loose,  and  bind 
 tf  the  head  with  small  cords 
 
 Yet,  notwithstanding  these  indications  of  un¬ 
 manly  softness,  *£  their  Teeth  were  as  the  Teeth 
 “  of  Lions.”  Teeth,  being  the  most  formidable 
 weapons  of  predatory  animals,  those  of  Lions  will 
 imply  tremendous  means  of  mischief,  combined 
 with  physical  power  competent  to  employ  them. 
 And  analogous  to  these  were  the  prowess,  and  the 
 implements  of  destruction,  by  which  the  Saracens 
 were  enabled  to  overrun,  and  reduce  to  subjection, 
 so  many  extensive  Countries  in  so  short  a  space  of 
 time.  In  the  prosecution  of  open  war,  they  were, 
 for  a  long  time,  irresistible. 
 
 9.  “  And  they  had  Breast-plates,”  as  it  were, 
 Breast-plaies  of  Iron.”  This  is  another  part  of 
 the  description  of  these  people,  borrowed  from  the 
 natural  appearance  of  the  Locust ,  whose  Thorax  is 
 protected  by  a  strong  covering  of  Shell,  after  the 
 manner  of  a  Cuirass.  Breast-plates,”  says  Mr. 
 Daubuz,  u  are  defensive  Arms,  denoting,  and 
 “  giving,  Courage  to  those  that  use  them  ;  and,  by 
 <r  reflection,  striking  Terror  and  Amazement  into 
 >(  those  they  are  employed  against  And  we 
 
 *  Travels  in  Arabia,  chap,  122, — In  genera],  it  appears, 
 where  the  hair  was  not  worn  long,  the  Turbin  supplied  its 
 place. 
 
 +  See  the  “  Symbolical  Alphabetical  Dictionary,”  prefix¬ 
 ed  to  his  Commentary  oq  the  Revelation  ;  under  the  Article 
 Breast-plate. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  8,  9. 
 
24  6 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 accordingly  find,  that  the  Saracenic  hosts  were  ge¬ 
 nerally  armed  with  such  an  enthusiastic  Bravery , 
 and  struck  such  Consternation  into  their  opponents, 
 during  the  greater  part  of  the  period  that  they  were 
 allowed  to  £C  torment  the  Men,  who  had  not  the 
 ff  Seal  of  GOD  in  their  foreheads,  ”  that  their 
 Success  was  without  parallel  *. 
 
 <c  And  the  Sound  of  their  Wings  was  as  the 
 ”  Sound  of  Chariots ,  of  many  Horses  running  to 
 “  Battle."  Wings,  being  the  Instruments,  by 
 which  the  Locusts  are  borne  aloft,  and  enabled  to 
 perform  their  destructive  Migrations,  become  strict- 
 
 *  The  Symbol  here  employed  will  also  apply  to  the  moral 
 and  religious  state  of  these  People.  The  Breast-plate  is  that 
 piece  of  Armour,  which  protects  the  Vital  Parts  of  the  War- 
 riour ;  and  hence,  in  a  figurative  sense,  the  term  is  adopted 
 by  St.  Paul,  to  denote  that  course  of  virtuous  and  holy 
 Conduct ,  which  is  the  strongest  Argument  of  the  presence, 
 and  the  surest  defence,  of  Vital  Christianity.  It  is  there¬ 
 fore  called  u  the  Breast-plate  of  Righteousness **.”  And, 
 because  u  good  Works  are  the  Fruits  of  Faith,”  which  is 
 always  accompanied  with  a  genuine  ££  Love  of  GOD,”  such 
 Conduct  is  likewise  designated  by  the  name  of  ££  the  Breast - 
 <£  plate  of  Faith  and  Love%.”  Very  different  from  this, 
 however,  were  the  Breast-plates  here  intended.  They  were 
 to  be  used  in  the  defence  of  such  vital  Principles  of  action , 
 as  were  directly  the  reverse  of  those  which  animate  the 
 sincere  Christ itin — in  the  maintenance  of  the  Principles  of 
 Profligacy  and  Infidelity.  They  consisted  in  a  form  of 
 Conduct,  which  argued  the  extreme  of  Degeneracy,  and  bid 
 defiance  to  all  the  force  of  opposing  Arguments,  to  all  the 
 Dictates  of  right  Reason  and  Religion. 
 
 **  Eph.  ch.  6,  v.  14.  %  1.  Thess.  ch.  5,  v.  8. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 247 
 
 ly  symbolical  of  the  Means ,  by  which  the  Power 
 of  the  Saracens  became  so  conspicuous,  and  their 
 desolating  Conquests  were  achieved.  In  other 
 words — they  were  the  very  Armies ,  by  which  they 
 raised  themselves  to  such  tremendous  Elevation, 
 and  darkened,  in  a  degree,  the  political  Heaven  of 
 the  Empire  of  the  East.  The  flight  of  a  Swarm  of 
 natural  Locusts  is  always  attended  with  some 
 Noise*  ;  that  of  these  emblematical  ones  wras  ana¬ 
 logous  ;  but  it  was  also  most  highly  characteristic — 
 <c  it  w'as  as  the  Sound  of  Chariots,  of  many  Horses 
 rushing  to  battle. ”  Such  was  the  style  of  Advance, 
 and  the  reverberation  of  Sound,  in  one  of  their  at¬ 
 tacks.  Their  Force  consisted  principally  in  their 
 Cavalry  ;  upon  that,  at  least,  they  placed  their 
 greatest  dependence.  a  Their  order  of  battle  was 
 <(  a  long  square  of  two  deep  and  solid  Lines  ;  the 
 “  first  of  Archers,  the  second  of  Cavalry.  In  their 
 e:  engagements,  they  sustained  with  patient  firmneoS 
 
 *  One  instance  of  this  has  occurred,  almost  in  our  own 
 time,  in  the  Locusts,  which  did  such  Damage  in  Walachia, 
 Moldavia,  and  Transylvania,  in  the  years  17  f7,  and  1/48. 
 
 “  The  first  Swarms,”  says  an  Eye-witness,  u  entered  into 
 t£  Transylvania  in  August  1747  ;  these  were  succeeded  by 
 t£  others,  which  were  so  surprisingly  numerous,  that,  when 
 fi  they  reached  the  Red  Tower,  they  were  full  four  hours  in 
 il  their  passage  over  that  place  ;  and  they  flew  so  close,  that 
 they  made  a  sort  of  Noise  in  the  Air ,  by  the  beating  of 
 ie  their  wings  against  each  other.”  Philosoph.  Transact,  for 
 1749.  Vol.  4G,  No.  491 ,  p.  30. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  9. 
 
 R  4 
 
248 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 “  the  fury  of  the  attack  ;  and  seldom  advanced  to 
 “  the  Charge,  till  they  could  discern,  and  oppress, 
 
 the  lassitude  of  their  foes* the  consequences 
 then  were  generally  terrible,  and  decisive.  But  this 
 dreadful  Impetuosity,  if  it  succeeded  not  in  com¬ 
 pelling  their  Enemy  to  a  Defeat,  was  productive  of 
 irrecoverable  confusion  to  themselves  ;  and  <f  if 
 “  they  were  once  repulsed  and  broken  they  knew 
 “  not  how  to  rally  or  renew  the  Combat/ ’ 
 
 10.  But  the  moral  Characteristics  of  this  People, 
 and  the  direful  Purpose  for  which  they  would  be 
 stirred  up,  are  Objects  of  such  Moment,  that  the 
 inspired  Writer  turns  his  attention  once  again  to 
 
 these  leading  Themes,  before  he  finally  takes  leave 
 
 % 
 
 of  the  Subject :  and,  by  the  Repetition,  adds,  as  it 
 were,  double  weight  to  their  Import,  and  to  the 
 Assurance  ofitheir  Truth.  “  And  they  had  Tails  f 
 he  sa^s,  “  like  unto  Scorpions,  and  there  were 
 “  Slings  in  their  Tails  :  and  their  Poiver  was,  to 
 <c  injure  Men  Jive  Months  f.” 
 
 1 1 .  This  Repetition,  however,  enables  the  Pro¬ 
 phet  to  introduce,  in  the  most  natural  order,  some 
 further  Particulars,  with  which  it  was  of  importance 
 that  the  Church  of  Christ  should  be  acquainted ; 
 and  these  are  included  in  his  descriptive  Character 
 
 vf  the  Leader ,  to  whom  these  people  were  to  be  in 
 
 / 
 
 *  See  the  Observations  of  Mr.  Gibbon  on  the  military 
 Character  of  the  Saracens.  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  10.  ch. 
 53.  p.  144 — 147. 
 
 +  See  the  Observations  on  this  passage  in  page  232. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 249 
 
 subjection.  ct  They  had  a  King  over  them,  who 
 “  is  the  Angel  of  the  bottomless  Pit ;  whose  Name 
 “  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  is  Abaddon,  but  in  the 
 <e  Greek  he  hath  a  Name  Apollyon.”  It  has  been 
 already  seen,  in  what  manner  “  the  bottomless 
 “  Deep **  was  opened ,  soon  after  the  beginning  of 
 the  seventh  Century  ;  and  those  Locusts  were  libe¬ 
 rated  *,  which  afterwards  committed  the  Devasta¬ 
 tions  that  have  just  been  .described.  The  Leader 
 of  these  must  have  been  the  first  that  was  sent  forth 
 from  this  Abyss  of  Error  and  Impiety.  He  was 
 permitted  by  the  Divine  Wisdom  and  Justice,  for 
 the  punishment  of  wicked  and  idolatrous  Chris¬ 
 tians, —  and  he  assumed  to  himself  the  credit  of 
 having  been  specially  commissioned  for  that  pur¬ 
 pose — to  introduce  a  System,  equally  subversive  of 
 Paganism  and  Christianity  ;  a  System  of  Decep¬ 
 tion,  nevertheless,  that  should  obtain  a  most  won¬ 
 derful  diffusion,  and  try  to  the  utmost  the  strength 
 of  religious  Profession.  The  Style  and  Title  he 
 arrogated  to  himself  was  that  of  “  The  Apostle  and 
 te  Prophet  of  GOD  but  as  he  professed  to  be 
 thus  sent ,  he  is  very  properly  compared  to  an 
 Angel  ;  yet,  as  he  established  his  pretensions  upon 
 no  ground  of  Truth  and  right  Reason,  to  the 
 Angel  of  the  bottomless  Deep.”  Such  was 
 the  genuine  Character  of  the  Founder  of  the  Sara¬ 
 cenic  Empire :  and  the  succeeding  Caliphs,  to 
 
 *  See  pages  218 — 225. 
 
 Rev.  IX,  11. 
 
250 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 whom  his  Power  and  Dignity  descended,  and  who 
 were  principally  engaged  in  propagating  and  sup¬ 
 porting  the  same  Scheme  of  religious  Imposture, 
 have  a  just  Claim  to  the  same  expressive  Appella¬ 
 tion.  Those  therefore,  who,  from  the  very  com¬ 
 mencement  of  this  Empire  to  its  final  close,  have 
 been  elevated  to  the  Caliphate,  are,  strictly  speaking 
 <c  The  King,”  the  Sovereign  Power  that  governed 
 these  Symbolical  Locusts ,  i:  The  Angel  of  the  hot - 
 “  tomless  Deep.” 
 
 That  this  tremendous  Power  well  merited  the 
 Name  of  Abaddon*,  or  Apollyon,  or  of  The 
 Destroyer,  is  too  obvious  to  require  further  de¬ 
 monstration. 
 
 12.  The  desolating  Effects,  arising  from  the 
 Dominion  of  the  Saracens,  were,  in  some  small 
 degree,  to  continue,  as  long  as  their  Empire  itself 
 should  continue.  For,  though  their  power  of  tor¬ 
 menting ,  by  their  scorpion-like  Strokes,  was  limited 
 to  Jive  prophetical  Months ,  or  a  hundred  and  fifty 
 years  ;  and  though  the  predominant  Influence  of 
 the  Successors  of  Mahomet  in  the  East  was  greatly 
 weakened,  by  the  Revolt  of  Abd’alraham  in  Spain, 
 in  the  year  7o6,  and  by  that  of  Abulcassem  Mo¬ 
 hammed  in  Africa,  in  909,  as  well  as  by  the  falling 
 off  of  several  of  the  other  Provinces  from  their  al¬ 
 legiance  to  them  ;  yet  scarcely  any  Part  of  the  Pos¬ 
 sessions  they  had  acquired,  either  in  the  East  or 
 
 *  ABAAAflN,  from  thsk*  Destruction  ;  as  if  this 
 Scourge  of  Nations  were  Destruction  in  the  abstract. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 ‘250 
 
 West,  was  recovered,  so  as  to  be  brought  again 
 under  the  Government  of  Christian  Princes,  before 
 the  entire  subversion  of  their  own  Sovereignty,  in 
 the  year  936.  The  whole  of  this  period,  therefore, 
 must  have  been,  in  some  measure,  a  season  of  Mor¬ 
 tification  and  Apprehension  to  both  parts  of  the 
 Roman  World  ;  of  Mortification ,  from  a  painful 
 Sense  of  what  they  had  already  lost ;  and  of  Appre¬ 
 hension,  from  the  Danger  to  which  they  were  more 
 or  less  continually  exposed.  But  these  distressing 
 Sensations  would  be  more  particularly  felt  in  the 
 Eastern  Empire,  both  on  account  of  the  greater 
 magnitude  of  the  Losses  it  had  sustained,  and  of 
 the  greater  proximity  of  the  Evils  by  which  it  was 
 threatened.  Consequently,  the  whole  Interval, 
 from  the  first  Rise  of  the  Saracenic  Power  to  its 
 Downfal,  must  have  constituted  the  Duration  of 
 the  first  Woe.  “  fihe  first  Woe  is  now  past; 
 <e  but,  behold,  tiuo  other  Woes  are  coming  after 
 <c  these  things 
 Rfiv.  IX.  12. 
 
 ( 
 
.  s. 
 
 r  •  '  ' 
 
 - 
 
 , 
 
 . 
 
 1  .  ■  * 
 
 V 
 
 t 
 
 ■  *  Y 
 
 - — . 
 
 % 
 
 '\ 
 
ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 II. 
 
 Of  the  Conquests  of  the  Turks,  which  terminat¬ 
 ed  in  the  total  Destruction  of  the  Eastern 
 
 Empire  in  the  year  1453  ;  and  constituted  a 
 principal  Part  in  the  Series  of  Events,  con¬ 
 nected  with  the  Sounding  of  the  Second  Woe- 
 Trum-p^t. 
 
 13.  ‘‘And  the  sixth  Angel  soimded’’— that  pecu¬ 
 liar  Event  took  place,  which  whs  designed,  by  Di¬ 
 vine  Wisdom  and  Justice,  to  introduce  the  Series  of 
 Calamities  that  are  described  as  constituting  the 
 second  Woe . 
 
 “  And  I  heard,”  says  the  Prophet,”  a  Voice 
 “  from  the  four  Horns  of  the  Golden  Altar,  which 
 “  was  before  GOD.”  <s  The  Altar ”  is  the  place 
 of  Sacrifice  ;  and,  according  to  the  nature  and  intent 
 of  the  Sacrifices  offered  upon  it,  the  term  must  be 
 understood  in  a  good  or  lad  sense.  Thus,  in  some 
 Rt  v.  IX.  13. 
 
254 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 former  Imagery  *,  we  have  seen,  “  the  Souls  of 
 ei  those  who  had  been  slain,  for  the  Word  of  GOD, 
 Sf  and  for  the  Testimony  which  they  held/’  at  the 
 foot,  as  it  were,  of  the  Altar  of  pagan  Superstition, 
 and  calling  aloud  for  Divine  Retribution  upon  the 
 Immolators  of  those  human  Victims.  In  this  case, 
 the  Symbol  has  been  obviously  employed  in  a  had 
 Sense.  But,  in  the  present  instance.  The  Altar  is 
 an  Emblem  of  Propitiation  ;  and  denotes  the  obla¬ 
 tion  of  the  devout  and  acceptable  Sacrifices  of  the 
 Church  of  Christ,  as  at  that  time  existing.  It  is 
 therefore  called  “  the  golden  Altar  f  in  allusion  to 
 the  intrinsic  Value ,  the  Perfection ,  and  Beauty], 
 of  those  sacred  Services. 
 
 44  The  Horns  of  the  Altar”  are  emblematical  of 
 the  Protection ,  which  would  be  extended  to  all  the 
 faithful  Worshippers  of  GOD,  even  in  seasons  of 
 the  greatest  Calamity  :  for  these  were  considered, 
 in  ancient  times,  as  affording  an  inviolable  Sanc¬ 
 tuary  to  those  who  fled  to,  and  laid  hold  of,  them. 
 Among  the  peculiar  People  of  GOD,  to  whose  re¬ 
 ligious  Rites  and  Ceremonies  allusions  are  so  often 
 made  in  the  course  of  this  44  Revelation,”  the  Altar 
 for  Burnt-offerings  had  four  Horns\y  the  same  num¬ 
 ber  as  that  here  specified. 
 
 This  Altar  is  said  to  be  situated  ff  before or  in 
 
 *  See  pages  135,  &c. 
 
 +  “  Worship  J £iio yah  in  the  Beauty  of  Holiness.” 
 Psalm  29,  v.  2. 
 
 X  See  Dr.  Prideaux’s  Connexion,  Vol.  1.  Book  3,  Part  I, 
 page  175.  Edit.  1  1. 
 
Lecture  ix. 
 
 $55 
 
 the  immediate  presence  of,  GOD ;  because  these 
 Oblations  were  peculiarly  consecrated  to  Him,  and 
 constituted  parts  of  a  System  well-pleasing  in  His 
 “  Sight.” 
 
 But,  in  the  case  now  before  us,  as  at  the  opening 
 of  the  seventh  Seal,  it  became  the  sad  Office  of  the 
 genuine  Church  of  GOD,  to  anticipate  the  Evils 
 here  predicted  ;  and  to  denounce,  as  it  were,  the 
 heavy  Judgments  of  the  Almighty  against  an  idola¬ 
 trous  and  profligate  Empire.  ts  A  Voice*'  not  of 
 Warning,  but  proclaiming  the  certain  approach  of 
 the  most  tremendous  Evils,  as  the  punishment  of 
 Impenitence,  is  heard  from  the  four  Horns  of  the 
 £C  Altar — a  certain  Proof,  that  the  period  of  Proba- 
 t£  tion  and  Mercy  was  rapidly  expiring  ;  “  and  that 
 ic  Judgment”  was  about  to  “  begin  at  the  House 
 “  of  GOD 
 
 The  Empire  of  the  East,  indeed,  had  now  enjoy¬ 
 ed  some  interval  of  comparative  ease  and  security 
 Ever  since  the  year  936,  the  Caliphs  of  Baghdad 
 had  lost  all  power  of  annoyance.  The  revolt  of 
 the  Provinces  of  their  immense  Empire,  one  after 
 another,  from  the  year  800  to  the  above-mentioned 
 date  ;  the  formation  of  no  less  than  nine  indepen¬ 
 dent  Dynasties  within  its  limits,  all  contributing  to 
 weaken  the  power  of  the  whole  ;  and  the  revival  of 
 the  enterprising  Spirit  of  the  Greeks,  and  their  con¬ 
 sequent  successes  to  a  certain  extent,  under  Nice- 
 
 *  1  Pet.  ch.  4.  v.  17. 
 
 Ret.  IX.  13. 
 
256 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 phoras  Phocas,  and  John  Zimisces-— all  these  im¬ 
 portant  circumstances  conspired  to  afford  them  an 
 invaluable  opportunity  of  recovering  themselves, 
 from  the  deplorable  ignorance  and  depravity  into 
 which  they  had  lapsed  ;  and  cf  improving  them¬ 
 selves  in  every  useful,  virtuous,  and  excellent,  at¬ 
 tainment. 
 
 But  that  their  past  Sufferings  had  not  brought 
 them  to  their  Senses,  and  that  they  did  not  avail 
 themselves  of  this  Opportunity  for  Reformation,  is 
 evident  from  the  slightest  view  of  the  State  of  Mo¬ 
 ral,  ty  and  Religion  among  them,  during  the  tenth, 
 and  the  two  or  three  succeeding  Centuries. 
 
 “  Both  in  the  Eastern  and  Western  provinces, 
 “  the  Clergy  were,  for  the  most  part,  composed  oi 
 “  a  most  worthless  set  of  men,  shamefully  illiterate 
 
 and  stupid,  ignorant  more  especially  in  religious 
 “  matters,  equally  enslaved  to  sensuality  and  super- 
 t(  stition,  and  capable  of  the  most  abominable  and 
 “  flagitious  deeds.  This  dismal  degeneracy  of  the 
 “  sacred  Order  was,  according  to  the  most  credible 
 “  accounts,  principally  owing  to  the  pretended 
 “  Chiefs  and  Rulers  of  the  Universal  Church  ; 
 “  who  indulged  themselves  in  the  commission  of 
 “  the  most  odious  crimes  ;  and  abandoned  them- 
 “  selves  to  the  lawless  impulse  of  the  most  licentious 
 “passions,  without  reluctance,  or  remorse;  who 
 t(  confounded,  in  short,  all  difference  between  just 
 “  and  unjustr  to  satisfy  their  impious  ambition  ; 
 
 and  whose  spiritual  Empire  was  such  a  diversified 
 “  scene  of  iniquity  and  violence,  as  never  was  ex- 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 257 
 
 i£  hibitecl  under  any  of  those  temporal  Tyrants,  who 
 <£  have  been  the  scourges  of  Mankind.  We  may 
 “  form  some  notion  of  the  Grecian  Patriarchs  from 
 “  the  single  example  of  Theophyl act,  who,  ac- 
 “  cording  to  the  testimonies  of  the  most  respectable 
 “  Writers,  made  the  most  impious  Traffic  of  Eccle- 
 “  siastical  promotions  ;  and  expressed  no  sort  of 
 “  care  about  any  thing  but  his  Dogs  and  Horses. 
 (l  Degenerate,  however,  and  licentious  as  those  Pa- 
 “  triarchs  might  be,  they  were,  generally  speaking, 
 “  less  profligate  and  indecent  than  the  Roman 
 “  Pontiffs 
 
 This  was  the  general  Character  of  those  who 
 professed  themselves  to  be  “  the  Lights  of  the 
 “  World?'  during  the  tenth  Century  ;  nor  was  the 
 case  materially  altered  for  the  better  in  the  eleventh. 
 “  All  the  records  of  this  century  loudly  complain  of 
 “  the  vices  that  reigned  among  the  Rulers  of  the 
 “  Church,  and,  in  general,  among  all  the  sacerdotal 
 “  Orders.  They  also  deplore  that  universal  decay 
 “  of  piety  and  discipline,  that  was  the  consequence 
 “  of  this  corruption  in  a  set  of  men,  who  were 
 (c  bound  to  support,  by  their  example,  their  autho- 
 “  rity,  and  their  instructions,  the  sacred  interests 
 “  of  Religion  and  Virtue.  The  Western  bishops 
 st  were  no  sooner  elevated  to  the  rank  of  dukes, 
 
 *  Mosheim’s  Ecclesiast.  Ilist.  Vo).  2.  Cent.  10.  Part  2. 
 chap.  2,  page  200. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  13. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 S 
 
258 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 11  counts,  and  nobles,  and  enriched  with  ample  ter- 
 u  ritories,  than  they  gave  themselves  up  entirely  to 
 “  the  dominion  of  pleasure  and  ambition ;  and, 
 
 wholly  employed  in  displaying  the  magnificence 
 “  of  their  temporal  stations,  frequented  the  courts 
 “  of  princes,  accompanied  always  with  a  splendid 
 <c  train  of  attendants  and  domestics.  The  inferior 
 <{  Orders  of  the  clergy  were  also  licentious  in  their 
 “  own  way  ;  few  among  them  preserved  any  re- 
 <e  mains  of  piety  and  virtue,  we  might  add,  oi  de- 
 te  cency  and  discretion-  While  iheit  rulers  were 
 li  wallowing  in  luxury,  and  basking  in  the  beams  of 
 <(  worldly  pomp  and  splendour,  they  were  indulging 
 **  themselves,  without  the  least  sense  of  shame,  in 
 tf  fraudulent  practices,  in  impure  and  lascivious 
 “  gratifications,  and  even  in  the  commission  of  the 
 “  most  flagitious  crimes,  "he  Grecian  Clergy  were 
 “  somewhat  less  chargeable  with  these  shocking 
 <c  irregularities  ;  as  the  calamities  under  which  their 
 *f  country  groaned  imposed  a  restraint  upon  iheir 
 <e  passions,  and  gave  a  check  to  their  iice*:ticusness. 
 <e  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  salutary  restraints, 
 f<  there  were  few  examples  of  piety  and  virtue  to  be 
 “  found  among  them  * 
 
 Nor  was  the  state  of  things  much  improved  in 
 the  succeeding  Century. — “  Wherever  we  turn  our 
 “  eyes  among  the  various  ranks  and  orders  of  the 
 “  clergy,  we  perceive  in  this  century,  the  most 
 
 *  Mosheim’s  Ecclesiast.  Hist.  Vol,  2,  Cent.  11.  Part  2, 
 chap.  2,  page  258. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 259 
 
 *c  flagrant  marks  of  licentiousness  and  fraud,  igno- 
 “  ranee  and  luxury,  and  other  vices,  whose  per- 
 “  nicious  effects  were  deeply  felt  both  in  church 
 “  and  state.  If  we  except  a  very  small  number , 
 e<  who  retained  a  sense  of  the  sanctity  of  their 
 “  vocation,  and  lamented  the  corruption  and  de- 
 “  generacy  of  their  order,  it  may  be  said,  with 
 “  respect  to  the  rest ,  that  their  whole  business  was 
 e<  to  satisfy  their  lusts,  to  multiply  their  privileges 
 “  by  grasping  perpetually  at  new  honours  and 
 “  distinctions,  to  increase  their  opulence,  to  diminish 
 <c  the  authority  and  encroach  upon  the  privileges  of 
 princes  and  magistrates,  and,  neglecting  entirely 
 “  the  interests  of  religion  and  the  cure  of  souls,  to 
 “  live  in  ease  and  pleasure,  and  to  draw  out  their 
 “  days  in  an  unmanly  and  luxurious  indolence. 
 “  T  his  appears  manifestly  from  two  remarkable 
 “  treatises  of  St.  Bernard,  in  one  of  which  he 
 ((  exposes  the  corruption  of  the  Pontiff's  and 
 Bishops  j  while  he  describes  in  the  other  the 
 “  enormous  crimes  of  the  Monastic  Orders ,  whose 
 “  licentiousness  he  chastises  with  a  just  severity  V* 
 Sufficient  has  now  been  adduced  to  shew,  what 
 little  tendency  to  improvement,  among  the  Eccle¬ 
 siastical  Orders  both  in  the  East  and  West,  had 
 appeared  during  these  ages,  notwithstanding  the 
 
 *  Mosheim’s  Ecclesiast.  Hist.  \'ol.  ^2,  Cent.  12,  Part.  2, 
 Chap.  2,  p.  386. 
 
 S  2 
 
 Rev.  IX.  13. 
 
260 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 dreadful  judgments  which  had  been  suffered  to  de¬ 
 scend,  as  punishments  for  the  impiety  and  wicked¬ 
 ness,  that  had  universally  prevailed  some  ages  be¬ 
 fore.  But  where  such  were  the  Conduct  and 
 Examples  of  the  Guides,  what  must  have  been  the 
 State  of  those  who  were  led  ! 
 
 It  is  no  wonder  therefore,  that  this  Voice  pro¬ 
 ceeding  from  the  Horns  of  the  Altar ,  from  the 
 Place  affording  peculiarly  an  Asylum  to  those  who 
 fled  thither  for  Refuge  iC  in  full  purpose  of 
 “  heart  should  now  be  employed  to  convey 
 the  awful  Intelligence —that  the  Divine  Goodness 
 would  no  longer  be  abused,  without  requiiing  a 
 proportionate  degree  of  V engeance ;  that  the  mere 
 Profession  of  Christianity  should  not  much  longer 
 afford  even  the  semblance  of  Protection  to  the  im¬ 
 penitent  and  the  profligate ;  but  that,  under  this 
 Trumpet,  the  work  of  Extermination,  as  far  as  it 
 respected  the  incorrigible  Members  of  the  Greek 
 Church,  should  be  completed. 
 
 34.  It  said  to  the  sixth.  Angel  f,  who  had  the 
 Trumpet — “  Loose  the  four  Angels,  who  have 
 “  been  bound  at  the  great  river  Euphrates.” 
 It  has  been  already  observed  f,  that  the  Euphrates 
 was  made  by  Augustus,  and  preserved  by  Adrian, 
 the  limit  of  the  Roman  Empire  towards  the  East : 
 and  it  was  properly  the  boundary  of  the  Greek 
 Empire  in  that  direction,  till  the  Conquests  of  the 
 
 *  Acts,  ch.  11.  v.  23. 
 
 +  See  Page  1/5. 
 
 I  Pages  96  and  104. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 261 
 
 Saracens  had  despoiled  it  of  Syria.  But  an  event 
 is  here  typified,  which  should  be  the  means  of 
 breaking  through  the  Barrier,  which  had  thus  far, 
 generally  speaking,  prevented  the  hostile  incursions 
 of  the  People  who  are  here  intended. 
 
 They  are  compared  to  ie  four  Angels  they 
 were,  in  truth,  four  different  Powers,  which  were 
 intimately  concerned,  in  bringing  Calamity  and 
 Ruin  upon  the  Empire  of  the  East.  And,  if  we 
 narrowly  inspect  the  history  of  those  times,  we 
 shall  perceive  that  the  four  Powers  in  question 
 were — 
 
 1.  The  Seljukian  Dynasty  of  Iran,  or  Persia  at 
 large,  which  commenced  under  Togrol  Beg  in  the 
 year  1037,  and  firmly  established  itself  at  Baghdad 
 in  10.57  *. 
 
 II.  The  Seljukian  Dynasty  of  Roum,  which 
 fixed  itself  in  Asia  Minor,  under  Solyman,  in  the 
 year  1081,  in  the  region  at  present  distinguished 
 by  that  name ;  and  which  was  exultingly  assigned 
 to  it,  in  consequence  of  the  firm  footing  which  the 
 Seljuk  Turks  had  then  obtained  in  the  Roman  Em¬ 
 pire  in  the  East  f. 
 
 III,  The  Seljukian  Dynasty  of  Kerman,  fully 
 established  by  Kaderd  in  Farsistan,  Kerman,  and 
 Mekran,  about  the  year  1063  {. 
 
 *  Modern  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.4.  p.  90 — 176.  Edit.  1759. 
 
 +  Modern  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  4.  p.  180 — 276. 
 
 $  For  the  History  of  this  Dynasty  see  Modern  Univers. 
 Hist.  Vol.  4,  p.  l?7,  &c. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  14. 
 
 s  3 
 
ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 «6e 
 
 All  these  Dynasties  were  founded  by  Princes  of 
 the  same  Family  ;  and  who  were  subsidiary,  in 
 great  measure,  to  each  other’s  designs. 
 
 IV.  The  Empire  of  the  Othmans,  which  had 
 its  authentic  Origin  with  Ortogrol ;  and  began  to 
 rise  out  of  the  Seljukian  Dynasty  of  Roum,  in 
 1281  *. 
 
 All  these  Turkish  Tribes,  with  the  exception  of 
 the  third,  did  prodigious  damage  to  the  Asiatic 
 Provinces  of  the  Empire,  subjecting  them  repeat¬ 
 edly  to  all  the  horrors  of  the  most  sanguinary  and 
 desolating  warfare;  and  the  last  of  them,  effected 
 the  entire  subjugation  and  subversion  of  that  Em¬ 
 pire  itself.  Of  the  third  we  know  but  little,  except 
 that,  from  its  situation ,  it  became  an  accessary ,  as 
 it  were,  in  this  great  work  of  devastation  :  for, 
 from  that  circumstance,  it  necessarily  limited  to¬ 
 wards  the  South  East ,  the  dominions  of  the  Dy¬ 
 nasty  of  Iran,  whose  capital  was  now  transferred  to 
 Baghdad  ;  thus  obliging  it,  if  it  acquired  any 
 additional  territories,  to  expand  itself,  in  a  Westerly 
 direction,  over  those  Asiatic  Provinces,  which  were 
 most  accessible  to  it. 
 
 15.  Our  attention  is  next  directed  to  the  pecu¬ 
 liar  nature  of  their  Commission  ;  and  to  the  Period , 
 during  which  it  would  be  carrying  into  effect. — 
 “  And  the  four  Angels  were  loosed .”  All  Restraint 
 
 *  For  an  Account  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  from  the  year 
 1236,  when  Ortogrol,  the  father  of  Othman,  began  to  move 
 towards  Asia  Minor,  tolheyear  1453,  when  the  Constantino- 
 politar  Empire  was  destroyed,  see  Modern  Univers.  Hist. 
 Vol.  12,  nook  15,  chap,  1—8,  pages  9—159. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 263 
 
 was  then  taken  off ;  and  permission  was  no  longer 
 granted,  that  the  Euphrates  should  be  the  boundary 
 of  the  Turkish  Conquests  towards  the  West.  And, 
 the  time  being  arrived,  that  that  Barrier  should  be 
 surmounted,  these  Messengers  and  Executioners  of 
 Divine  Vengeance  “  were  prepared  for  the  hour , 
 “  and  day ,  and  month ,  and  year,  that  they  might 
 “  slay  the  third  part  of  the  men** 
 
 The  ultimate  Object  of  the  enterprises,  in  which 
 they  were  to  engage,  is  declared  to  be,  that  they 
 might  destroy  the  men,  inhabiting  the  only  re¬ 
 maining  third  part  of  the  Old  Roman  Empire  *  - 
 depriving  them  of  the  political  life  they  had  for  so 
 many  ages  enjoyed ;  and  entirely  subverting  the 
 Empire,  of  which  they  had  been  the  subjects. 
 
 And  a  Period  is  here  particularly  specified,  for 
 the  complete  accomplishment  of  this  tremendous 
 Purpose ;  which  admits,  indeed,  of  two  different 
 modes  of  calculation,  with  a  slight  difference  be¬ 
 tween  the  two ;  but  will  be  found,  nevertheless,  to 
 have  been  verified  to  sufficient  exactness,  which¬ 
 ever  method  is  adopted. 
 
 The  difference  will  arise  solely  from  the  two 
 ways  of  estimating  “  the  Year  j”  whether  it  should 
 consist  of  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each,  omit¬ 
 ting  any  intercalary  days  y  or  wnetner  the  inter- 
 
 *  Or  rather,  of  the  Territories  belonging  to  the  Em 
 pirey  at  the  time  of  Tkajan’s  Death.  See  pages  9?— 105. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  15. 
 
*64 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 calary  days  should  be  inserted.  In  the  former 
 case,  the  length  of  this  prophetical  year  will  be 
 360  natural  years ;  and,  in  the  latter,  365. 
 
 It  remains  now  to  be  examined,  how  nearly  each 
 of  these  Cases  will  correspond  with  the  Facts  that 
 are  here  predicted. 
 
 If  the  prophetical  Year  is  supposed  in  this  in¬ 
 stance  to  include  the  intercalary  days,  the  Period 
 of  “  the  hour ,  and  day ,  and  month ,  and  year,” 
 will  exactly  amount  to  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
 six  years  and  fifteen  days.  Now,  the  final  Disso¬ 
 lution  of  the  Constantinopolitan  Roman  Empire 
 happened  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  May  1453. 
 But  it  was  in  the  year  1057,  that  Togrol  Beg  was 
 honoured,  by  the  Caliph  Kayem  Beamrillah,  with 
 the  Imperial  Vest  ;  and  erected  the  Sovereignty  of 
 Iran  in  that  city,  which  had  been  the  proud  seat 
 of  Saracenic  Dominion.  Thus  was  founded  the 
 Soltanat  of  Baghdad ;  and  if  we  subduct  the  date 
 of  its  commencement,  from  that  of  the  taking  of 
 Constantinople  by  Mahomet  II.  the  difference  will 
 be  just  three  hundred  and  ninety-six  years.  Of  the 
 few  remaining  days  no  particular  notice  can  be 
 taken,  on  account  of  a  want  of  sufficient  attention 
 to  minuteness  in  the  records,  iir  which  the  establish¬ 
 ment  of  this  Dynasty  has  been  transmitted. 
 
 If  we  now  suppose  the  Prophetical  Year,  in  this 
 case,  to  have  consisted  of  only  360  solar  years,  the 
 duration  of  “  the  hour ,  the  day ,  the  month ,  and 
 ie  year/*  will  become  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
 one  years  and  fifteen  days.  But  substracting  this 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 265 
 
 from  1453,  as  before,  there  will  remain  1062,  the 
 very  year,  when  Alp  Arslan,  who  was  the  first 
 Turkish  Potentate  that  made  any  serious  invasion  of 
 the  Roman  Territories,  succeeded  his  uncle  Togrol 
 Beg  on  the  thrones  of  Baghdad  and  of  Irdn. 
 
 With  respect  to  the  first  cf  these  illustrious 
 Chieftains — “  His  ambition  was  equal  to  his  va- 
 “  lour.  By  his  arms  the  Gaznevides  were  expelled 
 “  from  the  eastern  kingdoms  of  Persia,  and  gra- 
 cc  dually  driven  to  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  in 
 “  search  of  a  softer  and  more  wealthy  conquest. 
 “  In  the  West,  he  annihilated  the  Dynasty  of  the 
 “  Bowides ;  and  the  sceptre  of  Irak  passed  from 
 ic  the  Persian  to  the  Turkish  nation.  The  Princes 
 “  who  had  felt,  or  who  feared,  the  Seljukian  ar- 
 “  rows,  bowed  their  heads  in  the  dust :  by  the 
 “  conquest  of  Aderbijan,  or  Media,  he  approached 
 “  the  Roman  coniines ;  and  the  Shepherd  presumed 
 <c  to  despatch  an  ambassador,  or  herald,  to  demand 
 “  the  tribute  and  obedience  of  the  Emperor  of 
 i(  Constantinople  This  Prince  was  also  the 
 
 first  Soltan,  who  boldly  attacked  the  frontier  of  the 
 Empire  ;  but  it  was  in  a  region  too  remote  to  admit 
 of  his  making  any  serious  impression.  “  Since  the 
 ie  fall  of  the  Caliphs,  the  discord  and  degeneracy 
 “  of  the  Saracens  respected  the  Asiatic  provinces  of 
 "  Pome;  which,  by  the  victories  of  Nicephorus, 
 “  Zimisces,  and  Basil,  had  been  extended  as  far  as 
 
 *  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol,  10,  ch.  57,  p.  346. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  15. 
 
ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 “  Antioch,  and  the  eastern  boundaries  of  Armenia. 
 <c  Twenty-five  years  after  the  death  of  Basil  *,  his 
 “  successors  were  suddenly  assaulted  by  an  unknown 
 “  race  of  Barbarians ,  who  united  the  Scythian 
 “  valour  with  the  fanaticism  of  new  proselytes,  and 
 <c  the  art  and  riches  of  a  powerful  monarchy.  The 
 “  myriads  of  Turkish  horse  overspread  a  frontier 
 “  of  six  hundred  miles  from  Taurus  to  Arzeroum , 
 i6  and  the  blood  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thou - 
 et  sand  Christians  was  a  grateful  sacrifice  to  the 
 “  Arabian  Prophet.  Yet  the  arms  of  Togrol  did 
 ‘c  not  make  any  deep  or  lasting  impression  on  the 
 “  Greek  Empire.  The  torrent  rolled  away  from 
 ee  the  open  country ;  the  Sultan  retired  without 
 6e  glory  or  success  from  the  siege  of  an  Armenian 
 4C  city,  the  obscure  hostilities  were  continued  or 
 4£  suspended  with  a  vicissitude  of  events  ;  and  the 
 (t  bravery  of  the  Macedonian  Legions  renewed 
 “  the  fame  of  the  Conqueror  of  Asiaf.” 
 
 But  it  was  reserved  for  his  immediate  successor, 
 to  commence  the  inflicting  of  those  wounds,  which 
 Togrol  had  only  meditated.  “  Upon  the  death  of 
 u  Constantine  Ducas,  which  happened  in  the  year 
 u  1063 ,  the  Turks,  understanding  that  the  Roman 
 tf  Empire  was  governed  by  a  woman,  broke  with 
 a  great  violence  into  Mesopotamia,  Cilicia,  and 
 
 *  Or  about  the  year  1050. 
 
 +  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  10,  ch.  57,  p.  351.  See  also  the 
 Character  and  Achievements  of  this  Monarch  as  described  in 
 Mod.  Uniters.  Hist.  Vol,  4,  Book  1,  ch.  2,  p.  90 — 106. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 267 
 
 “  Cappadocia,  destroying  all  with  fire  and  sword.’* 
 This  was  his  first  essay  ;  the  attempt  to  revenge 
 which  terminated,  after  three  laborious  campaigns 
 in  the  total  defeat  and  captivity  of  the  Roman  Em¬ 
 peror  himself. 
 
 A  very  few  years  after  this,  in  1081,  was  founded 
 the  Dynasty  of  Roum,  by  another  branch  of  the 
 family  of  Seljuk;  in  the  verv  heart  of  the  Imperial 
 Dominions  in  Asia.  Upon  this  subject  Mr.  Gibbon 
 makes  the  following  melancholy  statements  : — 
 “  Since  the  decline  of  the  empire,  the  peninsula  of 
 “  Asia  Minor  had  been  exposed  to  transient, 
 “  though  destructive,  inroads  of  the  Persians  and 
 Ci  Saracens ;  but  the  fruits  of  a  lasting  conquest 
 (C  were  reserved  for  the  Turkish  Sultan ;  and  his 
 “  arms  were  introduced  by  the  Greeks*  who  as* 
 ,s  pired  to  reign  on  the  ruins  of  their  country.”  — 
 But,  “  since  the  first  conquests  of  the  Caliphs,  the 
 “  establishment  of  the  lurks  in  Anatolia  was  the 
 “  most  deplorable  loss,  which  the  church  and  em- 
 “  pire  had  sustained.  By  the  propagation  of  the 
 “  Moslem  faith,  Solyman  deserved  the  name  of 
 “  Gazi,  a  holy  champion  ;  and  his  new  kingdom 
 “  of  the  Romans,  or  of  Rome,  was  added  to 
 “  the  tables  of  Oriental  geography.  It  is  de- 
 “  scribed  as  extending  from  the  Euphrates  to 
 “  Constan  inoplc,  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  con- 
 “  fines  of  Syria  ;  pregnant  with  mines  of  silver  and 
 “  iron,  of  allum  and  copper ;  fruitful  in  corn  and 
 “  wine,  and  productive  of  cattle  and  excellent 
 Rev.  IX,  15. 
 
2f)S 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 £l  horses/’  r<  By  the  choice  of  the  Sultan,  Nice, 
 “  the  metropolis  of  Bithynia,  was  preferred  for  his 
 “  palace  and  fortress  ;  the  seat  of  the  Seljukian 
 “  dynasty  of  Roum  was  planted  one  hundred,  miles 
 “  from  Constantinople/’  “  The  unity  of  GOD, 
 if  and  ihe  mission  of  Mahomet,  were  preached  in 
 “  the  Moschs ;  the  Arabian  learning  was  taught  in 
 “  the  Schools  ;  the  Cadhis  judged  according  to  the 
 “  Law  of  the  Koran  ;  the  Turkish  manners  and 
 “language  prevailed  in  the  cities;  and  Turkman 
 “  camps  were  scattered  over  the  plains  and  moun- 
 “  tains  of  Anatolia.  On  the  hard  conditions  of 
 “  tribute  and  servitude,  the  Greek  Christians  might 
 <e  enjoy  the  exercise  of  their  religion;  but  their 
 (e  most  holy  churches  were  profaned  ;  their  priests 
 “  and  bishops  were  insulted ;  they  were  compelled 
 “  to  suffer  the  triumph  of  the  Pagans ,  and  the 
 “  apcstacy  of  their  brethren  ;  many  thousand  chil- 
 “  dren  were  marked  with  the  knife  of  circumcision; 
 ct  and  many  thousand  captives  were  devoted  to  the 
 “  service,  or  the  pleasures,  of  their  masters  *.’* 
 Such  was  the  wonderful  success  which  the  Sel- 
 juk  Turks  obtained,  within  only  thirty-one  years 
 after  their  first  appearance,  under  Togrol  Beg,  on 
 the  North-Eastern  confines  of  the  Greek  Empire  ; 
 and,  during  the  continuance  of  the  Dynasty  of 
 Roum,  some  of  the  finest  Provinces  of  that  Em¬ 
 pire  became  constantly  the  scenes  either  of  war  and 
 rapine,  or  of  relentless  oppression.  At  length,  in 
 
 *  Decline  and  Fall,  Vol.  10,  chap,  57,  p.  371—374. 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 269 
 
 the  year  J300  this  Dynasty  was  finally  overthrown 
 by  the  arms  of  Othman  :  and  upon  its  ruins  was 
 completed  the  foundation  of  that  mighty  Empire  of 
 the  'l  urks  ;  which  remains  to  this  day ;  and,  within 
 one  hundred  and  fifty-three  years  after  its  rise,  ef¬ 
 fected  the  total  subversion  of  the  Dominion  of  the 
 Romans  in  the  East. 
 
 Thus,  agreeably  to  the  Prophecy,  4f  the  third 
 “  part  of  the  Men”,  or  the  men  inhabiting  the  third 
 part  of  the  earth*,  were  deprived  entirely  of  their 
 former  political  life ,  and  reduced  to  the  condition 
 of  Tributaries  and  Slaves  !  And  thus  were  those, 
 who  were  made  the  instruments  in  bringing  about 
 this  awful  Catastrophe,  “  prepared  fur  the  hours 
 “  and  day ,  and  month ,  and  year,”  for  that  ex¬ 
 press  purpose ! 
 
 16.  The  Prophet,  having  stated  the  particulars 
 already  mentioned,  proceeds  now  to  the  distinguish¬ 
 ing  Characteristics  of  the  People  f,  whose  principal 
 achievements  he  lias  foretold. 
 
 “  And  the  number  of  Forces  of  the  Cavalry  f  was 
 “  two  myriads  of  myriads ;  and,  I  heard  the  num- 
 “  ber  of  them.”  Their  armies  are  here  described  as 
 exceedingly  numerous,  consisting  indefinitely  of 
 “  twice  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand.”  And 
 
 *  Or  Roman  Empire  ;  see  Note  *,  page  263. 
 
 +  Of  these  Particularities  Bishop  Newton  has  written  so 
 well  in  his  Analysis  of  the  Apocalypse,  in  treating  of  these 
 very  verses,  that  little  remains  but  10  refer  to  his  Work. 
 
 J  ‘O  a;i9/xor  ZrparsvftxTouv  rou 'ImrtKOo 
 
 Rev.  IX.  16. 
 
270 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 who  does  not  know,  with  what  mighty  Armies  the 
 Turkish  Tribes,  to  whose  history  wc  have  here  al¬ 
 luded,  overran  and  ruined  the  Empire  of  the  East? 
 In  one  instance  only,  when  Mahomet  II.  besieged 
 Constantinople,  his  army  is  said  to  have  contained 
 400,000  men,  besides  a  powerful  fleet  composed  of 
 ships,  galleys,  and  barks,  to  the  number  of  300  *. 
 
 Their  forces  are  said  to  have  consisted  chiefly  of 
 Cavalry  ;  at  least,  the  Prophet  takes  no  notice  of 
 any  other  description  of  Arm :  and  such  was  the 
 species  of  military  force  of  which  their  Armies  were 
 mostly  composed,  especially  before  the  order  of  the 
 Janizaries  was  established,  by  Morad  I.  in  1362. 
 
 17.  “  And  thus  were  seen  the  Horses  in  the 
 4‘  vision,  and  those  who  sat  on  them;”  this  is  the 
 figurative  description  of  their  Armies.  They  had 
 u  breast-plates  of  Fire ,  and  Hyacinth ,  and  Brim- 
 <£  stone ;”  that  is,  they  were  defensively  armed  with 
 an  ardent  and  invincible  courage,  and  with  a  fiery 
 zeal  for  the  destruction  of  the  Enemies  of  their  per¬ 
 nicious  Faith;  with  a  high  conceit  of  their  own 
 imaginary  purity  f,  and,  of  the  assumed  justice  of 
 their  cause  ;  and  with  all  the  insensibility  of  guilt, 
 induced  by  the  fumes  j  of  the  execrable  Doctrines 
 
 *  Modern  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  12,  book  15,  ch.  8,  p.  144. 
 
 +  Hyacinth  being  of  a  blue  colour,  and  blue  being  em¬ 
 blematical  of  Purity.  The  style  of  the  Prophet  clearly 
 shews,  that  the  Purity  thus  described  could  exist  in  a  per. 
 verted  Imagination  only. 
 
 %  Brimstone  combined  with  fire,  as  seen  in  this  Vision, 
 cannot  but  send  forth  the  most  pernicious  fumes.  All  these 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 271 
 
 they  had  embraced,  and  were  strenuously  endea¬ 
 vouring  to  diffuse. 
 
 But  this  description  has  also  had  almost  a  literal 
 accomplishment  as  Mr.  Daubuz  has  very  justly 
 observed  *  :  “  the  colours  of  their  warlike  Apparel 
 “  may  be  here  hinted  at;  the  Ottomans,  from  their 
 f<  first  appearance,  having  affected  to  be  clothed  in 
 “  Scarlet ,  Biut\  and  Yellow ;  leaving  the  Green 
 “  colour  to  the  Kinsmen  of  Mahomet.’* 
 
 “  And  the  Heads  of  the  Horses  were  as  the 
 “  Heads  of  Lions to  denote  the  invincible 
 strength,  the  courage  and  fierceness  of  these  ar¬ 
 mies  ;  the  victories  they  would  achieve ;  and  the 
 dominion  that  would  result  from  them. 
 
 symbols  are  evidently  employed  in  a  judicial  sense,  both  as 
 they  relate  to  the  people  to  whom  they  are  applied,  and  to 
 those  for  whose  punishment  this  armature  is  provided.  Thus, 
 Fire ,  standing  in  this  connexion,  is  the  emblem  of  Divine 
 Wrath.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  Brimstone ,  the  specious 
 substance  containing  within  itself  the  elements  of  destruction, 
 becomes  ignited ;  and  this  ignition  produces  th e  blue  co¬ 
 loured  flame,  and  the  suffocating  vapours ,  that  are  here 
 alluded  to.  By  means  of  these,  the  moral  sense  becomes 
 deadened,  the  d'vine  truths  of  the  Christian  Religion  are  lost 
 sight  of,  the  understanding  becomes  depraved,  and  the  heart 
 obdurate  and  insensible.  Armed  with  such  a  symbolical 
 Breast.plate  as  this,  a  human  being  may  be  thus  described — 
 
 - Stupet  hie  vitio,  et  fibris  increvit  opimum 
 
 Pingue,  caret  culpa,  nescit  quid  perdat,  et  alto 
 Demersus  sununi  rursum  non  bullit  in  unda. 
 
 l*ers.  Sat.  3. 
 
 *  Consult  Mr. Daubuz  on  the  place,  p.  329.  Edit.  1730. 
 
 R ev.  IX.  17. 
 
272 
 
 ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 “  And  out  of  their  Mouths  issued  Fire,  and 
 u  Smoke,  and  Brimstone L — These  are  the  same 
 ingredients  very  nearly  *,  as  those  of  which  their 
 symbolical  Breast-plates  were  composed  ;  and  they 
 are  emitted  for  the  sake  of  destroying  the  voi  ttcal 
 Life  of  the  people  to  whom  they  were  opposed. — 
 The  same  kind  of  defensive  armour,  which  had  a 
 tendency  to  render  them  impregnable,  produced, 
 by  reflection,  quite  an  opposite  effect  upon  their 
 Adversaries  ;  it  weakened,  and  appalled,  and 
 brought  them  to  ruin. 
 
 But  in  their  taking  of  Constantinople,  which  was 
 the  great  work ,  for  which  they  had  been  so  long  in 
 a  state  of  preparation ,  and,  indeed,  in  some  of  their 
 preceding  achievements,  these  symbols  may  be 
 almost  said  to  have  been  verified  in  a  literal  maimer. 
 There  is  here,  Bishop  Newton  observes,  ie  a  mani- 
 “  fest  allusion  to  great  guns  and  gun-powder,  which 
 “  were  invented  under  this  Trumpet,  and  were  of 
 “  such  signal  service  to  the  Othmans  in  their  wars. 
 “  For,  by  these  three  were  the  third  part  of  men 
 “  killed  ;  by  these  the  Othmans  made  such  havock 
 “  and  destruction  in  the  Greek  or  Eastern  Empire. 
 44  Amurath  II.  broke  into  Peloponnesus,  and  took 
 44  several  strong  places  by  means  of  his  Artillery. 
 “  But  his  Son  Mohammed,  at  the  siege  of  Con- 
 
 *  The  only  difference  is  in  the  substitution  of  Smoke  in¬ 
 stead  of  the  Hyacinth,  os  blue- coloured,  Flu  rte  produced 
 by  the  combustion  of  the  Sulphur.  But  w  hat  is  Flame  except 
 ignited  Smoke  ? 
 
€?3 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 ?{  stantinople,  employed  such  great  guns  as  were 
 ie  never  made  before.  One  is  described  to  have 
 “  been  of  such  monstrous  size,  that  it  was  drawn 
 <c  by  seventy  yoke  of  oxen,  and  by  two  thousand 
 “  men.  There  were  two  more,  each  of  which  dis- 
 “  charged  a  stone  of  the  weight  of  two  talents. 
 “  Others  emitted  a  stone  of  the  weight  of  half  a  ta- 
 “  lent.  But  the  greatest  of  all  discharged  a  ball  of 
 “  the  weight  of  three  talents,  or  about  three  hun* 
 “  dred  pounds ;  and  the  report  of  this  cannon  is 
 “  said  to  have  been  so  great,  that  all  the  country 
 t(  round  about  was  shaken  to  the  distance  of  forty 
 “  furlongs.  For  forty  days  the  wall  was  battered 
 “  by  these  guns,  and  so  many  breaches  were  made, 
 *e  that  the  city  was  taken  by  assault,  and  an  end  put 
 “  to  the  Grecian  Empire.” 
 
 18.  “  By  these  three  was  the  third  part  of  the 
 “  men  slain  — by  the  Fire,  and  by  the  Smoke ,  and 
 “  by  the  Brimstone  which  issued  out  of  their 
 “  Mouths .”  In  a  moral  sense,  that  which  they 
 thus  exhibited ,  or  sent  forth ,  was,  the  terrible  Effects 
 of  Divine  Wrath ,  against  the  devoted  Inhabitants 
 of  this  part  of  the  Roman  Earth.  Though  an  im¬ 
 pious  and  profligate  People,  they  were  raised  up, 
 like  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  of  old,  to  be  the 
 scourge,  and,  at  length,  the  destruction  of  a  People, 
 more  inexcusably  wicked  than  themselves.  And 
 these  Divine  Judgments  were  clearly  evinced,  in 
 
 Rev.  IX.  18. 
 
 T 
 
 vol.  ir. 
 
-ADDITIONS  TO 
 
 ^  l  \ 
 
 the  fierce  and  fiery  zeal  by  which  they  were  animat¬ 
 ed  to  this  work  of  ruin  and  devastation ;  in  “  the 
 fit.  threatenings  and  slaughter”  they  were  continually 
 breathing  out  against  their  opponents,  and  the  suc¬ 
 cess  with  which  they  were  empowered  to  accom¬ 
 plish  them  ;  and  in  the  baleful  influence  of  those 
 religious  principles,  which  the  vanquished  were 
 always  compelled  either  to  embrace,  or  to  suffer  the 
 most  oppressive  taxes  for  rejecting. 
 
 19.  i6  For  their  power  is  in  their  Mouth,  and  in 
 f£  their  Tails :  for  their  Tails  are  like  Serpents ,  hav- 
 tc  ing  Heads;  and  with  them  do  they  injure.” 
 Their  Mouth  being  thus  combined  with  their  Tk/'/j, 
 in  describing  the  characteristics  of  this  people, 
 plainly  proves,  that  the  moral  sense  of  the  former 
 words,  in  verses  17  and  18,  is  to  be  preferred  to 
 that,  which  gives  merely  a  physical  explanation  of 
 them  #  ;  for  their  Tailszre  admirably  explained  by 
 the  learned  Prelate  before  mentioned  in  z  figurative 
 and  moral  sense  :  and  therefore  their  Mouth  must 
 be  so  interpreted  likewise,  in  order  to  render  the 
 whole  of  the  commentary  consistent  with  itself. 
 
 “  Their  Tails  being  like  unto  Serpents ,  and  hau - 
 ££  ing  heads,”  says  he,  “  in  this  respect  they  very 
 “  much  resemble  “  the  Locusts  only  the  different 
 “  Tails  are  accommodated  to  the  different  Crea- 
 
 *  This  is  further  evident  from  the  circumstance,  that  these 
 physical  means  of  destruction  were  only  employed,  during 
 the  latter  part  of  the  whole  Season,  for  which  this  savage 
 Race  had  been  prepared  “  to  kill  the  third  part  of  the 
 il  Men.” 
 
LECTURE  IX. 
 
 275 
 
 ff  tures — c  the  tails  of  Scorpions  to  Locusts the 
 “  tails  of  Serpents  with  heads  to  Horses.  By  this 
 Ci  figure  it  is  meant,  that  the  Turks  draw  after  them 
 “  the  same  poisonous  trains  as  the  Saracens ;  they 
 “  profess  and  propagate  the  same  Imposture  ;  they 
 *e  do  hurt  not  only  by  their  conquests,  but  also  by 
 <s  spreading  their  false  Doctrine  ;  and  wherever  they 
 
 “  establish  their  Dominion,  there  too  they  establish 
 
 * 
 
 “  their  Religion.  Many,  indeed,  of  the  Greek 
 “  Church  remained,  and  are  still  remaining  among 
 “  them  ;  but  they  are  made  to  pay  dearly  for  the 
 “  exercise  of  their  Religion  ;  are  subjected  to  a  ca- 
 pitation-tax,  which  is  rigorously  exacted  from  all 
 <c  above  fourteen  years  of  age  ;  are  burdened  besides 
 “  with  the  most  heavy  and  arbitrary  impositions 
 “  upon  every  occasion  ;  are  compelled  to  the  lowest, 
 ct  and  most  servile  drudgery  j  are  abused  in  their 
 (i  persons,  and  robbed  of  their  property  ;  have  not 
 “  only  the  mortification  of  seeing  some  of  their 
 “  friends  and  kindred  daily  apostatize  to  the  ruling 
 s<  Religion,  but  had  even  their  childrenhaken  from 
 them  to  be  educated  therein,  of  whom  the  more 
 4<  robust  and  hardy  were  trained  up  to  the  soldiery, 
 <c  the  more  weakly  and  tender  were  castrated  for 
 Cf  the  Seraglio  :  but  notvcilh&tandiug  these  pcrsccu- 
 tions  and  oppressions,  some  Remains  of  the  Greek 
 “  Church  are  still  preserved  among  them,  asiae 
 t(  may  reasonably  conclude,  to  serve  some  great 
 (t  AND  MYSTERIOUS  ENDS  OF  PROVIDENCE.” 
 
 Rev.  IX.  19. 
 
■  v  '  '■  , 
 
 > 
 
 r 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 Delivered ,  December  4,  1814* 
 
 Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  3. 
 
 Blessed  is  he  that  readeth ,  and 
 
 /jear  the  words  of  this  Prophecy,  and  keep 
 those  things  that  are  written  therein:  for 
 the  time  is  at  hand . 
 
 The  last  Lecture  having  terminated 
 with  the  entire  subversion  of  the  Roman 
 Empire  in  the  West,  it  was  my  particular 
 wish  to  have  followed,  if  possible,  the  track 
 of  the  inspired  Writer,  through  his  next 
 grand  division  of  prophetical  representa¬ 
 tion  ;  and  to  have  pointed  out,  in  their 
 regular  order,  those  Crimes,  and  those 
 Calamities,  which  next  overran,  and  gra¬ 
 dually  ruined,  the  Empire  of  the  East. 
 And  this  would  have  been  the  more  in- 
 
 T  3 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 <2f8 
 
 structive,  because  we  should  have  seen, 
 evidently  depicted  before  us,  in  the  most 
 appropriate  imagery,  those  very  Instru¬ 
 ments  which  God  was  pleased  to  employ, 
 for  the  punishment  of  «//,  and,  at  last,  for 
 the  total  annihilation  of  one  of  those 
 Churches  of  Asia,  to  whom  St.John  ad¬ 
 dressed  his  Epistles.  But,  upon  making 
 an  estimate  of  the  space  that  would  be 
 required  for  such  a  Subject,  and  finding 
 that  it  would  greatly  exceed  the  limits 
 prescribed  for  this  Course,  I  have  been 
 induced  to  forego,  for  the  present,  the  elu¬ 
 cidations  I  had  prepared*]  and  to  con¬ 
 iine  myself  to  the  Point  so  particularly 
 insisted  on  by  the  venerable  Founder  of 
 these  Lectures. 
 
 Hitherto  it  has  been  my  endeavour  “  to 
 “  Pr  ove  the  truth  of  Revealed  Religion  in 
 “  general,  and  of  the  Christian  in  particu- 
 “  lar,  from  the  completion  of  the  Prophe- 
 <c  cies  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament, 
 *e  which  relate  to  the  Christian  Church -f*;” 
 and,  in  doing  this,  occasion  has  been  some- 
 
 *  See  Additions,  page  211;  where  these  Deficiencies 
 have  been,  in  some  measure,  supplied. 
 
 +  Extract  from  the  Deed  of  Trust  prefixed  to  the 
 first  Volume. 
 
LECTURE  X, 
 
 279 
 
 times  taken  to  touch  upon  those,  that  re¬ 
 late  to  “the  Apostacy  of  Papal  Rome:” 
 but  the  order  of  time  now  requires,  that  I 
 should  apply  myself  almost  exclusively  to 
 this  latter  Subject,  through  the  remaining 
 portion  of  these  Lectures. 
 
 St.  John,  having  represented  *,  in  a  most 
 correct  and  awful  manner,  the  trvo  Woes , 
 which  had  been  proclaimed  by  the  sound¬ 
 ing  of  th Q  fifth  and  sixth  Trumpets ;  which 
 had  been  confined  chiefly  to  the  Eastern 
 Church  and  Empire  ;  and  were  respectively 
 inflicted,  in  the  first  instance,  by  the  amaz¬ 
 ing  incursions  and  rapid  conquests  of  the 
 Saracens,  and,  in  the  second ,  by  those  of 
 the  Turks,  and  in  both  cases,  by  the  Pro¬ 
 pagation  and  Maintenance  of  a  System  of 
 religious  Imposture,  and  the  Persecution 
 and  Oppression  of  Christianity, — proceeds 
 now,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  chapter, 
 to  direct  our  attention  towards  the  affairs 
 of  the  West;  and  to  shew,  what  effect 
 these  tremendous  Judgments  of  The  Al- 
 mighty  produced  upon  the  minds  of  men, 
 in  that  part  of  the  World. 
 
 *  In  the  ninth  Chapter. 
 
 Ret.  IX.  20,  21 
 
230 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 The  period  already  elapsed,  since  the 
 commencement  of  the  first  of  these  Woes, 
 was  at  least  847  years ;  which  is  the  inter¬ 
 val  that  elapsed,  from  the  first  devising  of 
 this  plan  of  Imposture  by  Mahomet,  in 
 the  year  606,  to  the  taking  of  Constanti¬ 
 nople  by  Mahomet  II.  and  the  total  Dis¬ 
 solution  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  in  1453. 
 
 I  have  used  the  expression  u  at  leasf ’ 
 so  many  years ,  because  the  period  denoted 
 under  the  second  JJ oe  had  not  yet  expired. 
 How  long  it  was  still  to  continue,  will  ap¬ 
 pear  by  the  Sequel.  In  the  mean  time, 
 the  Prophet  has  afforded  us  a  clew  for  our 
 further  proceeding,  which,  if  w*e  carefully 
 pursue  it,  will  lead  us  to  the  most  impor¬ 
 tant  and  satisfactory  results.  He  has  ex¬ 
 pressly  informed  us,  that  there  were  mam/, 
 who  had  remained  unmoved  by  these  ju¬ 
 dicial  Visitations ;  and  neglected,  by  a 
 sincere  Repentance,  and  Amendment  of 
 life,  to  avert  the  Calamities  that  were 
 coming  upon  themselves.  Hence,  it  is 
 evident,  that  further  Space  was  allowed  to 
 these  degenerate  people,  before  the  im¬ 
 pending  Judgments  were  suffered  to  de¬ 
 scend  ;  but  that  it  was  allowed*  without 
 success .  And  it  now ,  therefore,  became  the 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 281 
 
 sad  task  of  St.John  to  develop,  not  only 
 the  Enonjiities  of  which  they  had  been 
 guilty,  but  the  Punishments,  by  which  they 
 were  to  be  held  forth  as  Examples  to  fu¬ 
 ture  ages. 
 
 But  of  what  description,  more  particu¬ 
 larly,  are  those  who  are  here  alluded  to  ? 
 For  these  were  days  of  Darkness  ;  and  the 
 whole  world  was  more  or  less  addicted  to 
 Idolatry  and  Superstition. 
 
 The  answer  to  this  inquiry  will  be  found 
 to  contain  so  many  striking  peculiarities, 
 that  it  will  be  almost  impossible  to  mis¬ 
 take  their  application.  “  The  rest  of  the 
 “  mew*,” says  the  Prophet,  “  who  were  not 
 “  killed  by  these  plagues which  had  cre¬ 
 ated  such  desolation  in  the  East,  “  yet  re - 
 u  pented  not  of  the  works  of  their  hands , 
 
 *  The  Roman  Empire,  throughout  the  Apocalypse, 
 is  generally  styled  “  the  Earth;"  comprehending  both 
 tire  Easton  and  Western  divisions,  and,  in  these,  the 
 greater  part,  and  by  far  the  most  civilized  part,  of  the 
 then  known  world.  The  men  in  question,  were  conse¬ 
 quently  the  inhabitants  of  a  particular  part  of  that  Em¬ 
 pire ;  but  of  that  portion  of  it  only,  which  had  not 
 essentially  suffered  by  the  Plagues  that  had  ruined  the 
 Eastern  part;  those  who  inhabited  the  Western  or  Pa¬ 
 pal  Empire,  are  therefore  called  “  the  rest  of  the  men." 
 
 Rev.  IX.  20,  21. 
 
282 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 “  that  they  should  not  worship  Demons , 
 44  and  Idols  of  gold,  and  silver ,  and  brass 
 44  and  stone,  and  of  wood;  which  can  nei- 
 44  ther  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk  :  neither  re - 
 44  pented  they  of  their  Murders ,  nor  of  their 
 44  Sorceries,  nor  of  their  Fornication ,  nor  of 
 44  their  Thefts The  allusion  is  manifestly 
 made  to  some  Body  of  men,  who  had 
 devoted  themselves  to  the  worship  of 
 Demons,  or  imaginary  mediating  Intelli¬ 
 gences,  and  to  that  of  Images  formed  of 
 any  material  that  would  answer  the  pur¬ 
 pose;  who  had  been  addicted  to  a  System 
 of  murdcrousPerseczztf/ow,  to  the  working  of 
 preAendedMiraclcs,  to  spiritual  Fornication , 
 or  the  withdrawing  of  their  Affections 
 from  Christ,  the  true  Head  of  the  Church, 
 to  fix  them  upon  other  Objects  of  adora¬ 
 tion,  and  to  the  arbitrary  appropriation  to 
 themselves  of  whatever  pleased  them  most 
 in  the  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  Pagan 
 worship . 
 
 There  never  was,  nor  can  be  conceived, 
 
 a  more  luminous  and  accurate  Descrip- 
 
 * 
 
 tion  of  the  Abominations  of  the  Church 
 of  Rome,  than  that,  which  is  here  exhi¬ 
 bited  in  these  few  words. 
 
 I.  44  They  repented  not  of  the  works  of 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 283 
 
 “  their  hands  ”  they  discurded  not  the 
 worship  of  those  Objects,  which  they 
 themselves  had  elevated  into  Objects  of 
 worship.  Such  were  the  Saints ,  to  whom 
 
 t  ,  v  •  ‘  v 
 
 they  paid  a  portion  of  that  Adoration 
 which  was  due  to  God  onl}' ;  and  whom 
 they  blasphemously  *  employed  as  their 
 Intercessors  with-  God.  Such  also  were 
 the  Relics  of  the  Saints,  wherever  they 
 could ,  or  could  not  be  procured  J*.  Such, 
 lastly,  were  the  Images ,  which  they  made 
 for  the  express  purpose  of  idolatrous  De¬ 
 votion  ;  thereby  exemplifying  in  them¬ 
 selves  the  degrading  Character,  which 
 Isaiah  has  given  of  the  idolatrous  Jews  of 
 
 *  I  have  adopted  this  strong  expression,  because,  in 
 employing  other  Mediators  with  God,  than  that  Divine 
 Person  whom  he  hath  appointed,  they  offer  an  evident 
 Indignity  to  the  Son  of  God  himself.  For  St.  Paul 
 has  assured  us,  “  that  there  is  one  God,  and  one  medi- 
 “  ator  between  God  and  man — the  Man  Christ  Jesus.” 
 1  Tim.  ch.  2,  v.  5.  And  Christ  himself  has  taught  us, 
 that  c<  no  man  comelh  unto  the  Father  hut  by  him.”  John 
 eh.  14,  v.  6. 
 
 f  Such  was  the  rage  for  these  at  one  time,  that,  ac¬ 
 cording  to  F«  Mabillon,  the  Altars  were  literally  loaded 
 with  suspected  Relics;  and  numerous  spurious  ones 
 were  every  day  offered  to  the  piety  and  devotion  of  the 
 faithful. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  20,  21. 
 
284  LECTURE  X. 
 
 old— “  Their  land  is  full  of  Idols  :  they 
 “  worship  the  work  of  their  own  hands, 
 <f  that  which  their  own  fingers  have 
 <l  made 
 
 The  last  General  Council,  that  was  ever 
 held  in  the  Church  of  Rome, was  the  Coun¬ 
 cil  of  Trent ;  and  this  was  called  for  the 
 professed  purpose  of  effecting  a  Reforma¬ 
 tion  in  that  Church,  and  of  correcting  the 
 many  Abuses  which  had  long  become  too 
 flagrant  to  admit  of  concealment.  Yet  the 
 second  Decree,  made  in  the  twenty-fifth 
 Session  of  this  Council,  expressly  enjoins 
 these  several  species  of  Idolatry,*  and  re- 
 gulates  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to 
 be  performed  -f*.  And  such  are  the  Tenets 
 of  the  Romanists  upon  this  subject  to  this 
 very  clay ! 
 
 II.  “  Neither  repented  they  o  f  their  Mur - 
 “  clers”  The  Massacre  of  the  Protestants 
 at  Paris,  on  the  eve  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
 day,  in  1572,  and  throughout  France  al« 
 
 *  Isaiah,  ch.  2,  v.  8. 
 
 +  See  the  Copy  that  is  given  of  this  famous  Decree 
 in  Du  Pin’s  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  in  his  Ec¬ 
 clesiastical  History  of  the  sixteenth  Century,  Vol.  2, 
 pages  373,  374.  Edit.  1706. 
 
lecture  X. 
 
 '285 
 
 most  immediately  afterwards*;  the  conse¬ 
 quences  of  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
 Nantes,  in  1685  ;  the  numbers  of  persons* 
 eminent  for  their  piety  and  fortitudej  who 
 were  burnt  to  death ,  on  account  of  their 
 Religion,  under  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary, 
 
 *  For  an  Account  of  these  infernal  Proceedings  con¬ 
 sult  Modern  Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  24,  Book  19,  ch.  4* 
 p.  268 — 274.  Yet  so  grateful  a  Sacrifice  to  the  Su¬ 
 preme  Being  was  this  exemplification  of  his  Perfidy  and 
 his  Inhumanity  considered  by  Charles  IX.  that  he 
 caused  a  Medal  to  be  struck,  for  the  purpose  of  trans¬ 
 mitting  the  memorial  of  it  to  posterity.  On  one  side 
 were  his  Arms,  with  the  Date  24  August i  1572,  and 
 this  Inscription  Pietas  excitavit  Just itiam  ;  and, 
 on  the  Reverse,  he  is  represented  as  seated  on  liis 
 throne,  with  a  Sword  in  his  right  hand,  the  Symbol  of 
 Justice  in  his  left,  and  a  group  of  Heads  under  his  feet, 
 surrounded  with  these  words — Vjrtus  in  Rebelles. 
 Ibid.  p.  282,  note. 
 
 “  Gregory  XIII.  having  been  informed  of  this  Mas-  • 
 “  sacre  of  the  Protestants  of  Paris,  gave  public  thauks 
 “  at  Rome  for  the  preservation  of  the  King  from  their 
 (S  Conspiracy;  as  Charles  IX.  in  excuse  for  his  barba- 
 “  lity,  alledged,  that  the  Admiral  Coligni,  with  several 
 (<  other  Hugonots,  had  formed  a  design  of  murdering 
 <(  him,  and  all  the  Catholic  Princes  of  the  Royal  Family. 
 Though  the  truth  of  this  excuse  was  universally 
 questioned,  yet  the  Pope  published  a  Jubilee  over  all 
 (<  Christendom,  in  consideration  of  the  great  lima  given 
 te  to  the  Heretics ;  and  likewise  on  account  of  the  suc- 
 Ret.  IX.  20,  21. 
 
286 
 
 LECTURE  X* 
 
 in  England  *  ;  the  horrible  cruelties  that 
 have  been  practised  in  the  prisons  of  the 
 Inquisition,  in  all  the  different  Countries 
 where  that  bloody  Tribunal  has  been 
 established,  and  the  Autos-da-fe,  by  which 
 those  prisons  have  been  periodically  clear¬ 
 ed  ;  the  recent  re-establishment  of  it  in 
 Spain,  under  the  sanction  of  the  Roman 
 See, — all  these,  taken  collectively,  afford 
 the  most  convincing  proofs,  that  her  Mur¬ 
 ders  are  not  even  yet  repented  of ;  that 
 her  propensity  to  sanguinary  Persecution 
 re m a  i  n s  u n co n  q uere'd . 
 
 Well  then  might  the  Prophet  declare, 
 as  he  does  in  a  future  part  of  this  “  Re¬ 
 velation,”  where  (after  his  predictions 
 
 e  cess  of  the  Duke  of  Alva  in  the  Netherlands,  and  the 
 “  signal  victory  gained  the  year  before  over  the  Turks: 
 “  and  he  went  in  procession  on  foot  to  the  Church  of  St. 
 u  Lewis  at  Rome,  where  divine  service  was  performed 
 
 with  great  pomp  by  the  Cardinal  of  Lorrain.”  These 
 facts  speak  more  impressively  than  any  w'ords  can  pos¬ 
 sibly  do.  Mod.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  26,  Book  19,  ch.  5, 
 p.  363. 
 
 *  Consult  Rapin’s  History  of  this  Reign  ;  and  Bishop 
 Burnett’s  History  of  the  Reformation; — and,  if  the 
 Reader  wishes  to  descend  to  the  minute  particulars  of 
 these  bloody  scenes,  the  Martyrology,  compiled  with,  in¬ 
 defatigable  labour,  and  the  greatest  accuracy,  which  the 
 nature  of  such  a  work  would  admit,  by  the  celebrated 
 John  Fo.y. 
 
LECTURE  X, 
 
 287 
 
 concerning  the  Reformation)  he  comes  to 
 the  full  development  of  the  Character  of 
 this  impious  and  inhuman  Church,  that 
 he  “  saw  the  Woman,”  this  Church  thus  ty¬ 
 pified,  “  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the 
 Saints ,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  Martyrs 
 “  of  Jesus  Christ  ”  and  that  “  when  he 
 “  saw  her,  he  wondered  with  great  Admira - 
 “  tiofi  *  !”  And  with  how  much  propriety 
 and  justice  is  the  time  of  Retribution  re¬ 
 presented  as,  at  length,  overtaking  her — 
 “  Rezvard  her  even  as  she  hath  rewarded 
 11  you ,  and  double  unto  her  double ,  according 
 i:  to  her  zoorks :  in  the  cup  which  she  hath 
 filed,  Jill  to  her  double.  How  much  she 
 11  hath  glorified  herself,  and  lived  deliciously , 
 u  so  much  torment  and  sorrozv  give  her- j-/” 
 III.  “  Nor  did  they  repent  of  their 
 “  Sorceries ”  The  pretended  Miracles , 
 wrought  by  Saints ,  by  Images,  and  even 
 by  Relics ,  were  famous  for  some  Ages 
 throughout  Europe :  and  they  are  still 
 wrought,  in  great  abundance,  in  Roman 
 Catholic  Countries ;  where  they  obtain  an 
 easy  credit,  as  the  irrefragable  proofs  of 
 
 the  truth  of  their  Religion.  Nor,  to  this 
 
 * 
 
 0  Rev.  ch.  17,  v.  6.  |  Rev.  ch.  13,  v.  6,  7, 
 
 Rev.  IX,  20,  21. 
 
288 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 day,  can  any  Canonization  take  place,  as 
 is  well  known,  unless  Miracles  are  proved, 
 to  the  satisfaction  of  the  congregation  of 
 Kites ,  to  have  been  performed  by  the 
 person  to  be  entitled  to  that  high  dignity. 
 Thus  h  as  this  degenerate  Church  bewitch¬ 
 ed  *  those  with  her  Sorceries ,  for  ages,  over 
 whom  she  has  exerted  her  supremacy  '> 
 and,  in  this  manner,  she  still  continues  to 
 deceive  them  -)•. 
 
 *  In  imitation,  as  it  were,  of  Simon  the  Magician. 
 See  Acts,  ch.  8,  v.  9 — 1 1  • 
 
 T  There  are  some  very  curious  and  very  valuable  ob¬ 
 servations  upon  this  subject,  in  the  Prefatory  Discourse 
 to  Dr.  Conyer’s  Middleton’s  “  Letter  from  Home ”  Edit. 
 5,  p.  114 — 141.  This  Discourse  was  written,  in  an¬ 
 swer  to  an  attempt  at  a  confutation  of  this  “  Letter 
 “Jrom  Home-”  and  is  well  worthy  of  the  perusal  of 
 every  Member  of  the  Church  of  England,  who  wishes 
 to  be  fully  acquainted  with  some  of  the  motives,  which 
 induced  her  to  separate  from  the  Church  of  Rome. 
 
 The  conclusion,  which  the  learned  Writer  has  drawn 
 in  relation  to  the  present  Subject,  is  conveyed  in  the 
 following  terms: — 
 
 “  If  then,  agreeably  to  the  injunctions  of  the  Apo- 
 “  sties  and  Primitive  Fathers,  we  sit-down  to  examine 
 “  the  pretended  Miracles  of  Rome,  we  shall  find  them 
 “  always  the  most  numerous  and  the  most  confidently  at - 
 “  tested ,  in  proportion  to  the  absurdity  o/r  the  Doctrine 
 “  or  Practice ,  in  whose  favour  they  are  allcdged  ;  as  in  the 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 239 
 
 For  this  reason  she  is  very  justly  com¬ 
 pared,  in  another  part  of  this  Book,  to 
 “  the  false  Prophet ,  that,  wrought  Miracles 
 “  before  the  Beast  f  or  in  the  sight  of  those 
 Nations,  which  were  included  within  the 
 limits  of  the  Western  Papal  Empire  ; — Mi¬ 
 racles,  not  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
 the  credit  of  Divine  Revelation,  which 
 stood  in  need  at  this  time,  of  no  such  ad¬ 
 ventitious  aids  as  these  ;  but  for  the  pur¬ 
 pose  of  “  deceiving  them  that  had  received 
 “  the  mark  of  the  Beast ,  and  them  that 
 “  worshipped  his  Image 
 
 IV.  “  Neither  repented  they  o  f  their  For - 
 
 4(  case  of  Transubstantiation,  Purgatory,  the 
 u  Worship  of  Images,  Relics,  Cruci fixes, In dul- 
 u  g ences, and  allthe  tricks  of  Monkery;  as  if 
 “  Miracles  were  of  no  other  use  but  to  subvert  the  Rea- 
 “  son  and  Senses  of  Mankind,  and  confound  all  the 
 ft  Distinctions  between  Right  and  Wrong.  But  if  there 
 41  be  any  Rule  of  judging  of  their  Reality,  or  any 
 u  Power  in  Man  to  discern  Truth  from  Falsehood,  we 
 i(  must  necessarily  conclude,  from  the  Nature  and  End 
 u  of  the  Popish  Miracles',  that,  whatever  Testimonies  may 
 “  be  brought  to  support  them,  they  are  all,  without  ex- 
 “  Geption,  either  wrought  by  wicked  Spirits,  or  forged  by 
 (<  wicked  Men.”  Page  141. 
 
 #  Rev.  ch.  19,  v.  20.  See  also  Lecture  XI.  where  tins 
 subject  is  further  considered. 
 
 Rev.  IX.  20,  21. 
 
 VOL.  XI. 
 
 U 
 
290 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 “  nication  ”  The  spiritual  Fornication  of 
 the  Church  of  Rome  is  no  less  remarka¬ 
 ble,  than  her  Murders ,  her  Sorceries ,  or 
 her  Thefts.  “  The  husband/'  St.  Paul  ob¬ 
 serves,  “  is  the  head  of  the  wife,  even  as 
 44  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  Church  *  f  and 
 he  accordingly  testified  his  great  regard 
 to  the  Church  at  Corinth  by  saying — “  I 
 44  am  jealous  over  you  with  godly  jealou- 
 44  sy  :  for  I  have  espoused  you  to  one  hus- 
 44  band,  that  I  may  present  you,  as  a  spot- 
 “  less  Virgin,  to  Christ -f*.”  And  the 
 Church  of  Rome  has  uniformly  acknow¬ 
 ledged  the  subsistence  of  this  sacred  Re¬ 
 lation  between  herself,  and  Christ  as  her 
 head.  Yet  so  insincere  have  been  her 
 professions,  that  “  with  her  Idols  she  hath 
 4t  committed  Adultery  J/*  46  She  hath 
 
 44  been  defiled  with  her  own  Works;  and 
 
 *  Ephes.  ch.  C>,  v.  23. 
 
 T  2  Cor.  ch.  11,  v.  2.  In  the  same  sense  are  those, 
 who  had  been  preserved  in  a  state  of  comparative  purity 
 amidst  the  Abominations  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
 who  enrolled  themselves  under  the  banners  of  the 
 Reformation,  compared  to  Virgins.  Rev. ch.  14.  v.  4. 
 See  also  Lecture  XII. 
 
 %  Ezek.  ch.  23,  v.  37- 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 291 
 
 14  hath  gone  a  whoring  with  her  own  In- 
 “  ventions  fF 
 
 And  in  this  light  she  has  been  repre¬ 
 sented  by  St.  John  himself — 
 
 44  And  there  came  one  of  the  seven 
 “  Angels  who  had  the  seven  Vials,  and 
 “  talked  with  me,  saying  unto  me  :  Come 
 “  hither,  and  I  will  shew  thee  the  Judg- 
 “  ment  of  the  great  Harlot ,  that  sittetli 
 “upon  many  Waters:  with  whom  the 
 Kings  of  the  Earth  have  committed  For- 
 44  mention;  and  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
 4<  Earth  have  been  made  drunk  until  the 
 “  wine  of  her  Fornication. 
 
 44  So  he  carried  me  away,  in  the  Spirit, 
 44  into  the  Wilderness to  that  scene  of  De¬ 
 sertion  and  Distress  in  which  this  mystical 
 Harlot  was  then  herself  involved — 44  and  I 
 saw  a  Woman,  sitting  upon  a  scarlet- 
 44  coloured  Beast,  full  of  Names  of  blasphe - 
 “  my,  having  seven  Heads  and  ten  Horns . 
 44  And  the  Woman  was  arrayed  in  purple, 
 44  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold,  and 
 44  precious  stones,  and  pearls,  having  a 
 44  golden  cup  in  her  hand,  full  of  Abo- 
 
 *  Psalm  106,  v.  39. 
 
 U  2 
 
 Ret.  IX.  20,  21. 
 
292 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 u  miiiaiions ,  and  filthiness  of  her  Fornica - 
 “  tion*.” 
 
 ( 
 
 V.  44  JVor  they  repent  of  their  Thefts 
 “  Will  a  Man  rob  (jod  ?  Yet  ye  have 
 “  robbed  me  f” — said  the  Almighty,  by 
 the  mouth  of  his  Prophet  Malachi,  to  the 
 impious  Jews  of  that  time.  And  precisely 
 the  same  thing  may  be  asserted  of  this 
 idolatrous  Church  :  for  she  has  robbed 
 God,  habitually,  and  in  two  most  parti¬ 
 cular  respects,  of  “  the  Honour  due  unto 
 <l  his  Name” — 
 
 First,  by  assuming  to  herself,  in  the  be¬ 
 half  of  her  Bishop,  and  her  General  Coun¬ 
 cils,  the  attribute  of  Infallibility ,  which  is 
 the  peculiar  attribute  of  God  ;  and, — 
 
 Secondly ,  instead  of  worshipping  and 
 serving  Him  alone,  agreeably  to  his  ex¬ 
 press  commandment,  she  has  wilfully  de¬ 
 prived  him  of  a  large  portion  of  that 
 Veneration  and  Devotion,  which  are  ex¬ 
 clusively,  and  most  justly,  his  own  ;  and 
 has  impiously  conveyed  them  to  Objects, 
 that  are  utterly  unworthy  of  them. 
 
 I 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  17,  v.  1—4.  The  Imagery  here  is  almost 
 too  simple  and  obvious  to  require  further  explication. 
 
 *j*  Malachi,  ch.  3,  v.  8. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 293 
 
 Yet  She  has  not  merely  robbed  God, 
 but,  in  one  sense,  and  that  a  very  impor¬ 
 tant  one,  even  Man  likewise :  for  many 
 parts  of  her  ritual  Observances  are  surrep¬ 
 titiously  taken,  without  any  permission 
 from  the  revealed  Will  of  God,  and,  in¬ 
 deed,  in  evident  defiance  of  that  holy 
 Will,  from  the  religious  Rites  and  Ceremo¬ 
 nies  of  Ragan  Rome  *. 
 
 *  To  this  Conformity  between  many  of  the  Rites  of 
 Pagan  and  those  of  Papal  Rome,  Dr.  Middleton  alludes 
 very  forcibly  when  he  says — “  Nothing,  I  found,  con- 
 “  curred  so  much  with  my  original  intention  of  convers- 
 “  ing  with  the  Ancients ;  or  so  much  helped  my 
 “  imagination,  to  fancy  myself  wandering  about  in  Old 
 **  Heathen  Pome ;  as  to  observe  and  attend  to  their  Re- 
 “  ligious  Worship  ;  allzvhose  Ceremonies  appeared  plainly 
 “  to  have  been  eopied  from  the  Rituals  of  primitive  Pa- 
 “  ganism ;  as  if  handed  down  by  an  uninterrupted  suc- 
 “  cession  from  the  Priests  of  Old ,  to  the  Priests  of  New 
 “  Rome;  whilst  each  of  them  readily  explained  and 
 “  called  to  my  mind  some  passage  of  a  Classic  Author , 
 “  where  the  same  Ceremony  was  described  as  transacted 
 u  in  the  same  form  and  manner ,  and  in  the  same  placey 
 11  where  1  now  saw  it  executed  before  my  eyes  :  so  that 
 “  as  oft  as  I  was  present  at  any  religious  exercises  in 
 “  their  Churches ,  it  was  more  natural  to  fancy  myself 
 “  looking  on  at  some  solemn  Act  of  Idolatry  in  Old 
 u  Rome ,  than  assisting  at  a  Worship ,  instituted  on  the 
 
 Rev.  IX.  20,  21. 
 
294 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 Such  a  religious  Community,  then,  as 
 the  Prophet  has  described,  was  the  Church 
 
 11  Principles,  and  formed  upon  thePlan  of  Christianity 
 Letter  from  Rome,  p.  172.  Edit.  5. 
 
 And  again,  in  p.  173 — “  This  similitude  of  the  Popish 
 11  and  Pagan  Religion*  seemed  so  evident  and  clear,  and 
 “  struck  my  imagination  so  forcibly,  that  I  soon  resolv- 
 “  ed  to  give  myself  the  trouble  of  searching  to  the  bot- 
 “  tom;  and  to  explain  and  demonstrate  the  certainty  of 
 “  it,  by  comparing  together  the  principal  and  most  obvious 
 “  parts  of  each  zoorship.” 
 
 The  Instances  he  adduces  of  this  correspondence  arc 
 the  following — 
 
 1.  The  use  of  Incense  in  their  religious  offices ;  p.  174. 
 
 2.  The  use  of  Holy  Water ;  p,  177. 
 
 3.  The  Lamps,  or  Wax  Candles ,  which  are  constantly 
 burning  before  the  Shrines  and  Images  of  the  Saints  ; 
 p.  1 83. 
 
 4-  The  number  of  Ojfeitngs  and  votive  Gifts ,  which  are 
 hanging  all  around  the  Altars ;  p.  186. 
 
 5.  Prostration  before  the  Images  of  the  Saints ;  p.  198. 
 
 6.  The  Conversion  of  Pagan  temples  in  Rome  into 
 Christian  Churches ;  and  of  the  Altars  they  contained, 
 which  were  dedicated  to  the  Gods  and  Demigods , 
 into  Altars  for  the  worship  of  the  Saints  and 
 Martyrs  ;  p.  202. 
 
 7.  The  analogy  in  attributes  and  zoorship  between  many 
 of  the  Divinities  of  Pagan  Rome  and  corresponding 
 Saints  in  Papal  Rome  ;  p.  202 — 233. 
 
 8.  The  Religious  Pomps  and  Processions  ;  p.  233. 
 
 9.  The  Penance  of  the  Flagellantes  ;  p.  236. 
 
 10.  The  pretended  Miracles  and  pioUs  Frauds  of  the 
 Romish  Church  ;  p.  239. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 295 
 
 of  Rome  :  nor  will  the  description  corre¬ 
 spond  with  any  other.  And  such  she  must 
 ever  stand  confessed  to  be — so  long  as  she 
 holds  the  doctrine  of  the  Invocation  of 
 Saints ,  and  the  forgiveness  of  Sins  through 
 their  Merits  and  Intercession  ;  and  enjoins 
 an  idolatrous  prostration  before  their 
 Images  and  Shrines  ; — so  long  as  she  sup¬ 
 ports,  or  even  connives  at,  the  relentless 
 cruelties  of  a  murderous  Inquisition  ; — so 
 long  as  she  makes  Miracles  an  indispen¬ 
 sable  Test  of  Saintship  ;  and  believes  that 
 greatest  of  all  the  Miracles  of  human  im¬ 
 piety  and  absurdity,  the  doctrine  of  Tran - 
 substantiation ; — so  long  as  she  pays  her 
 devotion  to  other  Mediators  beside  Christ, 
 who  is  expressly  declared  to  be  the  one 
 Mediator  between  God  and  Man,  the 
 only  Head  of  the  Church  ; — so  long  as  she 
 maintains,  that  what  she  dignifies  with 
 
 1 1 .  The  Asyla  or  Sanctuaries  afforded  by  the  Churches ; 
 
 p.  264. 
 
 12.  The  various  Orders  of  Ecclesiastics  •  p.  267* 
 
 The  pages  here  marked  are  with  reference  to  those 
 in  the  fifth  Edition  of  the  Work,  where  these  Instances 
 of  Resemblance  are  discussed  at  large. 
 
 Ret.  IX.  20,  21. 
 
296 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 the  name  of  Divine  and  Apostolical  Tradi¬ 
 tions,  but  which  were  in  reality,  in  many 
 instances,  foisted  in  during  the  most  cor¬ 
 rupt  ages  of  the  Church,  are  of  equal  Au¬ 
 thority  with  the  written  Word  of  GOD  *. — * 
 so  long,  in  short,  as  she  retains  any  of 
 those  characteristic  Usages ,  which  she  ma¬ 
 nifestly  assumed,  without  any  acknowledg¬ 
 ment ,  and  without  any  permission  from 
 divine  Revelation,  as  parts  of  her  own 
 System  of  religious  Worship,  from  the  su¬ 
 perstitious  Observances  of  her  Pagan  pre¬ 
 decessors. 
 
 Having  made  this  awful,  yet  most  ne¬ 
 cessary,  Introduction  to  the  future  parts 
 of  his  prophecy,  the  inspired  Writer  pro¬ 
 ceeds  -p— 
 
 ].  “  And  I  saw  another  mighty  Angel 
 u  coming  down  from  the  heaven  ano¬ 
 ther  Minister  of  God,  charged  with  a 
 peculiar  commission,  and  relinquishing  the 
 sphere  in  which  he  had  before  been  mov¬ 
 ing,  for  the  purpose  of  performing  it.  He 
 
 *  Upon  the  Subject  of  these  Traditions,  see  Dr. 
 Marsh’s  “  Comparative  View  of  the  Churches  of  Eng- 
 f<  land  and  Rome;”  Chapters  I,  II,  III,  and  IV ;  but 
 especially  the  last  of  these, 
 f  Rev.  X.  l. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 297 
 
 was  “  clothed  with  a  Cloud  *”  favoured 
 and  protected  by  the  good  opinion,  and 
 good  Wishes,  of  a  whole  People.  “  And 
 “  a  Rainbow  •f*,”  the  pleasing  Emblem  of 
 the  Favour  and  Protection  of  God,  “  was 
 “  over  his  head  he  therefore  stood  sted- 
 fast,  directing  the  eye  of  his  faith  upwards 
 towards  the  Divine  Assurances  of  safety 
 and  success.  “  And  his  Face  was  as  the 
 “  Sun” — the  general  appearance ,  and  tenour 
 of  his  Doctrines,  resembled  that  Divine 
 Source  of  spiritual  Light ,  from  which  they 
 were  evidently  derived  :  “  and  his  Feet 
 “  were  as  Pillars  of  fire” — he  was  supported 
 by  an  ardent  and  invincible  zeal,  by  a 
 conscious  purity  and  integrity  of  inten¬ 
 tion,  and  by  the  peculiar  glory  and  sa¬ 
 credness  of  his  Cause. 
 
 In  order  to  discover  the  Person,  who 
 was  typified  by  this  illustrious  Messenger 
 from  heaven,  we  must  consider,  who  it 
 was  that  appeared  first ,  after  the  destruc¬ 
 tion  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  and  after 
 space  had  been  given  for  repentance  to 
 “  the  rest  of  the  men”  without  effect,  who 
 
 *  See  Note  f,  5,  page  67. 
 
 *j-  Note  *,  page  70. 
 
 R*v.  X.  1. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 2<)8 
 
 was  pre-eminently  qualified  to  undertake, 
 with  success,  the  arduous  and  noble  task 
 of  the  Reformation.  Such  a  man  unques¬ 
 tionably  was  Martin  Luther*.  So  early 
 as  the  year  1517,  sixty-four  years  after  the 
 dissolution  of  the  Empire  in  the  East,  he 
 began  preaching  boldly  against  the  sale 
 and  efficacy  of  Indulgences  ;  and,  acquir¬ 
 ing  strength  and  influence  by  his  progress, 
 he  successively  attacked  one  prop  of  Po¬ 
 pery  after  another,  till  she  trembled  to 
 her  very  basis,  and  seemed  ready  to  fall. 
 Other  distinguished  persons  had,  indeed, 
 appeared  as  Reformers  before  this  time, 
 as  Wald  us  and  his  pious  Associates,  in 
 France,  and  afterwards  in  Lombardy,  and 
 other  Countries,  Wickliffe  and  Oldcastle, 
 
 *  Nothing  can  prove  more  decisively,  that  he  was  an 
 Instrument,  employed  particularly  by  GOD  to  answer 
 this  important  purpose,  than  the  Obscurity,  and  very 
 unpromising  Appearance,  of  his  early  days.  Such  was 
 the  poverty  of  his  Parents,  that  they  could  contribute 
 little  to  his  support,  even  when  at  Schools  and  he  was 
 obliged  at  Magdeburg  (“  mendicato  vivere  pane”)  to 
 subsist  upon  the  (dins  he  obtained  by  begging.  Mel¬ 
 chior  Adam  in  vita  Lutheri.  See  also  some  account  of 
 the  Life  and  Doctrines  of  this  extraordinary  Man  in 
 Du  Pin’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  16.  Book  2.  Sleidani  Com¬ 
 ment.  lib.  1  — 17  ;  and  in  Mosheim’s  History  of  the  Re¬ 
 formation,  in  Vol.  3,  of  his  Ecclesiastical  History. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 299 
 
 iii  England ,  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague, 
 in  Bohemia ;  but  these  were  much  too 
 early  for  the  period  that  is  expressly 
 pointed  out  in  the  Prophecy  ;  nor  were 
 their  labours  crowned  with  any  very  ex¬ 
 tensive  or  durable  success  *.  The  case, 
 however,  was  far  otherwise  with  Luther. 
 
 *  “  About  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth  Cen- 
 “  tury,  the  Roman  Pontiffs  lived  in  the  utmost  tran- 
 “  quillity  ;  nor  had  they,  as  things  appeared  to  be  si- 
 “  tuated,  the  least  reason  to  apprehend  any  opposition 
 “  to  their  pretensions,  or  rebellion  against  their  autho- 
 (l  ritv  ;  since  those  dreadful  commotions,  which  had 
 “  been  excited  in  the  preceding  ages  by  the  Waldenses, 
 “  Albigenses,  and  Beghards,  and  lately  by  the  Bohe- 
 “  mians,  were  utterly  suppressed,  and  had  yielded  to  the 
 “  united  powers  of  counsel  and  the  sword.  Such  of  the 
 “  Waldenses  as  yet  remained,  lived  contented  under 
 c  the  difficulties  of  extreme  poverty  in  the  vallies  of 
 “  Piedmont,  and  proposed  to  themselves  no  higher 
 “  earthly  felicity,  than  that  of  leaving  to  their  descen- 
 “  dants  that  wretched  and  obscure  corner  of  Europe, 
 “  which  separated  the  Alps  from  the  Pyrenean  moun- 
 “  tains  ;  while  the  handful  of  Bohemians,  that  survived 
 t(  the  ruin  of  their  faction,  and  still  persevered  in  their 
 “  opposition  to  the  Roman  yoke,  had  neither  strength 
 11  nor  knowledge  adequate  to  any  new  attempt,  and 
 “  therefore,  instead  of  inspiring  terror,  became  objects 
 “  of  contempt.”  Mosheim’s  Hist,  of  the  Reformation, 
 chap.  1,  in  Vol.  3,  of  his  Eccles.  Hist. 
 
 Rev.  X.  2. 
 
300 
 
 LECTURE  IX. 
 
 2.  “  He  had  in  his  hand  a  little  Book 
 “  opened”* — he  was  employed  to  bring 
 about  anew  Scene  of  DivineDispensation  ; 
 a  Scene,  nevertheless,  the  great  outlines 
 of  which  had  been  for  many  ages  the  sub¬ 
 ject  of  prediction  :  and,  for  this  reason,  the 
 Book  is  said  to  be  opened ,  so  that,  in  process 
 of  time,  as  the  requisite  events  occurred> 
 the  whole  of  its  contents  might  be  clearly 
 perused.  It  is  also  called  “  a  little  Book 
 because  it  contained  what  was  to  happen, 
 during  the  comparatively  short  period, 
 before  the  Mystery  of  GOD,  in  respect 
 to  his  Church,  should  be  completed. 
 
 <c  And  he  set  his  right  foot  upon  the 
 Sea,  and  his  left  foot  upon  the  Earth  dp” 
 
 *  Bi GkxpiStov  dveivyjjctvov. 
 
 T  For  the  symbolical  Import  of  u  the  Sea,”  and  “  the 
 Earth,”  in  this  passage,  see  Note*,  7,  page  75. 
 
 Ae^iog  and  Euuwpof  have  the  same  relative  emble¬ 
 matical  signification  among  the  Greeks,  as  Dexter  and 
 Sinister ,  among  the  Romans ;  the  one  implying  what 
 was  propitious,  successful,  and  happy ;  the  other  the 
 contrary . 
 
 Did  he  not  then  put  his  left  foot  on  the  Earth ,  when 
 he  asserted,  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  was  Antichrist  ; 
 and  when  he  adduced  numerous  arguments  in  proof  of 
 this  point: — u  After  renewing  his  appeal  to  the  Ge- 
 f*  neral  Council,  he  published  remarks  upon  the  bull  of 
 
LECTURE  2s,. 
 
 SOI 
 
 * 
 
 ~ those  eminent  qualities ,  and  the  sacredness 
 of  the  cause ,  which  under  tiie  divine  fa¬ 
 vour,  enabled  him  to  stand ,  made  a  very 
 advantageous.impression  upon  those  Nations 
 
 <c  excommunication/’  which  the  Pope  had  thundered 
 forth  against  him  ;  and  being  now  persuaded,  “  that 
 “  Leo  had  been  guilty  both  of  Impiety  and  Injustice, 
 u  in  his  proceedings  against  him,  he  boldly  declared  the 
 u  Pope  to  be  the  Man  of  Sin ,  or  Antichrist ,  whose  ap- 
 **  pearance  is  foretold  in  the  New  Testament ;  he  de- 
 “  claimed  against  his  tyranny  and  usurpations  with 
 “  greater  violence  than  ever  ;  he  exhorted  all  Christian 
 “  Princes  to  shake  off  such  an  ignominious  yoke;  and 
 “  boasted  of  his  own  happiness,  in  being  marked  out 
 u  as  the  object  of  ecclesiastical  indignation,  because  he 
 “  had  ventured  to  assert  the  Liberty  of  Mankind.” — 
 Robertson’s  Hist,  of  Charles  V.  Vol.  2,  p.128.  Edit.  10. 
 But  when  he  put  his  left  foot  upon  the  Earth ,  it  neces¬ 
 sarily  follows,  that  he  set  his  right foot  upon  the  Sea. 
 
 Was  there  not  a  repetition  of  the  impressions  made 
 by  his  left  foot,  throughout  the  whole  of  his  subsequent 
 conduct  towards  the  Bishop  and  Church  of  Rome? 
 
 In  respect  to  the  Bull  of  Excommunication  above 
 mentioned,  in  particular — “  lie  did  not  confine  his  ex- 
 **  pressions  of  contempt  for  the  Papal  power  to  words 
 “  alone .  Leo  having,  in  execution  of  the  Bull,  ap - 
 “  pointed  Luth  Eli’s  books  to  be  burnt  at  Rome,  he,  by 
 “  way  of  retaliation,  assembled  all  the  professors  and 
 “  students  in  the  University  of  Wittemberg,  and  with 
 “  great  pomp,  in  presence  of  a  vast  multitude  of  spec- 
 ‘f  tutors,  cast  the  volumes  oj  the  Canon  Law,  together 
 
 Rsv.  X.  3. 
 
S02 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 of  the  West,  which  had  ventured  to  pre¬ 
 serve  any  independence  of  the  Roman 
 See  ;  while  they  produced  quite  an  op- 
 posite  effect  upon  those  Countries,  which 
 had  submitted  implicitly  to  its  control. 
 
 3.  “  And  he  cried  with  a  loud  Voice,  as 
 6<  when  a  Lion  roareth.”  Armed  with  an 
 undaunted  bravery,  partly  the  effect  of 
 natural  Constitution,  and  partly  inspired 
 by  Religion,  he  denounced  aloud  the  Er¬ 
 rors  of  the  times ;  and  proclaimed  the 
 necessity  for  an  immediate  Reform. 
 
 “  And  when  he  cried,  the  seven  Thun - 
 “  ders  uttered  their  Voices/’  As  a  cloud  is 
 the  emblem  of  a  people  or  nation  so  a 
 Thunder ,  which  is  the  Sound  arising  from 
 
 “  with  the  Bull  of  Excommunication,  into  the flames ;  and 
 “  HIS  EXAMPLE  WAS  IMITATED  IN  SEVERAL  CITIES 
 “  OF  GERMANY. 
 
 “  The  manner  in  which  he  justified  this  Action  was 
 “  still  more  offensive  than  the  Action  itself.  Having  col- 
 “  lected  from  the  Canon  Law  some  of  the  most  extra-? 
 “  vagant  Propositions,  with  regard  to  the  Plenitude 
 “  and  Omnipotence  of  the  Papal  Power,  as  well  as  the 
 (<  Subordination  of  all  secular  Jurisdiction  to  the  Au- 
 “  thority  of  the  Holy  See,  he  published  these  with  a 
 “  Commentary ;  pointing  out  the  Impiety  of  such  Te- 
 “  nets,  and  their  evident  Tendencv  to  subvert  all  Civil 
 “  Government.” — Ibid. 
 
 t  Note  +,  5,  page  67. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 303 
 
 the  disruption  of  a  Cloud ,  will  well  repre¬ 
 sent  the  voice,  or  public  sense,  of  a  People 
 in  a  state  of  revolution,  whether  that  re¬ 
 volution  i be  of  a  civil  or  ecclesiastical 
 nature.  As  therefore  there  were  seven  of 
 these  thunders,  which  uttered  their  voices  ; 
 so,  emboldened  by  the  firmness,  intrepi¬ 
 dity,  and  success  of  the  symbolical  Angel, 
 who  had  already  set  them  the  example, 
 there  were  also  seven  different  States,  in 
 the  very  heart  of  the  Western  Papal  Em¬ 
 pire,  which  now  began  loudly  to  remon¬ 
 strate  against  the  abominations  of  the 
 church  of  Rome,  and  to  withdraw  them¬ 
 selves,  as  far  as  possible,  from  all  further 
 connexion  with  her*.  These  States  were 
 
 *  Consult  upon  this  Subject  Dr.  Robertson’s  History 
 of  the  Reign  of  Charles  V.  Vol.3.  pages  41 — 58.  Edit. 
 
 10  _ “  The  severity  of  the  Decree,”  made  at  the  Diet 
 
 of  Augsburg,  “  which  was  considered  as  a  prelude  to 
 l<  the  most  violent  persecution,  alarmed  the  Protestants, 
 “  and  convinced  them  that  the  Etnperor  had  resolved 
 
 11  on  their  destruction.  The  dread  of  those  calamities, 
 “  which  were  ready  to  fall  on  the  Church,  oppressed 
 “  the  feeble  spirit  of  Melajscthon  ;  and,  as  if  the 
 u  cause  had  already  been  desperate,  he  gave  himself  up 
 “  to  melancholy  and  lamentation.  B,ut  Luther, 
 “  who,  during  the  meeting  of  the  Diet,  had  eudea- 
 
 Rsr.  X.  3. 
 
304 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 — Saxony,  Hesse,  Brandenburg,  Lunen¬ 
 burg,  Lunenburg  Zell,  Anhalt,  and  Wur- 
 temberg. 
 
 “  voured  to  confirm  and  animate  his  party  by  several 
 “  treatises  which  he  addressed  to  them,  was  not  dis- 
 “  concerted  or  dismayed  at  the  prospect  of  this  new 
 “  danger.  He  comforted  Melancthon  and  his  other 
 “  desponding  disciples ,  and  exhorted  the  Princes  not  to 
 “  abandon  those  truths,  which  they  had  lately  asserted 
 “  with  such  laudable  boldness.  His  exhortations  made 
 u  the  deeper  impression  upon  them,  as  they  were  greatly 
 “  alarmed  at  that  time  by  the  account  of  a  combination, 
 <l  among  the  Popish  princes  of  the  Empire,  for  the 
 cc  maintenance  of  the  established  Religion,  to  which 
 “  Charles  himself  had  acceded.  This  convinced  them, 
 <f  that  it  was  necessary  to  stand  on  their  guard  ;  and 
 “  that  their  own  safety,  as  well  as  the  success  of  their 
 l<  cause,  depended  on  Union.  Filled  with  this  dread  of 
 “  the  adverse  party,  and  with  these  sentiments  of  the 
 “  conduct  proper  for  themselves,  they  assembled  at 
 il  Smalkalde.  There  they  concluded  a  league  of  mu- 
 t(  tual  defence  against  all  aggressors ,  by  which  they 
 “  formed  the  Protestant  States  of  the  Empire  into  one 
 ce  regular  body ;  and,  beginning  already  to.  consider 
 «  themselves  as  such,  they  resolved  to  apply  to  the 
 “  kings  of  France  and  England,  and  to  implore  them 
 “  to  patronize  and  assist  their  new  confederacy.”  Ibid, 
 p.  50.  This  famous  Treaty  was  made  on  the  22d  day  of 
 December,  in  the  year  1530. 
 
 In  the  treat}7  entered  into  with  Charles  V.  the  fol¬ 
 lowing  year,  “  by  their  firmness  in  adhering  to  their 
 “  principles,  by  the  unanimity  with  which  they  urged 
 u  all  their  claims,  and  by  their  dexterity  in  availing 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 305 
 
 4.  ic  And  when  the  seven  Thunders 
 had  uttered  their  voices,  I  was  about  to 
 w  write,”  says  the  Prophet,  “  what  they 
 4i  had  delivered  ;  but  I  heard  a  voice  from 
 the  Heaven  *,  saying  unto  me,  Seal  up  the 
 
 themselves  of  the  Emperor’s  situation,  the  Protest- 
 “  ants  obtained  terms,  which  amouuted  almost  to  a 
 “  toleration  of  their  Religion ;  all  the  concessions  were 
 “  made  by  Charles  ;  and  the  Protestants  of  Germany, 
 “  who  had  hitherto  been  viewed  only  as  a  religious 
 “  Sect ,  come  henceforth  to  be  considered  as  a  political 
 “  Body  of  no  small  consequence,”  Ibid,  page  57. 
 
 Ulric,  Duke  of  Wurtemberg,  established  the  Re¬ 
 formed  Religion,  and  joined  the  Protestant  Confede¬ 
 racy,  in  the  year  1 535  ;  as  soon  as  he  was  restored 
 to  his  hereditary  Dominions;  and  before  the  renewal 
 of  the  Treaty  of  Smalkalde,  in  December  of  the  same 
 year.  Ibid,  page  86. 
 
 *  “  The  Heaven here  spoken  of,  (for  the  face  of 
 the  symbolical  Heaven  is  continually  changing)  is  em¬ 
 blematical  of  that  political  stale  of  Protestant  Alli¬ 
 ance  from  which  the  seven  Thunders  had  proceeded  ; 
 and  therefore  “  a  Voice  from  the  Heaven ”  will  denote 
 the  public  Sentiments  of  that  State ,  as  evidenced  by  its 
 public  Proceedings .  And  these  imperiously  required, 
 that  the  Voices,  which  the  seven  Thunders  tittered, 
 should  not  be  written  as  any  part  of  the  Apocalypse. 
 All  were  unanimons  in  seceding  from  the  Church  of 
 Rome ;  but  little  else  was  then  definitively  settled  either 
 in  principle  or  in  practice ;  nor  was  the  Protestant  cause 
 so  firmly  established,  as  not  to  have  much  to  dread 
 Rev.  X.  4. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 <£  things  which  the  seven  thunders  have 
 “  spoken,  and  write  them  not/’  There 
 might  be  many  things  uttered  (as  without 
 doubt  there  were)  during  the  first  bursting 
 forth  of  these  States  into  Christian  Li¬ 
 berty,  which  were  not  according  to 
 “  Knowledge  there  might  be  many  an¬ 
 ticipations  formed,  from  the  surprising 
 nature  of  the  change  they  were  undergo¬ 
 ing,  which  could  not  be  fully  justified  by 
 the  Events  ;  and  therefore  St.  John  repre¬ 
 sents  himself  as  prohibited  from  relating 
 them.  Christian  charity,  indeed,  forbad 
 this  ;  nor  was  there  to  be  any  thing  ex¬ 
 pressed  in  the  words  of  his  prophecy,  that 
 might  tend  very  greatly  to  discourage 
 them,  in  the  great  and  glorious  enterprise 
 in  which  they  were  engaging.  “  The  little 
 il  Took”  was  to  develop  the  otherwise  in¬ 
 scrutable  scheme  of  divine  Providence  ; 
 and  to  afford  all  the  requisite  satisfaction 
 to  every  inquiring  mind. 
 
 5,  6,  7.  “  And  the  Angel,  whom  I  saw 
 “  standing  upon  theXefl  and  upon  theEarth, 
 
 from  the  tremendous  power,  and  implacable  hatred,  of 
 its  Popish  Adversaries,  as  subsequent  Events  plainly 
 proved. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 S07 
 
 42  lifted  up  his  right  hand  to  the  Heaven, 
 
 s<  and  sware  by  Him  who  liveth  for  ever 
 
 _ 
 
 “  and  ever,  who  created  the  Heaven  and 
 “  the  things  that  are  therein,  and  the  Earth 
 and  the  things  that  are  therein,  and  the 
 “  Sea  and  the  things  that  are  therein,  that 
 “  delay  shall  he  no  longer ;  except  in  the 
 “  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  Angel, 
 61  zvhen  he  shall  he  about  to  sound*  ;  and  the 
 Mystery  of  God  is  to  he  completed ,  as  he 
 “  hath  declared  to  his  servants  the  Pro- 
 “  phets.” 
 
 *  It  is  a  most  remarkable  circumstance,  and  highly 
 illustrative  of  the  import  of  this  passage,  that,  so 
 early  as  the  year  1520,  Luther  began  to  oppose  the 
 Errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  under  a  thorough  per¬ 
 suasion,  that  she  was  no  other  than  u  the  city  of  Ba - 
 “  bylon mentioned  in  the  Apocalypse  ;  and  that  the 
 time  for  the  commencement  of  her  Judgment  was 
 come.  And,  to  enforce  this  Belief  upon  those  who 
 might  embrace  his  Doctrines,  he  the  same  year  pub¬ 
 lished  a  book,  entitled  u  Tub  Captivity  of  Baby¬ 
 lon.”  There  is  a  very  particular  prophetic  allusion 
 made  to  this  circumstance  in  llev.  ch.  14,  v-7,  where 
 the  same  Angel  of  the  Reformation,  standing  forth  as 
 the  Representative  of  the  Church  established  by  him, 
 is  described  as  saying — “  Fear  GOD,  and  give  Glory 
 “  to  Him,  for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come ,”  &c. 
 See  Lecture  XII.  in  that  part  which  treats  of  the  above 
 cited  text. 
 
 Rev.  x.  5,  6,  7. 
 
 X  2 
 
308 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 The  preparations  were  soon  to  be  made 
 for  the  sounding  of  the  seventh  Trumpet; 
 and  it  is 'here  most  solemnly  announced, 
 that  that  train  of  awful  events,  which  shall 
 complete  the  predicted  mysterious  dis¬ 
 pensations  of  God  in  respect  to  his 
 Chui  ch,  shall  be  no  longer  retarded,  than 
 till  the  sounding  of  this  Trumpet. 
 
 Hitherto  the  working  of  the  Mystery  of 
 Iniquity  had  been  predominant ;  but  it  is 
 now  sublimely  proclaimed,  that  her  as¬ 
 cendency  was  nearly  expiring;  and  that 
 ere  long  the  Mystery  of  God,  as  opposed 
 to  this  Mystery  of  Iniquity,  with  which,  in¬ 
 deed,  it  had  been  uniformly  and  contem¬ 
 poraneously  carried  on,  should  also  begin 
 to  receive  its  completion.  The  one  was  to 
 advance,  and  become  conspicuous,  in 
 proportion  as  the  other  declined,  and 
 tended  towards  utter  extinction.  And 
 this  annunciation  is  most  excellently  com¬ 
 pared,  in  the  original  Text,  to  the  “  tell- 
 “  ing  of  glad  tidings*;’  and  is  said  to  have 
 been  the  grateful  Theme  of  many  preced¬ 
 ing  Prophets  ;  and  such  it  certainly  was, 
 even  of  all  those,  who  have  foretold  the 
 
 *  XiV  ’ETHITEAI2E  roi$  secure  SovXoiss  T^S  Upofrjrctis, 
 
V 
 
 LECTURE  X.  309 
 
 glory,  the  happiness,  and  universality  of 
 the  Messiah’s  Kingdom,  in  the  last  days. 
 
 The  reason,  why  such  a  particular  enu¬ 
 meration  of  the  wonderful  works  of  God 
 is  made  by  the  figurative  Angel,  in  this 
 sublime  form  of  asseveration,  is — that  he 
 might  distinguish  the  more  strongly  the 
 contrariety  of  his  principles  to  those  of 
 the  Idolators,  against  whom  he  denounces 
 the  little  delay  there  should  be,  in  the  ex¬ 
 ecution  of  the  divine  judgments  upon 
 them  ;  and  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
 worshipping  Demons  and  Images ,  instead 
 of  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  who,  as  the 
 Creator  of  all  things,  and  the  Being  by 
 whom  all  things  subsist,  was  the  only  pro¬ 
 per  Object  of  religious  Worship. 
 
 8.  And  the  voice,”  says  St.  John, 
 “  which  I  heard  out  of  the  Heaven,  spake 
 “  again  to  me,  and  said — Go,  take  the 
 “  little  Book  that  is  opened  in  the  hand 
 “  of  the  Angel,  who  standeth  upon  the 
 “  Sea,  and  upon  the  Earth.”  The  same 
 Voice ,  or  public  Sense  of  the  political 
 Heaven,  which  had  before  forbidden  the 
 Prophet  to  write  what  the  seven  Thunders 
 had  uttered,  nozv  commanded  him  to  take 
 Ret,  X.  8. 
 
 x  3 
 
310 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 the  Book  from  the  hand  of  the  symbolical 
 Angel.  It  was  to  present  a  new  display 
 of  the  operations  of  divine  Providence, 
 which,  for  the  future  benefit  of  the  Church 
 of  Christ,  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance 
 to  reveal.  He  was  therefore  to  receive  it, 
 and  properly  to  digest  its  contents.  And, 
 in  this  respect,  he  was  to  be  himself,  in 
 some  measure,  a  type  of  the  faithful  Ser¬ 
 vants  of  God,  in  those  times  to  which 
 the  little  Book  relates;  for  they  also  were 
 to  take  the  book  from  the  hand  of  the 
 Angel,  to  make  i>t.  their  own,  and  apply  it 
 to  their  own  comfort  and  edification — in 
 ■other  words;  they  were  joyfully  to  ac¬ 
 quiesce  in  that  surprising  change  of  dis¬ 
 pensation,  which  he  had  been  the  means 
 of  introducing;  and,  under  ail  their  ad¬ 
 versities,  they  were  to  be  consoled  by 
 those  encouraging  assurances  of  the  ulti¬ 
 mate  triumph  of  their  Cause,  which  God 
 had  been  graciously  pleased  to  vouchsafe 
 to  them  by  his  servants,  the  Prophets. 
 This  Book  is  therefore  again  said  to  have 
 been  “  opened before  the}r  received  it,  to 
 signify  to  them  the  certainty,  that  its  con¬ 
 tents  might,  by  a  suitable  degree  of  at¬ 
 tention,  be  clearly  comprehended,  in  pro- 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 311 
 
 portion  as  the  sacred  Symbols  contained 
 within  it  might  be  verified  by  the  Events 
 to  which  they  related. 
 
 9,  10  “  And  I  went  to  the  Angel,” 
 adds  the  Prophet,  “  saying  unto  him, 
 “  Give  me  the  little  Book :  and  he  said 
 “  unto  me.  Take  it,  and  eat  it  up ;  and 
 “  it  shall  make  thy  stomach  hitter ,  but  in 
 “  thy  mouth  it  shall  be  sweet  as  honey . 
 “  And  I  took  the  little  book  from  the  hand 
 “  of  the  Angel,  and  ate  it  up  ;  and  it 
 “  was  in  my  mouth  sweet  as  honey ;  but 
 c<  when  I  had  eaten  it,  my  stomach  was 
 “  imbitteredP 
 
 However  palatable ,  and  even  delightful , 
 the  change,  which  was  taking  place  under 
 this  dispensation,  may  really  have  been 
 in  the  first  instance — inasmuch  as  it  was 
 the  commencement  of  a  conversion  from 
 Darkness  to  Light ;  from  Bigotry  and 
 Superstition ,  to  the  Liberality  of  the  Gos¬ 
 pel ,  and  the  right  Worship  and  Service  of 
 God — yet  there  were  many  things  that 
 soon  occurred,  to  render  it  bitter ,  and  dif¬ 
 ficult  of  digestion.  Such  were  the  sangui¬ 
 nary  and  ferocious  Wars,  carried  on,  under 
 
512 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 the  immediate  influence  of  the  Papal  See, 
 by  Charles  V.  against  the  Protestant  States 
 of  Germany,  and  by  Philip  II.  against 
 his  Protestant  subjects  in  the  Netherlands; 
 such  were  the  unremitted  Persecutions, 
 which,  for  a  long  time,  continued  to  at¬ 
 tend  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  * ; 
 
 *  li  It.  is,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  “  a  melancholy  truth,. 
 “  which  obtrudes  itself  on  the  reluctant  mind  ;  that 
 “  even  admitting,  without  hesitation  or  inquiry,  all 
 il  that'  history  has  recorded,  or  devotion  has  feigned, 
 “  on  the  subject  of  Martyrdoms,  it  must  still  be  ac- 
 i(  knowledged,  that  the  Christians,  in  the  course  of 
 “  their  intestine  dissentions,  have  indicted  far  greater 
 u  seventies  on  each  other,  than  they  had  experi- 
 u  enced  from  the  zeal  of  Infidels.  During:  the  as;es 
 “  of  ignorance,  which  followed  the  subversion  of  the 
 iC  Roman  Empire  in  the  West,  the  Bishops  of  the  Im- 
 u  penal  City  extended  their  dominion  over  the  laity, 
 “  as  well  as  clergy,  of  the  Latin  Church.  The  fabric  of 
 “  superstition  which  they  had  erected,  and  which 
 tc  might  long  have  defied  the  feeble  efforts  of  reason, 
 “  was  at  length  assaulted  by  a  crowd  of  daring  fanatics, 
 <c  who,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  sixteenth  century,  as* 
 <f  sumed  the  popular  character  of  Reformers.  The 
 “  Church  of  Rome  defended  by  violence  the  empire 
 “  she  had  gained  by  fraud;  and  the  system  of  peace 
 ii  and  benevolence  was  soon  disgraced  by  proscriptions, 
 u  wars, massacres,  and  the  institution  of  the  Holy  Office. 
 u  And  as  the  Reformers  were  animated  by  the  love  of 
 
 civil,  as  well  as  religious  freedom,  the  Catholic 
 “  princes  connected  their  own  interest  with  that  of  the 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 313 
 
 such  also  were  the  Disagreements,  which 
 
 O  w 
 
 gradually  arose  between  different  descrip¬ 
 tions  of  Protestants,  on  points  of  Doctrine 
 and  rites  of  W  orship,  and  the  violent  Ani- 
 
 £c  clergy,  and  enforced  by  fire  and  the  sword  the  ter- 
 “  rors  of  spiritual  censures.  In  the  Netherlands  alone, 
 “  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  of  the  subjects  of 
 “  Charles  V.  are  said  to  have  suffered  by  the  hand  of 
 “  the  executioner  ;  and  this  extraordinary  number  is 
 u  attested  b}'  Grotius,  a  man  of  genius  and  learning, 
 “  who  preserved  his  moderation  amidst  the  fury  of 
 “  contending  sects.,  and  who  composed  the  annals  of  his 
 “  own  age  and  country,  at  a  time  when  the  invention 
 “  of  printing  had  facilitated  the  means  of  intelligence, 
 “  and  increased  the  danger  of  detection.”  Decline  and 
 Fail,  Vol.  2,  chap.  16,  p,  495. 
 
 Making  allowance  for  those  unhappy  prejudices 
 against  Christianity,  under  the  influence  of  which  this 
 passage  was  evidently  indited  :  reducing  to  its  proper 
 level  that  devotion  which  could  feign  instances  of 
 Martyrdom  ;  and  avoiding  that  confusion,  by  which  all 
 the  Reformers  from  the  twelfth  to  the  sixteenth  cen¬ 
 tury  are  purposely  included  under  the  general  name  of 
 u  Fanatics;” — there  is  much  truth  in  the  melancholy 
 description  that  is  here  given,  of  the  assumptions,  the 
 tyranny,  the  cruel  and  persecuting  spirit,  of  the  Church 
 of  Rome. 
 
 13ut  see  Bishop  Newton’s  very  striking  Remarks 
 upon  the  same  subject,  in  his  Analysis  of  the  Apoca¬ 
 lypse,  Dissertation  XXIV.  chap.  17,  v.  3 — 7- 
 
 Ret.  X.  9,  10. 
 
314 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 mosities  that  at  length  grew  out  of  these 
 Differences  in  Opinion. 
 
 11.  To  support  therefore  the  spirits  and 
 zeal  of  those  who  should  embrace  the 
 Reformed  Religion,  under  all  these  dis¬ 
 tresses  and  persecutions,  St.  John  de¬ 
 scribes  himself  as  receiving  the  same  sort 
 of  animating  consolation,  as  that  which 
 supported  the  mind  of  St.  Paul  under 
 the  heaviest  of  his  afflictions.  Standing 
 by  him  by  night,  the  Lord  said  to  that 
 Apostle,  “  Be  of  good  courage,  Paul;  for 
 “  as  thou  hast  testified  the  things  con- 
 “  cerning  me  in  Jerusalem,  so  must  thou 
 “  also  bear  witness  at  Rome  */'  In  like 
 manner  this  superlative  Prophet,  still 
 standing  forth  as  the  emblematical  Re¬ 
 presentative  of  these  faithful  servants  of 
 Christ,  is  comforted  with  the  assurance, 
 that,  however  they  might  be  occasionally 
 oppressed,  yet  their  Doctrines  would  gra¬ 
 dually  spread,  till  they  had  acquired  a 
 most  extensive  Diffusion.  Applying,  as 
 it  were,  to  that  memorable  prediction 
 of  Daniel,  that  “  the  Judgment  shall  sit/’ 
 
 #  Acts,  ch.  23,  v.  1 1. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 315 
 
 to  take  away  the  Dominion  of  the  Enemy 
 with  whom  they  had  to  contend,  to  con- 
 “  sume  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  End  *; 
 and  well  knowing  that  they  could  only 
 “  overcome  him  by  the  Blood  of  the 
 “  Lamb,  and  by  the  Word  of  their  Tes - 
 “  timoiiy f,”  the  Angel  of  the  Reformation 
 “  said,  “  Thou  must  prophesy  again  be- 
 “  fore  many  people,  and  nations,  and 
 “  tongues  and  Kings/’  And  this  is  a 
 prophecy,  of  which  we  may  trace  many 
 instances  of  the  fulfilment  in  times  past, 
 and  perceive  the  growing  accomplishment 
 very  clearly  in  our  own  time. 
 
 1.  The  first,  and  most  leading  circum¬ 
 stance  to  be  noticed,  in  the  history  of  this 
 new  scene  of  Dispensation  symbolized 
 by  the  little  Book,  is — the  peculiar  Mean  by 
 which  it  was  brought  to  pass.  And  this, 
 as  will  appear  from  the  very  appropriate 
 Emblems  in  which  it  is  described,  was  no 
 other  than  —  “  The  Word  of  GOD” 
 
 “  And  there  was  given  me/’  says  St. 
 John,  as  the  Representative  of  those  to 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7,  v.  13,  14,  18 — 22,  25,  26,  compared 
 with  Rev.  ch.  14,  v.  7« 
 
 +  Rev.  ch  12,  v.  11. 
 
 Rev.  X.  1 1.  and  XI.  1 
 
316 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 whom  this  inestimable  blessing  should  be 
 
 vouchsafed,  “  a  Reed  like  unto  a  Rod”  or 
 
 Rule  for  the  purpose  of  measuring  ;  “  and 
 
 4t  the  Angel  stood,  saying  Rise ,  and 
 
 “  measure  the  Temple  of  GOD ,  and  the  Al- 
 
 i(  tar ,  and  them  that  worship  therein.”  The 
 
 use  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  had 
 
 been  denied  to,  and  shut  out  from,  the 
 
 people  for  so  many  Ages,  is  now  given  to 
 
 those  who  are  willing  and  bold  enough 
 
 ©  © 
 
 *  There  is  here  a  remarkable  difference  between  the 
 readings  in  the  Wetstein  and  Griesbach’s  Editions  ; 
 both  however  give  a  clear  sense  to  the  same  effect ,  al¬ 
 though  I  have  adhered  to  the  former  of  them,  as  being 
 most  agreeable  to  our  authorized  version,  and  to  the 
 particulars  of  the  history  predicted.  The  former  has  it 
 thus-— K«{  sJefo  pot  tazhapos  opotc$  faC&a,  nal  ' o  AyytXos 
 ttrvKEi  Keyur,  8tc. 
 
 The  latter  Edition  has  these  words — K at  ’eJoflu  pot 
 xahxpos  bpoto;  fafidu,  teyuv,  &c.  i(  And  there  was  given 
 “  to  me  a  Reed  like  unto  a  Rod,  saying Sfc.  Here 
 the  Reed,  or  measuring  Rod ,  itself ,  is  described  as 
 pointing  out  its  own  use;  and  giving  the  command¬ 
 ment  to  the  people  of  GOD,  under  the  type  of  the  Pro¬ 
 phet,  to  “  arise  and  measure  the  Temple,”  &c.  But 
 this  Supreme  Rule  of  Life  and  Manners  being  literally 
 the  Word  of  GOD ,  it  would  make  little  difference, 
 wrhether  its  sacred  Doctrines  and  Precepts  were  received 
 immediately  from  that  Divine  Revelation  itself ,  by  those 
 who  were  able  to  consult  it ;  or  as  faithfully  transmitted 
 through  the  instrumentality  of  the  symbolical  Angel 
 who  expounded  and  translated  it. 
 
LECTURE  X, 
 
 317 
 
 to  peruse  them;  and  given,  moreover, 
 through  the  hands  of  the  same  illustrious 
 Angel,  of  whom  we  have  been  speaking. 
 So  little  had  been  generally  known  of 
 their  sacred  contents,  and  so  strictly  had 
 they  been  guarded,  before  this  time,  that 
 Luther  himself  is  said  to  have  never  seen 
 the  Latin  Version  of  them,  till  he  had  at¬ 
 tained  his  twenty-third  year*.  And  when 
 he  afterwards  came  to  an  open  rupture 
 with  the  Roman  See,  so  fully  impressed 
 was  he  with  their  indispensable  import¬ 
 ance  towards  furnishing  the  foundation 
 for  any  Reform  in  Religion,  that  he  devot¬ 
 ed  much  of  his  time,  during  eleven  years, 
 to  making  a  Translation  of  them — of  the 
 Old  Testament  from  the  Hebrew,  and  of 
 the  New  Testament  from  the  Greek.  And 
 the  publishing  of  this  Translation,  in 
 several  succeeding  editions,  contributed 
 very  essentially  to  disabuse  the  people  of 
 Germany,  and  to  promote  the  progress  of 
 the  Reformation.  Such  was  the  example  ! 
 But  it  was  soon  after  followed  by  several 
 
 *  In  the  year  1506,  when  he  was  passing  the  year  of 
 his  noviciate. 
 
 Rev.  XI.  1. 
 
318 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 of  the  Nations  of  Europe  ;  and  thus,  corp# 
 paratively  speaking,  “  the  Word  of  the 
 “  Lord  had  free  course,  and  was  glori- 
 “  tied  This  was  the  Rod ,  the  only 
 
 Rule,  by  which  they  were  to  ascertain 
 those  principles ,  the  profession  of  which 
 should  constitute  the  true  Church  of  God  ; 
 by  which  they  were  to  regulate  every 
 thing  relative  to  the  public  Services  that 
 were  to  be  employed  in  his  worship,  and 
 to  discriminate  those  who  were  his  true 
 Worshippers  from  those  who  were  not. 
 
 2.  They  had  now  therefore  a  Rule  of 
 Faith  and  Fractice  ;  and,  that  they  might 
 be  induced  to  apply  it  more  particularly 
 to  themselves,  they  were  symbolically 
 commanded  to  apply  it  to  nothing,  which 
 could  not  be  very  correctly  measured  by 
 it.  Whatever  was  founded  upon  Divine 
 Revelation  might  evidently  be  measured 
 by  it.  The  vain  Forgeries  of  Tradition, 
 the  gross  Superstitions  of  Gentile  Worship, 
 the  still  grosser  Impieties  of  Romish  Ido¬ 
 latry,  were  utterly  incompatible  with  such 
 a  Rule ;  nor  was  it  to  be  “  wrested,”  to 
 correspond  with  their  multifarious  and 
 
 *  2  Thess.  ch.  3.  v,  1. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 319 
 
 irregular  forms.  For  this  reason,  St.  John 
 was  enjoined  “  to  reject  ”  or  leave  out ,  “  the 
 “  Court  that  is  on  the  outside  of  the  Tem- 
 “  pie,”  and  “  not  to  measure  it;  because  it 
 u  is  given  unto  the  Gentiles ” — to  those  who 
 had  confounded  the  worship  of  the  true 
 God  with  that  of  Idols. 
 
 It  is  further  predicted,  that  “  they  shall 
 “  tread  the  Holy  City  forty  and  two 
 “  Months ”  This  Space  on  the  outside  of 
 the  Temple,  or  those  parts  of  Europe 
 which  are  under  the  spiritual  Dominion 
 of  Papal  Rome,  is  called  “  the  Holy  Cityf 
 because  it  was  once  inhabited  by  those, 
 who  in  many  instances  had  gratefully  re¬ 
 ceived  the  genuine  Gospel  of  Christ ;  and 
 it  is  still  in  the  possession  of  nations, 
 which  externally  profess  the  same  holy 
 System  * **.  The  sincerely  pious ,  who  now 
 
 *  It  may  therefore  be  said  to  be  holy ,  in  the  same 
 point  of  view  as  the  Censers  of  those,  who  were  con¬ 
 sumed  for  offering  incense  with  unhallowed  hands, 
 were  also  holy — “  The  Censers  of  these  sinners  against 
 
 **  their  own  Souls,  let  them  make  them  broad  [dates  for 
 “  a  covering  of  the  Altar;  for  they  offered  them  lejore 
 “Jehovah,  therefore  they  are  hallowed .”  Perhaps 
 there  may  be,  indeed,  some  further  degree  of  Analogy 
 in  this  Instance:  for  God,  when  he  gave  this  charge 
 Rev.  XI.  2. 
 
320 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 are,  or  at  any  time  have  been,  the  Sub¬ 
 jects  of  this  Tyranny,  are  denominated 
 bv  Daniel  6i  the  Saints  of  The  Most  High” 
 And  this  Prophet  has  foretold  expressly^ 
 that  these  holy  people  were  to  be  given 
 into  the  hands  of  the  tittle  Horn  of  the 
 fourth  Beast,  “  until  a  time ,  and  times ,  and 
 “  the  dividing  of  time .”  The  Gentiles , 
 
 to  Moses,  added — “  and  they  shall  be  a  sign  to  the  Chil- 
 “  dren  of  Israel So,  when  those  forty  and  two  Months 
 shall  have  elapsed,  daring  which  the  Idoiators  of  the 
 Romish  Church  shall  have  trodden  the  holy  City,  the 
 series  of  awful  Events,  which  will  then  have  elfected 
 the  final  Destruction  of  that  Church  (which,  indeed,  has 
 so  often  burned  Incense  with  unhallowed  fres)  will  cause 
 the  very  Hand  of  her  J or mer  Abominations  to  be  an  ever¬ 
 lasting  memorial  of  the  Judgments  executed  upon  her. 
 “  The  Smoke  of  her  torment,”  worshipping,  as  she 
 does,  the.  Beast  and  his  Image ,  “  will  ascend  up  for  ever 
 “  and  ever.”  And  as  “  there  came  out  a  jire  from  J  e- 
 “  hovah,  and  consumed  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  men 
 “  that  burned  Incense,-”  so,  it  is  said,  “  She  shall  be 
 “  utterly  burned  with  fire ;  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God 
 “  that  judgeth  her.”  The  first  of  these  Examples  of 
 Divine  Vengeance  appears  to  bear  some  typical  refe¬ 
 rence  to  the  other;  which  is  yet  future;  and  which, 
 judging  from  the  import  of  the  symbolical  language 
 employed,  will  be  only  figuratively ,  and  not  literally  ful¬ 
 filled.  Compare  Numb.  ch.  16.  v.  35 — 40,  with  Rev, 
 ch.  18.  v.  8 — 19,  and  ch.  14.  v.8  — 11.  See  also  Lecture 
 XII.  where  the  last  of  these  texts  is  particularly 
 explained. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 321 
 
 therefore,  who  shall  tread  the  holy  City  *, 
 are  identified  with  the  followers  of  the  little 
 Horn ;  and  the  period  of  “  forty  and  two 
 “  Months ,”  with  that  of  “  a  time ,  and 
 “  times ,  and  the  dividing  of  time!*  The 
 Commencement,  therefore,  of  this  system 
 of  Idolatry  and  Oppression,  must  be  dated 
 from  the  time,  when  “  the  Saints  of  the 
 “  Most  High”  were  given  “  into  the  hand 
 of  the  little  Horn that  is,  from  the 
 year  606,  when  the  Bishop  of  Rome  ob¬ 
 tained  the  title,  and  plenary  power,  of 
 Universal  Bishop,  from  Phocas  the  Usur¬ 
 per  of  the  Constantinopolitan  throne -f. 
 
 *  That  part  of  the  holy  City,  which  lay  in  the  East , 
 is  here  almost  unnoticed  ;  because  it  partook  not  of  the 
 Reformation  that  is  here  described. 
 
 T  Mr.  Faber,  in  his  able  and  ingenious  Work  on  the 
 Prophecies,  “  relative  to  the  Great  Period  of  1260 
 “  years,”  appears  to  have  very  satisfactorily  determined 
 the  time,  for  the  commencement  of  this  period,  to  be 
 the  year  606.  See  particularly  Chap.  1,  of  that  Work, 
 1806.  Dr.  Prideaux,  it  must  be  observed,  at  an  early 
 period  of  the  last  Century,  fixed  the  same  date  for  the 
 same  Event,  without  any  direct  reference  to  the  Pro¬ 
 phecies  whatever.  He  merely  remarks  it  as  a  most 
 wonderful  coincidence,  that  Mahomet  in  the  East ,  and 
 the  Bishop  of  Rome  in  the  West,  should  have  both  com¬ 
 menced  their  career  of  Imposture  in  the  same  year.  See 
 this  remarkable  passage  already  cited  in  Note  -L  p.  225, 
 
 Rev.  XI.  2, 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 Y 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 322 
 
 3.  But  during  this  whole  period,  and 
 even  in  the  worst  of  times,  God  would 
 not  “  leave  himself  without  witness The 
 Holy  Scriptures  should  be,  in  a  most  won¬ 
 derful  manner,  preserved  in  their  purity  ; 
 although  comparatively  in  the  hands  of  a 
 very  few ;  and  disguised  frequently  be¬ 
 neath  the  base  attire  of  erroneous  Glosses, 
 and  wilful  Misrepresentation.  There  were 
 also  some ,  in  every  age  during  this  period 
 of  Darkness,  who  might  still  be  said  to 
 constitute  the  true  Church  of  Christ ;  and 
 who  should  frame  their  lives  according  to 
 this  sacred  Standard ,  as  far  as  it  was  known 
 and  understood  by  them.  It  is  therefore 
 said,  by  the  figurative  Angel,  speaking,  as 
 it  were,  in  the  Name  of  GOD,  the  know¬ 
 ledge  of  whose  Word  he  had  been  the 
 signal  means  of  extensively  diffusing,  and 
 in  manifest  allusion  also  to  the  Prophecy 
 of  Daniel  above  cited — “  I  will  give  to  my 
 “  two  Witnesses,  and  they  shall  prophe- 
 “  cy,  clothed  in  sack-cloth,  a  thousand  two 
 “  hundred  and  threescore  days that  is, 
 through  exactly  the  same  duration  as  the 
 preceding. 
 
 But  what  are  these  two  Jf  itnesses  for 
 God  ?  “  They  are  the  two  Olive-trees , 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 323 
 
 and  the  two  Candlesticks ,  which  are  stand- 
 “  ing  before  the  God  of  the  Earth  ” 
 
 I.  The  Olive-tree ,  from  whose  fruit  the 
 Oil  was  obtained  for  the  feeding  of  the 
 sacred  Lamps,  is  symbolical  of  that  divine 
 Mean  of  Illumination ,  from  which  (under 
 the  Influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  through 
 whose  Inspiration  it  was  vouchsafed)  that 
 Light  of  Truth  is  derived,  by  which  the 
 Christian  Church  is  governed,  and  pre¬ 
 served  from  Sin  and  Error — even  “  the 
 “  Word  of  GOD.” 
 
 The  Holy  Spirit,  has  been  already  *  de¬ 
 scribed*  as  diffusing  his  illuminating  and 
 purifying  Influences,  under  the  Emblem 
 of  “  seven  Lamps  of  Fire  burning  before  the 
 “  Throne  and  an  allusion  is  here  tacitly 
 made  to  the  same  emblematical  Represen¬ 
 tation.  For,  till  a  portion  of  this  sacred 
 Fire  is  applied,  there  cannot  possibly  be 
 any  divine  intellectual  Light ,  nor  any 
 seraphic  ardour  of  Zeal  and  Devotion. 
 
 The  Olive-trees  are  said  to  be  two,  in  re¬ 
 ference  to  the  two  parts  of  which  the  holy 
 Scriptures  are  composed— the  Old  and  New 
 
 *  See  page  74t 
 Y  2 
 
 Ret.  XI.  3, 
 
324 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 Testaments — both,  nevertheless,  conjointly 
 constituting  the  Revealed  Word  of  GOD. 
 
 Such  is  one  of  the  Witnesses  here  de¬ 
 scribed. 
 
 II.  The  other  is  the  two  Lamp-hearers ,  or 
 Candlesticks.  A  Candlestick  is  emblema¬ 
 tical  of  a  Church  *.  This  appears  from 
 the  interpretation,  which  the  illustrious 
 Head  of  the  Church  himself  gave  to  St. 
 John  of  this  very  type:  and  it  is  unques¬ 
 tionably  the  most  appropriate  that  could 
 have  been  devised,  the  Church  being  that 
 which  supports  and  maintains  the  Light  of 
 the  Gospel. 
 
 The  two  Candlesticks  are  therefore  de¬ 
 signed  to  represent  the  true  Church  of 
 Christ,  considered  as  resolved  into  two 
 parts,  to  correspond  with  the  former  divi¬ 
 sion  of  the  Empire — the  one  in  the  Easty 
 the  other  in  the  West.  These  two  parts, 
 however,  become  one  spiritual  community, 
 as  constituting  the  Visible  Church  J*  upon 
 earth  ;  as  maintaining  in  some  degree  of 
 purity  the  doctrines  and  precepts,  con¬ 
 tained  in  those  divine  Oracles  that  had 
 once  been  delivered  to  them  ;  as  “  endea- 
 
 #  Rev.  ch.  1 .  v.  20. 
 t  See  Article  of  Religion  XIX. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 32i 
 
 u  vouring  to  keep  the  Unity  of  the  Spirit 
 u  in  the  bond  of  peace  ;  as  having  one 
 44  body,  and  one  spirit,  even  as  they  are 
 44  called  in  o?ie  hope  of  their  calling— one 
 “  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God 
 “  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and 
 “  through  all,  and  in  them  all*.” 
 
 These  two ,  then,  appear  to  be  the  tzvo 
 Witnesses  for  God  ;  namely,  His  holy  Word ; 
 and  the  Church  of  Christ  adopting  that 
 Word ,  as  far  as  possible,  for  the  Rule  of  its 
 Faith  and  Pr  act  ice. 
 
 The  Prophet  having  introduced  these 
 two  Witnesses  for  God,  and  stated  the 
 exact  Period  of  their  prophecy  under  this 
 distressful  guise,  proceeds  now  to  state 
 some  other  particulars,  by  which  they 
 might  be  further  Jtnown. 
 
 4.  a  These  are  the  two  Olive-trees from 
 which  might  have  been  produced  the 
 sacred  Oil  for  the  supply  of  the  Lamps  of 
 the  Sanctuary ;  “  and  the  two  Lamp - 
 hearers ,”  which  might  have  supported 
 those  Lights  in  proper  elevation  and  $u- 
 thority,  had  they  been  permitted.  But 
 44  they  stood  before  the  God  of  the  Earth 
 
 #  Eph.  ch.  4,  v.  3—6. 
 
 Y  3 
 
 Rev.  XI.  4. 
 
326 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 in  the  way  of  him ,  <e  who  opposeth,  and 
 £*  exalteth  himself  above,  all  that  is  called 
 “  God,  or  that  is  worshipped  ;  so  that  he, 
 “  as  God  *,  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God, 
 
 *  The  Earth  being  symbolical  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
 “  theGodofthe  Earth”  must  be  some  Personage, 
 who  is  admitted  to  divine  honours,  within  the  precincts  of 
 that  Earth.  And  who  that  is  we  learn  most  clearly  from 
 the  following  facts — 
 
 In  the  Roman  Canon  Law  it  is  urged,  that  the  Pope, 
 as  being  called  Goa,  cannot  be  judged  by  Man. 
 
 In  the  sacred  Ceremonies,  his  seat  is  called  the  Seat 
 of  God. 
 
 Agreeably  to  this,  the  last  Council  of  La  ter  an  says  — 
 he  is  to  be  by  every  one  roorshipped.  .And,  accordingly, 
 the  Pope  is  no  sooner  elected,  than  he  is  clothed  in  the 
 Pontifical  Habits,  crowned,  and  placed  upon  an  Altar , 
 and  the  Cardinals  come  there,  and  kiss  his  hands  and 
 feet;  and  this  Ceremony  is  called  Adoration. 
 
 In  the  Canon  Law  the  Pope  is  frequently  styled 
 the  Husband  of  the  Church,  which  Bellarmine  further 
 explains  by  saying — ctiam  Christo  secluso — even  exclu-r 
 sively  of  Christ. 
 
 In  the  Council  of  Lateran,  held  in  the  pontificate  of 
 Leo  X.  that  Pope  was  called,  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of 
 Judah,  the  Root  of  David ,  the  Saviour  of  Sion. 
 
 And  the  Canon  Law  affirms,  that  to  violate  the  Canons 
 of  the  Pope  is  to  blaspheme  against  The  Holy  Ghost. 
 
 See  Mr  Daubaz’s  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse, 
 p.  414,  &c.  Edit,  1?30,  where  these  instances  of  blas¬ 
 phemous  assumption,  and  more  to  the  same  effect,  may 
 be  seen,  together  with  the  authorities  on  which  they  are 
 founded. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 S2? 
 
 shewing  himself  that  he  is  God  And 
 therefore  the  two  Witnesses  were  discard¬ 
 ed,  and  compelled  to  prophecy  in  sack¬ 
 cloth  -f. 
 
 See  also  a  much  more  extensive  and  able  elucidation 
 of  this  most  important  Subject,  in  Dr.  Marsh’s  “  Com - 
 (l  parative  Viezo  of  the  Churches  of  England  and  Rome,’’ 
 Chapters  VIII.  and  IX.-— This,  it  must  be  repeated,  is  a 
 Work,  which  cannot  be  too  strongly  recommended  to 
 the  attention  of  the  Members  of  our  National  Church. 
 The  various  and  well-arranged  Information  it  contains 
 is  peculiarly  seasonable,  and  may  be  peculiarly  salutary 
 at  the  present  time, 
 
 #  2  Thess.  ch.  2,  v.  3 — 12.  See  the  whole  passage* 
 with  Bishop  Newton’s  admirable  paraphrase  upon  it ; 
 in  his  twenty-second  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies. 
 
 f  There  is  so  much  valuable  Information  upon  this 
 Subject,  collected  and  arranged  with  so  much  ability, 
 by  Bishop  Newton,  in  his  Analysis  of  this  part  of  the 
 Apocalypse,  that  I  would  recommend  it,  by  all  means, 
 to  the  attention  of  the  Reader.  His  Lordship  has 
 proved  most  clearly,  that  in  every  age,  (commencing 
 with  the  eighth  Century  and  terminating  his  account 
 with  the  sixteenth)  there  have  been  many  eminent 
 instances  of  u  the  prophesying  of  the  Witnesses 
 though,  from  the  peculiar  hardship  of  their  case,  only 
 as  it  w'ere  <f  in  sack-cloth.,>  He  justly  argues,  that  “  the 
 “  truth  of  the  fact  will  best  appear  by  an  historical 
 “  deduction  ;  and  if  it  can  be  proved,  that  there  have 
 u  constantly  been  such  Witnesses  from  the  seventh 
 «  Century  down  to  the  Reformation,  during  the  most 
 
 Ret.  XI.  4. 
 
 Y  4- 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 328 
 
 5.  Notwithstanding  these  disadvan¬ 
 tages,  however,  “  if  any  one  shall  wish  to 
 “  injure  them,”  and,  in  consequence  of 
 that  wish, shall  attempt  it, “Fire  proceedeth 
 “  out  of  their  mouth,  and  devoureth  the  r 
 “  enemies.”  The  two  Witnesses  have  but 
 one  Mouth  ;  and  the  denunciations  of  di¬ 
 vine  Wrath  are  uttered  by  it,  “  and  if  any 
 “  one  shall”  persist  in  his  “  wish  to  injure 
 c<  them,  thus ,”  according  to  these  denun¬ 
 ciations,  “  must  he  be  slain,”  or  perish. 
 In  this  case,  the  Light  of  God's  holy  Word, 
 which  might  have  animated  and  directed 
 them,  will  be  converted,  as  it  were,  into  a 
 Fire  to  consume  them  ;  and  the  Example  of 
 his  Church,  which  might  have  convinced 
 them  of  the  excellence  and  the  inestimable 
 value  of  Piety  and  Virtue,  will  rise  up 
 in  judgment  against  them  and  condemn 
 them  ;  “  for  the  path  of  the  Just  is  as  a 
 “  shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and 
 “  more  unto  the  perfect  day  *.” 
 
 6.  And,  as  they  have  power,  in  one 
 
 “flourishing  period  of  Popery ,  it  may  be  presumed, 
 u  there  can  be  little  doubt  about  the  times  preceding 
 u  and  following.”  Dissertation  IV.  on  the  Prophecies, 
 Part  I.  on  Rev.  ch.  1 1.  v.  3. 
 
 #  Prov.  ch.  4,  v.  18. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 3£9 
 
 sense,  over  Fire ;  so  also  have  they  over 
 Water.  “  These  have  power  to  shut  the 
 “  Heaven,  that  it  rain  not  in  the  days  of 
 “  their  Prophecy/’  Rain ,  coming  from 
 Heaven,  and  which  is  a  most  beautiful 
 Emblem  of  the  universal  Beneficence  and 
 Mercy  of  God,  is  here  employed  to  de¬ 
 note  Generosity,  Charity,  or  Liberality,  in 
 the  Ruling  Powers  of  a  State — such  as 
 shall  make  the  Subjects  of  that  State 
 wealthy  and  happy.  When,  therefore,  it  is 
 said,  that  they  “  have  power  to  shut  up 
 “  the”  symbolical  “  Heaven,  that  it  rain 
 “  not”  during  the  days  that  they  are  thus 
 compelled  to  prophecy  in  sack-cloth,  the 
 obvious  meaning  is, — that  the  neglect, 
 with  which  they  are  treated,  shall  be  the 
 means  of  stopping  all  the  effusions  of  Be¬ 
 nevolence  and  Mercy  ;  and  of  introducing 
 a  system  of  Oppression,  Bigotry,  and  Su¬ 
 perstition,  in  a  high  degree  offensive  to 
 God,  disgraceful  to  the  governing  Powers, 
 and  injurious  to  their  Subjects. 
 
 In  the  same  sense  also,  “  they  have 
 “  power  over  the  Waters ,  to  turn  them  to 
 “  Blood  ”  Waters  are  emblematical  of 
 
 Riiv.  XI.  b,  6. 
 
 9  i 
 
330 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 Peoples  and  Nations*.  And  the  various 
 sanguinary  Wars ,  that  have  been  excited 
 at  the  instance  of  a  blind  and  cruel 
 Superstition,  are  evident  proofs,  in  this 
 respect,  of  the  power  of  the  Witnesses 
 prophecy ing  in  sack-cloth. 
 
 Their  power  likewise  extends  to  “  the 
 “  smiting  of  the  Earth,”  or  Papal  Roman 
 Empire,  “  with  every  Plague,  as  often  as 
 “  they  will for  the  only  Will  which  they 
 express  is  the  Will  of  God, 
 
 7.  “  And  when  they  shall  be  about  to 
 “finish  their  Testimony  •f‘”'^*some  time 
 before  its  completion,  but  while  things  are 
 beginning  to  be  in  a  state  of  preparation 
 for  it— “  The  wild  Beast,  that  ascendeth 
 “  out  of  the  bottomless  Deep ’’ — -that  same 
 wild  Beast,  which  St.John  elsewhere  de- 
 scribes  as  at  first  “  coming  up  out  of  the 
 “  Seaf’ — the  Roman  Empire  under  Papal  in- 
 
 *  See  Note*  page  75,  \vhere  this  figure  is  explained 
 at  large. 
 
 T  K  m  qtixv  TsXtJutTi  tyiv  p.x%To$iav  aura jv- 
 
 £  Rev.  ch.  13,  v.  1.  The  symbolical  Sea  is  very  pro¬ 
 perly  represented,  in  this  place,  under  the  Emblem  of 
 the  bottomless  Deep  ;  for  that  perturbed  and  agitated  state 
 of  things,  from  which  this  idolatrous  and  persecuting 
 Empire  derived  its  origin,  did  certainly  supply  no 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 331 
 
 fluence ,  “  shall  make  war  with  them  “  and 
 “  shall  overcome  them, and  slay  them/’  The 
 
 Ground  whatever ,  either  of  right  Reason  or  of  true  Re¬ 
 ligion,  for  the  foundation  of  such  an  Empire. 
 
 But  the  Beast  in  question  may  be  said  still  more  pe¬ 
 culiarly  to  have  “  ascended  out  of  the  Jbyss,”  when  he 
 came  to  revive,  and  to  resume  all  his  bestial  Qualities, 
 after  his  “  deadly  wound,”  inflicted  “  by  the  Sword,”  or 
 Word  0/  God,  “  had  been  healed:”  for  he  obtained  that 
 very  Revival  solely  from  the  energetical  efticacy  of  Doc¬ 
 trines,  which,  as  the  twenty-second  Article  of  Religion 
 has  well  expressed  ir,  “  are  grounded  upon  no  Warranty 
 “  of  Scripture  ”  but  are  plainly  repugnant  to  the  Word 
 of  God.  Compare  Rev.ch.  11,  v.  7>  with  Rev.  ch.  17, 
 v.  8,  and  this  latter  text  with  Rev.  ch.  13,  v.  3,  12,  14, 
 and  this  point  will  be  placed  in  a  clear  light.  See  also 
 Lecture  XI.  in  reference  to  the  same  subject. 
 
 *  That  the  support  in  its  plenitude,,  of  the  spiritual 
 Power  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  of  the  extensive 
 temporal  Influence  that  was  inseparably  connected  with 
 it,  was  the  principal  cause  of  this  War,  we  learn  not 
 only  from  the  passage  here  cited,  but  irom  that  ever- 
 memorable  one  in  Daniel,  which  partly  runs  parallel 
 with  it — “  I  beheld,  and  the  same  born”  (the  little 
 Horn,  or  Spiritual  Dominion,  which  grew  out  of  the 
 fourth  wild  Beast,  or  Roman  Empire)  “  made  tear 
 “  with  the  Saints ,  and  prevailed  against  them  ;  until  the 
 «  Ancient  of  days  came,  and  Judgment  was  given 
 “  to  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High.”  This,  indeed,  ex¬ 
 plains  the  occasion  of  all  the  wars,  undertaken  and  car¬ 
 ried  on  in  the  eause  of  Popery:  It  was,  that  the  light  of 
 
 Rev.  XI.  7. 
 
332 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 war,  which  was  to  be  waged  with  them  by 
 the  Beast,  was  to  be  a  war  of  'principle ;  and 
 intended  to  be  a  war  of  extermination .  It 
 ■was  to  be  tried  by  this  contest,  whether  the 
 Principles  of  divine  Truth,  as  conveyed  in 
 the  holy  Scriptures,  or  the  vain  Traditions, 
 the  Errors  and  Superstitions,  of  the  Church 
 of  Rome,  were  to  be  received,  as  the  Basis 
 of  Faith,  aud  the  Rule  of  Life  and  Man¬ 
 ners,  throughout  the  Christian  World. 
 And,  in  this  Contest,  those  who  fought 
 under  the  banners  of  Revelation  were  to 
 be  overcome.  The  independent  political 
 Existence,  which  they  had  lately  acquired, 
 for  the  first  time ,  since  the  commencement 
 of  the  Papal  Usurpation,  by  the  treaty  of 
 Smalkalde  *,  was  to  be  destroyed;  and 
 that  Revelation  itself,  for  which  they 
 fought  was,  for  a  time,  to  be  ostensibly 
 deprived  of  its  vital  energy,  and  effect. 
 
 In  conformity  with  this  was  the  War, 
 entered  into  by  the  Protestant  Princes  of 
 Germany,  in  defence  of  the  principles  of 
 the  Reformation,  against  the  Emperor 
 
 Divine  Truth  might  be  excluded  from  the  world  ;  and 
 that  every  knee  should  bow  alone  to  the  usurped  su¬ 
 premacy  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 
 
 #  See  Note*,  page  303. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 353 
 
 Charles  V. ;  and  which  terminated  so  fa¬ 
 tally  for  the  cause  of  the  Allies,  at  the 
 battle  of  Mulhberg,  in  1547.  There ,  in¬ 
 deed,  were  the  Witnesses  overcome ;  but 
 there  were  they  not  virtually  slain ,  for 
 the  Reformed  were  not  yet  deprived  of 
 liberty  of  conscience ,  and  the  free  exercise 
 of  their  religion.  That  extremity  was  to 
 be  postponed  till  the  fifteenth  day  of 
 May  in  the  next  year;  when  the  rigid  en¬ 
 forcing  of  the  decree  called  the  Interim , 
 depriving  them,  in  a  legal  manner,  of  these 
 essential  Privileges,  completed  the  ‘political 
 death  *  described  by  the  Prophet. 
 
 8.  “  And  their  dead  bodies  were  to  re- 
 “  main  in  the  broad  place  ’  in  the  most  exten¬ 
 sive  division  +,  “  of  the  great  City' — of  that 
 which  was  before  called  “  the  holy  City  f 
 that  is,  within  the  limits  of  the  Jurisdiction 
 of  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  This  City  “  is  spiri- 
 “  tually  called  Sodom,”  on  account  of  the 
 horrible  lusts  and  vices,  which  are  there 
 
 *  There  is  a  very  clear  account  of  these  Events  in 
 Dr.  Robertson’s  History  of  the  Reign  of  Charles  V. 
 Book  9,  vol.  3,  p.  400 — 456;  and  in  Mod.  Univ.  Hist, 
 Vol.  SO.  ch.  13.  p.  20—62.  Edit.  176I. 
 
 •f*  Germany. 
 
 Rev.  Xi.  o. 
 
384 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 indulged  with  impunity  ;  44  and  Egypt  ” 
 on  account  of  the  oppression  and  cruel 
 persecution*  that  are  there  exercised  upon 
 the  people  of  God.  It  is  further  said, 
 that  there  44  also  our  Lord  was  crucified ” 
 — 4r  Crucified,”  without  doubt,  44  afresh, 
 44  and  put  to  an  open  shame*,”  by  the 
 scandalous  profligacy  and  impiety  of 
 those,  who  had  professed  themselves,  in 
 preference  to  all  others,  to  be  his  Disci¬ 
 ples. 
 
 9.  “  And  they  of  the  people,  and  tribes, 
 44  and  tongues,  and  nations” — all  the  in¬ 
 habitants  of  the  Papal  Roman  Empire, 
 44  shall  see  their  dead  bodies  three  days 
 44  and  a  half;  and  their  dead  bodies  they 
 44  shall  not  suffer  to  be  put  into  graves.” 
 It  was  before  observed  that  these  two  alle¬ 
 gorical  Personages  had  but  one  Mouth . 
 The  one  being  the  sacred  Oracles  of  Gods 
 and  the  other  speaking  as  these  Oracles 
 dictated,  they  both  spake,  as  it  were,  with 
 one  Mouth :  yet,  notwithstanding  this, 
 they  had  two  distinct  Bodies ,  in  which  their 
 respective  properties  were  incorporated — 
 the  one  a  spiritual^ and  the  other  apolitical 
 
 *  Heb.  ch.  6,  v.  6- 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 335 
 
 constitution. — But,  on  this  mournful  oc¬ 
 casion,  although  the  spiritual  life  and  effi¬ 
 cacy  of  the  one ,  and  the  political  life  of 
 the  other ,  were,  in  a  manner,  destroyed  by 
 the  superior  force  both  of  the  ecclesiasti¬ 
 cal  and  civil  adversaries,  whom  they  had 
 to  encounter,  yet  they  were  not  to  be  in - 
 terred :  it  was  wisely,  and  graciously  or¬ 
 dained,  that  they  should  be  left  in  a  situ¬ 
 ation,  where  they  could  neither  be  put 
 out  of  sight,  nor  out  of  mind. 
 
 10.  And  it  is  truly  remarkable,  that  di¬ 
 vine  Providence  rendered  even  the  mali¬ 
 cious  triumph  of  their  enemies  subservient 
 to  this  end  *.  “  They  that  dwell  upon  the 
 “  Earth/'  that  is,  within  the  peculiar  re- 
 
 r  K 
 
 *  It  will  never  be  forgotten  with  what  indignities 
 and  refined  cruelty  Charles  V.  treated  his  two  illustri¬ 
 ous  prisoners,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  the  Land¬ 
 grave  of  Hesse,  who  had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
 Protestant  League.  During  the  five  years  that  elapsed, 
 between  the  dissolution  of  the  treaty  of  Smalkalde  and 
 the  Emperor’s  flight  from  Inspruck,  they  were  guarded 
 with  the  most  vigilant  severity ;  they  were  carried 
 about  in  a  state  of  captivity,  wherever  their  Conqueror 
 chose  to  bend  his  course ;  and  were  thus  compelled, 
 every  day,  to  renew  his  triumph  and  their  own  dis¬ 
 grace. 
 
 Rev.  XL 9,  10. 
 
3S6 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 gions  above  described,  “  shall  rejoice 
 “  over  them,  and  exult,  and  shall  send 
 ,f  presents  one  to  another,”  to  celebrate 
 the  victory  that  had  been  obtained  by  the 
 Beast,  and  “  because  these  two  Prophets 
 “  tormented  them  that  dwelt  on  the 
 “  Earth,”  They  would  not  therefore  ad¬ 
 mit  of  the  interment  in  question,  that  the 
 cause  of  their  exultation  might  be  con- 
 stantly  before  them* — the  lifeless  state  of 
 
 *  In  addition  to  ostentatiously  conveying  with  him 
 his  illustrious  Prisoners  wherever  he  went,  as  trophies 
 of  his  Victory,  Charles  possessed  the  greatest  possible 
 security  in  the  confidence  of  his  own  good  fortune,  and 
 made  no  preparation  for  any  reverse.  “  Through  neg- 
 u  ligence  and  credulity,  which  exposed  him  no  less  to 
 “  scorn  than  to  danger,  he  had  neither  made,  nor  was 
 “  in  a  condition  to  make  any  effectual  provision,  either 
 “  for  crushing  his  rebellious  Subjects,  or  resisting  the 
 “  invasion  of  a  foreign  Enemy.  Part  of  his  Spanish 
 u  troops  had  been  ordered  into  Hungary  against  the 
 u  Turks;  the  rest  had  marched  back  to  Italy,  upon 
 “  occasion  of  the  war  in  the  Dutchy  of  Parma.  The 
 “  bands  of  veteran  Germans  had  been  dismissed,  be- 
 iC  cause  he  was  not  abe  to  pay  them  ;  or  had  entered 
 u  into  Maurice’s  service  after  the  siege  of  Magdeburg; 
 u  and  he  remained  at  Inspruck  with  a  body  of  soldiers 
 u  hardly  strong  enough  to  guard  his  own  person.”— 
 Such  was  the  state  of  the  Emperor’s  means  of  defence, 
 in  the  beginning  of  April  ^552,  at  the  moment  when 
 he  received  the  first  intelligence,  that  Maurice,  hav- 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 337 
 
 those  Witnesses,  who  had  uniformly  testi- 
 
 > 
 
 tied  of  their  works,  that  they  were  evil. 
 
 11.  Their  triumph,  however,  was  only 
 to  be  of  very  short  duration  :  for,  “  after 
 “  three”  prophetical  “  days  and  a  half” 
 that  is,  after  three  years  and  a  half,  “  the 
 “  Spirit  of  life  from  God  entered  into 
 “  them.”  That  same  divine  Power  and 
 Wisdom,  which  had  at  first  inspired  them, 
 and  given  them  power  to  prophecy,  now 
 operated  so,  that  44  they  should  not  return 
 44  void,  but  should  accomplish  that  wliere- 
 41  unto  they  were  sent.”  And  the  conse¬ 
 quence  of  this  wras,  that  ‘c  they  stood 
 44  upon  their  feet ;”  they  were  again  raised 
 from  their  fallen  state;  and  again  struck 
 terror  and  confusion  into  those,  who  had 
 vainly  imagined,  that  they  had  been  for 
 ever  deprived  of  all  further  vitality  and 
 effect. 
 
 Agreeably  to  this  Description,  at  the 
 end  of  three  years  and  a  half,  or  about  the 
 middle  of  November,  1551,  at  the  in- 
 
 ing  taken  the  city  of  Augsburg,  was  advancing  by  forced 
 marches  towards  him :  so  that  no  words  can  express 
 the  astonishment  and  consternation  he  felt  at  events 
 so  unexpected. 
 
 Rev.  XI.  11. 
 
 VOL  II 
 
 7 
 
S58 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 stance  of  Maurice*  who  had  been  raised 
 to  the  Electorate  of  Saxony,  a  new  Coali - 
 tion  was  secretly  formed  between  the  pro- 
 testant  Princes  of  Germany  ;  the  avowed 
 object  of  which  wras,  to  obtain  security 
 for  the  Protestant  Religion,  and  for  the 
 constitution  of  the  Empire;  and,  at  the 
 same  time,  a  treaty  offensive  and  defen- 
 sive  was  entered  into  with  Henry  II.  of 
 France  *.  Here  then  was  a  revival  of  the 
 spirits,  which  had  long  been  broken  by 
 defeat.  Immediate  preparations  were  made 
 for  war.  “  They  stood,”  again  “  upon 
 “  their  feet,  and  great  fear  fell  upon  those 
 “  who  beheld  them.”  Their  political  ex¬ 
 istence  was  again  rendered  visible,  and 
 the  Conqueror  of  Germany  fled  in  con- 
 
 #  “  As  it  would  have  been  very  indecent  in  a  King 
 “  of  France  to  have  undertaken  the  defence  of  the 
 u  Protestant  Church,  the  interests  of  Religion,  how 
 “  much  soever  they  might  be  affected  by  the  treaty, 
 u  were  not  once  mentioned  in  any  of  the  articles.  Re- 
 “  ligious  concerns  they  pretended  to  commit  entirely  to 
 u  the  disposition  of  Divine  Providence;  the  only  mo* 
 11  tives,  assigned  for  their  present  confederacy  against 
 “  Charles,  were,  to  procure  the  Landgrave  liberty,  and 
 “  to  prevent  the  subversion  of  the  ancient  Constitution 
 11  and  Laws  of  the  German  Empire.”  Dr.  Robertson’s 
 Charles  V.  Vol.  4.  p.  54. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 339 
 
 sternation  before  them  *.  The  Treaty  of 
 Passau,  and  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  which 
 after  some  time  succeeded,  gave  to  the 
 Protestant  cause  in  Germany  every  de¬ 
 gree  of  establishment  that  could  be  de¬ 
 sired. 
 
 12.  But  a  still  greater,  and  more  undi¬ 
 vided  honour  was  reserved  for  the  two 
 Witnesses  ;  “they  heard  a  great  voice  from 
 “  the  Heaven,  saying  unto  them  :  Come 
 
 *  The  circumstances  of  his  flight  are  thus  described 
 by  the  accurate  pen  of  the  Historian  just  cited — 
 
 “  He  was  informed  of  the  approaching  danger  late 
 “  in  the  evening  ;  and,  knowing  that  nothing  could 
 11  save  him  but  a  speedy  flight,  he  instantly  left  Ins- 
 <c  pruck,  without  regarding  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
 “  or  the  violence  of  the  rain  which  happened  to  fall  at 
 u  that  time;  and,  notwithstanding  the  debility  occa- 
 <c  sioned  by  the  gout,  which  rendered  him  unable  to 
 “  bear  any  motion  but  that  of  a  litter,  he  travelled  by 
 “  the  light  of  torches,  taking  his  way  over  the  Alps,  by 
 et  roads  almost  impassible.  His  courtiers  and  attend- 
 <c  ants  followed  him  with  equal  precipitation,  some  of 
 them  on  foot,  and  all  in  the  utmost  confusion.  Ia 
 tc  this  miserable  plight,  very  unlike  the  pomp  with 
 “  which  Charles  had  appeared  during  the  five  preceding 
 years  as  the  Conqueror  of  Germany,  he  arrived  at 
 length  with  his  dejected  train  at  Villach  in  Carin- 
 “  thia,  and  scarcely  thought  himself  secure  even  in 
 s<  that  remote  inaccessible  corner/’  Ibid,  page  72. 
 
 Rev.  XI.  12. 
 
340 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 “  up  hither.”  A  powerful  State,  which 
 had  anciently  been  a  province  of  imperial 
 Rome,  and  was  till  now  attached  to  the 
 dominion  of  papal  Rome,  which  was  com¬ 
 petent  to  support  them,  and  had  deter¬ 
 mined  to  make  their  testimony  the  Rule 
 of  its  faith  and  manners,  invited  them  to 
 itself;  and  placed  them  in  that  degree  of 
 elevation  and  authority,  which  their  sa¬ 
 cred  origin,  and  transcendent  office,  so 
 justly  demanded.  “  And  they  ascended 
 “  up  to  the  Heaven  in  the  Cloud,”  with 
 the  cordial  co-operation  of  this  reformed 
 People ;  “and  their  enemies  beheld  them.” 
 
 If  we  recollect,  that  the  Diet  of  Augs¬ 
 burg  gave  a  durable  support  to  the 
 Reformed  Religion,  in  the  Protestant 
 States  of  Germany,  in  the  month  of  Sep¬ 
 tember  of  the  year  1555  ;  and  that  Mary, 
 the  Queen  of  England,  died,  and  her 
 sister  Elizabeth  succeeded  to  the  throne 
 in  November  1558,  the  gratifying  import 
 of  this  part  of  the  Prophecy  will  be  at 
 once  apparent ;  for  then  the  Rerormed 
 Religion  received  also  a  firm  establishment 
 in  this  country  by  Law ;  and,  ever  since 
 that  period,  the  English  Nation  has  been 
 honourably  distinguished,  as  “  earnestly 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 341 
 
 “  contending  for  the  Faith  which  was 
 “  once  delivered  to  the  Saints.” 
 
 13.  All  the  hatred  and  revenge  of  their 
 Enemies  now  recoils  upon  themselves; 
 for  no  sooner  were  the  holy  Witnesses 
 firmly  established  in  their  new  situation, 
 than  an  immediate  concussion  took  place 
 in  the  Roman  Earth.  “  That  same  hour 
 “  there  was  a  great  earthquake  ;  and  the 
 “  tenth  part  of  the  City,”  or  ecclesiastical 
 Dominion  of  the  Roman  See,  now  ex¬ 
 tending  itself  over  the  former  territories  of 
 the  Western  Empire,  “  fell”  from  its  com¬ 
 munion,  never  to  vise  again. 
 
 This  tenth  part  of  the  City  was  evi¬ 
 dently  that,  which  was  now  fostering  the 
 two  Prophets;  and  it  must  have  been  a 
 part  greatly  distinguished  ;  and  one,  upon 
 which  great  dependence  had  been  deserv¬ 
 edly  placed  :  for  “  there  were  slain  “  in 
 “  the  earthquake  Names  of  Men  seven 
 “  thousand  that  is,  in  consequence  of 
 this  convulsion,  a  vast  number  of  Men  of 
 Name,  and  high  distinction,  relinquished 
 the  life  of  error,  which  they  had  before 
 been  living — they  ceased  to  be  what  they 
 had  been,  the  supporters  of  superstition 
 
 Ret.  XI.  13. 
 
342 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 and  idolatry ;  and  incurred  the  fearful 
 fate  of  Romish  Excommunication. 
 
 “  And  the  Remnant/’  those  who  had 
 not  been  thus  slain,  “  became  afraid.” — 
 This  was  the  first  grand  shock  that  the 
 Church  of  Rome  had  ever  sustained,  since 
 she  had  acquired  her  supremacy.  “  She 
 “  had  said  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and 
 "  am  no  wridow,  and  shall  see  no  sorrow*;” 
 she  now,  however,  finds,  that  she  is  not 
 invulnerable;  but  may  be  successfully 
 assailed  by  the  very  weapons,  which  she 
 had  vainly  imagined  she  had  destroyed 
 — even  the  efficacy  of  “  the  written  Word 
 il  of  God;”  and  the  ability,  firmness,  and 
 integrity  of  those,  who  adopt  it  as  their 
 Rule  of  Faith  and  Manners.  Well,  there¬ 
 fore,  might  she  now  begin  to  be  appre¬ 
 hensive  in  earnest  for  her  own  safety  ;  well 
 might  she  set  herself  to  reform  abuses,  that 
 were  too  notorious  not  to  merit  universal 
 
 V  f  i  ■ 
 
 execration  f.  Nor  is  it  any  wonder,  that, 
 for  the  sake  of  preserving  her  own  exist¬ 
 ence,  she  should  “  give  glory  to  the  God 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  18.  v.  7 . 
 
 +  The  Council  of  Trent  was  held  in  consequence  of 
 the  progress  of  the  Reformation,  for  the  express  pur¬ 
 pose,  among  others,  of  reforming  such,  abuses. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 343 
 
 “  of  heaven/'  by  relaxing,  in  some  de¬ 
 gree,  from  her  enormous  pretensions  ;  and 
 assuming  an  air  of  greater  candour  and 
 
 O  O 
 
 moderation. 
 
 Such  is  the  sublime  and  accurate  de¬ 
 scription,  which  the  Holy  Spirit,  through 
 the  ministry  of  St.John,  has  afforded  us, 
 of  one  of  the  most  wonderful  and  import¬ 
 ant  Revolutions,  that  has  hitherto  taken 
 place  in  the  affairs  of  mankind.  It  is  in¬ 
 deed  most  strictly  allegorical ;  but  the 
 prophetical  Images  that  are  employed 
 are  not  difficult  of  explanation  ;  and  when 
 once  clearly  comprehended,  and  consi¬ 
 dered  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand, 
 they  have  so  much  the  effect  of  the  history 
 to  which  they  relate,  as  almost  to  render 
 any  citations  from  that  history  unneces¬ 
 sary,  in  proof  of  their  accomplishment. 
 
 14.  Thus  then  terminated  the  season, 
 denoted  by  the  sounding  of  the  second 
 Woe-Trumpet — a  period,  which  had  con¬ 
 tinued  from  the  year  1057,  when  permis¬ 
 sion  was  no  longer  denied  to  the  Turkish 
 Tribes  to  pass  the  Euphrates,  for  the  in¬ 
 vasion  and  ultimate  destruction  of  the 
 Empire  of  the  East,  to  the  year  1559j 
 
 Rey.  XI,  14. 
 
344 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 when  a  bulwark  was  firmly  established  for 
 the  defence  of  the  Reformed  Religion  in 
 the  West,  and  the  Empire  of  Superstition 
 and  Bigotry  began  to  fall  in  that  quarter 
 of  the  World.  But  experience  has  thus 
 far  sadly  declared,  that  the  Terror  which 
 had  been  excited  by  these  judgments,  pro¬ 
 duced  no  such  change  for  the  better,  upon 
 the  idolatrous  Church  of  Rome,  as  to 
 avert  the  calamitous  Effects  of  the  third 
 Woe  that  is  here  proclaimed— “  behold 
 “  that  cometh  quickly.’" 
 
 15.  This  decisive  commencement  of  the 
 predicted  Judgment*,  this  partial  Eman^ 
 cipation  of  the  two  Witnesses,  and  this 
 *  Fall  of  the  tenth  part  of  the  great  City, 
 however  terrific  they  may  have  been  to 
 the  Enemies  of  God,  were  the  subjects  of 
 the  sincerest  Joy,  and  of  the  most  lively 
 Exultation,  to  his  Church.  Upon  the 
 firm  Establishment  of  the  Reformation, 
 u  the  seventh  Angel  sounded ;  and  there 
 “  were  loud  Voices  in  the  Heaven,  say- 
 “  ing — The  Kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
 become  the  Kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and 
 “  of  his  Christ ;  and  he  shall  reign  for 
 ever  and  ever.” 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7.  v.  21,22,26. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 343 
 
 1 6.  Bat  the  song  of  Triumph  is  sub¬ 
 limely  represented,  as  being  by  no  means 
 confined  to  those  parts  of  the  political 
 Heaven,  in  which  these  signal  Benefits  are 
 the  subjects  of  celebration.  This  was  the 
 
 Triumph  of  Truth  over  FaUhood ,  of  Learn - 
 
 * 
 
 ing  and  Piety  over  Ignorance  and  Super¬ 
 stition  :  it  was  the  Victory  obtained  by 
 the  Word  of  God,  over  the  vain  Tradi¬ 
 tions  of  Men ,  and  over  those  absurd  and 
 impious  Practices  originating  from  them, 
 which  had  for  so  many  ages  concealed  its 
 native  Beauty  and  Excellence,  from  the 
 Nations  of  the  World.  Those  inspired 
 Sources,  therefore,  from  which  the  Church 
 of  Christ  derives  its  Doctrines  and  Rules 
 of  Life,  are  again  introduced,  to  bear  their 
 part  also,  in  this  grateful  Act  of  Adoration 
 and  Praise.  “  The  four-and-ticenty  Elders , 
 “  who  were  sitting  before  God  upon  their 
 “  thrones, ”  as  being  the  Supreme  Arbiters 
 in  the  Judgment  that  was  now  instituted, 
 “  fell  upon  their  faces,  and  worshipped 
 “  God,  saving — 
 
 17.  “  We  give  thee  Thanks,  O  Lord 
 “  God  Almighty,  who  art,  and  wast,  and 
 “  art  to  come,  because  Thou  hast  taken  to 
 
 Ret.  XI.  15,  16, 17. 
 
34G 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 “  thee  thy  great  Power,  and  hast  reigned.’" 
 
 18.  “  And  the  Nations”  those  Gentiles 
 who  were  treading  the  holy  City”  “  were 
 ci  angry *;  and  thy  Wrath  is  come;  and 
 “  the  season  of  the  Dead”  of  those  who 
 had  been  sleeping  in  the  dust  of  the  papal 
 Earth ,  “  that  they  should  he  judged ;  and 
 “  that  Thou  shouldst  give  Reward  unto 
 “  thy  Servants  the  Prophets  -f,  and  to  the 
 “  Saints,  and  to  those  that  fear  thy  Name, 
 “to  the  small  and  to  the  great;  and 
 “  shouldst  destroy  those  that  destroy  the 
 “  Earth.” 
 
 iy.  “  And  the  Temple  of  God  was 
 “  opened  in  the  Heaven  ”  The  Church, 
 
 *  That  the  Nations  here  spoken  of  were,  in  reality, 
 those  Gentiles ,  alluded  to  in  the  second  verse  of  this 
 Chapter,  who  were  u  treading  the  holy  City will 
 appear  evident  from  the  slightest  comparison  of  these 
 two  texts — 
 
 ’EfoGijTOlS  ’E0NEEI,  y.a.1  tYjV  ttoXiv  trjy  'ctyiay 
 
 rs'rtra.px.y.ovT'x,  Svo — iC  It  is  given  to  th  E  Genti  les  ; 
 “  and  they  shall  tread  the  holy  City  forty-and-two 
 u  Months. 55  v.  2. 
 
 Kan  TA  ’EQ^iH  ’copy Krtr^zv — “  and  the  Gentiles 
 “  were  angry.5’  v.  18. 
 
 In  proof  of  their  Wrath,  see  p.  234,  &c.  81 1, 330,  &c. 
 
 +  By  the  success  of  their  Ministry;  npotpytys,  in  this 
 place,  signifying  not  so  much  an  inspired  Predicter  of 
 future  Events,  as  a  Preacher  and  Expounder  of  the 
 Holy  Scriptures. 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 347 
 
 after  having  openly  embraced  the  Princi¬ 
 ples  of  the  Reformation,  had  now  obtained 
 a  visible  Establishment  in  the  political 
 System.  “  And  the  Ark  of  his  Covenant 
 “  was  seen  in  his  Temple'5 — the  Christian 
 World  once  more  got  sight  of  that  funda¬ 
 mental  Doctrine,  that  “  there  is  no  other 
 “  Name  under  heaven,  given  amongst 
 “  men,  by  which  we  cap  be  saved,"  but 
 that  of  J  esus  Christ.  The  intercession  of 
 a  host  of  Saints  was  now  no  longer  invoked, 
 as  of  Mediators  with  God  ;  nor  could 
 “  works  of  Supererogation "  be  any  longer 
 allowed  the  least  share  of  redundant ,  or 
 even  of  actual ,  Merit.  The  only  Merits,  and 
 Intercession,  essential  to  the  Salvation  of 
 the  people  of  God,  were  now  acknow¬ 
 ledged  to  be  those  of  uis  only-degot- 
 ten  Son.  And,  together  with  this,  and 
 the  other  fundamental  Articles  of  the 
 Christian  Faith,  there  were  acquired  also 
 just  ideas  of  Morality,  and  the  knowledge 
 of  that  “  Holiness,  without  which  no  man 
 “shall  see  the  Lord."  The  nalso  were 
 the  Sacraments  administered,  according 
 to  Christ's  holy  Institution  ;  and  those 
 supernumerary  ones,  ordained  by  the 
 Rev.  XI.  18,  19. 
 
348 
 
 LECTURE  X. 
 
 Church  of  Home,  abolished  ;  the  Holy 
 Scriptures  became  again  the  Rule  of  Life 
 and  Manners;  and  there  was  every  requi- 
 
 *  ^  4f 
 
 site  encouragement  and  instruction — to 
 “  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth.” 
 
 Such  were  the  Blessings  resulting  from 
 this  important  Change  in  Religion  ;  but 
 they  did  not  come,  as  we  have  already 
 seen,  unattended  with  some  Evils. 
 “  There  were  Lightnings ,  and  Thunder- 
 “  ings,  and  Voices.”  The  great  Adversary 
 of  Mankind  stirred  lip  the  Powers,  that 
 had  enlisted  themselves  under  his  banners, 
 those  Gentiles  who  were  still  “  treading 
 “  the  holy  City,”  to  oppose,  by  every  means 
 in  their  power,  the  further  progress  of 
 Reformed  Religion ;  and  to  rivet  still 
 more  firmly  the  Chains  of  Bigotry  and 
 Superstition,  upon  those  whom  lie  had 
 hitherto  enslaved.  But  furious  and 
 intolerant,  and  incapable  of  any  Reform 
 herself,  the  Church  of  Rome  effectually 
 drove  those  Nations  from  her  Commu¬ 
 nion,  who  possessed  the  least  Indepen¬ 
 dence  of  thought,  and  the  Resolution  and 
 the  Firmness  to  “  obey  God  rather  than 
 “  Man.”  The  consequence  was,  that 
 “  there  was,”  indeed,  “  an  Earthquake , 
 
LECTURE  X. 
 
 349 
 
 and  great  Hail many  Nations  of  Europe 
 became  finally  separated  for  ever  from  all 
 connexion  with  the  Roman  See  *;  and  the 
 most  barbarous  hostilities  were  carried 
 on,  the  most  violent  methods  adopted,  to 
 compel  them  again  to  receive  her  Domi¬ 
 nion.  But  though  the  waves  of  Papal 
 animosity  and  persecution  “  were  mighty, 
 “  and  raged  horribly,  yet  Jehovah,  who 
 u  dwelleth  on  high,  was  mightier and 
 against  these  newly-formed,  and  visible 
 portions  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  “  the 
 “  Gates  of  Hell”  were  not  suffered  to 
 prevail. 
 
 *  There  were  several  States  anti  Kingdoms  of  Europe, 
 before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  Century,  which  em¬ 
 braced  Religion  in  a  reformed  state,  and  established  it 
 by  Law  in  their  respective  political  systems ;  since 
 which  time,  no  further  Reformation  has  taken  place.— 
 These  are, 
 
 I.  The  Protestant  States  of  Germany, 
 
 II.  Some  of  the  Swiss  Cantons, 
 
 III.  Sweden, 
 
 IV.  Denmark,  and  Norway, 
 
 V.  England  and  Ireland, 
 
 VI.  Scotland, 
 
 VII.  The  United  Provinces  of  the  Netherlands. 
 
 Rev. XI.  19. 
 
- 
 
 - 
 
 *•  !  ;•»  '  ••  ••  ■ 
 
 1 
 
LECTURE  XL 
 
 Delivered,  January  22,  1815. 
 
 Rev.  ch.  1,  v.  3. 
 
 Blessed  is  he  that  readeth ,  and  they  that 
 hear  the  words  of  this  Prophecy ,  and  keep 
 those  things  that  are  written  therein :  for 
 the  time  is  at  hand . 
 
 It  was  my  endeavour,  in  the  last  Lec¬ 
 ture,  to  explain  the  principal  of  those 
 emblematical  Representations,  by  which 
 the  Holy  Spirit  communicated  to  St.  John, 
 and,  through  him,  to  the  Church  of  Christ, 
 a  proleptical  history  of  the  Reformation. 
 But  the  conciseness  of  the  descriptions, 
 and  the  natural  order  of  discussion,  seem 
 equally  to  require,  that  some  further  ac¬ 
 count, to  illustrate  the  memorable  change 
 which  then  took  place,  as  well  as  the 
 causes  which  rendered  it  indispensable, 
 Ret.  XIII.  1. 
 
352 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 should  now  be  detailed.  To  this  purpose 
 the  inspired  Writer  has  particularly  ap¬ 
 plied  the  whole  of  the  thirteenth  Chapter, 
 and  some  of  the  subsequent  passages  in 
 this  wonderful  Book.  But  the  former  of 
 these  claims  our  more  immediate  atten¬ 
 tion  on  the  present  occasion,  as  being 
 the  most  comprehensive  in  its  import ,  and 
 throwing  much  light  upon  several  of  the 
 succeeding  Parts. 
 
 1.  In  order  to  afford  a  clear  and  sys¬ 
 tematic  view  of  the  Errors  and  the  Enor¬ 
 mities  that  were  then  renounced,  the 
 inspired  Writer  commences  his  relation 
 from  the  very  Origin  of  all.  With  this 
 intent,  he  represents  himself  as  stationed 
 on  a  spot,  from  which  he  could  distinctly 
 observe  every  thing  that  passed,  and  note 
 the  various  “  signs  of  the  times”  as  they 
 arose.  “  I  stood,”  he  says,  “  upon  the 
 “  Sand  of  the  Sea.”  The  Sand  on  the 
 shore,  nevertheless,  is  only  a  precarious 
 ground  on  which  to  stand  ;  itr  is  subject 
 to  perpetual  variation  of  surface,  from  the 
 action  both  of  the  winds  and  the  waves ; 
 and  seems  therefore  designed  to  shew,  in 
 this  place,  the  inconstancy  and  chequered 
 nature  of  that  state,  in  which  the  Church 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 353 
 
 of  Christ,  of  which  St.John  himself  was 
 a  lively  type,  should  exist,  through  all  the 
 ages  that  are  here  described. 
 
 He  “  saw  a  wild  Beast  rising  up  out  of 
 “  the  Sea,  having  seven  Heads  and  ten 
 
 i 
 
 “  Horns ;  and  upon  his  Horns  ten  Crowns, 
 “  and  upon  his  Heads  Names  of  Bias - 
 “  phemy.” 
 
 It  has  been  very  generally  agreed  by 
 Commentators,  however  widely  they  may 
 have  differed  in  other  respects  in  the  ex¬ 
 plication  of  some  of  the  annexed  Sym¬ 
 bols,  that  under  this  Imagery  is  exhi¬ 
 bited  the  j Roman  Empire,  attended  with 
 some  of  the  principal  discriminating  cir¬ 
 cumstances  peculiar  to  itself. 
 
 His  ten  Horns  are  therefore  the  ten 
 Kingdoms ,  which  were  to  spring  up,  after 
 its  division  into  tvvo*  parts,  within  the 
 limits  of  the  Western  Empire  J*. 
 
 *  In  the  year  365.  See  Lecture  IX.  p.  177,  i78. 
 
 +  For  some  account  of  these  ten  Kingdoms,  and  of 
 the  times  of  their  respective  foundation,  see  Lecture 
 IX.  p.  194 — £07-  The  heavenly  Messenger  himself 
 thus  explains  these  emblems  to  the  Frophet — <c  Ihe 
 “  ten  Horns  which  thou  savyest  are  ten  Kings  *,  which 
 *  Or  Kingdoms. 
 
 Rev.  XIII,  1. 
 
 2  A 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
354 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 His  seven  Heads  are  the  seven  different 
 Forms  of  Government ,  under  which  it  at 
 various  times  existed;  namely — the  Regal, 
 the  Consular,  the  Decemviral,  the  Dicta¬ 
 torial,  the  Tribunitial,  the  Imperial,  and 
 that  adopted  by  the  Heruli  and  the  Goths. 
 
 The  Diadems  upon  his  Horns  sufficiently 
 demonstrate,  that  these  ten  Kingdoms 
 were  so  many  absolute  and  independent 
 Sovereignties  *9  acquired  by  conquest ; 
 eight  of  which  must  therefore  be  consi¬ 
 dered  as  diminishing,  in  proportion  to  their 
 own  amplitude,  the  extent  of  the  Empire 
 that  is  here  prefigured.  The  other  two , 
 the  kingdoms  of  the  Heruli  and  the  Goths, 
 occupied  the  Seat  of  the  Empire  itself, 
 and  constituted  the  seventh  Head  of  the 
 
 il  have  received  no  dominion  as  yet ;  yet  receive 
 “  power  as  Kings  one  hour,”  or  for  a  season,  “  with 
 *(  the  Beast.  These  have  one  mind,  and  shall  give 
 u  their  power  and  strength  unto  the  Beast they  shall 
 afterwards  constitute  provinces,  as  it  were,  of  the  Papal 
 Empire  of  the  West.  ReV.  ch.  17,  v.  12 — 14. 
 
 *  This  Description  altogether  invalidates  the  Claim 
 of  the  Exarchate  of  Ravenna  to  being  one  of  the  ten 
 Horns ;  for  the  Exarchs  only  governed  those  parts  of 
 Italy  that  were  subject  to  them,  as  Lieutenants  to  the 
 Emperors  of  the  East.  See  “  Decline  and  Fall,” 
 Vol.  7,  ch.  43,  p.  398, 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 355 
 
 Beast,  being  both  Dominions  of  precisely 
 the  same  kind  *. 
 
 And  the  Names  of  Blasphemy  upon  his 
 Heads  point  out  the  pagan  or  idolatrous 
 State  in  which  it  existed,  and  even,  in 
 some  degree,  the  blasphemous  Titles  -f  it 
 assumed,  while  under  the  Forms  of  Go¬ 
 vernment  denoted  by  those  heads. 
 
 2.  “  And  the  wild  Beast  which  I  saw,” 
 says  the  Prophet,  “  was  like  unto  a  Leo - 
 “  pard.”  This  idolatrous  Empire  had  a 
 Surface  of  variegated  and  spotted  appear¬ 
 ance;  comprehending  at  various  times, 
 
 *  See  pages  199 — 203 
 
 +  ©EA  PX1MH,  Roma  JEterna,  Invicta  Roma 
 jEterna,  were  frequently  the  Inscriptions  found 
 upon  the  Roman  Medals  ;  agreeably  to  that  well-known 
 Epigram  of  Martial, 
 
 “  Terrarum  Dea  Gentiumque  Roma, 
 
 **  Cut  par  est  nihil ,  et  nihil  secundum.” 
 
 Lib.  12,  Epig.  8. 
 
 On  this  account  Rome  had  her  Flamines  and  Priests , 
 and  her  peculiar  Services  and  Altars.  Hence  that  Coin 
 of  Tiberius^  with  a  Temple  and  Altar ,  and  this  Inscrip¬ 
 tion,  ROM.  ET.  AUG.  Romce  et  Augusto.  Even  the 
 Senate  was  not  without  a  portion  of  Divinity;  and 
 ©EOC  CTNKAHTQC  Was  one  of  its  titles.  But  see 
 more  upon  this  subject  in  Harduinus,  de  Nummis 
 antiquis. 
 
 Rsv.  XIII.  2. 
 
 2  a  2 
 
356 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 and  indeed  at  the  same  time,  a  great  va¬ 
 riety  of  Peoples,  Nations,  and  Languages* 
 44  And  his  Feet  were  as  those  of  a  Bear ” — • 
 the  Authorities  which  supported  it  were 
 well  adapted  to  trample  under  foot ,  and  to 
 overcome  by  their  insupportable  weight , 
 every  thing  hostile,  which  it  was  deemed 
 more  expedient  to  destroy  by  its  pressure, 
 than  by  the  prosecution  of  open  zvar.  Yet 
 41  his  Mouth  was  as  the  Mouth  of  a  Lion 
 in  War  it  was  dreadful,  ferocious,  and  ge¬ 
 nerally  crowned  with  success. 
 
 It  was  therefore*  in  effect,  the  same  wild 
 Beast ,  which  Daniel  also  saw  44  rising  up 
 44  out  of  the  Sea  *  which  44  was  dreadful, 
 44  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly/' 
 This,  in  like  manner,  44  had  great  iron 
 44  Teeth or  the  means  for  the  carrying  on 
 of  sanguinary  and  successful  Wars  ;  by 
 these  44  it  devoured ,  and  brake  in  pieces  •” 
 but 44  it  stamped  the  residue  with  its  Feet 
 And  this,  likewise,  44  had  ten  Horns.” 
 
 We  are  next  called  upon  to  notice  the 
 malignant  Spirit  by  which  it  was  actu- 
 
 *  See  Lecture  VII.  p.  52 — 54,  where  this,  and  -some 
 other  points  of  resemblance,  are  stated  more  at  large. 
 
 t  See  page  40,  Note  §. 
 
LECTURE  XT, 
 
 357 
 
 ated.  u  The  Dragon/'  it  is  affirmed, 
 “  gave  him  his  Power,  and  his  Throne  *, 
 “  and  great  Authority.”  The  prime  In¬ 
 stigator  to  all  evil,  “  the  Spirit  that  now 
 “  worketh  in  the  Children  of  Disobedi- 
 
 *  The  Throne ”  is  the  Seat  of  Sovereignty :  but  the 
 Sovereignty  of  the  Beast  has  been  very  various ,  both 
 with  respect  to  its  Nature  and  Extent ,  at  different  times. 
 Its  various  Nature  may  be  seen  in  its  seven  Heads ,  and, 
 last  of  all,  in  its  eighth  Head,  which  is  now  in  existence, 
 and  (l  is  of  tne  seven.”  Rev.  ch.  1 7,  v.  9 — 11.  .And  its 
 variety  of  Extent  may  be  judged  of  from  the  following 
 statement ; — 1.  It  had  been  so  prodigiously  increased  un¬ 
 der  Trajan,  as  to  occupy  by  far  the  best  and  most  flou¬ 
 rishing  parts  of  the  then  known  world  ;  but,  immedi¬ 
 ately  after  his  death,  it  became  reduced  again  to  its 
 former  limits  by  Adrian.  2.  It  was  next  resolved  into 
 /aw  parts,  under  Valentinian  and  Valens.  3.  The  Wes¬ 
 tern  part,  which  is  that  intended  in  the  present  Prophe¬ 
 cy,  soon  lost  most  of  its  finest  provinces,  in  consequence 
 of  the  establishment  of  eight  out  of  ten  of  the  King¬ 
 doms,  that  sprang  up  in  different  regions  within  its  li¬ 
 mits.  Yet  still,  under  all  these  vicissitudes,  the  ancient 
 Throne,  or  Seat  of  the  Beast,  has  remained  ;  apd  that , 
 as  peculiarly  also  the  Seat  of  the  Dragon,  has  been,  as 
 it  were,  the  focus  of  the  Impostures,  the  principal  theatre 
 for  the  display  of  the  Achievements ,  which  are  the  sub¬ 
 jects  of  the  present  Vision,  The  Effects  of  these  Im¬ 
 postures  and  Achievements  have  been  indeed,  at  various 
 times,  most  extensive  ;  but  our  attention  must  be  princi¬ 
 pally  directed  to  what  actually  passed  in  this  quarter, 
 
 R  ev ,  XIII.  2. 
 
 2  A  3 
 
358 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 “  ence,”  was  permitted,  for  the  wisest,  and 
 ultimately,  without  doubt,  for  the  most 
 beneficial  purposes,  to  bear  a  certain  por¬ 
 tion  of  Rule  in  this  “  Kingdom  of  Men 
 and  to  inspire  the  Powers  which  adminis¬ 
 tered  it  with  all  those  bestial  Qualities, 
 with  that  ferocious  Enmity  to  Good,  that 
 intellectual  Insensibility  *  to  their  own  In¬ 
 terests  and  the  general  Interests  of  Man- 
 kind,  which  it  is  the  exclusive  object  of 
 the  Prophecy  to  describe  by  these  sym¬ 
 bols. 
 
 To  this  malignant  Influence,  and  to  the 
 manner  in  which  it  should  be  exerted 
 through  a  period  of  many  ages — even  from 
 the  time  of  the  revival  of  Idolatry  under 
 the  auspices  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  to 
 that  of  its  final  overthrow  at  the  close  of 
 the  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty 
 years — the  sacred  Writer  has  particularly 
 
 *  So  foolish  was  I,  and  ignorant,  I  was  as  a  Beast 
 before  Thee.  Psalm  73,  v.  22.  And  when,  to  Insen¬ 
 sibility  and  Ignorance,  are  superadded  a  Vindictive  Cru¬ 
 elty,  and  an  earnest  Desire  and  Endeavour  to  destroy ,  or, 
 at  least,  to  suppress,  every  thing  that  is  adapted  to  re¬ 
 move  these  defects,  then  the  Beast  may  very 
 properly  be  said  to  be  wild;  bidding  defiance  to  the 
 approach  of  man,  to  the  access  of  every  milder  and 
 better  principle. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 359 
 
 adverted  in  a  most  interesting  part*  of 
 this  Book,  to  which  our  present  limits  for¬ 
 bid  our  paying  that  attention  it  so  justly 
 deserves.  And  he  has  again  introduced 
 the  same  evil  Spirit,  in  this,  and  in  other 
 places  •f,  in  order  to  afford  the  most  con¬ 
 vincing  proof — that  the  Errors  and  Enor¬ 
 mities  of  Rome,  whether  pagan  or  papal> 
 sprang  primarily  from  the  Agency,  and 
 deceptive  Arts,  of  this  first  Mover  to  all 
 Evil. 
 
 For  this  reason,  making  use  of  the  Re¬ 
 gions  of  the  West  as  the  principal  Scene 
 of  his  achievements,  and  actuating  so 
 constantly  the  Powers  that  held  the 
 government  of  the  Roman  people,  he  is 
 described  as  possessing  the  distinguishing 
 peculiarities  of  the  Empire  over  which  he 
 presided  ;  and  which,  in  reality,  acquired 
 those  peculiarities  chiefly  in  consequence 
 of  his  own  predominance.  He  is  por¬ 
 trayed  as  “  a  great  red  Dragon,  having 
 “  seven  heads  and  ten  horns ;  and  upon  his 
 “  heads  seven  diadems  J,"  in  plain  acknow- 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  12.  f  Rev.  ch.  20,  v.  1 — 3,  7 — 10. 
 
 |  Rev.  eh.  12,  v.  2. 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  2. 
 
 2  A  4 
 
360 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 ledgment  of  the  absolute  dominion  he  ge¬ 
 nerally  exerted  over  the  forms  of  Govern¬ 
 ment  denoted  by  those  heads -  And  thus, 
 being  invisible  himself,  he  has  been  exhi¬ 
 bited  in  the  only  manner  in  which  he 
 could  be  exhibited,  in  the  Revolutions  he 
 has  effectuated,  and  the  Works  he  has 
 performed.  And,  for  the  same  reason, 
 and  still  further  to  make  him  known  (for 
 the  holy  Prophet  seldom  employs  a  Sym¬ 
 bol  of  any  intricacy,  for  which,  in  some 
 part  or  other  of  the  Apocalypse,  he  does 
 not  furnish  the  means  of  interpretation), 
 he  is  expressly  styled  “  that  old  Serpent,” 
 even  “  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  that  de¬ 
 ceit)  eth  the  zvhole  world 
 
 S.  Thus  actuated  was  this  mighty  Em¬ 
 pire,  in  its  heathenish  state  ;  but,  at  length, 
 “  one  of  his  Heads f  was  seen,  as  it  were, 
 <e  wounded  to  deaths  To  the  explication 
 of  this  part  of  the  Subject  some  Attention 
 has  been  already  paid  p;  and  it  has  been 
 seen,  in  what  a  surprising  manner,  the  Im* 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  12,  v.  9. 
 
 +  In  Lecture  IX.  p.  144 — 170.  See  also  page  55 , 
 where  the  same  Circumstance  is  still  further  illustrated, 
 by  comparison  with  the  collateral  prophecy  recorded  by 
 Daniel. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 361 
 
 perial  Dignity ,  or  sixth  Head  of  the  Beast, 
 which  had  been  invariably  hitherto  living 
 the  life  of  Paganism,  became  deprived  os¬ 
 tensibly  of  that  existence,  in  consequence 
 of  the  Conversion  of  Constantine  the 
 Great,  and  of  his  extensive  Dominions, 
 to  the  Profession  of  Christianity . 
 
 Here  then  ensues  a  certain  period,  dur¬ 
 ing  which  the  Power  of  the  Dragon  ap~ 
 pears  to  be  suspended — a  lucid  interval,  in 
 which  an  ample  proof  is  afforded,  that  it 
 is  44  The  Most  High,”  who  44  ruleth  in 
 44  the  Kingdoms  of  Men.” 
 
 But,  in  process  of  time,  44  the  deadly 
 “  wound  zvas  healed and  the  Empire,  pro¬ 
 fessing  exteriorly  the  pure  and  benevo¬ 
 lent  principles  of  Christ’s  holy  Religion, 
 lapsed  again,  by  means  which  we  shall 
 soon  be  fully  able  to  trace,  into  all  the 
 Abominations  it  had  before  renounced  ; 
 thus  reviving  the  Idolatries,  and  the  cruel 
 persecuting  Spirit  of  Paganism ,  under  the 
 name  of  Christianity. 
 
 Notwithstanding  these  glaring  Inconsist* 
 encies,  however,  such  were  the  darkness 
 and  woful  infatuation  which  had  now  be¬ 
 gun  to  prevail,  that  u  the  whole  Earth  won - 
 Rsv.  XIII.  8. 
 
562 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 “  dered  after  the  Beast the  whole  Roman 
 World  followed,  and  adhered  to  him,  with 
 admiration  and  astonishment.  “  But,  the 
 “  deadly  wound,”  which  had  been  inflict¬ 
 ed  “  by  the  Sword ,  or  Word  of  God  *,  being 
 thus  healed,  the  Beast ,  the  Roman  People , 
 the  only  remaining  part  of  the  former  Em¬ 
 pire  of  the  West ,  was  evidently  now  under 
 his  last  or  papal  Head :  This  will  appear 
 very  clearly  from  the  Sequel. 
 
 4.  “  And  they  worshipped  the  Dragon, 
 “  who  gave  pozver  unto  the  Beast ”  Imput¬ 
 ing  the  Wonders  they  beheld  to  a  divine 
 Interposition,  they  blindly  adored  that 
 spiritual  Agent,  through  whom,  under  di¬ 
 vine  Permission,  such  supreme  Authority, 
 and  such  tremendous  Means  of  evil,  had 
 been  judicially  acquired. 
 
 But  they  conveyed  also  a  portion  of  the 
 same  superstitious  Reverence  to  the  very 
 Instrument  he  made  use  of ;  “  they  wor- 
 “  shipped  the  Beast ,  saying — Who  is  like 
 “  unto  the  Beast  ?  Who  is  able  to  make 
 “  war  with  him  ?” 
 
 So  devoted  were  the  Roman  people  at 
 one  time  to  the  pursuit  of  “  their  own  de¬ 
 vices,”  that  they  conceived  an  idolatrous 
 veneration  for  the  very  Heads  of  their  own 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 36S 
 
 Empire.  Several  of  the  more  early  Em¬ 
 perors  were  deified  after  death;  even  Com¬ 
 modes  himself  was  not  excepted*.  And 
 the  Legions  themselves,  believing  them  to 
 be  possessed  of  a  portion  of  divine  virtue, 
 worshipped  the  very  Standards  under 
 which  they  fought 'f.  Thus  it  was  before 
 this  mighty  Empire  became  Christian. 
 During  the  unparalleled  increase  of  its 
 Dominion,  and  while  in  the  plenitude  of 
 its  power,  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  excited 
 universal  surprise  ;  it  might  be  justly  said, 
 by  those  who  looked  no  farther  than  to 
 the  action  of  secondary  causes — “  Who  is 
 4<  like  unto  the  Beast?  Who  is  able  to 
 “  make  war  with  him  ?” 
 
 But  it  is  lamentable  to  say,  that  the 
 
 *  “  Though  lie  was  generally  abhorred  as  a  Monster 
 u  of  Cruelty,  and  an  Enemy  to  Mankind,  yet  the  Em- 
 “  peror  Severus  styled  himself  his  brother,  caused  him  to 
 “  be  ranked  among  the  Gods,  appointed  priests  and  sa- 
 “  crifices  to  his  honour,  and  ordered  the  anniversary  of 
 *  his  birth  to  be  observed  with  great  solemnity.”  Anc. 
 Univers.  Hist.  Vol.  15,  p.  272.  Edit.  1743. 
 
 +  Hence  they  were  called  Numina  Legionum  ;  being 
 usually  adorned  with  the  Imagesofthe  Divinities,  whom 
 they  supposed  to  preside  over  War.  See  Sueton.  Cali¬ 
 gula  14;  and  Vitellius  2  ;  also  Tacit.  Annal.  1,  39. 
 
 Ret.  XIII.  4. 
 
3C)4 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 case  was  not  greatly  altered,  after  its  pub¬ 
 lic  avowal  of  the  principles  of  Christianity, 
 Weeds  of  the  most  deleterious  nature  were 
 suffered  to  take  root ;  and  to  impede,  and 
 even  choke,  by  the  peculiar  luxuriance  of 
 their  vegetation,  the  growth  of  the  good 
 Seed.  Much  of  the  spirit  of  Paganism 
 remained.  And  it  soon  appeared,  that 
 those  Imperial  Worthies,  who  after  death 
 had  been  enrolled  amonc**  the  Gods,  as 
 well  as  a  host  of  other  Divinities  and  He¬ 
 roes,  who  had  been  reputed  the  founders, 
 or  the  greatest  supports,  of  the  Roman 
 Greatness,  were  only  to  make  way  for  the 
 Apostles  of  Christ,  and  a  number  of  other 
 Saints  and  Martyrs,  to  whom  the  Christian 
 Church  was  considered  as,  at  least,  under 
 equal  obligation.  Then  the  worship, 
 which  had  been  assigned  to  the  former  of 
 these,  became  transferred  to  the  latter  5 
 and  Idolatry,  with  only  a  change  in  the 
 name,  was  perpetuated,  and  exists  to  this 
 dav. 
 
 The  smallness  of  the  change,  indeed, 
 which,  after  a  little  time,  was  found  to 
 have  taken  place  between  the  Pagan  and 
 Christian  States  of  the  Empire,  is  rendered 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 sG 
 
 fully  evident  from  the  following  observa¬ 
 tions  : — - 
 
 “  An  enormous  train  of  different  super- 
 “  stitions  were  gradually  substituted  in 
 cc  the  place  of  true  Religion  and  genuine 
 “  Piety.  This  odious  revolution  was  ow- 
 “  ing  to  a  variety  of  causes.  A  ridiculous 
 “  precipitation  in  receiving  new  opinions  ; 
 “  a  preposterous  desire  of  imitating  the 
 “  Pagan  rites,  and  of  blending  them  with 
 “  the  Christian  worship;  and  that  idle  pro- 
 “  pensity  which  the  generality  of  mankind 
 “  have  towards  a  gaudy  and  ostentatious 
 “religion; — all  contributed  to  establish 
 “  the  reign  of  Superstition  upon  the  ruins  of 
 “  Christianity.  Accordingly,  frequent  pil- 
 “  gri mages  were  undertaken,  to  Palestine, 
 “  and  to  the  tombs  of  the  Martyrs  ;  as  if 
 “  there  alone  the  sacred  principles  of  vir- 
 “  tue,  and  the  certain  hope  of  Salvation, 
 “  were  to  be  acquired.  The  reins  being 
 “  once  let  loose  to  Superstition,  which 
 4 6  knows  no  bounds,  absurd  notions  and 
 “  idle  ceremonies  multiplied  every  day. 
 “  Quantities  of  dust  and  earth  brought 
 <f  from  Palestine,  and  other  places  remark- 
 “  able  for  their  supposed  sanctity,  were 
 Rev.  XIII.  4. 
 
366 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 “  handed  about  as  the  most  powerful  re* 
 “  medies  against  the  violence  of  wicked 
 “  Spirits ;  and  were  sold  and  bought  every 
 “  where  at  enormous  prices.  The  public 
 “  processions  and  supplications,  by  which 
 “  the  Pagatis  endeavoured  to  appease 
 “  their  Gods,  were  now  adopted  into  the 
 “  Christian  worship,  and  celebrated  with 
 “  great  pomp  and  magnificence  in  several 
 “  places.  The  virtues  that  had  formerly 
 “  been  ascribed  to  the  heathen  temples,  to 
 <£  their  lustrations,  to  the  statues  of  their 
 “  Gods  and  Heroes,  were  now  attributed 
 “  to  Christian  Churches,  to  water  conse- 
 “  crated  by  certain  forms  of  prayer,  and 
 “  to  the  images  of  holy  men.  And  the 
 tc  same  privileges,  that  the  former  enjoyed 
 “  under  the  darkness  of  Paganism ,  were 
 “  conferred  upon  the  latter  under  the  light 
 “  of  the  Gospel ,  or  rather,  wider  that  cloud 
 “  of  Superstition  which  was  obscuring  its 
 “  Glory.  It  is  true,  that,  as  yet  Images 
 “  were  not  very  common ;  nor  were  there 
 “  any  Statues  at  all :  but  it  is,  at  the  same 
 “  time,  as  undoubtedly  certain,  as  it  is 
 “  extravagant  and  monstrous,  that  the 
 “  worship  of  the  Martyrs  was  modelled, 
 “  by  degrees,  according  to  the  religious 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 367 
 
 <c  services  that  were  paid  to  the  Gods  be- 
 “  fore  the  coming  of  Christ 
 
 Such  is  the  melancholy  picture  which 
 presents  itself  to  our  view,  on  a  survey  of 
 the  latter  half  of  the  fourth  Century! 
 Whence  it  appears,  that  even  the  age  of 
 Constantine  himself  was  far  from  being 
 free  from  Superstition !  And  the  two 
 succeeding  ages  were  very  far  indeed  from 
 improving  the  appearance  of  things  -f: 
 they  amply  served  to  prepare  the  way  for 
 the  grand  and  open  development  of  that 
 “  Mystery  of  Iniquity  f  which  had  been  so 
 long  working;  and  the  obstacles  to  whose 
 gradual  revelation  had  now  been  removed, 
 
 *  Mosheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  IV.  Part  2.  Chap.  3. 
 Sec.  2.  p.  297. 
 
 T  For  the  most  deplorable  proofs  of  the  growth  of 
 Superstition  and  Immorality,  during  these  ages,  the 
 Reader  may  consult  Mosheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  V, 
 Part  2,  Chap.  3,  Sect.  2.  and  Cent.  VI.  Part,  2,  Chap.  3, 
 Sect.  1,  2;  and  Du  Pin’s  account  of  these  periods,  in 
 the  second,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  Volumes  of  his  His¬ 
 tory  of  Ecclesiastical  Writers;  where  all  the  Errors  of 
 the  Church  of  Rome,  both  in  Doctrine,  and  in  Prac¬ 
 tice,  which  either  sprang  up,  or  acquired  a  firm  esta¬ 
 blishment,  during  these  Centuries,  are  particularly  de¬ 
 tailed,  from  the  authentic  Memorials  of  those  times. 
 
 Ret.  XIII.  4. 
 
368 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 by  the  destruction  of  the  Imperial  Power 
 which  had  before  obstructed  it  *. 
 
 Here,  then,  it  cannot  but  be  important, 
 as  forming  an  indispensable  link  in  the 
 present  chain  of  evidence,  to  trace  the 
 gradual  progress  of  Ambition  in  this  in¬ 
 stance  ;  and  the  means  by  which  it  at  last 
 acquired  its  full  gratification.  And  this, 
 perhaps,  may  be  best  performed,  in  the 
 words,  and  according  the  arrangement,  of 
 the  same  correct  and  most  respectable 
 Historian,  who  has  been  lately  cited. 
 
 I.  No  sooner  had  Christianity  become 
 the  Religion  of  the  Empire,  and  a  final 
 period  been  put  to  the  persecutions  of 
 Paganism ,  than  facts  began  to  explain,  in 
 the  clearest  manner,  the  import  of  the 
 
 ♦  2  Tli  ess.  eh.  2,  v.  3 — 12.  Concerning  the  Opi¬ 
 nion  of  the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church,  that  the  Im¬ 
 perial  pozcer  of  Rome  was  that  which  “  felted,”  or  pre¬ 
 vented,  the  complete  manifestation  of  the  tremendous 
 mass  of  Evil  here  predicted,  Mr.  Mode  has  written 
 most  ably,  and  much  at  large,  in  his  Works,  p.  810. 
 
 Bishop  Newton  has  afforded  a  most  excellent  analysis 
 bf  this  whole  Prophecy  of  St. Paul,  comparing  every 
 part  of  it  with  its  fulfilment,  and  giving  a  comprehen¬ 
 sive  view  of  the  various  discordant  hypotheses  that 
 have  been  entertained  respecting  it,  in  his  twenty-se¬ 
 cond  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 S69 
 
 Apostle's  prediction  concerning  tfte  man 
 of  Six.  “  In  the  Episcopal  Order,  the 
 “  Bishop  of  Rome”  became  placed,  by 
 common  consent,  as  it  were,  “  the  first  in 
 “  rank,  and  distinguished  by  a  sort  of  pre- 
 “  eminence  over  all  other  Prelates.”  “  He 
 “  surpassed  all  his  brethren,  in  the  mag- 
 “  nificence  and  splendour  of  the  Church 
 “  over  which  he  presided  ;  in  the  riches  of 
 “  his  revenues  and  possessions ;  in  the 
 “  number  and  variety  of  his  Ministers;  iu 
 “  his  credit  with  the  people,  and  in  his 
 (i  sumptuous  and  splendid  manner  of  liv- 
 “  ing.  These  dazzling  marks  of  human 
 (i  power,  these  ambiguous  proofs  of  true 
 “  greatness  and  felicity,  had  such  a 
 “  mighty  influence  upon  the  minds  of  the 
 “  multitude,  that  the  See  of  Rome  became” 
 even  in  the  fourth  Century,  “  a  most  se - 
 “  during  Object  of  sacerdotal  Ambition. 
 “  Hence  it  happened,  that  when  a  new 
 “  Pontiff  was  to  be  elected  by  the  suf- 
 “  f'rages  of  the  Presbyters  and  the  People, 
 “  the  City  of  Rome  was  generally  agitated 
 “  with  dissentions,  tumults,  and  cabals, 
 “  whose  consequences  were  often  deplo- 
 “  rable  and  fatal.  The  intrigues  and  dis- 
 
 Hev.  xm.  4,  5, 
 
 VOL.  II.  2  b 
 
370  LECTURE  XI. 
 
 44  turbances,  that  prevailed  in  that  city  in 
 44  the  year  566 ,  when,  upon  the  death  of 
 “  Liberius,  another  Pontiff  was  to  be  cho- 
 44  sen  in  his  place,  are  a  sufficient  proof 
 44  of  what  has  been  now  advanced/' 
 
 In  this  century,  moreover,  44  several  of 
 44  those  Steps  were  laid,  by  which  the 
 44  Bishops  of  Rome  mounted  afterwards  to 
 44  the  Summit  of  Ecclesiastical  power  and 
 “  despotism  :  and  these  Steps  were  laid, 
 
 N  _ 
 
 44  partly  by  the  imprudence  of  the  Empe- 
 44  rors,  partly  by  the  dexterity  of  the  Ro- 
 44  man  Prelates  themselves,  and  partly  by 
 44  the  inconsiderate  zeal  and  precipitate 
 44  judgment  of  certain  Bishops  #.M 
 
 2.  In  the  fifth  Century,  44  none  of  the 
 44  contending  Bishops  found  the  occur- 
 44  rences  of  the  times  so  favourable  to  his 
 44  ambition,  as  the  Roman  Pontiff.  Not- 
 44  withstanding  the  redoubled  efforts  of 
 44  the  Bishop  of  Constantinople,  a  variety 
 “  of  circumstances  united  in  augmenting 
 
 O  O 
 
 44  his  power  and  authority,  though  he  had 
 44  not,  as  yet,  assumed  the  dignity  of 
 44  supreme  Lawgiver  and  Judge  of  the 
 44  wdiole  Christian  Church.  The  Bishops 
 
 *  Mjsheitn’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol.  1.  Cent.  4,  Tart  % 
 Chap.  2,  Sect.  5, 6. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 37 1 
 
 44  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch,  unable  to 
 44  make  head  against  the  lordly  Prelate  of 
 44  Constantinople,  fled  often  to  the  Roman 
 44  Pontiff  for  succour  against  his  violence  ; 
 44  and  the  inferior  order  of  Bishops  used 
 44  the  same  method,  when  their  rights  were 
 44  invaded  by  the  Prelates  of  Alexandria 
 44  and  Antioch.  So  that  the  Bishop  of 
 44  Rome,  by  taking  all  these  Prelates  alter- 
 44  nately  under  his  protection,  daily  added 
 44  new  degrees  of  influence  and  authority 
 44  to  the  Roman  See,  rendered  it  every 
 44  where  respected,  and  was  thus  imjier- 
 44  ceptibly  establishing  his  Supremacy .  Such 
 44  were  the  means,  by  which  the  Roman 
 44  Pontiff  extended  his  dominion  in  the 
 44  East.” 
 
 44  In  the  West,  its  increase  was  owing  to 
 44  other  causes.  The  declining  power,  and 
 44  the  supine  indolence  of  the  Emperors , 
 44  left  the  authority  of  the  Bishop,  who 
 44  presided  in  the  Imperial  City,  almost 
 44  without  control.  The  incursions,  more- 
 44  over,  and  triumphs  of  the  Barbarians , 
 44  were  so  far  from  being  prejudicial  to  his 
 “  rising  Dominion,  that  they  rather  con- 
 Ret.  XIII.  4. 
 
 2  b  2 
 
372  LECTURE  XI. 
 
 “  tributed  to  its  advancement.  For  the 
 “  Kings,  who  penetrated  into  the  Empire, 
 “  were  only  solicitous  about  the  methods 
 “  of  giving  a  sufficient  degree  of  stability 
 “  to  their  respective  Governments.  And 
 when  they  perceived  the  subjection  of 
 “  the  multitude  to  the  Bishops,  and  the 
 “  dependence  of  the  Bishops  upon  the 
 “  Roman  Pontiff,  they  immediately  re- 
 “  solved  to  reconcile  this  ghostly  Ruler  to 
 “  their  interests,  by  loading  him  with  be- 
 44  nefits  and  honours  of  various  kinds*.” 
 
 3.  In  the  sixth  Century,  the  affairs  of 
 the  Romish  Church  were  rapidly  advanc¬ 
 ing  towards  the  predicted  Acme.  “  The 
 44  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Clergy  were 
 44  very  considerable  before  this  period  ; 
 44  and  the  riches,  which  they  accumulated, 
 “immense:  and  both  received  daily 
 “  augmentations  from  the  growth  of  Su - 
 “  perstition  in  this  Century .  The  arts  of 
 “  a  rapacious  Priesthood  were  practised 
 “  upon  the  ignorant  devotion  of  the 
 “  simple ;  and  even  the  remorse  of  the 
 66  wicked  was  made  an  instrument  of 
 a  increasing  the  ecclesiastical  treasure. 
 
 #  Mosheim’s  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol*  1.  Cent.  5,  Part  2, 
 Chap.  2.  Sect.  6. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 373 
 
 et  For  ail  opinion  was  propagated  with 
 “  industry  among  the  people,  that  the 
 “  remission  of  their  suss  was  to  he  pur- 
 “  chased  by  their  liberalities  to  the  Churches 
 “  and  Monks ;  and  that  the  prayers  of 
 “  departed  Saints,  whose  efficacy  was 
 “  victorious  at  the  throne  of  GOD,  were  to 
 “  be  bought  by  offerings  presented  to  the 
 “  Temples ,  which  zvere  consecrated  to  these 
 “  celestial  Mediators/' 
 
 Notwithstanding,  however,  the  power, 
 wealth,  and  privileges,  of  the  Clergy,  in 
 this  Age,  “  it  is  certain,  from  a  variety  of 
 “  the  most  authentic  records,  that  both 
 “  the  Emperors,  and  the  Nations  in  general, 
 “  were  far  from  being  disposed  to  bear 
 with  patience  the  yoke  of  Servitude , 
 “  which  the  See  of  Rome  was  arrogantly 
 “  imposing  upon  the  Christian  Church. 
 u  The  Gothic  Princes  set  bounds  to  the 
 “  power  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  in  Italy, 
 “  permitted  none  to  be  raised  to  the  Pon- 
 “  tificate  without  their  approbation,  and 
 “  reserved  to  themselves  the  right  of  judg- 
 “  ing  concerning  the  legality  of  every  new 
 “  election.  They  enacted  spiritual  Lawrs ; 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  4. 
 
 2  B  S 
 
374  LECTURE  XX. 
 
 44  called  the  religious  Orders  before  their 
 44  Tribunals  ;  and  summoned  Councils  by 
 44  their  Regal  Authority.  In  consequence 
 “  of  all  this,  the  Pontiffs,  amidst  all  their 
 44  high  pretensions,  reverenced  the  Ma- 
 <l  jesty  of  their  Kings  and  Emperors,  and 
 “  submitted  to  their  Authority  with  the 
 44  most  profound  humility.  Nor  were 
 44  they,  as  vet,  so  lost  to  all  sense  of  shame, 
 44  as  to  aim  at  the  subjection  of  Kings  and 
 44  Princes  to  their  ghostly  Dominion 
 
 4.  Soon  after  the  beonnnins;  of  the 
 seventh  Century,  44  the  disputes  about 
 44  Preeminence,  that  had  so  long  subsisted 
 44  between  the  Bishops  of  Rome  and  Con- 
 44  stantinople,  proceeded  to  such  violent 
 44  lengths,  as  laid  the  foundations  of  that 
 44  deplorable  Schism,  which  afterwards 
 44  separated  the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches. 
 44  The  most  learned  Writers,  and  those 
 44  who  are  most  remarkable  for  their 
 44  knowledge  of  Antiquity,  are  generally 
 44  agreed,  that  Boniface  III.  engaged 
 46  Phocas,  that  abominable  Tyrant,  who 
 44  waded  to  the  imperial  throne  through 
 
 *  Mosheim’s  Eccles,  Hist.  Vol.  1.  Cent.  6,  Parts, 
 Chap.  2,  Sect.  2,  3. 
 
LECTURE  Xf. 
 
 375 
 
 “  the  blood  of  the  Emperor  Mauritius,  to 
 “  take  from  the  Bishop  of  Constantinople 
 “  the  title  of  Oecumenical,  or  Universal 
 “  Bishop ,  and  to  confer  it  upon  the  Ro- 
 “  man  Pontiff/5 
 
 Thus  was  the  papal  Supremacy  first  in¬ 
 troduced  ;  “and  the  Roman  Pontiffs  used 
 “  all  sorts  of  methods  to  maintain  and 
 “  enlarge  the  authority  and  pre-eminence, 
 “  which  they  had  thus  acquired  from  the 
 <£  most  odious  Tyrant,  that  ever  disgraced 
 “  the  annals  of  History  *.’5 
 
 In  this  manner,  at  length,  was  fully 
 manifested  “  the  Man  of  Sin” — a  Power, 
 which,  diffusing  in  every  direction  an  in¬ 
 tellectual  darkness  around  him,  by  closing 
 up  the  avenues  to  light  and  knowledge, 
 availed  himself  of  that  darkness — to  im¬ 
 pose  upon  the  credulity  of  Mankind  ;  to 
 advance  the  most  unwarrantable  and 
 blasphemous  pretensions ;  and  to  raise 
 himself  to  that  awful  pinnacle  of  Eleva¬ 
 tion,  from  which  he  cannot  but  be  preci¬ 
 pitated,  whenever  the  mists  of  prejudice 
 
 *  Mosheim’s  Eccles,  Hist.  Vol.  2.  Cent.  7,  Part  2, 
 Chap.  2.  Sect.  1,  2. 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  4. 
 
 2  B  4 
 
376 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 and  ignorance  shall  be  so  far  dispelled,  as 
 to  discover  to  all  the  daring  impiety  of 
 his  presumption,  the  visionary  basis  of 
 the  eminence  to  which  he  has  attained. 
 
 To  that  period  of  the  history,  when  this 
 Elevation  had  been  fully  attained,  the  in¬ 
 spired  Writer  now  conducts  us :  still,  how- 
 ever,  appearing  to  keep  in  his  eye  the 
 parallelism  which  is  sufficiently  obvious, 
 between  the  states  of  pagan  and  Christian 
 Rome. 
 
 5.  “  And  there  was  given *  to  the  Beast 
 “  a  Mouth  speaking  great  things ,  and  bias - 
 e<  phemies ;  and  power  was  given  unto  him 
 a  to  make  war  *  forty  and  two  Months ” 
 
 That  the  times  of  ignorance,  supersti¬ 
 tion,  and  idolatry,  to  which  we  are  now 
 alluding,  should  also  be  times  of  blasphemy, 
 is  a  truth  almost  too  obvious  to  require 
 demonstration.  For  what  is  blasphemy, 
 but  the  offering  of  some  indignity  to 
 God  ?  And  what  can  be  a  greater  indig¬ 
 nity,  than  to  entertain  unworthy  thoughts 
 respecting  him;  “  to  change  the  truth  of 
 <£  God  into  a  lie;  and  to  worship  and 
 
 *  — Wetstein’s  Edition.  Uoir/a-eci , 
 
 merely,  “  to  practise  ”  or  u  continue  in  action — Gries- 
 bach’s. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 377 
 
 “  serve  the  creature  more  than  the  Crea- 
 
 * 
 
 <x  tor,  who  is  blessed  for  ever  -f”  The 
 idolatry,  ii|  which  the  regions  of  the  West 
 were  now  immersed,  was  continually  the 
 occasion  of  such  blasphemies  as  these. 
 And  the  confidence  with  which  the  Latins , 
 in  particular,  seconded,  and  asserted,  the 
 lofty  pretensions  and  presumptuous  claims 
 of  the  Roman  Pontiff,  whose  subjects  at 
 
 length  they  literally  became  j,  was  the 
 
 / 
 
 t  Rom.  ch.  1.  v.  25. 
 
 J  Leo  the  Isaurian,  in  the  10th  year  of  his  Reign, 
 and  the  726th  of  the  Christian  Era,  published  the  fa¬ 
 mous  Edict,  commanding  all  Images  to  be  removed 
 out  of  the  Churches,  and  forbidding  any  Worship  to 
 be  paid  to  them. 
 
 -In  the  West,  and  especially  in  Italy,  this  Edict  was 
 held  in  such  abhorrence,  that  the  people  openly  revolt¬ 
 ed  :  Gregory  il,  then  Bishop  of  Rome,  had,  from  the 
 very  beginning,  opposed  it  with  great  warmth;  and 
 now,  presuming  upon  the  eminent  service  he  had  ren¬ 
 dered  the  Empire  (in  procuring  the  expulsion  of  Luit- 
 prand  king  of  the  Lombards  from  the  Exarchate  of  Ra¬ 
 venna,  by  means  of  his  interest  with  the  Venetians),  he 
 wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  Emperor,  earnestly  intreating 
 him  to  revoke  the  obnoxious  Edict.  But  Leo,  well 
 apprised  that  Gregory  had  been  prompted  by- his  own 
 Interest ,  and  not  by  that  of  the  Empire,  was  exasperated 
 to  sueh  a  degree  against  him,  for  continuing  still  to 
 oppose  his  Edict,  that  he  sent  private  orders  to  his 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  5. 
 
378 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 cause  of  “  the  great  words/’  and  “  proud 
 “  things/’  which  they  spake  against  “  The 
 “  Most  High.” 
 
 officers  in  Italy,  especially  to  Paul,  Exarch  of  Ravenna, 
 and  to  Mauritius  Duke  of  Rome,  enjoining  them  to  get 
 the  Pope,  by  some  means  or  other,  into  their  power, 
 and  to  send  him  dead  or  alive  to  Constantinople.  But 
 the  people  of  Rome,  who  had  a  great  Veneration  for 
 their  Bishop,  discovering  the  plot,  guarded  him  so 
 carefully,  that  these  Officers  could  never  find  an  oppor¬ 
 tunity  of  putting  their  orders  into  execution.  Gre¬ 
 gory,  finding  himself  thus  supported  by  the  people  of 
 Rome,  solemnly  excommunicated  the  Exarch,  for  publish¬ 
 ing,  and  attempting  to  put  into  Execution,  the  Empe¬ 
 ror’s  Edict ;  writing  at  the  same  time  letters  to  the 
 Venetians,  to  King  Luitprand,  to  the  Lombard  Dukes, 
 and  to  all  the  Cities  of  the  Empire,  exhorting  them  to 
 continue  stedfast  in  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  to  oppose , 
 with  all  their  might,  the  execution  of  the  impious ,  as  he 
 stiled  it,  and  heretical  Edict. 
 
 These  Letters  made  such  an  impression  upon  the 
 minds  of  the  people,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Italy — the 
 Romans,  the  Venetians,  and  the  Lombards — entering 
 into  an  alliance,  resolved  to  act  in  concert;  and  prevent 
 to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  the  execution  of  the  Im¬ 
 perial  Edict.  The  inhabitants  of  Rome,  and  of  the 
 Pentapolis,  or  Marca  d’Ancona,  did  not  stop  here. 
 They  eveiy  where  pulled  down  the  Emperor’s  statues; 
 openly  revolted  ;  and,  refusing  to  acknowledge  an 
 Iconoclast ,  or  breaker  of  Images,  for  their  Emperor, 
 elected  Magistrates  of  their  own.  Nay,  they  enter¬ 
 tained  some  thoughts  of  electing  a  new  Emperor,  and 
 conducting  him  with  a  strong  Army  to  Constantinople : 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 379 
 
 So  long  as  the  bestial ,  or  the  idolatrous 
 combined  with  the  persecuting ,  character 
 of  the  secular  Empire  was  to  remain,  just 
 so  long,  it  is  here  predicted,  the  power  of 
 
 but  this  scheme  was  opposed  by  the  Pope,  on  account 
 of  its  impracticability. 
 
 In  fine,  the  people  of  Rome,  finding  the  Emperor 
 inflexible  in  his  design  against  the  worship  of  Images, 
 and  the  life  of  the  Pope,  whom  he  justly  considered  as 
 the  chief  Author  of  all  the  disturbances,  resolved  at 
 length  to  renounce  their  allegiance  to  Leo,  and  to  con¬ 
 tinue  united  under  the  Pope  as  their  head  ;  binding 
 themselves  by  a  solemn  Oath,  to  defend  him  against 
 all  the  attempts  of  the  Emperor,  and  also  of  the  Lom¬ 
 bards,  whom  they  had  too  much  reason  to  distrust. 
 
 Thus,  the  Idolatry  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  was  the 
 cause  of  the  Rebellion  of  the  Roman  people  against 
 their  legitimate  Imperial  Head  ;  and  upon  that  Rebellion 
 was  founded  the  temporal  Headship  of  the  Bishops  of 
 Rome  over  them — a  Sovereignty ,  which  they  have  heldf 
 with  scarcely  any  intermission,  to  this  very  day  !  Such 
 is  the  awful  Climax  in  Crime,  by  which  they  first  ac 
 quired  their  temporal  Power!  That  Power  was,  indeed, 
 afterwards  more  firmly  established  by  Gregory  HI.  in 
 741  ;  and  successive  grants  of  territory  were  acquired 
 from  Pepin,  and  Charlemagne,  which  contributed  to 
 increase  their  secular  importance,  and  to  raise  them  to 
 the  rank  of  Princes  :  but  this  was  the  Origin  of  all. 
 
 For  the  Account  of  this  Revolution  more  at  large, 
 consult  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  17r  book  4,  eh. 9,  p-40— 
 42;  and  the  Lives  of  Gregory  II.  and  his  three  imme¬ 
 diate  Successors,  Gregory  III.  Zachary,  and  Stephen 
 II.  in  Mr.  Bower’s  Lives  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  3.  Edit.  3. 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  5. 
 
380 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 shewing  its  hostility  to  the  Church  of 
 Christ  is  to  be  continued  to  it.  But  there 
 are  no  instances  upon  record,  of  any  open 
 and  sanguinary  persecution,  merely  on  ac¬ 
 count  of  the  profession  of  true  Religion, 
 having  been  carried  on,  by  any  Power 
 professing  Christianity,  and  occupying 
 the  Seat  of  the  Western  Empire,  till  after 
 the  secular  Government  had  been  excited 
 to  these  deeds  of  cruelty  and  injustice,  by 
 the  spiritual  Power;  which  was  seated 
 also  in  the  same  Capital,  and  obtained,  a>jt 
 length,  the  secular  Dominion  for  itself. 
 Till  the  formation  of  this  new,  universal, 
 and  spiritual  Empire,  the  “  deadly  wound,” 
 which  had  been  received  by  the  Beast, 
 could  not  be  said  to  have  been  perfectly 
 healed ;  but,  after  that  epoch,  the  cure 
 was  certainly  complete;  her  Bishop  then 
 occupied  the  same  place  in  Christian ,  as 
 the  Pontifex  Maximus  had  done  in  Pagan 
 Rome,  and  even  proceeded  so  far  as  to 
 assume  the  same  title :  then  also  Idolatry 
 and  Superstition  were  as  firmly  establish¬ 
 ed  as  ever  in  the  regions  of  the  West ;  and 
 were  supported  there  for  ages,  by  the  tre¬ 
 mendous  “  Power”  and  the  overwhelming 
 “  Authority ”  derived  from  “  the  Dragon” 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 381 
 
 The  time,  therefore,  when  the  Beast  re¬ 
 gained  the  power  of  persecution,  was, 
 when  he  placed  himself  under  the  direc¬ 
 tion  of  this  spiritual  Tyrant ;  and  bound 
 himself  implicitly  to  enforce  all  his  inhu¬ 
 man  and  impious  decrees  *. 
 
 From  that  date,  then,  he  has  “  power 
 <c  given  him  to  continue  in  action  forty 
 “  and  two  Months  ”  or  one  thousand  two 
 hundred  and  sixty  years  -f*. 
 
 6.  Under  this  influence,  “  he  opened 
 “  his  mouth  for  Blasphemy  against  GOD, 
 14  to  blaspheme  His  Name ,  and  his  Taber - 
 44  nacle,  and  them  that  dwell  in  the  Heaven.” 
 
 In  paying  a  portion  of  that  adoration 
 at  the  Shrines,  and  before  the  Images,  of 
 Saints  and  Martyrs,  which  was  due  to 
 God  only;  and  in  establishing,  by  the 
 force  of  compulsory  laws,  the  practice  of 
 Idolatry,  throughout  the  extent  of  his  Do¬ 
 minion, — the  secular  Power  thus  symbo¬ 
 lized  might  be  truly  said  to  “  open  his 
 “  Mouth  for  blasphemy  against  GOD.” 
 
 *  This  was  in  the  year  606 ;  for  then  the  Universal 
 Dominion  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  over  the  Church  was 
 first  proclaimed  and  established. 
 
 t  See  Note  page  6. 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  5,6. 
 
382 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 And,  in  acceding  to,  and  sanctioning, 
 those  Assumptions,  in  the  spiritual  Power 
 with  which  he  was  connected,  which  it 
 would  be  blasphemy  in  any  mere  man  to 
 assume,  he  became  habitually  guilty  of 
 “  blaspheming  the  Name  of  GODV 
 
 “  The  Tabernacle,”  or  the  genuine 
 Church  of  Christ  was  also  “  blasphemed,” 
 when  it  was  treated  with  a  barbarous  in¬ 
 dignity;  when  it  was  exposed  to  the  per¬ 
 secutions  of  enmity;  when  the  purity,  and 
 impressive  simplicity,  of  the  primitive 
 worship  became  overwhelmed  and  lost,  in 
 the  multitude  of  absurd,  profane,  and 
 trifling  forms,  which  were  sanctioned  and 
 established  by  law,  and  so  generally  sup¬ 
 plied  their  place. 
 
 And  his  blasphemous  abuse  of  u  them  that 
 “  dwell  in  the  Heaven;”  where  the  Taberna¬ 
 cle  of  God  was,  is  sufficiently  manifest, 
 from  the  contempt  with  which  those 
 Princes,  and  persons  of  exalted  stations, 
 who  refused  to  go  the  same  lengths  in  im¬ 
 piety  as  himself,  were  treated  ;  and  in  the 
 efforts  he  exerted  to  ruin  their  credit,  to 
 subvert  and  destroy  them. 
 
 7*  “  And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  make 
 “  war  with  the  Saints,  and  to  overcome 
 
LECTURE  XL 
 
 S83 
 
 them/'  Not  satisfied  with  thinking  ill 
 of  the  people  of  God,  and  directing  to¬ 
 wards  them  every  indignity  which  lan¬ 
 guage  and  general  conduct  could  convey, 
 the  diabolical  influence  under  which  he 
 acted,  and  which  is  identified  also  with 
 that  of  the  ecclesiastical  Potentate  to  whom 
 he  was  attached,  urged  him  on  to  actual 
 hostility  against  them.  And,  in  the  events 
 of  these  wars,  he  was  generally  successful ; 
 till  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  indeed, 
 entirely  so. 
 
 What  a  striking  conformity,  then,  does 
 this  part  of  the  Prophecy  exhibit,  with 
 that  illustrious  one  of  Daniel  in  relation 
 to  the  same  subject — “  I  beheld  ;  and  the 
 “  same  Horn”  (the  little  Horn  of  the  fourth 
 Beast)  “  made  war  with  the  Saints,  and  pre - 
 u  vailed  against  them ,  until  the  Ancient  of 
 “  Days  came,  and  judgment  was  given  to 
 “  the  Saints  of  The  Most  High*."  This 
 Horn  was  the  great  instigator  to  these 
 atrocities  ;  and  the  Beast,  which  support¬ 
 ed  him,  was  the  perpetrator  of  them  :  so 
 that  of  both  the  same  achievements  may 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7-  v.  21, 22. 
 ivEV.  XIII.  7. 
 
384 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 be  justly  predicated.  Indeed,  through  by 
 far  the  greater  part  of  the  ages  here  allu¬ 
 ded  to,  these  two  species  of  Dominion 
 have  been  united  in  the  same  persons  :  for, 
 ever  since  the  year  741,  the  Bishops  ot 
 Rome  have  been  both  the  spiritual  and 
 temporal  heads  of  the  Roman  people 
 
 “  And  power  was  given  him  over  all 
 “  Kindreds ,  and  Tongues ,  and  Nations ” — 
 from  his  Seat ,  he  exerted  a  most  absolute 
 tyranny,  over  all  the  Regions  compre¬ 
 hended  within  the  limits  of  the  Roman 
 Catholic  world;  which,  for  ages,  formed 
 only  so  many  provinces,  as  it  were,  of  the 
 Empire  of  the  Beast. 
 
 8.  “  And  all  that  dwell  on  the  Earth  ” 
 or  within  the  limits  above  mentioned, 
 “  shall  worship  him,”  holding  him  in  great 
 admiration,  and  paying  the  most  profound 
 reverence  to  his  decrees.  And  this  wor¬ 
 ship  has  been  rendered  to  him  by  all  those, 
 “  whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  Book 
 “  of  Life  of  the  Lamb,  who  was  sacrificed 
 “  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.” 
 
 *  And,  consequently,  ever  since  that  date  has  the 
 Papacy  been  identified  with  the  last  Head  of  the  Beast 
 himself.  See  Rev.  ch.  17*  v.  9 — 11. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 38  5 
 
 Those  only  have  been  excepted,  who  have 
 been  enrolled,  as  the  faithful  Witnesses 
 for  Christ,  and  who  might  be  truly  said 
 “  to  live  unto  God,”  in  the  midst  of  those 
 ages  of  darkness  and  perversion.  For 
 some  certainly  there  have  been,  in  every 
 age,  though  their  number  was  compara¬ 
 tively  small,  who,  under  all  these  disad¬ 
 vantages,  did  still  preserve  some  degree  of 
 spiritual  life;  and  keeping  themselves  un¬ 
 contaminated,  as  far  as  possible,  by  the 
 impurities  of  the  Idolatry  that  then  uni¬ 
 versally  prevailed,  have  “  washed  their 
 “  Robes,  and  made  them  white,  in  the 
 “  Blood  of  the  Lamb.” 
 
 9,  10.  But,  “  according  to  the  determi- 
 “  nate  Counsel  and  Foreknowledge  of 
 “  God,”  and  as  this  Prophecy  most  fully 
 declares,  the  Period  of  Divine  Retribution, 
 however  long  it  may  seem  to  be  retarded, 
 is  certain  of  at  length  arriving;  and  then 
 this  idolatrous  and  merciless  Dominion 
 will  fall,  never  to  rise  again.  The  limits 
 of  its  duration  are  fixed;  and  they  have 
 been  actually  revealed.  This  is  therefore 
 a  Subject,  which  demands  the  most  seri¬ 
 ous  attention.  It  should  incline  every 
 Ret.  XI.  9,  10. 
 
 VOL.  II.  2  c 
 
38  G 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 one  “  that  bath  an  ear  to  hearken.1'  For, 
 while  it  is  well  adapted  to  appal,  and  lead 
 to  repentance,  those  Enemies  of  genuine 
 Christianity,  whose  history  is  here  unfold¬ 
 ed  ;  it  cannot  but  operate  as  a  ground  for 
 tc  the  patience  and  the  faith  of  the  Saints." 
 “  For  yet  a  little  while ,  and  he  that  shall 
 “  come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry*:’ 
 and  then ,  “  he  that  leadeth  into  Captivity 
 “  shall  go  into  Captivity;  and  he  that 
 “  killeth  with  the  Sword,  must  be  killed 
 “  with  the  Sword  f 
 
 *  Heb.  ch  10,  v.  37- 
 
 f  I  may  refer,  for  further  illustration  of  the  truth  and 
 importance  of  this  asseveration,  to  that  sublime  and 
 awful  Description,  which  St.  John  has  given  us,  in  the 
 nineteenth  Chapter,  of  the  Triumph  of  the  Church  Uni¬ 
 versal,  in  consequence  of  the  final  establishment  of 
 genuine  Christianity,  upon  the  ruins  of  this  apostate 
 Power.  Though  strictly  symbolical,  yet  it  is  suffi¬ 
 ciently  intelligible,  according  to  the  principles  that  are 
 already  laid  down ;  and  it  will  derive  additional  light 
 from  a  comparison  with  the  corresponding  prediction 
 of  Daniel  (in  chap.  7,  v.  7 — 27.)  in  relation  to  the  same 
 great  Subject.  This  Prophecy  of  St.  John  affords  a 
 wonderful  anticipation  of  the  nature  and  event  of 
 the  last  great  struggle  that  will  be  made  by  the  apostate 
 
 Confederacy  of  the  Papal  Empire,  against  the  all- 
 
 / 
 
 conquering  Power  of  “the  Word  of  God,”  and  the 
 universally  prevailing  Dominion  of  Christ.  That  of 
 
LECTURE  XL 
 
 387 
 
 The  Prophet  has  now  described,  by  a 
 variety  of  Symbols,  the  various  States,  and 
 Forms  of  Government,  under  which  this 
 wild  Beast ,  the  Roman  Empire ,  should  ex¬ 
 ist,  from  his  very  Rise,  till  the  close  of  the 
 great  Period,  during  which  (after  his 
 deadly  wound  was  healed,  in  consequence 
 of  the  firm  re-establishment  of  Idolatry 
 within  his  precincts)  his  power  of  doing 
 injury  to  the  Church  of  Christ  should  be 
 continued  to  it.  And  a  brief  Recapitula¬ 
 tion  will  place  the  whole  in  the  clearest 
 light  before  us. 
 
 I.  We  have  seen  it,  under  the.  Jive  first 
 Seals ,  repeatedly  excited,  by  the  most  im¬ 
 placable  Enmity,  against  Christianity;  and 
 labouring,  by  the  most  violent  means,  to 
 effect  its  extirpation  *. 
 
 II.  Under  the  sixth  Seal ,  we  have  beheld 
 the  haughty  Spirit  of  Paganism  humbled, 
 as  it  were,  to  the  very  dust;  and  its  last 
 pagan  Head  wounded,  in  a  manner,  to 
 death  'f*. 
 
 Daniel  most  evidently  includes  the  same  transcendent 
 particulars. 
 
 *  Pages  134—143.  Pages  144-^—160. 
 
 Ret.  XI.  10. 
 
 2  C  2 
 
388 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 III.  Then  succeeded  a  Season  of  Re¬ 
 laxation  from  Persecution,  and  of  external 
 Prosperity,  for  the  Church,  memorable  in¬ 
 deed  for  its  tranquillity,  but  short  in  its 
 duration  :  for  it  continued  no  longer  than 
 till  the  opening  of  the  seventh  Seal*. 
 
 IV.  After  the  solemn  pause,  which  at¬ 
 tended  that  awful  Event,  the  secular  affairs 
 of  the  Empire  began  rapidly  to  decline ; 
 and  a  dreadful  necessity  compelled  the 
 Division  of  it  into  two  Parts,  the  Eastern 
 and  Western  f*. 
 
 V.  Upon  the  sounding  of  the  first  Trum¬ 
 pet,  the  Barbarians  of  the  North,  and  of 
 the  East,  poured  down,  in  numberless 
 hordes,  upon  the  fertile  Provinces  of  the 
 South,  and  of  the  West ;  leaving  every 
 where  behind  them  the  sad  memorials  of 
 the  desolations  they  had  created 
 
 VI.  During  the  Period  proclaimed  by 
 the  second  Trumpet ,  the  ancient  Metropolis 
 of  the  Empire  itself  became  a  prey  to 
 their  irruptions ;  and  was  thrice  over¬ 
 whelmed  by  their  tumultuous  fluctua¬ 
 tions  §. 
 
 *  Pages  160—170.  f  Pages  170—180. 
 
 $  Pages  180—186.  §  Pages  187—104. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 3f9 
 
 Within  the  same  interval,  also,  seven  of 
 the  ten  Horns  of  the  Beast ;  that  is,  seven , 
 out  of  the  ten  Kingdoms ,  which  were  form¬ 
 ed  from  the  Ruins  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
 had  their  commencement*. 
 
 VII.  Under  the  third  Trumpet ,  the  Im¬ 
 perial  Dignity  itself  fell  before  the  Heruli 
 and  the  Goths  ;  and  their  successive  Do¬ 
 minions  in  Italy  constituted  the  seventh 
 Head  of  the  Beast  f*.  These  also  formed 
 two  more  of  the  ten  Kingdoms  in  question  +. 
 
 VIII.  Under  the  fourth,  all  those  Impe¬ 
 rial  forms,  which  had  been  retained  under 
 these  two  Dynasties,  and  that  ancient  poli¬ 
 tical  Establishment,  which  had  been  hither¬ 
 to  treated  with  a  great  degree  of  respect, 
 were  finally  superseded  by  the  Lombards^, 
 
 *  Pages  194 — 193*  *t  Pages  199 — 204. 
 
 X  Page  207. 
 
 §  The  Kingdom  of  the  Lombards,  in  Italy,  was  the 
 tenth  or  last  Kingdom,  which  grew  up  in  the  Empire  of 
 the  West.  See  page  207. 
 
 The  three  Horns,  therefore,  or  Kingdoms ,  which  were 
 “ plucked  up  by  the  roots  ”  according  to  the  prediction 
 of  Daniel  (in  ch.  7.  v.  8.),  to  make  way  for  the  growth 
 of  the  little  Horn ,  or  Kingdom  of  the  Papacy ,  before 
 whom  the  <(  three  fell,”  as  the  Prophet  further  explains 
 the  passage  (in  v.  20.)  were, 
 
 1.  The  Kingdom  of  the  Heruli  ; 
 
 Ret.  XI.  10. 
 
 2  C  3 
 
390 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 and  the  Exarchs  of  Ravenna*.  Under 
 these  Exarchs,  nevertheless,  who  were 
 only  in  reality  the  Representatives  of  the 
 Emperors  of  the  East,  the  Government  ot 
 Rome,  “  the  Seat  of  the  Beast,”  became 
 again  Imperial  -j* ;  and  so  it  continued  till 
 the  year  741  ;  when  that  City,  under 
 Gregory  III.  entirely  shook  off  the  Impe¬ 
 rial  yoke,  and  submitted  to  that  of  her 
 own  spiritual  Head  ;  which  now  therefore 
 became  the  eighth  temporal  Power  that 
 had  exercised  Dominion  there.  Here, 
 however,  we  cannot  sufficiently  admire 
 the  wonderful  precision  of  the  prophetic 
 
 2.  The  Kingdom  of  the  Ostro-Goths ; 
 
 S.  The  Kingdom  of  the  Lombards  : 
 
 For  all  these  occupied  territories,  which  afterwards  fell 
 under,  the  temporal  Dominion  of  the  Pope. 
 
 *  Pages  204  206* 
 
 -f  Longinus,  the  first  Exarch,  came  to  preside  over 
 the  Roman  affairs  in  the  year  368;  but  it  was  not  till 
 the  year  606,  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  obtained  the 
 Title  and  Power  of  Universal  Bishop;  and  the  City 
 was  at  that  time  under  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Emperor  : 
 whence  it  appears,  that  it  was  under  the  same  Head  of 
 the  Beast  which  had  been  wounded,  but  was  then  healed ; 
 in  other  words — it  was  under  a  Head,  or  form  of  Govern¬ 
 ment,  of  the  same  name,  in  both  cases;  for  in  the  Im¬ 
 perial  the  deadly  wound  had  been  received,  and  in  the 
 Imperial  that  deadly  wound  was  healed. 
 
LECTURE  XL 
 
 391 
 
 Language  Daniel  foretold,  that  this  wild 
 Beast  should  have  a  little  Horn ,  or  a  tem¬ 
 poral  combined  with  a  spiritual  Sovereignty ; 
 that  should  grow  up,  un perceived  as  it 
 were,  among  his  ten  horns ;  and  should 
 have  three  of  those  Horns  “  plucked  up  by 
 the  roots”,  before  it.  But  St.  John,  who 
 mentions  also  his  ten  Horns,  takes  no 
 notice  of  this  eleventh  Horn  ;  yet  he  sym¬ 
 bolizes  a  temporal  Power,  that  should  grow 
 out  of  the  same  Beast,  under  the  form  of 
 an  eighth  Head.  This  eighth  Head  will 
 therefore  correspond  with  the  temporal 
 power  of  the  little  Horn;  while  the  eccle¬ 
 siastical  two  horned  Beast  of  the  Earth, 
 another  species  of  power  springing  from 
 the  same  idolatrous  Empire,  answers  exactly 
 to  its  spiritual  Dominion. 
 
 IX.  During  the  Periods,  contained  un¬ 
 der  the  greater  part  of  the  fifth,  the  whole 
 of  the  sixth  Trumpets,  and  as  much  of  the 
 seventh  as  has  hitherto  elapsed,  the  Beast 
 has  been  existing:  under  this  eighth  or  Pa - 
 pal  Plead;  and  so  it  will  continue  to  exist 
 till  “  the  time  of  the  End,”  till  the  “  forty- 
 and-two  Months  shall  have  expired.  Dur¬ 
 ing  nearly  eight  of  the  Ages  comprehend¬ 
 ed  within  this  space*,  emphatically,  and 
 
 *From  the  year  741  to  1517. 
 
 Rev  XI.  10. 
 
 2  C  4 
 
392 
 
 LECTURE  XI 
 
 most  properly  denominated  “  the  dark 
 “ Ages ,”  the  Monster  was  in  his  dominant 
 state;  having  literally  “  power  given  him 
 “  over  all  the  kindreds ,  and  tongues ,  and 
 et  nations *’  of  this  Western  World  ;  and 
 lording  it,  with  the  most  absolute  tyranny, 
 over  all  the  Potentates  of  Europe.  Since 
 the  year  1517,  his  power  has  been  gradu¬ 
 ally  declining.  Several  attempts'  had 
 been  made  “  to  call  him  to  an  accouut” 
 before  that  time;  but  then  “  the  Judg- 
 “  ment  was  set”  in  earnest;  and  ever  since 
 that  period,  his  influence  has  been  gra¬ 
 dually  diminishing;  and  we  are  assured 
 that,  in  a  civil  as  well  as  in  an  ecclesiastical 
 “  sense,  his  Dominion  will  be  consumed 
 “  and  taken  away,”  even  “  unto  the 
 “  End  *  ” 
 
 Such  are  briefly  the  particulars,  which 
 this  astonishing  Series  of  Prophecy  has 
 marked  out  for  our  Meditation,  in  respect 
 to  this  important  Subject.  The  sacred 
 Writer  labours  also  to  prevent  any  mis¬ 
 takes,  that  might  arise  from  a  less  accurate 
 description,  respecting  the  nature  of  the 
 Influence,  which  should  be  generally  pa¬ 
 ramount  during  these  Intervals.  We  have 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7-  v.  5,  C 6. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 3ga 
 
 seen  the  temporal  Roman  Beast  acting  un¬ 
 der  the  influence  of  Paganism,  and,  after 
 a  certain  interval,  acting  under  that  of  the 
 Papacy  ;  but  its  agency  in  both  cases  is 
 said  to  proceed  from  the  impulses  of  the 
 same  Being.  “  The  Dragon  ”  even  “  that 
 “  old  Serpent,  which  is  the  Devil,  and 
 “  Satan,  that  deceiveth  the  whole  World,” 
 — “  He  gave  him  his  Power,  and  his  Seat , 
 “  and  great  Authority.” 
 
 11.  St.John,  having  thus  described  the 
 principal  Characteristics  of  the  temporal 
 Power,  which,  under  its  various  Heads ,  has 
 occupied  the  Seat  of  the  Roman  Empire 
 in  the  West;  and  stated,  in  general  terms, 
 the  Influence  under  which  it  acted  ;  pro¬ 
 ceeds  now  to  point  out  more  particularly 
 the  ostensible  Instigator ,  by  whom  it  had 
 been  latterly  excited  to  all  its  Enormities. 
 The  former  had  only  become  perceptible 
 in  the  effects  it  produced  ;  the  latter 
 stands  confessed  in  the  light  of  open  day. 
 
 “  And  I  beheld,”  says  the  Prophet, 
 “  another  wild  Beast ,  coming  up  out  of  the 
 “  Earth.”  The  former  of  these,  or  the 
 Roman  Empire,  was  represented  as  rising 
 out  of  the  Sea ,  or  originating  in  a  perturb* 
 Rsr.  XJ.  ll. 
 
3Q4 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 ed  and  revolutionary  state  of  Nations; 
 but  this  springs  forth  from  that  Empire 
 itself.  And,  as  he  derives  his  Extraction 
 from  it,  so  are  his  Operations  to  be  car¬ 
 ried  on  within  its  limits.  “  And  he  had 
 “  two  Horns  like  u  Lamb ;  but  he  spake  as 
 u  a  Dragon  ”  A  Horn  is  emblematical  of 
 a  Sovereignty ,  whether  spiritual  or  temporal ; 
 he  was  therefore  to  be  possessed  of  tzvo 
 different  species  of  Dominion,  each  pos¬ 
 sessing  all  the  Malignity  and  Artifice 
 which  actuated  himself,  under  an  external 
 appearance  of  Gentleness  and  Humility. 
 
 And  just  two  such  branches  of  Power 
 are  the  regular  and  secular  Orders  in  the 
 Romish  Church  *.  Each  of  these  has 
 rendered  her  the  most  essential  Services  in 
 the  acquisition  of  her  Authority  ;  and  is 
 indispensable  to  its  further  continuance 
 and  support.  Both  of  these,  under  the 
 cloak  of  humility,  piety,  and  charity,  have 
 rendered  themselves  subservient,  for  ages,  . 
 to  the  most  ambitious  Designs,  and  the 
 most  outrageous  Enormities. 
 
 *  For  an  ample  account  of  the  Peculiarities,  Prero¬ 
 gatives,  and  Achievements,  of  these  two  Orders  in  the 
 Romish  Church,  the  Reader  may  consult  Mosheim, 
 Du  Pin,  and  other  Writers  of  Ecclesiastical  History  at 
 large. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 395 
 
 12.  By  the  assistance  of  these  two  able 
 Coadjutors  “  he  exerciseth  all  the  Power 
 “  of  the  first  Beast  before  him.'’  The 
 Dragon  gave  to  the  former  of  these  “his 
 “  Seat  and  his  Power,  and  great  Autho- 
 “  rity  as  therefore  “  all  this  Power ”  was 
 exercised  by  the  latter  of  them,  so  we 
 must  clearly  infer,  that  it  had  been  deriv¬ 
 ed  from  the  same  Source  :  and  therefore 
 we  become  at  once  acquainted  with  the 
 nature  of  the  Influence ,  under  which  this 
 second  Beast  also  acted.  But  this  Power 
 was  likewise  “  exercised  before or  in  the 
 presence  of  the  former  ;  and  therefore  their 
 Existence  must  have  been  partly  contem¬ 
 poraneous  ;  and  the  Theatre  for  the  prin¬ 
 cipal  display  of  their  Abilities  must  have 
 been  common  to  them  both. 
 
 In  correspondence  with  this,  we  are 
 well  assured,  that  the  spiritual  Empire  was 
 first  established,  when  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
 acquired  the  Supremacy  of  Universal  Bi¬ 
 shop  ;  and  that,  generally,  ever  since  that 
 time,  the  spiritual  and  temporal*  Powers, 
 
 *  The  temporal  Power,  by  whomsoever  administered ; 
 but  it  has  been  seen,  that,  ever  since  the  year  741,  with 
 
 Rkv.  XI.  12. 
 
 I 
 
MG 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 in  the  Seat  of  the  Beasts  have  gone  hand 
 in  hand,  as  it  were;  uniting  cordially  in 
 the  support  of  Idolatry,  and  in  the  Op¬ 
 pression  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
 
 In  the  same  spirit  of  alliance,  it  is  said, 
 he  canseth  the  Earth,  and  them  that  dwell 
 “  therein ,  to  worship  the  first  Beast ,  whose 
 €i  deadly  wound  was  healed/' 
 
 The  Earth,  or  the  Space  contained  with¬ 
 in  the  limits  of  the  Empire,  was  made  to 
 afford  its  portion  of  Worship  to  the  first 
 Beast,  by  a  perpetuation  of  the  same  Name, 
 in  honour  of  it.  In  the  times  of  Paganism, 
 it  was  called  the  Roman  Empire ;  in  the 
 times  subsequent  to  the  healing  of  the 
 deadly  wound  that  is  here  referred  to,  it 
 was  again  distinguished  by  the  same  Title. 
 
 The  time  also  was  now  arrived,  when 
 Liberty  of  Conscience  was  totally  with¬ 
 drawn  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Earth  ; 
 and  when  “  those  that  dwell  therein"  were 
 compelled  to  render  likewise  their  portion 
 of  Worship,  by  adopting  those  Abomina- 
 
 very  trifling  Intermissions,  the  temporal  Power  over  the 
 Roman  People ,  or  in  the  Seat  of  the  Beast,  has  been 
 he'd  by  the  same  Potentate,  who  has  possessed  the  spiri¬ 
 tual  Dominion.  See  Note  *,  pag°  377. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 397 
 
 tions,  as  parts  of  their  own  religious  Ser¬ 
 vices,  which  had  been  the  invention,  and 
 favourite  pursuits,  of  Pagan  Rome. 
 
 13.  And  to  enforce  the  Authority  he 
 claims  for  these  arbitrary  and  impious 
 Decrees,  “  he  doeih  great  xvonders”  The 
 false  Miracles  of  the  Church  of  Rome  are 
 subjects  of  general  notoriety  *.  All  the 
 Saints  in  the  Roman  Calendar  have  been 
 wonder-workers  in  their  time ;  and  even 
 their  Relics  are  considered,  in  many  in¬ 
 stances,  as  far  from  being  destitute  of  the 
 same  supernatural  Efficacy :  nor  can  any 
 Canonization,  even  to  this  day,  take  place, 
 without  a  sufficient  number  of  such  won¬ 
 ders  being  properly  attested,  in  favour  of 
 the  illustrious  Dead,  to  whose  memory  this 
 honour  is  intended.  Unhappily,  these 
 have  the  effect  of  real  Miracles,  upon  the 
 infatuated  Members  of  that  degenerate 
 Church!  Upon  such  tests  as  these  She 
 founds  her  claim  to  being  exclusively  the 
 Church  of  Christ.  They  are  with  her  irre¬ 
 fragable  Evidences,  for  the  Validity  of 
 her  Doctrines,  her  Rites,  and  Institutions. 
 
 It  were  well,  however,  if  the  aggregate 
 
 *  See  Lecture  X.  pages  287 — 289. 
 
 Rky.  XIII.  13. 
 
399 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 of  her  Enormity  rested  here.  But  so  tre¬ 
 mendous  are  the  Influence  and  the  Power 
 which  the  Beast  acquires  by  these  means, 
 that  “  he  maketh  even  Fire  to  come  down 
 “  from  the  Heaven ,  upon  the  Earth ,  in  the 
 “  sight  of  the  Men*”  that  dwell  thereon  : 
 that  is — he  causes  Fire ,  as  the  Emblem 
 of  Divine  Vengeance,  which  he  blasphe¬ 
 mously  claims  to  himself  the  power  of  dis¬ 
 pensing-)-,  to  descend  from  the  Heaven s 
 from  the  supreme  civil  Powers  in  the 
 States  subject  to  his  control,  upon  the 
 Earth ,  within  the  limits  of  their  own  Ju¬ 
 risdiction,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
 those  whom  he  cannot  convert.  And  he 
 does  this,  “  in  the  sight  of  the  Men  ” 
 whom  he  has  compelled  to  worship  the 
 former  Beast ;  and  for  the  sake  of  binding 
 them  to  himself  more  closely,  by  the 
 terror  of  these  auxiliary  Arms. 
 
 What  a  striking  Prediction  have  we 
 
 *  ’Evwtti tv  rwv  av^wi'cvv. 
 
 +  In  proof  of  the  Claim  laid  by  the  Bishops  of  Rome 
 to  this  Plenitude  of  Power,  consult  the  Bull  issued  by 
 Pius  V.  for  tne  excommunication  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
 and  the  absolution  of  her  Subjects  from  their  allegiance. 
 A  literal  copy  of  part  of  this  has  been  given  in  the 
 Twelftn  Lecture ;  and  it  effectually  supersedes  all  fur¬ 
 ther  reasonings,  or  authorities,  relative  to  this  Subject. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 399 
 
 here,  of  the  cruelties,  and  the  horrible 
 atrocities,  that  have  been  perpetrated 
 within  this  idolatrous  papal  Empire  in 
 past  ages  !  IIow  truly  does  it  unfold  to 
 us  the  Mysteries  of  The  Holy  Office  * ;  and 
 represent  it  as  consigning  over  those, 
 whom  it  has  determined  to  destroy,  to  the 
 secular  Arm,  for  the  purpose  of  a  public , 
 ignominious ,  and  excruciating  Heath  ! 
 How  clearly  does  it  give  us  the  anticipa¬ 
 tion  of  those  Crusades  against  Christians , 
 which  have  been  so  often  undertaken,  on 
 its  behalf,  by  Princes  professing  Christi¬ 
 anity  ;  and  of  those  sanguinary'  Persecu¬ 
 tions  they  have  been  so  often  induced  to 
 carry  on,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  cause 
 of  Superstition,  within  their  own  Do¬ 
 minions. 
 
 Are  not  these  phenomena  of  the  moral 
 World  justly  called  “  great  Wonders  ?” 
 To  those,  whose  sentiments  and  manners 
 have  been  humanized  and  refined,  by  the 
 
 *  Consult  Limborch's  History  of  the  Inquisition ; 
 from  various  parts  of  which  a  lively  comparison  may 
 be  formed,  between  the  passage  we  are  now  con¬ 
 sidering,  and  the  monstrous  injustice  and  cruelties, 
 perpetrated  by  that  execrable  Court,  wherever  it  has 
 been  established. 
 
 Rkv,  XIII.  13. 
 
400 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 genial  influence  of  true  Religion,  do  they 
 not  appear  to  be  prodigies  of  cruelty  and 
 impiety  ?  Must  they  not  have  been 
 viewed  in  this  light  by  the  Prophet 
 himself  ? 
 
 14.  Well  then  might  he  further  declare, 
 that  44  he  deceiveth  those  that  dwell  on  the 
 44  Earth”  or  within  the  limits  of  his  Em¬ 
 pire,  44  by  the  Miracles,  which  it  was  given 
 44  him  to  perform,  in  the  sight  of  the 
 Beast.”  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be 
 observed,  that,  in  these  remarkable  words, 
 there  is  another  plain  indication  of  the 
 particular  nature  of  that  influence  under 
 which  he  acted  *.  Of  44  the  Dragon”  it  is 
 said,  that  he  is  44  that  Old  Serpent  ”  44  that 
 44  deceiveth  (he  whole  World  ”  and  of  this 
 second  Beast ,  or  of  this  idolatrous  and  per¬ 
 secuting  Church,  it  is  also  affirmed,  that 
 44  he  deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on  the  Earth.'* 
 Can  there  be  a  doubt  then,  that  he  was 
 actuated  by  the  Spirit  and  Power  of  that 
 first  Mover  to  all  Evil. 
 
 But  the  very  Objects  to  which  he  should 
 
 *  There  appears,  indeed,  to  have  been  a  peculiar 
 degree  of  care  taken,  in  the  composition  of  this  sacred 
 Series  of  Prophecy,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  Mis¬ 
 take  upon  this  Point. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 401 
 
 apply  bis  deceptive  Arts,  and  the  very 
 Motives  which  induced  him  to  practise 
 them,  are  particularly  pointed  out.  “  He 
 “  gave  in  charge  to  them  that  dwell  on 
 “  the  Earth,  to  make  an  Image  to  the 
 “  Beast,  which  hath  the  wound  by  the 
 “  Sword,  and  did  live.”  The  Cause  of  all 
 W’as— a  violent  desire,  for  the  sake  of  Su¬ 
 preme  Elevation ,  to  perpetuate  such  idola¬ 
 trous  Abominations,  as  had  formerly  pre¬ 
 vailed  in  pagan  Rome.  The  Semblance  of 
 these  was  the  Image  they  were  to  erect  to 
 that  ancient  Mistress  of  the  pagan  World  : 
 and  by  which  they  were  to  “  worship ,”  and 
 do  honour  to  her  Memory :  by  which, 
 moreover,  they  were  to  shew,  that  Mo¬ 
 dern  Rome  was  by  no  means  degenerated 
 from  the  distinguished  Character  of  her 
 Predecessor. 
 
 And  is  not  Popery  the  very  Type  and 
 Image  of  the  Paganism  of  the  Empire  in 
 former  times  ?  This,  however,  is  a  sub¬ 
 ject,  which  has  so  often  employed  the 
 talents  of  men  rendered  eminent  by  their 
 probity  and  learning,  that  it  does  not  ap¬ 
 pear  to  admit  at  present  of  any  further 
 Rev.  XIII.  14, 
 
 VOL.  II.  2  D 
 
402 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 elucidation  *.  It  will  be  sufficient  there¬ 
 fore  to  observe,  that  the  Ceremonial  of  the 
 Romish  Church,  and  almost  every  thing 
 connected  with  it,  bear  an  evident  resem¬ 
 blance  and  allusion  to  that  system  of 
 Rites,  which  had  distinguished  the  Wor¬ 
 ship  of  her  pagan  Predecessor. 
 
 15.  But  this  Configuration  of  the  bestial 
 Qualities  of  heathen  Rome  was  not  to  be 
 dull  and  lifeless.  He  that  caused  it  to  be 
 made  had  power  also  “  to  give  Spirit,  or 
 “  Animation ,  to  the  Image  of  the  Beast, 
 “  that  the  Image  of  the  Beast  should  even 
 “  speak”  The  System  of  Idolatry,  intro¬ 
 duced  into  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
 formed  upon  the  model  of  the  ancient  Su- 
 
 *  Of  the  striking  Analogy  between  Popery  and  Pa¬ 
 ganism ,  several  ample  proofs  have  been  adduced  in  the 
 course  of  the  present  Volume  ;  in  pages  293,  &c. 
 
 Mr.  Daubuz,  and  Bishop  Newton,  have  also  touched 
 with  great  perspicuity  upon  the  same  subject ;  the  for¬ 
 mer,  in  his  exposition  of  Rev.  ch,  13,  v.  4;  and  the 
 latter  in  his  twenty-fourth  Dissertation,  in  the  explica¬ 
 tion  of  this  14th  verse;  with  this  difference,  however^ 
 that  his  Lordship  has  confined  this  analogy  to  the  Pre¬ 
 tensions,  Usurpations,  and  Titles  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome, 
 whom  he  conceives  to  be  the  Image  in  question ,  whereas 
 Mr.  Daubuz  has  extended  it  to  the  whole  System  of 
 Poper 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 403 
 
 perstition  of  the  Empire,  was  not  to  be  of 
 a  speculative  nature  ;  it  was  not  required, 
 that  it  should  stand  the  scrutiny  of  right 
 Reason,  or  of  revealed  Truth ;  but  the 
 Spirit,  that  formed  it,  was  to  be  infused 
 into  it :  it  was  to  become  energetic  ;  and 
 capable  of  exciting  all  those  to  action, 
 who  admired  and  approved  it. 
 
 And  never  was  there  a  Spirit  more 
 active  in  Seduction ,  or  more  impatient  of 
 Opposition  and  Control ,  than  that  of  Po¬ 
 pery.  Her  Speeches  have  been  hard  in¬ 
 deed !  Never  did  her  great  Prototype, 
 with  all  the  terrors  of  his  vengeance,  prove 
 half  so  dreadful  a  foe  to  Christianity  as 
 She  has  been.  By  her  specious  Pretences, 
 and  her  splendid  Exterior,  She  enticed  to 
 herself,  and  long  confined  in  her  chains, 
 all  the  Nations  of  the  West ;  she  practised 
 upon  them  the  most  extensive  Delusions ; 
 and  laid  claim  to  their  general  and 
 implicit  Adoration.  By  the  tremendous 
 Power  with  which  she  has  been  armed. 
 She  has  “  caused”  for  ages,  “  that  as  many 
 “  as  would  not  worship  the  Image  of  the 
 “  Beast  should  be  slain  ” 
 
 Ret.  XIII,  15. 
 
 2  d  2 
 
404 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 16.  If  such  were  the  Energies  of  the 
 Image ,  how  great  must  have  been  those  of 
 the  second  Beast ,  who  “  caused  it  to  be 
 “  made  !”  And  we  are  accordingly  in¬ 
 formed,  that  so  vast  and  formidable  were 
 his  Powers,  that  he  reigned  paramount 
 over  all — “  he  causeth  all,”  says  the  Pro¬ 
 phet,  “  both  small  and  great,  rich  and 
 “  poor,  free  and  in  servitude,  that  there 
 “  should  be  given  them  A  Mark*,”  as 
 the  token  of  fealty  and  submission,  either 
 “  in  their  right  hand ,  or  in  thei y  foreheads.” 
 
 This  was  also  in  allusion  to  a  practice 
 that  obtained  in  the  former  times  of 
 Paganism.  “  We  must  understand,”  says 
 the  venerable  Prelate,  who  has  afforded, 
 in  many  parts,  so  able  an  exposition  of 
 this  book,  “  that  it  was  customary  among 
 “  the  ancients,  for  Servants  to  receive  the 
 “  Mark  of  their  Master,  and  Soldiers  of 
 “  their  General,  and  those  who  were  de- 
 “  voted  to  any  particular  Deity,  of  the 
 “  particular  Deity  to  whom  they  were  de- 
 “  voted.  These  Marks  were  usually  irn- 
 “  pressed  on  their  right  ha?id9  or  on  their 
 “foreheads  ,  and  consisted  of  some  hiero- 
 “  glyphic  Characters,  or  of  the  name 
 
 *  Kaivotei  - \v%  dura;,  &c. 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 40j 
 
 “  expressed  in  vulgar  Letters,  according 
 “  to  the  fancy  of  the  imposer*/’  The 
 Mark,  in  the  present  instance,  was  the 
 Name  of  the  Beast  expressed  numerally  ; 
 and  thus  were  all  persons  without  dis¬ 
 tinction,  throughout  the  Roman  Catholic 
 World,  required  under  the  heaviest  Pe¬ 
 nalty ,  and  as  a  testimony  of  Subjection, 
 to  receive  the  Mark  of  the  Beast. 
 
 17*  What  that  Penalty  should  be  we 
 are  immediately  informed— it  was  no  less 
 than  Eoc communication  ;  which  excluded 
 from  all  the  advantages  and  gratifications 
 of  mutual  Intercourse,  from  all  the  rights 
 of  Citizenship,  and  even  of  Humanity. 
 Such  was  to  be  the  Spirit  of  Toleration  in 
 the  Romish  Church,  or  the  Beast  here 
 signified,  that  “  no  man  might  hay  or  sell , 
 “  save  he  that  had  the  Mark”  above  men¬ 
 tioned  ;  and  which  was  no  other  than 
 “  the  Name  of  the  Beast ,  or  the  Number  of 
 u  his  Name  -j-.” 
 
 *  See  Bishop  Newton’s  remarks  on  this  passage  in 
 his  twenty-fourth  Dissertation. 
 
 See  the  ingenious  and  judicious  Observations  upon 
 this  passage,  in  the  writings  of  Mr.  Mede,  Mr.  Daubuz, 
 and  Bishop  Newton,  but,  particularly,  in  those  of  the 
 latter. 
 
 Rjiv.  XIII.  16,  17. 
 
 2  D  3 
 
406 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 18.  The  great  Wisdom  of  Individuals , 
 during  the  time  that  this  Beast  should  be 
 in  existence,  would  consist  in  closely  ob¬ 
 serving  those  Phenomena  in  the  Moral 
 World,  which  would  correctly  correspond 
 with  these  Descriptions.  By  these  means, 
 they  would  be  able  to  trace  the  Origin  of 
 this  idolatrous  Church  from  that  part  of  the 
 Barth ,  which  had  been  peculiarly  the  Seat 
 of  the  former  Beast — that  is,  of  him,  whose 
 “  deadly  wound,”  received  by  “  the  Sword,” 
 or  “  Word  of  God,”  in  the  days  of  Con¬ 
 stantine,  was  afterwards  healed .  They 
 would  next  be  enabled  to  discover  the 
 sprouting  out,  and  gradual  growth,  of  his 
 two  horns,  with  which  he  butted  at  all  his 
 opponents  ;  or  the  institution,  and  firm 
 establishment,  of  the  regular  and  secular 
 Orders  in  thatChurch — each  professing  the 
 meek  and  gentle  Religion  of  Christ ;  yet 
 each  acquiring  a  kind  of  ecclesiastical  Sove¬ 
 reignty  of  its  own  ;  and  contributing  its 
 whole  strength  to  support  the  Power,  and 
 enlarge  the  Dominion,  of  that  Church. 
 After  what  is  comparatively  a  short  In¬ 
 terval,  they  would  perceive  the  Head  of 
 this  Beast,  the  Bishop  of  Rome  himself, 
 acquiring  the  temporal ,  as  well  as  spiritual 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 407 
 
 possession  of  the  Seaty  and  becoming,  in 
 fact,  the  last  Head ,  of  the  first  Beast ;  for 
 that  Power  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  Head 
 of  an  Empire,  which  is  permanently  fixed 
 as  Supreme  in  the  Seat  of  that  Empire. 
 And  would  they  not  see  this  Power  acting 
 as  Supreme,  not  only  in  the  Seat,  but 
 through  the  whole  Extent,  of  that  Empire, 
 and  that  for  some  Ages  ?  For  did  it  not 
 claim  and  exercise  the  Right  of  erecting 
 new  Kingdoms  *  ;  of  deposing  Sovereigns 
 
 *  From  whence,  indeed,  did  Charlemagne,  oste?i$ibhj 
 at  least,  derive  his  Dignity  as  Emperor  of  the  West  ; 
 and  that  Empire  receive  its  revival ;  except  from  the 
 plenitude  of  Power  usurped  by  the  Bishops  of  Rome  ? 
 
 On  Christmas  day,  in  the  year  80(3,  there  was  exhi¬ 
 bited  in  that  City  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  Scenes, 
 that  ever  was  witnessed.  “  The  King  going  to  assist 
 “  at  Mass,  while  he  was  upon  his  knees  before  the 
 “  Altar,  the  Pope  came,  and  placed  a  rich  Crown  upon 
 “  his  head;  upon  which  the  people  cried  aloud — “  Long 
 “  live  Charles  the  August,  crowned  by  the  hand  of  God! 
 11  Long  life  and  victory  to  the  great  and  pacific  Em- 
 “  peror  of  the  Romans  !  During  these  Acclamations, 
 “  the  Pope  conducted  him  to  a  throne,  which  had  been 
 1  prepared  for  him  ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  seated,  paid 
 “  him  those  Respects,  which  his  Predecessors  were 
 “  wont  to  pay  to  the  ancient  Emperors.  He  then  de- 
 “  dared,  that,  instead  of  the  Title  of  Patrician,  he 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  18. 
 
 2  D  4 
 
408 
 
 LECTURE  XL 
 
 from  the  Government  of  their  own  here¬ 
 ditary  Dominions,  of  laying  their  Realms 
 
 u  should  style  him  for  the  future  Emperor  and  Angus - 
 “  tus ;  and  at  the  same  time  presented  the  Imperial 
 “  Mantle,  with  which  being  invested,  he  returned, 
 “  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  people,  to  his  Palace.” 
 I  forbear  to  make  any  remarks  upon  this  transaction. 
 Eginard,  the  Secretary  to  this  Monarch,  affirms,  “  that 
 “  he  zees  so  far  Jrom  shewing  either  joy  or  satisfaction 
 t(  up  >n  tnis  occasion ,  that  he  declared  lie  was  not  in  the 
 “  least,  apprised  of  the  Pope’s  Intention  ;  and  that , 
 u  if  he  had  been ,  he  would ,  notwithstanding  the  solemnity 
 u  of  the  Feast ,  have  forborne  going  to  Church.  The  rea- 
 l(  son  he  assigned  was,  that  this  Ceremony  added 
 “  nothing  to  His  Power  ;  and  would  only  confer  on 
 “  himself  and  his  Posterity ,  a  pompous  title,  that 
 “  might  be  attended  with  many  inconveniences'’  Modern 
 Univ.  Hist.  Vol.  23,  Book  19,  chap.  4,  pages  150,  151. 
 
 In  proof  that,  as  far  as  Home ,  and  the  greater  part  of 
 Italy ,  are  concerned,  this  T  itle  of  Emperor  of  the  Ro¬ 
 mans  is  merely  Vox  el  przeterea  nihil ,  it  may  be  observ¬ 
 ed,  that  “  the  German  Lawyers  of  the  greatest  pru- 
 “  dence  make  no  account  of  the  Title  of  the  Roman 
 s(  Empire ;  a  great  many  of  the  moderns  do  not  even 
 “  give  it  this  title,  and  content  themselves  with  calling 
 **  it  the  Empire  of  Germany.  The  Germans ,  and  Princes 
 “  of  the  Empire,  have  little  reason  to  wish,  that  their 
 “  Emperors  were  more  powerful ;  and  still  less,  that  they 
 u  should  undertake  to  make  themselves  masters  of 
 “  Rome  and  Italy.  This  would  always  be  at  their  ex^ 
 “  pense;  and  the  present  Constitution  of  their  State 
 
LECTURE  XL 
 
 409 
 
 under  an  Interdict,  and  of  absolving  their 
 Subjects  from  their  Allegiance  ?  Did  not 
 the  Bishops  of  Rome,  at  one  time,  proceed 
 so  far  in  pretension,  as  to  represent  them¬ 
 selves  as  “  the  Lords  of  the  Universe,  the 
 “  Arbiters  of  the  fate  of  Kingdoms  and  of 
 “  Empires,  and  Supreme  Rulers  over  the 
 “  Kings  and  Princes  of  the  Earth  ?”  And 
 was  any  power  half  so  formidable  as  this 
 ever  exercised  by  the  Emperors  in  pagan 
 Rome,  or  by  the  Emperors  of  the  West  in 
 after  times  ?  Throughout  the  whole  period 
 of  the  Dominion  of  this  Beast,  moreover, 
 there  would  be  observed  a  most  lament¬ 
 able  Abuse  of  the  Power  it  possessed  ;  the 
 application  of  it  to  sanction  Errors  and 
 Superstitions,  to  the  last  degree,  disho- 
 
 t(  does  not  require  it.”  Mod.  Hist.  Vo).  4C,  page  Gl. 
 Edit.  1764. 
 
 We  are  under  little  uncertainty,  therefore,  with  respect 
 to  the  peculiar  Nature  of  that  Potentate,  which  has  actu¬ 
 ally  enjoyed  the  Sovereignty,  for  so  many  Ages,  in  the 
 Seat  oj  the  Beast ;  to  whom  “  it  has  been  given  to  make 
 <f  war  with  the  saints  and  to  overcome  them to  whom 
 moreover,  “  power  has  been  given  over  all  the  kin- 
 “  dreds  and  tongues,  and  nations,”  in  this  Western 
 World;  who  is,  in  reality,  the  last,  or  eighth 
 Head  of  the  Beast. 
 
 Rev.  XIII.  18. 
 
410 
 
 LECTURE  XV 
 
 nouring  to  God,  degrading  and  injurious 
 to  Man:  and  not  merely  to  sanction  them 
 but  to  enforce  the  credit  and  practice  of 
 them,  by  all  the  means,  which  an  entire 
 command  of  Expedients,  and  the  utmost 
 Determination  in  employing  them,  could 
 supply. 
 
 Such  have  been  the  Origin,  the  Growth, 
 and  the  Maturity,  of  this  idolatrous  and 
 intolerant  Church :  and  such  also  the  Ex¬ 
 tent,  and  Abuse,  of  the  Authority  she  had 
 obtained!  If  any  thing  further,  in  the  lan¬ 
 guage  of  Prophecy,  could  possibly  be  re¬ 
 quired,  to  solve  every  doubt  upon  this 
 subject,  and  to  afford  a  caution  against 
 the  increase  of  her  Influence,  it  is  the  very 
 mark,  which  she  imposed  upon  all  her 
 Members.  “  Here  is  Wisdom.  Let  him 
 “  that  hath  understanding  calculate  the 
 “  Number  of  the  Beast:  for  it  is  the 
 “  Number  of  a  Man  ;  and  his  Number  is 
 “  six  hundred  three-score  and  six.”  This 
 was  “  the  Number  of  his  Name;’'  and, 
 sufficiently  points  out  the  Latin  or  the 
 man  Church,  as  the  Church  referred  to  *. 
 
 *  Latin  us,  which  the  Greeks  called  AATE1N02, 
 the  name  of  that  King  of  the  Latins,  from  whom  they 
 
LECTURE  XI. 
 
 411 
 
 Well  then  might  it  be  said,  as  in  the 
 language  of  Inspired  Truth,  at  the  time 
 of.  the  Reformation  ;  and  well  may  it  be 
 said  to  those  worthy  persons,  who,  through 
 mistaken  Principle,  or  the  bias  of  Educa¬ 
 tion,  are  her  adherents  at  the  present 
 time— “  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that 
 “  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her  Sins,  and  that 
 “  ye  receive  not  of  her  Plagues  :  for  her 
 “  Sins  have  reached  unto  heaven, and  God 
 “  hath  remembered  her  Iniquities.” 
 
 \  / 
 
 derived  their  distinguishing  appellation,. will  exactly 
 correspond  with  this  Number; 
 
 A  in  numerals  denotes 
 
 30 
 
 A 
 
 1 
 
 T 
 
 -  300 
 
 E 
 
 5 
 
 I  - 
 
 10 
 
 N 
 
 50 
 
 0 
 
 70 
 
 2  - 
 
 1 
 
 g 
 
 o 
 
 AATE1NOE 
 
 -  666 
 
* 
 
 . 
 
 / 
 
 • 
 
 1 
 
 - 
 
 -  . 
 
 ✓ 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 Delivered  February  19,  1815. 
 
 Kr.v.  cli.  1,  v.  3. 
 
 Blessed  is  he  that  readeth ,  and  they  that 
 hear  the  words  of  this  Prophecy ,  and  keep 
 those  things  that  are  written  therein :  for 
 the  time  is  at  hand . 
 
 The  inspired  Writer  having  given  us  a 
 thorough  insight  into  the  various  Enor¬ 
 mities,  which  distinguished  the  predomi¬ 
 nance  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  re¬ 
 quired  the  correction  of  the  strong  hand 
 of  Reformation,  proceeds  now  to  exhibit 
 some  of  those  important  Changes  which 
 that  Reformation  actually  effected,  and 
 the  leading  Events  which  should  mark 
 the  Decline  of  Popery  to  the  very  Mo¬ 
 ment  of  its  final  Extinction.  But  as  that 
 Period  is  not  yet  arrived,  and  it  is  foreign 
 Rsv.  XIV.  1. 
 
414 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 to  the  design  of  these  Lectures  to  indulge 
 in  any  particular  Speculations  respecting 
 Futurity,  our  Attention  is  necessarily  con¬ 
 fined  to  those  Parts  of  this  sacred  Book, 
 which  can  be  clearly  proved  to  have  been 
 already  fulfilled,  and  which  will  on  that 
 account  furnish  the  most  convincing  and 
 impressive  Arguments  for  the  Divine  Au¬ 
 thenticity  of  the  whole. 
 
 1.  As  those  who  embraced  the  doctrines 
 of  the  Reformation,  in  various  parts  of 
 Europe,  bore,  in  several  respects,  a  very 
 striking  analogy  to  those  Converts  to 
 Christianity  who  survived  the  persecu¬ 
 tions  of  Paganism  in  the  time  of  Diocle- 
 sian,  the  Church  of  Christ  is,  in  both  cases, 
 represented  under  similar  Symbols*. 
 
 44  And  I  looked,"  says  St.John,  “  and 
 
 u  lo  !  The  Lamb  standing  on  the  mount 
 44  Sion,  and  with  him  an  hundred  and 
 
 44  forty -four  thousand,  having  his  Father’s 
 44  Name  written  in  their  Foreheads."  The 
 reformed  Churches,  constituting  the  most 
 conspicuous  parts  of  the  visible  Church  of 
 Christ  as  at  that  time  existing,  and  pro- 
 
 *  See  pages  1 60—  l6S,  referring  to  Rev.  ch.  7,  v. 
 4 — 10. 
 
LECTURE  Xlf, 
 
 415 
 
 fessing  to  found  both  their  faith  and  their 
 practice  only  upon  the  revealed  "Word  of 
 God,  are  here  described  as  standing ,  or 
 having  received  a  firm  establishment ,  under 
 the  Government  of  their  mystical  Head, 
 “  The  Lamb  o  f  GOD.”  They  had  his  Fa¬ 
 ther’s  Name  in  their  Foreheads  ;  because 
 they  had  been  admitted  by  Baptism  into 
 the  number  of  his  Disciples,  agreeably  to 
 his  own  most  sacred  Institution.  And 
 they  were  seen  standing  upon  an  Eminence, 
 in  an  elevated  and  commanding  Situation; 
 which,  like  mount  Sion,  among  the  pecu¬ 
 liar  people  of  God  in  ancient  times,  was 
 the  depository  of  His  sacred  Name;  and 
 where,  in  conformity  with  the  sublime  and 
 typical  language  of  the  Prophets  *,  they 
 had  obtained  complete  deliverance  from, 
 and  risen  superior  to,  the  Enemy,  who  had 
 so  long  oppressed,  and  held  them  in 
 subjection. 
 
 2.  And  there  was  heard  “  a  Voice  from 
 “  the  Heaven” — from  that  nezvly -acquired 
 political  Establishment  under  which  they 
 lived  ;  and  which,  however  diversified  in 
 different  Regions,  was  still  peculiarly  their 
 
 +  Joel,  ch.  2.  v.  32.  Obad.  v.  17. 
 
 Rkv.XIV.  2. 
 
416 
 
 LECTURE  Xli. 
 
 own  *.  It  was  “  as  a  Voice  of  many  Waters, 
 “  and  as  a  Voice  of  loud  Thunder V  Haters , 
 being  emblematical  of  Peoples  and  Nations , 
 this  Voice,  “  as  of  many  Waters,”  will  well 
 represent  the  mutual  Concurrence  of  these 
 reformed  Nations,  in  deserting  the  Com¬ 
 munion  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ;  and  its 
 being  like  the  Sound  of  “  a  great  Thun - 
 “  der ”  will  point  out,  with  how  much 
 Violence  and  Agitation  this  Separation  was 
 generally  attended. 
 
 But  though  it  was  a  Work  of  great 
 Difficulty  and  Danger,  and  attended  in 
 its  Progress  with  many  grievous  Sufferings 
 and  sanguinary  Conflicts,  yet  the  Refor¬ 
 mation,  when  completed,  was  the  subject 
 of  great  Triumph,  and  of  the  most  raptu¬ 
 rous  Delight;  and  therefore  there  was  also 
 heard  “  the  Voice  of  Harpers  playing  on 
 “  their  Harps,  -f' 
 
 *  It  was  peculiarly  their  own,  because,  in  those  re. 
 gions  only  Popery  was  formally  renounced,  and  Re¬ 
 formed  Religion  established,  by  Lazo. 
 
 •f  So  in  a  former  part  of  this  book,  the  four  living 
 Creatures  and  the  four-  and-lwenty  Elders ,  are  described 
 as  “  having  every  one  of  them  Harps,”  to  accompany 
 their  Chorus  of  Praise.  See  Rev.  ch.  5,  v.  8  ;  and  page 
 90 :  where  it  will  be  perceived,  that  that  Chorus  was 
 chanted  forth  on  another  occasion— out  of  gratitude 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 417 
 
 3.  “  And  they  sang,  as  it  were,  a  new 
 “  Sons:  commemorative,  without  doubt, 
 of  the  Victory,  and  Deliverance,  they  had 
 thus  far  obtained.  It  was  sums:  “  before 
 “  the  Throne ascribing  to  Him  that  sat 
 thereon  “  the  Dominion,  and  the  Power, 
 “  and  the  Glory,”  which  had  been  thus 
 visibly  acquired.  It  was  also  chanted 
 forth,  “  in  the  presence  of  the  four  living 
 “  Creatures  and  the  Elders”  the  lively 
 Emblems  of  the  Church  Universal ,  with 
 which  they  were  now  become  more  nearly 
 associated  than  ever. 
 
 “  But  no  man  was  able  to  learn  the 
 “  Song,  except  the  hundred  and  forty-four 
 “  thousand,  who  had  been  redeemed  from 
 “  the  Earth."  The  Empire  of  papal  Rome 
 is  here  denominated  “  the  Earth,”  in  the 
 same  manner  as  that  of  pagan  Rome  was 
 formerly  ;  and  it  arrogates  to  itself  the 
 title  of  “  The  Roman  Catholic  Church,’* 
 from  its  assumed  Universality .  To  be 
 “  redeemed  from  the  Earth"  must  therefore 
 
 to  the  Lamb,  for  taking  the  book  of  Divine  Dispensa¬ 
 tion,  and  “  opening  the  seven  beats  thereof." 
 
 Rev  XIV.  3. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 2  E 
 
413 
 
 LECTURE  XII, 
 
 denote  aw  emancipation  from  those  Shackles* 
 of  Bigotry  and  Superstition ,  from  those 
 corrupt  and  servile  Observances,  which 
 that  degenerate  Church  has  imposed  upon 
 all  her  Members.  Those,  therefore,  who 
 embraced  the  reformed  Religion,  are  very 
 justly  said  to  have  been  “  redeemed  from 
 “  the  Earth.”  There  is,  also,  in  the  pro¬ 
 phecy,  an  immediate  allusion  to  the  Price 
 of  their  Redemption — It  was  “  the  pre- 
 “  cious  blood”  of  the  Lamb  * — that  typical 
 Lamb,  with  whom  they  are  seen  standing 
 upon  the  Mount  Sion  in  this  Vision.  How 
 then  could  any  of  those,  who  had  not  been 
 thus  “  redeemed  from  the  Earth,”  sing  the 
 Song  of  triumph,  which  they  sang  ?  How 
 could  they  learn  it,  whose  hearts  and 
 minds,  whose  understandings  and  affec¬ 
 tions,  whose  souls  and  bodies,  were  still 
 the  Slaves  of  the  most  absolute  Despotism, 
 the  most  intolerant  Superstition  ? 
 
 4  But  of  those  who  were  thus  delivered 
 from  this  bondage  it  is  said — “  These  are 
 “  they,  who  have  not  been  defiled  with 
 “  Women  -f  they  have  been  preserved, 
 
 *  Consult  Rev.  cli.  5.  v.  6,9  ;  and  ch.  IS.  v,  8. 
 
 +  In  this  respect  they  are  evidently  contrasted  with 
 
LECTURE  X[T. 
 
 419 
 
 from  the  abominations  of  Idolatry ,  and 
 amidst  all  the  seductions  of  spiritual  For- 
 nication :  “  for  they  are  Virgins*,”  having 
 generally  attained  the  greatest  Purity , 
 which  the  state  of  humanity,  and  the  pe¬ 
 culiar  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
 placed,  would  admit. 
 
 “  T  hese  are  they  who  follow  the  Lamb  ]-, 
 “  whithersoever  he  gooth  •/'  imitating,  as 
 closely  as  possible,  “  the  blessed  Steps  of 
 “  Christ’s  most  holy  life,”  and  [laying  the 
 most  devout  attention  to  all  his  Doctrines, 
 Precepts,  and  Institutions. 
 
 “  These,”  it  is  repeated,  “  were  redeemed 
 “  from  among  men rescued  from  the 
 ignorance  and  depravity,  which  generally 
 involved  the  inhabitants  of  the  papal 
 
 those,  described  in  the  l?th  Chapter  of  this  Book, 
 who  had  “  committed  fornication ”  vyith  “the  great 
 “  Whore  that  sitteth  upon  many  Waters;”  and  who 
 (<  had  been  made  drunk  with  the  IV in e  of  her  forni. 
 <c  cation So  admirably  consistent  are  the  vaiious 
 parts  of  this  wonderful  Scene  of  prediction. 
 
 *  l  lie  full  force  of  this  Appellation  will  at  once  ap¬ 
 pear  by  compa.  mg  this  passage  with  2  Cor.  ch  11  v.*2. 
 
 *j*  “  My  Sheep,”  said  the  true  Antitypical  Lamb, 
 “hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  loliow 
 “  me.”  John  ch.  8.  v.  27. 
 
 Ret. XI V.  4. 
 
 2  e  2 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 420 
 
 *• 
 
 Earth.  They  were  also  “  the  First-fruits 
 “  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb” — they  formed 
 the  commencement  of  that  glorious  Har¬ 
 vest ,  which  will  ultimately  become  the 
 means  of  bringing  all  Nations  within  the 
 Pale  of  the  genuine  Church  of  Christ,  and 
 to  the  Garner  of  eternal  happiness  and 
 security. 
 
 5.  “  And  in  their  mouth  was  found  no 
 66  guile”  They  took  the  holy  Scriptures , 
 the  only  infallible  Rule*,  for  the  standard 
 of  their  Faith,  and  the  measure  of  their 
 Obedience.  They  did  not  corrupt  Divine 
 Truth  with  any  mixture  of  human  Tradi¬ 
 tion  :  much  less  did  “  they  change  the 
 “  Truth  of  God  into  a  lie  by  '*  wor- 
 “  shipping  the  Creature  more  than  the 
 “  Creator.”  These  were  the  peculiar  Enor¬ 
 mities  of  the  Earth  from  which  they  had 
 been  redeemed ;  and,  abstaining  from 
 them,  they  are  now  represented  as  stand¬ 
 ing  <e  without  fault  before  the  Throne  of 
 “  God,”  their  supreme  Judge. 
 
 6.  The  Prophet,  having  given  the  pre¬ 
 ceding  general  Character  of  those  who 
 had  embraced  Relis-ion  in  a  reformed 
 
 #  See  pages  S15— >  SI 9. 
 
LECTURE  XIL 
 
 421 
 
 state,  proceeds  now  to  descend  to  further 
 particulars,  in  addition  to  those,  which  he 
 had  already  detailed. 
 
 “  And  I  saw/'  says  he,  “  another  Angel 
 “  flying  in  the  midst  of  the  Heaven,  hav- 
 “  ing  an  everlasting  Gospel  to  proclaim 
 “  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  Earth ,  and  to 
 41  every  kindred,  and  nation,  and  tongue, 
 “  and  people." 
 
 The  last  Angel,  whom  he  had  mention¬ 
 ed,  was  the  seventh ;  who  sounded  the  third 
 Woe-trumpet ,  and  proclaimed  the  firm 
 establishment  of  the  blessed  Work  of  the 
 Reformation,  in  all  those  Countries,  in 
 which  it  had  been  then  undertaken  *.  We 
 
 9 
 
 are  therefore  next  informed,  of  the  prin¬ 
 cipal  Ramifications  into  which  it  was 
 branched  out,  or  of  the  three  great 
 Churches  that  originated  from  it;  and 
 which  sufficiently  pointed  out  the  revived 
 State,  and  the  increased  Energies,  of  the 
 tzco  Witnesses  prophesying  in  sack-cloth -f*. 
 
 The  first  of  these,  in  point  of  time,  was 
 the  Lutheran.  We  have  already  seen,  that 
 
 *  Rev.  ch.  1 1.  v.  15  ;  and  page  S44. 
 f  See  Lecture  X.  page  337—342. 
 
 R*v.  XIV.  i,  6. 
 
 2  e  3 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 422 
 
 to  the  bold  and  enterprising  Spirit  of  the 
 eminent  Man,  who  was  the  Founder  of 
 this  Church,  and  to  the  signal  Successes 
 which  crowned  his  illustrious  Labours, 
 the  Pajre  of  inspired  Truth  has  afforded, 
 the  sacred  Evidence  of  its  Predictions  *. 
 “  His  sound/’  indeed, — the  sound  of  his 
 Doctrines- — 44  went  forth”  as  it  were  “  into 
 44  all  lands  ;  and  his  words  unto  the  ends 
 44  of  the  Earth  -f.”  And  very  many  Re¬ 
 gions  of  the  West  embraced  the  Principles 
 he  propounded  ;  some  of  them,  in  the  very 
 state,  in  which  he  promulgated  them  ;  and 
 some,  with  various  degrees  of  modifica¬ 
 tion.  But,  being  the  first  to  break  asun¬ 
 der  the  Shackles  of  Ignorance  and  Super¬ 
 stition,  which  had  hitherto  enslaved  the 
 Western  World,  he  is  justly,  and  most 
 sublimely  said,  to  have  had  44  cm  everlast - 
 44  ing  Gospel ”  to  deliver — a  Message  of 
 
 #  See  Lecture  X.  page  296 — 302. 
 
 •f-  Rom.  ch.  10.  v.  18.  In  undertaking  the  great  work 
 of  the  Reformation,  he  is  justly  compared  to  44  a  mighty 
 44  Angel  coming  dozen  from  the  Heaven Rev.  ch  10. 
 v.  1.  The  publicity  and  amazing  progress  of  his  Doc¬ 
 trines  are  here,  with  equal  truth,  compared  to  44  an 
 44  Angel  Jlying  in  the  midst  of  the  Heaven,’’  & c.  See  the 
 use  of  this  latter  Image  illustrated  by  another  Example 
 in  pages  21  1 — 217 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 432 
 
 glad  Tidings  from  God  ;  the  happy  effects 
 resulting  from  which  would  be  of  endless 
 duration  ;  and  would  necessarily  be  felt 
 as  extensively  as  they  were  cordially  re¬ 
 ceived. 
 
 7-  And  the  great  Object  and  Tendency 
 of  his  Doctrines  was,  to  inculcate  the  su¬ 
 preme  Fear  of  God,  and  a  devout  Observ¬ 
 ance  of  His  holy  Laws  and  Ordinances  ; 
 and  to  do  this,  more  especially,  from  the 
 peculiar  consideration,  that  the  time  of  His 
 Judgment  was,  at  length ,  arrived,  44  While 
 u  the  Roman  Pontiff  slumbered  in  security 
 “  at  the  head  of  the  Church,  and  saw  no- 
 44  thing  throughout  the  vast  extent  of  bis 
 44  Dominion  but  tranquillity  and  submission ; 
 44  and  while  the  worthy  and  pious  professors 
 44  of  genuine  Christianity  almost  despaired 
 44  of  seeing  that  Reformation,  on  which  their 
 44  most  ardent  desires  and  expectations 
 44  were  bent*'’— -suddenly  was  this  tran- 
 scendentMessage  sounded  forth  in  the  ears 
 of  all  Christendom  ;  and,  like  44  the  Trump 
 44  of  God,”  awoke  the  Sleeper  to  a  sense 
 
 *  Mosheiafs  Eccles.  Hist.  Vol.  3.  Cent.  16.  Cb.  C, 
 of  “  the  History  of  the  Reformation,”  page  302. 
 
 Rev.  XlV.  7. 
 
 2  E  4 
 
424 
 
 LECTURE.  XII. 
 
 of  clanger,  and  to  the  fear  of  approaching 
 retribution.  It  said,  in  effect,  “  Fear  God, 
 “  and  give  glory  to  Him;  for  ihe  hour  of 
 “  his  Judgment  is  come:”  “and  worship  Hun, 
 “  that  made  ihe  Heaven,  and  the  Earth, 
 and  the  Sea,  and  the  Fountains  of  Wa- 
 “  ters*/”  There  is  here  an  obvious  anti¬ 
 cipation  of  two  of  the  most  leading  Abo¬ 
 minations  of  Popery  ;  and  of  that  just 
 and  thorough  Exposure  of  them,  for  which 
 the  Angel,  and  Representative,  in  this  Vi¬ 
 sion,  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  was  rendered 
 so  truly  distinguished.  By  the  sale  of  In¬ 
 dulgences  and  Pardons,  the  Roman 
 Prelates  assumed  to  themselves  the  power , 
 
 *  See  pages  306 — 309-  Considering  these  Expres¬ 
 sions,  “  the  Heftven ,  ”  “  the  Earth,”  “  the  Sea,”  and 
 the  fountains  of  Waters ,”  in  the  figurative  senses  al¬ 
 ready  explained,  this  grand  and  impressive  passage  may 
 be  thus  paraphrased: — Worship  Him,“  by  whom  Kings 
 reign,  and  Princes  decree  Justice*/’  and  by  whom  “  the 
 “  Forcers  that  be  are  ordained  ;*t”  u  Who  hath  made 
 “  of  one  Blood  all  Nations  of  men,  for  to  dwell  on  the 
 “  face  of  all  the  Earth ;  and  hath  determined  the  times 
 (l  before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation 
 See  Note  +  page  67  ;  Note  *  page  101  ;  Note  # 
 page  75. 
 
 f  Prov.  ch.  8.  v.  1,5.  f  Rom.  ch.  13.  v.  1. 
 
 $  Acts,  ch.  1 7.  v.  26. 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 425 
 
 and  deprived,  or  rather  impiously  affected 
 to  deprive,  God,  of  th e  glory,  of  Forgiv¬ 
 ing  Sr  ns.  And  the  Idolatrous  Propensities 
 and  practices  of  the  Church  of  Romo 
 have  been  notorious,  even  from  the  fourth 
 Century*  ;  nor  has  She  yet  “  repented  of 
 “  the  Works  of  her  hands,  that  She  should 
 “  not  worship  Demons ,  and  Idols  of  gold, 
 “  and  silver,  and  brass,  and  stone,  and 
 wood  -f”  But  the  salutary  Doctrines, 
 that  are  here  brought  forward  to  view,  and 
 were  strenuously  insisted  on  by  Luther 
 and  his  disciples,  hold  forth  a  remedy ,  for 
 the  radical  cure  of  these  Enormities.  For, 
 by  fearing  God,  and  giving  Him  the 
 Glory,  we  effectually  secure  the  Mercy 
 and  Protection  of  Him,  who  alone  is  the 
 proper  Object  of  all  Fear;  who  alone  “  hath 
 “power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins;”  and 
 who,  if  sins  remain  un forgiven,  “  hath 
 “  power"  also  “  to  destroy  both  body  and 
 “  soul  in  Hell.J”  And  where  there  is  this 
 
 *  For  proofs  already  adduced  of  this  I  refer  to  pages 
 282,  28  ,  290,  294,  365,  373. 
 
 +  Rev.  ch.  9*  v.  20. 
 
 ^  In  his  book,  entitled  “  The  Captivity  of  Ba- 
 il  by lon,”  Luther  “  begins  with  a  Protestation,  that 
 
 Rev.  XIV.  7. 
 
426 
 
 LECTURE  XU. 
 
 proper  Fear  of  God,  he  will  naturally  be¬ 
 come  the  great  and  the  only  Object  of  re¬ 
 ligious  Worship ;  nor  will  any  portion  of 
 the  Honour,  that  is  due  to  him,  be  given 
 to  another. 
 
 8.  T  hese  Doctrines  were  set  forth,  upon 
 the  authority  of  Revealed  Truth ;  and 
 under  a  thorough  persuasion,  that  the 
 Church  of  Rome  was  the  mystical  Baby¬ 
 lon,  and  that  the  season  of  her  Captivity 
 was  rapidly  approaching. 
 
 From  the  wonderful  success  that  at¬ 
 tended  the  promulgation  of  them,  and 
 from  the  extensive  diffusion  of  those 
 Holy  Scriptures  from  which  they  were 
 derived,  it  soon  became  evident,  that 
 
 “  he  became  every  day  more  knowing,  and  that  he  re- 
 “  pented  of  what  he  had  written  two  years  since,  about 
 “  Indulgences,  being  yet  addicted  to  the  Superstitions  of 
 “  the  Roman  Tyranny  ;  that  he  did  not  then  reject  In- 
 “  du/gences,  but  he  had  discovered  since ,  that  they  are 
 c  nothing  but  the  Impostures  of  the  flatterers  of  the 
 “  Court  of  Rome ,  fit  only  to  destroy  the  faith ,  and  get 
 u  money ;  that  he  did  not  content  himself  formerly  to 
 “  deny,  that  the  Papacy  was  Jure  divino,  bat  he  had 
 £f  lately  discovered,  that  it  was  the  Kingdom  of 
 “  Babylon,”  &c. 
 
 Du  Pin’s  Eccles.  Hist,  of  the  sixteenth  century,  book 
 2,  chap.  9.  p.  60.  edit.  1703. 
 
LECTURE  XII, 
 
 427 
 
 the  commencement  of  the  period  of 
 Divine  Judgment  upon  that  idolatrous 
 Church  had  actually  arrived — that  pe¬ 
 riod,  of  which  Daniel  also  foretold,  when, 
 speaking  of  the  same  Apostate  Power, 
 he  said — But  the  Judgment  shall  sit; 
 “  and  they  shall  take  away  Ins  Dominion, 
 “  to  consume,  and  to  destroy  it,  unto  the 
 “  End*/’ 
 
 The  general  belief,  which  now  began  to 
 
 prevail  among  Protestants,  respecting  the 
 
 Decline  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  had  a 
 
 powerful  tendency  to  accelerate  her 
 
 Downfal.  “  And  there  followed  another 
 • 
 
 “  Angel the  Representative  of  the  re¬ 
 formed  Church  of  Geneva,  whose  Doc¬ 
 trines  have  obtained  such  an  extensive 
 and  a  permanent  diffusion  ;  and  he  pro¬ 
 ceeded  one  step  further  in  his  Denuncia¬ 
 tions.  The  former  Angel  had  only  assert¬ 
 ed  concerning  Babylon  f,  that  “  the  hour, 
 
 *  Dan.  ch.  7-  v.  26. 
 
 f  Papal  Rome  may  be  justly  compared  to  Baby¬ 
 lon  in  several  respects — 
 
 Both  were  at  tbe  bead  ot  Empires,  which,  in  lespect 
 to  tbe  Church  of  Cod,  might  be  termed  Universal ; 
 
 Both  were  tbe  Seats  of  the  Dominion  of  idolatrous 
 and  persecuting  !  ower*  ; 
 
 Rev.  XL V.  8. 
 
428 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 <c  of  her  Judgment  was  come  whereas 
 Events  had  now  enabled  the  latter  of  them 
 to  perceive,  that,  in  this  Judgment,  She 
 could  not  stand :  and  he  is  therefore  re¬ 
 presented,  as  boldly  and  most  impressive¬ 
 ly  proclaiming — “  Babylon  is  fallen, 
 “  is  fallen,  that  great  City  !  because  She 
 “  made  all  Nations  to  drink  of  the  Wine,” 
 the  intoxicating  Draughts,  “  of  her  Forni- 
 “  cation The  Cause  of  her  Condemna¬ 
 tion  is  plainly  alleged  to  be,  her  rage  for 
 Idolatry ,  which  is  spiritual  Fornication  ;  and 
 the  zeal  and  violence,  with  which  she  has 
 compelled  all  the  Nations,  over  whom  she 
 had  any  ascendency,  to  be  “  partakers  of 
 “  her  Sins  Of  Calvin  it  is  accordingly 
 said,  that  “  he  condemns,  more  severely 
 “  than  the  Lutherans  do,  the  Invocation  oj 
 “  Saints ,  the  Worship  and  Use  of  Images , 
 “  Vows,  Celibacy  of  Priests,  Fasting ,  Iloly- 
 
 days,  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass ,  the  Ado - 
 tl  ration  of  the  Eucharist ,  Indulgences ,  the 
 
 Both  were  addicted,  in  a  peculiar  Manner,  to  the 
 Worship  of  Images  ; 
 
 Both  established  Idolatry  in  their  respective  Domi¬ 
 nions  by  Law; 
 
 Both  burned  men  alive  for  refusing  to  worship  Idols. 
 
 *  Rev.ch.  18.  v,  4. 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 429 
 
 *c  Sacraments ,  except  the  Eucharist  and 
 “  Baptism ,  and,  in  general,  all  the  Rites 
 “  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Cliurch  He 
 even  proceeded  so  far,  as  to  oblige  all  the 
 people  of  Geneva  to  declare,  upon  oath, 
 their  assent  to  a  Confession  of  Faith, 
 which  contained  a  Renunciation  of  Po¬ 
 pery.  So  thoroughly  was  he  persuaded 
 of  the  fall  of  that  degenerate  Church! 
 
 9 — 10.  The  third  in  succession  is  the 
 Church  of  England,  firmly  established,  on 
 the  ruins  of  Popery  in  this  country,  by 
 Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  illustrious  Re¬ 
 formers  employed  by  her  for  this  great 
 purpose. 
 
 “  And  a  third  Angel  followed  them, 
 “  saying  with  a  loud  voice” — in  a  tone  of 
 great  authority,  seconded  by  a  power 
 competent  to  enforce  it—1 “  If  any  man 
 “  worship  the  Beast  and  his  Image,  and 
 “  receive  his  mark  in  his  forehead,  or  in 
 “  his  hand — Even  he  shall  drink  of  the 
 “  Wine  of  the  Wrath  o/'GoD-f-,  which  is 
 
 *  Du  Pin’s  Eccles  Hist,  of  the  sixteenth  Century, 
 book  2.  ch. SI.  p.  184.  edit.  170."3. 
 
 +  The  Wine  of  the  Wrath  of  God,  is  here  opposed  to 
 the  Wine  of  Fornication ,  with  which  the  mystical  Baby- 
 Rev.  XVI.  9,  JO. 
 
430 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 “  poured  out  without  mixture ,  into  the 
 “  cup  of  his  Indignation.”  The  import 
 of  these  Symbols,  according  to  the  expla¬ 
 nation  that  lias  been  already  given  of  the 
 principal  of  them,  is  obviously  this — If 
 any  one,  with  the  opportunities  he  now 
 possesses,  of  acquiring  “  understanding  in 
 the  way  of  Godliness/’  by  means  of  the 
 Holy  Scriptures  and  the  expositions 
 of  pious  and  learned  men,  shall  place  an 
 implicit  belief  in  the  absurd  Traditions 
 and  erroneous  Dogmata  of  the  Church  of  v 
 
 O 
 
 Rome,  and  devote  himself  to  the  idola¬ 
 trous  Observances,  and  unwarrantable 
 Practices  of  that  Church,  so  as  to  ac¬ 
 knowledge  the  Supremacy  of  her  Bishop, 
 receiving,  as  it  were,  his  Mark  in  his  fore¬ 
 head,  or  in  his  hand,  in  token  of  entire 
 Subjection  f — Such  conduct  is  utterly 
 without  excuse  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and 
 he  will  be  compelled  to  undergo  that 
 
 lov  had  intoxicated  the  votaries  other  pleasures :  it  is 
 opposed  to  it  in  the  same  manner,  as  the  Punishment  is 
 placed  in  opposition  to  the  Crime.  And  they  are  pro¬ 
 bably  both  compared  to  Wine,  in  order  to  shew  the 
 peci  liar  adaptation  of  tiie  one  to  the  other.  Those  that 
 drink  the  one  must  also  drink  the  other. 
 
 *  bee  pages  315,  &c.  t  See  pages  404,  &c. 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 431 
 
 portion  of  punishment,  which  Divine  Jus¬ 
 tice,  unmixed  with  mercy,  shall  judge  it 
 requisite  to  inflict. 
 
 But  this  is  not  all ;  for  the  peculiar  na¬ 
 ture  of  the  punishment  to  be  inflicted,  as 
 far  as  man  is  concerned,  is  clearly  un¬ 
 folded  by  this  symbolical  Angel.  “  Fie 
 shall  be  tormented  with  Fire  and  Brim- 
 “  stone,  in  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Angels, 
 and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb  ”  The 
 whole  of  this  description  is  evidently  em¬ 
 blematical.  Fire  is  a  well-known  type  of 
 Divine  Wrath  ;  and  combined,  as  a  mean 
 of  torment,  with  the  suffocating  fumes  of 
 the  Brimstone — with  the  effects  of  exploded 
 Doctrines,  which  are  destructive  of  a  life 
 of  rational  and  enlightened  Piety — it  will 
 denote  the  misery  and  degradation,  which 
 are  the  natural  concomitants  of  a  per¬ 
 verse  and  malevolent  Mind,  labouring 
 under  the  influence  of  a  judicial  Infatua¬ 
 tion*.  It  is  further  implied,  that  a  great 
 Portion  of  this  penal  Anguish  will  be  de- 
 
 *  The  Nature  of  the  torment,  thus  inflicted,  has  been 
 partly  explained  in  a  former  example  ;  see  page  270, 
 Note 
 
432 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 rived  from  Comparison — from  the  contrast, 
 which  will  be  presented  between  the  state 
 of  the  person  who  is  thus  degraded,  and 
 the  Light ,  Liberty ,  and  singular  Privileges 
 of  the  reformed  Church ,  that  is  here  repre¬ 
 sented  under  Christ  its  Head.  “  He 
 “  shall  be  tormented,  in  the  presence  of 
 “  the  Holy  Angels”  or  the  Ministers  of 
 that  Church,  “  and  in  the  presence  of 
 “  the  Lamb  f  and  thus,  the  pangs  of  Envy 
 will  exhibit  one  of  the  ingredients,  and  a 
 principal  one  too,  in  this  cup  of  Divine 
 Indignation. 
 
 11.  But  what  has  been  here  predicted 
 respecting  an  Individual,  is  now  asserted 
 of  all  those ,  who  “  worship  the  Beast  and 
 “  his  Image, ”  in  the  same  distinguished 
 Region,  through  every  succeeding  Gene¬ 
 ration,  even  to  the  time  of  the  End  of  this 
 great  Apostacy.  Therefore  it  is  added 
 — “  And  the  Smoke  of  their  Torment  as- 
 “  cendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever  and  that> 
 being  continual,  “  they  have  no  rest ,  day 
 “  nor  night.”  There  is  much  important 
 instruction  comprised  within  these  awful 
 words.  Smoke ,  denoting  the  action  of 
 Fire  upon  the  substances  that  are  exposed 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 433 
 
 lb  its  influence,  becomes  a  lively  type,  in 
 the  present  instance,  of  that  Memorial , 
 Which  History  would  present  and  per¬ 
 petuate,  of  the  exemplary  Punishments 
 that  had  been  inflicted.  By  this,  those, 
 who  in  times  past  had  been  thus  tor¬ 
 mented,  and  who  had,  perhaps  for  ages, 
 been  numbered  with  the  dead,  would 
 “  still  speak  and  hold  forth,  in  the  most 
 impressive  manner,  the  Sufferings  they  had 
 endured,  as  a  perpetual  Warning  against 
 wilful  Idolatry ,  and  an  obstinate  perse¬ 
 verance  in  Error.  As  therefore  it  is  said, 
 on  t he  one  hand,  that  “  the  righteous 
 61  shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remem- 
 
 “  brance  so,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
 
 / 
 
 predicted  of  those,  who,  in  the  Country 
 that  is  the  Seat  of  this  Church,  should 
 “  worship  the  Beast  and  his  Image,”  that 
 “  the  Smoke  of  their  Torment  ascendeth 
 “  u  p  for  ever  and  ever  f  ” — the  Memorial  of 
 their  Depravity,  and  of  their  Wretched¬ 
 ness,  shall  be  transmitted  to  all  future 
 ages. 
 
 Who  does  not  perceive  then,  in  this 
 
 *  Psalm  1 12,  v.  6. 
 
 fEi?  'aiuvag  'aiavuv,  literally,  i(  for  ages  of  ages” 
 REv.Xiii.il. 
 
 2  F 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
434 
 
 LECTURE  XIX 
 
 appropriate  and  wonderfully  expressive 
 Imagery,  the  firm  and  dignified  Opposition 
 which  our  National  Church  has  uniformly 
 made,  in  her  Liturgy,  her  Homilies,  and 
 her  Articles,  against  the  Errors,  the  Idola¬ 
 try,  and  the  unwarrantable  Pretensions, 
 of  the  Church  of  Rome  ?  Who  does  not 
 discover,  in  these  lively  types,  the  antici¬ 
 pation  of  those  penal  Statutes ,  which  were 
 the  means  adopted  by  the  Piety  and  Wis¬ 
 dom  of  our  Fore-fathers,  for  controlling  the 
 pernicious  Influence  of  this  overbearing, 
 intolerant,  and  faithless  Power  ?  W  ho,  in 
 short,  does  not  acknowledge  here,  the  em¬ 
 blematical,  yet  accurate  Description,  of 
 \ 
 
 those  very  Safeguards ,  both  in  principle, 
 and  in  practice,  under  which  our  Country 
 has  gradually  risen  to  her  present  state  of 
 Greatness  and  Renown  ? 
 
 If  we  only  consider,  in  a  few  instances, 
 the  Doctrines  set  forth  in  the  Articles  of 
 our  Religion,  we  shall  see  how  opposite 
 they  are  to  some  well-knowu  Tenets  of 
 he  Latin  Church;  and  how  subversive  of 
 the  lordly  Pretensions  of  her  ambitious 
 Prelates. 
 
 I.  That  Church,  for  instance,  “  founds 
 “  its  Doctrines  on  two  equal  and  inde- 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 435 
 
 5<  pendent  Authorities  namely,  the 
 Holy  Scriptures,  and  its  own  divine  and 
 apostolical  Traditions:  But  the  words  of 
 the  sixth  article  of  our  Church  are  these 
 — “  Holy  Scripture  containeth  all  things 
 “  necessary  to  Salvation  ;  so  that  whatso- 
 “  ever  is  not  read  therein,  nor  may  be 
 “  proved  thereby,  is  not  to  be  required  of 
 “  any  man,  that  it  should  be  believed  as 
 u  an  Article  of  the  Faith,  or  be  thought 
 “  requisite  or  necessary  to  Salvation.” 
 Thus  do  the  two  Churches  differ  funda¬ 
 mentally  in  the  very  outset ;  and,  as  St. 
 Paul  assured  Timothy,  that  “  the  Holy 
 “  Scriptures  were  able  to  make  him  wise  unto 
 Salvation  t,”  therefore  the  Church  of  Rome 
 stands  condemned,  in  her  very  first  Rule 
 of  Faith. 
 
 II.  The  Invocation  of  Saints,  in  the 
 Church  of  Rome,  is  founded  on  the  belief, 
 that,  from  the  peculiar  sanctity  of  their 
 lives,  they  had  been  enabled,  not  only  to 
 “  work  out  their  own  Salvation/’  but  to 
 
 *  See  Dr.  Marsh’s  “  Comparative  View  of  the 
 «  Churches  of  England  and  Rome/’  Chap.  1. 
 
 f  II.  Tim.  ch.  3,  v.  15. 
 
 Rf.y.  XIV.  11. 
 
 2  f  2 
 
436 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 accumulate  a  fund  of  redundant  merit , 
 for  the  benefit  of  those,  who  might  stand 
 in  need  of  some  in  addition  to  their 
 own  !  But,  in  the  fourteenth  Article,  we 
 read,  that  44  Voluntary  Works,  besides, 
 44  over  and  above  God’s  Commandments, 
 44  which  they  call  Works  of  Supererogation , 
 44  cannot  be  taught  without  Arrogancy 
 44  and  Impiety  :  For  by  them  men  do  de- 
 44  clare,  that  they  not  only  render  unto 
 41  God  as  much  as  they  are  bound  to  do, 
 44  but  that  they  do  more  for  his  sake, 
 44  than  of  bounden  duty  is  required ; 
 44  Whereas  Christ  saith  plainly,  when  ye 
 “  have  done  all  that  are  commanded  to  you, 
 44  say ,  We  are  unprofitable  Servants ” 
 
 ] II.  In  the  nineteenth  Article,  it  is 
 expressly  denounced,  that,  44  As  the 
 44  Churches  of  Jerusalem,  x41exandria,  and 
 44  Antioch,  have  erred  ;  so  also  the  Church 
 44  of  Rome  hath  erred — not  only  in  their 
 44  Living ,  and  Manner  of  Ceremonies,  but 
 44  also  in  Matters  of  Faith.” 
 
 IV.  And  in  the  twenty-second  Article, 
 several  remarkable  instances  of  Error  and 
 Delinquency  are  particularly  pointed  out 
 — 44  The  Romish  Doctrine  concerning  Pur - 
 44  gatory ,  Pardons,  Worshipping  and  A  dor  a- 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 437 
 
 **  Hon  as  well  of  Images  as  of  Relics ,  and 
 “  also  Invocation  of  Saints ,  is  a  fond  thing, 
 “  vainly  invented,  and  grounded  upon  no 
 
 warranty  of  Scripture,  but  rather  repug- 
 “  nant  to  the  word  of  God/’ 
 
 V.  So,  with  regard  to  the  constant  use, 
 which  the  Romish  Church  makes  of  the 
 Latin  language,  in  the  celebration  of  her 
 sacred  services,  in  all  the  various  Countries 
 in  which  those  Services  are  performed,  the 
 twenty-fourth  Article  maintains,  that  “  It 
 “  is  a  thing  plainly  repugnant  to  the  Word 
 “  of  God ,  and  the  Custom  of  the  Primitive 
 “  Church ,  to  have  public  Prayer  in  the 
 
 Church,  or  to  minister  the  Sacraments, 
 “  in  a  Tongue  not  understanded  of  the 
 “  People .” 
 
 VI.  So,  in  respect  to  some  of  the  Sa¬ 
 craments  of  the  Romish  Church  them¬ 
 selves,  the  twenty-fifth  Article  affirms,  that 
 “  those  five  commonly  called  Sacraments, 
 “  that  is  to  say,  Confirmation ,  Penance ,  Or- 
 “  ders ,  Matrimony 3  and  Extreme  Unction , 
 “  are  not  to  be  counted  Sacraments  of  the 
 “  Gospel ;  being  such  as  are  partly  grown 
 “  of  the  corrupt  following  of  the  Apostles, 
 ft  partly  are  states  of  Life  allowed  in  the 
 
 Jtiv.  XJV.  11. 
 
 2i  3 
 
438 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 “  Scriptures  ;  but  yet  have  not  like  Nature 
 “  of  Sacraments  with  Baptism  and  the 
 “  Lord’s  Supper,  for  that  they  have  not  any 
 “  visible  Sign  or  Ceremony  ordained  of 
 “  God/’ 
 
 VII.  So,  speaking  of  the  Doctrine  of 
 Transubstantiation,  the  twenty-eighth  Ar¬ 
 ticle  says  — “  Transubstantiation  (or  the 
 “  Change  of  the  substance  of  Bread  and 
 “  Wine),  in  the  Supper  of  the  Lord,  can- 
 “  not  be  proved  by  Holy  Writ  ;  but  is  re  pug. 
 tc  nant  to  the  plain  Words  of  Scripture,  over - 
 “  throweth  the  Nature  of  a  Sacrament,  and 
 “  hath  given  occasion  to  many  Superstitions.” 
 
 These  are  some  few  of  the  instances,  in 
 which  our  National  Church  has  held  forth 
 her  solemn  Trotest,  against  the  Impieties 
 and  Superstitions  of  the  church  of  Rome. 
 And,  as  those  Corruptions  of  genuine 
 Christianity  have  been  all  confronted 
 with  the  plain  Evidence  of  the  Word  of 
 God,  which  is  the  only  measure  of  our 
 Obedience,  in  proving  their  Contrariety 
 to  that  sacred  Rule,  She  has,  in  effect, 
 denounced  that  “  Wrath  of  God/'  which 
 “  is  revealed  from  Heaven,  against  all 
 “  Ungodliness  and  Unrighteousness  of  men 
 She  has  said,  as  it  were,  “  with  a  loud 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 4  39 
 
 ct  voice.  If  any  man  worship  the  Beast  and 
 “  his  Image ,  and  receive  his  mark  in  his 
 61  forehead,  or  in  his  hand ,  the  same  shall 
 4t  drink  of  the  Wine  of  the  Wrath  of  GOD , 
 “  which  is  poured  out  without  mixture ,  into 
 6t  the  cup  of  his  Indignation  ” 
 
 And  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  such 
 Abominations  as  these  from  being  again 
 diffused  throughout  the  Land  ;  to  anni¬ 
 hilate  an  Influence  among  us,  which,  for 
 so  many  ages,  had  been  productive  of 
 so  much  intellectual  Darkness,  so  much 
 Misery  and  Degradation- — She  has  fur¬ 
 ther  most  wisely  ordained,  that  “  the 
 “  Bishop  of  Borne  hath  no  Jurisdiction  in 
 “  this  Realm  of  England but  that,  agree¬ 
 ably  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  its  own  Sove¬ 
 reigns  “  should  rule  all  Estates  and  Degrees 
 s<  committed  to  their  charge  by  GOD,  whe - 
 ther  they  be  ecclesiastical  or  tem- 
 poral;  and  restrain  with  the  Civil 
 “  Sword  the  stubborn  and  evil-doers 
 Hence  originated  the  Torment ,  to  which 
 those  are  justly  subjected,  “  who  worship 
 fhe  Beast  and  his  Image :  on  these  De?» 
 
 *  Article  XXXVII. 
 
 JIfv.  XIV.  11. 
 
 2  r  4 
 
440 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 eisions  are  founded  those  civil  and  religious 
 . Disqualifications ,  which  have  thus  far  pre¬ 
 served  us  from  the  dangerous  Intrusion  of 
 so  subtle  and  inveterate  a  Foe. 
 
 From  the  words*,  in  which  the  latter  part 
 of  this  ever  memorable  Prophecy  is  ex¬ 
 pressed,  we  have  every  reason  to  conclude 
 that  this  Torment,  and  these  Disabi¬ 
 lities,  are  intended  by  Divine  Justice  to 
 continue ,  and  will  be  actually  continued , 
 just  so  long  as  the  execrable  System ,  which 
 rendered  them  necessary,  shall  be  in  exist¬ 
 ence.  They  are  related  to  each  other, 
 under  the  circumstances  in  which  they 
 subsist  in  this  Country,  as  Effects  flowing 
 from  the  same  Cause.  And,  while  our 
 hojy  Religion  instructs  us  to  regard  all 
 those,  in  whom  we  have  reason  to  believe 
 there  are  even  the  most  latent  sparks  of 
 w  orth,  with  a  Christian  Charity  ;  and  to 
 
 *  The  words  here  alluded  to  are  these — 
 
 And  the  Smoke  of  their  Torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever 
 and  every 
 
 And  they  have  no  rest  day  nor  nighty 
 
 Surely  these  awful  asseverations  denounce  continuity 
 and  perpetual  duration  of  punishment,  even  as  far  as  man 
 only  is  concerned  in  inflicting  it,  to  those  “  who  worship 
 “  the  Beast  and  his  Image  f 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 441 
 
 ^extend  that  Charity  even  to  our  enemies  ; 
 yet  it  expressly  enjoins  us,  to  have  jxo  fel- 
 “  lowship  with  the  unfruitful  Works 
 “of  Darkness,  hut  rather  to  reprove 
 “  them  *” — The  powerful  Principle  of 
 Self  defence,  and  the  warning  Voice  of  Re - 
 relation ,  equally  caution  us  against  any 
 intimate  Communion  whatever,  with  the 
 Supporters  of  that  perfidious  Power, 
 that  “  Mystery  of  Iniquity,”  from 
 which  such  tremendous  Evils  have,  for  so 
 many  ages,  resulted  to  the  Regions  of  Eu¬ 
 rope,  and  to  our  own  Country  in  par¬ 
 ticular. 
 
 1  know,  that  the  land,  in  which  we  live, 
 has  been  considered  as  distinguished, 
 during  the  present  age,  by  a  peculiar 
 degree  of  liberality  ;  and,  judging  from  the 
 zeal,  with  which  almost  every  plan,  that 
 promises  to  be  productive  of  benefit  to 
 Society,  is  adopted  and  supported,  no 
 doubt  can  be  reasonably  entertained  of 
 the  fact :  so  that  were  there  the  most  re¬ 
 mote  Expectation,  that  the  essential 
 Doctrines  and  Practices  of  the  Roman 
 
 *  Ephes.  ch.  5,  v.  11. 
 
 Rev.  XIV.  11. 
 
442 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 Catholic  Church  would  ever  become  less 
 subversive  of  genuine  Piety  and  Virtue ,  of 
 the  good  Order  and  Happiness  of  Mankind, 
 than  they  are  at  present,  and  have  been 
 in  times  past,  the  liberality  and  benevo¬ 
 lence,  which  are  so  conspicuous  in  other 
 cases,  would  lead  us  to  accelerate,  as 
 much  as  possible,  the  happy  Period  of 
 Reform  ;  when  all  Disabilities  would  be 
 effectually  removed,  all  ground  of  Dissen - 
 tion  be  superseded  ;  and  when  we  should 
 all  become  one  Fold  under  one  Shepherd , 
 Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
 
 But  such  an  Expectation  as  this  is  ji] 
 direct  Opposition  to  all  Experience.  The 
 System  of  Popery  is  radically  bad  :  it  is 
 utterly  incapable  of  amendment ;  and  any 
 strenuous  attempts  to  reform  it  must 
 prove  its  destruction  altogether.  I  appeal, 
 in  support  of  these  assertions,  to  the  De¬ 
 crees  and  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent ; 
 and  to  the  present  State  of  the  Inhabitants 
 of  those  Countries,  which  are  under  the 
 Jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 
 
 The  Council  of  Trent,  which  was  the 
 last  General  Council  that  was  evei\assem- 
 bled,  and  according  to  whose  Acts  the 
 Church  of  Rome  is  chiefly  regulated  at 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 443 
 
 the  present  time,  was  convened  for  the 
 express  purpose — of  distinctly  stating, 
 and  permanently  establishing,  the  Doc¬ 
 trines  of  that  Church  ;  of  pointing  out  the 
 means  for  suppressing  Heresy  ;  and  of 
 effecting  a  Reformation,  both  among  the 
 Clergy  and  their  people.  These  were  the 
 Subjects  of  deliberation  in  twenty-five 
 successive  Sessions ;  and  occupied  the  at¬ 
 tention  of  Christendom  through  no  less 
 than  eighteen  years..  Surely,  if  any  thing 
 could  have  effected  a  Change  for  the 
 better  in  the  principles  of  that  degenerate 
 Church,  such  a  Council  as  this  would  lay 
 the  fairest  claim  to  success  :  and  yet  there 
 is  not  a  single  fundamental  Error  either  in 
 Doctrine ,  or  in  Practice ,  that  had  dis¬ 
 graced  even  the  darkest  ages  of  Romish 
 Superstition,  which  it  did  not  take  parti¬ 
 cular  care  to  ratify  and  perpetuate.  The 
 slightest  attention  to  the  proceedings  at 
 that  Council  will  sufficiently  demonstrate 
 this. 
 
 How  little,  moreover,  it  had  a  tendency 
 to  control  the  presumptuous  and  shame¬ 
 less  Pretensions  of  the  Roman  Pontiff's  *, 
 
 #  The  following  description  of  this  Council,  from  the 
 Rby.XIV.  11. 
 
444 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 which,  if  it  were  only  for  their  own  sakes, 
 required  some  check,  the  Bull  of  Pius  V. 
 
 accurate  pen  of  Dr.  Robertson,  will  shew,  how  little  it 
 was  to  be  depended  upon,  for  any  Reform  in  this 
 respect: — 
 
 “  The  convocation  of  this  Assembly  had  been  pas- 
 u  siouately  desired  by  all  the  States  and  Princes  in 
 “  Christendom,  who,  from  the  Wisdom  as  well  as  Piety 
 “  of  Prelates,  representing  the  whole  body  of  the  faith¬ 
 ful,  expected  some  charitable  and  efficacious  endea- 
 u  vours,  towards  composing  the  dissentions  which 
 “  unhappily  had  arisen  in  the  Church.  But  the  several 
 “  Popes,  by  whose  authority  it  was  called,  had  other  ob~ 
 “jects  in  view.  They  exerted  all  their  power  or  policy 
 “  to  attain  these ;  and,  by  the  abilities  as  well  as  address 
 tf  of  their  Legates,  by  the  ignorance  of  many  of  the  Pre- 
 “  lates,  and  by  the  Servility  of  the  indigent  Italian 
 “  Bishops,  acquired  such  influence  in  the  Council,  that 
 “  they  dictated  all  its  decrees ;  and  framed  them,  not' 
 “  with  an  intention  to  restore  unity  and  concord  to  the 
 (<  Church,  but  to  establish  their  own  dominion,  or  to 
 <c  confirm  those  tenets,  upon  which  they  imagined  that 
 “  dominion  to  be  founded.  Doctrines,  which  had 
 “  hitherto  been  admitted  upon  the  credit  of  tradition 
 “  alone,  and  received  with  some  latitude  of  interpreta- 
 11  tion,  were  defined  with  a  scrupulous  nicety,  and  con- 
 “  firmed  by  the  sanction  of  authority.  Rites,  which 
 “  had  formerly  been  observed  only  in  deference  to  cus-  * 
 “  tom  supposed  to  be  ancient,  were  established  by  the 
 “  decrees  of  the  Church,  and  declared  to  be  essential 
 u  parts  of  its  worship.  The  breach ,  instead  of  being 
 (t  closed ,  was  widened ,  and  made  irreparable.  In  the 
 li  place  of  any  attempt  to  reconcile  the  contending 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 445 
 
 thundered  forth  against  the  Queen  and 
 People  of  England,  within  six  years  only 
 after  the  breaking  up  of  this  Council,  will 
 incontrovertibly  declare. 
 
 It  will  be  immediately  recollected,  that 
 this  famous  Bull  was  issued  for  the  bene -  - 
 volent  purpose  of  deposing  Queen  Eliza¬ 
 beth  ;  of  absolving  her  Subjects  from  their 
 Oaths  of  Allegiance,  and  anathematizing  all 
 such  as  continued  in  their  Obedience.  It 
 commences  thus  : — “  Pius,  the  Bishop, 
 
 “  Servant  of  the  Servants  of  God,  for  the 
 “  future  remembrance  of  this  Deed/’--  W  ho 
 would  not  have  expected,  from  the  lamb¬ 
 like  Meekness,  and  the  humble  Style,  ap¬ 
 parent  in  this  Exordium,  that,  at  most,  a 
 gentle  Remonstrance  only  were  intended 
 in  the  Sequel.  But  the  other  distinguish¬ 
 ing  Character  of  the  Beast  is  immediately 
 to  make  its  appearance  ;  and  to  prove, 
 
 u  parties,  a  line,  was  drawn  with  such  studied  accuracy, 
 
 “  as  ascertained  and  marked  out  the  distinction  between 
 u  them.  This  still  serves  to  keep  them  at  a  distance  ;  and 
 “without  some  signal  Interposition  of  Dt- 
 “  vine  Providence,  must  render  the  Separa- 
 
 “  TION  PERPETUAL.’' 
 
 Hist,  of  Charles  V.  vol.  4,  book  10,  p.  75,  edit.  10. 
 
 Rir.  XIV.  11. 
 
446 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 that  though  he  “  has  two  Horns  as  a 
 “  Lamb,”  he  can  nevertheless  “  speak  as  a 
 “  Dragon*”  Thus  therefore  he  prefers 
 his  Claims,  in  the  face  of  all  Europe-)-. 
 — “  He  who  reigneth  on  high,  to  whom 
 “  all  Power  is  given  in  Heaven  and  in 
 “  Earth,  hath  committed  the  one  Holy 
 16  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Churchy  out  or 
 
 “  WHICH  THERE  IS  NO  SALVATION,  to  ONE 
 
 “  alone  on  Earthy  Namely  to  Peter,  the 
 “  Prince  of  the  Apostles ,  and  to  the  Suc- 
 “  cessor of Peter,the Roman  Pontiff, 
 “  to  he  governed  with  a  plenitude  of  Power . 
 
 #  Page  S94. 
 
 f  Pius  Episcopus,  Servus  Servorum  Dei ,  ad  futuram 
 rei  memoriam  : — 
 
 Regnans  in  Excelsis,  cui  data  est  omnis  in  Coelo  et 
 in  Terra  Potestas,  unam  Sanctam,  Catholicam,  et  Apos- 
 tohcam  Ecclesiam,  extra  quam  nulla  est  Salus,  uni  soli 
 in  Terris,  videlicet  Apostolorum  Principi  Petro,  Petrique 
 Successori  Romano  Pontifici  in  potestatis  plenitudine 
 tradidit  gubernandam.  Hunc  unum  super  oinnes  gentes, 
 et  omnia  Regna  Principem  constituit,  qui  evellat,  de- 
 struat,  disperdat,  plantet  et  jedificet;  ut  fidelem  populum 
 mutua?  charitatis  nexu  constrictum,  in  unitate  Spiritus 
 conti neat,  &c. 
 
 See  a  copy  at  large  of  this  famous  Bull,  in  the  col¬ 
 lection  of  Records,  subjoined  to  the  second  Volume  of 
 Bishop  Burnet’s  “  History  of  the  Reformation  of  the 
 “  Church  of  England,”  page  377,  edit.  2,  1083. 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 447 
 
 44  He  hath  consituted  him  alon"e  the  Prince 
 44  over  all  Nations,  and  all  Kingdoms, 
 44  to  pluck  up,  to  destroy ,  to  consume,  to  plant, 
 44  andtohuildT  Such  were  the  Powers  assum- 
 ed,  for  the  purposes  already  mentioned  ! 
 And  they  were  not  thus  described,  during 
 the  continuance  of  the  dark  Ages ,  when  the 
 preposterous  Doctrine  was  almost  univer¬ 
 sally  admitted  ;  but,  after  the  Revival  of 
 Learning  had  prepared  the  way  for  the 
 Reformation  ;  after  that  Reformation  was 
 firmly  established,  in  many  Countries  of 
 Europe  ;  after  the  Council  of  Trent  had 
 done  what  it  could,  to  reform  the  Genius 
 of  Popery  itself. 
 
 These  Claims  have  therefore  never  yet 
 been  abandoned  ;  they  have  not,  indeed, 
 been  often  urged  since,  because  there  has 
 been  wanting  the  Power  to  enforce  them  ; 
 but,  whenever  any  Opportunity,  arising 
 from  the  Vicissitudes  of  human  Affairs, 
 should  occur  to  admit  of  this,  they  may 
 be  again  brought  forward  to  view  ;  and 
 must  necessarily  have  their  weight,  with 
 all  consistent  Members  of  the  Church  of 
 Rome.  So  great,  indeed,  has  been  the 
 zeal  of  the  present  Pontiff  in  particular ,  to 
 Rev.  XIV.  11.  *  ... 
 
448 
 
 LECTURE  XII. 
 
 cause  these  Claims  to  be  again  brought 
 
 forward,  and  universally  acknowledged, 
 
 that  he  has  adopted  the  means,  the  most 
 
 likely  of  all  others  to  answer  this  purpose, 
 
 in  the  re-establisment  of  44  the  Society  of 
 
 44  Jesus.”  For  assuredly,  after  the  loud 
 
 and  universal  Indignation  of  the  world, 
 
 which  ended  in  the  Suppression  of  that 
 
 Order  by  Papal  Authority,  about  forty 
 
 years  since  *,  nothing  could  have  induced 
 
 t  / 
 
 him  to  resolve  on  its  Revival ,  hut  the  Sup¬ 
 port  and  Extension  of  the  Catholic 
 Cause,  the  Maintenance  and  Augmen¬ 
 tation  of  the  Power  of  the  Roman 
 See.  And  this  is  a  circumstance,  which 
 should  awaken  every  Protestant  Commu¬ 
 nity  to  vigilance  ;  and  place  it  most  strictly 
 upon  its  guard. 
 
 The  prevailing  Passion  of  Popery,  is 
 still  that  of  Self-aggrandizement;  her  fa¬ 
 vourite  Sentiment,  like  that  of  Archi¬ 
 medes,  is  now,  as  much  as  ever — t4  Give 
 
 *  See  upon  the  subject  of  this  revival  of  the  Order  of 
 the  Jesuits,  the  Letters,  under  the  Signature  of  Laic  us, 
 published  lately  in  the  Times  Newspaper.  These  Let¬ 
 ters  are  far  too  valuable,  at  the  present  time  in  particu¬ 
 lar,  not  to  deserve  being  laid  before  the  public,  in  a  form 
 better  adapted  for  general  circulation  and  permanent  use. 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 449 
 
 “  me  the  ground  on  which  to  stand,  and 
 “  I  will  move  the  Earth/'  She  once  in¬ 
 deed  had  possession  of  this  ground ;  and 
 moved  the  papal  Earth  which  ever  way 
 she  pleased  :  and  History  is  by  no  means 
 silent,  with  respect  to  the  violent  Efforts 
 she  has  repeatedly  made  to  regain  it,  after 
 it  was  lost. 
 
 Well  therefore  did  Pius  V.  preface  his 
 celebrated  Bull,  for  the  Excommunication 
 and  Excision  of  the  English  Nation,  by 
 those  emphatical  words  “  Ad  tuturam 
 “  Rei  Memoriam  for  they  assuredly 
 relate  to  circumstances,  which  that  Nation 
 should  never  forget — to  the  strenuous  La- 
 bours  of  that  haughty  Prelate;  to  bring  it 
 again  under  the  yoke,  which  he  was 
 anxious  to  impose;  and  to  reduce  it  to 
 that  state  of  Ignorance,  Depravity,  and 
 Wretchedness,  which  are  so  peculiarly  ex¬ 
 hibited,  by  the  general  Mass  of  the  peo¬ 
 ple,  in  Roman  Catholic  Countries,  at  the 
 present  time,  and  especially  in  “  the  State 
 “  of  the  Church"  itself. 
 
 Having  now  endeavoured  to  trace  all 
 those  more  perceptible  Links,  in  the  great 
 Chain  of  Divine  Revelation,  which  have 
 an  evident  relation  to  the  Church  of 
 
 2  G 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
4oO 
 
 LECTURE  XI. 
 
 Christ,  and  to  the  Salvation  and  Happi¬ 
 ness  of  Man;  and  having  attempted  to 
 bring  down  the  Illustration  of  this  won¬ 
 derful  Series  of  Prophecy,  in  particular, 
 to  oar  own  time  ;  the  Scheme  I  had  un¬ 
 dertaken  is  completed.  For  ever  since 
 the  firm  Establishment  of  the  Reforma¬ 
 tion,  and  the  Sounding  of  the  seventh 
 Trumpet  in  consequence  of  it,  the  con¬ 
 dition  of  Popery  had  been  nearly  station¬ 
 ary ,  till  the  breaking  out  of  “  the  noisome 
 “  and  grievous  Sore ”  of  Atijei  m,  “  upon 
 “  the  men ,  that  had  the  Mark  of  the  Beast , 
 “  and  that  worshipped  his  Image  ”  indicated 
 very  clearly  the  pouring  out  of  the  first 
 Vial"  of  Divine  Wrath  upon  the  Roman 
 Catholic  Barth  :  and  this  has  taken  place 
 within  our  oxen  memory.  The  concatena¬ 
 tion  of  the  peculiar  events  foretold  in 
 the  Apocalypse  might  perhaps  have  been 
 traced,  with  a  considerable  degree  of  ex¬ 
 actness,  from  that  time  to  the  present,  had 
 my  limits  permitted  ;  but  this  part  of  the 
 subject  has  been  already  discussed,  very 
 ingeniously,  and  with  much  appearance 
 of  truth*,  by  Mr.  Faber,  in  the  latter  part 
 of  his  Dissertation. 
 
 *  I  beg  leave  to  confine  this  Remark  to  the  general 
 
LECTURE  XII. 
 
 451 
 
 I  shall  only  therefore  observe  in  addi¬ 
 tion,  that  we  now  appear  to  have  arrived 
 
 at  that  awful  Interval,  which  is  described 
 
 % 
 
 by  the  Prophet,  as  taking  place  between 
 the  figurative  Harvest,  and  Vintage.  The 
 unparalleled  Scenes  of  Horror,  connected 
 with  the  former  of  these  Periods  are  now 
 past ;  and  the  Church  of  Rome  is  appa¬ 
 rently  obtaining  some  intermission  of  Pu¬ 
 nishment.  She  may  perhaps  be  permit¬ 
 ted  to  enjoy  a  few  years  of  compara¬ 
 tive  tranquillity  ;  and  her  influence  and 
 her  power  will ,  in  some  degree,  revive*  : 
 but  the  time  of  the  Vintage  will,  never¬ 
 theless,  ere  long  succeed;  and  then  will 
 be  the  temporal  Consummation  of  the 
 
 Description,  which  this  Writer  has  given  of  the  Events, 
 that  attended  the  pouring  out  of  the  four  Ji/st  Vials. 
 
 *  I  judge  that  this  will  be  the  case,  from  the  still 
 future  influence  of  the  Papal  See,  as  described,  in  the 
 sixteenth  Chapter  of  “  the  Revelation,”  exciting  and 
 collecting  together  the  Kings  of  the  Roman  Earth,  and 
 indeed  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  u  to  the  battle  of  the 
 “  great  day  of  Almighty  God.”  This  will  certainly  be 
 the  last  grand  Effort,  it  will  be  the  last  convulsive  pang, 
 of  expiring  Popery  :  but,  in  order  to  make  this  effort, 
 in  order  to  endure  this  pang,  she  must  necessarily  ac¬ 
 quire  some  strength,  in  addition  to  what  she  already 
 possesses. 
 
 2  G  2 
 
LECTUKE  XII. 
 
 458 
 
 Wrath  of  Almighty  God,  against  this 
 idolatrous  and  persecuting  Church. 
 
 The  times,  then,  which  we  have  already 
 seen,  and  those  which  many  of  us  may 
 still  1  ive  to  see,  should  strongly  inculcate 
 upon  us  the  great  Duties  of  Vigilance, 
 and  Circumspection.  We  should  “  con- 
 “  tend  earnestly  for  the  faith,  which  was 
 “  once  delivered  unto  the  Saints/’  We 
 should  guard,  with  the  utmost  Jealousy 
 and  Diligence,  both  for  our  own  sakes, 
 and  for  the  sake  of  Posterity,  those  civil 
 and  religious  Privileges,  by  which  God 
 has,  in  his  infinite  Mercy,  condescended 
 to  distinguish  us,  above  all  other  Nations 
 of  the  World.  So  may  we  still  look  up, 
 with  humble  confidence,  to  the  Divine 
 Being  for  Protection ;  and  our  Country 
 will  still  continue  to  be  the  place  of  Re¬ 
 fuge  and  of  Safety.  So  shall  we  remain 
 happy  in  the  assurance,  that,  while  “  great 
 “  Plagues  remain  for  the  ungodly,  whoso 
 “  putteth  his  trust  in  the  Lord,  Mercy 
 ((  embraceth  him  on  every  side.” 
 
 I  cannot  conclude,  without  expressing 
 the  grateful  Sense  I  feel,  of  the  favourable 
 
LECTURE  Xlf. 
 
 453 
 
 Attendance  which  has  been  given  to  the 
 Lectures,  that  I  have  now  had  the  Honour 
 to  deliver.  1  shall  ever  regard  it  as  no 
 small  Privilege,  to  have  been  allowed  to 
 hold  forth  my  Testimony  to  the  Truth  of 
 the  Religion  I  profess,  before  an  Audience, 
 which  is  so  well  qualified  to  appreciate 
 the  validity  of  my  Arguments,  and  the 
 Importance  of  the  Subjects  to  which  they 
 relate.  And  I  shall  always  call  to  mind 
 with  great  satisfaction,  that,  notwithstand¬ 
 ing  the  imperfect  manner  in  which  these 
 Arguments  have  been  stated,  still  the 
 very  importance  of  their  Subjects  has  en¬ 
 forced  the  attention  they  deserve. 
 
 2  G  3 
 
* 
 
 / 
 
 \ 
 
APPENDIX  : 
 
 CONTAINI  Nfi 
 
 ADDITIONAL  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 IVhich  could  not  be  so  properly  inserted  in  the  former 
 parts  of  this  Volume. 
 
\ 
 
 V  V 
 
 '  M  ....  *  ■  ■- 
 
 •  • 
 
 ' 
 
 ■ 
 
 > 
 
 -  ^ 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE  CC. 
 
 Referring  to  Page  38,  Note  f. 
 
 * 
 
 That  which  induced  the  excellent  Writer,  of 
 whom  we  have  been  speaking,  to  insist  so  strenu¬ 
 ously  on  this  passage  (Rev.  ch.  i,  v.  7,)  in  proof 
 of  the  point  he  has  assumed,  is — the  resemblance 
 and  apparent  relation  to  the  same  Event,  which 
 subsist  between  it  and  other  texts  in  the  Gospels, 
 and  particularly,  as  we  may  suppose,  Matth.  ch.  24, 
 v.  30,  &c.  where  our  blessed  Saviour  is  evidently 
 alluding  to  the  extreme  distress,  which  should  pre¬ 
 cede  the  annihilation  of  the  Jewish  State.  Yet, 
 surely,  there  are  sufficient  Differences ,  to  enable 
 us  to  determine  the  various  Applicability  of  the 
 Prophecies  in  question. 
 
 The  words  of  Christ,  as  recorded  by  St.  Mat¬ 
 thew,  in  ch.  24,  v.  30,  are  these — 
 
 K  oa  tote  QavnatrcO  to  <tyi/aciov  ts  * viov  tou  ’ avOfconou  ’EN  TO 
 'OYPANX2*  xxi  tots  Ko^ovTat  maxai  ou  tpvhxi  TH2  TH2, 
 (sell,  tcov  ’Ixdaiuvj) xai  'o^ovTai  rov  ‘ viov  th  ’avfywws  ’e^o/x tvov 
 Em  t coy  vi TOT  ’OTPANQT,  ixstx  'buvzfA eoif  xai 
 
 TTChhttf. 
 
458 
 
 APPENDIX,  CC. 
 
 Which  will  plainly  admit  of  the  following  inter¬ 
 pretation  : — (iMnd  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the 
 c<  Son  of  Man  in  the  (political)  heaven  (that 
 “  now  is)  :  and  then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the 
 “  Land  (inhabited  by  the  Jews)  mourn  ;  and  they 
 “  shall  see  the  Soil  of  J\lan  coming  upon  the 
 <f  clouds  of  the  heaven,  with  power  and  great 
 “  glory.” 
 
 And  these  words  most  clearly  relate  to  the  ap¬ 
 proaching  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  restrict 
 their  import  to  the  Land  of  Judcea  ;  for  the  same 
 divine  Prophet  almost  immediately  subjoins,  at  the 
 34th  verse  — 
 
 “  Verily ,  I  say  unto  you ,  this  generation  shall 
 ec  by  no  means  pass  away ,  until  all  these  things 
 u  be  fulfilled 
 
 This  asseveration  entirely  fixes  the  sense,  which 
 perhaps  might  otherwise  be  considered  as  doubtful. 
 And  we  accordingly  know,  that  Jerusalem  was  de¬ 
 stroyed,  and  the  Jewish  State  dissolved,  before  the 
 close  of  that  very  generation  of  Men,  which  had 
 then  had  its  commencement ;  and  that  many  of 
 those,  who  had  heard  Our  Lord’s  discourses,  must 
 have  been  eye-witnesses  of  the  Calamities  which 
 overwhelmed  their  Country. 
 
 But  where  there  is  no  such  particularity  of  Cir¬ 
 cumstances  cis  this,  to  restrict  the  signification  to 
 any  one  Country  or  People  ;  where,  in  addressing 
 the  seven  Churches  in  Asia,  St.  John  makes  no 
 allusion  whatever  to  the  Jewish  race ;  and,  in  the 
 
APPENDIX,  CC. 
 
 45g 
 
 passage  referred  to,  is  only  introducing  a  Series  of 
 Prophecy,  which  is  to  embrace  all  future  time,  by 
 'affording  the  most  sublime  description  possible,  of 
 the  nature  and  operations  of  the  Divine  Person 
 under  whose  sanction  he  wrote — there  can  cer¬ 
 tainly  be  no  satisfactory  reason,  for  confining  the 
 application  of  the  words  of  St.  John  to  a  People 
 and  Country ,  which,  he  scarcely  once  *  mentions. 
 The  text,  therefore,  in  the  Apocalypse  may  be  thus 
 exhibited,  and  its  differences  from  that  already  cited 
 be  thus  distinctly  marked — 
 
 META  tuv  vfipfAwv,  xai  ’avrov  IIA2 
 
 (X>©AAMOE  K  AI'OITINES  ATTON  'EEEKENTH- 
 2 An-  xai  tco-fovrai  Ell’ AT  t  ON  wao-ai'ou  $u\ai  lH£  TH2 
 (scil.  r»$ ’o/5t8(wevM$  •)  NA1,  AMHN — 
 
 “  Behold ,  He  comcth  with  the  Clouds ,  and 
 “  every  eye  shall  see  Him,  even  they  who 
 “  pierced  him,  and  all  the  Tribes  of  the 
 “  earth  shall  mourn  because  of  him.  Even 
 “  so  Amen.” 
 
 But  this  Subject  will  admit  of  much  further  elu¬ 
 cidation. 
 
 “  The  Heaven ”  is  frequently  employed  by  the 
 inspired  Writers,  as  a  figurative  representation  of 
 the  higher  powers  that  govern  an  Empire ,  or  State. 
 
 *  The  only  passage  in  which  he  is  supposed  to  mention 
 them  is  that,  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  drying  up  of  the 
 Waters  of  the  mystical  Euphrates,  “  to  prepare  the  way  for 
 4<  t**  Kings  of  the  East.”  ltev.  cli.  16,  v.  12. 
 
460 
 
 APPENDIX,  CC. 
 
 And  we  have  seen,  that  it  is  always  used  in  this 
 sense  by  St.  John,  throughout  the  Apocalypse. 
 Consequently,  “  the  Clouds  of  the  Heaven,"  which, 
 in  an  accumulated  and  condensed  state,  produce 
 the  dreadful  phenomena  of  destructive  tempests, 
 may  well  denote  those  formidable  armies ,  by  means 
 of  which  they  carry  on  their  ivars ,  for  the  punish¬ 
 ment ,  under  Divine  Providence,  of  sinful,  or  for  the 
 destruction ,  of  devoted  Nations . 
 
 These  simple  data  being  premised,  the  following 
 short  paraphrase  will  perhaps  place  the  two  re¬ 
 markable  passages  above  cited  in  the  clearest  light. 
 
 The  first  will  be  to  this  effect — 
 
 “And  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man 
 “  in  the  (political)  heaven ” — that  Sign,  which  he 
 had  given  to  his  Disciples,  and  which  they  were  to 
 behold,  when  “  they  should  see  Jerusalem  encom- 
 “  passed  with  armies.”  (Luke  ch.  21,  v.  20.) 
 “  And  then  shall  all  the  Tribes  of  the  Land  wail;” 
 seeing  and  feeling  the  Calamities  that  would  be 
 coming  upon  them  ;  and  knowing  that  the  desola¬ 
 tion  of  their  Country  was  drawing  nigh.  <l  And 
 they  shall  see  <c  the  Son  of  Man,  coming  upon 
 “  the  Clouds  of  the  (same  figurative)  Heaven  ,5’ 
 compelling  *  them  on  ;  and  visiting,  with  a  war  of 
 extermination,  the  devoted  Nation  of  the  Jews, 
 
 *  In  a  sense  analogous  to  that  of  the  Epithet 
 which  Homer  so  sublimely  applies  to  the  Supreme  Deity  of 
 the  Gentile  World. 
 
APPENDIX,  CC. 
 
 46 1 
 
 through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Roman  Armies  ; 
 which  should  fall  upon  them  with  irresistible  power ; 
 and  vindicate,  in  a  most  exemplary  manner,  the 
 glory  of  the  Divine  Justice.  It  is  almost  unneces¬ 
 sary  to  add,  that  this  Sign  literally  appeared,  when 
 Cestius  Gallus  led  his  army  against  Jerusalem,  very 
 early  in  the  Jewish  war ;  that  it  was  well  understood 
 by  the  Christians  then  in  Judaea  :  and  that  many 
 escaped  the  destruction  that  followed,  in  conse¬ 
 quence  of  their  timely  attention  to  it.  See  Lec¬ 
 ture  III.  p.  134 — 139. 
 
 The  paraphrase  upon  the  second  text  will  be  as 
 follows — 
 
 “  Behold,  he  cometh  with  the  Clouds \ ”  not 
 upon  ihem,  as  in  the  former  instance,  to  urge  them 
 on  to  vengeance ;  nor  with  those  of  any  particular 
 (political)  Heaven ,  as  when  he  employed  the  Ro¬ 
 man  power  against  the  Jews;  but  “  with  the 
 “  Clouds ”  of  THE  heavens*  generally , 
 
 or  with  the  hearty  concurrence,  and  earnest  co¬ 
 operation,  of  all  the  Nations ,  who  shall  then  know, 
 that  they  can  alone  “  be  blessed  in  him.”  And 
 every  eye  “  shall  see  him  \*  every  one  shall  be 
 penetrated  with  a  sense  of  his  Goodness,  and  shall 
 gratefully  acknowledge  his  supreme  Dominion  ; 
 offering  him,  in  this  day  of  his  power,  their  free¬ 
 will  offerings  with  a  holy  worship.  And  even 
 “  they  also  who  pierced  him”—  those  who  have 
 
 *  Compare  Rev.  ch.  1,  v,  J,  with  Dan.ch.7,  v.  13. 
 
462 
 
 APPENDIX,  DD. 
 
 been  for  so  many  ages  blinded  by  their  Own  pre¬ 
 judices,  and  by  a  spirit  of  unbelief— shall  begin  to 
 look  with  an  eye  of  faith  towards  him.  But  this 
 universal  manifestation  of  the  Divine  Glory  must 
 argue  a  period  also  of  universal ,  sincere ,  and  deep 
 R  pentawe :  for  “  all  th  Tribes  of  the  Earth  shall 
 “  waiV *  (not  for  any  calamities  coming  upon  them¬ 
 selves,  as  was  the  case  in  the  instance  we  have  just 
 been  considering;  but)  because  of  him;  lament¬ 
 ing  either  the  Ignorance  which  had  so  long  con¬ 
 cealed  from  their  view  such  excellent  Majesty  as 
 this,  or  their  past  ungrateful  Abuse  of  so  much 
 Mercy  and  unmerited  Goodness. 
 
 Well  therefore  might  the  Prophet  exclaim 
 Even  so.  Amen  :  for  this  was  to  prove  the  Com¬ 
 mencement  of  a  Period,  and  State  of  things,  the 
 most  desirable  and  happy,  that  the  world  had  ever 
 seen ,  and  which  was  to  complete,  as  far  as  the 
 present  Condition  of  Humanity  is  concerned,  the 
 gracious  and  ultimate  Designs  of  God — Designs, 
 which  had  been  the  Subjects  of  so  many  Prophe¬ 
 cies— in  favour  of  the  Sons  of  Men. 
 
 NOTE  DD. 
 
 Referring  to  Page  43,  Note  §  continued. 
 
 In  the  former  Volume,  recourse  has  been  twice 
 had  to  the  prophetical  Dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
 
APPENDIX,  EE. 
 
 4  G5 
 
 for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  time,  for  the 
 Commencement  of  the  Spiritual  Kingdom  of  Christ, 
 by  two  different  Modes  of  computation ;  and  this 
 being  the  first  time,  that  the  scene  of  Prophecy 
 now  referred  to  Las  been  mentioned;  it  may  be 
 proper  to  observe,  that  Daniel’s  Vision  of  “  the 
 “  four  great  B  asts,”  which  emerged  from  4C  the 
 “  Sea,'*  is  designed  equally  with  the  Dream  of  the 
 Babylonish  Monarch,  concerning  the  symbolical 
 Image ,  to  prefigure  the  four  great  Pagan  Empires, 
 that  arose,  in  succession,  out  of  that  tumultuous 
 state  of  things,  which,  for  some  ages,  preceded 
 the  Coming  of  Christ. 
 
 The  import  of  that  diversity  of  Imagery,  by 
 which  both  these  prophetic  Communications  pre¬ 
 dict  the  same  grand  scene  of  Divine  Dispensation, 
 may  be  satisfactorily  illustrated,  by  consulting  the 
 thirteenth  and  fourteenth  Dissertations  of  Bishop 
 Newton  cn  the  Prophecies  ;  wherein  these  subjects 
 are  discussed  with  great  learning  and  abilitv. 
 
 NOTE  EE. 
 
 Referring  to  Page  82,  Note  *  continued. 
 
 “  Mr.  Mede,  and  many  who  follow  him,”  says 
 Mr.  Lowman,  “  suppose  this  Description  of  the 
 “  Living  Creatures,  to  be  taken  from  the  Sta.id- 
 “  ards  of  the  Camp  of  Israel.  Supposing  the 
 
464 
 
 APPENDIX,  EE. 
 
 “  Standard  of  Judah  was  a  Lion  on  the  East  side 
 <s  of  the  Camp ;  the  Standard  of  Ephraim,  an  Ox 
 “  on  the  West  side;  the  Standard  of  Reuben,  a 
 “  Man  on  the  South  side ;  and  the  Standard  of 
 “  Dan,  an  Eagle  on  the  North  side ;  and  that 
 “  these  Ensigns,  or  Standards,  figuratively  ex- 
 tc  pressed  the  strength  and  power  of  a  Lion ,  the 
 “  the  constant  labour  and  usefulness  of  an  Ox,  the 
 (i  reason  and  prudence  of  a  Man,  the  quick  sight 
 <c  and  activity  of  an  Eagle  :  so  that  this  represented 
 “  the  Christian  Church  and  Priesthood,  and  ex- 
 “  pressed  the  several  qualities  of  Courage,  Labour, 
 <c  Prudence,  and  Activity,  with  which  the  Christian 
 “  Church  and  Ministry  were  to  maintain  theHonour 
 “  of  God,  and  the  Cause  of  true  Religion  in  the 
 “  World. 
 
 “  But  however  ingenious,  and  plausible,  this 
 “  conjee  ure  appears  at  the  first  sight,  many  learned 
 *f  persons,  who  have  exactly  considered  it,  find  it 
 “  has  very  little  evidence  or  proof  to  support  it. 
 “  There  is  no  mention  of  any  such  Standards  in 
 “  Moses,  or  the  whole  Scriptures,  in  Josephus,  or 
 “  Philo,  or  in  any  ancient  Writer  who  can  give 
 “  any  weight  or  authority  to  it.  The  reasons  with 
 “  which  Abenezra  endeavours  to  support  it,  are  so 
 “  weak  in  the  opinion  of  the  learned  Bochart,  that 
 ct  he  has  not  scrupled  to  call  them  ridiculous — 1  Sed 
 “  hoc  Commento  putidius  nihil  est  V  There  are, 
 
 *  Hierozoic,  lib.  3,  c.  5,  s.  8. 
 
APPENDIX,  FF. 
 
 4  65 
 
 ee  moreover,  many  reasons,  which  make  it  highly 
 “  improbable,  that  the  Jews  should  use  such  Stand- 
 “  ards  in  their  Camp  ;  it  being  the  unanimous 
 fe  Opinion  of  the  Jews,  that  Images,  as  Military 
 “  Standards,  were  contrary  to  their  Law,  which 
 <e  forbad  the  making  of  Images.  And  it  is  very 
 unlikely,  that  when  that  people  had  suffered  so 
 il  much  for  making  a  golcltn  Calfy  Moses  should 
 “  immediately  make,  not  only  the  Image  of  a 
 “  Calf,  but  several  other  Images,  or  Military 
 Cf  Standards,  for  a  people  so  prone  to  ddolatry  as 
 “  they  were 
 
 NOTE  FF. 
 
 Referring  to  Page  121,  Note  *. 
 
 How  signally  a  remorseless  fate  was  permitted 
 to  sweep  away  the  Heads  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
 during  the  Period  that  is  here  referred  to,  will 
 immediately  appear  from  the  following  enumera¬ 
 tion  : —  a.  d. 
 
 / 
 
 Commodus,  strangled,  after  an  infamous 
 
 reign  .  .  .  .  .193 
 
 Helvidius  Pertinax,  murdered  by  the  Prae¬ 
 torian  Guards  .  .  .  .193 
 
 *  Witsius,  Algyptiacorum,  lib.  2,  c,  13. 
 2  H 
 
466 
 
 APPENDIX,  IT, 
 
 Didius  Julianus,  beheaded  by  order  of  the 
 
 Senate  .  .  .  .193 
 
 *Pescennius  Niger,  declared  Emperor  by  the 
 
 Army  in  Syria,  defeated  and  slain  .  194- 
 
 i 
 
 *Clodius  Albinus,  proclaimed  by  the  Army 
 
 in  Britain,  kills  himself  in  despair  .  197 
 Septimius  Severus,  died  a  natural  death  .  211 
 Geta,  murdered  by  his  own  brother  Cara- 
 calla,  in  the  very  arms  of  his  Mother  .  212 
 Caracalla,  murdered  by  the  contrivance  of 
 Macrinus  ,  .  .  .217 
 
 Macrinus,  taken  prisoner,  and  put  to  death  218 
 Diadumenus,  the  son  of  Macrinus,  publicly 
 
 executed  by  order  of  Heliogabalus  .  218 
 Heliogabalus,  slain  in  a  tumult  by  his  own 
 
 soldiers  ....  222 
 
 Alexander  Severus,  assassinated  by  Maximi¬ 
 nus  ....  235 
 
 ,,  .  .  (Father  and  Son,  both  assassi- 
 
 Maxuninus,  \ 
 
 <nated  at  the  same  time  by  their 
 
 Maximinus,  f  ... 
 
 v  own  soldiers 
 
 Gordian,  proclaimed  Emperor  in  Africa,  and 
 Gordian  his  Son,  and  Partner  in  the  Em¬ 
 pire,  both  died  violent  deaths 
 Pupienus,  tboth  murdered  at  the  same  time 
 Balbinus,  (by  the  Praetorian  guards  . 
 Gordian  III.  deposed  and  murdered,  at  the 
 instance  of  Philip 
 Philip  and( 
 
 Ilis  Son,  ' 
 
 both  slain 
 
 238 
 
 237 
 
 238 
 
 244 
 
 249 
 
APPENDIX,  EF. 
 
 487 
 
 •Papianus,  proclaimed  Emperor  in  the  East,  and 
 *Marinus,  in  Mcesia  and  Pannonia,  both 
 
 slain  .....  248 
 *Priscus,  Governor  in  Macedon,  aspires  to  the 
 
 purple,  but  is  soon  cut  off  .  .251 
 
 Decius,  defeated  and  slain,  in  a  battle  with 
 
 the  Goths 
 
 .  251 
 
 Gallus,  murdered  by  his  own  soldiers 
 
 .  253 
 
 JEmilianus,  killed  by  his  own  soldiers 
 
 .  254 
 
 Valerian,  treacherously  taken  prisoner  by 
 
 Sapor,  and  treated  by  him  with 
 
 great 
 
 inhumanity 
 
 .  260 
 
 *Ingenuus,  proclaimed  Emperor  in  Pannonia, 
 
 defeated  by  Gallienus,  and  his  fate  un¬ 
 certain  ....  260 
 
 *Regillianus,  proclaimed  in  Mcesia,  murdered 
 
 by  his  own  troops  .  .  .  260 
 
 •Macrianus,  proclaimed  Emperor  at  Alexandria, 
 *Macrianus,  his  Son  and  associate  in  the 
 -  Empire,  both  slain  in  a  battle  with  Au- 
 reolus  .  ,  .  .  .261 
 
 *Valens,  proclaimed  in  Achaia,  murdered  by 
 
 his  own  troops  .  .  .261 
 
 *Piso,  raised  to  the  purple  in  Thessaly,  slain 
 
 by  the  troops  of  Valens  ,  .261 
 
 •Aureolus,  made  Emperor  in  Illyricum,  de¬ 
 feated,  taken  prisoner,  and  slain,  .  268 
 
 •Quietus,  the  Son  of  Macrianus,  slain  at 
 
 Edessa  .  .  .  .262 
 
 'VEmilianus  II.  declared  Emperor  in  Egypt, 
 
 2  h  % 
 
46'S  APPENDIX,  FF. 
 
 taken  prisoner,  and  strangled  by  order  of 
 Galiienus  ....  263 
 *Posthumius,  who  assumed  the  Empire  in 
 
 Gaul,  slain  by  his  own  forces  at  Mentz  .  267 
 *Saturmnus,  assumes  the  imperial  title,  but  is 
 
 murdered  by  his  own  men  .  .  263 
 
 *Balista,  proclaimed  at  Emesa,  slain  by  a  sol¬ 
 dier  of  Odenatus  .  .  .  264 
 
 *Trebellianus,  who  wras  raised  to  the  Empire 
 
 in  Isauria  and  Cilicia,  defeated  and  slain  265 
 
 *  Victorious,  the  Colleague  of  Posthumius  in 
 
 Gaul,  murdered  at  Cologne  .  .  267 
 
 *Celsus,  chosen  Emperor  in  Africa,  murdered 
 
 by  the  inhabitants  of  Sicca  .  .266 
 
 OdenatU6,  admitted  by  Galiienus  his  partner 
 
 in  the  Empire,  slain  .  .  267 
 
 *iElianus,  proclaimed  Emperor  at  Ment2, 
 there  defeated  by  Posthumius,  and  pro¬ 
 bably  slain  ....  267 
 *LolIianus,  succeeds  Posthumius  in  Gaul,  but 
 is  soon  after  murdered  by  the  mutinous 
 soldiery  ....  267 
 
 *  Marius,  who  succeeded  Victorinus  in  Gaul, 
 
 killed  three  days  after  .  .  .  267 
 
 *Tetricus,  whose  title  was  acknowledged  in 
 Spain  and  Britain,  as  well  as  in  Gaul, 
 defeated,  but  spared  by  Aurelian  .  273 
 *Zenobia,  the  Widow  of  Odenatus,  having 
 assumed  the  title  of  Queen  of  the  East, 
 defeated,  and  taken  prisoner  by  Aurelian  273 
 
APPENDIX,  IF. 
 
 469 
 
 Gallienus,  in  whose  reign  the  last-mentioned 
 twenty -one  aspirants  to  the  Empire  started 
 up,  was  himself  slain  at  Milan  .  .  268 
 
 Claudius  died  a  natural  death,  but  by  the 
 
 Plague  ....  270 
 
 Quintillus,  the  brother  of  Claudius,  mur¬ 
 dered  by  his  own  soldiers  at  Aqui- 
 leia  .  .  .  .  270 
 
 Aurelian,  murdered  by  his  own  army  .  275 
 *Firmius,  is  proclaimed  Emperor  in  Egypt, 
 
 but  taken,  and  publicly  executed  .  273 
 
 Tacitus,  his  fate  uncertain  .  .  .  276 
 
 *Elorianus,  the  brother  of  Tacitus,  assumed 
 the  Empire,  but  was  soon  slain  by  his 
 own  men  ....  276 
 Probus,  murdered  by  his  own  soldiery  .  282 
 *Saturninus,  proclaimed  Emperor  in  Egypt, 
 
 overcome  and  slain  at  Apamea  .  278 
 
 *Proculus,  raised  to  the  purple  in  Gaul,  deli¬ 
 vered  up  to  Probus,  and  slain  .  .  280 
 
 *Bonosus,  who  also  aspired  to  the  Empire  in 
 Gaul,  laid  violent  hands  upon  himself  to 
 avoid  falling  into  those  of  Probus  .  280 
 Carus,  dies  a  violent  and  sudden  death  .  284 
 Numerianus,  the  Son  of  Carus,  murdered  by 
 
 Aper,  his  father-in-law  .  .  284 
 
 *Aper,  who  aspired  to  the  Empire,  slain  by 
 
 Dioclesian  .  .  .  .  28 1 
 
 *Julianus,  proclaimed  Emperor  in  Venetia,  de¬ 
 feated  and  slain  by  Carinus  .  .28  5 
 
 2  h  3 
 
470 
 
 APPENDIX,  FF. 
 
 Carinus,  the  other  son  of  Carus,  defeated  and 
 
 slain  by  Dioclesian  .  .  .285 
 
 Where  is  there,  in  the  whole  history  of  mankind, 
 a  period  that  can  equal  this  ?  From  the  preceding 
 List  it  appears,  that  during  the  short  space  of  104- 
 years,  from  the  accession  of  Commodus  in  18], 
 to  the  firm  establishment  of  Lioclesian  upon  the 
 throne  in  285,  there  were  at  least  (for  some  I  have 
 very  probably  omitted  *  )  sixty-fire  persons,  either 
 of  Imperial  Dignity,  or  Competitors  for  the  Empire 
 who  were  proclaimed  by  their  respective  Armies, 
 that  made  theif  appearance,  and  were  all  swept  off 
 during  the  same  Interval.  And  only  eight  of  them, 
 at  the  most,  died  natural  Deaths ;  namely,  Sept. 
 Severus,  Valerian  f,  Ingenuusf,  Tetricus,  Zenobia, 
 Claudius,  Tacitus  f,  and  Carusf. 
 
 Note*- — The  Mark  *  placed  before  any  of  the  above 
 Names,  shews  that  they  were  merely  Competitors  for  the 
 
 "K 
 
 Empire,  proclaimed  by  their  Armies,  but  not  sanctioned  by 
 the  Senate. 
 
 *  Such  is  T.  Quartinus,  proclaimed  Emperor  by  the  rebel¬ 
 lious  Osrhoenians  in  the  Army  of  Maximinus,  but  forthwith 
 slain,  in  S3. 
 
 +  This  Mark  implies  Uncertainty . 
 
APPENDIX,  GG. 
 
 471 
 
 NOTE  G  G. 
 
 Referring  to  page  233,  Note  *. 
 
 In  the  Computation  of  this  Period  of  one  hun¬ 
 dred  and  fifty  years,  which  has  been  already  given, 
 its  commencement  was  dated  from  the  time,  when 
 the  means  of  tormenting  were  first  adopted ,  and  its 
 conclusion  was  fixed  at  that  particular  epoch,  when 
 those  means  ceased  to  be  any  longer  materially  ef¬ 
 fective.- — Mr.  Faber  has  given  rather  a  different  ex¬ 
 planation  to  this  part  of  the  Prophecy,  which  I  will 
 lay  before  the  Reader  ;  giving  him  leave  to  take  his 
 choice;  and  observing  only,  that  it  is  a  circum¬ 
 stance  most  strongly  in  favour  of  the  Truth  of  the 
 Prophecy,  that  it  should  be  so  exactly  accomplish¬ 
 ed,  in  two  cases  so  very  strikingly  parallel  with  each 
 other. 
 
 “  In  the  year  606,  Mohammed  committed  the 
 cc  first  overt  act  of  his  imposture,  by  retiring  to  the 
 cave  of  Hera  :  consequently  then  it  was,  that 
 the  fallen  Star  Sergius  opened  the  door  of  the 
 tf  bottomless  Pit.  ‘TAe  Locusts ,  however,  and 
 “  their  leader  did  not  immediately  issue  forth,  or 
 “  publicly  disclose  themselves  :  their  open  mani- 
 i(  festation  was  to  be  preceded  by  the  smoke  and 
 <f  fumes  of  the  false  Religion  which  they  were 
 <f  about  to  propagate.  Accordingly  Mohammed 
 “  emerged  from  his  solitary  retreat  about  the  year 
 
 2  h  4 
 
472 
 
 APFENDIX,  GG. 
 
 ‘  609  ;  and  began  to  excite  that  smoke,  which 
 4  soon  darkened  all  the  Eastern  heaven.  Three 
 ‘  years  he  silently  employed  in  the  conversion  of 
 4  fourteen  proselytes,  the  first-fruits  of  his  mission. 
 f  But  in  the  fourth  year,  or  the  year  612,  he 
 4  assumed  the  Prophetic  office  j  and  resolved  to 
 4  impart  to  his  family  the  light  of  divine  truth. 
 
 4  In  this  year,  Mohammed  and  his  Disciples,  or 
 4  A  p  oily  on  and  his  Locusts ,  may  be  considered  as 
 4  issuing  from  the  bottomless  Pit,  which  the  fallen 
 4  Star  Sergius  had  been  the  main  instrument  of 
 4  opening. — Consequently  the  Jive  prophetical 
 ‘  months ,  during  which  the  Locusts  were  allowed 
 4  to  torment  mankind,  expired  in  the  year  762  ; 
 
 4  when  the  Caliph  Almansor  built  Baghdad  as  the 
 4  future  seat  of  his  Empire,  and  called  it  the  City 
 4  of  Peace .  At  this  period,  the  Saracens  ceased 
 4  from  their  locust  devastations ;  and  became  a 
 4  settled  people.  Henceforth  they  no  longer 
 4  made  such  rapid  conquests  as  they  had  formerly 
 ‘4  done  ;  but  only  engaged  in  ordinary  wars  like 
 “  other  nations 
 
 Thus  it  appears,  and  it  presents  a  truly  remark¬ 
 able  phenomenon  in  the  history  of  the  world,  that 
 there  was  the  same  interval  of  time,  or  the  same  num¬ 
 ber  of  years,  between  the  dates ,  when  the  power  of 
 tormenting  was  first  communicated ,  and  when  it  was 
 
 *  Mr.  Faber’s  Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies  relative  to  the 
 Great  Period  of  1260  years,  Vol.  2,  p.  32,  Edit.  1806. 
 
APPENDIX,  HB. 
 
 473 
 
 actually  applied,  as  between  those,  which  pointed 
 out  its  receiving  its  death-blow ,  and  its  absolutely 
 ceasing  to  exist  ! 
 
 NOTE  HIT 
 
 Referring  to  Page  67,  Note  f. 
 
 It  may  be  proper  to  mention,  that,  when  it  is 
 here  said — “  The  Heaven  is  that  established 
 <£  Form,  of  Political  Government ,  under  which  the 
 “  Church  of  God  should  be  at  any  time  existing,” 
 I  have  employed  the  term  “  Political ’*  in  the  most 
 extensive  sense  \  so  as  to  include  the  religious ,  as 
 well  as  civil  department,  of  which  that  Government 
 might  consist.  This  extended  sense  of  the  term  is 
 that,  in  which  I  have  invariably  used  it  throughout 
 this  Volume.  Mr.  Mede,  in  one  place  cited  in 
 Note  *,  page  236,  has  used  it  in  a  more  restricted 
 sense ;  and  distinguished  political  from  ecclesias¬ 
 tical. 
 
V 
 
 - 
 
 i  . 
 
 . 
 
 >  ■ 
 
 • 
 
 • 
 
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 ■  - 
 
 ». 
 
AN  INDEX 
 
 TO 
 
 THE  PRECEDING  VOLUMES, 
 
 The  Roman  Numerals  point  out  the  Volume ,  and 
 the  Arabic  Numerals  the  Page. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abaddon,  or  Apollyon,  what  Power  was  designated  by  those 
 Titles  ?  ii.  250. 
 
 Abc’aluahman,  in  what  manner  his  founding  the  Caliphate 
 of  the  West,  was  a  verification  of  the  Words  of  Prophecy, 
 ii.  233. 
 
 Abel,  the  nature  of  his  Sacrifice  explained,  i.  342. 
 
 Abomination  of  Desolation,  what  ?  i.  134. 
 
 Abominations  of  Popery,  those  renounced  by  the  Reformed 
 Churches,  ii.  428. 
 
 Abraham,  Revelations  made  to  that  Patriarch,  i.  10,  20,  315. 
 
 Abul-pharagius,  a  curious  portion  of  History  extracted  by 
 him  from  the  sacred  Traditions  of  the  Persians,  i.  200. 
 
 Adrian,  the  Persecution  under  that  Emperor,  i.  35,  Note*, 
 he  completed  the  desolation  of  Judaia,  i.  309;  ii.  107 ;  the 
 principal  characteristics  of  his  reign  were  the  subjects  of 
 Prophecy,  ii.  101  ;  his  unambitious  temper,  104 ;  his 
 “  taking  Peace  from  the  Earth,”  105;  his  love  of  public 
 Justice,  108. 
 
476 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Agriculture,  the  style  of  that  anciently  practised  in  the 
 Holy  Land,  i.  310  Note  *. 
 
 A iu,  to  what  that  Element  is  allegorically  applied,  ii.  219. 
 
 Alani,  the  Kingdom  founded  by  them  in  Spain,  ii.  195. 
 
 AlAiiic,  his  Ravages  in  Italy  foretold,  ii.  191. 
 
 Altar,  that  on  which  the  sacrifice  of  the  primitive  Martyrs 
 had  been  performed,  ii.  136;  the  golden  Altar,  what  ? 
 176,  253,  &c. 
 
 Analogy,  instances  of  it,  between  the  Writings  of  Daniel 
 and  St.  John,  ii.  47 — 61  ;  between  certain  natural  Pheno¬ 
 mena  and  one  of  the  fundamental  Doctrines  of  Revelation, 
 i.  333. 
 
 Angel,  the  general  symbolical  import  of  that  term,  ii.  155; 
 one  standing  at  the  Altar,  &e.  what?  175;  one  flying  in 
 the  midst  of  the  Heaven,  who  ?  212,  &c. ;  others,  so  fly¬ 
 ing,  421,  427,  429.  The  Angel  of  the  bottomless  Pit, 
 221,  249  ;  a  mighty  one  coming  down  from  Heaven,  296. 
 
 Angels,  the  difference  between  their  Doxology,  and  that  of 
 the  Elders,  &c.  ii.  91  ;  another  of  their  Doxologies,  165  ; 
 who  those  four  were,  who  were  appointed  to  hold  the  four 
 Winds  of  the  Earth,  151  ;  who  gave  them  their  Commis¬ 
 sion,  157.  What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  seven  Angels, 
 that  had  the  Trumpets ,  175;  the  Sounding  of  their  re¬ 
 spective  Trumpets,  180,  187,  199,  204,  217,  253,  344; 
 the  Angels  of  the  seven  Churches,  217.  Those  four 
 bound  at  the  River  Euphrates,  260;  the  nature  of  their 
 Commission,  262 ;  the  Period  during  which  it  was  to  be 
 carrying  into  effect,  263. 
 
 Anointing,  of  the  Israelitish  Priests  at  the  time  of  their 
 Baptism,  its  typical  reference,  i,  84. 
 
 Antoninus  Pius,  the  distinguishing  Characteristics  of  his 
 Reign,  the  Subjects  of  Prophecy,  ii.  111. 
 
 Apocalyse  of  St.  John,  a  Summary  of  its  Contents,  ii.  9, 
 Note*;  the  reason,  why  the  whole  Book  is  called  “  a 
 <c  Prophecy/’  26;  the  time  when  it  was  written  inves¬ 
 tigated,  27 — 47,  63,  64.  It  is  the  most  comprehensive  and 
 
INDEX. 
 
 477 
 
 explicit  of  all  the  Prophecies  of  Scripture,  129}  the  Evi¬ 
 dence  of  its  Truth  to  be  progressive,  131,  &c. 
 
 Apostles,  the  Causes  of  their  wonderful  Success,  in  preach, 
 ing  the  Gospel,  after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  i.  33. 
 
 Arians,  their  Opinions  concerning  Christ  inconsistent  with 
 the  general  tenour  of  Revelation  respecting  Him,  i.  274, 
 324;  their  expectations,  relative  to  the  Conversion  of  Ma¬ 
 hometans,  Jews,  and  Pagans,  ii.  238,  Note 
 
 Ark  of  the  Covenant,  its  emblematical  allusion,  i.  2 67, 
 381  ;  ii  347. 
 
 Artaxerxes  Longimanus,  the  dates  of  his  Edicts  in  favour 
 of  the  Jews,  i.  395,  400. 
 
 Articles  <»*  Religion,  referred  to,  or  cited,  ii.  321,  331, 
 435—438. 
 
 Ascension  of  Christ,  a  Subject  of  Prophecy,  i.  267. 
 
 Augsburg,  the  Diet  of,  in  1555,  gave  a  firm  Establishment 
 to  the  Protestant  Cause  in  Germany,  ii.  339. 
 
 B. 
 
 Babylon,  cc  the  Captivity  of,”  Luther’s  Book  so  entitled, 
 ii.  307,  Note  *,  425,  Note  |  ;  the  Commencement  of  her 
 Fall,  426,  &t\  ;  in  what  respects  the  figurative  resembles, 
 the  ancient  Babylon,  427.  note  +• 
 
 Balaam,  his  Prophecy  of  the  Star  “  that  should  come  out  of 
 ‘‘Jacob”  considered,  i,  186  ;  again  referred  to,  209. 
 
 Balance,  as  the  symbol  of  distributive  Justice,  ii.  1  10. 
 
 Baptism,  of  the  Jewish  Priests,  its  typical  allusion,  i.  83  ; 
 that  of  John,  its  peculiar  Nature,  382  ;  Christian,  how 
 symbolized  in  Prophecy,  ii.  158,  414;  the  places  and 
 times,  set  apart  for  its  celebration,  in  the  fourth  Century, 
 &c.  158. 
 
 BARBARIANS,  their  Incursions  into  the  Roman  Empire,  in 
 fulfilment  of  the  words  of  Prophecy,  ii.  178,  Note  *, 
 '  185,  193. 
 
478 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bar  Chocab,  the  reason  why  the  Impostor  Caziba  assumed 
 that  title,  i.  190,  Note. 
 
 Basnage,  M.  Quotations  from  that  Writer,  in  relation  to  the 
 miserable  State  of  the  Jews,  i.  93,  98,  321. 
 
 Beast,  the  fourth  great  one  predicted  by  Daniel  and  St. 
 John,  his  Powers,  and  the  peculiar  nature  of  his  Achieve¬ 
 ments,  ii.  41,  Note;  his  ten  Horns,  52,  353,  389;  his  se¬ 
 ven  Heads,  354  ;  his  Origin,  52,  353  ;  his  Little  Horn, 
 53;  that  Horn,  in  its  spiritual  Capacity,  the  same  as  the 
 two-hornecl  Beast  of  the  Earth,  53,  391  ;  the  same  also  as 
 the  apocalyptical  Harlot,  54,  291.  The  fate  of  the  Beast, 
 40  j  this  fate,  the  same  with  that  of  his  Little  Horn,  40, 
 42  Note,  55,  57  j  the  same  as  that  of  the  Harlot,  or  mys¬ 
 tical  Babylon,  57  Note  *,  320  Note;  correspondent  with 
 that  of  the  “  Man  of  Sin,”  37  Note*,  and  with  that  of 
 the  False  Prophet,  56.  The  History  of  this  Beast  deve¬ 
 loped  at  large,  353,  &c.  He  was  an  Object  of  Worship, 
 362,  396, 
 
 , - ,  the  two*horned  one  of  the  Earth,  one  particular 
 
 respecting  him,  ii.  53. >  the  Period  of  his  Continuance,  5  t ; 
 his  history  at  large,  393,  &c. 
 
 - - ■,  that  ascended  out  of  the  bottomless  Pit,  what  ?  ii. 
 
 330,  Note  J  ;  his  War  with  the  two  Witnesses,  330,  &c. ; 
 the  cause  of  this  War,  331  Note  *,  332. 
 
 «  •  ■  '  ,  a  Wild  one,  the  import  of  that  Symbol  explained,  ii. 
 358  Note  *. 
 
 Birth  of  Christ,  the  Season  of  the  year  when  that  took 
 place,  i.  89,  371 . 
 
 Black,  what  that  is  emblematical  of,  ii.  1 10. 
 
 Blasphemous  Assumptions  of  pagan  Rome,  ii.  355  ;  those 
 of  papal  Rome,  326  Note  *. 
 
 Blessedness,  that  by  which  Abraham,  and  his  Seed  in  the 
 chosen  line,  were  distinguished,  i.  18 — 32;  that  pro¬ 
 nounced  by  St.  John,  upon  those  who  should  hear  and 
 read  the  words  of  his  Prophecy,  illustrated,  ii.  27,  Note  *, 
 131. 
 
I 
 
 INDE  X.  479 
 
 Blessings,  temporal,  resulting  from  Christianity  to  Man¬ 
 kind,  i.  42. 
 
 Bow,  the  figurative  use  of  that  Weapon,  ii.  £5. 
 
 Book,  the  little  one ,  introduced  into  the  Apocalypse,  what  ? 
 ii.  300,  306  ;  to  what  purpose  it  was  to  be  applied,  310  ; 
 that  its  contents  were  difficult  of  digestion,  illustrated  by 
 several  Examples,  311. 
 
 Bottomless  Pit,  the  Abyss,  or  u  Bottomless  Deep.”  what? 
 ii.  219;  its  Import  illustrated  by  another  Example,  330 
 Note  $. 
 
 Branch,  u  The  Branch,”  or  u  The  Branch  of  Jehovah,” 
 a  title  of  Christ,  i.  21 9. 
 
 Brazen  Serpent,  in  the  Wilderness,  its  allusion  to  the 
 Saviour  of  the  World,  i.  260,  378. 
 
 Breast- plates,  the  figurative,  of  the  Saracens,  ii.  245  j 
 of  the  Turks,  270. 
 
 Brimstone,  combined  with  Fire,  as  a  mean  of  Torment, 
 that  figure  illustrated,  ii.  431  ;  as  a  part  of  the  defensive 
 and  offensive  Armour  of  those  who  destroyed  the  Eastern 
 Empire,  270,  272. 
 
 Britain,  risen  to  what  she  is,  under  the  influence  of  Christi¬ 
 anity,  i.  46;  her  Efforts  to  diffuse  its  Blessings  among 
 pagan  Nations,  4-7  ;  and  to  increase  them  herself,  by  afford¬ 
 ing  suitable  Education  generally  to  the  Children  of  the 
 Poor,  47. 
 
 Buchanan,  Dr.  his  Testimony  concerning  the  Jews  in  the 
 East,  i.  284  Note  *, 
 
 Bulls  of  Excommunication,  that  of  Leo  X.  against  Luther, 
 its  fate,  ii.  301  Note  ;  that  of  Pius  V.  against  Queen  Eliza¬ 
 beth  cited,  445,  446 ;  Remarks  upon  it,  398,  447,  &c. 
 
 Burgundians,  the  Kingdom  founded  by  them  in  Gaul,  ii. 
 
 1 96. 
 
 Burial  of  Christ,  the  style  of  it  foretold,  i.  263. 
 
 Burnt  Offerings,  prescribed  by  the  Law,  their  typical  na¬ 
 ture  and  efficacy,  i.  62,  87. 
 
480 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Calf,  why  the  second  living  Creature  resembled  that  animal, 
 ii.  83  ;  that  Symbol,  as  applied  to  the  pointing  out  of  a 
 particular  Period,  verified,  101. 
 
 Caliphs,  how  described  in  the  Apocalypse,  ii.  221,  249  ;  the 
 nature  of  their  Power,  232  Note  +.  See  Saracens. 
 
 Calvin,  his  entire  Condemnation  of  the  Rites  of  the  Romish 
 Church,  ii.  428.  The  Church  founded  by  him,  a  descrip¬ 
 tive  Character  of  it,  427,  See. 
 
 Canaan,  as  the  promised  Land,  its  typical  allusion,  i.  379, 
 &c. 
 
 Candlestick,  as  applied  to  the  Christians  of  Ephesus,  its 
 import,  ii.  1 5  i  its  Removal  in  fulfilment  of  the  Prophecy 
 concerning  it,  18 
 
 Candlesticks,  the  tzco,  One  of  the  two  Witnesses  for  God, 
 ii.  324 
 
 Canonization,  one  essential  Requisite  for  it,  ii.  288,  397. 
 
 Ceremonies,  of  the  Hebrew  Church,  shadowed  out  the  pecu 
 liarities  and  blessings  of  the  Christian  Dispensation,  i.  67, 
 See.  ;  ii.  160;  their  typical  Language  well  adapted  to  the 
 peculiar  Circumstances  of  the  Israelites,  i.  359. 
 
 Chandler,  Dr.  his  Observations  on  Daniel’s  Prophecy  of 
 the  Seventy  Weeks,  examined,  i.  395.  , 
 
 Charlemagne,  the  Person  from  whom  he  acquired  his  Title 
 of  Emperor  of  the  West,  ii.  407  Note  *. 
 
 Charles  V.  the  dreadful  Persecution  of  the  Protestants  by 
 him,  ii  312,  &c.  His  War  with  the  Protestant  Princes  of 
 Germany,  332  ;  his  cruel  treatment  of  the  Elector  of  Sax¬ 
 ony,  and  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  335  Note  * ;  his  Supine- 
 npss  after  Ids  Successes,  33 6  Note  *  ;  the  sudden  Reverse 
 he  experienced,  338. 
 
 - IX.  his  Inhumanity  and  Fanaticism,  ii.  285  Note*. 
 
 Christ,  the  various  Circumstances  attending  the  Sacrifice  of 
 Himself,  most  clearly  foreshewn  in  the  Ritual  of  the  Pass. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 481 
 
 over,  i.  72 — SO,  369  ;  the  various  Offices  to  which  he  was 
 anointed,  84,  222,  Ac.  ;  in  these  Offices  he  resembled 
 Moses,  68.  An  Argument  in  proof  of  His  Divinity,  from 
 the  awful  Sanction  that  attended  his  Baptism,  85  Note  J. 
 Several  Facts  adduced,  to  prove  incontrovertibly  (he  cer¬ 
 tainty  of  his  Advent,  210.  Why  lie  was  foretold  under 
 the  name  of  Shiloii,  179,  349.  The  time  of  the  Year 
 when  he  was  born,  371.  II is  Prse-existence,  in  respect  to 
 Abraham,  asserted,  216  Note  *.  See  further  under  Mes¬ 
 siah ,  and  Jesus. 
 
 Christianity,  the  Reception  it  met  with,  in  the  first  ages  of 
 the  Church,  i.  35  The  Persecutions  it  underwent,  no 
 less  than  the  Diffusion  it  received,  among  the  proofs  of  its 
 divine  authenticity,  38.  Causes  which  have  counteracted 
 its  Effects,  41,  44  ;  what  those  Effects  will  be,  when  these 
 Causes  cease  to  operate,  46.  The  truth  of  its  Doctrines 
 proved,  by  the  fulfilment  of  (lie  Prophecies  which  involved 
 them,  281.  Its  Triumphs  over  its  Adversaries,  the  Sub¬ 
 jects  of  Prophecy,  39;  ii.  144,  &c.  344,  414,  See.  Its  firm 
 Establishment  under  Constantine,  how  prefigured,  161, 
 Ac.;  and  after  the  Reformation,  414,  Ac. 
 
 Christians,  primitive,  their  eminent  Piety,  and  Patience 
 under  Persecution,  i.  35  ;  the  Torments  inflicted  on  them, 
 356.  Those  of  Jerusalem,  how  saved  from  the  Destruc¬ 
 tion  of  that  City,  138.  How  Christians  were  habited  for 
 seven  days  after  their  Baptism,  in  the  fourth  Century,  ii. 
 164.  Contrast  between  their  Condition  in  the  time  of  Con¬ 
 stantine,  and  in  the  preceding  Ages,  167,  Ac.  Heretical 
 ones,  their  easy  lapse  into  Mohammedism,  228  ;  one  great 
 Cause  of  it,  236,  Ac  . 
 
 Christendom,  its  state  in  (he  fourth  Century,  ii.  365;  in  the 
 fifth  and  sixth,  367,  212,  369  ;  in  t he  tenth,  256;  the  ele¬ 
 venth,  2 57  ;  the  twelfth,  258  ;  the  sixteenth,  280—  296. 
 
 Churches,  a  list  of  those  founded  in  the  first  Century,  i.  34 
 Note  *.  The  seven  in  Asia,  their  present  State  attests  the 
 truth  of  St.  John’s  Prophecy  respecting  them,  ii.  9,  24. 
 
 VOL.  II.  2  I 
 
 l 
 
482 
 
 INDE  X. 
 
 Church  of  England,  instances  of  her  entire  Opposition  to 
 the  Church  of  Rome,  ii.  434 — 439. 
 
 - - ,  the  Jewish,  their  expectation  of  the  Coming  of  the 
 
 Messiah,  about  the  time  of  his  appearance,  i.  168,  174,  207. 
 lror  their  Opinions  concerning  several  Prophecies  relative 
 to  him,  see  Paraphrases. 
 
 - of  Christ,  the  principal  Subject  of  the  Prophecies 
 
 in  the  Apocalypse,  ii.  66,  &c. 5  the  Causes  it  had  for  ap¬ 
 prehension,  upon  the  Death  of  Constantine  the  Great,  ii. 
 170. 
 
 - ,  Universal,  its  Emblems,  ii.  69  j  and  Employ¬ 
 ments,  84. 
 
 Circumcision,  in  what  respect  it  was  typical  of  Baptism,  ii. 
 160. 
 
 Cloud  and  Pillar  of  Fire,  which  conducted  the  Israelites 
 through  the  Wilderness,  their  emblematical  allusion,  i.  380. 
 
 —  ,  the  figurative  import  of  that  term,  ii.  68  Note  3  in¬ 
 
 stances  to  illustrate  this,  72,  180,  297,  340. 
 
 Coming  of  Christ,  the  various  application  of  that  Expres¬ 
 sion,  ii.  31,  &c.  ;  <£  with  Clouds,”  ihe  further  import  con¬ 
 veyed  by  that  Addition,  68  Note,  458, 
 
 Commodus,  the  period,  which  continued  from  the  beginning 
 of  his  Reign  till  the  accession  of  Dioclesian,  the  Subject  of 
 Prophecy,  ii.  120,  &c.  3  enrolled  after  death  among  the 
 Gods!  363. 
 
 Constantine  the  Great,  conjointly  with  Licinius  puts  a 
 stop  to  the  Persecution  raised  by  Dioclesian,  i.  35  •  His 
 Example,  in  one  most  important  particular,  recommended 
 for  Imitation  at  the  present  time,  49  Note  *.  His  altera¬ 
 tions  in  the  System  of  the  Roman  Government,  how  sym¬ 
 bolized,  ii.  68  Note,  151  :  his  War  with  Maxentius,  how 
 described,  144  3  his  Baptism,  159.  Instances  of  excessive 
 Cruelty  and  Injustice  in  him,  154  3  the  consequences  of 
 them,  176  Note  *.  His  Will  partially  set  aside,  and  the 
 concomitant  Events,  171.  The  superstitious  Reverence 
 that  was  paid  to  him  after  his  Death,  171  Note*.  The 
 
I  N  D  E  X. 
 
 483 
 
 wretched  Fate  of  his  Family,  176  Note*.  Ilis  Age  not 
 free  from  Superstition,  367. 
 
 Const  anti  no  PLr,  the  means  employed  in  the  capture  of  that 
 City  by  the  Turks,  ii.  272. 
 
 Constantius  Ciilorus,  the  benefits  of  his  Government  to 
 his  Christian  Subjects,  ii.  141. 
 
 Covenant,  why  that  under  the  Mosaical  was  to  be  super¬ 
 seded  by  that  under  the  Christian  Dispensation,  i.  57,  &c. 
 One  principal  part  of  that  made  with  the  Hebrew  Patri¬ 
 archs,  315  ;  and  afterwards  repeated  to  David,  316. 
 
 Creature,  every  one  made,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  con¬ 
 tribute  to  the  Glory  of  the  Great  Creator,  ii.  92. 
 
 Creatures,  in  the  Sea,  what  ?  ii.  191. 
 
 Ckeesiina.  the  Hindoo  tradition  respecting  him,  i.  345. 
 
 Crown,  the  signification  of  that  Emblem,  ii.  96. 
 
 Crowns,  golden,  their  figurative  import,  ii.  72,  86;  u  a*  it 
 were  of  gold,”  what  is  denoted  by  them,  243.  Tho'e 
 upon  the  ten  Horns  of  the  Ileasf,  what?  354. 
 
 Crucifixion,  of  Christ,  various  circumstances  attending  it 
 expressly  foretold,  i.  260,  ivc.  ;  the  place  of  it  particularly 
 foreshown,  264.  This  Punishment  inflicted  without  mercy, 
 on  great  numbers  of  the  Jews  themselves,  305. 
 
 Crusades,  the  Cause  for  which  they  have  been  undertaken, 
 
 i.  44;  ii.  399. 
 
 Cyrus,  particularly  distinguished  by  Isaiah,  i,  369. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dalmatius,  the  nephew  of  Constantine,  his  unhappy  fate, 
 
 ii.  173. 
 
 Daniel,  proofs  of  the  truth  of  his  I nterpretation  of  Nebu¬ 
 chadnezzar’s  Dream,  i.  143,  &c.  ;  163,  &c.  ;  206  ;  and  ii. 
 73  Note  *.  His  sublime  Descriptions  of  the  complete 
 Establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  ii.  39,58';  the 
 relation  between  him  and  St.  John  pointed  out,  60  ;  the 
 comparison  from  which  this  relation  is  deduced,  47,  &c, 
 
 Daje,  for  the  writing  the  Apocalypse  determined,  ii.  63. 
 
 2  i  2 
 
I 
 
 484  ,  1NDE  X. 
 
 Dates,  to  which  insulated  Prophecies  refer,  how  to  be  inves¬ 
 tigated,  ii.  5. 
 
 David,  Balaam’s  Prophecy  concerning  him,  i.  188;  but,  in 
 a  more  remote  sense,  concerning  Him,  of  whom  David  w  as 
 a  Type,  189.  Various  instances,  in  which  he  was  a  Type 
 of  Christ,  414.  Who  was  both  the  Root  and  Offspring 
 of  that  Prince  ?  218  Note  +  ;  ii.  89. 
 
 Day,  “  the  great  and  dreadful  Day  of  Jehovah,”  what 
 period  was  thus  designated,  i.  13  1. 
 
 Days,  instances  of  their  being  prophetically  employed  to  re¬ 
 present  years,  i.  75  Note  +.  u  A  thousand  t  wo  hundred  and 
 three  score,”  the  Interval  so  described,  ii  6  Note*. 
 Death,  the  symbolical  import  of  that  expression,  ii.  236. 
 In  what  sense  bad  Christians,  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
 Centuries,  might  be  said  to  seek  it,  and  bot  to  find  it,  235, 
 &c.  That  of  the  two  Witnesses  described,  331. 
 
 Death  and  Hades,  the  Period  during  which  they  were  pe¬ 
 culiarly  triumphant  throughout  the  Roman  Empire,  ii. 
 191,  &c.  465, 
 
 Decius,  his  Persecution  of  the  Christians,  i.  35  Note  *. 
 Demons,  or  Imaginary  mediating  Intelligences,  the  Worship 
 of  them  in  the  Romish  Church,  ii,  282,  Sec. 
 
 Desire  of  all  Nations,  that  this  is  peculiarly  a  Title  for 
 Mthe  essiah,  proved  at  large,  i.  407,  &c. 
 
 Diana,  her  celebrated  Temple  at  Ephesus,  its  fate,  ii.  13 
 Note*,  14. 
 
 Dioclesian,  the  Persecution  in  his  reign,  i.  35  Note*;  the 
 Edicts  relating  to  it,  ii.  139.  It  was  very  remarkably  the 
 Subject  of  Prophecy,  135,  Sec. 
 
 DISABILITIES,  civil,  of  the  Roman  Catholics  in  this  Coun¬ 
 try,  the  origin  and  probable  duration  of  them,  ii.  440. 
 Divine  Majesty  how  symbolized  by  St.  John,  ii.  69,  See. 
 Domini  an,  the  Persecution  under  him,  i.  35  Note  *.  St. 
 John  banished  tp  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  during  that  Persecu¬ 
 tion,  ii.  29,  64. 
 
 Door,  a  opened  in  Heaven,”  that  imagery  explained,  ii.  67. 
 
 Dragon,  the  Being  denoted  by  that  Title,  i.  347  ;  illustra- 
 
 . 
 
INDEX. 
 
 485 
 
 tions  of  his  Character  and  influence,  ii.  357,  &c.  395,  400. 
 The  great  red  on  with  s<  ven  Heads  and  ten  Horns,  359  ; 
 his  power  for  t  im  apparently  suspended,  361  ;  became 
 indirectly  an  o'  ject  of  Worship,  362. 
 
 Dress,  the  singular  resemblance  between  that  of  Elijah  and 
 John  the  Baptist,  i.  127. 
 
 E. 
 
 Eagle,  flying,  why  the  fourth  living  Creature  resembled  one, 
 ii,  84  ;  in  what  manner  it  became  the  indication  of  a  certain 
 period  of  History,  118. 
 
 Earth,  the  peculiar  signification  of  u  The  Earth  ”  in  the 
 Apocalypse,  ii.  101  ;  in  what  manner  considered  as  divided 
 into  three  parts.  103  Note.  Ins  anc.es  in  which  this  Em- 
 blema  ical  use  of  the  term  occurs,  93,  144,  151,  177,  181, 
 212,  217,  300,  330,  346,  417,  421. 
 
 Earthquakes,  fontold,  this  Imagery  verified  in  various 
 instan  es,  ii.  144,  177  &c.  341,  348  Instance  of  a  Na¬ 
 tural  one  attending  the  Symbolical,  183. 
 
 Edicts,  an  account  of  those  published  against  the  Christians, 
 in  the  reign  ot  Dioclesian,  ii.  139. 
 
 Edictum  pekpetuum,  of  Adrian,  ii.  109,  Note  +. 
 Edomites,  their  hostdity  against  Israel,  its  symbolical  im- 
 poit,  i.  191. 
 
 Education,  Arabian,  wherein  it  differs  from  European,  ii. 
 
 243. 
 
 Elders  the  four.aud.twenty,  their  nature  and  peculiar  pro¬ 
 vince,  ii.  70,  &c. ;  repeatedly  introduced,  in  the  Apoca¬ 
 lypse,  as  performing  their  proper  functions,  85,  90,  165, 
 167,  345- 
 
 Elements,  in  Nature,  equally  above  human  comprehension, 
 with  the  fundamental  Doctrines  of  Revelation,  i.  331. 
 ELIJAH,  the  typical  Resemblances  subsisting  between  this 
 Prophet  and  John  the  Baptise  i.  125;  in  their  maintaining 
 alone  the  Honour  of  the  true  God,  in  their  respective 
 times,  125  ;  in  their  being  both  of  (he  Inhabitants  of 
 
486 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gilead,  1 26  j  in  the  dangers  to  which  they  were  both  ex¬ 
 posed,  126;  in  their  Dress,  127;  in  one  of  the  principal 
 Objects  of  their  Ministry,  128  ;  by  their  both  prescribing, 
 in  certain  analogous  cases,  Ablution  in  Jordan,  1 30  5  by 
 their  being  both  Prophets  of  the  first  distinction,  131. 
 
 Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  her  Establishment  of  the 
 Reformed  Religion,  a  Subject  of  Prophecy,  ii.  340. 
 
 Emerald,  its  fine  green  Colour,  expressive  of  what?  ii.  70. 
 
 Empeiiors,  of  Rome,  frequently  deified  after  Death,  ii. 
 363. 
 
 Empire,  of  the  Romans  in  the  East,  the  miseries  it  under¬ 
 went  from  the  Saracens,  ii.  217 — 251  ;  the  process  of  its 
 destruction  traced,  255 — 275. 
 
 - ,  spiritual ,  existing  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  how  sym¬ 
 bolized,  ii.  393,  &c. ;  when  it  originated,  225  Note  +. 
 
 Enemies,  of  Christianity,  a  part  of  their  Punishment  de¬ 
 scribed,  ii.  73. 
 
 England,  the  Church  of,  established  by  Law,  and  firmly 
 maintaining  the  Doctrines  of  Reformed  Religion,  ii.  339, 
 &c. ;  a  descriptive  character  of  it,  429.  Her  Rejecfion  of 
 the  Supremacy  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  a  Subject  of  Pro¬ 
 phecy,  430.  Her  total  disavowal  of  his  Jurisdiction  in  the 
 Realm  of  England,  439. 
 
 Ephesus,  the  literal  fulfilment  of  St.  John’s  prediction  con. 
 cerning  the  Church  at  that  City,  ii.  1 1 — 21. 
 
 Epistles,  of  St.  John  to  the  seven  Churches,  to  what  sort  of 
 Prophecies  they  are  to  be  referred,  ii.  9;  their  importance 
 as  introductory  to  his  other  Prophecies,  10. 
 
 Era,  of  the  Martyrs,  ii.  139  Note  *. 
 
 Eve,  the  reason  why  she  called  her  first-born  Son  Cain,  i. 
 337,  &c. 
 
 Exarchate,  of  Ravenna,  not  to  be  accounted  one  of  the  ten 
 Kingdoms,  that  rose  out  of  the  Western  Empire,  ii.  354 
 Note  *. 
 
 Excommunication,  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  ii.  405  ;  by 
 whom  the  power  of  it  is  exercised,  404.  The  Bull  of, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 487 
 
 ^gainst  Luther,  how  treated,  301  Note  ;  against  Queen 
 Elizabeth,  398,  Note  +,  444 — 449. 
 
 F. 
 
 • 
 
 Face,  the  emblematical  use  of  that  expression,  ii.  297. 
 
 Feet,  “  as  Pillars  of  Fire,”  what?  ii.  297  ;  “  as  of  a 
 Bear,”  what  they  indicate,  356. 
 
 Fire,  instances  of  its  use,  as  an  Emblem  of  Divine  Wrath, 
 i.  76,  87  ;  ii.  177,  188,  270,  273,328,  398,  431. 
 
 - . ,  “  mingled  with  Blood,”  accompanying  Hail,  what  ?  ii. 
 
 181  Note. 
 
 - - ,  as  a  Mean  of  Torment,  ii.  431. 
 
 First-fruits,  of  the  Christian  Church,  when  gathered  in,  i. 
 89  ;  of  the  Reformed  World,  who  ?  ii.  420. 
 
 Foot,  <c  the  right  on  the  Sea,  and  the  left  on  the  Earth,”  the 
 explanation  of  that  figure,  ii.  300. 
 
 For  Ever  and  Ever,  in  what  sense  those,  <c  who  worship 
 the  Beast  and  his  Image,”  will  be  tormented  during  this 
 Space,  ii.  432. 
 
 Fornication,  spiritual  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  ii.  282  ;  not 
 yet  repented  of,  289. 
 
 Fountains,  their  Emblematical  Import,  ii.  75  Note;  in¬ 
 stances  of  their  use,  199,  424. 
 
 Franks  the  foundation  of  their  Kingdom  in  Gaul,  ii.  197. 
 
 Fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  what  great  Event  is  dependent 
 upon  it,  i.  418  ;  to  what  date  to  be  referred,  ii.  6. 
 
 G. 
 
 Galeuius,  his  enmity  against  the  Christians,  ii.  139,  &c. ;  the 
 lesson  to  be  derived  from  his  miserable  end,  152. 
 
 Galileans,  those  slaughtered  by  Pilate,  the  sign  of  a  similar 
 Catastrophe  to  the  Jews,  i.  290. 
 
 Gallus,  the  Prosecution  under  him,  i.  35  Note  *. 
 
 Genseric,  his  sacking  of  Rome  included  in  Prophecy,  ii.  192,. 
 
 \ 
 
488 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gentiles,  their  general  Expectation  of  a  supreme  Ruler, 
 and  Benefactor  to  Mankind,  to  rise  in  Judaea,  about  the 
 first  Age  of  Christianity,  i.  29,  < 7  ,  Ch  ,  ,  the  happy 
 
 privileges  that  will  at  length  be  conferred  upom  them  fore, 
 shewn,  14,  63,  232,  246,  248,  265,  269,  292.  1  he  great 
 
 Events,  that  will  attend  the  “  fulfilment  of  their  Times,” 
 320,  418. 
 
 - ,  who  “  tread  the  Holy  City,”  with  whom  iden¬ 
 tified,  ii.  321  ;  their  rage,  346. 
 
 Gibbon,  Mr.  Extracts  from  that  Writer,  to  illustrate,  and 
 
 verify  the  fulfilment  of  the  Apocalyptic  Scenes,  ii.  96,  100, 
 101,  112,  117,  123,  125,  155,  171,  173,  182.  183,  185, 
 192,  199,  201,  228,  232,  240,  247,  265,  267,  312. 
 
 Gilead,  the  place  of  residence  both  of  Elijah  and  John  the 
 Baptist,  i.  126 5  the  situation  of  that  Tract,  ibid. 
 
 Glory  of  Jehovait,  that  appeared  in  the  Tabernacle,  and 
 first  Temple,  its  typical  nature  explained,  i.  81  ;  of  the 
 Temple  at  Jerusalem,  its  latter  to  be  greater  than  the  for¬ 
 mer,  165  ;  allusions  to  that  peculiar  circumstance  wherein 
 its  former  Glory  consisted,  168,  299,  410 
 
 GOD,  how  represented  by  St.  John,  as  the  supreme  Ruler  of 
 all  things,  ii.  69,  72,  73  ;  as  the  Illuminator  and  Purifier 
 of  his  Church,  74  ;  as  its  Redeemer,  and  the  Opener  of 
 the  sealed  Book  of  Prophecy,  89. 
 
 — — ,  of  the  Earth,  who  is  designated  by  that  Title,  ii. 
 326. 
 
 Gospel,  prefigured,  and  introduced  by  the  Law,  i.  54,  &c. 
 the  difference  in  the  mode  of  its  delivery  from  that  of  the 
 Law,  58  Note  +. 
 
 GIieek  Church,  its  deplorable  State  in  the  seventh  Century, 
 ii,  228  ;  in  the  tenth,  256;  in  the  eleventh,  257  ;  and  in 
 the  twelfth,  258.  The  degraded  State  in  which  part  of  it 
 exists  at  the  present  time,  under  the  Turks,  275. 
 
 Gregory,  the  Great,  his  contest  with  John  the  Patriarch 
 of  Constantinople,  ii.  214. 
 
 - . —  ■  II.  his  Treason  and  Rebellion,  ii.  3 77  Note 
 
INDEX.  489 
 
 N  v 
 
 Gregory,  III. the  means  by  which  he  acquired  the  temporal 
 Sovereignty  of  the  Roman  People,  ii.  379,  Note,  390. 
 
 — - XIII.  his  exultation  on  the  News  of  the  Massacre 
 
 of  Paris,  &c.  ii.  285. 
 
 H. 
 
 IlAGGAI,  an  Emendation  in  the  rendering  of  a  Prophecy  of 
 his,  relative  to  the  coming  of  Christ,  i.  165  ;  the  same 
 subject  further  considered,  407.  Particular  instances,  in 
 which  this  Prophecy  was  verified,  170  Note  *,  300. 
 
 Hail,  the  symbolical  Import  of  that  term  explained,  ii.  180, 
 
 349. 
 
 Half-an-IIour,  the  period  denoted  by  that  figure,  ii.  173  ; 
 in  what  manner  it  was  employed,  175. 
 
 Hairy  Garments,  why  worn  by  the  false  Prophets  of  old,  i. 
 127  Note  J. 
 
 IIannibalianus,  the  Nephew  of  Constantine,  his  melan¬ 
 choly  end,  ii.  171,  &c. 
 
 Harlot,  who  is  the  great  one,  “  that  sitteth  upon  many 
 W aters,”  ii.  291. 
 
 Harps,  to  accompany  the  Chorus  of  Praise,  of  the  Church 
 Universal  ii.  90;  of  the  Reformed  Churches,  416. 
 
 Heads,  tlje  seven  belonging  to  the  Beast,  that  rose  out  of  the 
 Sea,  ii.  354.  in  what  manner  one  of  them  was  u  wounded 
 to  death,”  55,  360;  and  afterwards  revived,  361,  &c. 
 
 Heaven,  as  it  occurs  in  the  Apocalypse,  the  genuine  import 
 of  that  expression,  ii.  67  Note  +  ;  instances  of  its  occur¬ 
 rence,  93,  145,  147,  199,  212,  217,  296,  305,  309,  329, 
 346,  421,  427,  429. 
 
 - - ,  <c  departing  as  a  Scroll,”  what  is  intended  by  that 
 
 awful  Imagery,  ii.  147. 
 
 Heavenly-bodies,  Influences  attributed  to  them  by  the 
 Astrologers  of  Antiquity,  i.  203. 
 
 Hell,  or  Hades,  the  nature  of  the  State  denoted  by  those 
 Terms, i.  266  ;  ii.  120. 
 
 you  ii.  2  r 
 
490 
 
 I  N  D  E  X. 
 
 Heruli,  the  Kingdom  founded  by  them  in  Italy,  Sec.  ii.  200. 
 &c.  207. 
 
 High-priesthood,  among  the  Jews,  a  Type  of  the  Priest¬ 
 hood  of  Christ,  i.  82. 
 
 History,  the  only  Interpreter,  and  Test  of  Prophecy,  i.  2. 
 
 Holy  City,  how  long  it  was  to  continue  trodden  by  the 
 Gentiles,  ii.  7,  Note;  or  to  be  inhabited  by  them,  319; 
 why  the  Countries  within  the  papal  Jurisdiction  are  thus 
 called,  3 1 9  Note  *;  when  the  Gentiles  first  began  to  tread 
 it,  321. 
 
 Holy  Scriptures,  the  Translation  of  them  by  Luther, 
 greatly  promoted  the  Cause  of  the  Reformation,  ii.  317. 
 
 HONORIUS,  the  distinguishing  Event  of  his  Reign,  foretold, 
 
 ii.  191. 
 
 Korn,  the  symbolical  Import  of  that  term,  ii.  394  ;  the  little 
 one  of  the  fourth  Beast,  the  Period  of  its  Domination,  6 
 Note  * ;  it  is  to  continue  till  the  destruction  of  the  Eeast 
 that  produced  it,  42  Note;  that  Period  particularly  noted, 
 54;  his  fate,  56. 
 
 Horns,  the  ten ,  of  the  fourth  great  Beast,  their  history,  ii. 
 194,  &c. ;  which  were  the  three ,  that  u  were  plucked  up 
 by  the  roots,’*  to  make  room  for  the  growth  of  t£  the  little 
 Horn,”  389  Note  §  ;  of  the  Apocalyptical  Beast,  353  ; 
 the  two ,  like  those  of  a  Lamb,  belonging  to  the  Beast  of 
 the  Earth,  53,  394,  &c. 
 
 ■■■■■—,  of  the  Altar,  their  emblematical  Import^  ii.  254. 
 
 Horses,  Arabian,  their  excellence,  ii.  240. 
 
 Horsley,  Bishop,  a  particular  Recommendation  of  his  Let¬ 
 ters  to  Dr.  Priestley,  i.  2 76  Note  *  ;  ii.  239  Note. 
 
 Humiliation,  of  Christ,  indispensable  to  the  fulfilment  of 
 many  Prophecies  concerning  him,  i.  233,  See. 
 
 Hunger,  and  Thirst,  their  Emblematical  Import  explained 
 ii.  169. 
 
 Huns,  for  what  reasons  the  Sovereignty  exercised  by  them  in 
 Pannonia,  could  not  be  one  of  the  ten  Horns  of  the  Beast, 
 ii.  208.  Note. 
 
INDEX.  491 
 
 Hyacinth,  why  an  Ingredient  in  the  Turkish  Breast-plates, 
 ii.  270. 
 
 I. 
 
 Jacob,  references  to  Revelations  made  to  that  Patriareh,  i. 
 13,  21,  167,  206,419. 
 
 Idolatry,  the  Church  of  Rome  guilty  of  it  in  the  most  pal¬ 
 pable  degree,  i.  273  3  no  tendency  to  repent  of  it,  ii.  284. 
 That  of  pagan  Rome,  its  suppression  foretold,  144,  See. 
 That  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  condemned  by  Luther,  307, 
 309  }  and  disallowed  by  the  Lutheran  Church,  &c.  424,  &c. 
 
 Idols,  the  extensive  worship  of  them  in  the  Romish  Church, 
 ii.  282,  &c. 
 
 Jerusalem,  the  predicted  Boundaries  of  the  future  City  of 
 that  name,  i.  422.  Prophecies  that  have  been  erroneously 
 supposed  to  relate  to  its  destruction,  ii.  30,  &c. 
 
 Jesuits,  reflections  on  the  revival  of  that  Order,  ii.  448. 
 
 Jesus  Christ,  His  Jirst  and  last  Charge  to  his  Disciples,  >. 
 33.  Prophecies  relating  to  his  miraculous  Incarnation, 
 157  3  to  the  time  of  his  Advent,  162  ;  to  the  place  of  his 
 Birth,  214;  to  the  line  of  his  Descent,  217  ;  to  his  Regal 
 Office,  222  ;  to  his  Sacerdotal  Office,  233  ■  to  his  Dispo¬ 
 sition  and  Manners,  2403  to  his  Prophetical  Office,  250  }  to 
 his  Death,  Resurrection,  and  subsequent  Exaltation,  259. 
 He  was  the  implied  Subject  of  a  Prophecy  of  Balaam,  186, 
 &c.  His  Eternity  of  existence  directly  asserted  by  Micah, 
 and  by  himself,  216  Note  *.  He  was  both  the  Root,  and 
 the  Offspring  or  Branch,  of  David,  189,  218  Note  +.  In 
 him  were  united  the  opposite  Extremes  of  Dignity  and 
 Humiliation,  221,  &c.  234,  &c.  His  Compassion  for  the 
 Jewish  Nation,  286  3  his  plain  Declaration  of  the  impend¬ 
 ing  Destruction  of  Jerusalem,  294,  &c.  See  Christ  and 
 Messiah. 
 
 Jews,  why  the  Gospel  was  first  preached  to  them,  i.  32  3  the 
 Peculiarities  of  their  Punishments,  since  their  rejection  of 
 
 2  K 
 
492 
 
 INDE  ,X. 
 
 the  Messiah,  91,  283,  302;  appeals  to  their  own  Tes¬ 
 timony  upon  this  Subject,  92  Note  *,  99.  Their  partial 
 Views  of  the  Prophecies  relating  to  the  Messiah,  185,  272, 
 323.  Their  hardened  State  is  a  completion  of  Prophecy, 
 211.  They  were  compelled  to  confess,  that  Jesus  Christ 
 was  to  be  born  at  Bethlehem,  214  ;  and  that  he  should  be 
 a  descendant  from  David,  219.  Their  deplorable  state  in 
 the  time  of  Christ,  287  ;  their  Rejection  of  him  the  Cause 
 of  their  Destruction,  296.  No  other  Nation  could  be  de¬ 
 stroyed  in  the  same  manner  as  they  were,  304.  Cruci¬ 
 fied  in  vast  numbers  by  the  Romans,  305.  Their  history 
 presents  us  with  a  continued  Series  of  Miracles.  321  ;  the 
 Cause  of  their  Rejection  of  Jesus  Christ,  323  ;  similar 
 Effects  arising  to  others  from  the  same  Cause,  324.  Their 
 Condition  suggests  Lessons  of  benevolence  towards  them, 
 325.  Their  tenure  of  the  Holy  Land,  conditional,  420. 
 See  Restoration. 
 
 Image,  of  the  ten-horned  Beast,  what,  and  by  whom  caused 
 to  be  made,  ii.  401  ;  its  “  Life ”  and  Achievements,  402, 
 &c. 
 
 Images,  the  gross  Idolatry  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  in  bow¬ 
 ing  down  to  them,  ii.  283. 
 
 Imperial  Power,  in  Rome,  that  which  u  letted”  the  open 
 manifestation  of  u  Man  of  Sin ,”  ii.  368  Note*;  the 
 Truth  of  this  circumstance  traced,  369,  &c. 
 
 Incarnation,  of  our  Lord,  the  accomplishment  of  several 
 Predictions,  i.  157. 
 
 Incense,  employed  as  the  Symbol  of  acceptable  Prayer,  i. 
 360;  ii,  176.  Parallel  instances  of  the  Punishment  at¬ 
 tending  the  burning  of  it  with  unhallowed  fires,  319, 
 Note  *. 
 
 Indulgences,  Luther’s  first  preaching  against  the  sale  of 
 them,  ii.  298. 
 
 Inquisition,  the  Holy  Office  of  l  what  the  Cruelty  and  In¬ 
 justice  practiced  in  it  evince,  ii.  286  :  these  are  particularly 
 the  subjects  of  Prophecy,  398,  &c. 
 
f 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 493 
 
 John,  the  Baptist,  his  Ministry  foretold  by  Isaiah,  i.  104;  and 
 by  Malachi,  120,  124  ;  and  implied  in  a  Prophecy  of 
 Daniel,  143,  147.  His  divine  Mission,  112;  the  singularity 
 and  austerity  of  his  life,  113  y  his  eminent  Qualifications, 
 114  5  the  manner  in  which  he  prepared  the  way  for  the 
 Messiah  116;  the  awful  grandeur  of  his  Message,  and  the 
 notice  it  attracted,  117  .  Why  said  to  come  in  the  Spirit 
 and  Power  of  Elias,  125.  The  peculiar  nature  of  his  Bap¬ 
 tism,  382. 
 
 John,  St.  some  particulars  of  his  life,  i.  357,  ii.  13,  29. 
 His  Prediction  of  the  Coming  of  Christ  explained,  38.  In 
 what  respects  he  was  a  Representative  of  the  Church  of 
 Christ,  in  the  times  of  which  he  wrote,  88. 
 
 John,  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  his  assumption  of  the 
 Title  of, Universal  Bishop  condemned,  ii.  215. 
 
 Jonah,  the  Prophet,  in  what  sense  a  t  ype  of  Christ,  i.  267. 
 
 Jones,  the  Kev.  William,  his  u  Catholic  Doctrine  of  a  Tri¬ 
 nity”  recommended,  i.  2 76,  note  *,  ii.  239,  Note. 
 
 Jordan,  the  passage  of  that  river  by  the  Israelites,  its  em¬ 
 blematical  import,  i.  381  ;  particular  parallel  cases  of  Ablu¬ 
 tion  in  that  river,  130. 
 
 Josephus,  Testimonies  from  him,  illustrative  of  Prophecies 
 relating  to  the  fate  of  the  Jewish  nation,  i.  135  ;  his  Tes¬ 
 timony  concerning  John  the  Baptist,  130;  and  concerning 
 Christ,  remarks  upon  it,  176. 
 
 Isaiah,  his  views  manifestly  extended  in  many  instances, 
 beyond  the  immediate  subjects  of  his  Predictions,  i.  104, 
 Note  *  his  prophecy  of  John  the  Baptist,  considered,  106, 
 &c. ;  and  of  the  giving  of  the  New  Covenant,  63. 
 
 Isaac,  Divine  Promises  made  to  that  Patriarch,  i.  11,315; 
 he  was  an  eminent  Type  of  the  future  Saviour,  21,  264. 
 
 Islands,  moved  outof  their  places,  ii.  147. 
 
 Israelites,  the  peculiar  Privileges  enjoyed  by  them,  till  the 
 dissolution  of  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  Tribes,  i.  21,  &c. 
 the  wonderful  multiplication  of  this  people  in  Egypt,  22; 
 the  Miracles  wrought  in  their  behalf  in  that  Country,  22; 
 
T  N  D  E  X. 
 
 494 
 
 and  in  the  Wilderness,  23.  The  Theocracy  under  which 
 they  were  placed,  24.  The  typical  nature  of  their  Cere¬ 
 monial  Law,  26,  67,  &c.  The  Divine  goodness  peculiarly 
 continued  to  the  Tribe  of  Judah,  till  the  coming  of  Christ, 
 26.  The  effect  of  their  Intercourse  with  other  Nations,  28. 
 The  Sojourning  of  the  Israelites  in  the  Wilderness,  a  lively 
 type  of  the  passage  of  the  Christians  through  this  world, 
 90,  375. 
 
 Jubilee,  its  emblematical  import,  i.  142  Note  %  ;  how  illus¬ 
 trated  by  Christ  himself,  253.  He  began  his  Ministry  in 
 the  very  year  of  the  thirtieth  and  last  Jubilee,  142;  this 
 point  proved  at  large,  380.  Whether  the  Jubilee  was  ce¬ 
 lebrated  every  forty-ninth  or  fiftieth  year,  388. 
 
 Jud,eA,  its  present  desolate  condition,  a  fulfilment  of  our 
 Lord’s  prophecy  concerning  it,  i.  309.  That  state  by  no 
 means  invalidates  the  testimonies  respecting  its  former  fer¬ 
 tility  and  population,  310,  Note  *.  The  peculiar  circum¬ 
 stances  that  have  attended  it,  319. 
 
 Judah,  the  Kingdom  of,  its  superiority  to  that  of  Israel,  i. 
 354. 
 
 Judgments,  of  the  Almighty,  his  four  sore  ones ,  in  what 
 manner  they  were  inflicted,  at  a  certain  period,  upon  the 
 Roman  Empire,  ii.  1 19,  &c ;  upon  Pagan  persecuting 
 Princes,  152. 
 
 Julian,  his  unsuccessful  attempt  to  rebuild  the  Temple  of 
 Jerusalem,  i.  307.  The  influence  of  his  Name  upon  the 
 Barbarians,  bordering  on  the  Roman  Empire,  ii.  182. 
 
 K. 
 
 * 
 
 A 
 
 Kerman,  the  Seljukian  Dynasty  of,  ii.  261.  The  manner  in 
 which  it  became  instrumental  to  the  Subversion  of  the  East¬ 
 ern  Empire,  262. 
 
 Key,  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  that  term  explained,  ii. 
 218;  of  the  bottomless  Pit,  219. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 495 
 
 King,  in  a  pre-eminent  Sense,  One  of  the  Offices  of  the 
 Messiah,  i.  222,  &c.  ii.  40.  His  kingdom  not  to  be  of  this 
 world,  i.  231. 
 
 Kings,  the  Shepherds  of  their  People,  i.  368. 
 
 Kingdom,  of  the  Messiah,  what  Prophecy  began  to  be  ful¬ 
 filled,  when  its  arrival  was  proclaimed,  i.  147.  Erroneous 
 notions  of  the  Jews  respecting  it,  185,  272>  The  great 
 Cause  of  these  Errors,  323.  Sublime  Predictions  of  Isaiah, 
 Daniel,  and  St.  John,  concerning  its  plenary  Establish¬ 
 ment,  ii.  58,  &c. 
 
 Kingdoms,  the  ten  into  which  the  Western  Empire  was  di¬ 
 vided,  and  the  dates  of  their  respective  foundations,  ii.  195, 
 196,  197,  207,  their  effect,  in  diminishing  the  Extent  of 
 that  Empire,  354. 
 
 Koran,  by  whom  first  devised,  ii.  223. 
 
 Lamb,  the  Paschal,  its  typical  allusion  to  the  Saviour  of  the 
 world,  i.  73,  &c.  ;  and  the  same  analogy  repeatedly  refer¬ 
 red  to  in  the  Apocalypse,  ii.  89,  90,  91,  93,  163,  168,  169, 
 170,  385,  414,  &c.  The  Lamb  is  described  as  opening 
 every  one  of  the  Seals.  See  Seals. 
 
 Lamp,  a  single  one,  how  to  be  understood  in  symbolical  lan¬ 
 guage,  ii.  199,  200. 
 
 Lamps,  the  seven  of  fire,  burning  before  the  Throne,  what 
 they  import,  ii.  74,  323. 
 
 Language,  the  origin  of  the  modern  Italian,  ii.  204. 
 
 Land,  of  Promise,  given  to  the  Seed  of  Jacob  for  an  ever - 
 lasting  Possession,  i.  3 15,  420,  its  typical  reference,  379, 
 380. 
 
 Laodicea,  the  literal  accomplishment  of  St.  John’s  Prophe¬ 
 cy  in  respect  to  that  Church,  ii.  11,  21,  &c. 
 
 Latinus,  the  numeral  import  of  that  Name,  ii,  410  Note 
 
 < 
 
496 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Law,  the  Ceremonial,  given  by  Moses,”  preparatory  to 
 that  “  Grace  and  Truth,  which  came  by  Jesus  Christ,”  i. 
 54,  &c. ;  its  peouliar  adaptation  to  the  Israelitish  race, 
 359.  It  was  only  a  “  Schoolmaster  to  bring  them  to 
 Christ,”  when  he  made  his  appearance, 59, &c.  Its  incom¬ 
 petency  to  answer  the  ultimate  purposes  of  Divine  Good¬ 
 ness,  60,  61.  The  Law  and  the  Prophets,  both  of  the  same 
 nature,  as  foreshewing  “  good  things  to  come,”  67.  Its 
 Ordinances,  compared  with  the  Freedom  of  the  Christian 
 Dispensation,  were  a  Yoke,  grievous  to  be  borne,  78, 
 Note  t. 
 
 Learning,  absolutely  necessary  to  the  critical  understand¬ 
 ing  and  elucidation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  i.  2  ;  its  Re¬ 
 vival  one  great  cause  of  the  Reformation,  45,  ii.  316. 
 
 Leaven,  the  Parable,  which  compares  the  progress  of  Christi¬ 
 anity  to  its  effects,  is  prophetical,  i.  39. 
 
 Lectures,  the  Object  of  the  present  Course  of  them,  i.  1. 
 
 Leo  III.  Bishop  of  Rome,  confers  the  Crown  of  the  Empire 
 of  the  West  on  Charlemagne,  ii.  407,  Note  *. 
 
 Leo  X.  the  character  of  his  proceedings  against  Luther,  ii. 
 301  Note. 
 
 LEOPARD,  in  what  respect  the  Apocalyptic  Beast  that 
 rose  out  of  the  sea,  resembled  that  animal,  ii.  355. 
 
 Leo,  Isauricus,  set  bounds  to  the  Saracenic  Conquests  in  the 
 Eastern  Empire,  ii.  235.  The  effect  of  his  famous  Edict 
 against  the  Worship  of  Images  at  Rome.  377,  Note  £ 
 
 Light,  and  Darkness,  their  relative  emblematical  import, 
 ii.  145. 
 
 Lightnings,  instances  of  the  figurative  application  of  that 
 term.  ii.  72,  177,  348. 
 
 Lion,  the  Qualities  of  that  animal,  how  applied  emblematical¬ 
 ly,  ii  81,  95.  302. 
 
 - ,  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah,  who,  ii.  89  ;  an  instance  of  that 
 
 sacred  title  being  blasphemously  misapplied,  320  Note*. 
 
 Living  Creatures,  the  four  in  the  midst  of,  and  round 
 about  the  Throne,  what  ?  ii.  77,  &c.  employed  to  point 
 
INDEX. 
 
 497 
 
 out  four  different  successive  periods  of  time,  51,  77,  95, 
 101,  lio,  118,  126,  134 j  why  called  78  ;  why  said 
 to  be  full  of  Eyes,  before  and  behind,  78  ;  why  full  of  Eyes 
 within,  79  ;  (he  emblematical  meaning  of  their  Wings,  79  ; 
 their  allegorical  Forms  explained,  80,  &c.  The  various  oc¬ 
 casions  in  which  they  are  introduced,  84,  90,  93,  165,  417. 
 
 Locusts,  the  Saracenic,  their  history,  ii.  224,  See.  The  Li¬ 
 mits  of  their  Power,  226,  230.  Their  Appearance,  &c. 
 239,  See. 
 
 Logos,  of  the  Magi,  analogous  to  that  of  the  Flafonists,  i. 
 
 202. 
 
 Lombards,  the  Changes  they  effected  in  the  Government  of 
 that  part  of  Italy  occupied  by  them,  ii.  205,  206. 
 
 Longinus,  the  Exarch,  the  Changes  he  effected  in  the  Roman 
 Government,  ii.  205,  389. 
 
 Lord’s  Supper  Institution  of  that  Sacrament,  i.  23g. 
 
 Luther,  his  Character,  and  the  Dature  of  the  Reformation 
 he  effected,  how  described,  ii.  296,  &c.  421 .  The  Persuasion 
 under  which  he  began  to  oppose  the  Errors  of  the  Church  of 
 Rome,  307,  Note  *,  426. 
 
 Lutheran  Church,  a  descriptive  Character  ofit,  ii.  421,  Sec. 
 
 M. 
 
 Magi,  for  what  reason  they  came  to  visit  Judaea,  about  the 
 time  of  our  Saviour’s  Birth,  i.  30,  202.  Who  they  were, 
 197.  The  Region  from  which  they  came,  1 97.  The  ana¬ 
 logy,  in  many  respects,  between  their  doctrines  and  those 
 of  the  holy  Scriptures,  198. 
 
 Majesty,  that  of  Christ  as  a  King,  i.  222,  Si c. 
 
 Mahomet,  not  typified  by  St.  John,  as  a  Star  fallen  from 
 heaven,  ii.  2$£*  but  as  the  King  Abaddon,  and  the  Angel 
 of  the  Bottomless  Pit,  249.  The  succeeding  Caliphs  enti¬ 
 tled  to  the  same  Appellation,  250.  To  whom  he  was  chief¬ 
 ly  indebted,  in  the  forging  of  his  Koran,  222  ;  the  time 
 when  he  commenced  this  Work,  225:  his  assumptions, 
 
 2  r. 
 
 VOL.  II 
 
498 
 
 1  N  D  E  X. 
 
 225,249.  Arguments  against  his  pretensions,  deduced  from 
 his  Genealogy,  i.  11,  58,  Note  +.  The  extensive  Diffu¬ 
 sion  of  his  Principles  among  the  degenerate  Christians  of 
 of  the  East,  ii.  238. 
 
 Man,  the  reason  why  the  third  living  Creature  resembled 
 one,  ii.  83  ;  and  why  it  was  employed  to  point  out  a  par¬ 
 ticular  period,  110,  &c. 
 
 Manna,  its  typical  allusions,  i.  365,  380. 
 
 Marcus  Aurelius,  the  Persecution  under  that  Emperor 
 noted,  i.  35,  Note  *.  The  more  peculiar  Characteristics 
 of  his  reign  plainly  predicted  in  the  Apocalypse,  ii.  Ill, 
 &c. 
 
 Mark,  u  of  the  Beast,”  what  ?  ii.  404  ;  a  calculation  to  il¬ 
 lustrate  its  import,  410,  Note  *. 
 
 M  arsh,  Dr.  his  Work,  on  The  Comparative  View  of  the 
 Churches  of  England  and  Rome,”  particularly  recom¬ 
 mended,  ii.  57,  327. 
 
 Mary,  Queen  of  England,  an  Argument  founded  in  part  on 
 the  Persecution  in  her  Reign,  ii.  285  ;  her  death,  340. 
 
 Massacre,  at  Paris,  on  St.  Bartholomew’s  day,  ii.  284. 
 
 Maundrell,  Mr.  his  account  of  the  ancient  mode  of  culti¬ 
 vating  the  Holy  Land,  i.  310,  Note  *. 
 
 Maurice,  Elector  of  Saxony,  restores  the  affairs  of  the  Pro¬ 
 testants  in  Germany,  ii.  338. 
 
 MaxtMus,  the  Persecution  under  him,  i.  35,  Note 
 
 Medal,  struck  to  commemorate  the  Massacre  at  Paris,  ii. 
 285,  Note  *. 
 
 Mede,  Mr.  Observations  on  his  analysis  of  Daniel’s  Prophe¬ 
 cy  of  the  seventy  Weeks,  i.  392.  Ilis  hypothesis,  con¬ 
 cerning  “  the  four  living  Creatures,”  inadequate,  ii.  80, 
 Note 
 
 Men,  that  have  not  the  Seal  of  GOD  in  their  foreheads, 
 who  they  are,  ii.  228. 
 
 Messengers,  the  tico  foretold  by  Malachi,  i.  121.  An  Ar¬ 
 gument  deduced  from  his  Prophecy,  in  proof  of  the  Divine 
 Nature  of  the  latter  of  these,  122.  Another  Prophecy 
 
INDEX. 
 
 499 
 
 of  his  concerning  the  former  of  them,  particularly  consid¬ 
 ered,  124,  &c.  134,  &c. 
 
 Messiah,  whence  the  expectation  of  him  arose  in  Pagan  Na¬ 
 tions,  i,  29.  The  Causes  of  his  Advent  generally  stated, 
 31.  The  very  place  foretold,  where  he  should  be  mani¬ 
 fested,  in  publicity  assuming  his  regal  character,  226.  The 
 time  of  his  Death  expressly  foretold,  404,  &c. 
 
 MlCAH,  his  Prophecy  concerning  the  Place  of  Christ’s  Birth 
 considered,  i.  215,  368. 
 
 Middleton,  Dr.  Conyers,  his  “  Letter  from  Rome,’’ cited, 
 and  particularly  recommended,  ii.  288,  293. 
 
 Mi  racles,  of  our  Saviour,  their  nature  and  use  foretold,  i. 
 254 }  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  ii.  287,  397  ;  the  purposes 
 for  which  they  are  wrought,  288,  Note  +,  397,  401. 
 
 Mixture  of  People,  in  Italy,  the  Effect  of  it  described  in 
 Prophecy,  ii.  203. 
 
 Moab,  its  King  and  Princes,  their  figurative  designation  in 
 Prophecy,  i.  151. 
 
 Months,  forty  and  two ,  the  period  so  described,  ii.  6  Note, 
 those  Jive  prescribed  for  the  torment  inflicted  by  the  Sara¬ 
 cenic  Locusts,  232.  471. 
 
 Moon,  becoming  as  blood ,  what  is  intended  by  that  symbol, 
 ii.  146}  being  darkened ,  the  import  conveyed  by  that, 
 205. 
 
 Moriah,  Mount,  the  peculiar  fitness  of  its  Situation  for  the 
 Temple  of  Jerusalem,  i.  228  Note 
 
 Mqses,  the  perfection  of  the  Laws  published  by  him,  i.  352. 
 Remarks  on  his  Prediction  concerning  a  Prophet  like  unto 
 himself,  58,  68.  He  was  most  eminently,  in  many  re¬ 
 spects,  a  Type  of  Christ,  68,  &c.  363,  365.  His  Predic¬ 
 tions  concerning  the  Jews  referred  to,  285,  315. 
 
 Mountain,  in  what  senses  “  every  Mountain  and  Hill  were 
 made  low,”  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  Messiah,  i.  116, 
 132. 
 
 - ,  the  emblematical  import  of  that  term,  ii.  189, 
 
 fi  great  one  cast  into  the  Sea }  the  Event  intended  by  this 
 
 2  L  2 
 
500 
 
 1  N  D  E  X. 
 
 Imagery,  187.  Mountains,  moved  out  of  their  places, 
 what  ?  147. 
 
 Mouth,  as  of  a  Lion ,  the  Signification  of  that  Emblem, 
 ii.  3 56. 
 
 Murders,  those  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  ii.  282,  398  •  they 
 are  not  yet  repented  of  and  forsaken,  284. 
 
 Mustard-seed,  the  parable,  which  likens  the  progress  of 
 Christianity  to  the  growth  of  a  grain  of  this,  is  propheti. 
 cal,  i.  39,  40. 
 
 Mystery  of  Iniquity,  as  opposed  to  a  the  Mystery  of 
 GOD,5’  ii.  308  ;  by  what  means  it  was  developed,  367,  &c. 
 
 N. 
 
 Names  of  Men,  slain ,  how  ?  ii.  341. 
 
 Names  of  Blasphemy,  upon  the  Heads  of  the  Beast,  what? 
 ii.  355 
 
 National  Society,  its  noble  and  patriotic  views,  i.  47 ; 
 the  happy  effects,  which  must  eventually  crown  its  labours, 
 48  ;  if  they  are  not  too  much  counteracted  by  the  very 
 limited  state  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Establishment,  in  the 
 more  populous  parts  of  the  country,  48.  The  success  it 
 has  already  experienced,  358. 
 
 Nature,  the  recent  Discoveries  in,  are  illustrative  of  the 
 Truth  of  Revelation,  i.  333. 
 
 Nehemiah,  his  share  in  the  Restoration  of  Jerusalem,  i. 
 402. 
 
 Nero,  the  Persecution  under  him,  i.  35  Note  *,  357. 
 
 Nerva,  rendered  instrumental  to  the  commencement  of  the 
 Completion  of  the  Prophecies  in  the  Apocalypse,  ii.  66, 
 98. 
 
 Newton,  Bishop,  his  remarks  on  the  first  Promise  of  human 
 Redemption,  i.  6  Note  +.  •  his  Emendation  of  the  Version 
 of  the  Prophecy  of  Noah,  8  Note*.;  his  Date  for  the 
 Writing  of  the  Apocalypse  proved  to  be  erroneous,  ii.  29, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 501 
 
 &c.  j  as  well  as  the  hypothesis  he  has  applied  to  the  four 
 living  Creatures ,  80  Note.*,  97  Note  *,  463. 
 
 Noah,  his  Prophecy  concerning  Shem  considered,  i.  8,  348# 
 The  analogy  between  his  Sacrifice,  and  those  afterwards 
 prescribed  by  the  Law,  344 
 
 Number,  One  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand ,  the  sub¬ 
 lime  Truth  that  is  veiled  beneath  it,  ii.  161,  414,  Number 
 of  the  Beast ,  405,  410. 
 
 O. 
 
 Obscurations,  of  the  Heavenly  Bodies,  their  emblematical 
 import,  ii.  145,  &c. 
 
 Obstacles,  removed,  in  preparation  for  the  appearance  of 
 the  Messiah,  moral,  i.  116,  political,  132. 
 
 Odoacer,  King  of  the  Heruli,  his  invasion  and  conquest  of 
 Italy,  ii.  199.  The  peculiar  Character  of  the  Kingdom 
 founded  by  him,  201. 
 
 Offices,  those  predicted  of,  and  undertaken  by  the  Mes¬ 
 siah,  i.  222,  &c. 
 
 Oecumenical,  or  Universal,  Bishop,  who  first  attained 
 the  supreme  Power  connected  with  that  Title,  ii.  216. 
 
 Olive-trees,  the  tzco,  one  of  the  Witnesses  for  GOD, 
 ii.  323. 
 
 Omar  I.  built  a  Mosque  at  Jerusalem,  on  the  site  of  its  for¬ 
 mer  Temple,  i.  307. 
 
 Omar  II,  his  rage  against  the  Christians  for  their  masterly 
 defence  of  Constantinople,  ii.  230  Note  *. 
 
 Opinions,  the  cause  of  the  difference  that  has  subsisted  be¬ 
 tween  them,  in  the  several  explanations  of  the  Apocalypse, 
 ii.  130. 
 
 Orders,  in  the  Romish  Church,  the  regular  and  secular,  the 
 subjects  of  Prediction,  ii.  54,  394,  &c. 
 
 Ostro-Goths,  the  date,  &c.  of  their  Kingdom  in  Italy,  ii. 
 201,  207. 
 
502 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Otiiman,  the  Empire  founded  by  him,  ii.  262 ;  the  date  of 
 it,  269.  The  completion  of  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
 chiefly  raised  up,  269,  272. 
 
 P. 
 
 Paganism,  the  great  persecuting  Powers  professing  it,  how 
 symbolized  by  Daniel,  ii.  51  ;  it  was  the  Prototype  of  Po¬ 
 pery,  293  Note  *.  401.  The  Seeds  of  it  early  sown  in 
 Papal  Rome,  365. 
 
 Pale  (-^Xujpo;)  the  emblematical  signification  of  that  term, 
 ii.  1  iq. 
 
 Palms,  in  the  hands  of  the  Servants  of  GOD,  what  they  im¬ 
 port,  ii.  165. 
 
 Parables,  applied  by  our  Lord,  in  a  prophetical  sense,  to 
 the  fate  of  the  Jewish  Nation,  i.  290,  &c. 
 
 Paradisaical  State,  of  our  first  Parents,  some  peculiarities 
 attending  it,  i.  340. 
 
 Paraphrases,  Chaldee,  Opinions  in  them  concerning  the 
 following  Texts  of  Scripture,  as  relating  to  the  Messiah, — 
 Isaiah  ch.  9,  y.  6, — i.  159.  Genesis  ch.  3,  v.  15. — 160. 
 Psalm  2,  v.  2. —  160.  Genesis,  ch.  49,  v.  10. — 172,  Isaiah 
 ch.  4,  y.  2. — 179.  lsaiahch.ll,  y.  6,: — 180,  Numbers 
 ch.  24,  v.  17, — 189.  Genesis  ch.  35,  v.  21, — 229. 
 
 Partition,  of  the  Roman  Empire,  at  Mediana,  how  symbol¬ 
 ized,  ii.  177,  183 ;  followed  by  one  of  the  most  tremen¬ 
 dous  Earthquakes  recorded  in  history,  184. 
 
 Paschal  Lamb,  the  offering  of  it  compared  with  the  Sacri¬ 
 fice  of  Christ,  i.  73,  Sec. 
 
 Passover,  its  typical  References,  i.  72,  &c.  369.  The  Jews 
 perished  at  their  last,  for  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  vert/ 
 Paschal  Lamb  ordained  of  GOD,  302. 
 
 PASSAU,  the  Treaty  of,  ii.  339. 
 
 Patriarchs,  the  peculiar  Privileges  of  the  Hebrew,  i.  18. 
 
 Paul,  St.  his  description  of  “the  Man  of  Sin,”  prophetical 
 ii.  8,  37,  Note*.  367,  &c. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 503 
 
 Pause,  a  dreadful  one,  upon  the  opening  of  the  seventh  Seal, 
 how  filled  up,  ii.  170. 
 
 Pearson,  Dr.  his  Opinion  respecting  the  Restoration  of  the 
 Jews  examined,  i.  417. 
 
 Pelagius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  his  Presumption,  ii.  214,  Note  *. 
 
 Pella,  in  Peraja,  the  retreat  of  the  converted  Jews,  previous 
 to  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem,  i.  139. 
 
 Pentecost,  the  feast  of,  its  typical  allusion,  i.  89,  374. 
 
 Periods,  synchronical,  ii.  6,  Note  *. 
 
 Persians,  the  intimate  Connexion  that  subsisted  between 
 them  and  the  Jews,  i.  198,  400.  Their  Character,  as  a 
 People  retaining,  through  every  vicissitude,  in  a  consider¬ 
 able  degree,  the  Principles  of  their  Religion,  205  Note  *. 
 
 Persecutions,  an  enumeration  of  the  principal  of  those  ex¬ 
 cited  against  the  Christians  by  the  Emperors  of  pagan 
 Rome,  i.  35.-  ii.  134,  See.  ;  that  under  Diotlesian  de¬ 
 scribed,  138,  &c. 
 
 Philip  II.  his  cruel  treatment  of  his  Protestant  Subjects  in 
 the  Netherlands,  ii.  312. 
 
 Pius  V.  his  Bull  against  Queen  Elizabeth,  ii.  398  ;  cited,  with 
 
 i  \ 
 
 Remarks,  ii.  444. 
 
 Political  Government,  including  both  its  civil  and  eccle¬ 
 siastical  Constitution;  how  represented  in  the  Apoca¬ 
 lypse,  ii.  67. 
 
 Popery,  the  surprising  Correspondence  between  it  and  Pa¬ 
 ganism,  ii.  293  ;  its  Spirit,  402,  &c. 
 
 always  THE  same,  ii.  57,  Note  *,  utterly  incapable 
 of  Reform,  442. 
 
 Porteus  Bishop,  reference  to  an  excellent  Work  ot  his,  i. 
 40  Note  *. 
 
 Potter’s  Field,  near  Jerusalem,  the  Price  of  it  foretold,  i. 
 259. 
 
 Powers,  those  that  governed  the  Roman  Empire,  how  symbo¬ 
 lized,  ii.  145,  &c. ;  other  Imagery  of  the  same  kind,  204,  & c. 
 
 Praetorian  Prefects,  of  Constantine,  how  described  in 
 Prophecy,  ii.  155. 
 
504 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Predictions,  in  the  Apocalypse,  when  they  began  to  receive 
 their  accomplishment,  ii.  65. 
 
 Prideaux,  Dn.  a  memorable  passage  extracted  from  his 
 Writings,  ii.  225,  Noted. 
 
 Priesthood,  predicted,  as  one  of  the  most  distinguishing  Of¬ 
 fices  of  Christ,  i.  233,  &c. ;  the  Christian,  in  the  time  of 
 Constantine,  how  described  in  allegory,  ii.  175. 
 
 Printing,  the  Invention  of  it  greatly  facilitated  the  Refor¬ 
 mation,  i.  45;  ii.  316,  &c. 
 
 Prodigy,  a  very  remarkable  one  preceding  the  Destruction 
 of  Jerusalem,  i.  301  ;  its  significancy  explained,  302. 
 
 Promise,  the  first  made  to  Man  after  the  Fall,  considered,  i. 
 5—8. 
 
 Promised  Seed,  in  what  respects  all  the  families  of  the  Earth 
 shall  be  blessed  in  Him,  i.  13,  &c.;  the  extent  to  which 
 these  happy  effects  have  been  already  felt,  18,  &c. ; 
 
 41,  &c. 
 
 Prophecy,  unfulfilled,  compared  to  a  Book  that  is  sealed,  ii. 
 49  5  the  Evidence  derived  from  it,  in  proportion  to  its  ful¬ 
 filment,  is  as  an  increasing  Light,  i.  3.  Its  use  in  estab¬ 
 lishing  the  Truth  of  Christianity,  i.  151,  &c. ;  281. 
 
 Prophecies,  of  Christ,  their  accomplishment,  i.  257,  285, 
 &c.  Prophecies  may  be  distinguished  into  three  different 
 Classes,  ii.  3,  4;  those  of  a  general  nature,  3  ;  those  of  a 
 chronological  form  4;  and  those  that  are  insulated ,  4. 
 
 Prophetic  Office,  sustained  pre-eminently  by  Christ,  i.  250. 
 
 Prophets,  those,  whose  Writings  have  descended  to  us,  must 
 have  been  u  moved  by  the  Holy  GHOST,”  i.  280. 
 
 Prophet,  “  the  false  one ,  that  wrought  Miracles  before  the 
 Beast,”  who  ?  ii.  289. 
 
 Protestant,  States  of  Germany,  those  which  first  em¬ 
 braced  the  Reformation,  ii.  303.  Their  unsuccessful  War 
 
 with  Charles  V.  332  ;  the  consequences  of  it,  333,  &c. 
 
 - .. - ,  Kingdoms  and  States  of  Europe,  before  the 
 
 close  of  the  sixteenth  Century — a  list  of  them,  ii.  349. 
 
 Punishments,  the  adaptation  of  those  sustained  by  the 
 
INDEX.  505 
 
 Israelites  in  the  Wilderness  to  the  nature  of  their  offences, 
 
 i.  378. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quickly,  the  proper  signification  of  that  word,  when 
 
 applied  to  coming  of  Christ,  ii.  36. 
 
 R. 
 
 Rain,  the  pleasing  import  conveyed  by  that  Emblem,  ii.  329. 
 Rainbow,  the  genuine  purport  of  that  beautiful  Symbol  illus¬ 
 trated,  ii.  69,  70,  297. 
 
 Ravenna,  the  Exarchs  of,  the  Changes  introduced  by  them, 
 
 ii.  205 ;  they  were  not  independent  Princes,  354,  Note  *. 
 Reason,  human,  the  things  above  its  comprehension,  i.  331  j 
 
 the  limits  of  its  powers,  332,  335: 
 
 Red,  the  figurative  import  of  that  colour  explained,  ii.  103. 
 Red  Sea,  the  passage  of  the  Israelites  through  it,  a  type  of 
 Christian  Baptism,  and  of  the  Benefits  that  attend  it,  i.  3 77. 
 Redeemed,  ‘‘from  the  Earth,”  the  import  of  that  expres¬ 
 sion,  ii.  417.  j  “from  among  Men”  the  signification  of 
 that,  419. 
 
 Redeemer  of  Mankind,  the  primitive  Expectation  of  one, 
 i.  337. 
 
 Redemption,  human,  peculiarly  the  operation  of  GOD,  i. 
 246. 
 
 Reed,  ‘‘like  unto  a  Rod”  for  measuring,  what?  ii.  316. 
 
 The  Objects  that  were  to  be  measured  by  it,  318. 
 Reformation,  the  firm  support  it  has  met  with  in  this 
 country,  i.  45  ;  ii.  340,  & c.  ■  that  under  Luther,  296,  8cc. ; 
 its  further  diffusion  foretold,  314.  Its  firm  establishment 
 announced,  344 ;  its  extensive  prevalence  before  the  end 
 of  the  sixteenth  Century,  349,  Note*. 
 
 Reformers,  before  the  time  of  Luther,  ii.  298  ;  stigmatized 
 by  Mr.  Gibbon  as  fanatics ,  313,  Note. 
 
 Religion,  that  the  Christian  is  founded  in  Mystery  is  no 
 VOL.  Ii.  2  M 
 
506 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 argument  against  its  divine  Authenticity  and  Importance, 
 i.  336. 
 
 Restoration  of  the  Jews,  foretold,  i.  232,  248,  297,  313, 
 &c,  417,  &c.  ;  ii.  45;  to  what  period  to  be  referred,  6. 
 
 Resurrection  of  Christ,  the  express  subject  of  Prophecy, 
 
 i.  265. 
 
 Revelation,  its  light,  and  the  evidence  of  its  Truth,  pro¬ 
 gressive,  i.  55,  282.  The  Book  of  “  the  Revelation a 
 general  Description  of  that  shewn  to  St.John,  ii.  86.  The 
 Person  who  alone  could  loose  the  seven  Seals  thereof,  89. 
 
 Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  an  Argument  founded 
 partly  upon  that  Event,  ii.  285. 
 
 Revolutions,  in  the  Medo-Persian  and  Grecian  Empires 
 foretold  by  Haggai,  i.  181. 
 
 Right,  as  opposed  to  Left,  illustrated  by  a  particular  exam¬ 
 ple,  ii.  300  Note  +. 
 
 Rites,  those  of  the  Hebrew  Church  prefigured  some  pecu¬ 
 liar  correspondences  with  the  Christian  Dispensation,  i.  67, 
 &c.  ;  ii.  160. 
 
 River,  its  emblematical  signification  illustrated,  ii.  75  Note  *, 
 199,  &c. 
 
 Roman  Empire,  the  State  of  it  at  the  beginning  of  Christ’s 
 Ministry,  i.  132,  &c.  Its  limits  at  the  Death  of  Augustus, 
 
 ii.  96 ;  their  amplification  under  Trajan,  99,  &c. ;  their 
 reduction  under  Adrian,  104.  How  it  came  to  be  called 
 ((  the  Earth 102,  Note.  Its  state  under  Trajan  fore¬ 
 told,  95,  &c. ;  under  Adrian,  100,  &c.  ;  under  Antoninus 
 Pius,  and  Marcus  Aurelius,  110,  &c.  The  most  happy 
 period  of  it  pointed  out,  117,  Note.  Its  State  from  the 
 accession  of  Commodus  to  that  of  Dioclesian,  118,  &c. 
 The  Revolution  it  underwent  under  Constantine  the  Great, 
 144,  &c.  Its  partition  into  two  Parts  under  Valentinian, 
 178,  &c.  That  in  the  IFest  alone  gave  rise  to  the  ten 
 Kingdoms,  207  Note  *. 
 
 Rome,  the  City  of,  taken  by  the  Goths  under  Alaric,  ii.  192; 
 by  the  Vandals,  under  Genserlc,  192  ;  and  by  llicimer, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 507 
 
 193.  The  Prophecy  which  foretold  these  inundations  of 
 Barbarians,  187,  &c.  Blasphemous  Titles  conferred  on 
 pagan  Rome,  355,  Note  +.  The  little  Difference  there  is 
 between  Rome  pagan  and  Rome  papal,  364,  &c. 
 
 Rome,  the  Bishops  of,  their  Security  at  the  beginning  of  the 
 sixteenth  Century,  ii.  299  Note*,  423;  the  manner  in  which 
 they  acquired  their  temporal  Sovereignty,  377,  390.  When 
 they  had  obtained  this,  they  became  the  eighth  temporal 
 Power,  which  had  occupied  a  the  Seat  of  the  Beast,” 
 390,  &c.  The  unwarrantable  Pretensions  they  have  ad¬ 
 vanced,  and  Power  they  have  exerted,  in  consequence  of 
 thus  uniting  a  temporal  with  a  spiritual  Dominion, 
 406-410. 
 
 — . — ,  the  Church  of,  a  determined  Foe  to  genuine  Christian, 
 ity,  i.  44.  Its  wretched  State  in  the  tenth  Ceutury,  ii.  256  ; 
 in  the  eleventh ,  257  ;  iu  the  twelfth ,  258.  It  is  repulsive 
 of  all  reformed  Churches,  348 ;  and  utterly  incapable  of 
 Reform,  281 — 296,  compared  with  441,  &c.  In  what 
 different  manners  it  has  been  symbolized  by  St.John,  287, 
 &c.  393,  &c.  Various  Prophecies  to  shew,  that  the  Period 
 of  its  Retribution  has  long  since  commenced,  307,  346, 424, 
 &c.  Its  apprehensions  upon  the  firm  Establishment  of  the 
 Reformation,  342;  but  its  own  attempts  at  Reformation 
 vain,  344,  442.  Its  Intolerance,  396,  &c.  403. 
 
 Roum,  the  Dynasty  of,  what  miseries  it  inflicted  on  the 
 Empire  of  the  East.  ii.  267. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sacrifices,  sanguinary,  their  primitive  institution,  i.  6;  the 
 nature  of  the  most  early  one  described,  342,  &c;  those 
 offered  under  the  Mosaical  Dispensation  possessed  only  a 
 typical,  or  sacramental,  efficacy,  62,  72— -80,  87. 
 
 Saints,  the  gFoss  Idolatry  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  wor. 
 shipping  them,  i.  273  ;  ii.  283.  Those  of  the  Most  High, 
 spoken  of  by  Daniel,  who?  320. 
 
 Sand  of  the  Sea,  its  emblematical  allusion,  ii,  352, 
 
 2  m2 
 
508 
 
 INDE  X. 
 
 SARACENS,  the  rapidity  and  extent  of  their  Conquests,  ii. 
 225,  228,  232.  The  manner  in  which  they  treated  the 
 Christians,  231.  Their  Power,  how  weakened,  and  at 
 length  destroyed,  233,  250,  255.  The  territorial  Form 
 their  Conquests  assumed,  234  Note  *.  Their  attachment 
 to  equestrian  exercises,  240  ;  their  style  of  dressing  their 
 heads,  241  ;  their  general  deportment,  243  ;  their  effemi¬ 
 nacy,  244 ;  and,  yet,  their  prowess,  245  ;  their  armour, 
 245  ;  their  armies,  and  order  of  battle,  247  ;  their  Caliphs, 
 249,  see  Caliphs. 
 
 Satan,  the  Serpent  to  be  bruised  by  16  the  God  of  Peace,” 
 
 i.  7,  346;  his  various  Titles,  347.  Examples  of'his  Influ¬ 
 ence,  ii.  356 — 411. 
 
 Saxons,  the  foundation  of  their  Kingdom  in  Britain,  ii.  197. 
 
 Scepticism,  philosophical,  its  absurdity,  i.  331. 
 
 Scorpions,  in  what  respects  the  power  of  the  Saracens  re¬ 
 sembled  theirs,  ii.  226,  &c.  234  Note  *,  248,  &c. 
 
 Scriptures,  the  encouragement  they  hold  out  to  a  devout 
 Student,  i.  2  ;  by  whom  translated  first  at  the  time  of  the 
 Reformation,  ii.  317. 
 
 Sea,  its  allegorical  import  under  various  circumstances,  ii.  52, 
 75  Note.  Various  instances  of  its  allegorical  use,  93,  151, 
 188,  &c.  300,  352. 
 
 - ,  “  of  Glass,  like  unto  Crystal,”  explained,  ii.  75. 
 
 Seal  of  God,  the  meaning  of  that  expression,  ii.  157,  &c. 
 228,  414. 
 
 Seals,  what  period  was  comprehended  within  the  four  first, 
 
 ii.  47,  134;  their  apocalyptical  use  explained,  87.  The 
 
 opening  of  the  first,  95  ;  of  the  second,  100;  of  the  third, 
 110  ;  of  the  fourth,  118  j  of  the  fifth,  135  ;  of  the  sixth, 
 144;  of  the  seventh,  170.  T  he  comprehensiveness  of  this 
 last  Seal,  170.  1  lie  connexion  between  the  fifth  and  the 
 
 preceding  Seals  poin  ed  out,  136;  the  Series  of  Events 
 contained  pnder  all  the  Seals,  even  to  our  own  time, 
 recapitulated  in  a  general  manner,  387 — 392. 
 
 Seat  of  the  Roman  Empire,  its  temporary  transfer  from 
 
INDEX. 
 
 509 
 
 Rome  to  Constantinople,  a  subject  of  Prophecy,  ii.  157  ; 
 and  from  Rome  to  Ravenna,  191. 
 
 Seat  c<  of  the  Beast,’’  that  expression  illustrated,  Ii.  357 
 Note  *. 
 
 Sects,  Jewish,  four  principal  distinctions  among  them,i.*129, 
 Note  +  ;  Christian,  those  which  were  most  exposed  to  the 
 seductions  of  Mohammedism,  ii.  228,  229. 
 
 Seed,  of  the  Woman,  the  Offspring  so  exclusively  denomi¬ 
 nated,  i.  159,  342. 
 
 Seljuk  Turks,  their  aggressions  and  conquests  in  the  East¬ 
 ern  Empire  of  the  Romans,  ii.  261  &c. 
 
 Septimius  Severus,  the  Persecution  under  him,  i.  35 
 Note  *. 
 
 Seraphim,  as  described  by  Isaiah,  the  analogy  between  them 
 and  u  the  four  Living  Creatures ,”  ii.  79. 
 
 Sergius,  or  Boheira,  the  Nestorian  Monk,  some  particulars 
 of  his  history  detailed,  in  elucidation  of  Prophecy,  ii.  222, 
 &c. 
 
 Series  of  Revelations,  from  the  Fall  of  Man  to  the  time  of 
 Jacob,  i.  5  —  13,  20,  21.  The  extent  of  that  included  in 
 the  Apocalypse,  ii.  48,  133. 
 
 Serpent,  the  import  of  the  Sentence  pronounced  upon  him 
 after  the  Fall,  i.  6. 
 
 Seth,  “  all  the  Children  of,”  the  meaning  of  that  expression, 
 i.  193. 
 
 Shaking  “  of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth,”  before  the  com¬ 
 ing  of  “The  Desire  of  all  Nations,”  what?  i.  181,  &c. 
 
 Shechinah,  or  visible  Symbol  of  the  Divine  Presence,  its 
 emblematical  import,  i.  81,  349.  It  never  dignified  the 
 second  temple  of  the  Jews,  299,  349. 
 
 Sheep,  who  are  compared  to  them,  ii.  419. 
 
 Shepherd,  Prophecies  which  describe  our  Lord  as  assum¬ 
 ing  that  character,  i.  71,  366. 
 
 Shiloh,  the  peculiar  Import,  and  application  of  that  Name, 
 i.  349.  An  argument  founded  upon  it,  for  ascertaining 
 the  time  of  Christ’s  Appearance,  179,  208, 
 
510 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ships,  their  emblematical  import  explained,  ii.  191. 
 
 Silence,  in  heaven,  u  for  half  an  hour,”  what?  ii.  170,  See. 
 Siloam,  the  fall  of  that  Tower,  converted  into  the  sign  of  a 
 similar  fate  in  respect  to  Jerusalem,  i.  290. 
 
 SmalkAlde,  the  design  of  that  Treaty,  ii,  304  Note;  its 
 dissolution,  332. 
 
 Smoke,  the  explanation  of  that  Emblem  illustrated  by  Ex¬ 
 amples,  ii.  219,  224>  272.  That  of  the  Torment  which 
 those  should  undergo,  who,  in  a  particular  Region,  should 
 u  worship  the  Beast  and  his  Image,”  432;  ascending, 
 what  is  implied  by  that  figure,  320  Note,  compared 
 with  432,  Sec. 
 
 Socin ians,  the  utter  inconsistency  of  their  opinions  con¬ 
 cerning  Christ  with  the  tenour  of  Scripture  respecting  him, 
 
 i.  274.  Their  sanguine  expectation  of  being  able  to  con- 
 •  vert  Mahometans,  Jews,  and  Pagans,  ii.  238  Note  +. 
 Solomon,  the  expense  bestowed  by  him,  on  the  preparing  of 
 
 Mount  Moriah,  for  the  foundation  of  the  Temple,  i.  228, 
 Note  t.  300  Note  *. 
 
 Solyman,  the  founder  of  the  Dynasty  of  Roum  in  Anatolia, 
 
 ii.  261  ;  the  miserable  condition  to  which  he  reduced  the 
 Eastern  Empire,  267. 
 
 Sorc  ries,  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  ii.  282  j  not  yet  re¬ 
 pented  of,  287. 
 
 Song,  the  new  one  sung  by  the  reformed  Churches,  some  pe¬ 
 culiarities  attending  it,  ii.  417. 
 
 Standards,  of  the  Roman  Legions,  Objects  of  Worship,  ii. 
 363 
 
 Star,  that  -which  was  to  rise  out  of  Jacob,  i.  188,  &c.  He 
 did  not  come  unattended  by  auy  outward  and  visible  Sign, 
 196.  This  was  a  Sign  that  was  well  understood  by  the 
 Magi,  202. 
 
 Stars,  falling  from  Heaven,  that  Image  explained  by  Ex¬ 
 amples,  ii.  146,  199,  217;  u  smitted  and  darkened,” 
 what?  204.  The  seven}  who  were  designated  by  that 
 title,  ii.  217. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 511 
 
 Statutes,  penal,  against  Roman  Catholics  in  this  Country, 
 the  Ground  of  them,  ii.  429,  &c. 
 
 Stone,  the  Dominion  of  lc  the  Stone as  contrasted  with 
 that  of  u  the  Mountain,”  i.  148. 
 
 Stones,  precious,  the  Sardine  and  the  Jasper,  how  employed 
 in  representing  seme  of  the  Attributes  of  Deity,  ii.  69. 
 
 Suevi,  the  Kingdom  founded  by  them  in  Spain,  ii.  195. 
 
 Suetonius,  his  testimony  concerning  Christ,  i.  175, 
 Note  *. 
 
 Sun,  t£  of  Righteousness,’*  the  beautiful  imagery  attached  to 
 that  Title,  i.  56,  362. 
 
 - ,  an  explanation  of  that  Symbol,  according  to  its  various 
 
 application,  ii.  219,  Note*.  145,  169,  204,  219,  297. 
 
 Superstition,  its  rapid  growth  in  the  fourth  Century,  ii. 
 365  ;  and  in  the  two  succeeding,  367. 
 
 Supererogation,  Works  of,  utterly  inconsistent  with  genu¬ 
 ine  Christianity,  ii.  347,  436. 
 
 Sword,  as  the  Emblem  of  executive  Justice,  ii.  104,  108. 
 
 Symbols,  the  importance  of  clearly  and  consistently  explain¬ 
 ing  them  to  a  true  Interpretation  of  the  Prophecies  which 
 contain  them,  ii.  127,  129  ;  illustrated  by  a  reference  to 
 the  Christians  of  the  second  and  third  Centuries,  131. 
 
 Synchronisms,  a  remarkable  list  of  them,  ii.  6  Note  *.  ; 
 another  remarkable  instance  of  one,  225  Note  f . 
 
 T. 
 
 Tabernacle,  that  of  the  Israelites,  its  typical  nature,  i.  81. 
 
 Tabernacles,  the  Feast  of,  its  emblematical  import,  i.  88. 
 
 Tacitus,  his  testimony  concerning  Christ,  i.  176  Note. 
 
 Tails,  the  scorpion-like,  of  the  symbolical  Locusts,  ii.  226, 
 248.  Those  of  the  Horses,  or  Cavalry,  of  the  Turkish 
 Armies,  274. 
 
 Targums,  see  Paraphrases. 
 
 Teaching,  the  Style  of  our  Saviour’s  foretold,  i.  253. 
 
 Temple,  the  Jewish,  a  type  of  Christ,  i.  81.  Prophecy  of 
 our  Lord  respecting  its  Desolation,  295,  Ac.  Its  accom- 
 
-512 
 
 INDE  X. 
 
 plishment  traced,  302,  &c.  A  Turkish  Mosque  now 
 standing  about  the  site  of  its  Holy  of  Holies,  307  ;  the  his¬ 
 tory  of  this  Mosque,  307  Note 
 
 Temple  of  GOD,  and  the  Altar,  and  the  Worshippers  theie- 
 in,  how  to  be  measured,  ii.  316,  &c.  The  Temple  of  GOD 
 6‘  opened  in  Heaven, ”  in  what  sense  ?  346. 
 
 Temples,  the  succession  of  those  at  Jerusalem,  i.  165, 
 Note  f. 
 
 Tenth  Part,  of  the  City  falling,  what  is  intended  by  that 
 Symbol,  ii.  341. 
 
 Tiieodoric,  the  Ostro-goth,  the  particular  character  of  the 
 Dominion  founded  by  him  in  Italy,  ii.  201,  389. 
 
 Theodosius,  the  Great,  his  Death  a  memorable  Epoch,  ii. 
 185. 
 
 Theophylact,  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  his  charac¬ 
 ter,  ii.  257. 
 
 Thefts,  of  the  Romish  Church,  ii.  282  ;  their  nature,  292; 
 her  stolen  goods  are  still  retained,  293  Note  *. 
 
 The  third  part,  the  real  import  of  that  Phrase,  in  the 
 Apocalypse,  ii.  103,  Note.  Instances  to  illustrate  it,  181,  . 
 188,  204,  263.  273. 
 
 Throne,  of  the  Deity,  the  Symbol  of  his  universal  So¬ 
 vereignty,  ii.  69. 
 
 ■— .  — - ,  of  the  Beast,  ii.  357  Note  *. 
 
 Thrones,  <e  of  the  four. and.  twenty  Elders an  explica¬ 
 tion  of  that  Symbol,  ii.  70,  Note  t. 
 
 Thunder  «  a  loud  one/'  ii.  416. 
 
 Thunders,  “  the  seven ”  ii.  302. 
 
 Thundeuings,  instances  of  their  emblematical  Use,  ii.  72, 
 177,  348. 
 
 Time,  Times,  and  the  dividing  of  Time,  what  ?  ii.  6 
 Note  *,  42,  321. 
 
 Title,  the  Imperial,  when  lost  to  the  Romans  in  the  West, 
 ii.  201. 
 
 Toorol  Beg,  the  founder  of  the  Seljukian  Dynasty  at  Bagh¬ 
 dad,  ii.  261 ;  his  achievements,  265. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 513 
 
 J  orment,  which  those  are  compelled  to  endure,  in  a  cer¬ 
 tain  country,  who  worship  the  Beast  and  his  Image,” 
 ii.  431,  &c. }  the  Smoke  of  it  ascending  up  for  ever,  432, 
 
 &c.  whence  it  originates,  ii.  439. 
 
 Ioktures,  some  of  those  inflicted  upon  the  Primitive 
 Christians,  i.  356. 
 
 Tower  of  Edar,  or  ««  Tower  of  the  Flock,”  the  high  Dis¬ 
 tinction  conferred  upon  that  spot,  T.  226  ;  where  it  was 
 situated,  228. 
 
 Towers,  in  Jerusalem,  Hippicus,  Phasaelus,  and  Mariamne, 
 why  left  standing  after  the  desolation  of  that  City,  i.  306. 
 
 Trajan,  his  enlargement  of  the  Roman  Empire,  a  particular 
 subject  of  Prophecy,  ii.  98,  &c. 
 
 Trees,  employed  figuratively  to  represent  men,  ii.  153,  182, 
 227. 
 
 Trent,  the  Council  of,  in  what  manner  it  has  removed  the 
 Idolatry  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  ii.  284  ;  and  its  other 
 Abominations,  443  :  a  Character  of  it,  ii.  443. 
 
 Triumph,  of  the  Church  of  Christ  over  all  its  Enemies, 
 predicted,  ii.  386,  414,  &c. 
 
 Trumpets,  tlie  Events  that  occurred  on  the  sounding  of  the 
 first,  ii.  180;  of  the  second,  187  ;  of  the  third,  199;  of 
 the  fourth,  204  ;  of  the  fifth,  217  ;  of  the  sixth,  253  ;  of 
 the  seventh,  344.  Recapitulation  of  the  Series  of  Events, 
 that  have  hitherto  happened  under  all  the  Trumpets,  387, 
 393. 
 
 Turks,  the  period,  during  which  they  were  preparing  for  the 
 destruction  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  ascertained,  ii.  264. 
 Their  Armies  very  numerous,  and  chiefly  Cavalry,  269  ; 
 their  Armour,  270 ;  their  invincible  Prowess,  265,  2 67, 
 271  ;  their  weapons,  272. 
 
 Types,  several  of  those  of  the  Ceremonial  Law  of  the 
 Hebrew*  compared  with  their  Antitypes,  i.  72—89® 
 
 2  N 
 
 V.OL  II. 
 
•  514 
 
 I  ft  D  E  X. 
 
 U. 
 
 Valentinian,  the  Partition  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  him, 
 how  symbolized,  ii.  178. 
 
 Valerian,  the  Persecution  under  him,  i.  35  Note  *. 
 
 Valley,  in  what  senses  every  Valley  was  exalted,  in  pre¬ 
 paring  the  way  for  the  Messiah,  i.  116,  132. 
 
 Vandals,  in  Spain,  their  Kingdom  founded,  ii.  195. 
 
 Ve  Adar,  the  period  of  time  so  denominated  i.  389. 
 
 Vegetation,  the  lively  symbol  of  genuine  Christianity,  ii. 
 227. 
 
 Vespasian,  mistaken  by  Tacitus,  Suetonius,  and  Josephus, 
 for  that  illustrious  Ruler  of  Mankind,  who  was  to  rise  in 
 Judcea,  i.  173,  &c.  His  war  of  extermination  with  the 
 Jews,  309. 
 
 VIRGIL,  the  phenomenon  of  a  Meteor  beautifully  described 
 by  him,  i.  204,  Note  *. 
 
 Virgin  Mary,  her  miraculous  conception  proved  from  Pro¬ 
 phecy,  compared  with  sacred  History,  i.  158. 
 
 Virgins,  who  are  described  by  that  title,  ii.  419,  290. 
 
 Visigoths,  their  Kingdom  in  Gaul  and  Spain,  ii.  196,  &c. 
 
 Unity  of  Design,  in  the  Mosaical  and  Christian  Dispensa¬ 
 tions,  i.  54,  &c.  and  in  those  Prophecies  of  Daniel  and  St. 
 John,  which  relate  to  the  same  subjects,  ii.  47,  &c. 
 
 Voice,  of  the  Blood  of  Abel,  and  of  the  Christian  Martyrs, 
 compared,  ii.  137.  That  of  an  Angel  flying  in  the  midst 
 of  Heaven,  how  explained,  212,  &c.  ;  others  of  the  same 
 kind,  421,  427,  429.  One  from  the  four  Horns  of  the 
 Altar,  its  indications,  253,  2G0.  One  u  as  of  many 
 Waters,”  what  ?  415. 
 
 Voices,  in  the  Apocalypse,  their  emblematical  use,  ii.  72; 
 Instances  to  illustrate  this,  177,  302,  348. 
 
 W. 
 
 Warburton,  Bishop,  the  excellence  of  the  Plan  adopted  by 
 him,  for  continually  eliciting  fresh  proofs  of  the  Truth  of 
 Revelation,  from  the  fulfilment  of  the  Prophecies,  i.3,  4. 
 
'INDEX. 
 
 515 
 
 Waters,  their  emblematical  signification,  ii.  75,  Note  *,  329, 
 416. 
 
 White  IIorse,  what  is  indicated  by  that  emblem,  ii.  95. 
 
 White  Raiment,  instances  of  its  figurative  use,  ii.  72,  137, 
 163,  168,  385. 
 
 Wilij  Beasts,  (Gyptot),  in  what  manner  opposed  to  the  Zujx, 
 or  u  Living  Creatures,’’  ii.  78. 
 
 Wilderness,  that  in  which  the  Israelites,  sojourned,  its  typi¬ 
 cal  allusions,  i.  376.  That  of  Judaea,  the  scene  of  John’s 
 Ministry,  112,  126,  Note  %. 
 
 Winds,  u  of  the  Earth,  what?  ii.  151. 
 
 Wine,  that  C£  of  the  Wrath  of  Gon,”  ii.  429  ;  that  of  the 
 u  Fornication”  of  the  Mystical  Harlot,  429,  291. 
 
 Witnesses,  the  two,  the  Period  of  their  testimony, ii.  6  note,* 
 322;  which  are  the  two,  322  —  325;  why  they  are  com¬ 
 pelled  to  Prophecy  in  sack-cloth,  325,  &c.  385.  Their 
 power  over  Fire,  328  ;  u  to  shut  Heaven  that  it  rain  not,” 
 329  ;  and  over  the  Waters,  <c  to  turn  them  to  blood,” 
 329  ;  and  to  smite  the  Earth  with  plagues,  330.  Tne  Vic¬ 
 tory  obtained  over  them  by  the  Beast,  331.  Their  tem¬ 
 porary  Death,  333  ;  tho  exultation,  ami  security  of  their 
 Enemies  on  that  account,  335.  Their  Resurrection,  337  ; 
 and  subsequent  Exaltation,  339.  Proofs  of  their  revived 
 State,  and  increased  Energiesj  421,  Sec. 
 
 Woes,  the  three  propounded  by  the  symbolical  Angel,  ii. 
 212;  the  Cause  of  them,  313.  In  what  manner  the  tzoo 
 first  were  principally  inflicted,  279.  When  the  first  was 
 past,  251,  255  ;  when  the  second ,  313. 
 
 Woe,  Trumpets,  the  sounding  of  the  first ,  ii.  217  ;  of  the 
 second,  253  ;  of  the  third ,  314.  The  foreboding  of 
 them,  212. 
 
 W  oman,  the  symbolical  one  in  the  Wilderness,  the  period  of 
 her  Tribulation,  ii.  6,  Note  *. 
 
 Women,  their  office,  in  announcing  and  celebrating  glad 
 tidings  among  the  Jews,  i.  Ill,  Note  +. 
 
 Wonders,  “  the  lying. ones'”  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  ii. 
 397,  See,  287. 
 
516 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Woodhouse,  Dr.  the  result  of  his  Inquiries  into  the  Date, 
 -  and  D!  vine  Authenticity,  o.  the  Apocalypse,  ii.  64,  Note*. 
 
 Word,  of  GOD,  or  the  Holy  Scriptures,  how  symbolized, 
 ii.  315.  Its  triumph,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  ele. 
 brated.  345.  Foretold  to  be  at  length  all-conquering,  3S(5, 
 Note  +. 
 
 Wormwood,  the  allegory  veiled  beneath  that  name,  ii  203. 
 
 Wound,  a  deadly  one  by  the  Sword,  inflicted  upon  one  of 
 the  seven  heads  of  the  Beast,  ii.  360  ;  in  what  manner 
 healed,  361.  References  to  these  circumstances,  55,  390, 
 401,  406. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Year,  that  of  John  the  Baptist’s  beginning  his  Ministry, 
 pointed  out  by  St.  Luke,  i.  141.  The  Jewish,  the  differ* 
 ence  between  the  sacred  and  civil  jear  of  that  Nation,  i. 
 389. 
 
 Years,  symbolized  as  Days ,  in  the  Prophetic  Writings,  i. 
 75,  Note  +.  ii.  6,  Note  *•  Prophetical,  two  different  ways 
 of  computing  them,  found,  in  one  instance,  equally  to  cor¬ 
 respond  with  the  facts,  ii.  263. 
 
 Your.  House,  (he  twofold  Import  of  that  expression,  as  ap¬ 
 plied  by  our  Saviour  to  the  Jews,  i.  296,308. 
 
 z. 
 
 ZechAIUAh,  a  Memorable  Prophecy  of  his  cited,  relative  to 
 the  Restoration,  and  future  Peuitence  of  the  Jewish  Na¬ 
 tion,  i.  314  ;  ii.  45. 
 
 Zend,  or  the  Writings  of  Zoroaster,  in  what  light  that  work 
 is  to  be  considered,  i.  200,  Note  4. 
 
 Zoroaster,  or  Zeradusht,  whence  furnished  with  the  means 
 of  reforming  the  Magi  an  Religion,  i.  198.  An  instance  of 
 the  Use  he  made  of  the  Writings  both  of  Moses  and 
 Isaiah,  £01. 
 
 THE  END. 
 
 ERRATUM. 
 
 Vol.  II.  p.  459,  line  12— for  read  epx£t*1' 
 
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