.-^ -^W' A^rv^- -c ^, .^.rd3l-('rci'rr , . (..... <; JC '■ Nov ''^f*iwrv£'f. rs iU'40'!"ofhM Ep^oppor' f . CJ THE GENERAL HISTORY O F T HE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, FROM HER BIRTH TO HER FINAL TRIUJN^PHANT STATE IN HEAVEN CHIEFLY DEDUCED FROM THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN, THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. BY Sia. PASTOHINI Blessed is he tbat readeth, aod heareth the words of the prophet. — ^poc. i. 3. FIFTH AMERICAN EDITION. NEW- YORK: PUBLISHED BY D. & J. SADLIER> 58 GOLD STREET. BOSTON:— 72 FEDERAL STREET. AND 179 NOTRE-DAME STREET, MONTREAL : C. E. 1851 i I lOAN STACIf »-^*%^ A>^.» THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. Notwithstanding the several editions of Pastorini's commentary on the Apocalypse, the work is, by no means, heavy on the hands of the booksellers. It may, in some mea- sure, be considereci out of print. To satisfy a prevalent de- sire for a new and cheap edition, the present publication has been strongly urged. Perhaps it may be advanced, without the imputation of heated fancy, that the times, and '* the signs of the times," we live in, seem to add a peculiarly new interest to this rare and celebrated production. The author's views of the awful prophecies, mysteries and judgments contained in the sacred volume, from which he has undertaken to illustrate the General History of the Church, have operated variously, as in course they must, upon various dispositions. In many minds they confirmed the old faith. In some they disturbed, or subverted new opinions. In some they excited, or seemed to excite, anger and ridicule. But, generally, they have been considered ingenious, interesting, and highly edifying. His admonitions are evidently directed by a spirit of charity, pure and universal-^and his illustra- tions of the sublime text before him exhibited a mind, uncom- monly gifted with intuition, assiduity, and deep and discern- ing research. He seems to have sensibly apprehended that some of the dreadful scourges, menaced in the Revelations, were soon to fall on criminal and unrepenting nations — and he forewarns all Christians to strive, by sincere repentance, to avert, if possible, the impending judgment, or at least, to be prepared for its awful visitations. Sensible of the precision and brevity of the inspired writer O 4 PREFACE. of the Apocalypse, our author examines every word witfe scrupulous care, and turns his text on every side, in order to ascertain its true meaning. Unlike former commentators, he confines not his views to the early ages @f the Church, but traces the divine economy in her regard from her foundation^, through every succeeding period, to the end of time and her final triumphant introduction into heaven. For this arduous undertaking his station, talents, and learning, had eminently fitted him. The first edition of the present commentary on the book of Revelations appeared about the year 1776. It was soon bought up — and after much solicitation, the author consented to the preparation of a second edition, with additional remarks. Although no pains were particularly taken by the author or his friends to extend the circulation of the work, it soon found its way into foreign countries. A French translation of it was published in 1778; shortly after it appeared in Latin; in 1785 it was translated into German ; and a few years ago, an Italian version was sent to the public. Of the high repute, which this noted production has obtained in other coun- tries, we may judge by the following extract from one of the periodical works of the learned Abbe Feller, published in 1786:— " Signior Pastorini's work is the only good comment, which England has produced on the Apocalypse — and the nation is much indebted to him, for having contributed to put down the extravagant notions of James I. and of the celebrated Newton, concerning this divine book. It is a learned and edifying per- formance, in which theology and ecclesiastical history reflect valuable lights on the most mysterious of the sacred writings. The wonderful prophecies it contains, realized as they are by striking, authentic, and public facts, inspire the christian soul with hope and fortitude, and give solemn testimony to the power and veracity of Giod. What remains as yet undisclosed is already manifestmg itself in a sensible manner — and the times ice livein are furnishing a faithful and lively ficture'^ PREFACE. 5 'r It IS to be regretted, that the former editafi^of thte work have but too poorly sketched their author's biography. They do not even mention his name — nor do they recollect to tell us, that the appellation of Pastorini is merely significant of his ministry. This neglect gave occasion to a new display of the inventive faculties of Sir Richard Musgrave, in what he is pleased to call, jocosely we should think, his History of ike different Rebellions in Ireland. That famous his-toriaii calls the present work a translation — " it was,''^ he says, " writteii originally at Rome by a sanguinary bigot of the name of Pas' torini .'" There is a species of censure, which has all the value of praise. The work was originally written in Eng- land, in the English language, and by an Englishman, under the assumed signature of Pastorini. It is not a translation — it is the original text. The author is the Right Rev. Charles Walmesley, D, D. Catholic Bishop, or Vicar Apostolic, of the Western District (in England) — Fellow of the Royal Socie- ties of London and Berlin — and one of the scientific men em- ployed in correcting the old styla This pious, and venerable divine was not " a sanguinary bigot." The whole tenor of his life and writings proves, that he was a most mild and en- lightened member of the Christian communion. The work before us abundantly establishes this character. Sir R. Mus- grave calls it "apiece of folly and blasphemy." Dr. Milner, a better judge, calls it "a most ingenious and learned exposi- tion of the book of revelations, calculated, he says, in his reply to the author of the different Rebellions, &c. to excite all Christians to lead a holy life, and to prepare for the coming of that awful Judge, before whom Sir Richard Musgrave will be arraigned for his unprecedented malice and calumnies."* The present publisher, after many solicitous inquiries, finds himself destitute of materials for a satisfactory biographical sketch of the distinguished individual, whose work he under- takes to re-commit to the press. The following is all that he has been able to collect. An inquiry into certain vulgar opinions &c. p. 83— 2nd Edit. London. 1* Preface. Dr. Walmesley was born in the year 1721, in some part of England. With his parentage we are not made particularly acquainted — ^but, we may presume on its respectability, on ac- count of the high literary accomplishments which had been bestowed on him early in life. Gifted with abilities of the first order, and with a heart formed for piety and virtue, he dedicated himself, at an early period of his youth, to the study and prac- tice of religion. His attainments in sacred literature, and in mathematical and astronomical investigations, soon became con- spicuous. The former obtained for him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in the University of Paris. At the age of thirty- five, he was elevated to the episcopal dignity. He was also a member of the learned congregation of Benedictins. His valu- able contributions to the Philosophical Transactions in the years 1745, 6, 7, &c. — and his joint labours in correcting the old style in 1752, exhibit, altogether, very ample proofs of his mathematical learning. Before his return to England, on the close of his collegiate course, he visited many parts of the Con- tinent. During his travels, he wrote several learned tracts. To the loss, however, of the literary world, his manuscripts were unfortunately consumed by the fire, which broke out at Bath, some years since. In that city he died, in the 76th year of his age, and 40th of his episcopacy, having serenely closed a holy life, which gave fresh odour to sanctity, — ^and new lustre to virtue, to religion, and to learning. "HSEMANI ABBP^ THE AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION, The Book of the Apocalypse, according to that learned in- terpreter of the Scriptures, St. Jerom, " contains an infinite number of mysteries relating to future times." Lib. 1, contra Jovin. " The Apocalypse," says St. Austin, " is a prophecy of what is to happen from the first coming of Christ upon earth, to his second coming at the last day." De. Civ. Dei. 1, 2. c. 8. Some modern writers hold the same opinion. Besides these authorities, our own study of that mysterious book, dili- gently pursued, has entirely prevailed on us to espou*>ethe same sentiments. The Apocalypse exhibits, in general, a summary of the whole history of the Christian Church, from the date of its birth to its triumphant and glorious state in Heaven after the close of time. This is the foundation of the present work, and we hope the attentive reader, when he has considered the whole, will approve our sentiments and applaud our endea- vours. He may perhaps then join us in thinking, that the celebrated commentators, Bossuet and Calmet, have too much contracted this admirable Prophecy by confining the contents to so short a period as the four first centuries of the Christian sera, and applying the whole, except the two last chapters, to the persecutions which the Church suffered from the pagan Roman Emperors, and to the destruction of the Roman em- pire. For this reason, the two above-mentioned authors have often been obliged to wrest the text, and give it a forced and im- probable explication, to bring it within their system. On the same account, they have derogated from the dignity and pre- cision of that prophecy, by applying several texts to the same event ; whereas, whoever looks attentively into the tenor of the Apocalypse, will perceive that St. John's precision and brevity are such, that he never repeats the same thing. For the unfolding of the different parts of the Apocalypse, we have followed, in general, the plan laid down by Mr. De la Chetardie towards the close of the last century, as it has since been improved by a late French commentator on the scrip- ture. It consists in a division of the whole Christian sera, to the end of time, into seven Ages, corresponding to the seven 8 INTRODUCTION. Seals, seven Trumpets, and seven Vials mentioned in the Apo- calypse ; so that to each belong a Seal, Trumpet, and Vial. But in the application of the Prophecies contained under these Seals, Trumpets, and Vials, as well as in other parts of the Apocalypse, we have frequently deviated from the above-named writers, to substitute what we thought a more genuine expli- cation. It must then be observed, that an age and a century must not here be taken for synonymous terms ; but by an age in this history we shall understand one of the seven divisions of time above-mentioned ; neither are these divisions of time equal. From the preceding observations it follows, that Christ di- vides the history of his Church into seven periods, in each of which he describes three different sorts of transactions under the respective Seal, Trumpet, and Vial. The Lamb holds a book sealed with seven Seals, which he opens one after ano- ther. This book contains the history of the formation and propagation of Christ's Church, together with the opposition made to the establishment of it ; and a part of this account is disclosed at the opening of each Seal. To every Seal corres- ponds a Trumpet, which is sounded by an angel. The sound of a trumpet naturally indicates an alarm, and such is the na- ture of the Trumpets in the Apocalypse, They always an- nounce events that are alarming to the Church, such as per- secutions, intestine convulsions occasioned by heretics, &c. After the Trumpets follow the Vials of the wrath of God. These convey the punishments which Christ inflicts on the enemies of his people. Hence it appears that the Seals, Trum- pets, and Vials, unfold the three kinds of events, which dis- tinguish each age of the Christian Church. One may re- mark in the history of the Jews, that nearly the same sort of economy was observed in the divine dispensations towards that people. They were favoured with the special assistance of God, but they had also their trials, persecutions, &c. and at other times they saw their enemies laid prostrate by the di- vine hand before them. When almighty God thinks fit to reveal future events, he generally expresses them in obscure terms that leave the mean- ing more or less uncertain. This seems to be done in order to prevent the daring presumption of some men, who might attempt, if the prophecies were clear, to obstruct and hinder their accomplishment. Others of mankind of a more timo- rous disposition, would be alarmed and over much terrified at disasters which they foresaw were impending upon them. On INTRODUCTION. 9 anotlier hand, if futurity was clearly foretold, it might seem to intrench upon that liberty, which God had been pleased to grant to man, of directing" his own conduct and actions. For these reasons, the generality of prophecies are covered with a veil of darkness and uncertainty. Obscurity is therefore a general characteristic of prophecy, but it is peculiarly so of the Apocalypse, as every commentator has acknowledged. This book appears at first sight impenetrable. Let any one dip into it without having a key to open to him the meaning, and he will see nothing but a continued series of the most mysterious enigmas. Hence it has happened that so many different explanations have been invented. But the same ob- scurity was the occasion, that the ancient Fathers were so sparing in their interpretations of this prophecy. They have here and there explained a particular passage, without attempt- ing the whole, and sometimes only given a moral exposition of it. But in this we need not wonder, because as the Apo- calypse is the history of Christ's Church through the whole time of its existence, so few events had happened when they wrote, that the greatest part of the book must have appeared to them inexplicable. Hence we see the advantage of the pre- sent times for unravelling the mysteries of the Apocalypse, when so considerable a share of them has been fulfilled. Whoever looks back into the history of the Church, and compares attentively the facts with the expressions of St. John, will see a distinct analogy and connexion between them. It must however be allowed, there remain yet very many obscu- rities, which if we have not always sufficiently cleared, we hope the indulgent reader will consider the difficulty and ex- cuse the defect. The principal help for removing the obscurities of the Apocalypse arises from a right understanding of its general tendency. If a wrong system be adopted, the difficulty of re- conciling the different parts of the prophecy become insuper- able : and this has appeared fully in the attempts of several interpreters. But when the plan of the book is discovered and ascertained, the difficulties decrease and the obscurities gradually disappear. Thus a surprising light breaks in upon the Apocalypse, when we view it as the History of Christ's Church divided into seven periods or ages, as we have above explained. A second means of removing difficulties is, the taking notice of the order of the different parts that compose this prophetic book. St. John gives all the seals together, then all the trumpets, and lastly the vials in the same manner. 10 INTRODUCTION. Under the seven seals a series of transactions is related which belong to the seven successive ages of the Church, and which terminate with the great day of judgment. The same course is observed in the trumpet and the vials. But we must how- ever remark, that, after finishmg with the trumpets, he does not proceed immediately to the vials : nevertheless he ob- serves the same rule, namely, in returning, after the seventh trumpet, to relate a new series of events, but which are con- fined to the first, third, sixth, and seventh ages ; these ages being the most interesting to the Church, as the three first of them exhibit the history of idolatry, and the last or seventh relates to the general judgment. This narrative is given in the chapters xii. xiii. xiv. and as it is joined to that of the trumpets, it partakes of the nature of them, that is, it describes events that are alarming to the Church, with the addition however of some incidents or promises that administer com- fort in those alarming circumstances. The prophet, having thus carried us on to the end of time, begins again with the first age, and rehearses under the seven vials, in chap. xv. xvi. a new course of transactions that runs through all the seven ages. This narrative being terminated, he returns back, as he had done after the account of the trum- pets, to a new course of history, relating to the first, third, sixth, and seventh ages, beginning at chap. xvii. and ending with verse 10th of chap. xix. This piece of history is of such a nature as agrees with that of the vials to which it is joined, that is, it is a rehearsal of divine punishments ; to which are annexed exultations on these victories of Christ over his ene- mies. This being done, the prophet, according to his custom, begins again a new narrative of events, of the same nature as the preceding, and which also belong to those interesting ages, the first, third, sixth and seventh. This narrative begins at verse 11th of chap. xix. and continues to the end of chap. XX. Finally, the two last chapters conclude the prophecy, with an account of the other world, as it will be after the close of all time. Hence then appears the order observed in this in- comparable prophecy of the Apocalypse. As the whole His- tory of the Church, therein contained, is divided into seven Ages, so it is related, not indeed all that part together which belongs to each age, but in seven diflferent series of events, six of which reach from the first age to the last day, and the seventh is the description of the next v/orld. The first of these series is given under the seals, the second under the trumpets; the third in the chapters xii. xiii. xiv. the fourth under the INTRODUCTION. 11 vials ; the fifth in chapters xvii. xviii. and part of chaptet xix ; the sixth in the rest of chapter xix. and in chapter xx. ; and the seventh in chapters xxi. and xxii. This sevenfold divi- sion is conformable to the constant use made in the Apo- calypse of that mysterious number seven, as, of seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, seven churches, seven candle- sticks, seven spirits, &c. It is plain from this disposition of the plan of the Apocalypse, that it is necessary to transpose many things in order to form a regular narration : for, as St. John so often travels through the whole period of the Christian sera, at each time relating only a part of the transactions, we are obliged to collect from different parts of the book all those facts that belong to the same age. And we may observe, that the prophet is the most copious upon four of the seven ages, viz. the first, third, sixth, and seventh, as being the most interesting to the Church, and most remarkable for their transactions. Another help which we found for clearing up obscurities was, a very strict attention to the tenor of the text. The ex- traordinary nicety in the expressions, the sudden change of tense in the verbs, of number in the nouns, general words used in particular senses, the addition or omission of a word, with several such circumstances, are of great consequence for discovering the true sense, and have not been by the generality of interpreters sufficiently attended to ; which indeed we may not wonder at, as such minute particularities are not generally expected, and there never has been seen a book written with that comprehensive precision and exact nicety which are ob- servable in the Apocalj'pse. In composing this work we have freely made use of other authors, where we liked their opinions ; and we hope to incur no censure, when on other occasions we have substituted our own. — Some few passages of the Apocalypse have been gene- rally understood in the same sense by all the ancient fathers of the Church and modern Catholic interpreters; to these we havesciupulously adhered, and founded our interpretation on their testimony. In other places, where former writers took the liberty of interpreting and differed in their expositions, we have likewise thought it lawful to use the same liberty. We hope for indulgence, if in some few instances we appear to have applied the text of the ancient prophets to what they have not usually been applied. This freedom, we presume, is al- lowable, when the sense of the texts has never been fully set- tled. And here we carmot but remark that, whoever will take 12 INTRODirCTlON. the pains to study the Apocalypse, we apprehend he will per- ceive that it throws a new light upon several dark passages of the ancient prophets. Besides, it must be observed, that a prophecy is not always confined to one object, but often re- lates both to the figure of a thing and to the thing itself, and consequently has two accomplishments, the one inadequate and in part only, the other complete and perfect. How often, for example, is the same scriptural text applied in an imperfect sense to David or Solomon, which is fully completed in Christ, of whom they were figures ? Thus also the return of the J&ws from the Babylonic captivity may be deemed a figure of thfeit return from a much longer captivity in the latter period of the world, and both may be intimated together by the pro- phets : and so of other instances. On these grounds a text, that has been generally applied to the figure, we have' some- times transferred to the thing itself, to show its full and ulti- mate completion. That part of the Apocalypse, which gives the prophetic history of past ages, we have illustrated with the real history of those times, that the accomplishment may clear- ly appear. If we have not always mentioned our vouchers, it is because we thought it unnecessary in the case of such short abstracts of history, especially as they are taken from the well known ecclesiastic historians of the times. In regard to the text of th^ Apocalypse, we have made use of the com- monly known English translation made from the Latin vul- gate ; at the same time taking notice of any difference, worth observing, between the translation and the original Greek. In fine, we here make our acknowledgments to those friends whom we have consulted, and who have assisted us in disco- vering and unfolding the mysterious senses of the Apocalypse. As to the time when this prophecy was delivered to St. John, it is generally understood to have been in the year 95 or 96 of the Christian sera. This holy Apostle, after being im- mersed in a caldron of boiling oil at Rome, from which he came out unhurt, was banished by the emperor Domitian inta the isle of Patmos in the Egean Sea or Archipelago, where, as we learn from himself, Apoc. i. 9. he was favoured with this most admirable and most comprehensive of all prophecies. " St. John was a prophet," says St. Jerom, " because being in the isle of Patmos, whither he had been exiled for the faith by the emperor Domitian, he received the Apocalypse or a reve- lation containing an infinite number of mysteries appertain- ing to future times." Lib. I. contra Jovin. He always enjoyed a superior share in the affections of his divine Master, and INTRODUCTION. iZ among many proofs of it, he was indulged with this singular and extraordinary favour, not granted to any of the other apos- tles. This most instructive book we cannot but earnestly re- commend to every Christian, and we hope our recommenda- tion will have the more weight, as it is grounded on the words of the divine book itself: " Blessed is he, that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy; and keepeth those things which are written in it," Apoc. i. 3. The obscurity, which covers the Apocalypse, has been the occasion of its having been so little attended to. We have therefore "attempted to re- move that obstacle: but if we have not totally succeeded, we plead indulgence from the difficulty of explaining a prophecy so sublime, and the most mysterious that is extant. Besides the advantage resulting from a general survey of the history of the Church, another motive for attending to the Apocalypse, is the particular interest every Christian must take in that part of the history, which relates to the present time, and those scenes which are approaching. Much instruction may be drawn from the present state of the Church, as described by our prophetic writer, and caution ought to be the result for what we find is to happen hereafter. If God reveals to us mysteries, it is for our instruction : if he discloses to us future events, doubtless he does it to give us warning to prepare for them. This kind of economy almighty God observed towards mankind from the beginning, that in consequence of such pre- vious admonitions, his faithful servants should withdraw themselves from approaching calamities, while the wicked might impute to their own obstinacy the punishments that fell upon them. This bountiful administration of Providence ap- peared very conspicuous in favour of the Jews, who were generally forewarned by the prophets of the great events that concerned them. The same course we find the Almighty has pursued in the Christian age of the world. He has not in- deed sent a succession of prophets as he did to the Jews. The only considerable prophet Christianity can claim is St. John the apostle ; but then he as far excels any one of the ancient prophets, as his Apocalypse contains more m.atter, and com- prises a larger field of history. He grasps the whole period of Christianity. He describes the birth of Christ's Spouse, his Church, and gradually conducts her through her whole progress, till she arrives at ihe full possession of her Lord in everlasting glory and bliss. The finger of God appears plainly stamped upon the book of the Apocalypse, it so far ex- ceeds the reach of human composition. The divine pen is 2 14 INTRODUCTION. visible in every line, as each sentence is apparently written with such precision and accuracy, that a word cannot be added or retrenched without derogating from the sense. The figures and allegories here employed are truly sublime, grand, and beautiful, and closely adapted in all their parts to the subject. Some of them are borrowed from the ancient prophets, but heightened by superior strokes. St. John's subject, the history of Christ's kingdom, as it surpasses in dignity the object of all preceding prophecies, so he exhibits it in colours that out- shine all former prophetic descriptions. This kingdom of Christ, the greatest of all kingdoms, and his government of it, the most perfect of all governments, are described in a stjde proportionably exalted. The ancient prophets announced the orders and instructions they received from God, and were only favoured with visions in some particular cases : but the be- loved disciple of Christ, not only receives from his Lord the verbal account he delivers, but is admitted to see transacted before him every scene of the history which he writes. Again, the ancient prophets chiefly confined their accounts to the temporal transactions of kingdoms ; but St. John, after giving the history of the Christian Church, for the whole time of her existence in this world, describes her future triumphant state in the heavenly Jerusalem, the period of which will be equal to that of eternity. Besides, the picture which he there gives of the heavenly Jerusalem is drawn with such exqui- site art, is painted with such striking colours, and enriched with such charming scenes, and with such a collection of the choicest, the most valuable, and the most shining objects in na- ture, that the whole surpasses greatly whatever human con- ception is capable of imagining or combining together. Such then being the extent, the usefulness, and the excellence of tke prophecy delivered in the Apocalypse, what can be more cu- rious or interesting than a history founded upon it ? THE GENERAL HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: DIVIDED INTO SEVEN AGES, AND DEDUCED CHIEFLY FROM THE APOCALYPSE. g;^ Before we enter upon this prophetic History, it will be necessary to explain the first chapter of the Apocalypse, as it contains the Preface to the whole book, — and, on that account, is essential to the present work. CHAPTER I. Explication of the first Chapter of the Apocalypse. Verse 1. " The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to make known to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass : and signified, sending by his angel to his servant John. V. 2. "Who hath given testimony to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, what things soever he hath seen." We are here informed that the book of the Apocalypse is a Revelation, which Jesus Christ, as Man-God, received from God : the purpose of which is to disclose to his servants, the Christians, a series of events very interesting to them, and which must shortly come to pass. This revelation Jesus Christ communicates by the channel of his angel, whom he sends to deliver it to his servant John. The character here given to this servant John shows him to be the Apostle St. John ; for he is here said to have given testimony to the word 16 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. of God, by his preaching and suffering for the cause of God, and to have also given testimony of Jesus Christ, by bearing witness to what things soever he had seen of his divine Mas- ter. And this account of him coincides with what St. John says of himself at the beginning of his first epistle ; " That which we have heard," says he, " which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life — we declare unto you." We have said that it was Christ who signified or notified this his Revelation, sending it by his angel ; which is con- firmed by what he himself speaks in the conclusion of the Apocalypse : " I Jesus have sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches." Apoc. xxii. 16. But it might be equally said, that God himself communicated this prophecy by his angel ; for we likewise read : " The Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show his servants the things which must be done shortly," Apoc. xxii. 6. which words are quite similar to those above of verse first. How- ever, it is not material whether to God or to Jesus Christ the communication of the prophecy be ascribed, when we con- sider the divinity of Christ. Another observation we must here make, is concerning the angel of God or Christ, who is sent to communicate the Apo- calypse to St. John. He is generally supposed to be a real angel : but upon close examination we think he will appear to be St. John the Baptist. This personage is peculiarly vested with the character of angel* or messenger of God and Christ, and is denominated such in the ancient prophecies, and by Christ himself: — " Behold I send my angel," said the Lord by his prophet Malachy, " and he shall prepare the way be- fore my face," Mai. iii. 1. which Christ applies to his precursor, St. John Baptist. " This is he," says Christ, " of whom it is written : Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare the way before thee." Mat. xi. 10. The same is also confirmed by the Baptist's own declaration : " I am," says he "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord," John i. 23. which plainly speaks his func- tion of angel or messenger of Christ. A farther proof is de- rived from the words of the angel himself, who thus speaks to St. John theApo.stle: "I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren who have the testimony of J-esus." Apoc. xix. 10. And again, " I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the pro phets, and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this The word angel signifies messenger. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHTTRCH. 17 book." Apoc. xxii. 9. This languag-e, it is clear, cannot be that of a real ang-el, but corresponds very justly with the charac- ter of the Baptist, who had been a fellow-servant of the Apostle and his brethren in giving testimony to Jesus, &c. A function suitable to the character of St. John the Baptist ; who, as he announced Christ and showed him present to the people ; so here he announceth and showeth to St. John the Apostle the History of Christ or of his Church. However, as the Apostle gives to St. John the Baptist the name of angel, perhaps his form and appearance were such on this occasion. V. 3. " Blessed is he that readeth and heareth* the words of this prophecy : and keepeth those things which are written in it: for the time is at hand." We are here assured that great is the advantage of attending to what is delivered in the Apo- calypse ; for they are pronounced blessed, who read or hear read the words of this prophecy; and who keep the things which are written in it, that is, who take due notice of the things which are written in it, in order to compare them with what is already fulfilled by real events, to beware of what is foretold to come, and to draw proper instructions from both. These prophecies are the more interesting, as the time is at hand for the accomplishment of some of them, and the rest will follow in their order. This was true at the period when St. John wrote, and will be equally true at whatever period of time the Apocalypse be consulted, as some part of its prophetic history will always be near the time of its accomplishment. It might likewise be said, that the whole would happen soon, with allusion to the shortness of all time when compared with the eternal existence of God, according to that of St. Peter : " One day with the Lord is a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," 2 Pet. iii. 8. and that of the Psalmist: "A thousand years in thy sight, are but as yesterday, which is past and gone." Psalm Ixxxix. 4. V. 4. "John to the seven churches which are in Asia, Grace be unto you and peace from Him that is, and that was, and that is to come; and from the seven spirits which are be- fore his throne." St. John addresses the seven churches of lesser Asia, which he governed, and which will be specified below, ver. 1 1. We shall see him there receive an order to send them this pro- phecy. He salutes these churches, wishing them grace, or benediction and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come ; that is, from Almighty God, who exists from * In the Greek text, " and those that hear," &c. 2* 18 HISTORY OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. all eternity, continues to exist, will remain for all eternity, and will come at the last day to reward his faithful servants, and to punish the wicked. The Apostle offers the same good wishes from the seven spirits which are before the throne of God, always ready to depart and execute his commands with respect to mankind. These are " ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salva- tion." Heb. i. 14. V. 5. " And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth : who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. V. 6. "And hath made us a kingdom* and priests to God his Father : to him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen." St. John continues his salutation to the seven churches, wishing them grace and peace from Jesus Christ, whom he entitles the faithful witness, as having given testimony to his eternal Father upon earth, and executed faithfully the com- mission he had received from him. He is also the first-be- gotten of the dead, having raised himself from death to life by his own power, which no man ever did or can do, nor can any man rise again but by virtue of the resurrection of Christ, according to that of St. Paul : " By a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive." 1 Cor. xv, 21, 22. Jesus Christ is likewise styled the prince of the kings 'of the earth not only as God, but likewise as God-Man having ac- quired, by the merits of his Incarnation, a sovereign power on earth. On that account, " all power is given to me," says Christ, "in heaven and in earth." Mat. xxviii. 18. And again, •' The Father hath given to the Son power to do judgment." Why so ? " Because he is the Son of man," John v. 27. Here we see ascertained the universal dominion of Christ. Then follow the gracious effects of his bounty towards mankind ; for, " he hath loved us, an.d washed us from our sins in his own blood;" and he " hath made us kings and priests to God and his Father," that is, he hath made us his co-heirs, and has admitted us to a participation of his own sovereign power over the world, and likewise of his priesthood, by virtue of which we become also " a holy priesthood," as St. Peter says, "to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 1 Pet. ii. 5. This communication of power granted In the Greek text, " mado us kings." HISTORY OV THB CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ly by Christ to his servants, by which they become kings and priests, will chiefly take place in the other world ; and it is not only founded on the present text, but is clear from our Saviour's own words : " I dispose to you," says he, " as my Father has disposed to me, a kingdom : that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and may sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke xxii. 29, 30. And again, " To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me on my throne." Apoc. iii. 21. To Christ therefore, our bountiful Saviour and gracious benefactor, be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen. V. 7. " Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him. Even so. Amen." The same Jesus Christ, who is prince of the kings of the earth, who has washed us from our sins in his blood, who has chosen us and made us kings and priests to God, is equally entitled to be our judge, and will effectually come in his sove- reign power at the last day to Judge the world ; at which tinio every eye shall see him ; and his countenance will be terriblti to those who pierced him and crucified him. And even all the tribes of the earth, or the people of all nations upon the face of the earth, will mourn and bewail his death, being amazed and confounded at the unparalleled impiety of those men who crucified him. In the two preceding verses were de- scribed the functions which Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, performed upon earth, in fulfilling the charge he had received from his Father in redeeming the world, &c. These functions we see here completed by his coming at the last day to judge mankind, and to decree their rewards and punishments. V. 8. " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Here the Almighty himself speaks : I am Alpha and Ome- ga ; Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet, the meaning of which in this place is ex- plained by the subsequent words, the beginning and the end. I am, says Almighty God, the beginning and end of every thing, I am the first cause and last end of all beings. I am the source, from which everything flows, and to which every thing must return. I created the world by my power, I govern it by my wisdom, and shall put an end to it at my pleasure. I 4 20 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. am he who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. See above, ver. 4. Thus we see the two great personages, who here preside through the whole scene of the Apocalypse, God, and Jesus Christ. They are placed in the supreme degree of eminence, and are clearly distinguished by their respective titles and at- tributes. They are exhibited as the Sovereign rulers of the universe, the moderators of all human transactions. And thus is nobly ushered in the prophetic history, which begins as follows : V. 9. " I John your brother and your partner in tribulation, and in the kingdom, and patience in Christ Jesus, was in the island, which is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus. V. 10. "I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and heard be- hind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, V. 1 1. " Saying, what thou seest, write in a book : and send to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamus, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." St. John here informs us, that he had shared in the perse- cution and tribulation, which were common to the Christians; that he was partner with them in being a member with them of the body of Christians, which formed the kingdom of Jesus Christ. By the orders of the Emperor Domitian, St. John, as we have seen, was put into a caldron of boiling oil at Rome, which he bore with invincible patience, and came out unhurt; after which he was banished into the island of Patmos, in the Archipelago. There he was an exile for the word of God, for having preached the word of God in opposition to the su- perstitions of idolatry, and for the testimony of Jesus, or for having borne testimony to Christ, by confessing publicly his holy name, and maintaining his doctrine. He was there in spirit on the Lord's day, or Sunday, which being sanctified by the great mysteries of the resurrection of Christ, and the de- scent of the Holy Ghost, was certainly a proper day for re- ceiving this important revelation, which comprises the whole history of the Christian Church, from her birth to her final triumphant state in heaven. He then proceeds to describe the manner in which this his- tory was communicated to him : And I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, what thou seest, write in a book. We proved, ver. i. p. 2. that this prophecy was deli- vered to the Apostle by the angel of Christ, St. John Baptist: HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 21 and he is the great voice like that of a trumpet, which here speaks to the apostle ; for the function of the voice on this oc- casion is similar to that which the Baptist performxcd -when on earth. He then announced, as with the voice of a trumpet, the coming of his divine Master : " I am the voice," says he, " of one crying in the wilderness : make straight the way of the Lord." John i. 23. In like manner he is here distinguished by the appellation of a great voice, and announces what is and what will be his Master's government and administration of his Church. Besides, we read in verse the first of chap. iv. of the Apocalypse : " The first voice which I heard, as it were of a trumpet speaking with me, said: Come up hither and I will show thee the things Avhich must be done hereafter;" which being compared to verse the eighth of chap. xxii. " After I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel, who shoAved me these things ;" it plainly appears that the voice and the angel indicate the same person, viz. St. John Baptist. This observation premised, the apostle is told: What thou seest, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, &c. He is ordered to send this book of the Apocalypse to the seven Asiatic churches men- tioned in the text, whence it was circulated over the christian world, and transmitted down to us. V. 12. " And I turned," continues St. John, "to seethe voice that spoke with me : and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. V. 13. " And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like to the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. V. H. ** And his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow : and his eyes were as a flame of fire. V. 15. " And his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burnino- furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. V. 16. "And he had in his right hand seven stars. And from his mouth came out a sharp two-edged sword : and his face was as the sun shineth in his power." St. John, in looking behind him to see the voice that spoke to him, is surprised by the appearance of a remarkable scene : Seven golden candlesticks standing, and in the midst of them a person resembling the Son of Man, or Christ, clothed with a long garment down to the feet, and girt about the breast with a golden girdle, a dress that denotes high rank and dig- nity; and being girt in this manner shows him to be abo business, namely the government of bis Church. His h'rad 23 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. and hair were white, as white wool, and as snow ; an emblem of Christ's divine existence from all eternity, whiteness of hair naturally indicating old age. And his eyes were as a flame of fire, as piercing as the flame of fire, penetrating into every thing as he himself says : " I am He, that searcheth the reins and hearts." Apoc. ii. 23. His feet were like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace ; the feet make the extremity of the body, and appear here inflamed as brass in a glowing furnace, to show that at the extremity or end of time, Christ will come to destroy the world by fire. His voice was as the sound of many waters ; his voice sounded like the noise of many flowing waters, as terrible as the roaring of a tempest- uous sea. Such will be his voice in denouncing sentence against the wicked at the last day. In his right hand he held soven stars, which will be explained below, ver. 20. And from his mouth came out a sharp two-edged sword, the terrible weapon which Christ will use, as we shall see hereafter, to slay Anti-christ and his armies. It appears to proceed from his mouth, as ready to execute his command. It also shows in general, that Christ punishes his enemies. Lastly, his face shone as bright as when the sun shineth in its full power; this is the bright pleasing countenance which he will show to his saints at the last day. Thus appears the Son of Man, arrayed in dignity, with the marks of his unlimited power and dominion, with the symbols of his divine and human attributes, and as the sovereign Ad- ministrator of his Church. V. 17. " And when I had seen him," continues St. John, " I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not, I am the first and the last. V. 18. "And alive,* and was dead. And behold lam living for ever and ever, and have the keys of death and of hell." St. John, struck at the awful appearance of his Lord, fells down at his feet as dead: but is raised up by Christ, who tells him not to fear, and adds, I am the first and the last : I exist before all created beings, and shall continue to exist when time shall be no more; I am from all eternity, and shall be to all eternity. I am alive and was dead : I am the living one; life is essential to me, as God ; but I died, as Man-God ; and be- hold I am now living for ever and ever, I hold the keys of death and of hell ; mine is the power of opening the graves, and raising the dead bodies ; mine is the power of opening hell, In the Greek text, ** the Living-one." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 23 and drawing thence the souls, to reunite them to their bodies : and thus I am He that shall resuscitate all mankind, and shall be their Judge. V. 19. " Write therefore the things which thou hast seen, and which are, and which must be done hereafter." Our Saviour here orders St. John to write the scene he has already seen, and the things which are, or which have just now been dictated to him ; and to write also the things which nust be done hereafter, that is, the history, that will presently he given him, of the events which will happen in the Christian Church. V. 20. " The mystery of the seven stars," continues oui Saviour, '* which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches ; and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches." Here Christ himself explains to St. John the mystery or meaning of two particulars : the seven stars, v/hich thou sawest in my right hand, are, or denote the angels of the seven churches in Asia, that is, the bishops of those churches : and the seven candlesticks are, or represent those seven churches. Let us also observe, that these seven candlesticks, or seven churches, may very well represent all the churches of the christian world ; and in that case, our Saviour, who is placed in the midst of them, is naturally exhibited as adminis- tering and governing the whole. CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF THE FIRST AGE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Christ proceeds, in the second and third chapters of the Apocalypse, to dictate to St. John particular instructions tor each of the seven above mentioned churches ; which as they do not belong to the general history of Christianity, we shall pass over, and shall now proceed to the fourth and fifth chap- ters, which open a general magnificent scene, that prepares us for the particular transactions. Prelude to the Opening of the seven Seals. Apoc. chap, iv. 1. "After these things I looked," says St. Johri, " and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard as it were of a trumpet speaking I 24 ' HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. with me, said : Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must be done hereafter. V. 2. " And immediately I was in the spirit : and behold there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting. V. 3. " And he that sat was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone : and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sisrht like unto an emerald." No sooner had St. John received, in the preceding vision, the documents he was to transmit to the seven Asiatic churches; when behold ! a new scene displays itself. Heaven opens. 3t. John is invited up thither by the voice which had spoken ;o him before, that is, by St. John Baptist, and is told he shall see what is to happen in future ages. On a sudden appears a throne, and the Almighty himself seated upon it, shining in the brightest lustre of jasper green and sardine red, the green colour, as best proportioned to the human eye, speaks his mercy, and the red his justice : these two attributes bearing a particular relation to mankind. The throne is surrounded with a rainbow, in which shines remarkably a most beautiful green, like that of emeralds. This rainbow, with its bright green colour, denotes the covenant of reconciliation and peace, which God made with man after the deluge. V. 4. " And round about the throne were four and twenty seats : and upon the seats, four and twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments, and on their heads crowns of gold.". Round the throne of God appear silting four and twenty ancients, representing the saints that preceded the age of Christianity, and for that reason called ancients. They are clothed in w^hite to express the immortal glory they possess in heaven; and their crowns of gold show their royal dignity, God admitting them to sit as judges with him. In the same manner it was said, that Christ makes his saints kings, Apoc. i» 6. — See p. 18. V. 5. "And from the throne proceeded lightnings and voices, and thunders : and there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God." The lightnings, loud voices, and thunders, which come from the throne of God, announce alarms and severe hardships, such as persecutions, dissentions, calamities, &c. by which he tries the fidelity of his servants on earth. And the seven spirits oi God, who appear under the form of burning lamps, are seven angels as before mentioned. Apoc. i. 4. standing ready to execute the divine commands. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN OllCKOH. 25 V, 6. " And in the sio^ht of the throne was as it were a sea of glass like to crystal : and in the midst of the throne and round about the Ihrone were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. V. 7. " And the first livinsf creature was like a lion : and the second living creature, like a calf; and the third living creature, having the face, as it were of a man : and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying. V. 8. " And the four livino: creatures had each of them six wings : and round about,* and within, they are full of eyes." The extensive sea of glass here described, transparent as crystal, represents what may be called, the floor of heaven. Before the throne of God and round it stand four living crea- tures of an extraordinary shape, which denote the four great prophets, Isaiah, Jeremy, Ezechiel, and Daniel. Their bodies are described full of eyes both before and behind, an emblem of their prophetic sight, that penetrates into all ages, past, pre- sent, and to come. And they being also full of eyes within, indicates that their extensive knowledo-e arises from an interior divine Inspiration. They have each six wungs, in the same manner as the seraphims appeared to the prophet Isaias, Isa. vi. 2 : Two wings serve to cover their face, two their feet, out of respect for the Deity : and the two others serve to fly, that* is, figuratively express their expeditious readiness to carry and deliver the divine instructions and messages. Some have imagined these four symbolical living creatures to represent the four Evangelists, but we think improperly; as St. John was still living, and there present in person. Be- sides, the scene exhibited here to St. John represents the times and persons that existed before the age of Christianity. The first living creature is here said to resemble a lion, the king of beasts ; because the prophet Isaias, represented by it, was descended by the royal race of David. The second living crea- ture resembles a' caFf, and represents the prophet Jeremy, in his character of a priest ; the calf which was the principal victim in Jewish sacrifices, being on that account the emblem of priesthood. The third living creature, exhibiting Ezechiel^ has the countenance of a man ; because God, in speaking to that prophet, always addresses him by the name of Son of man. The fourth living creature, denoting Daniel, resem- bles a flying eagle, on account of the sublime oracles of this prophet, who soars to the highest object, and vie\vs the succes- sion of all the great empires, that were to rise up in the world • In the Greek, " six wings about him ;-and within," Ac 3 26 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHUKCJi. to the end of time. Probably these four principal prophets are to be understood to represent all the prophets of the old law. V. 8. "And they (the four livjng creatures) rested not day and night, saying-, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come ! V. 9. " And when those living creatures gave* glory and honour and benediction to him, that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever. V. 10. " The four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying : V. 11. " Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power : because thou hast created all things, and for thy will they were,t and have been created." The Almighty being seated on his throne, in the splendour of his majesty, with the marks of his supreme power, sur- rounded with the august choir of the ancient Saints and Pro- phets ; these Prophets, represented by the four living crea- tures, are constantly employed in offering their homage to him and singing his praises. They cry out day and night, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty ! &c. repeating three times Holy, probably in honour of the Blessed Trinity ; and for the same reason they give to God three different kinds of praise, glory, honour and benediction, or thanksgiving. And whenever the four living creatures sing these praises, the four and twenty ancients are ready to join their homage, by falling down before him that sitteth on the throne, and adoring Him that liveth for ever and ever; and in token of their acknow- ledging all their happiness and pre-eminence to be his gift, they cast down their crowns before the throne ; and thus they conclude their homage : Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, honour, and power : because thou hast created all things, and for thy will they are, and have been created; that is, w^e acknowledge thy power, O Lord, because by thy Omnipotence thou hast created all things; honour is due to thee, because by thy will they are, or continue to exist ; glory is due to thee, because they were created to serve to thy glory. Apoc. chap. V. 1. " And I saw," says St. John, " in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book, written within and without, sealed with seven seals." The book, which Almighty God holds in his right hand, contains the detail of his administration of the Christian church; * In the Greek, " shall give," &-c.— " the four and twenty ancients will fall down," &c. tin the Greek, " they are." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 27 the length of which detail is marked by the hook being writ- ten both within and without. It is sealed up, as containing the divine counsels, impenetrable to human sagacity; and the seven seals indicate that the whole is divided into seven parts, each of which is uniblded and made known at the opening of each respective seal. V. 2. " And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice : Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? V. 3. " And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it." A strong angel cries out with a loud voice, to be heard over the whole creation. Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? But there is not found a creature, either in heaven or on earth, or elsewhere, worthy to do this function, or even to look on the book, the eyes not being here permitted to view the repository of the divine dispensations, which, the book being yet sealed up, are kept concealed from human understanding. V. 4. " And I wept much," continues St. John, " because no man was found worthy to open the book,* nor to see it. V. 5. "And one of the ancients said to me, weep not, be- cause the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof" St. John, mortified and weeping, because no one was found worthy to open the book, is told by one of the four and twenty ancients to cease weeping; for that the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, &:c. Christ the Messiah, who is born of the tribe of Juda, and who is the root that springs from the royal race of David, is, on account of his achievements, styled the Lion of that tribe, con- formably to Jacob's prophecy : " Juda is a lion's whelp," Gen. xlix. 9. He, the Messiah, David's descendant, like a valiant lion, conquered Satan, death, and the world. He put a stop to Satan's power, by breaking down the empire of idolatry, he discharged the great functions he undertook to perform on earth, he reconciled m^an to his eternal Father, he raised him- self from death, he established his new Law notwithstanding the most obstinate opposition from the world, and he founded his Church at the expense of his blood. By these victories he is here proclaimed to have merited to open the book, that contains the account of the divine dispensations to that church — accordingly, The Greek text here adds, " and to read it." 28 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. V. 6. " And I saw," says St. John : " and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb stand in o- as it were slain, havin*'" seven horns and seven eyes : which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. V. 7. " And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne." We had just now seen Christ represented as a strong and valiant lion subduing his enemies ; here we see him in the humble character of a lamb, which appears as it were slain, that is, newly sacrificed and immolated for the redemption of the world. But the Lamb is standing, that is, though he has been slain, he is resuscitated to life, and recovered all his strength and vigour: and he is seen placed in the midst of the throne, which bespeaks his divine origin and person. This lamb has seven horns, signifying the seven particular powers which he exercises in the seven successive ages of the Chris- • tian Church: and to show his wisdom and vigilance, he has also seven eyes denoting the seven spirits of God abovemen- tioned, Apoc. i. 4. and iv. 5. or angels, who are always ready to execute the commands of God and the Lamb, and to carry their messages over the whole earth. The number seven here used, corresponds to the seven periods or ages, into which the whole duration of the Christian Church is divided : so that, when it is said, that the lamb has seven horns and seven eyes, it is meant, that the Lamb, or Jesus Christ, governs his Church through its seven successive ages by his power and wisdom, and by the ministry of seven angels, who may be supposed to be appointed over the seven ages of the Christian Church, each angel to each age. The Lamb goes, and takes the book from the hand of Cxod, who sitteth upon the throne: V. 8. " And when he had opened the book,* the four living- creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints : V. 9. " And they sung a new canticle, saying : Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book and to open the seals thereof' because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. V. 10. "And hast made us to our God a kingdomf and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.' In the Greek text, " when he had taken the book," and so read most cf the ancient interpreters. tin the Greek, kings HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 29 y The Lamb having taken the book, the four living- creatures and the four and twenty ancients, or the prophets and the saints prior to Christianity, whom they represent, fall down and adore him, having in their hands harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints. The prayers of the saints, that is, of the faithful on earth, are here described as sweet odours, and are presented to Christ by the saints in heaven. Then the four living creatures and the four and twenty ancients, being postrate before the Lamb, sing a new canticle; new, because the subject of it is new, viz. the actions of the Lamb. This nev/ canticle is. Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us, not only us but also our posterity, the christian race ; for thou hast redeemed us, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. Thus these saints and prophets acknowledge, that the Lamb has, at the expense of his blood, redeemed mankind, and restored them to the rights they had lost by Adam's sin, and consequently that he is en- titled to an- absolute dominion over them throusrh all succeed- ing generations. Thus they also acknowledge, that they are indebted to him for the ineffable blessings of heavenly glory, and of kingly and priestly power, which they now possess, and which will hereafter be likewise the portion of their pos- terity. On these accounts they proclaim-, the Lamb has merited to take the book, and open the seals thereof, that is, to reveal to men what relates to his Church. Thus we see the dou- ble character of Christ. What he is here declared to have merited as the slaughtered Lamb, he was also before en- titled to in quality of the conquering Lion. V. 11. "And I beheld," proceeds St. John, "and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures and the ancients : and the number of them was thousands of thousands. V. 12. " Saying with aloud voice: The Lamb, that was slain, is Xvorthy to receive power, and divinity,* and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction." After the adoration and homage paid to the Lamb by the ancient prophets and saints, St. John now sees an infinite num- ber of angels round the throne and round the celestial choir, who come next to address the Lamb with their praises and loud applauses, saying, the Lamb, that was slain, is worthy to receive power, and riches, &c. because by being slain, he has * In the Greek text, riches. The manuscripts and the ancient writers read the same. 3* 30 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. purchased a power of forming to himself a people out of every nation of the earth, that is, of founding a new universal church, and has also merited to be vested with the government of it O through all succeeding time. And as the peiiod of the Chris- tian Church's duration is, by divine appointment, divided into seven ages, so the Lamb is represented as entitled to seven spe- cial qualities, power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and benediction, which bear a relation to that part of his go- vernment of the church, which is described under the seven seals. These seven qualities are therefore to be applied to the seven successive ages, each to each respectively ; and there, the meaning of them will be explained. V. 13. "And every creature, which is in heav^en, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them : I heard all saying : To him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever." After the homage of the angels, succeeds that of all crea- tures, both animate and inanimate, which are in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, or in hell, and in the sea ; and in fine, of all that are in them, that is, of every individual atom of the creation. They are all heard to say: To him (God) that sitteth on the throne and to the Liamb, benediction and honour and glory and power for ever and ever. Thus they pour forth their praises to God and the Lamb, for their creation, their conservation, the beautiful harmony and order they hold in the general system of nature, &c. In the verses 9th and 11th, in the preceding pages, sea p. 28 and 29. three times of praise were offered to him that sitteth on the throne; here a fourth is added, viz. power, on account of the Lamb, who has acquired all power over this w^orld, and which is thus confessed by every individual part of it. In the same sense St. Paul declares, that "in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth," Philip, ii. 10. V. 14. " And the four living creatures said: Amen. And the four and twenty ancients fell down on their faces, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever." To the above praises and homage offered to God and the Lamb, the four living creatures, or ancient prophets, join their assent by saying, Amen. This conclusion comes suitably from them who had so often proclaimed to the world the great works of the Almighty and the Lamb, and their gracious dispensa- tions to mankind. Then, conformably to what is said in the HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 31 pT3ceding- page, verse 9th and 10th, see p. 28. the four and twenty ancients close this awful and religious scene of ho- mage and praise by adoring the Almighty in unity of God- head. Thus we have seen an august scene exhibited, where God the Almighty appears, shining in all the brightness and dig- nity of Divine Majesty, and round him an illustrious choir, composed of the ancient prophets represented by four emble- matical animals, and of four and twenty ancients representing all the saints of the ages antecedent to Christianity. By this disposition of the scene, our view is removed back to the time of the close of the Old Law, and the commencement of the New, that is, to the birth of the Christian Church. The ancient saints and prophets sound forth their praises, their thanks, and hymns of gratitude to God for all his blessings received, and for the all wise and bountiful economy he had exercised over them through all past ages. And thus they close up the period of the patriarchal and Jewish Church. The Lamb then appears who had just been slain for the re- demption of the world. He has by his blood acqvlired the do- minion over the whole succeeding race of mankind ; and therefore he now opens a new period by founding his own Church, the Church of the Christians, of which he is declared, conjointly with God, Lord and governor. Immediately the ancient prophets and saints direct their homage to him, ac- knowledging they owe to him. their redemption, their power and bliss, and all other blessings. Thus they give testimony to the Lamb, they confess his sovereign power, and that his reign now begins, and will last for ever. The same is re- echoed by every part of the creation. — We must observe, that no Christian saints appear in this celestial assembly : the rea- son is, because the scene exhibits to us the moment in which Christianity commences. The Opening of the first Seal. A'poc. chap. vi. v. 1. " And I saw," says St. John, "that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures, as it were the voice of thunder, say- ing : Come and see. V. 2. " And I saw : and behold a white horse and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer." Previously to the explication of the text, let us observe, that at the opening of each seal of this mysterious book, a new 32 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. spectacle offers itself to St. John, which seems to represent, under an emblematical figure, what is written in that part of the book that is laid open on breaking the seal. And the seven figurative representations, that thus follow on the opening of the seven seals, mark seven particular events, which open the seven ages, into which is divided the whole period of the church's existence. This observation premised. At the opening of the first seal, there appears .to St. John a person upon a white horse. This person is our Saviour, as appears from chapter xix. of the Apocalypse, ver. 11 and 13» where St. John says, " I saw heaven open, and there appeared a white horse ; and he that sat upon him, was called the Faith- ful and True. And his name is, the Word of God." The crown that is here given him, and the white colour of his steed, show him victorious and triumphant. Christ had been victo- rious; first, over Satan, by overthrowing the dominion that murderous enemy had usurped over mankind; secondly, in purchasing, by extreme suffering, and at the price of his blood, a perpetual peace between God and man ; thirdly, in conquer- ing death, by raising himself to life from the grave by his own power. Fraught with these victories, he had ascended trium- phant in glory into heaven, amidst the acclamations of the heavenly choirs, singing, " Princes, lift up your gates ; eter- nal gates, be ye lifted up, and the King of glory shall enter in." Psalm xxiii. 7. Being therefore exalted to all the honours of a glorious King and conqueror, he here appears in the equipment belonging to that character, and with bow in hand sets out to prosecute his conquests, in subduing the world to the dominion of faith by the preaching of his apostles, and his other succeeding ministers. Thus then opens and commences the first age of the Chris- tian Church, Avhich may take its date from the day of Pente- cost, or Whitsunday, when the apostles began to preach. And the conquest, or conversion, which followed, of so many na- tions to the faith, shows evidently in Christ the exercise of that power, which was attributed to him, Apoc. v. 12. See p. 29. Let us also observe, that on opening the seal, one, or the first of the four living creatures, which, as we have shown, represents the prophet Isaias, says to St. John, Come and see ; which is spoken, as with the voice of thunder, to mark the im- portance of the vision : and the invitation to a view of our triumphant Saviour comes properly from Isaias, who had so minutely prophesied of all that related to him. To understand how the conquest of tiie world was made to HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 33 the Gospel, we must take notice that, as soon as the apostles had received the Holy Ghost, ten days after the ascension of Christ, they immediately proceeded to execute the commission given them by their divine Master, when he told them, " Go, and teach all nations," Mat. xxviii. 16, "but to begin by Jeru- salem and Judgea," Luke xxiv. 47. and Acts i. 8. They spent therefore some time in labouring at the conversion of the Jews, of whom no small number embraced the Christian religion, though much the greater part remained obstinate in their infi- delity. This work being done, the apostles separated and dis- persed themselves into diiferent nations, to announce to them the new tidings of salvation. St. Peter retired to Antioch, where he founded a church, and having governed it for seven years, and preached over a great part of lesser Asia, he went to Rome, and there fixed his see. St. Andrew preached to the Scythians, and afterwards in Greece and Epirus. St. Philip in higher Asia. St. Thomas preached to the Parthians, then eastwards as far as the Indies. St. Bartholomew went into Armenia, and some part of India. St. Matthew em.ployed his labours in Parthia and other eastern countries of Asia. St. Simon in Mesopotamia and Persia. St. Jude or Thaddee in Mesopotamia and Arabia. St. Matthias in the countries bor- dering on the Caspian sea. St. John fixed his see at Ephesus in Asia Minor, in which country he founded several churches, which he governed till his death. The two St. James's, one of whom was the first bishop of Jerusalem, chiefly confined their preaching to Judsea. St. Paul announced the gospel to many nations, but he was principally employed in Asia and Greece, . and fmished his mission in Rome. By these zealous messengers of Christ, the gospel was spread throughout the world, according to that of the royal Prophet : " Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth : and their words unto the ends of the world." Psalm xxviii. 5. The success of their preaching was the more wonderful, as all human considerations conspired against it. This new doc- trine was entirely opposite to the received maxims of the world; it declared war against the passions of mankind, it taught self- denial and mortification, it preached a contempt of what is generally admired, it condemned all other religions, and abso- lutely required a most virtuous conduct in all its professors. Moreover, its ministers, the apostles, were not possessed of those natural endowments, which might make impression upon their hearers, and conciliate their minds to a new doctrine. They were illiterate men, chosen from the lowest conditions 34 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. of life, destitute of all human succour, without the advantages of education, and without human eloquence. Notwithstand- ing the want of these helps, they were inspired with such a spirit of zeal, and with such supernatviral force of elocution as not to be resisted. But, above all, the power of performing miracles was their peculiar badge which stamped upon their words the seal of divine attestation. These were the means by which truth began to shine forth in a garb which it had never worn before. It now laid open to view the errors man- kind had hitherto been enslaved to, it withdrew the veil of igno- rance that had overshadowed human reason, it dispelled the darkness of paganism and superstition, and by its native lustre it discovered the imperfection of all the systems of doctrine proposed before by the so much boasted philosophers of anti- quity. Such became the case with a Socrates, a Plato, an Epictetus, a Cicero, &c. Those sages, as they were styled, not aware of the weakness of human reason unassisted by revela- tion, gave precepts of morality and maxims for the conduct of life, which were in admiration for many ages ; but when that light appeared, which came down from heaven with the Son of God, it then became manifest how defective those dictates were. In the same manner as the stars in the firmament strike us with their lustre, and shine wdth advantage, in the night, but when the great luminary of the day, the sun, comes forth, the brightness of the stars immediately fades, and soon vanishes, so likewise, when the Son of God thought fit to grace this world with his presence, it became necessary that all former legislators and philosophers, however eminent, should be eclipsed by his superior excellence, and that every human in- stitution of doctrine should give place to the new precepts of his all-comprehending wisdom. The great structure of religion, which the apostles had begun, was carried on by their faithful and zealous suc- cessors through the subsequent ages. Thus he went forth conquering that he might conquer ; and, thus he doth to this day, and will continue so to do. Prelude to the sounding of the seven Trumpets. Apoc. chap. viii. 2, "And I saw," says St. John, "seven angels* standing in the presence of God : there were given to them seven trumpets." St. John now is directed to turn his eyes to the seven angels, who were seen standing before the throne of God in v ♦In the Greek text, "the seven angels." \ /• HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 35 heaven, Apoc. i. 4. and iv. 5, and seven trumpets are given to them; one of these trumpets is sounded in each of the seven ages of the Church, probably by that angel who iwS appointed to superintend that age. — Then, V. 3. " And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer ; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God. V. 4. " And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God, from the hand of the angel." In imitation of the golden altar of incense that stood in the Jewish tabernacle before the Holy of Holies, there is here a golden altar of incense placed before the throne of God, to which an angel comes holding a golden censer. This is presently filled with much incense, which represents the prayers of ail the saints, that is, of all the servants of God on earth: and thus the angel offers these prayers, which ascend up as the odour of so much fragrant incense before God, so pleasing are they to him. We saw, Apoc. v. 8. see p. 28. the saints in heaven presenting the prayers of the faithful to the Lamb ; and here the same kind of function is performed by an angel: which shows how the angels are employed in good offices for mankind. Another instance of this sort is seen in the book of Tobias, where the angel tells that holy man, " When thou didst pray with tears, — I offered thy prayers to the Lord." Tob. xii. 12. V. 5. " And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth, and there were thun- ders, and voices, and lightnings, and a great earthquake." The angel having performed the religious rite of offering the prayers of the saints to God, he then takes the censer, and fills it with fire from the altar of holocaust; such altar appear- ing to St. John in heaven similar to that which formerly belonged to the Jewish tabernacle. The censer so filled witn fire, the angel casts down on the earth. This is a figurative intimation of God's design to try his servants on earth by the fire of tribulation, like gold in the furnace. The Almighty had just received their prayers with great complacency, and doubtless never ceases to keep a paternal eye over them, and to cover them with his protection: but he here lets them know, U is the disposition of his Providence to put them to the test, that ^hose who are truly his servants, and firm in their faith and charity, may be distinguished from vke hypocrites and pusil- lanimous. Accovding-ly. upon the falling of the censer on the 36 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, earth, there happen thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and a great earthquake ; which metaphorically express four various kinds of tribulations, which are to befall the Christians at the sounding of the four first trumpets, and which will then be seen ; and there the abovementioned four metaphorical terms will be explained. The three last trumpets, as we shall see hereafter, have three particular woes annexed to them. V. 6. " And the seven angels, who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound the trumpet." The trumpet is generally sounded for war, or to give notice of any public danger or alarm. And such is the case here. The seven ans^els sound at different intervals of time their trumpets, to announce alarms to the Christians, such as per- secutions, heresies, wars, &c. trials with which they must struggle, and which the Almighty sends them for their probation. It may not be improper to observe, that the magnificent scene, which was exhibited in heaven in the prelude to the opening of the seals, receives here an addition by the appear- ance of two new objects, the altar of incense and the altar ot holocausts. These are very aptly introduced, to point out some particular circumstances that have relation to the trum- pets. The first altar, on which the Jews offered daily incense to God, presents to our mind the daily offering the Christians make to God of their fervent and holy prayers, which ascend to heaven like sweet perfumes : while at the same time, the altar of holocausts, on Avhich the Jewish victims were burned, is here a just representation of martyrdom, by which the Christians are immolated as so many victims to God in the fire of persecution. As before the opening of* the seals we saw, ;?. 31, the close of the Old Law and the commencement of the New; so here, before the sounding of trumpets a confirmation of the same appears, by two Jewish altars, of incense and holocausts, being removed out of sight on the angels proceeding to sound the trumpets which relate to the Christian Church. The sounding of the first Trumpet. Afpoc, chap. viii. 7. " And the first angel sounded the trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast on the earth, and the third part of the earth* * "The third part of the earth was burnt," is not in the common Greek text; but it is found in several very good manuscripts, and in the Syriac and Arabic versions. # HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 37 was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up." This shower of hail and fire mingled with blood, denotes the cruel and bloody persecutions exercised against the Christians in the three first centuries, till Constantine, the first Christian emperor, put a stop to them. The words, hail, fire, and blood, pretty plainly express some of the most remarkable kinds of death inflicted on the Christians: some being consumed by fire, others having their blood spilt by the sword, and others being stoned to death, which kind of execution may very well be represented by hail. This terri- ble shower fell upon the earth, which here represents the Church of Christ, in its first quiet state, in allusion to the land which is the stable part of the terraqueous globe. Then a third part of the earth was destroyed by the shower, that is, the persecutions swept away nearly one third part of the Christians. But in particular, a third part of the trees was burnt, that is, a third part of the pastors, with their clergy, meant here by the trees, were sacrificed in the fire of per- secution: and all the green grass, or best grass, was con- sumed, that is, all the most fervent and perfect among the faithful were blessed with the crown of martyrdom. Persecutions, tortures, violent deaths by martyrdom, are such objects of alarm and terror to human nature, that they may, with great propriety, be metaphoricall}'- styled thunders: Apoc. viii. 5. At the opening of the first seal we saw the conversion of Jews and Pagans to the Christian faith, and thus the kingdom of Christ took its rise. But no sooner is the infant Church formed, than the trumpet of alarm sounds, and Christ permits his new-acquired people to be subjected to rigorous trials by repeated persecutions, and their fidelity to be put to the strict- est test. Such is the economy of his unfathomable wisdom. Satan, who had usurped for many ages almost an universal empire in the world, by setting himself up to be worshipped in the place of God, seeing his throne shaken by the propaga- tion of the Christian religion, was deeply stung, and resolved to exert his utmost efforts to crush the new rising power, and to support his own. For that purpose he set out by stirring up the potentates of the earth: and as the monarchy of Rome was at that time exceedingly powerful, and extended over a great part of the then known world, his chief attempt was to instil the poison of his malice into the minds of the pagan lloman emperors, and to inspire them with the rankest hatred 4 38 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. against the Christian religion. To open the scene of his hellish machinations, he made use of the Emperor Nero, douUless a very proper instrument for the work, as being already a monster of cruelty and vice. He freely drank the poisonous cup offered him by the devil, and first of all the Roman monarchs, drew his sword against the Christians. Nine other general persecutions were raised by the subsequent emperors, of all which we shall here insert a brief account. The first Persecution under Nero. This brutal prince had privately ordered the great city of Rome to be set on fire, which reduced the greatest part of it to ashes. Finding himself detested by the people,' who im- puted the mischief to him, in order to clear himself, he endeavoured to transfer the odium upon the Christians, whom he charged with being the incendiaries, and immediately began to persecute them in the most bloody manner. Some were wrapt up in skins of wild beasts, and so exposed to be worried by dogs ; others were crucified; others burned alive, be- ing clad in coats dipped in pitch or brimstone, that they might serve as torches in the night. The Church celebrates on the 24th of June, the memory of all these martyrs, the first fruits which heathen Rome sent up to heaven. Before the end of this persecution suffered the two great pillars of the Church, SS. Peter and Paul, at Rome, in the year 67 ; the first being crucified with his head downwards; the second, being a Roman citizen, was put to death by the sword. In conse- quence of the severe edict of Nero, many Christians w'ere sacrificed to the fury of the Pagans in the different provinces of the Roman empire. The second Persecution under Domitian. The disturbances in the Roman empire under the em- perors Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, and the humane disposition of Vespasian and Titus, gave some rest to the Christians, till Domitian succeeding, began the second geneial persecu- tion. This emperor, a second Nero in cruelty, instigated by the malice of Satan, published in the year 95 new edicts throughout the empire against the Christians, by virtue of which great numbers were made victims of religion. In Rome, among others he put to death Flavins Clemens, his own cousin-german, for being a Christian, and banished Cle- mens's wife Domitilla. SS. Nereus and AchilleU'S suffered also in this persecution j as likewise Antipas, mentioned in HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 39 chap. ii. 13. of the Apocalypse, vvhfjin Christ calls there " his foithful witness." It was by this tyrant's order that St. John the Apostle was sent for to Rome, and was cast into a caldron of boiling oil, but coining out more vigorous than before, he was banished to the isle of Patnios. The third Persecution under Trajan. The Christian religion, by the beginning of the second century, had prodigiously increased, and spread itself through a great extent in Europe, Asia, and Africa ; and all consider- able cities were governed by their respective bishops. Tra- jan, the Roman emperor, according to the Pagan writers, was of a mild temper, and possessed of many amiable quali- ties, which gained him from the senate the title of" Optimus," or " good prince." But this glorious title received a black and indelible stain from the persecutions which he permitted to be carried on against the Christians. For, thouo-h he issued out no new edicts against them, he suffered the former san- guinary laAvs to be executed in different parts of the empire in the years lOG, 107, &c. A clear instance of this appears in his answer to Pliny the younger, governor of Pontus and Bithynia, who had writ to know his pleasure, what should be done with the Christians, who were very numerous in the provinces of his government. Trajan's answer was, " Let the Christians not be sought for ; but if they be accused and convicted as such, let them be punished." The chief of those who gained the crown of martyrdom in his reign were, St. Clement, bishop of Rome ; St. Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem ; St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, whom Trajan himself con- demned and sent to Rome, there to be torn to pieces by wild beasts in the amphitheatre. The fourth Persecution under Marcus Aurelius. The fourth persecution finds its place in the reign of Mar- cus Aurelius, in the year IGH, &c. Many Christians indeed had been sacrificed under the Emperor Adrian, by virtue of former laws remaining in force, but at last he mitigated them by an express order. Marcus Aurelius was extremely super- stitious ; and as he also boasted of being a philosopher, he Avas easily instigated by the heathen priests and philosophers against the Christians, whose principles of religion and phi- losophy Avere so contrary to theirs. If Aurelius issued out no new edicts, he permitted at least the governors of provinces to put into execution the laws subsisting. And that the per- 40 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, seciition was very violent and bloody, appears from the several apologies presented to him by St. Justin, Melito, Athenagoras, and Apollinaris, entreating him to put a stop to it. The same is also evident from the number of those that were crowned with martyrdom. In Asia, St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was put to death, and many others -about the same time. At Rome was beheaded St. Justin, who wrote two apologies for the Christians. Several others shared with him the same crown. At Lyons, St. Pothinus the bishop, and many of all ages and conditions were, through the most acute and cruel torments conveyed to heaven. At length the emperor put an end to the persecution about the year 174, prevailed upon, as it is supposed, by the signal favour he and his army, in the German war, received from heaven by the prayers of the Christian legion. He Avas shut up in narrow defiles, and surrounded by the Q,uadi and Marcomanni, and his soldiers were ready to perish with excessive heat and thirst. Under these calamities, the Christian soldiers humbly addressed themselves to God, who immediately sent a plentiful shower of rain, which relieved Aurelius's army, and at the same time a violent storm of hail, with dreadful flashes of light- ning, upon the enemies ; which gave a complete victory to the emperor. The fifth Persecution under Severus. After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180, the Christians enjoyed a respite of tolerable peace till the reign of Severus, a crafty, treacherous, and bloody prince, and by his nature truly answering his name. He at first treated the Christians with humanity, but was after Avards prevailed upon by their enemies to commence a furious persecution. He not only suffered the governors of the provinces to persecute the Christians by the laws already standing, but he gave out in the year 202 fresh edicts, which were executed with such rigour and barbarity, that the faithful imagined the time of Antichrist was come. About the beginning of this persecution, Tertullian wrote his apology for the Christians, a masterly work, in which he refutes all the calumnies published against them, shows the divine morality of their doctrine, and exposes the absurdity of the Pagan religion. But it does not appear so pathetic an address had any effect. The fire of this persecution raged through all the provinces of the Roman empire, but far from consuming the Church of Christ, it only served to purify it, and to make it shine with greater lustre. The most illus HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 41 trious victims immolated on this occasion were St. Victor, bishop of Rome: Leonidas, Origen's father, beheaded at Alexandria ; and several of Origen's scholars. St. Pota- misena, an illustrious virgin, and her mother Marcella, after various torments, were burned alive. SS. Felicitas and Per- petua, the one a noble lady in Mauritania, and brought to bed but the day before : the other at that time a nurse ; St. Spera- tas and his companions beheaded at Carthage; St. IrensBus, bishop of Lyons, and many thousands of his people martyred with him. The sixth Persecution under Maximinus. During the space of twenty-four years, times were peace- able for the Christians, till Maximinus stept into the imperial throne in 235, a man of base origin and barbarous nature. He raised the sixth persecution, chiefly against the bishops and ministers, and the teachers and principal promoters of Christianity. The historian Capitolinus says of him, that, "never did a more cruel beast tread on the earth." St. Pontian, pope, suffered in this persecution, and several others. Hap- pily it did not last above two years, Maximinus being cut off after a short reign. The seventh Persecution under Decius. For ten years from the death of Maximinus till the reign of Decius, the Church enjoyed a tolerable tranquillity ; and as Maximinus's persecution was chiefly levelled against the pas- tors, the bulk of Christians had tasted the sweets of peace for thirty-eight years. This period of tranquillity occasioned, con- formably to the bent of human nature, a remissness in the Christians, and a relaxation in their morals: of which St. Cy- prian, who lived at that time, grievously complained. Almighty God, therefore, to punish their neglect, to revive their fervour, and to try them in a fiery crucible, permitted a most severe general persecution under Decius, in the year 249. This sa- vage emperor, seeing that Christianity had gained prodigious growth over the Avhole Roman empire, and that paganism on that account visibly declined, was resolved to support the latter by effectually ruining the former. He therefore issued out a cruel edict against the Christians, and sent it to all the governors of provinces. The Christians were immediately driven from their houses, and stript of their estates ; whips and prisons, fires and wild beasts, scalded pitch and melted wax, sharp stakes and burning pincers, were the ordinary 4* 42 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. instruments used for their torments. Slow tortures were par- ticularly employed in order to tire out the patience of the sufferers. This persecution crowned at Rome Fabian, pope, Abdon and Sennen, and many others. A great harvest of martyrs was made at Carthage: Appollonia, with many others, suffered at Alexandria, as related by St. Dionysius, bishop of that see. In the east it SAvept away Babylas, bishop of Antioch ; Alexander, bishop of 5^erusalem, with thousands more. Such was the rage of the pagan magistrates, that the historian Nicephorus declares, it would be easier to count the sands of the sea, than to reckon up all the martyrs of the persecution. Many Christians fled from the scene of slaughter into the deserts. One of this number was St. Paul of the province of Thebais in Egypt, Vv'ho became an eminent an- choret, and is styled the first hermit. The eighth PersccvAioii under Valerian. Valerian being invested with the imperial purple, was at first very favourable to the Christians ; but he suffered his mind to be poisoned by the suggestions of magicians, who persuaded him, that to procure success in his wars, and pros- perity to the empire, he must render the gods propitious by suppressing Christianity. In this view he issued out edicts, and commenced a bloody persecution in the year 257, which lasted three years and a half Some of the chief martyrs were at Rome, St. Stephen, pope, his successor St. Xystus, with St. Lawrence his deacon ; St. Fructuosus, bishop of Tarragon in Spain; St. Saturninus, bishop of Toulouse, and St. Felix of Nola. Many were the holy victims in Egypt, as St. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, relates. Violent also was the persecution in other parts of Africa, where many suffered death, and many others were condemned to work in the mines : but the most eminent of the martyrs in that part of the world was St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who had so strenuously supported the Christian religion by his writings and example, and had encouraged others to martyrdom both by his words and letters. Fie had escaped the persecution of Decius ; but now he was first banished, then beheaded for the faith, in the neighbourhood of Carthage. The ninth Persecution under Aurelian. The Emperor Aurelian, in the beginning of his reign, behaved with humanity towards the Christians ; but being strongly attached to idolatrous worship, he at last sent out, in HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 43 the year 274, violent edicts to exterminate the Christian reli- gion : but as he died soon after, this persecution was short. The principal victims it sent to heaven were : St. Felix, pope ; St. Mamas, at Caesarea in Cappadocia ; St. Agabitus in Italy; St. Savinianus, bishop of Troyes ; St. Reverianus, bishop of Autun ; St. Columba, virgin, and many others in France. The tenth Persecution under Dioclesian. The tenth and last general persecution, the most severe and most bloody of all, was set on foot by the Emperor Dioclesian. The Christian religion had by this time gained so much ground, that in every province of the Roman empire, and even almost in every town, multitudes professed it, and public churches had been built, where they assembled for prayer, and other holy exercises, Satan now raging with envy, and seeing his empire near expiring, seemed to summon up his whole strength, in order to make a last effort for the support of idolatry, and the destruction of Christianity. He inspired Dioclesian, and his colleague Maximian, with the most ranco- rous hatred against the Christians. Dioclesian published an edict at Nicomedia, in the year 303, ordering the churches id be pulled down, and the Holy Scriptures to be burnt. But this was only a prelude to his subsequent inhuman edicts, which presently deluged the Roman empire with Christian blood. Cruelties hitherto unheard of, and all kinds of tortures, were employed upon the Christians. Some were hung with their heads downwards and suffocated by slow fires, as in Mesopotamia; others were broiled upon gridirons, as in Sy- ria. Some were slain by breaking their legs, as in Cappado- cia ; others had sharp reeds thrust under their nails, and others melted lead poured upon them, as in Pontus. Some were beheaded in Arabia ; others devoured by wild beasts in Phoenicia. In Egypt infinite numbers suffered ; some of whom, after being cruelly scourged, racked, and having their flesh torn off with pincers, or racked off with pieces of broken pots, were committed to the fire, or thrown into the sea. In Phrygia, a populous city, consisting all of Christians, was surrounded by a body of soldiers, who set fire to it, and men, women, and children, were all consumed in the flames. In fine, Eusebius the historian, who was eye-witness of some of these barbarous scenes, says, that the cruelties exercised against the Christians were innumerable, and exceeded all relation. He also adds, that the people were not suffered to buy or sell any thing, or to draw water from the public foun- 44 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH tains, without first offering incense to idols, placed there for that purpose. It would be endless to reckon up the number of martyrs of these times. Thus was the persecution carried on by Dioclesian in the East and Maximian in the West, and afterwards by their suc- cessors, for the space of ten years, with some interruptions ; till Constantino, the first Christian emperor, put a stop to it in the year 313, and gave peace to the Church. Whoever desires a fuller account of all these persecutions, may have recourse to the writers of Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius, Lactantius le mortibus Persecutorum, Tillemont, Cave, &c. What has been here said, explains sufficiently the meaning of the shower of hail and fire mixed with blood, which fell upon the Christian Church, according to the text of Apocalypse here considered. And now may we not, for a moment, take a quiet view of the triumph of the Church over all her enemies ? The Devil, like a fierce lion had closely watched her : and made repeated furious attempts to devour her : but the Lion of the tribe of Juda stood for her protection, and defeated all his assaults. Those haughty princes, the Roman emperors, by Satan's instigation, bore down against her with all the weight of their power, to which the faithful opposed no other arms but patience. Nevertheless, the edifice of the Church could not be thrown down, because he that built it was himself the corner stone, and had declared, it should stand for ever. The Pagans persuaded themselves, that by dint of tortures, and severities, they could totally crush the Christians, and extin- guish their very name ; but their expectations were frustrated, and they saw them daily increase under those very oppres- sions. The more Christians they tortured, or put to death, the more converts were made from the view of such amazing examples of fortitude; and the Christian blood they spilt, as Tertullian told them, was the seed of new Christians, The heavy pressures the Church laboured under, served to purify her members, like gold in the furnace, and from the fire of persecution she rose up, like the Phoenix, more bright and more vigorous. The idolatrous emperors of Rome looked upon the Christian religion as a mere human invention, and in this lay their mistake : they were ignorant that the work was of divine construction, that it was the new kingdom of the God of Heaven which had just been founded, and to which, by the eternal decrees, all other kingdoms were to give place, Dan. ii. 44. It was the stone, foretold by the prophet Daniel, HISTORY OF THE tlHRISTIAN CHURCH. 45 "cut out of the mountain without hands," Dan. ii. 34, which should break down all preceding powers, even the great em- pire of Rome itself; that is, it should destroy the empire of idolatry in all nations, and reduce them to the obedience of its own laws, even Rome itself, which w^as to be for a time the chief seat and fortress of idolatry. "This stone," pursues the same prophet, " grew up into a great mountain, and filled the whole earth," Dan. ii. 35, which signifies that the extent of the Christian relio-ion was to have no other bounds but the extremities of the earth. Such beinsr the solid foundation of the Church laid by the Almighty's hand, all human efforts against her must of course prove vain and abortive. The persecutions, however violent, had no other effect but to throw a gloomy veil over her for a while : but that being once re- moved, she appeared with new strength, and like* the sun emerging from an eclipse, she shone forth with greater lustre, and spread her influence over the w^hole earth. Prelude to the 'pouring out of the seven Vials. ^j9oc. chap. XV. 1. "And I saw," says St. John, "another sign in heaven great and w^onderful : seven angels, having the seven last plagues ; for in them is filled up the wrath of God."*' Here is a new vision, great and wonderful, shown to St. John : seven angels holding the figurative symbols of seven plagues or scourges, that is, of seven dreadful punishments. They are called the last, because in them is filled up or com- pleted the wrath of God, being inflicted on mankind in the last period of the world, which is the period of Christianity. Accordingly, the first of these scourges take place, as we shall see, soon after the beginning of the Christian jera, and the seventh puts an end to the world. V. 2. " And I saw," continues St. John, "as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had overcome the beast, and his image,! ^nd the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God : V. 3. " And singing the canticle of Moses the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb, saying : Great and won- derful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty : just and true are thy ways, O King of ages. J * In the Greek text, "having seven plagues the last, because in them was fulfilled the wrath of God." + In the Greek is added, " and his character." tin the Greek, "king of saints." 46 HISTORY OF TilE CHKISTIAN CHURCH. V. 4. " Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? for thou only art holy. For all nations shall come, and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are mani- fest." By the sea of glass is meant, as before explained, the firma- ment that makes the floor of heaven ; which here is said to be mingled with fire, in allusion to the persecutions and trou- bles, which the faithful servants of God, who are seen stand- ing on this sea, have sustained during the whole course of the Christian as^es. For here, it must be observed, we are trans- ferred to the moment of time, when all the seven scourges are completed and past, which is at the end of the world. Sup- posing ourselves therefore at that point of time, we see a great body of Christian saints standing upon the sea of glass. But who in particular are they ? Those who have overcome the beast and his image, and his ch*aracter, or mark, and the num- ber of his name. By a beast is generally meant an animal that destroys mankind, or ravages a country. In allusion to that idea, the beast here stands for idolatry and heresy; both which always make great devastation and desolation in the Church. Pursuant to that double meaning of the beast, its image denotes, either the idols of the pagan gods, or the pernicious tenets of heresy. By the character or mark of the beast, we may understand, either a real distinctive mark of idolatry or heresy, or a special power exercised in defence of either. The number of the name of the beast is appropria- ted, as we shall see hereafter, to the famous abettor of idola try. Antichrist. Those Christian champions, therefore, who have courageously suffered death, or persecution, or other tribulations, rather than join with idolatry or heresy under any respect whatever, are here collected together in heaven, holding in their hands celestial harps to sound the praises oi God. They are employed in singing the canticle of Moses the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb ; the first to acknowledge the power and justice of God in the seven terrible plagues or punishments, which he has inflicted upon their enemies, the idolaters and heretics. Thus in that sense they sing : Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty. This canticle is here said to be the canticle ot Moses the servant of Giod, because it bears the sense, and is sung in imitation, of the canticle which the Israelites sung to God, after having passed the Red Sea under the conduct ol Moses, and seen their enemies perish in its gulf For thus sung they : " Let us sing to the Lord ; for he is gloriously t HISTORY Ot TIIK CHRISTIAN" CHURCH. 47 magnified, the horse and the rider he has thrown into the sea," &c. Exod. xv. 1. To the canticle of Moses the Christ- ian saints immediately join the canticle of the Lamb, sing- ing ; " Just and true are thy ways, O King of saints :" thus extolling his justice and bounty in his dispensations to them, for having subjected them to severe trials, having safely con- ducted them through by his grace, and crowned them witli Victory. Then they conclude their religious hymn in address- ing Almighty God thus : " Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? for thou only art holy. For all na- tions shall come, and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments, or punishments, on the impious are manifest." From what has been exhibited in this scene we learn, that the Almighty is jealous of whatever injuries are offered to his servants, and takes upon himself the judgment of their cause. Though for the proof of their zeal, and for their greater crown, he permits their enemies for a while to exer- cise their tyrannical power over them, yet in his wisdom he reserves to himself a time, in which he will reveno-e the evils done to them, and severely punish their persecutors. Not only former ages furnish a great number of known instances of such punishments, but the word -of God openly declares such to be the tenor of the divine economy. "Will not God," said our Saviour, " revenge his elect who cry to him day and night : and will he have patience in their regard '? I say to you that he will quickly revenge them." Luke xviii. 7, 8. Hence we are prepared for what follows. Y. 5. " And after these things," proceeds St. John, " I looked and behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimon}?^ in heaven was opened. V. G. " And the seven angels came out of the temple having the sev^en plagues, clothed with clean and white linen, and girt about the breasts with golden girdles." Here the scene changes, and is carried back to the period of time that immediately precedes the beginning of the seven plagues or punishments. This removal of the scene St. John insinuates by the unusual circumlocution, "after these things I looked and behold." Then "the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened." St. John sees in heaven a tabernacle of testimony, similar in form to the ancient Jewish tabernacle; and the temple, that is, the holy of holies, or sanctuary of this heavenly tabernacle, had been shut up on the conclusion of the above canticles, and in it the Deity with the seven angels : but after a short space of time, on the * 48 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. commencement of the new scene, the temple or sanctuary opens, and presently come out from the presence of God, the seven angels holding the seven plagues, clothed in clea»n and white linen, the emblem of the immortal glory they enjoy; and girt about the breasts with golden girdles, to show that they are vested with the divine authority, and that they are actually proceeding to execute the work they are charged with. v. 7. "And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever and ever. V. 8. "And the temple was filled with smoke from the Majesty of God, and from his power ; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." Here the seven angels receive seven vials full of the wrath of God : upon the pouring out of which, as we shall see, follow the seven plagues or divine judgments, upon the enemies of religion. The vials are given to the angels by one of the four living creatures, that is, by a prophet, because at that time the effects of the vials have not happened, but are to happen in time to come, and therefore are here announced by the way of prophecy. Then the temple in heaven is filled with smoke, manifesting first, the Majesty of God residing there ; secondly, his power, which he is going to exert in the punishment of idolaters and heretics. A similar scene to this was formerly seen by the prophet Isaiah : " I saw," says he, " the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated. — And the house was filled with smoke." Isai. vi. 1.4, In the present case, such is the overpowering force of the smoke, that no man is able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels be fulfilled ; or, no man, soul and body together, is able to enter into the temple, the temple of heaven, till the seven severe scourges of God imported by the pouring out of the seven vials, have been inflicted on the enemies and persecutors of his Church. The Almighty by his power carries on his Church, through the period of time he thinks fit to allot it, and in its progress punisheth its opposers and enemies. When that period of time finishes, and the seven vials are poured out, and the punishments executed, then fol- lows the general judgment; after which, the saints will enter soul and body into the temple of heaven. Almighty God is patient in his anger, and waits for the conversion of his undutiful and rebellious children, but their obstinacy arms at HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CKURCH. 4^ 'last his justice, and compels him to strike. " The Lord is a Jealous God," says the prophet, "and a revenger; the Lord is a revenger and has v/rath: The Lord takes vengeance on his a/iversaries, and he is angry with his enemies." Nahum, i. 2. Apoc. chap, xvi. 1. "And I heard," continties St. John, •" a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels : Oo, and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the earth." A great voice is heard from out of the temple or sanctuary, as coming from God w^ho resides there; and delivering this •order to the seven angels who hold the seven vials : " Go and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the «arth." Conformably to the remarks we made before the opening of the seals, and before the sounding of the trumpets, pp. 32 and 35, so here, before the pouring out of the vials, appears another scene of passing from the Jewish establishment to the Chris- tian Church : the Jewish taberna seven mountains on which the woman sitteth ; we have already observed that ancient Rome stood upon seven mountains. But besides, they, the seven heads, are seven kings, or seven Ro- man emperors who are particularly distinguished as the chiel supporters of idolatry, and the most virulent persecutors of the Christian religion. These are, as we have already re- inarked, Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, Valerian, Diode- sian, and Antichrist. Five are fallen : we saw, before, the suc- cessive periods of the beast with regard to its existence ; here we have the succession of its heads. Five of them are fallen or gone; namely, Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, and Va- lerian, by whom the idolatrous empire was supported for a time ; one is, the sixth or last of that period, viz. Dioclesian^ with w^hom the reign of idolatry falls : and so it happened, by the accession of Constantino to the imperial throne. Here then is interrupted the succession of the heathen and persecut- ing emperors for a long space of time; for the other is not yet come, the seventh Roman emperor, Antichrist, who will come only in the latter days ; and when he is come, he must remain a short time, three years and a half, as we shall see in the sequel. No notice is here taken of Julian the apostate, who broke indeed the series of the Christian emperors, and attempt- ed to re-establish idolatry, but was taken off after a short reign of less than two years — The angel continues; V. 11. " And the beast, which was, and is not, the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruc- tion." Here is a new state of the beast, which begins at the fall of fehe sixth head, or Dioclesian, with whom the beast itself or the power of idolatry also fell. On this account the former sim- ple appellation of the beast, is now changed into the beast, which was, and is not, as being now no more what it was, having lost all power, and that power being transferred into the hands of Christian emperors. In this situation the beast is said to be an eighth king, that is, the Roman idolatrous peo- ple, though left without a heathen prince at their head by the death of Dioclesian and succession of Constantino, are never- theless to be reputed equivalent to an eighth pagan emperor, because they retain still their former attachment to paganism and their hatred to Christianity. And thus they are of the seven, as being alike in their dispositions to the seven above- mentioned heathen emperors. But they go into destruction : this idolatrous people will soon disappear, as we shall see» HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 105 either by being destroyed, or by their conversion to the Chris- tian religion. After the account of the beast and its seven heads, the angel proceeds to explain to St. John the meaning of the ten horns of the beast. V. 12. " And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have not yet received kingdom, but shall receive power as kings, one hour after the beast.* V. 13. "These have one design: and their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast." The ten horns denote then ten kings or ten powers, namely, the Goths, Huns, Alans, Vandals, Saxons, Burgundians, Franks, Heruli, Suevi, and Quadi, the chief of the barbarous nations that invaded the western Roman empire in the fifth century. These have not yet received kingdom or dominion, viz. at the beginning of this period of the Christian emperors, or of the beast that was and is not ; but they will receive power as kings one hour with the beast, that is, they will be command- ed by their own chiefs, and will engage by treaty to serve for one hour or a while as auxiliaries to the beast, that is, to the pagan Roman armies. Thus the Prophet continues to de- scribe the succession of the changes that were to happen in the Roman empire. The above mentioned nations come all with one design of relinquishing their own barren northern countries, and settling themselves in the rich provinces of the Roman empire. But before they accomplish this design, their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast: they effec- tually served as auxiliaries to the Roman armies, according to agreement, and helped to defend the empire against its enemies; as we have seen in the history above given. In this quality they served under the emperors Constantius, Valens, Theodo- sius, Honorius, &c. V. 14. " These shall fight with the Lamb, and the T^mb shall overcome them : because he is the Lord of lords, and King of kings ; and they that are with him, are called, and elect, and faithful." All those different people, signified by the ten horns, were either pagans or heretics. Being therefore bitter enemies to the Catholic Christians, the}?- in their irruptions wreaked their malice and rancour upon them: they plundered their towns and country, and destroyed them with fire and sword. (See the history above given.) And thus these barbarous people fought against the Lamb, or Christ, but the Lamb will over- In the Greek, " with the beast," and so read St. Iraeneus and others. 106 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. come them, in turning their hearts, and converting them into his votaries. And in effect, some time after they had settled themselves in the Roman provinces, a part of them were de- stroyed in the wars that ensued, and the rest gradually abjured their idolatry and errors, the pagans becoming Christians, and the Arians and other heretics going over to the Catholics. Among other writers, thus speaks Orosius, an historian of that age : " Who know^ but Providence thus permitted the barbarians to become masters of the Roman provinces, with a view to effect their salvation? Do not we see that the churches of Christ, both in the eastern and western parts, are filled with Huns, with Suevi, with Vandals, with Burgundians, and with divers other people, who have been converted to the flaith." Such was the victory of the Lamb; for Christ is Lord of lords, and King of kings : he is a Sovereign over all king- doms and states: he is Master of the human mind, and he can call to the faith whom he pleases. To work the conversion of those people, he employed his servants, the ministers of his Church, whom he called to that function, elected them or culled them out of the whole body of his people for that pur- pose, and they approved themselves faithful to their charge. Incredible indeed was the zeal exerted by the church in those times for the conversion of the above-mentioned pagans and heretics. To mention only a few instances : St. Remigius and others converted the Gauls in the fifth and sixth centuries. The Arian Visigoths in Spain were brought over to the Ca- tholic faith about the year 600, in the reign of their king Rec- cared. About the same time the Saxons in Britain received the Christian doctrine from St. Austin and his companions. St. Willibrod carried the faith into Friseland; and St. Rupert and St. Boniface with his associates converted many nations of Germany in the seventh and eight centuries. V. 16. " And the ten horns, which thou sawest on the beast," continues the angel: "these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire." Here we see the general disposition of the above-mentioned northern nations, denoted by the ten horns. They will hate the harlot, Rome, the great capital of the empire, because she has shown herself a universal domineering tyrant, and has in particular ill requited them for the important help they had lent her against her enemies. Thus stimulated with rancour and resentment, they will make her desolate, that is, they will invest her walls, they will preclude all succours both of men HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 107 and provisions from her, and reduce her to the utmost state of distress. They will make her naked, by stripping her of her shining- ornaments, her gaudy palaces, Egyptian obelisks, magnificent temples, theatres, triumphal arches, &c. and all her ostentatious pageantry. They will eat her flesh, by plun- dering her of her wealth and riches, with which she had fed herseTf by plundering the rest of the world. And lastly, they will burn her with fire. All which was done, as we have seen in the history above given.* — Thus was foretold by the angel, before it happened, the fate of that heathen imperial city, under the emblem of a woman, prostituted to vice and ad- mitting no control, because she is the empress of the world. But her jealous enemies will not rest, till they have found means to humble her pride, and to effect her ruin. They will first deprive her of every human succour and comfort, they will then strip her naked, devour her flesh, and when thus reduced to a skeleton, they will consume her by fire. That the greatest power on earth should be thus reduced and crushed by foreign barbarians, whom it had before held in con- tempt and neglect, may seem strange to our understanding, and not according to the standard by which we generally mea- sure human events. But this extraordinary fact is not to be ranked in the class of common human transactions: it was conducted by another hand. V. 17. "For God hath given into their hearts, to do that which pleaseth him: that they give their kingdom to the beast, till the words of God be fulfilled." Under the divine direction, therefore, those barbarians acted in the demolition of Rome and its empire; and thus they exe- cuted what pleased him, or Avhat he had designed. According to the decrees of his infinite wisdom and justice, the Almighty sent Nebuchodonosor to punish the guilty Jews, and Cyrus to do the same to the Babylonians. In like manner the northern nations became the instrument of his vengeance upon the Ro- man state for the guilt of its idolatry and persecutions. These agents had indeed no other view in w^hat they did, than to gratify their hatred, their avarice, and other passions ; and this the Almighty permitted them to compass, but for other purposes which they did not see into. But besides; in that latter period when, agreeable to the perdiction in ver. 12, they had received kingdom, that is, when they had possessed them- selves of the Roman provinces, and erected them into so many * Whoever has been upon the place, has seen sufficient proof of the same, in the miserable shattered ruins of old Rome. 108 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. kingdoms, they were still allowed to give their kingdom or join their power and armies with those of the beast which was and is not, that is, with the pagan Romans then governed by- Christian emperors : the view of which union was the defence of the country against new invaders. This was permitted for a while, till the words of God were fulfilled, till the time pre- ordained by God was come, for the final destruction of pagan Rome, and the rise of new Christian Rome in its place, and for the happy conversion of these barbarians and the remain- der of the pagan Romans to the faith of Christ. We have now seen, in the course of this 17th chapter of the Apocalypse, the different changes that successively hap- pened in the western Rom.an empire, to its total dissolution. We saw ancient Rome in its glorious state commanding all nations, upholding idolatry with its whole power, and oppo- sing and persecuting the Christian religion. This power is then lost, by passing into the hands of Christian emperors: and this was the first step towards the fall of the empire of idolatry. The body of the people still retaining their former attachment to paganism and aversion to Christianity, the next step was : the Almighty brought down upon them swarms of northern barbarous people, whom the empire was forced to admit into its boAvels, and to avert its own ruin for a while, by buying them off and hiring their service against other such like enemies. But these northern savages retaining all along their first hostile disposition against the Romans, found pretences to turn their arms against them, defeated their troops, shared out the western provinces among themselves, and thus overturned the body of the empire. When in possession of the Roman territories, they then, for their own interest, and upon their OAvn bottom, employed their forces in conjunction with those of the Roman people in defence o-f the countrj^ But they could not rest satisfied, till they had attacked and demolished the head, that overbearing mistress of the world, the city of Rome itself — This demolition was announced above, ver. 16, as to be; and in what follows we see it exactly executed. Apoc. chap, xviii. 1. "And after these things I saw," says St. John, " another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was enlightened with his glory, V. 2. " And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: Baby- lon the great is fallen, is fallen: and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird : HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 109 V. 3. " Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication: and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with, her: and the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies." Here appears an angel descending from heaven vested with great power, because he comes to destroy the great imperial city of Rome. He is also surrounded with a glorious circle of light, which illuminates the earth; an image of the ma- jesty of God, who exercises his sovereign dominion in so stri- king a manner on this occasion. The heavenly messenger cries out with a strong voice, that all the earth may hear : and indeed all the earth heard of the fall of Rome, and confessed the hand that did it. He thus cries out: " Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen; idolatrous Rome is fallen. The angel struck her, and she is fallen. That mighty seat of power and dominion is fallen. That metropolis of nations, that capital of the world, is fallen. That great school of heroes, and pa- rent of conquests, is fallen and crushed. The long fixed abode of voluptuousness and luxury, for the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies, is laid waste by famine and devastation. She had provoked the Al- mighty by her unbounded attachment to idolatry, and by her efforts to support and propagate it; for all nations* had drunk of the wine of the wrath, or vehemence of her fornication : and the kings of the earth had committed fornication with her; and now the hand of God has struck her. She had glutted herself with the blood of the servants of God: and he in his wrath has sent against her the executors of his justice, who have made her desolate, have stripped her naked, eat her flesh, and burned her with fire." Apoc. xvii. 16. See. p. 106. We have seen how all this was gradually executed upon her. Alaric took the city, plundered it for three days, and burned it in 410. Genseric plundered it for fourteen days together in 455, and then set fire to it. Odoacer took it in 476, deposed the emperor, and extinguished the imperial title. La.stly, Totila in 546 burned it and reduced it into a solitude : " Totila," says the historian Procopius, "left not one human creature in the city." Lib. 3. de hell. Goth. And in this condition it re- mained for upwards of forty days. And thus it became like an accursed place, given up for a habitation of devils, and a hold of every unclean spirit, or of frightful spectres and ghosts, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird, as of owls, ravens, vultures, &c. la the Greek " all the nations," subject to the Roman empire. 10 110 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. V. 4. " And I heard," pursues St. John, " another voice from heaven, saying : Go out from her, my people : that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues." The people of God, that is, the Christians, are here told to leave the falling city, lest they should be parta- kers of her sins, and receive of her plagues, tha.t is, lest they should be involved in the punishment and ruin she has drawn upon herself by her iniquities. At the time of Alaric's sack- ing Rome, many fled away, as we saw in the history, to St. Jerom, who was then in Judasa. Others fled into other parts, as the same holy father testifies. He also informs us, Ep. 7, that St. Paula and several illustrious Christian families had before left Rome, as by a particular inspiration, and retired to Bethlehem in Judoea. "The holy Pope Innocent," says Oro- sius, " was withdrawn by a particular providence out of the city, as Lot out of Sodom, that he might not see the ruin of a guilty people." Lib. 7. c. 39. We read that St. Melania, as if she foresaw the approaching catastrophe, had prevailed upon many Christians to retire with her from a city doomed to destruction. Hist. Laus. c. 118. In fine, when the storm burst, the Christians that remained there, took refuge in the Churches of SS. Peter and Paul, which Alaric had allowed to be places of safety. Thus, then, as the Christians had for- merly avoided being involved in the ruin of Jerusalem by re- tiring out of it, conformably to our Saviour's admonition ; so here, many withdrew in the same manner from the scene of divine vengeance which so deservedly fell upon Rome. v. 5. " For her sins have reached unto heaven, and the Lord has remembered her iniquities." Her iniquities have called to heaven for vengeance, and God will bear Avith them no longer. V. 6. " Render to her as she hath also rendered to you : and double unto her double according to her works : in the cup wherein she hath mingled, mingle ye double unto her. V, 7. " As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her." It is not to be understood, that the Almighty here tells the Christians to take revenge on their enemies, the pagan Ro- mans ; but by this kind of prophetic language he apprizes them, that Rome shall be drenched with a full cup of misery, double of that she had tyrannically forced upon them. And in proportion as she had proudly exalted herself, and lived in delicacies, or luxury and pleasure, so shall be the measure of her torment and sorrows. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. lU V. 7. " Because she saith in her heart ; I sit a queen, and am no widow, and sorrow I shall not see. V. 8. " Therefore shall her plagues come in one day; death, and mourning, and famine, and she shall be burnt with fire : because God is strong who shall judge her." Here we have a picture of the intolerable arrogance and pride of the woman, imperial Rome. She says in her heart: I sit upon my throne as a queen: I am empress of the world. I am no widow ; my power is fixed and established for ever. And sorrow I shall never see ; as no one can wrest mv power from me, I am beyond the reach of sorrow and afflic- tion. That such were the sentiments of haughty Rome, we learn from the Roman authors themselves. Thus the poet Virgil introduces Jupiter promising unlimited and eternal dominion to the Romans : His ego nee metas rerum, nee tempora pono, Imperiuni, sine fine dedi. JSneid. I To them, no bounds of empire I assign, Nor term of years to tlieir immortal line. Dryden's Transl. Horace speal^s in the same strain. Carm. Scec. Floru.* also writes, that " the gods had promised, the Roman state should remain unshaken and eternal." I. Tarq. Superb. Ammianus Marcellinus, in his history, calls Rome " eternal^ to last as lonsf as the race of mankind." For such extravagant presumption, which flies in the face of the supreme Creator and the Lord of the universe, he pro- nounces the following plagues or calamities shall come upon her together in one day: Famine, which was announced in the third seal; mourning, as described in the third trumpet; and death, or the sword, as denounced by the third vial ; and her faith shall be completed by fire, which shall lay her in ashes. All these calamities fell at once upon heathen Rome, as we have seen. They came from an all-powerful and irre sistible hand, which threw her down from her throne, and reduced her to extreme pangs of sorrow and affliction, and then crushed her, for her intolerable pride and impiety : for God is strong who judges her. " Though thou be exalted as an eao-le, and though thou set thy nest among the stars : thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord." Abd. v. 4. V. 9. " And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived in delicacies with her, shall weep, and bewail themselves over her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. 112 HISTORY OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. V. 10. •' Standing afar off for fear of her torments, saying: Alas ! Alas ! that great city Babylon, that mighty city : for in one hour is thy judgment come." Here the kings and princes of the earth, who have shared with her in her idolatry, cruelty, and luxury, are introduced as standing afar off, lamenting and bewailing the dreadful fate of that once great and powerful city, and which they now see in flames. St. Austin informs us, that " the people of the eastern provinces and the remotest cities mourned in a public manner on this occasion." De civ. lib. 1. c. 33. V. 11. " And the merchants of the earth shall weep, and mourn over her: for no man shall buy their merchandise any more. V. 12. " Merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones ; and of pearls and of fine linen, and purple, and of silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of vessels of precious stones, and of brass, and of iron, and of marble, V. 13. " And cinnamon, and odours, and ointment, and frankincense, and Avine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. V. 14. " And the fruits of the desire of thy soul are de- parted from thee, and all fat and goodly things are perished from thee, and they shall find them no more at all. V. 15. " The merchants of these things, who were made rich, shall stand afar off from her for fear of her torments, weeping and mourning. V. 16. "And saying: Alas! Alas! that great city, which was clothed with fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and was gilt with gold, and precious stones, and pearls : V, 17. " For in one hour, are so great riches come to nought." The merchants and tradesmen, who had enriched them- selves by the luxury and extravagance of the Romans, are likewise here deploring the fate of the city, because there is now no more sale for their merchandise. We see here enu- merated the articles of their luxury, in dress, in ornaments, in furniture, in equipage, in the sumptuousness of their tables, &c. The emperors embellished Rome with magnificent palaces, theatres, &c., which were enriched with the most costly furniture and ornaments. The whole earth was ran- sacked to supply the extravagancy of that one city. Nero in particular built an immense palace, which occupied Mount HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 113 Palatine, part of Mount Esquiline, and the large space be- tween. This palace was so richly furnished and so splendidly- decorated, that it was styled " the golden palace of Nero." Excessively extravagant was also the luxury and profusion of some of the Roman emperors at their tables. Caius Caligula once spent, according to Seneca, for a supper, one hundred and fifty thousand crowns. Suetonius tells us, the Emperor Vi- telius would feast himself three, sometimes four times a day, spending ten thousand crowns at each meal. He had at his table dishes made up of the brains of pheasants and peacocks, others of the tongues and livers of rare birds, others of the milts of some particular fish. And so of other instances, but now, what an alteration in the scene ! all these delicious and expensive dainties are perished, and no more to be found. All the fine linen, purple silk, precious stones, pearls, &c., the costly dress of the emperors, empresses, magistrates, and citi- zens, are vanished. All the pompous train of equipage of horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men or free men, is plun- dered and carried away. All the stately palaces, and shining ornaments of gold and silver, of marble, and brass, and ivory, &c. are now the fuel of fire. In fine, all the riches of this most opulent city of the world are in one hour come to nought. V. 17. "And every ship-master, and all that sail into the lake,* and mariners, and as many as work in the sea, stood afar off, V. 18. " And cried, seeing the place of her burning,! say- ing ; what city is like to this great city ? V. 19. " And they cast dust upon their heads, and cried weeping and mourning, saying : Alas ! Alas ! that great city, wherein all were made rich, that had ships at sea, by reason of her prices : for in one hour she is made desolate." The masters of ships, their crews the seafaring men, all join their lamentations in seeing from afar ofT the conflagra- tion of that great city, which never had an equal. They mourn, and deplore the loss of the great profits they gained by conveying to her all sorts of rich goods, which she bought in abundance and at high prices. All this lucrative traffic is now vanished ; for in one hour she is made desolate. — In fine, the fall of this idolatrous, proud, and tyrannical city, is thus concluded : v. 20. " Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets: for God hath judged your judgment on her." * In the Greek, " and all the company upon the ships." t Gr. " the smoke of her burning." 10* 114 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Heaven, those holy apostles, and those prophets or ministers of the gospel and holy men, whom Rome had put to death, are here invited to rejoice ; because the divine justice is ac- complished in the ruin of that guilty city. — Upon which breaks out the following exultation : Apoc. chap. xix. 1. "After these things I heard," says St. John, "as it were the voice of much people* in heaven, saying: Alleluia ; salvation, and glory, and power, is to our God : V. 2. " For true and just are his judgments who hath judged the great harlot, which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath revenged the blood of his servants, at her hands. V. 3. " And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke ascended for ever and ever. V. 4. " And the four and twenty ancients, and the four living creatures, fell down and adored God that sitteth upon the throne, saying: Amen: Alleluia. V. 5. " And a voice came out from the throne, saying . Give praise to our God, all ye his servants : and you that fear him, little and great." From all that has been said, this text is sufficiently clear. to need no further explanation. May we not now reflect with astonislynent on the dreadful fate of this city. Rome, the greatest of all cities, the most opulent of all cities, the queen of the world, is struck down from the pinnacle of power, is laid in ruins, and left without an inhabitant. " How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people ? How is the mistress of nations become as a Avi- dow?" Jer. Lamen. i. 1. That mighty city, which seemed to be invigorated with more than human strength, and had carried her conquests almost to the bounds of the known world, was laid in ashes by Alaric ; and though afterwards allowed somewhat to recover, it was only to take breath, and then to be utterly laid waste, and her walls and fortresses to be thrown down. " The Lord has kindled in me," as it were, "a flaming fire devouring round about. — The Lord is become as an enemy : he hath cast me down head-long, he hath over- thrown all my walls, and hath destroyed my strong-holds." Lamen. ii. 35. Those northern nations, which she had before held in contempt and not thought worth a conquest, now as- sault her like ravenous wolves, and raging with rancour and fury, they strip her naked, and tear out her bowels without mercy ; nor is she able to prevent her fate. " AH thy ene- * In the Greek, " of a great multitude." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 115 mies have opened their mouth against thee : they have hissed, and gnashed with the tetth, and have said : we will swallow her up : lo, this is the day which we looked for." Ibid. ii. 16. " Her adversaries are become her lords, her enemies are en- riched. — My strength is weakened : The Lord hath delivered me into a hand, out of which I am not able to rise." Ibid. i. 5, 14. Who could have imagined that stately city, the me- tropolis of the world, which had long been the admiration of all nations, and to which they resorted to view her grandeur or to share in her pleasures, would one day be reduced into desolation and made a solitude ? " Is this the city of perfect beauty, the joy of all the earth?" Ibid. ii. 15. But it was clear, she Avas the victim of God's anger, and her fate was just. For " the Lord had spoken against her for the multitude of her iniquities." Ibid. i. 5. Thus, then, in fine, fell ancient Rome like Babylon, but with this difference, that Babylon was never to rise again ; where- as Rome, when the anger of God was satisfied, was designed to emerge from her ashes : and though not allowed to recover her former temporal dominion, splendour, and riches, nor to rise in her outward appearance, scarce above the condition of a village, when compared to her former extent and multitude of people ; yet in her depressed state she is privileged with a higher dignity of another kind, of being not only a Chris- tian City, but appointed the head and centre of spiritual do- minion. We have now seen the full accomplishment of the predic- tions, contained in the Apocalypse, respecting the destruction of ancient Rome and its empire. But we must not leave the subject without observing, that the same had been before in a general manner foretold by the prophet Daniel, and by what hand it was done. Thus spoke that prophet to Nabuchodo- nosor: "Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it struck the statue upon the feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. — And the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." Dan. ii. 34, 35. Christ is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands ; and the Roman empire, the fourth and greatest of the empires, represented by the four parts of the statue, is here figured by the feet of that statue. Hence, the circumstance of the statue's feet beinsf broken to pieces by the stone, shows that Christ was the hero, who should one day overthrow the mighty empire of Rome. He, by his superior might, threw down that great colossus, be* 116 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH cause, it had arrogantly bent its power against him, and had endeavoured, by supporting idolatry, -to obstruct that dominion which he himself claimed over the whole earth. Christ could suffer no competitor : " I beheld," says Daniel, " in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the ancient of days : and they presented him before him. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom ; and all people, tribes, and tongues shall serve him." Dan. vii. 13, 14. This Son of man there- fore, in vindication of his right to universal monarchy, crush- ed his proud enemy, Rome, and with it the empire of idolatry. He threw down the seat which Satan had so long held there, and he fixed in its place his own throne, to which all people, tribes, and tongues, were to bend. To show his supreme power, this divine monarch chose to convert the centre of idola- try into the centre of divine worship and religion, and there he placed his viceroy to govern his holy kingdom, and to su- perintend his people to the end of the world. " The saints of the most high God," continues Daniel, "shall take the kingdom: and they shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever." Ibid. v. 18 CHAPTER VH. THE HISTORY OF THE FOURTH AGE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. THE OPENING OF THE FOURTH SEAL. Apoc. chap. vi. 7. " And when he, (the Lamb,) had opened the fourth seal, I heard," says St. John, "the voice of the fourth living creature, saying: Come and see. V. 8. " And behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and hell followed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth,* to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." This seal discloses to us the rise of the Mahometan empire, which opens the fourth age of the Church, about the year 622. * In the Greek text, "power was given them over the fourth part of the earth." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 117 Here appears to St. John a pale horse, and he that sits upon him is called Death. The pale colour of the horse evidently agrees with the character of the rider, who is styled Death. This rider is Mahomet and his successors. He is named death, because he destroys mankind, as it is here said, with sword, with famine, with death, and with the beasts of the earth. It is well known from history, what destruction and desolation Mahomet, and his followers, the Saracens, and after- wards the Turks, have made in the world. Their two first instruments of destruction here named, are the sword, and famine or devastation. The sword was appropriated to the second age in the second seal ; and famine was appropriated to the third age in the third seal. Their third destructive in- strument is styled Death, a general term, which in this place we apprehend means " Gunpowder ;" and is in like manner appropriated to the fourth age, as it was invented in that period, and then employed by the Mahometans in a terrible man- ner. In fine, the last instrument of destruction here mentioned is. the beasts of the earth, that is, horse-troops or cavalry, which though generally numerous in the eastern countries, will be much more used by the Turks "hereafter, as we shall see particularly in the account of the sixth age. It is said that hell follows him, that is, the infernal spirits accompany Mahomet and assist him, and his followers, through many succeeding ages. For, power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, or, as the Greek text ex- presses it, power was given to them, viz. : to death and hell, or to the Mahometan princes, and the evil spirits, over a fourth part of the earth. Who is ignorant of the number of na- tions the Mahometans have conquered in Europe, Asia, and Africa ? Who does not know, that in those countries they have almost extinguished Christianity, and planted by force in its room a sensual and abominable religion ? How many fair churches in Asia, founded by the apostles themselves, have been ruined by the Mahometans, and now scarce a handful of Christians to be found scattered through the vast countries of Minor Asia, Syria, Persia, &c.? What remains are there now of Christianity in Africa, where formerly it flourished so much, and where were seen to shine such great lights of the Church, as a St. Athanasius, a St. Cyprian, a St. Auo-us- tine, &c. ? Those regions, having been subdued and over- run by the Mahometans, have received their superstitions and impostures. The same has also been the fate of that part of Europe, which has fallen under the dominion of the Turks. 118 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. How could such wide encroachments be made upon religion, but by the help and co-operation of the devil? We must, however, here observe, that this prophecy, though already fulfilled in some measure in Mahomet and the Ma- hometan nation, will still be more fully accomplished, as we shall show hereafter, in Antichrist, who will be one, the greatest, and the most cruel, of Mahomet's successors. And hence appears the reason, why St. John is invited to the view of the present spectacle by the fourth living creature, which, as we have observed, represents the prophet Daniel; the reason is, because that prophet had foretold the coming of Antichrist and his great power, as we shall see in the sequel. Here then we discover the rise and progress of a power, which in the course of time will become the mighty empire of Antichrist; the destruction of which is reserved to be the work of Christ himself, and thus the Lamb will show that strength, which he was said to receive, Apoc. v. 12. Seep. 29. Let us here further remark, that in each of the four pre- ceding seals there appeared a horse, for his strength the natu- ral emblem of power or empire: that in the first seal the horse exhibited the empire of Christ ; in the second, that of heresy; in the third, the empire of Rome falling away; and in this fourth, the rise of the Mahometaa empire, which, as no horse appears in any of the subsequent seals, we may conclude to be the last great temporal power that will exist upon the earth, an enemy to the Christian Church. The preceding Explication illustrated, by a brief Account of Mahomet and the Mahometan Empire. Mahomet was born at Mecca in Arabia, in the year 571, of poor parents, who were of the race of Ismael. His father was a heathen, and his mother a Jew. Being very young when his parents died, he was educated by an uncle, who put him to trade. He afterwards married a ricn widow, whose business he managed. Being arrived at about forty years of age, he commenced prophet, and set to compose a new religion. He said, that the true religion had been cor- rupted by the Jews and the Christians, and that therefore God had sent him, as his prophet, to restore it to its purity. He taught them that there was one only God, but no dis- tinction of persons in the deity. He exploded the incarnation and all the other mysteries of the Christian religion. He adopted circumcision, and prescribed abstinence from wine, blood, and pork. On another hand he allowed every man to HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 119 have four wives, and concubines without restriction ; but he reserved to himself the liberty of marrying as often as he pleased, and he is said to have had at least fifteen wives, and ten of them together. He exhorted people to take up arms for religion, promising a paradise of all the sensual pleasures to those who should die fighting in that cause. To make war against unbelievers he declared to be of high merit before God. He taught predestination, affirming that every man's fate was absolutely decreed ; and that the term of every man's life was fixed by God, not to be shortened by any accidents, or prolonged by any means whatever. These and other impious tenets, which he pretended to have received from the angel Gabriel, he procured a per- son to pen down, as he could neither read nor write ; and the book he called " Alcoran." When seized with epileptic fits, to which he was subject, he was then visited, as he divulged, by the angel Gabriel ; whose appearance being more than he could bear, occasioned him to fall into those trances and con- vulsions. Such was his imposture. His doctrine met with much opposition from some of his countrymen of Mecca. They called him a madman, an impostor, and said he was possessed by the devil. But his partisans increasing daily, the magistrates of the town began to be alarmed, and suspect- ing he had a design upon the government, they resolved to take away his life. Mahomet, having intimation of their de- sign, fled to Medina. This retreat, which happened in the year 622, gives date to the Mahometan aera, called Hegira, or " the flight." At Medina he was joined by new proselytes, chiefly thieves and fugitive slaves, who the more freely flock- ed to him on account of the latitude he allowed them in indulsr- ing their sensual desires. Having formed a small body, he set himself at the head of them, as their chief and legisla- tor. He told them he was not sent to do miracles, but to pro- pagate religion by the power of the sword. He first attacked the caravans, that travelled through the country for trade ; and meeting with success, he enriched his followers, and en- larged his projects. His little army being soon increased, he proceeded against the town of Mecca, took it, and put his principal opponents to death. He then subdued one tribe of people after another, carrying the sword of destruction through the country, and forcing the people to submit to him, and to receive his religion, or pay him an annual tribute. His pro- gress was such, that he was master of almost all Arabia, when he died in G31. His followers were called " Saracens," 120 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. or " Mussulmans." From his actions and his maxims, one may conchide, that ambition, lust, and cruelty, were the cha- racteristics of this famous impostor. Abubeker, one of Mahomet's first adherents, succeeded him in command, and taking the name of caliph or lieutenant, car- ried on his late master's conquest over other Arabian nations. Amron, one of his generals, having advanced into the territory of Gaza, and laid siege to that town, the governor asked him the reason of such an act of hostility. Amron answered, *' We come by the order of our prince to propose to you the accept- ance of our religion. If you choose to embrace it, we shall be brethren : if not, pay us tribute, and you shall be our allies. But if you agree to neither, the sword must decide, and we shall wage war against you, to execute the order of God." Abubeker dying in 634, was succeeded* by Omar. This caliph completed the conquest of the rest of Arabia. Then he invaded Syria, where he defeated the imperial army com- manded by Theodorus, brother to Heraclius, emperor of Con- stantinople. Heraclius fearing the success of the Arabian's arms, quitted Syria, an€ Captiv. Bah. T. 2, fol. 171. " God is just, though by his own will he lays us under a necessity of being damned ; and though he damns those that have not deserved it." Totii. 2. fol. 434 and 466. *' God works in us both good and evil." Tom. 2. fol. 444. " Christ's body is in every place no less than the Divinity itself" Tom. 4. fol. 37. Then for his darling principle of justification by faith in his 1 1th article against Pope Leo, he says : " Believe strongly that you are absolved, and absolved you will be, whether you have contrition or no." Again in his 6th article : " The contrition, that is acquired by examining, recollecting, and detesting one's sins; whereby a man calls to mind his life past in the bitter- ness of his soul, reflecting on the heinousness and multitude of his offences, the loss of eternal bliss, and condemnation to eternal wo ; this contrition, I say, makes a man a hypocrite, nay, even a greater sinner than he was before." Thus after the most immoral life, you have a compendious method of saving yourself by simply believing, that your sins are re- mitted through the merits of Christ. As to his sentiments in regard to the pope, bishops, councils, &c. hear what he says in the preface to this book De abroganda Missa privata. " With how many powerful remedies and . most evident scriptures have I scarce been able to fortify my conscience so, as to dare alone to contradict the pope, and believe him to be Antichrist, the bishops his apostles, and the universities his brothel- housf s." In his book De judicio Ecclesi^e de gravi doctriiia : *' Christ takes from the bishops, doctors, and councils, both the right and power of judging controversies, and gives them to all Christians in general," Lastly, hear his modest censure on the Council of Constance and those that composed it. " All John Huss's articles were condemned at Constance by Anti- christ and his apostles," meaning the pope and bishops, " in that synod of Satan, made up of most wicked sophisters ; and you, most holy vicar of Christ, I tell you plainly to your face, that all John FIuss's condemned doctrines are evangelical and Christian, but all yours are impious and diabolical." Many more instances might be brought of the head-re- former's extravagant opinions and assertions, but these may suffice. To enumerate the errors of all the reformers would exceed the limits of this work, I shall therefore only add the principal heads of the doctrine of Calvin and the Calvinists, viz. 1. 13 146 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. That baptism is not necessary for salvation. 2. Likewise, good works are not necessary. 3. Man has no free will. 4. Adam could not avoid his fall. 5. A great part of mankind are created to be damned, independently of their demerits. 6. Man is justified by faith alone : and that justification, once obtained, cannot be lost, even by the most atrocious crimes. 7. The true faithful are also infallibly certain of their sal- vation. 8. The Eucharist is no more than a figure of the Body and Blood of Christ. — Thus was the whole system ol faith and morality overturned. The above short detail shows a palpable reason why our modern apostles set such a real value on their new discovered principle of " evangelical liberty," as it opened to them so spacious a lawn, in which they could range at their ease. The hardships of mortification, the painful restrictions of penance, were not to be admitted into the Elysian fields : the sensual appetities claimed here their right abode. All Church authority was banished from this realm of liberty. They professed themselves judges of every thing relating to religion, and its foundations and fences they levelled at their pleasure. Tradition they totally abolished ; and though they could not reject the whole canon of the scriptures, as being universally acknowledged to be the word of God, they had however the presumption to expunge some books of it that did not coincide with their own opinions : and the rest they assumed a right to explain as they thought fit. Hence followed various arbitrary explications of the most important texts, which became so many fountains that issued out troubled streams of doctrine. But this was a natural consequence. For, if a man consults only himself; his passions and conceits will certainly dictate to him what may serve for their own gratification, and which must of course contradict the doctrine of revelation, which tends to bridle them. What wonder then, if the comments and glosses of these new interpreters have so m.uch obscured and dis- figured the face of religion ? Moreover, to complete the work, and to conciliate people's minds more easily to their inno- vations, they pretended to charge the old doctrines with absur- dities and errors, as if Christ had sufi^ered his Church to be totally eclipsed and lost ; whereas he had told his apostles, and in them their successors, the pastors of his church : •♦ Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." Matt, xxviii. 20. But it plainly appeared that the objected absurdities and errors had no reality, and were no more than misrepresentations contrived on purpose. HI9TOKY or THE CHmiSTULS- CHTTRCH- 147 In this riew how many notorioiB febehoods wcare fmlili whi il, which are ^ill kepe op. conceming' the CarhoKr irhsIi^ of relics and images, coDceming' conlessiati ol'siii!^ ]iidii]§''"'" ''v~'\ ; ' - - *» iJL of Rng-iaii_. - ^-.. . -rstiarerf kv.i?t5 th-??-? fc!-?^i. : j'ed BO 5 e thcfDselTes- :.:. widli r. T jilt difert .es; and scarce 2 - eu m any other tiung. out in their t : ~5 to d'estroy -iKiattt iuth. and cornipl the C ~ f mo- In this indeed they ;: ~r«t _ "^*- equal to the Toracit *^ : - .o Idrasts." says S-:. 7 ? ^. species c^ insects extranehr 1 gad. as Aey sion famine, eat op the haiTes:^ . ;. ? the tiees sjKi the Tines, " In cmp. 13- Offer. T-.t :ines. ; cakuiateii to > liie ricioiis ^ *• he - "iffusec — i^- - - with the Fivvi.^ck. -^'^^ — - '■". John 1 ^ . :. and Phiii]., _^... ,. .esse, Kx ^- and theii re;^»e?es into Brtir Poraeraan, MecV - : \ Hobttm, <&<. Po- ^i"l v: .ac^^il^ crf" a fTPM*. '^ vtrioesL cfHild pifck n: - '-Tit kft to ev^--*v v-t\- of ehoosiB^ I: Four c-.: ^ eoMTied Z«in> . glius s Creed, at the cc -e %feld at Bern, in 15:iS, These canjons afterw^H - g" aiitance wirh Genev:i. e3:chEUiged their doctrine fc Calvin. And now of the th irtiju a 148 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. cantons, that compose the states of Switzerland, six of them are protestant. Mancer, a disciple of Luther, deserting from his master, set up for doctor himself, and with Nicholas Stark gave birth to the sect of anabaptists, which was propa- gated in Suabia and other provinces of Germany, in the Low Countries, &c. Calvin, a man of bold obstinate spirit, artful and indefatigable in his labours, in imitation of Luther, com- menced also reformer. He procured his new tenets to be received at Geneva in 1541. After his death the same doc- trine was carried on by his successor Beza, and it made its way into several provinces of France, where its professors obtained the appellation of Huguenots. It insinuated itself into some parts of Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, and became the established religion of Holland. Calvinism was also im- ported by John Knox into Scotland, where, under the name of presbyterianism, it took deep root, and overspread the whole face of that kingdom. In fine, to such a degree prevailed the licentious spirit of dogmatizing, that every one thought he had an equal right with Luther, Zuinglius, or any other, to inter- pret the scriptures, and form his own creed. On this princi- ple the different sects split into a multitude of parties, following different heads, who every day coined new religions. Thus, the body of anabaptists alone became divided into at least thirty-two different sects. By these divisions the principal leaders found themselves frustrated in the attachment of their proselytes, who upon every occasion left them to follow new teachers. Though this defection was no more than they themselves had given example of, in relinquishing the faith of their ancestors and the Catholic communion, they were never- theless greatly mortified at it, and published their complaints. Such was even the case with Luther, the great author and patriarch of the reformation ; and he resented so much the freedom taken by Carlostadius, Oecolampadius, and Zuin- glius, in preaching a different doctrine from his own, that he reviled them, according to his custom, in the most virulent terms. Some time after, when the reforming spirit had almost reached its full growth, thus wrote Dudithius, a learned pro- testant divine, in his epistle to Beza. " What sort of people are our protestants, straggling to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, sometimes to this side, sometimes to that ? You may perhaps know what their sentiments in matters of religion are to-day : but you can never certainly tell w^hat they will be to-morrow. In what article of religion do these churches agree which have cast off the bishop of Rome^ HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 149 Examine all from top to bottom, and you will scarce find one thing affirmed by one, which was not immediately condemned by another for wicked doctrine." The same confusion of opinions was described by an English protestant, the learned Dr. Walton, about the middle of last century, in his preface to his polyglott, where he says, " Aristarchus heretofore could scarce find seven wise men in Greece ; but with us, scarce are to be found so many idiots. For all are doctors, all are divinely learned ; there is not so much as the meanest fanatic or jackpudding, who does not give you his own dreams for the word of God." But among the reformed nations none drank more deeply of the cup of error, than England. This country had been, during many centuries, conspicuous in the^ Christian world for the orthodoxy of its belief, as also for the number of saints it had sent to heaven. But by a misfortune never to be suffi- ciently lamented, and by unfathomable judgment from above, its Church shared a fate which seemed the least to threaten it. The lust and avarice of one despotic sovereign threw down the fair edifice, and tore it off from the rock on which it had hitherto stood. Henry VIII., at first a valiant asserter of the Catholic faith against Luther, giving way to the violent passions which he had not resolution to curb, renounced the supreme jurisdiction which the pope had always held in the. Church, presumed to arrogate to himself that power in his own dominions, and thus gave a deadly blow to religion. He then forced his subjects into the same fatal defection, and thus opened the way to his successors to pour in upon the kingdom the whole spirit of the reformation. Once introduced, it soon overspread the land. Being, from its nature, limited by no fixed principle, but depending upon the arbitrary determination of every private man, it has since taken a hundred different shapes, in Protestants, Presbyterians, Anabaptists, Quakers, Arians, Moravians, Hutchinsonians, Methodists, and many more. Such' was the swarm of locusts that eclipsed the face of religion, which had long shone so bright in that island. In taking a general view of the infinite variety of new teachers that sprung up at this time, jarring among them- selves, corrupting the genuine sources of faith and morals, and deluding their fellow-creatures with poisonous novelties, one cannot help observing wuth how great propriety they had been long before described by the Apostle St. Jude in the fol- lowing manner : " These are clouds without water, which are carried about by winds ; trees of the autumn, unfruitful, 13* 150 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. twice dead, plucked up by the roots ; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion ; wandering stars." Epist. 12, 13. They are first compared to clouds without water, or that promise water, but are carried about by winds without giving any ; that is, these new teachers promise genuine apos- tolical doctrine, w^hich they call reformation, but it is mere de- ceit. They are termed autumnal trees, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, that is, they are become barren Chris- tians, bringing forth no fruit, twice dead by the want of faith and morality. Like dead trees plucked up from the earth, they are banished out of the Church, from which they ought to receive their spiritual life and nourishment. They are like the raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion : they are turbulent, proud, rebellious against their mother, the Church, which they furiously assault with slander, calumny, and blasphemy. Lastly, like wandering stars, they wander about in mazes of imaginary knoAvledge, passing from one error to another without knowing where to fix their steps. " And power was given to them, (the locusts,) as the scor- pions of the earth have power," ver. 3. These locusts have peculiar qualities, not to be found in the common locusts. They have the power of scorpions, that is, a power of sting- ing. This allegory shows, that the reformed sects, here sig- nified by the locusts, were empowered, by the divine permis- sion, to sting or violently to torment those of the Catholic communion, whom they had left, and against whom they conceived and still retain a rancorous animosity. " And it was commanded them, (the locusts,) that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree : but only the men who have not the sign of God on their foreheads," ver. 4. The locusts, or the sects of protestants, are not allowed by Almighty God to hurt the grass of the earth, that is, the whole body of the common faithful ; nor every green thing, as the Greek and Latin texts express it, that is, not all the vegetable greens that shoot up higher than the grass, denoting the princes, magistrates, and others superior in dignity to the commonalty ; nor are they allowed to hurt every tree, or all the pastors with their clergy. In short they are not permitted to pervert the whole of any of the three different classes of the faithful, namely, ministers of religion or the clergy, the princes and persons and civil dig- nity, and the common people. The expression however of all or every one indicates that some of all these sorts will be ensnared. In general, they HISTORY OF THK CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 151 will not be allowed to seduce any others of the Church's members, but those who have not the sign of God on their foreheads, that is, those who are not solidly fixed in their faith and morals, but suffer themselves to be influenced by their passions, by worldly views or pleasures, and who consequently have not courage to withstand the temptation, nor to fight under the banner of religion. These have not the sign of God on their foreheads: they cowardly give up this charac- teristic sign, the Cross of Christ, with its persecutions, self- denials, and mortification : they go over to their enemies who seduced them, and from them learn to have a horror of im- printing that salutary mark on their foreheads, which was so much the practice of antiquity, as Tertullian informs us. " At every step," says he, " whenever we come in or go out, when we put on our clothes or shoes, when we wash, when we sit down to table, when we light a candle, when we go to bed — we imprint on our foreheads the sign of the cross." — hit. de Coroti. Milit. c. 3. From the present texts o{ the apocalypse under our con- sideration, it appears then that, though Almighty God, in the unsearchable ways of his wisdom, allows the protectant sects to have a certain degree of power, yet in his goodness he puts a bridle to this power, and prescribes to it determinate limits, lest it should over-run too great a part of Christ's kingdom. " Hitherto shalt thou come and shalt go no further, and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves." Job c. 38. v. 11. Mahometanism and the Greek schism had already torn away a large body of the Catholic community ; but the supreme Ruler of the universe had promised, that his Church should stand as visible as if seated on a mountain,* and that hell itself should not prevail against it.f These assurances are a se- cure bulwark to it, and though the Sovereign Disposer has permitted the new generated poison of the present age to infect some part of his church, the greater part is preserved sound and untainted, and shines forth with brighter lustre to the world. Many large countries rejected the reformation, and steadfastly adhered to the ancient faith, and even in most of those kingdoms, which adopted the innovation, there are still remaining, by the providence of God, some that refuse to bow their knees to Baal; and though few, like grapes remain- ing after the vintage, they stand as a testimony against the others who ouofht to have maintained the same truth with them. Besides the above-mentioned particulars, we ought not to Isaias, c. 2. v. 2. Dan. c, 2. v. 35. t Matt. c. 16. v. 18. 152 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. overlook another check, which has been put upon the efforts of the reformation. While powerful princes and great ar- mies undertook to propagate the protestant religion, the Almighty thought fit to interpose, and gave to the Catholic powers sufficient strength to oppose the invasion, and has ever since supported them in such manner as to make them a match against their enemies. "And it was given unto them, (the locusts,) that they should not kill them ; but that they should torment them five months ; and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he strikes a man," v. 5. Here is a second curb put upon the power of the reformed societies. In the last article we saw, that their power of seducing others to embrace their doctrine was confined to those who had not the sign of God on their foreheads, or who by their depravity or bad disposi- tions lay open to such seductions. Sach was the extent of their power in the spiritual way. Here the boundary of their temporal power is fixed. They are not permitted to kill them, that is, utterly to destroy and exterminate the Catholics. In the first heat of the reformation, such was the violence of the protestants, that they breathed nothing less than war and destruction. In their progress they murdered great numbers of the Catholics, demolished their churches and monasteries, and carried devastation through the land. B.ut the Almighty in his eternal wisdom, had resolved to restrain their power, and by his apostle St. John had long ago published his decree, contained in the present text, that they should not proceed beyond the limits w^hich he had fixed. Their expectations were consequently frustrated, and they were obliged to sit down with less extent of conquest than they had grasped in their thoughts. In a similar manner. Almighty God had often permitted his favourite people the Jews to be harassed and oppressed by the foreign nations their enemies, but he never suffered them to be extinguished. In fine, experience shows that, notwithstanding the pro- testant princes have taken such pains to extirpate the Catholic religion in their respective states, tliey have not been able to compass it. The Catholics have been grievously oppressed, and many even put to death ; nevertheless, though much re- duced in some of those countries, by the divine protection they still there subsist. But it was given unto them, (the locusts,) that they should torment them five months. The kind of torment here meant^ HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 153 is expressed in the subsequent words: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he strikes a man. Cer- tainly a very sharp torment or pain, to be like that occasioned by the sting of a scorpion. This comparison shows plainly, that though the power of the protestants was limited by the providence of God, they were nevertheless allowed to molest and bitterly persecute those of the Catholic communion. They Avere restrained, as we have just now seen, from exter- minating the body of the Catholics, but by their persecutions, seditions, and wars, they cut off many, and the rest were made to suffer extreme hardships and miseries. In those countries, where the sovereigns embraced the reformation, they general- ly seized upon the revenues of the Church, and thus reduced the clergy to the pinching anguishes of want..^ The bulk of the Catholics were forced to adopt the religion of their princes, or fly their native country, or in fine be doomed to lie under the most heavy oppression. Are not these sufferings well compared to the sting of a scorpion? Besides, who is igno- rant of the cruel persecuting laws, that were in those times enacted in most of the Protestant states asfainst the Catholic religion? Among the rest, who is not acquainted with the severe laws of England and Ireland ? They are such, as to be owned by those of their own people who have a sense of humanity, to be barbarous, to be a scandal to the Christian religion, and a disgrace to civilized nations. In consequence of these statutes, how many persons have been stripped of their estates ? How many individuals have been imprisoned, ba- nished, even put to death? How many families have been reduced to beggary, and ruined ? Are not such hardships and oppressions to be deemed severe, and as acute in the pain they cause, as the stinging of a scorpion? It is said, this torture Avas to last five months. Here the Almighty prescribes a term to that great severity the Pro- testants were permitted to exercise against the true servants of God. This term is five months, or one hundred and fifty days, giving thirty days to every month, Avhich way of reckoning by round numbers is usual with the prophets. But it is to be observed, that days in the prophetic style are sometimes used for years. Thus it is in that celebrated pro- phecy in Daniel of seventy w^eeks, or four hundred and ninety days, understood by all the interpreters to mean four hundred and ninety years, which were to run from the term mentioned in that prophecy to the death of Christ the Messiah. Dan. ix. 24, Another instance of the same way of reckoning occurs 154 HISTORY OF TH£ CHRISTIAN CHURCH. in the book of Ezechiel, where God speaks to that prophet in this manner : " Thou shalt take upon thee the iniquity of the house of Juda for forty days. A day for a year, yea, a day for a year I have appointed to thee." Ezek. iv. 6. On this principle therefore, as the space of five months, taken according- to the common acceptation, gives too short a period to comprise all the transactions mentioned in our text con- cerning the reformation, we shall count one hundred and fifty years for the one hundred and fifty days contained in five months ; during which time the locusts were empowered to sting, that is, the Protestants were allowed to torment so rigo- rously the Catholics. If then the one hundred and fifty years be counted from the year 1525, about which time'^ those vio- lences began, to take place, they will bring us to the year 1675. Some part of the history of the reformation relating to this period has been presented to us in the preceding texts, and the rest will appear, as we shall presently see, in subse- quent verses of our prophetic author. " And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it : and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them," V. 6. Here is a lively picture of the extreme miseries, that the Catholics suffered in consequence of the violence and fury with which the reformation was carried on. And does not the history of those times evince the truth of it ? On one side, many finding themselves rifled and stripped of all that belonged to them, actuated by the sting of misery, equal to that of the scorpion, took up arms to recover by force what they could not hope for by any other means. The poor and distressed also, who received their subsistence from the chari- table and constant liberalities of the monasteries, being de- prived of all resource by the dissolution of those houses, drew courage from despair, Una salus victis nullum sperare salutem Virgil. Despair of life, the means of living shows Dryden. and fled to arms, though unjustifiably, and joining with the others, sought for death in battle, rather than die by hunger, though perhaps it was not their lot to find that death. Likewise how miserable was the condition of that multi- tude of religious people of both sexes, who were ejected from their houses, and robbed of all their possessions! They had abandoned the world, and consecrated themselves to God in solitary retreats. Unacquainted with manual labour, and unaccustomed to every art of providing subsistence, they solely attended to the service of God, and to the preparing HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 155 themselves for another world, depending entirely for the sup- port of present life on the pious benefactions of those persons, who to promote the divine worship and all the heroic virtues of the Christian religion, had endowed those houses with suitable revenues. But now a storm, like a hurricane, rose and burst upon them. One would have thought that an army of Goths or Danes had invaded the land. The recluses saw themselves assaulted by brutish ruffians, and forcibly driven out of their sanctuaries. They saw their churches violated, together with their houses plundered and pulled down to the ground. Thus were those ancient nurseries of piety and learning reduced to aheap of ruins: a lasting monument of the spirit that guided the reformation. Such were the extravagances of fanaticism and violence at that period, that not a few were scandalized even of those Avho favoured the change of religion.* Thus, for instance, Sir John Denham, speaking of the demolition of monasteries in England, cries out : Who sees these dismal heaps, but will demand, What barbarous invader sack'd the land ! But when he hears, no Goth, no Turk, did bring This desolation, but a Christian king; When nothing but the name of zeal appears 'Twixt our best actions, and the wocst of theirs, What does he think our sacrilege would spare, Since these th' effects of our devotion are. Cooper's Hill. Let us hear another protestant writer: "England sate weeping," says Camden, " to see her wealth exhausted, her coin debased, and her abbeys demolished, which were the monuments of ancient piety." Introd. to the Annals of Q.ueen Eliz. By such inhuman proceedings a great number of religious men and women saw themselves stripped of evrey commodity of life. They saw themselves exposed to the injclemency of the weather, to the distresses of want, to the insults of an in- solent populace worked up to enthusiasm ; in fine, they found themselves turned out into a wide world, without knowing which wav to direct their steps. What wonder, if in this destitute forlorn condition they should rather desire to die, than drag on so wretched a life? Had the executioner been sent instead of a commissioner, and required the lives of all those who refused to sacrifice their conscience to the new religion, they would have esteemed themselves happy in See Stowe's Annals, Fuller's and Collier's Church Histories* 156 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. acquiring the crown of imartyrdom. But to be exposed to all sorts of temptations, to lasting wretchedness, and to see the Church of God trampled under foot, were more cruel afflic- tions to them than death. These however they were con- demned to bear, and to be deprived of the blessing of giving up their lives. They desired to die, and death fled from them. " And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses pre- pared unto battle," v. 7. Here is expressed the spirit of sedition and rebellion that animated the reformers and their proselytes. Luther proclaimed himself the leader in this as well as other articles of the new discipline, and he levelled his first attacks against the Church. He set out with in- veighing against all Church government, he declaimed against the clergy, and especially against the superiority of the pope, though but a little before he had professexl all obe- dience to him. Having gained for disciple and protector, John Frederick, elector of Saxony, he kept no further mea- sures, but declared open war against the bishops, and the whole ecclesiastic order. In his rage, he composed a hook on the subject, in which he said, " All those who will ven- ture their lives, their estates, their honour and their blood, in so Christian a work, as to root out all bishopricks and bishops, who are the ministers of Satan, and to pluck up by the roots all their authority and jurisdiction in the world: these persons are the true children of God, and obey his com- mandments." Contra statum Ecclesia et falso noviinatum ordinem Episcoporu7)i. Again, in his book against Sylvester Prieras. " If," says he, " we despatch thieves by the gallows, highwaymen by the sword, heretics by fire ; why do we not rather attack with all kinds of arms these masters of perdi- tion, these cardinals, these popes, and all this sink of the Romish Sodom, which corrupts without ceasing the Church of God, and wash our hands in their blood." Thus preached the new religionist, nor did he cease, till he got the bishops expelled from Saxony, and Hesse, and their authority extin- guished. Not content with having thrown off contemptuously the spiritual authority of the pope, the bishops, and of the whole Church, Luther next attempted to subvert the temporal power of princes. The new teachers totally differed from the pri- mitive preachers of the gospel. These, during their whole ministry, had before their eyes the charge which Christ gave to his apostles. " Behold, I send you," said he, " as sheep HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 157 in the midst of wolves." Matt, x. 16. Whicli they all under- stood as an order to preserve the meekness and gentleness of sheep, whatever wolves or persecutors they might meet with. And this rule they invariably followed. But Luther, though at first he professed an aversion to violence, finding the way of patience did not succeed, soon altered his maxims. The gospel, he then said, and the rest of the reformers said the same after him, " the gospel has always caused disturbances, and blood is requisite for its establishment." De serv. arb. When therefore he had done as much as he was able, to abolish the clergy, canon law, and the universities, he then proceeded to attack the emperor and temporal princes, both by his writings and preaching. " You must know," said he, '' that from the beginning of the world to this day, it has ever been a rare thing to find a wise prince ; but more rare to find one that was honest : for commonly they are the greatest fools and knaves in the world." De Sceculari Potest. Again : " You must know, my good lords," said he, " that God will have it so, that your subjects neither can, nor will, nor ought any longer to endure your tyrannical governments." Contra Rusticus. Nay, even he could not refrain from expressing the same contempt and rebellious disposition towards his own patron, and protector, John Frederick, elector of Saxony ; having been slighted, as he thought, by his highness. " If it is lawful for me," said Luther, " for the sake of Christian li- berty, not only to neglect, but to trample under my feet the pope's decrees, the canons of councils, the laws and man- dates of the emperor himself, and of all princes ; think you, I shall value your orders so much as to take them for laws ?" Contra Amhr. Catharin. These sorts of lessons found easy entrance into the minds of people, who had already drunk plentifully of the spirit of " Evangelical liberty." Their dispositions were soured and worked up by this inflammatory doctrine of their ministers to such a degree, that they were ready for any enterprise of sedition and rebellion. Erasmus thus describes them : " I saw them come forth from their sermons with fierce looks and threatening countenances," like men "that just come from hearing bloody invectives and seditious speeches." Ac- cordingly we found " these evangelical people always ready to rise up in arms, and equally as good at fighting as at dis- puting." How different is this spirit from that of the first ages of Christianity ! The faithful then learned from the apostles and their successors no other doctrine, but the doc- 14 158 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. trine of patience, humility, meekness, obedience to the sove- reign powers ; and these lessons they invariably adhered to. They said : " Our hopes are not fixed on the present world, and therefore we make no resistance to the executioner that comes to strike us." S. Justin. Apol. 2. ad Imper. Anton, pium. They said, " We adore one only God, but in all other things we cheerfully obey you," the emperors. Ibid. They said again : " We Christians pray to God, that he may grant to the emperors a long life, a peaceable reign, safety at home, victorious arms, a faithful senate, virtuous subjects, universal peace, and every thing that a man and emperor can desire." Tertul. Apol. In fine, the heats occasioned by Luther's sedi- tious doctrine were so much fomented and increased by his disciples and other new reformers, that they soon kindled into a flame. The peasants in Germany rose up in arms, flocked together, and, like horses prepared unto war, they proceeded in a body, carrying devastation through the provinces of Sua- bia, Franconia, and Alsatia, and ransacked many of the im- perial towns. The ringleaders of this multitude, chiefly com- posed of Anabaptists, were Muncer and Phiffer. Muncer pretended he had received from God "the sword of Gedeon," in order to depose idolatrous magistrates, and to compel the world to acknowledge the new kingdom of Jesus Christ. These fanatic insurgents in their progress plundered and burned churches, monasteries and castles, killed priests monks and noblemen. The elector of Saxony and other princes, to put a stop to these disorders and desolations, confederated together, and joining their forces, cut off' and dispersed some parties of the rebels, and defeated the chief body of them at Frankhusen with great slaughter in 1525. Muncer and Phiffer, the chiefs, being taken, were executed a few days after. No part of the German empire was free from these tu- mults. The people were universally intoxicated with the notion of reforming religion, and bent upon removing such magistrates as would not conform to their new systems. At Erford they degraded and secured all the officers of the town. At Frankfort, after having pillaged the churches, and banish- ed the clergy, they expelled the old senators, committed the government of the city to twenty-four commoners, and made a new set of laws, composed from the doctrine of Luther. Their brethren in Cologne, Mentz, and Triers, had also taken up arms for the same purpose, but failed in their at- tempts. Such were the extremes of licentiousness the people HISTORY OF THE CttRlSTlAN cHl/RCtt. 159 proceeded to at this period, from their new conceived notion of " liberty," that the Emperor Charles V. found it very ditB- cult to stem the torrent, nor could he effectually compass it till many years after. These transactions may be seen more at large in Sleidan, Cochlseus, and other historians. The Lutherans of Germany, who received the name of Protestants, from their protesting against a decree made in favour of the Catholic religion in the diet held at Spires in 1529, drew up in opposition to it, their confession of faith, called the Augsburg Confession, ^nd entered into a league of- fensive and defensive at Smalstald against the Emperor and Catholic princes of Germany. Luther had sounded the trumpet of war, and set all Germany in a flame. The heads of this formidable league were, the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburgh, the Landgrave of Hesse, the Dukes of Wir- temburg and Lunenburg, and the Prince of Anhalt. Allured by the boundless liberty and enjoyment of the Church pos- sessions, which they acquired by the reformation, they re- solved to secure them by the point of the sword. They there- fore assembled troops, and brought into the field an army of seventy thousand men, commanded by the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse, and a hundred and twelve pieces of cannon. Some other German princes, besides the above-mentioned, either joined them personally, or sent them forces. They likewise received succours from the imperial towns of Augsburgh, Ulm, Strasburgh, and Frankfort. Thus they were prepared to depose the Emperor Charles V. and to extirpate from Germany the Catholic faith, which had been the established religion of the empire for many ages past. The ejT^es of all Europe were intent upon the issue of this war. The emperor with a much smaller army marched with resolution against them, engaged them near the Elbe, and gained a complete victory in 1547. The two generals, the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse, were taken prisoners. Thus was the Catholic religion secured in the empire, and Protestantism, though checked, kept its ground. A similar scene Avas acted in Switzerland, where Zuin- glius had introduced the reformation, as we have already re- lated. The reformed cantons, not content with having them- selves adopted Zuinglianism, would also force it upon the other cantons that remained Catholic. This occasioned a war to ensue, and a battle was fought, in which the Protest- ants were defeated, and Zuinglius himself at their head slain in 1531 IbO HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Calvin's reformation at Geneva began by ejecting the prince bishop of the place, and dispossessing him of his so- vereignty and temporal dominions. Calvin, who modelled the state of Geneva, declared himself an enemy to monarch- ical government, and ever commended the advantages of a commonwealth. " They are," said he, " beside their wits, quite void of sense and understanding, who desire to live un- der absolute monarchies ; for it cannot be, but that order and policy must decay, where one man holds such an extent of government." Comment, in Dan. c. 2. v. 39. By degrees he expressed more openly his aversion to kings, and endea- voured to disgrace their characters by the most scurrilous abuse. " These kings," says he, " are in a manner all of them a set of blockheads and brutish men," Ibid. c. 6. v. 3, Thus he trod upon the steps, and imitated the language of his forerunner Luther. Again ; " Princes," says Calvin, " forfeit their power when they oppose God in opposing the reformation, and it is better, in such cases, to spit in their faces than to obey." Ibid. v. 22. What can be the purport of such doctrine, but to inspire a contempt for sovereigns, and to encourage the people to cast off their government, un- der the cloak of religion 1 Theodore Beza, Calvin's scholar and successor at Geneva, supported his master's doctrine, and enforced it by his own writings, as may be seen in the preface to his translation oi the New Testament ; and again in his book, " Vijidicce con- tra Tyrannos,^'' where he says : " We must obey kings for God's sake, when they obey God ;" but otherwise, " as the vassal loses his fief or tenure, if he commit felony, so does the king lose his right and realm also ;" thus speaks our modern Junius Brutus, In this same work may be seen a hundred other assertions of the same nature, the natural ten- dency of which can be no other, but to arm subjects against their sovereign, and to introduce anarchy and confusion into the world. How different is the doctrine of these two mo- dern apostles from that of the ancient great apostles, SS. Pe- ter and Paul ! " Be ye subject," says St. Peter, " to every human creature for God's sake : whether it be to the king, as excelling ; or to governors, as sent by him for the punish- ment of evil doers, and for the praise of the good." Ep- L c. 2. V. 13, 14. *' Let every soul," says St. Paul, "be sub- ject to higher power : for there is no powers, but from God : and those that are, are ordained of God." Therefore he that resists the power, resists the ordinance of God. And they HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 161 that resist purchase to themselves damnation." Ejp. ad Rom. xiii. 1, 2. Geneva, having settled the plan of her principles accord- ing to the instructions of Calvin and Beza, became a school of rebellion to the western parts of Europe, and the princi* pal nursery of the civil wars in France. This country soon found its bowels convulsed by the poisonous seeds of the re formation, that had clandestinely been sown, and taken deep root, in Dauphine, Gascony, Languedoc, and other provinces. In 1560, the Calvinists, or Huguenots, formed what is called " the conspiracy of Amboise," which was a scheme to seize the person of Francis II. king of France, and to murder the duke of Guise and his brother the cardinal of Lorrain, who had the chief management of affairs in the kingdom, and were attached to the Catholic religion. They had prepared a body of troops for the purpose ; but the plot was discovered, and prevented from taking effect. However a civil war broke out in 1562, in which the prince of Conde was de- clared chief of the Huguenots. This great general at the head of a body of them, surprised and took the city of Or- leans, while other protestant corps made themselves masters of Rouen and several other towns. But the constable Mont- morency and the duke of Guise advancing against them at the head of the Catholics, for Charles IX., who had suc- ceeded Francis II., a battle ensued near the town of Dreux, in which the Huguenots, who gave the attack, were de- feated, and their commander, the prince of Conde, taken pri- soner. Though the protestants had thus miscarried in their rebel- lion against their sovereign, yet Beza, who for his warmth in the cause had accompanied them, and been present at the battle of Dreux, boasted of that battle, as having served to lay the foundation of the reformation in France. Thus he addressed Q,ueen Elizabeth in the preface to his translation of the New Testament : " Upon which day, (the day of the bat- tle 2A Dreux,) two years since, the nobility and gentry of France, under the command of his excellency the prince of Conde, being assisted with your majesty's auxiliary troops, and some others from the princes of Germany, laid the first foundation of the true reformed religion in France, with their own blood." He in the same place commends the re- bellious transactions of the Huguenots at Meaux, Orleans, &c. and glories in having had a share in them. " Which I speak," says he, "the more freely, because I myself, as it 14* Ill 162 histoHy of the christian church. pleased God, was present at most of those deliberations and actions." The year after the battle at Dreux, the duke of Guise was assassinated by Poltrot, a fanatic Calvinist. Notwithstanding -- the bad success the Huguenots had met with, they resolved not to rest, till they should compel the king to come into their own terms. They therefore contrived another scheme to seize his person, on his going from Meaux to Paris : but the design being discovered and frustrated, the civil war recom- menced, and they were vanquished a second time near St. Dennis, in 1 567. They were worsted again at Jarnac in 1 569, and the same year were overthrown in a very bloody engage- ment at Moncontour. Many were the insurrections and rebellions of the Cal- vinists in France in the subsequent reigns, which cre- ated infinite perplexities to the kings, and produced in- expressible calamities in that kingdom. It is sufficient in this place to have shown their origin from the principles of the reformation, and their first progress. And what has been said, is no more than is acknowledged by protest- ants themselves of other sects. Thus are the Calvinists de- scribed by Dr. Heylin, a learned protestant of the Church of England, in his Cosmography, book I. " Rather than their discipline should not be admitted, and the episcopal govern- ment destroyed in all the churches of Christ, they were re- solved to depose kings, ruin kingdoms, and to subvert the fun- damental constitutions of all civil states." When people pro- ceed upon such schemes of violence, can they wonder, that princes or their officers in their wrath sometimes retaliate upon them ! Violence necessarily gives provocation, which in its turn exerts itself^ though perhaps by unjustifiable me- thods. When sovereigns perceive their lives to be in dan- ger from conspiracies, when they see their states ransacked, and thrown into confusion by the arms of rebellious subjects, can we be surprised if these sovereigns, without consulting religion, sometimes repel the evil by rough and cruel means ? Such was the so much talked of massacre of the Huguenots, at Paris and other places in France, in 1572, on St. Bartho- lomew's day, in the reign of Charles IX. The massacre also of the protestants in Ireland in 1641, has been often objected against the Catholic Church. When people are driven to despair by excessive hardship and op- pression, and even threatened with utter extirpation, what wonder if an insurrection follows ? Such was the case with HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 163 the Irish Catholics. The insurgents even were not the body of Catholics, they were no more than an exasperated rabble in the province of Ulster, who acted against the inclination of the community, and in opposition to the exhortations of their clergy : and indeed all such violences are utterly con- demned by the Catholic doctrine. It is also clear from au- thentic records and testimonies, that this massacre has been exceedingly exaggerated, and that not one hundredth part of the number were murdered that were reported. These par- ticulars are proved at length by a learned protestant writer of the kingdom of Ireland, in a book entitled : " The trial of the cause of the Roman Catholics. Dublin, 1761." The nature of Calvinism being so opposite to the Catholic religion, it produced in its proselytes a rancorous aversion to every thing belonging to the latter communion. The conse- quence of this could be no other, when once they had arms in their hands, but to spread desolation, and exercise cruelties upon those whose religion they hated. And such was the real fact. It is impossible to read the history of the Calvinists, without being shocked at the disorders and barbarities com- mitted by them. It is computed, that in the course of those wars, they destroyed twenty thousand churches. In the pro- vince of Daaphine alone, they killed two hundred and fifty- five priests, and one hundred and twelve monks and friars, and burnt nine hundred towns and villages. If the maxims of Calvinism warranted such proceedings, could its gospel be the gospel of Christ ? As Beza had been the chief instrument of propagating Calvinism in France, and a great agent in fomenting the seditions and combustions it occasioned in that country ; in like manner Knox, another disciple of Calvin, carried the same doctrine into Scotland, where he planted it by sedition and rebellion, by fire and sword. Fle, Buchanan, Goodman, and other associates, having consulted together, agreed to reform the Church of Scotland according to the standard of Geneva ; when a sufficient party was formed, they began their work of reformation by murdering Cardinal Beaton in 1546, the principal supporter of the Catholic Religion. Knox harangued the people, declaimed against the ancient faith and clergy, and inflamed the multitude to that degree of rage, that they immediately ran to the Churches, over- turned the altars, defaced the pictures, broke to pieces the statues, carried off the ornaments, and then proceeded against the monasteries, which they almost laid level with 164 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. the ground. This sort of Avork Knox carried on in dif- ferent parts of Scotland. In a little time these fanatics, who were styled Presbyterians, finding themselves growing nu- merous, rose up, like horses prepared unto battle, in re- bellion against the queen regent, and bringing armies into the field, committed horrible disorders. They were supported by Glueen Elizabeth of England ; and having convoked a general assembly of the party, they concluded, conformably to the opinion of Knox, who declared it lawful, to depose the queen mother from her regency. After her death, which happened in the year 1560, Queen Mary being then in France, they enacted a law, by the instigation of Knox, prohibiting the exercise of the Catholic religion in Scotland. They got this law afterwards confirmed by a Parliament in 1567, and they excluded the queen from all govern- ment. The succeedino" calamities which this unfortunate queen and her kingdom sustained from that seditious set of people, who Avere grown too strong to be controlled, are too well known to need any relation. It is equally notorious, that the spirit of Presbyterianism, at first con- fined to the north, insinuated itself by degrees into the neighbouring kingdom of England, where it soon created divisions among the people, and raised such commotions, as in the end overturned the state, and brought a king to the block. The world has too much experienced, that kings, queens, bishops, and priests, could never be allowed a share in their friendship. Lutheranism having insinuated itself into the Nether lands, several states of that country confederated toge- ther at Utrecht in 1578, and agreed to twenty articles, as the foundation of their union, the first of which was "to support one another against all force that should be exer- cised upon them in the king's name or for religion." This league was confirmed at the Hague under the auspices of the Prince of Orange in the year 1581. The scheme was, to renounce all obedience to their liege lord the king of Spain, and to withdraw themselves entirely from his power^ which they did by a public edict. Pursuant to this, they proceeded to hreak the king's seal, to pull down his arms, to take possession of his lands and rents, and to coin money in their own names. With the same usurped au- thority they seized the Church-livings, and abolished the Catholic religion. Such were the steps taken under the Standard of Lutheranism; but when the Calvinistical doc- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 165 trine got footing-, the flame spread with the utmost vio- lence. The people, regardless of all laws, by which they were bound to their sovereign, take up arms and mutiny every where against his magistrates. The churches are plundered, the religious men and women are expelled by force from their monasteries, which are rifled and pulled down. To quell these rebellious insurrections, and to put a stop to these disorders, Philip, king of Spain, to Avhom the low countries belonged, sent a body of Spanish forces under the command of the Duke of Alva. A bloody war ensued, in which the Prince of Orange was the chief di- rector of the affairs of the confederates. The duke reduced ten of the revolted provinces to their former obedience and subjection to the king of Spain; but seven others, since styled the " United Provinces," found means to maintain their ground against the Spanish efforts, and formed them- selves into an independent commonwealth, the only go- vernment that Calvinism admits of In England, Denmark, and Sweden, the reformation was introduced by the kings themselves, who compelled their subjects to receive it. Thus ushered in by the su- preme temporal power, it stood in no need of insurrec- tions and tumults among the people, to gain admittance ; the sword and authority of the prince performed the whole function. Those individuals, who dared to continue in the practice of the ancient religion, were declared traitors to their sovereign, and rebels to the state. Thus much may be sufficient for the explanation of our text, that the shapes of the locusts were like horses pre- pared unto battle. •' And on their heads (the heads of the locusts,) were as it were like crowns of gold," v. 7. The locusts bore upon their heads something that resembled crowns, which crowns appeared to be of gold. This allusion points at the pride and presumption of the new sectaries, who assumed to themselves the high function of preaching the gospel, with- out having any lawful mission : they pretended to be the true ministers of God, without showing any credentials from him ; they set up for apostles of Christ, but could not produce his commission. Luther styled himself " by the grace of God, ecclesiastes or preacher of Wirtemburg." Epist. ad fals. nominat. Epis. He treated with the ut- most contempt the pope and the bishops, as we have al- ready seen. As to the Fathers of the Church, he said, 166 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ••they were all blind." Lib. de servit Arbit. And " he con cerned not himself what Ambrose, Augustin, the councils, or practices of ages, said." Lib. contra Regem Anglice. Then he boasted of his own merits : " The gospel," says he, "has been so fully preached by us, that even in the times of the apostles it was not so well understood," Serm. de Evers. Jerusalem. In this manner Luther set a crown upon his own head, and the whole troop of reformers after him crowned themselves in the same manner. Such crowns, the work of self-conceit and arrogance, could not be real crowns, but only as it were crowns, that is, the mere appear- ances of such. It was said of the apostles of Christ : " Thou shalt esta- blish them princes over all the earth." Psalm 44. 17. The conversion of numberless nations to Christ by their ministry, had merited to them the title of princes and the right of wearing crowns. The reformers claimed the same honours. But the crowns of the apostles were of pure gold, because their doctrine, which flowed from Christ the source, was pure and genuine. Whereas the doctrine of our modern apostles, being derived from no other source but their own invention, and being contrary to the doctrine preserved in that Church which was planted and formed by the primitive apostles : such new-devised doctrine, I say, can be nothing else but er- ror and delusion, and consequently their apparent crowns are not of pure but of counterfeit gold, or, as the text ex- presses it, they are like to gold, or really mere tinsel. — These crowns on their heads, also show clearly their general spirit of independency. " And their faces (the faces of the locusts) were as the faces of men," v. 7. The locusts appeared to St. John with faces of men. Here is marked out the delusive appearance of the modern sectaries. They pretended that faith had been adul- terated, and that the morals of mankind were guided by erroneous principles. They therefore assumed the province of rectifying both, by preaching up a " reformation." For this purpose these "reformers" framed new systems of reli- gion. They proposed each of them their own creed for set- tling the articles of belief, and a new plan of morality for the direction of human actions. All this was devised, as they al- leged, to correct the defects and errors of the Catholic doc- trine. Thus they put on the faces of men, that is, they an- nounced themselves as teachers of orthodox and holy doctrine ; and by this means they deluded those who had not the sign o HISTORY OF TUB CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 167 God upon their foreheads; that is, the careless and vicious. But it soon appeared that these faces of men were no more than vizards resembling human faces, that the specious name of " reformation" was only a mask made use of to instil their treacherous doctrine with more ease and subtlety. The mask was soon removed, and their doctrine, when applied to the true criterion, was evidently discovered to be false. It disa- greed with that which Christ had deposited with his apostles, and which he charged them to impart to the rest of mankind ; •at the same time assuring them and their successors that, in order to enable them to execute their commission with fidelity, " he would himself be with them to the end of the world." Matt, xxviii. 20. And that "the spirit of truth should abide with them for ever." John xiv. 16, 17. That the new-in- vented maxims were of bad tendency, the effects soon proved. Instead of a reformation, they produced a general licentious- ness. This appeared in the seditions, insurrections and vio- lences committed on all sides. Complaints were also heard from all quarters, of excessive looseness of manners. The Lutheran magistrates of several imperial cities in Germany, petitioned the Emperor Charles V. to re-establish by his au- thority auricular confession, as a check upon the then pre- vailing libertinism. And indeed it was highly probable, that from the pretended " Christian liberty" which was then preached, a deluge of vice would have diffused itself, had not the civil power stepped in to stem it. The reformers themselves Avere so ashamed of the progress of immorality among their proselytes, that they could not help complaining against it. Thus spoke Luther: "Men are now more revengeful, covet- ous, and licentious, than they were ever in the papacy." Poslil. super JEvang. Dom. 1. adv. Thus again: "Hereto- fore when we were seduced by the pope, every man willing- ly performed good works, but now no man says or knows anything else, but how to get all to himself by exactions, pil- lage, theft, lying, usury," &c. Postil. super Evang. Dom. 26. post. Trin. Calvin wrote in the same strain : " Of so many thousands," said he, " who, renouncing popery, seemed eager- ly to embrice the gospel, how few have amended their lives ? Nay, what else did the greater part pretend to, but by sha- king off the yoke of superstition, to give themselves more li- berty to follow all kinds of licentiousness." hih. de Scandalis. Others of the German reformers repeated the same re- proaches. But have those a right to complain of an inun- dation who have themselves cut open the banks of the river ? 1^ * i.68 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Dr. Heylin, in his history of the reformation, complains also of "the great increase of viciousness" in England in the re- forming reig-n of Edward VI. Erasmus, though no zealous advocate for the Catholics, could not help ohserving the de- generacy of morals brought on by the change of religion : " Take a view," says he, " of this evangelical people, the pro- testants. — Perhaps 'tis my misfortune ; but I never yet met with one, who does not appear changed for the worse." JEpist. ad Vultur. Neoc. And again : " Some persons," says he, " whom I knew formerly innocei^t, harmless, and without deceit, no sooner have I seen joined to that sect, (the protest- ants,) but they began to talk of wenches, to play at dice, to leave off prayers, being grown extremely worldly, most impatient,- revengeful, vain, like vipers tearing one another. I speak by experience." Ep. ad Fratres infer. Germanice. " And they (the locusts,) had hair as the hair of women," V. 8. In describing the heads of the locusts, from the fore- part of the face which resembled that of man, St. John pro- ceeds to the back-part, which is found covered with hair like woman's hair. This latter allusion, unhappily for the sec- taries, betrays too plainly their sensual disposition towards that sex, their shameful doctrine on that score, and the scan- dalous example of their practice. Luther, in despite of the vow he had solemnly made to God of keeping continency, married, and married a nun, equally bound as himself to that sacred religious promise. But as St. Jerome says, *' It is rare to find a heretic that loves chastity." Luther's example had indeed been anticipated by Carlostadius, a priest and ring- leader of the Sacramentarians, who had married a little be- fore ; and it was followed by most of the heads of the reform- ation. Zuinglius, a priest and chief of tlie sect that bore his name, took a wufe. Bucer, a religious man of the order Tjf St. Dominick, became Lutheran, left his cloister, and married a nun. Oecolampadius, a Brigittin monk, became Zuinglian, and also married. Craiimer, archbishop of Canterbury, had also his wife. Peter Martyr, a canon regular, embraced the doctrine of Calvin, but followed the example of Luther, and married a nun. Ochin, general of the Capuchins, became Lu- theran, and also married. Thus the principal leaders in the reformation went forth preaching the new gospel, with two marks upon them, apostacy from faith, and open violation of the most sacred vovi^s. The passion of lust, it is also well known, hurried Henry VIII. of England into a separation from the Catholic Church, and ranked him among the reformers. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. i69 As Luther foresaw the scandal that would rise from his own and such like sacrilegious marriages, he prepared the world for it, by \vriting against the celibacy of the clergy^ and against all religious vows. He proclaimed that all such vows " were contrary to faith, to the commands of CTod, and to evan- gelical liberty." De votis Monast. He said again : '• God disapproves of such a vow, of living in contingency, equally as if I should vow to become the mother of God, or to create a new world." Ep- ad Wolfgang Reisemb. And again : " To attempt to live unmarried, is plainly to fight against God." Ibid. How does such doctrine agree \\\t\\ the commenda- tions our Saviour gives to celibacy, when speaking of it he says : ** All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given." Matt. xix. 11. Or with the advice of St. Paul, who being himself unmarried, said : " I say to the unmarried and widows : it is good for them if they so continue, even as I." I Cor. vii. 8. And this has been practised through all the ages of Christianity. But when men give a loose to the de- pravity of nature, what wonder if the most scandalous prac- tices ensue? Accordingly, besides what has been above- mentioned, a striking instance of this kind appeared in the li- cense granted in 1539 to Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, to have two wives at once : which license was signed by Luther, Me- lanchton, Bucer, and five other divines. On another hand, a wide door was laid open to another species of scandal : the doctrine of the reformation admitted divorces in the marriage state in certain cases, contrary to the doctrine of the gospel, and even alio v/ed the parties thus separated to marry other wives and other husbands. " And their teeth (the teeth of the locusts,) were as of lions," V. 8. In the preceding article w^e had a figure of the incon- tinency of the reformers, here we are presented with a sym- bol of their avarice. It was not sufficient to have named them locusts, and to intimate their ravenous temper by the greediness of those insects ; they are here represented with teeth of lions, ready to devour with violence whatever prey they can come at. What is more known than the truth of this representation ? Did not the protestants, wherever they got footing, pillage the churches, seize the church possessions, destroy the monasteries, and appropriate to themselves the revenues? Such was the case in Germany, in Holland, in France, in Switzerland, in Scotland, as we have seen in rela- ting the protestant wars in those countries. In England likewise, what a scene of rapine ! Without descending to a 15 170 HISTORY or THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. detail of particulars, it may be sufficient to say, that in thp reign of Henry VIII. were suppressed no less than 645 mon- asteries, 90 Colleges, 110 hospitals, and of chantries and free chapels 2374, Baker's Chron. ; the lands and revenues of all which were confiscated to the king. Is not this, to devour with lion's teeth ? The same course of rapine was carried on under Edward VI., which swept away what remained from the preceding reign. Dr. Heylin, in the preface to his his- tory of the reformation, speaking of this prince and his reign, says : " Such was the rapacity of the times, and the misfor- tune of his condition, that his minority was abused by many acts of spoil and rapine, even to an high degree of sacrilege, to the raising of some, and the enriching of others, without any manner of improvement to his own estate." The hungry courtiers began their sacrilegious rapine, by plundering the images and shrines of the saints, and seizing upon the orna- ments, plate, and jewels of the churches. These spoils not being sufficient to glut their leoiiine avidity, they invaded the bishopricks, which they stripped of many of their possessions. The detail of all which may be seen in the above-mentioned historyof Dr. Heylin. In Sweden, Gustavus Erickson introduced the Lutheran reformation, and seized the church-lands and revenues, leav- ing the clergy but a slender maintenance. The same did Christiern III., king of Denmark, in his dominions. Thus *obbing people of their property, demolishing their habita- tions, public buildings, &c. which violences in all civilized countries are punished with death, were, in the course of the reformation, practised with impunity ; and the perpetrators gratified their avarice, which they masked with the pretend- ed vindication of religion. The testaments of the dead, which even among heathens are sacred, were in these times contemptuously violated, and the donations, which the testa- tors had dedicated to the service of God, and to the relief of the sick and distressed, were scandalously diverted to other purposes. " And they had (the locusts had,) breast-plates as breast- plates of iron," v. 9. In the two last articles, we saw the spirit of incontinency and avarice of the reformers and their societies : here we are presented with a picture of their ob- stinacy, under the figure of iron breast-plates. Whoever is not joined with the protestants in their persuasion, knows full well that their obstinacy is incredible in defending their doc- trine ; that for that purpose they are not ashamed to make use HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 171 of any arguments, though ever so frivolous, inconsistent, or absurd, and to asperse the Catholic communion with slanders, misrepresentations, and calumnies. It also appears from the account we have before given of the wars of the reformation, that the protestants were always ready to maintain their new adopted religion at any rate, even with arms, and at the risk of their lives. In that view the protestant princes of Germany entered into a league offensive and defensive against the Empe- ror Charles V., rose up in arms, nor could they be prevailed up- on to sit down quiet, till they had established the reformation. I'hus they carried breast-plates of iron. Many other wars succeeded in Germany between the Catholics and Protestants. After a similar manner in other countries, where the reforma- tion got footing, its abettors so obstinately supported it by se- dition, disturbance, and war, that no peace could be purcha- sed from them, till their religion was admitted and ratified by the laws of the respective kingdoms. Such was the case not only in Germany, but in Holland, in several provinces of France, in Scotland, &c. And I believe every one presumes such would be more or less the case at this day, if any dan- ger threatened the reformation. " And the noise of their wings (the wings of the locusts) was as the noise of chariots of manj^ horses running to battle,"' v. 9. Here the prophet points at the turbulent, murmuring, cla- morous disposition of the reformed, properly expressed by the noise of the wings of the locusts, which was as loud as the noise of chariots of many horses running to war. Did not that inflammatory spirit of uneasiness, loud murmur, and sedition, appear in all those kingdoms where the reformation was received ? How often has the public tranquillity been convulsed by that baleful poison ? What fatal disturbances have been raised, and what troubles have princes sustained to quell them ? Some of the sects are inspired with a relentless hatred to government; their complaints are clamorous and unceasing, and they brood upon mischief, devising how to destroy superior power, and reduce all mankind to a level. What intestine murmurs have been heard, what tumultuous scenes have been seen in England, Scotland, and France ? On another hand, the unhappy effects of this uneasy and ungenerous disposition have been severely fell by those of the Catholic communion, living in protestant countries. Though all the reformed sects agreed in preaching up " Christian liberty," the Catholics have seemed to be envied the least share of that invaluable blessing. Without any just pro- 172 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. vocation, alarming" outcries have been often throi^rn out against them : they have been threatened with the rigour of the laws, and persecution even has sometimes been set on foot. We see then that the loud noise of the wings of the locusts, like the loud rumbling noise of chariots of many horses running to battle, very fitly represents that restless turbulent spirit, which continued in the reformed societies, and banished peace from governments as w^ell as from the Church of Christ. Here terminates the period of five months, or 150 years, mentioned above in verse 5th; within which space of time is comprehended, as we have seen, one share of the history of the reformation, and in reality the principal part of it. During this period, which commenced, as w^e have said, about the year 1525, and consequently ended 1675, the reformed religion was forcibly introduced, took its full growth, and was finally settled. In Germany, Holland, and Switzerland, borne upon the shoulders of sedition and rebellion, it became so far vic- torious as to procure its establishment by the celebrated treaty of Munster in Westphalia in 1648. The Calvinists or Huguenots in France made their way by detestable plots and dreadful civil wars, till they procured from Henry IV. the edict of Nantes, for the toleration of their religion, hi 1598: which edict was confirmed by Louis XIII. in 1622, though afterwards repealed in 1685 by Lewis XIV. In other countries where the sovereigns received the reform- ation, it was settled more early. CHAP. IX. THE CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE FIFTH AGE. Apoc, chap. ix. 10, " And they (the locusts,) had* tails like to scorpions, and there were stings in their tails, and their power was to hurt men five months. And they hadf over them, V. 11. "A king, the angel of the bottomless pit; whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon : m Latin, Exterminans, that is. Destroyer." ^ * In the Greek te.xt, " have." t In the Greek, " have." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 173 We shall now proceed to the second period of time, which begins with the above lOth verse, and is of equal duration with the first, that is, consists of 150 years. That here begins a new period of five months, or 150 years, different from that mentioned in verse the 5th, is not a groundless supposition, but is proved by the following reasons. First, the expression of five months being twice used, namely, in verse 5th and verse 10th, sufficiently argues a double period. For whoever studies the Apocalypse, will find in it such extreme precision, that the same thing is never repeated in the same circumstances ; that every word ex- presses some particular object, and is so necessary in its place, that it cannot be taken away without maiming the sense. One may therefore conchide from the nature of this divine revelation, that the repeated mention of five months indicates the distinction of a double period. Sir Isaac Newton ac- knowledged the same distinction, but applied it to a different subject. Secondly, the Greek text shows the same very plainly, and even the place where the first period expires and the second begins. In the verses 8th and 9th, the de- scription proceeds by the repeated expression, they had ; but at the 10th verse the expression is suddenly changed into they have, and continues so to the end of the description. This sudden change of time from they had, to they have, clearly points out a transition from one period to another. And in this very same 10th verse, where the transition takes place, is immediately subjoined the second mention of five months. The distinction of two periods, each of 150 years, being thus stated : as the first began with the reformation about the year 1525, and expired at 1675, the second will reach to 1825. We are now to see what account our inspired writer gives of the reformation in this latter period. It is mostly contained in the 10th verse, which we shall here put down conformable to the Greek text. " They (the locusts,) have tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails : and their power, was to hurt men five months." Here the locusts are said to have tails, that resemble whole scorpions with stings in them. This allegory describes very emphatically the angry temper of the protestants, and their implacable enmity to those of the Catholic communion. Whoever presumes to abridge that "evangelical liberty," which is their idol, thev immediately declaim against the attempt, chafi] and threaten, like scor- pion.s, to sting. They still retain a good share of that factious and violent temper, with which they first propagated 15* 174 HISTORY or THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. their religion, and which during this period breaks out on different- occasions, to the disturbing of public peace, and alarming the sovereigns, as experience sufficiently shows. On another hand, though the reformation, as we have seen, was settled and secured, and in some kingdoms is the re- ligion of the state ; yet it retains a persecuting spirit against those of the ancient faith. The protestants show they are armed with scorpion's stings, with which they angrily threaten, and they have still a power to hurt very sorely. They have, in this latter period, increased the number of inhuman laws made before against the Catholics ; and these laws, perhaps indeed less severe than the former, have been at times mors or less put in execution. In the preceding period they were allowed " to torment mankind," v. 5 ; but in the present period it is said, their power is to hurt mankind. The ex- pression of hurting, as it is of a milder import than that of tormenting, indicates an abatement of their first rage, and a more moderate behaviour towards those they repute their enemies. This is a blessing, for which the Catholics offer just tribute of thanks to the Almighty, and acknowledge the humanity of those from whose hands the favour immediately comes. But, notwithstanding the moderate and generous disposition of some, there are always other malevolent indi- viduals, who cannot wholly drop that animosity they imbibed in a misguided education, and will endeavour to force the mag-istrates to the execution of the laws ao^ainst their fellow- creatures. Thus they threaten with their stings, or on oc- casions exercise against the Catholics their ill-wall and power of hurting, as evidently appeared by the violence committed in the riots of the year 1780 [in England.] But this disposition of providence ought to be received by the sufferers in the view for which it is designed, namely, for quickening and maintaining their zeal ; and it brings with it this comfort, that the suffering of persecution has always been the characteristic of the Church of Christ. " If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." John xv. 20. We have now seen the prophetical history of the reformation. The description is full and circumstantial, and takes in the period of 300 years. In the first place was exhibited to us its rise ; then the general character of it ; and thirdly, the nature and degree of its power. These accounts are com- prised in the six first verses of the ninth chapter. Then fol- lows the description of the character, temper, and spirit of the chief reformers, and their proselytes, with the successive altera- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 475^ tion of their power, as settled by the Almighty hand. Which account is traced out in the verses 7th, 8th, 9ih, and 10th, in an admirable manner, by the progressive description of the locusts from head to tail. This allegorical delineation is drawn with such exquisite art, that it cannot, we believe, be equalled by any thing produced from profane writers. But of this ex- traordinary picture there yet remains to be exhibited the last stroke of the prophetic pencil, which is: And they (the locusts) have over them a king, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon ; in Latin, Exterminans, that is, Destz'oyer. St. John, after giving us the history of the surprising revolution made in the Church by the Reformation, closes it by letting us into the secret of the means, by which it was contrived, was carried on, and is still preserved. He tells us, the locusts or the people of the re- formation have over them a king, who is an angel of the bottomless pit, that is, an angel of hell, or a devil. Here then we see the original contriver and director of the whole work. Here we see who has been through the -s^-hole progress their prompter, their chief, and their king. But who would envy them such a king? or who would choose to be a subject of such a sovereign ? The name of this infernal spirit is even given ; he is called Abaddon, or Exterminator, Aboiisher, Destroyer. By this name his character is sufficiently clear. As pride is attributed to Lucifer, and to other fiends are ascribed special qualities ; so here the evil spirit, who is the king of the reformation, is distinguished by the character of exterminating and destroying. One cannot but lament the misfortune of the protestants, in voluntarily admitting over them such a king, and enlisting under his banner. A second misfortune is, they have been too faithful in their allegiance. We have already given a sufficient relation of their violent proceedings in the different countries, where the reformation got entrance. We specified some part of the conspiracies, tumults, rebellions, and civil wars it gave rise to, and the subversion of states which ensued. Could such scenes be conducted by another but the king Abaddon the destroying angel 1 With respect to the Church, how many articles of faith, which are reckoned essential to religion, have they not ex- ploded, as may be seen in the Council of Trent ? The holy sacraments also, those chamiels of divine grace, have they not reduced to two, or rather one, viz. Baptism? the Eucharist in the opinion of many of their sect containing nothings mor« 176 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. than mere bread and wine 1 Even baptism itself is afRrmed by some of them to be only a ceremony, not necessai-y for salvation. The rites and ceremonies which form the exterior part of religion, and which greatly contribute to raise its dig- nity, and by impressing an awful respect on the minds of the faithful, increase their devotion, the reformation has almost entirely abolished. They have exterminated the spiritual jurisdiction of the see of Rome, acknowledged in all foregoing ages, and they have chosen Abaddon for their governor and king, instead of Christ's vicegerent. In the same manner they have exploded pnrt of the canonical scriptures, church traditions, councils, fathers, the ecclesiastical canons and dis- cipline. They have abrogated the most noble and august sacrifice which Christ bequeathed to his church, and thus have reduced the Christian community to a worse condition than either the Mosaic or patriarchal state, by leaving it with- out any sacrifice at all. They have also abrogated most of the exercises of mortification, so much recommended by our Saviour, and practised by the apostles and all antiquity; such as fasting, abstinence, continency, penance, self denial, &c. They have exterminated confession, that great bridle to licen- tiousness and vice. They have condemned religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience : that path of Christian per- fection, which has been trodden by thousands, and entitled so many of them to the beatitude of saints. They have de- stroyed monastaries, pulled down churches, trampled under foot the images of Jesus Christ, of his holy Mother, and his Saints. They have robbed the faithful of that salutary and comfortable help they had always found in the Invocation of the Saints, by whose intercession, through the merits of Christ, such plentiful graces and blessings have derived to men. They even dared to profane with sacrilegious hands the sacred remains of the martyrs and confessors of God. In many places they forcibly took up the saints' bodies from the repositories where they were kept, burned them, and scattered their ashes abroad. What can be a more atrocious indignity ? Are parricides, or the most flagitious villians, ever worse treated ? Thus, among other instances, in the year 1 562 the Calvinists broke open the shrine of St. Francis of Paula, at Plessis-lestours, and finding his body uncorrupted fifty-five years after his death, they dragged it about the streets, and burned it in a fire which they had made with the wood of a great crucifix ; as Billet and other historians relate. Thus, at Lyons^ in the same year, the Calvinists seizLed upon HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 177 the shrine of St. Bonaventure, stripped it of its riches, burned his relics in the market-place, and threw his ashes into the river Saone, as is related by the learned Possevinus, who was then in that city. The bodies also of St. Irenosus, St. Hilary, and St. Martin, as Surius asserts, were treated in the same ignominious manner. Such also was the treatment offered to the remains of St. Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, whose rich shrine, according to the words of Stowe, in his annals, " was taken to the king's use, and the bones of St. Thomas, by command of Lord Cromwell, were burnt to ashes, in Sep- tember, 1538, of Henry VHI. the thirtieth." Thus the re formation waged war against the dead and against the elect of God ; as if sanctity had become infamous, and to have spilt their blood in the cause of Christ was now to be judged criminal. Thus the facts evince the universal devastation, carried through the Christian Church by the reformed religion. And thus it appears who was the founder of that new religion, its architect, its king, namely, the angel of the bottomless pit, Abaddon, the exterminator. One may however further ob- serve that, in order to manifest more clearly the accomplish- ment of this prophecy about the locusts, Almighty God seems to have ordained that the chiefs of the reformation should themselves give testimony of it. Luther, the primary head, avowed and proclaimed to the world, that he had a conference with the devil about some articles of the reliijion he was then devisnig, that he had been convinced by the arguments of that spirit of falsehood, and directed in the determinations he should take. Thus he opens that famous colloquy : " Some time since/' says Luther, " I awaked from my sleep, and behold the devil, who had made it his business to occasion me many sorrowful and restless nights, began a dispute with me in my mind." " Dost thou hear," said he, " most excellent doctor ?" " Dost thou not know, that thou hast said private masses almost every day for fifteen years together? and what, if in those masses thou hast practised downright idolatry," &c. ? Lib. de Missa privata, et sacerdotum unctione. Luther answers the devil in defending what he had done. The fiend pretends to prove his charge, by telling Luther, he must have been guilty of idolatry, because he had no true faith at that time, and consequently no ordination. By which it seems that the devil's attempt was to persuade the reformer, that there was neither true faith nor true ordination in the Catholic Church at that time, when he professed himself a member of it and 178 HlSTORV of THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. said mass. As if the Church of God had been extinguished, notwithstanding the solemn promise of Christ that " the gates of hell should never prevail against it." The spirit of dark- ness urges likewise the unlawfulness of saying a mass, in which no one communicates but the priest : as if Christ had given any precept on this head. But without taking the trouble to confute minutely the devil's arguments, I presume every sensible man will allow that Luther, instead of giving any assent to them, should have rejected them with contempt, as so many certain impostures, and charged his antagonist with being the known enemy of truth. He should have re- buked him at once with the words of our Saviour, " Away with thee, Satan." Matth. iv. 10. " Thou wast a murderer from the beginning, and thou stoodest not in the truth ; be- cause truth is not in thee; when thou speakest a lie, thou speakest from thy own, for thou art a liar, and the father of lies." John viii. 44. But the reformer, instead of foilins: his adversary with these arms, gives him up the victory, allows his own conviction, and triumphs in the imaginary discovery; concluding thus : by these means " we are freed from private masses, and from the ordination of bishops — Let them con- sider how they can defend their Church." And from that time he desisted from saying mass. Zuinglius, in like manner, while he was in great perplexity and deep meditation how to explode the real presence in the Eucharist, was furnished with an argument for that purpose by a nocturnal monitor, " whether black or white he did not remember;" as he relates himself. Lib. de subsidio Euchar. The whole explication here given of the allegory of the locusts, we presume, appears so consonant to the history of the reformation, that the propriety of it will not be denied. ^ Nor ought the author to be censured for presumption, since he is not the first v/ho has thus applied that prophecy. La Chetardie did so, about the end of the last century. Bellar- mine did the same towards the end of the century before, and others had preceded him, as he testifies. In general, it appears from the Avriters of that period, that, no sooner did the nume- rous tribe of reformed religionists spring forth, than the Catho- lics, as if by a sudden inspiration, judged they saw the locusts of the Apocalypse. The application is even so obvious, that the learned protestant divine, Dr. Walton, used it for describing the multitude of new sectaries, that swarmed out of the English Church. Thus speaks he in the preface to his Polyglot: ** The bottomless pit seems to have been set open, from whence HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 179 a smoke has arisen which has darkened the heavens and the stars, and locusts are come out with sting's, a numerous race of sectaries and heretics, who have r mewed all the ancient heresies, and invented many monstrous opinions of their own. These have filled our cities, villages, camps, houses, nay our pulpits too, and lead the poor deluded people with them to the pit of perdition." The short sketches we have given from the general history of the reformation for the illustration of the text, we hope will be deemed sufficient, especially considering the limits of this work. It would be endless to attempt a narrative of all the different parties into which the reformation has been split. They are not even to be enumerated. But one may in general observe, that its case is the same with that of all the heresies in preceding ages. Variation was always their character. Thus it was with the Arians, with the Pelagians, with the Eutychians, &c. They never remained steady to their first plan of religion, nor could they keep their proselytes within the boundaries they first prescribed to them. St. Hilary, writing to the Emperor Constantius, thus speaks of the Ari- ans : " Your case is the same with that of unskilful architects, who are never pleased with their own work ; you do nothing but build up arid pull down. — There are now as many models of faith as men, as great a variety of doctrines as manners ; we have yearly and monthly creeds ; we repent of our old creeds, we frame new ones, and those again we condemn." Such was the confusion among the Arians. The number of different confessions of faith made by the Lutherans and the other reformed churches, demonstrates in like manner the in- stability of their doctrine. They never could agree among themselves, nor could they ever settle their tenets ; as is fully shown and relate^d in the " History of the Variations" by the celebrated Bishop of Meaux. Not content with what they pretended to have reformed, they would still go on reforming, without knowing where to stop. But indeed what wonder that people are bewildered, when they have no sure guide to direct them ? The Church which Christ had commanded every body to hear,* they had left, and thus became solitary, they wandered in unknown paths into which the spirit of se- duction led them. Faith is one, but error easily multiplies, having the devil for its parent, who hates truth and concord. Abaddon, who contrived and conducted the reformation, was also the author of its divisions and contradictions, and the • Matt, xviii. 17. and Luke x. 16. 180 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. " lying spirit in the mouth of all its prophets." 3 Kings xxxii 22. He still continues to actuate it in the same manner ; and hence we see rise up every day new teachers, who, dissatisfied with what they find established, are ever proposing amend- ments and innovations. What idea can we form of a religion or an institution composed of such a number of dissonant parts ; and, cameleon like, varying its colours every day ? What idea, I say, can we form of it, but of a monster, such as St. John describes it under the type of a frightful deformed locust, which has a man's face, a woman's hair, a lion's teeth, an iron breast, and a scorpion for its tail ? In fine, the license of judging for himself being the claim of every member of the new religion, what could it produce, but what experience shows to have really happened, a defection from all religion ? Some, uneasy under any restraint, declare themselves indiffer- ent to every form of doctrine and worship, and are styled *' Latitudinarians ;" others, contenting themselves with the simple belief of a God, renounce all divine revelation, and are denominated " Deists" or " Free-thinkers ;" and some are even said to be sunk into mere materialism, that is, to believe no future state at all. " They who have made bold Avith one article of faith," said St. Vincent of Lerins in the fifth century, " will proceed on to others ; and what will be the cojisequence of this reforming of religion, but only that these refiners will never have done, till they have reformed it quite away?" Common, c. 29. How different is the gov^ernment and proceeding of the Catholic Church ! Founded on the rock which is Christ, and governed by him' according to his promise, she is always uni- form and unanimous in her doctrine. Her faith is always the same. She received it from her divine Founder, and she pre- serves the sacred depositum inviolable. No jarring opinions, no innovations are allowed on that head. When a dogmati- cal point is to be determined, she speaks but once, and her decree is irrevocable. The first general council of Nice de- clared her faith against the Arians ; the council of Constanti- nople against the Macedonians ; the council of Ephesus against the Nestorians ; that of Chalcedon against the Eu- tychians; the second of Nice against the Iconoclasts : and so through the whole period of the Christian sera. These solemn determinations have remained unalterable, and v/ill ever be so. Pursuing invariably the same course, she assem- bled in a general council at Trent in 1545, where, having examined the principal articles of the new reformed doctrine, HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 181 she pronounced them heretical, and condemned them as such : and this decision will stand an unperishable monument of the true faith against the protestant religion to the end of the world. Now we must add another observation. Let us take notice that the angel of the bottomless pit, who was the author of the reformation, is by our prophet named in Hebrew, Abad- don, and in Greek, Apollyon.* Now, though the Greek word Apollyon means the same as the Hebrew word Abad- don, viz. destroyer, nevertheless, from the extraordinary con- ciseness used throughout the whole Apocalypse, one may cer- tainly conclude that St. John means something particular in giving the name of that hellish fiend in two languages. Let us now observe, that the Hebrew language preceded the Greek. That fiend therefore acted his part, first, under his name Abaddon, in setting up the reformation. Let us now take a view of the second of his mischievous operations under the name of Apollyon, or destro3^er. To see this we need only cast our eyes upon what has lately happened in several coun- tries, as in Germany, and especially in France, where Apol- lyon has raised such a spirit of licentious liberty, wild independence, and introduced such a decay of religion, that immense evils have followed. What excesses ! What extrava- gances have thence originated ! What blasphemies against the Almighty ! What contempt of his worship! both diAane and human laws trampelled under foot. What Luciferian pride and arrogance in rebelling against their Creator and their God, and even denying his existence. What impious and inhuman proceedings against his vicegerent ! Combina- tions and conspiracies against sovereign princes and go- vernments ! Persecutions against the ministers of religion ! Cruelty in despoiling their fellow-creatures of their property, and spilling their blood by murders and massacres! These are the horrible devastations operated by that infer- nal fiend under his character of Apollyon, destroyer, which make up the second part of his agency. — In the primitive ages of Christianity, Satan upheld idolatry, and opposed with all his might the establishment of the Christian religion. He raised cruel persecutions against the Christian proselytes: but finding himself foiled and defeated in all his eflforts, he then turned his hellish malice another way, and set to work *His Latin name, Exterminans, there subjoined, is not in the original text : it has been added merely by way of interpreting the meaning of the words, Abaddon and Apollyon, 16 1$2 HlStORV OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCtt. to divide the Christians among themselves, to suscitate intes* tine quarrels, heresies, flames of mutual hatred, and exciting them to persecute one another with furious violence. — In a similar manner that angel of the abyss, Avhich Satan has employed as his agent in this fifth period of the Christian Church, in his character of Abaddon, effected his first de- structive work of the reformation. When stopped and not allowed to make further progress in that pursuit, he then in the latter part of his agency has machinated and contrived to throw division among the Catholics themselves in different countries, particularly in that ancient and once flourishing Catholic kingdom of France ; and it is well known through- out the whole world, what pernicious effects have been the consequence V. 12. " One wo is past." The period of 300 years as- signed to the power of the locusts, being expired, St. John then adds : " one wo is past." Before the angel sounded the fifth trumpet, see p. 141, three woes were pronounced to follow the sounding of the three last trumpets, namely, fifth, sixth, and seventh. And now the prophet tells us, that the first of these woes, which was announced by the fiflh trumpet, is past. This wo therefore is the calamity occasioned by the swarm of locusts. I leave it to the reader to determine, whether the breaches and desolation made in the Church of Christ, as we have seen, by the reformation, be not truly a dis- mal woe, and worse than any that has happened in the fore- going ages. Some part of this wo must also be referred to the convulsions that happened in different countries, particu- larly in France, and the impious attacks made there upon religion, as explained above. When one reflects that, of the three hundred years allowed to the reign of the locusts, there remain only fifty or fifty-five to run,* one cannot but wish with an earnest heart that the people represented by those insects would enter into a serious consideration of that circumstance. What a happiness ! if, Hnrmnr this .^hort remaining interval, some part of them at least would submit to see their errors, and the great mischief that has been done to the Church by their revolt against it. It is full time to lay down all animosity against their ancient mother, think of a reconciliation, and ask to be received again into her bosom. She is an indulo-ent parent, and her arms are always open, even to her rebellious children, when they come in tears to implore her forgiveness. They should be ♦This work was first printed in the year 1771. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHtJRCH. 183 sensible, that Christ is not only the protector of his beloved spouse, the Church, but also the avenger of the injuries done to her. This power he has frequently exerted. The four preceding ages furnish us with the most evident proofs of it, under the respective four vials of the wrath of God. She was revenged in the punishment of her persecutors, the Roman emperors, in the first age. The Arians, who impugned her faith and harassed her cruelly in the second age, felt also the avenging hand of the Son of God, whom with his Church they had blasphemed: after sore calamities, they were doomed to sink into annihilation. The third age exhibited to us a most conspicuous exertion of a two-edged sword of Christ, in the destruction of the cruel idolatrous Romans, for their having spilt the blood of his and his spouses children. The fourth age was distinguished by the punishment of the Greeks for their rebellion against the same Church, and the world still sees them groaning under slavery for their inflexible obstinacy. Such having been the conduct of the supreme guardian of his Church through the course of all the Christ- ian ages, is it not an object of consideration highly interesting to the protestants, lest some such disaster should also be their fate? The Saviour of mankind waits with patience for the return of his strayed sheep, but their obstinacy at last forces his hand to strike. Unhappy children of the reformation ! refuse not to hear the v/holesome advice of the prophet Isaiah : " Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found ; call upon him, while he is near," Iv. 6. Hear the voice of God speaking of Israel, and make the application : " Return, O virgin of Israel, return to thy cities," Jerem. xxxi. 21. And again: "Be converted, O house of Israel, and do penance for all your iniquities; and iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit: and why will you die, O house of Israel ? For I desire not the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God ; return ye, and live." Ezech. xviii. 30, 31, 32. But if, deaf to all admonitions, they continue hardened in their own ways, what remains to be done but to lament their misfortune, and in bitterness of soul turn our eyes from the pouring out of the following vial : The pouring out of the fifth Vial of the Wrath of God. Apoc. chap. xvi. 10. "And the fifth angel, (says St. John,) 184 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. poured out his vial upon the seat* of the beast : and his king* . dom became dark, and they gnawed their tongues for pain. V. 11. "And they blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and wounds, and did not penance for their works." Here the angel pours out the fifth vial of the wrath of God on the seat of the beast, or rather, according to the Greek text, on the throne of the beast. We have observed in the prelude to the vials, see page 34, that the general term beast, has a double meaning, signifying idolatry or heresy, accord- ingly as either, like to a wild beast, makes its ravages in the Church. In the first and third ages it denoted idolatry, the subject of the history of those two ages. Here it is the image of heresy, the heresy of the reformation, the charac- teristic of the fifth age. Upon the throne therefore of this beast the vial is poured out, that is, upon the kings and go- ernors of the protestant states, as they are the persons that sit, vested with power, upon the thrones of those heretical king- doms. They, however, are themselves subordinate to their chief Abaddon, who, as was specified in the text of the trum- pet, commands over all, and sits upon the throne as king par- amount. The protestant states become, of course, involved with their princes in the calamities poured out from the vial, as we shall see presently. But furthermore we may observe that, besides the single and general appellation of beast used here to express heresy, the prophet exhibits to us in the trumpet of this age a particu- lar beast, by which he represents and describes the heresy of the reformation, namely, a locust-monster, which is partl}'^ lo- cust, partly human, partly leonine, and partly scorpionic. Besides the obvious propriety of the above explication oi the vial, a further argument may be adduced in confirmation of it. Though the different prophecies of the Apocalypse are involved in obscurity, yet one may observe the inspired wri- ter generally throws in some glimpses of light to guide the solicitous inquirer. Thus may be remarked a fixed connex- ion between the trumpets of the different ages and the respec- tive vials, of which we have already taken some notice. This consists in the use of the same expression in the trumpet and vial of the same age; which naturally leads us to the distin- guishing of the object on which the vial is poured. This ob- ject, if not precisely the same as mentioned in the trumpet, it has at least a direct relation to it. In general, the vial has for * In the Greek " the throne." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 185 object the guilty part which is to be punished, and which is always pointed out in the trumpet. Examples will elucidate the present observation. In the first trumpet it is said, that hail and fire, mixed with blood, were cast upon the earth. In like manner the first vial w^as poured out upon the earth. The same term, the earth, occurring in both, indicates that, as the trumpet described the persecutions exercised by the Roman emperors and magistrates on the Christian part of the earth, so these emperors and magistrates, who are the guilty part of the earth, and plainly alluded to in the trumpet, are the object of punishment on which the vial is poured. After the same manner, at the sounding of the second trumpet, a great fiery mountain Avas cast into the sea ; and the second vial is also poured out upon the sea. From whence one may collect that, as Arianism, signified by the fiery mountain, in- fected a third part of the Christian sea ; so upon the Arians, who are there exhibited as the guilty part of the sea, the vial is poured. Again, the third trumpet announced a great star, burning like a torch, falling upon the rivers and fountains of waters. In like manner the third vial is poured upon the ri- vers and fountains of waters. The trumpet here describes the desolation carried on by the barbarians through the guilty heathen Roman empire ; therefore on this same empire is the vial poured. Lastly, at the sounding of the fourth trumpet the sun was smitten ; and the fourth vial was also poured out upon the sun. The allegory, used here in the trumpet, de- notes the schism of the Greeks ; upon them, therefore, as the guilty, the vial is poured; or rather, it is poured on the in- strument of the scourge, to fit it for execution. This con- stant relation observed between the above-mentioned trumpets and vials, holds equally between the fifth trumpet and vial. In the trumpet we see the locusts are ruled by a king, the an- gel of the bottomless pit, whose name is Abaddon. The vial is poured out upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom becomes dark. On one side then we have the king of the locusts : on the other side we have the throne and the king- dom. Hence appears the connexion between the fifth trum- pet and fifth vial. This vial is therefore poured out upon the princes and the states of the locust kingdom. In fine, we saw in the first trumpet the Roman emperors persecuting the Christian religion ; and the first vial was poured upon them. In the second trumpet we saw the Ari- ans rebelling against the Church ; and the second vial was poured upqn them. In the third trumpet we saw the Roman 16* 186 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. empire declining on account of its idolatry and enmity to Christianity ; and the third vial was poured upon it, to ex- tinguish it. In the fourth trumpet we saw the revolt of the Greeks against the Church, and the fourth vial punished them. In the fifth trumpet we see the protestants revolting against the Church ; upon whom then must the fifth vial fall? The vial being poured upon the throne of the beast, it flows down from thence over his whole kingdom, the realm of the reformation. For, " his kingdom became dark, and they gnawed their tongues for pain." But with respect to the na- ture of this punishment, we shall be entirely silent, and leave it to be disclosed by the event. Vv"e shall only remark that, to judge from the expression of the text, the scourge seems to be severe, and we are extremely sorry it will be so ill recei- ved : " And they blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and wounds, (or sores,) and did not penance for their works." We shall here add another remark. The expression, they gnawed their tongues for pain, or rather, as it is in the Greek original, they did gnaw their tongues for pain, seems to refer to a time prior to that which follows, and is thus expressed, they blasphemed, &c. and ma}^ therefore relate to the first part of the punishments imported by this vial, which may be the scourge inflicted on the French people, and perhaps others, and seems to indieate distress of famine, &c. CHAPTER X. THE HISTORY OF THE SIXTH AGE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Hitherto the account we find in history of the different ages, has contributed to explain the prophecies relating to them : but with respect to the age we are now entering upon, as it yet remains sealed up in the womb of futurity, we can have no light but what must be drawn from the prophecies themselves. And because prophecies are generally concei- ved in few words, and those veiled with obscurity, it cannot be expected we should give so clear and comprehensive a his- tory of the sixth age, as has been done in the preceding pe- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 187 riods. We may however acknoAvledg-e here an unexpected assistance, which was not allowed us before, inasmuch as that part of the Apocalypse which treats of the sixth age, seems to be expressed in somewhat clearer terms than any other, at least it appears so to us. The reason we may conceive to be, that the Almighty revealer of it is willing to give us before- hand a tolerable intellisrence of transactions that will touch us so nearly, and will be more terrible and trymg to human na- ture, than any that have ever happened. By a previous, though imperfect, knowledge of dreadful calamities, we are warned to prepare for them. An impending evil, even the sentence of death itself, is less alarming when foreseen and expected. On that account therefore the divine bounty is pleased to be more copious and explicit in the revelations about the sixth age ; and our prospect of it is further enlarged by many particular scenes to be found in the ancient prophets, which concur to throw an additional light over the whole pic- ture. These are helps which, doubtless, serve in some mea- sure to promote and facilitate the present work ; but it must be confessed, the obscurity that still remains is such, and other difficulties so numerous, as necessarily to demand the indul- gence of the critic. The preceding five ages opened with the transactions con- tained under their respective seals. In like manner we shall now begin the epocha of the sixth and the last age of the Church in this world, with the events announced at the open ing of the sixth seal. The Ojpe7iing of the Sixth Seal. Apoc. chap. vi. 12. " And I saw," says St. John, " when he (the Lamb) had opened the sixth seal : and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sack- cloth of hair : and the whole moon became as blood. V. 1 3. " And the stars from heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig-tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind : V. 14, "And the heaven departed as a book folded up ; and every mountain and the islands were moved out of their places. V. 15. " And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of mountains. V 16. " And they say to the mountains, and the rocks: 188 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. V. 17. "For the great day of their wrath* is come, and who shall be able to stand ?" Here are stupendous prodigies and dreadful disasters an- nounced, many of which cannot be now clearly explained, but will be very conspicuous to those who shall exist at that time. They are the forerunners of the approaching general dissolution of the world, and are employed to announce the last terrible judgment, and to admonish mankind to prepare for it. If the idea, which is conveyed to us by the simple description of these wond,ers, strikes us with terror, how dreadful must they appear when they really happen ! great earthquakes ; the sun darkened to such a degree as if covered with black hair-cloth, and the moon reddening like blood : the stars seeming to fall from the heavens as thick as green figs are shaken from the trees in a hurricane of wind : the sky appearing to fold up like a roll of parchment ; and all the mountains and islands moved out of their places, perhaps by earthquakes and extremely vehement agitations of the sea. These tremendous phenomena, some real, others appearing to the human eye, show the violent convulsions nature will sustain, and the general confusion of the whole created system. At the sight of such events, what wonder if the wicked of every rank and denomination run to hide themselves for fear, as St. John tells us, and from the con- sciousness of their guilt suspect the great day is arrived, and that the Almighty is coming to judgment, which will make them wish that the mountains and rocks would fall upon them, to shelter them from the face of their angry God, and from the wrath of the Lamb. The description here given by our Christian prophet seems to specify only the principal and most terrible of the signs and calamities that will happen in the last period of the world: and in them one may understand are comprehended those that are of a less destructive and terrifying nature. Some or other of these alarms we may suppose will open the sixth age, and will serve to fix the date of the epocha. They will continue to alarm mankind at different times during the course of that period, to remind them of the approaching end of the w^orld. We may also observe that some of these striking events are likewise announced by the ancient pro- phets, and shall be taken notice of in proper places. The In the Greek, ■" his wrath." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 189 extraordinary signs and prodigies both in the heavens and on the earth here described, evidently speak the majesty and power of him, whose approaching coming they are de- signed to announce. They therefore necessarily tend to reflect that glory on the Lamb, which was said to be his due. Apoc. V. 12. Thfe nature of the subject seems to require we should sub- join to the preceding account that other, which our Saviour himself gives of the same or similar prodigies. The assem- blai^e of both will contribute, to enlars^e our knowledge of that interesting subject ; and the comparison of them may serve as a proof, that the expressions used by St. John are to be taken in their natural acceptation, and not in a metapho- rical sense, as some might imagine ; many of his expressions being similar to those of our Saviour, which have been generally understood in their natural sense. The account which Christ delivered of the prodigies we are speaking of, is to be found in St. Matthew, chap. 24. St. Mark, chap. 13, and St. Luke, chap. 21. His disciples having asked him by what signs they should know the ap- proaching ruin of Jerusalem, and also what signs would precede the general dissolution of the world, Christ answers both questions. But in the first part of his answer he seems to assign the same prodigies for announcing both those events : as the destruction of Jerusalem may be a very ex- pressive figure of the destruction of the world. And in this . sense the holy fathers have explained his discourse. In the latter part of his answer, Christ seems to confine himself solely to the pointing out of the signs, which will be the presages of the approaching end of all things. He thus begins his discourse : " Take heed that no man seduce you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am He, I am Christ ; and the time is at hand ; and they will seduce many: go you not therefore after them." The ap- pearance of false Christs or false Messiahs was then the first mentioned by our Saviour, and first warning of the ap- proaching fate of Jerusalem. That many such impostors rose up in Judea before the demolition of Jerusalem by the Romans, we learn from Josephus, in his history of the Jewish wars. It is here the opinion of the holy fathers, that Christ intended also to intimate by the preceding words, that false Christs will arise in a similar manner in the last age of the world, and be a sign of its approaching end. Our Saviour proceeds : " You shall hear of wars 190 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. and rumours of wars : See that you be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom ; and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and great earthquakes in divers places, and terrors from heaven, and there shall be great signs." These calamities happened before the ruin of Jerusalem, as the above-mentioned Jewish historian testifies. The same will likewise be experienced, it is supposed, in the last age. But Christ adds : " Now all these things are the beginnings of sorrows." Though great evils, they are only to be deemed the prelude of greater. Then he goes on : " But before all these things they will lay their hands on you, and persecute you, and put you to death," &c. Here are the persecutions foretold, which fell upon the apostles and first Christians. The same will likewise rage in a more fierce manner hereafter under Antichrist. " And many false prophets shall rise, and shall seduce many: and because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold." From this rise of false prophets or teachers of false doctrine, and the abounding of wickedness, before the fall of the Jewish nation, it is concluded by the holy fathers that similar unhappy circumstances will take place before the finishing of the world. And; indeed, that false prophets or false teachers will then arise, we shall see it again expressed in the sequel of our Saviour's discourse; and that iniquity will likewise abound, is fully intimated by what Christ said on another occasion : " When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on the earth ?" Luke xviii. 8. " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the consummation come." A new people of Christians was to be formed by preaching the gospel, before the Jews, the ancient people of God, were rejected, and their city and temple abolished. The gospel will likewise be preached with extraordinary 2eal in the latter times over the whole earth, to stem the prevalence of imposture and depravity of morals, and to oppose in particular the furious efforts of Antichrist against religion. " When therefore you shall see the abomination of deso- lation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, he that readeth, let him understand. When you. shall see Jerusalem compassed about with an army, then know that the desolation thereof is at hand." Here HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 191 our Saviour points out to his disciples the most immediate sign by which they might know, that the ruin of Jerusalem was near at hand ; namely, when they should see an idolatrous army arrive, with its heathenish gods, which are the abomi- nation of desolation, and invest Jerusalem, that city which was always styled the holy place, or holy city. We shall see hereafter that Antichrist will also set up what is called " the abomination of desolation." " Then they that are in Judea," continues Christ, " let them flee to the mountains. For there shall be then great tribulation, such as has not been from the beoinnino- of the world until now, neither shall be. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things may be fulfilled that are written. There shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved : but for sake of the elect, those days shall be shortened. And they (the Jews) shall fell by the edge of the sword ; and shall be led away captives into all nations : and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the gentiles till the times of the nations be fulfilled." Thus then the calamities and signs having all happened that had been foretold by our Saviour, the fatal time fixed for the ven- geance of the Almighty was come, and Jerusalem was taken and razed to the ground by the Roman army under the com- mand of Titus Vespasian ; the temple was burned, the Jews slaughtered to an immense number, a few were reserved by Titus to be carried in triumph to Rome, and the rest were sold for slaves, and dispersed into all nations. This happened in the year 70 of the Christian sera. Extreme were the cala- mities and miseries that people suliered in this war, by the plague, famine, and sword : they were even such as no nation had ever felt before. The Jews must have all cer- tainly perished, had not God in his mercy shortened those days of vengeance for the sake of the elect, that is, for the sake of reserving a remnant of that people, who are to remain in captivity till the times of the nations be fulfilled, that is, till the nimiber of the Gentiles, whom God \vill call to the Christian faith, be fiUed up ; and then that remnant of the Jews will be converted, and acknowledge Christ for their Messiah. In like manner, before the lastcominsf of Christ to dissolve the fabric of the world, the calamities of war that will fall upon mankind will be very great, though perhaps somewhat inferior to those the Jews experienced on the above occasion. 192 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH* But the persecution which will be exercised by Antichrist against the Christians, will exceed in severity and cruelty the persecutions of all past ages. But this dreadful period will be shortened by the mercy of God for the sake of his elect, and reduced to three years and a half Christ having thus carried on his predictions to the ruin of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews, which is to last to the latter time of the world, the sequel of his discourse na- turally falls upon the transactions of that last period. " Then if any man," says he, "shall say to you: lo, here is Christ, or there ; do not believe- him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told it you before hand. If therefore they shall say to you : behold, he is in the desert, go ye not out : behold, he is in the closets, believe it not," Here is a full warning, which ought to be taken notice of, against the false Christs and false prophets that will rise up in the last age ; the chief of whom will be Antichrist and the false prophet his attendant. And what is very alarming, they will have power of showing great signs and wonders, in so much as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. We shall see the same confirmed, by the Apocalypse, in the two above-mentioned im posters. A more full account of all these seducers, and of their infamous character, is given us in the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Paul. " In the last days," says St. Peter, " there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying, where is his promise of his coming ? for since the time that the fathers slept, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Ep. iii. 3, 4. " Know also this," says St. Paul, " that in the last days shall come on dan- gerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrate- ful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, in- continent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God ; having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof" 2 Tim. iii. 1, &c. The same admonition is given us by St. Jude in his Epistle, v. 17, &c. "But you, my dearly beloved," says this apostle, "be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who told you, that in the last time there should come mockers, walking- according to their own desires in HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 193 unf^odliness. These are ihey, who separate themselves, sen- sual men, having not the spirit." To proceed with our Saviour's discourse : " And immedi- ately after the tribulation of those days," says he, " the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be moved. And there shall be upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves, men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world." These previous signals of the end of the world are analogous to those described in the Apocalypse, under the sixth seal, as will appear by the comparison of the two texts. See the text of the Ajjocalypse given above, page 195. Our Saviour says: "The sun shall be darkened." St. John, after the opening of the sixth seal, says : " The sun became black as sack-cloth of hair." Christ says : " The moon shall not give her light." St. John says: "The moon became as blood." Christ continues : " The stars shall Hill from heaven." St. John in the above-mentioned place: " The stars from heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig-tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind." Christ again: "And the powers of heaven shall be moved." St. John : " And the heaven departed as a book folded up." Christ again: "And there shall be upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves." St. John in the above place: " And every mountain, and the islands, were moved out of their places." Our Saviour pro- ceeds : " Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world." St. John: "And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains. And they say to the mountains and the rocks: fall upon us, and hide us from the foce of him wlio sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Hence it appears that the words of our Saviour may be applied as the best interpretation of the text of St. John contained under the sixth seal. Thus then it appears that the discourse of Christ to his disciples, and the text of the xVpocalypse under the sixth seal, exhibit to us an epitome of the prodigies and disastrous events that will distinguish the sixth or last period of time. They will be sent as so many warnings of the approaching great day of wrath, when Christ will come in his power and ma- 17 i94 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. jcsty to judge the living- and the dead, and put an end to the present world. " When you shall see these things come to pass," continues Christ, speaking- to his disciples, " know that the kingdom ef God is at hand." Luke xxi. 31. Narrative preparatory to the Prophecy of the Sixth Trumpet. The sixth or last period of time exhibits many great and extraordinary events, which are not all related by St. John, as some part of them had already been revealed in former pro- phecies. On that account we find it necessary to premise a narrative of those facts, which are previous to what is laid down in the Apocalypse. If the order, in which we have ranged the particulars of this prophetic history, should not be approved by the reader, we desire him to reflect, we travel through the dark paths of futurit}^ One event, that vv'ill chiefly distinguish the sixth age, and will be a prelude to the final period of the human race in this world, is the appearance of that extraordinary man, Anti- ..christ. But the way is to be opened for his coming by two previous incidents, which we learn from St. Paul, and which will enable him to bring on those mischiefs upon mankind, and that desolation upon the earth, which the prophets have foretold. St. Paul thus writes to the Thessalonians in his second epistle, chap. 2, V^. 1. "And we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto him, V. 2. " That you be not easily moved from your mind, nor be frighted, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand. V. 3. " Let no man deceive you by any means : for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, V. 4. " Who opposeth and is Jifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God. V. 5. " ReiTiember you not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things ? V. 6. " And now you know" what withholdeth, that he may he revealed in his time. V. 7. " For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold until he be taken out of the way. V. 8. " And then that the wicked one shall be revealed, ex u HlarOKY OF THE CHKlaTlAN CHURCH. 195 whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." Here the apostle admonishes the Thessalonians, not to give way to terrors, as if the last day was near at hand, assurhig them that last day would not come, " till there came a revolt first, and the man ' oi' sin were revealed, the son of per- dition, who opposeth, ajid is lifted up above all that is called God, .or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God," v, 3, 4. "By the man of sin, the son of perdition," &c. ail Christian antiquity and the subsequent ages have ever understood that superla- tively wicked man, Antichrist. The end of the world there- fore will not happen till after this man's appearance; and also after what St. Paul calls a revolt, which, it seems, will be pre- vious to Antichrist's comino-. This revolt, or, rather accordino- to the Greek text, the apostac}^ denotes a defection from faith as the generality of the scripture-interpreters have understood it. Alas ! we have already seen a great flood of apostacy spread itself through the western part of Christendom, within the last two centuries and a half, by the rise of Lutheranism, Calvinism, &c. And this had been preceded in the eastern part of the Church by the Greek schism, Mahometanism, Arianism, &c. Even St. Paul assures us, he himself saw this apostacy, or defection from faith, ushering into the world : " for the mystery of iniquity already worketh," says he,, v. 7. The seeds of it were sown, and had sprung up in the apostle's time, in the heretics called Simonians, Nicholaites, Gnostics, &c. But it will continue to gain ground and to ripen, till it comes to full maturity in the time of Antichrist, who by his extraordinary power, cruel persecutions, and insidious machi- nations, will to5>'<-^ther with his false prophet, seduce a prodi- gious immber of Christians. This we shall see in the follow- ing part of the Apocalypse; and it is sufficiently intimated by our Saviour, as we observed under the sixth seal, in these words: " There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and sliall show great signs and great wonders, insomuch as to deceive, if possible, even the elect." Matth. xxiv. 24. - Under the term, apostacy may be comprehended, not only a defection from faith, but also a general degeneracy of morals, which already shows itself in the surprising growth ,of licentiousness and irreligion, in a tide of luxury, extrava- gance, and profligacy. This inundation of vice paves the way for worse, and will spread more and more with the pro- gress of time, till it rises to a general flood of wickedness in 196 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. the infamous dissolute reign of Antichrist. This seems to be also pointed at in the following- words of Christ: "And because iniquity has abounded, the charity of man shall grow cold," Matt. xxiv. 12. In fine, this general apostacy, with respect to both faith and morality, was likewise fully in- sinuated by our Saviour when he said : " When the Son of man cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on the earth?" Luke xviii. 8. ' „ • The second circumstance, which will announce the coming of Antichrist, is obscurely expressed thus by St. Paul in the above cited text: "And now you know what withholdeth, that he, (the man of sin, or Antichrist,) be revealed in his time. Only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way, and then that wicked one, (Antichrist,) shall be revealed," v. 6, 7, 8. The generality of the holy fathers have explained this text of the destruction of the Ro- man empire, which Avas to take place before Antichrist should be revealed. The same interpretation has also been trans- mitted throusfh all tne Christian aoes by a uniform tradition ; the ground of which can be no other but the explication St. Paul himself had given to the Thessalonians by word of mouth, as he tells them in this place: " Remember you not, (says he,) that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" v. 5. According to the sense here exposed, the Roman empire, which held when St. John wrote, was therefore the thing that withheld, and was to be taken away, before Antichrist should appear. " Who holds," says Tertullian, "but the Roman empire? the division of which into ten kintrdoms will brino- on Anli- christ : and then, according to the apostle, that wicked one shall be revealed." De Resurrect. Carnis cap. 24. St. Jerome, relating the above words of the apostle, " only that he who now holdeth, doth hold, until he betaken out of the way," writes thus : " The apostle by this expression. He who now holdeth, indicates the Roman empire: he says it in obscure terms, be- cause if he had spoken openly, he would imprudently have raised the rage of the persecutors against the Christians, and against the Church which was then beginning to rise." In Je- rern. c. 25. Again, the same learned doctor of the Church, in another place explaining the same passage, says: " Only that the Roman empire which holds now all nations under its pow- er be taken away, and then Antichrist will come." Epist. 151. ad Algas. qu. 1 1. St. John Chrysostom, interpreting the same text, speaks thus : " It may be asked, what St. Paul means HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 197 when he says ' you know 'vhat withholdeth, that he may be revealed ;' and then, why the apostle speaks so obscurely. He has in view the Roman empire : and therefore it is with good reason he speaks in obscure enigmatical terms, for fear of ir- ritating the Romans. The apostle says then : only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way ; that is, when the Roman empire shall be removed from the face of the earth, then Antichrist will come." In 2 Thess. Horn. 4. Lactantius, speaking of the last period of the world, says : " At that time devastation will overspread the whole earth, destroying every thing : the cause of which desolation will be, that the Roman name (I shudder to say it, but I must because it is to be) Aviil be taken away from the earth, and the empire will return into Asia : the East will domineer again, and the West be subdued." Lib. 7. c. 15. St. Cyril of Jeru- salem writes : " The devil will raise up a fam.ous man, who will seize upon the dominion of the Roman empire. That man or Antichrist will appear, when the Roman empire is come to its period." Catech. 15. St. Augustine, other fathers, and the scripture expositors of latter ages, have explained St. Paul's text in the same sense. From hence then it appears that St. Paul has disclosed this particular circumstance viz, that the Roman empire was to be dissolved before Antichrist appeared, and that its dissolution would be a sign of the ap- proach of that impious man. We have already seen in the history of the third age, that the great body of the Roman empire became divided in two : the western, which had Rome for its capital ; and the eastern, of which Constantinople was constituted capital. We have likewise seen, that the western empire was torn in pieces by different swarms of northern invaders, Goths, Vandals, Huns, Alans, &c. who parcelled out its provinces among themselves, and even burned Rome itself Upon the destruction of the western part, it is plain it could not be said that the whole Ro- man empire was extinguished, since the large eastern part still subsisted. Besides, it must be remembered, we related how the western Roman empire was revived and raised up anew^ though not to its former grandeur, by Charlemagne, who was crow^ned emperor of it in the year 800. It has con- tinued to exist ever since that epoch, and is swayed at present by the august house of Austria, and has its seat in Germany. Nevertheless, upon the above-mentioned ruin of the western state, with Rome its imperial head, which had been looked upon as the mighty centre and metropolis of the whole world, 17* 198 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CRURCH. some of the Christians apprehended that, in conformity to the above prophecy of St. Paul, the time of Antichrist would soon succeed. This seemed to be the sentiment of St. Jerome, who lived at that period. " He that held," says he, "is taken out of the way, and yet we do not understand that Antichrist must be coming." Ep. xi. ad Eger. This opinion, though false for the reasons just now mentioned, yet was not totally devoid of foundation For Rome, the principal head and ancient cen- tre of all dominion, was then no more, and the most notable partof the empire, namely, the western, was suppressed. What wonder then, that the time of Antichrist was supposed, from the expression of St. Paul, to be approaching? And in effect we soon after see the birth of a man, viz. Mahomet, who, though not himself Antichrist, yet laid the foundations of a great power, which Ave conceive will form hereafter the Anti- christian empire. The reason for this opinion will appear in the sequel. The ruin of ancient Rome was ultimately com- pleted by Totila, king of the Goths, in the year 546; and not long after Mahomet was born, viz. 571, and began his con- quests about the year 622. From that date the Mahometan power advanced with great rapidity and success, and grew to a prodigious height of dominion under the Saracens; as we have shown in the account of the fourth seal. Af- terwards, the chief part of that vast empire fell by conquest into the hands of the Turks, where it remains at this day. These warriors, actuated by an insatiate thirst of power, enlarged their conquests upon the eastern Roman empire, which at last they entirely subdued, and took the imperial city of Constantinople in 1453, where the conquering suhan, Mahomet II., fixed the seat of his own monarchy. Thus was taken out of the way or extinguished one part of that empire ; the existence of which withholds or hinders the coming of Antichrist. And in this manner did the Turkish power in- crease, and as we apprehend, will continue its progress, to pave the way to universal dominion under a ruler or empe- ror, who will in the end become Antichrist. The fourth seal, as we have seen, gave us the origin of the Mahometan monarchy, of which it was there said : " Power was given to him, (its rulers,) over the four parts of the earth," Apoc. vi. 8. In the Greek indeed we read, " over the fourth part of the earth." If the text of the vulgate be followed, it is clear that the Mahometan dominion will extend over the four parts of the earth ; and this will be further con- firmed hereafter. The accomplishment of this prophecy is HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 199 advancing, but not yet adequately fulfilled. The Turks have already in their possession a considerable part of Asia, a great extent of country in Africa, and a spacious territory in Eu- rope. On the pouring out of the fourth vial, we saw the divine justice fall upon the schismatic Greeks by the hands of the Turks, who thereupon greatly enlarged their empire. The great empire of Turkey, thus enlarged, having pre- pared the way for the coming of this impious prince, we shall .now look out for his birth and orio-in ; for which we must have recourse to the book of Daniel. This prophet in the . seventh chapter tells us, he saw in a vision four beasts rise up out of the sea, which have been generally understood to represent four great empires that should succeed one another, namely, the Chaldean, Persian, Greek, and the Roman. The fourth beast, which denotes the ancient Roman empire, Daniel thus describes, ver. 7. " I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo ! a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and ex- ceedingl}'- strong ; it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with its feet ; and it was unlike to the other beasts, Avhich I had seen before it, and it had ten horns." An angel explains to the prophet the mean- ing of this mysterious terrible beast in the following manner, ver. 23. " The fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater* than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces." Further, ver. 24. " And the ten horns of the same kingdom will be ten kings." This fourth king- dom, or Roman empire, was then to surpass in power and dominion all the preceding kingdoms. And effectually, it conquered the dominions of the three above-named empires, and even subdued the greatest part of the then known world. The ten horns of the beast are said by the angel to be ten kings, that is, ten proconsuls or governors placed by the em- perors over the ten provinces, into which the whole Roman state might be supposed to be divided. These proconsuls or governors might well be termed kings, as their power was very great, and the provinces under their command equal to larore kino-doms. Daniel proceeds, ver. 8. " I considered the horns, and behold, another little horn sprung out of the mids^t of them : and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof" Which the angel explains to him thus, ver. 24. The Chaldaic text, in which language this prophecy was written, has, umike to all kingdoms." 200 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. " And another (king) shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former,* and he shall bring down three kings." The little horn here, which the angel explains to be a king, \dll be that king who will become Antichrist. And such is the opinion of St. Jerom, and several other holy fathers and interpreters. This little horn, or this petty king, who at last will be Antichrist, must therefore spring out of the midst of the ten horns, or wdll be born and rise up from without the midst of the ten provinces that composed the ancient Roman empire, that is, will rise up in a country, out of the boundary of the Roman empire, but answering to the middle of it. This circumstance, joined with the other before mentioned, of his be- coming emperor of the Turks, serves to point out to us the place of his birth. Whoever will take the pains to view the map of the ancient Roman empire, will see that the country formerly called Taurica Chersonesus, now Crim Tartary, on the north side of Pont Euxin or Black sea, corresponds very nearly to the middle of that empire, while at the same time it lies without its limits. And this latter circumstance is necessary, as the little horn ought to be independent on the other ten horns, which could not be if it was placed within the sphere of their power. In the country then of Crim Tartary, we conceive the Antichristian prince will be born, heir to that petty king- dom, and will succeed to it as kan or king of Crim and little Tartary. On another hand, we learn from Prince Cantemir, in his history of the Ottoman empire, that the Mahometan family upon the throne of Crim Tartary is descended, by a younger branch, from the same stock as the Ottoman fiimily that sits upon the throne of Constantinople, and the Turks have often declared that if the Ottoman family fail, that of Crim Tartary is to succeed to their empire. We suppose therefore that the present Ottoman race, which now sways the Turkish sceptre, will somehow or other be removed or extinguished ; upon which the Antichristian prince, king of Crim Tartary, will claim his right, and mount the imperial throne of Tur- key. This simple course of events shows therefore the com- pletion of Daniel's prophecy ; a king of so small a country as Crim and little Tartary, may well be reputed the little horn that sprang out of the midst of the ten horns ; and this petty king's succeeding to the Turkish empire, explains how the little horn grew mightier than the other horns. Before we explain the rest of the above prophecy, it may not be amiss to add something more concerning the origin of * The Chaldaic, " and he shall be unlike to the former." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 201 this famous future prince. It is the opinion of many of the ancients, that Antichrist will be a Jew, born of the tribe of Dan. They allege as a probable proof of it ; first, the pro- phecy of Jacob about his son Dan. Thus spoke tliat patri- arch : " Dan shall judge his people like another tribe m Israel. Let Dan be a snake in the w-ay, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, that his rider may fall backward." Gen. xlix. 16, 17, Upon which St. viugustine says: " When Jacob gave his last blessing to his sons, he spoke in such manner of Dan, as to give reason to think that Antichrist will be born of that tribe." Qu. 22. in Josue. But this prediction seems to have been accomplished in that extraordinarj^ man, Sampson, who was born of the tribe of Dan, became judge of Israel, and was truly a snake in the way to the Philistines; for he met them every where, and sorely tormented them. And in this sense St. Jerome explains it. T/i Qucest. Hebr. The second argument adduced in favour of the same opinion, is drawn from the seventh chapter of the Apocalypse, where, in the enumeration of the Jews who in each tribe were to be signed with the sign of the living God, the tribe of Dan is omitted, as if it was excluded from that favour on account of its giving birtii to that most wicked of all men, Antichrist. But this argument does not seem to be suffi- ciently grounded. For, in the first place, St. John, before he be- gins that enumeration, says, " that there were a hundred and forty-four thousand, or, twelve times twelve thousand, signed out of all the tribes of Israel," vii. 4. He therefore meant to enumerate all the twelve tribes. Secondly, in that enumera- tion we may observe there is mention made of the tribe of Joseph, and of Manasse, but no mention of that of Ephraim ; we must also observe that the tribe of Joseph comprehended both the tribes of Ephraim and Manasse, who were Joseph's two sons. Therefore either the tribe of Joseph would have been solely mentioned, without that of Manasse ; or else the two separate tribes of Ephraim nnd Manasse would have been mentioned, without that of Joseph. It appears then that, as the text stands, the mention of tiie tribe of Manasse is super fluous, being included in that of Joseph. Indeed, a mistake seems to have crept into the text through inadvertency of the copier, who, instead of AA'N in the Greek original, wrote MA N in his copy, as the Greek letters A and M are not so very difierent : and in subsequent copies MAN might be lengthened out into MANASSE, for which it was supposed to stand. Therefore it would seem, that Dan stood in the I 202 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. J crig-inal text instead of Man or Manasse. Besides, upon the supposition even tliat Antichrist was to spring from the tribe of Dan, we do not see wliy the whole tribe should be accursed for that. We may then conclude, with respect to this article, that, as there appears nothing in holy writ to determine the origin of Antichrist, we may suppose lie will be born of Ma- hometan parents, such being at present the prince and people of Crim Tartary. But to resume the prophecy of Daniel. " I considered the horns," says he, "and behold, another liltle horn sprung out of the midst of them : and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof," vii. 8. The last part, which alone remains to be considered, and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof, is thus explained to him by the angel: " and he shall bring down three kings," V. 24; that is, the Antichristian king, represented by the little horn, will subdue three kings or three kingdoms, which must be provinces of the ancient Roman empire ; because, as we observed, that empire is represented by the beast, and its pro- vinces are signified by the beast's horns. And thus by his reducing three kingdoms under his power, three horns of the beast will be plucked up by him. This Antichristian prince, at his accession to the imperial crown of Constantinople, will find the Turkish empire in actual possession of seven of th" ten provinces that made up the whole ancient Roman state These acquisitions, and that of most of the northern countries of Europe, will have been the work of his predecessors, as we have already remarked, and he will enter upon a do- minion of vast extent. But there will still remain three pro- vinces or kingdoms, unsubdued, within the compass of the old Roman empire. These are reserved for his own con- quest. It may now be asked, which may be supposed to be the three kingdoms here spoken of? To answer the question ; it appears pretty clear, that tlie present Glerman empire must be one of the three, as it was formerly a Roman province, and is still the representative of the Roman empire; and conse- quently, according to the above cited prophec}?- of St. Paul, it must be taken out- of the way. The cthtn- two kingdoms we apprehend may be France and Spain ; because they consti- tuted formerly two provinces of the Roman state, and seem to be almost the only considerable powers remaining, which will not have been before swallowed up in the Turkish do- minion. This however cannot be certainly ascertaii^ed : as HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 203 perchance Italy may be one of these' two kingdoms, unless on account of its being divided into a number of petty states, it may not be reputed to form a kingdom. Thus then by the reduction of the tl:iree kingdoms, he who held will be taken out of the way, conformably to the prophecy of St. Paul ; that is, the Roman empire will be wholly put down, and incorpo- rated in the dominion of the Antichristian emperor. But it must be observed, all these things happen while he is a suc- cessful conquering prince, before he declares himself Anti- christ ; as follows from the apostle's words, already cited : *' Only that he who now holdeth, do hold until he be taken out of the way ; and then that wicked one (Antichrist) shall be revealed.'' According to the above account, deduced from the predic- tions of Daniel and St. Paul, the Antichristian prince becomes master of all those spacious countries that constituted the an- cient Roman empire: and of course he may be truly styled Roman emperor. And that such he will one day be, may be further confirmed from the x4pocalypse. We have seen, page 98, in the explication of the 17th chapter of the Apocalypse, that the seven heads of the beast which represents the Roman empire, denote seven Roman emperors, of whom Antichrist himself is the seventh or last. The same will likewise appear hereafter in the exposition of chapter the loth, which evi- dently relates to Antichrist. Such also we find to have been the general sentiment of the ancients. Thus speaks St. John Chrysostom : " As those empires, which preceded the Roman, were destroyed ; that of the Babylonians by that of the Per- sians, that of the Persians by that of the Macedonians, that of the Macedonians by that of the Romans ; so will likewise the empire of the Romans be destroyed by Antichrist." 2 Tkess. Horn. 4. St. Cyril of Jerusalem says : " The devil will raise up a famous man, Antichrist, who will seize upon the do- minions of the Roman empire." Catech. 15. St. Irenseus, St. Jerome, and others, might be quoted for the same purpose, Constantinople, which has been the seat of the Turkish monarchs, ever since it fell under their dominion, will con- tinue to remain so under this Turkish Antichristian, and Ro- man emperor. That city, though very large at present, upon the, vast accession of empire will probably increase to a great degree, in magnitude, grandeur and riches. As the ancient Romans could never sit down to enjoy their acquisitions in the sweets of peace, but were constantly stimulated by insa- tiate lust of power to add to their dominion ; in like manner '204 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. this neAv Roman emperor, as if with the acquisition of their territory he inherited their restless ambition, will pursue his destructive view of aggrandizing his power and empire. The reduction of one country after another will whet his appetite for conquest, and each conquest will facilitate the way to fur- ther success. Having added Europe to his other dominions, he will have at command the naval power of all the great maritime states. His numerous fleets may therefore fly from one continent to another, from one island to another, and strike terror wherever they come. What wonder, then, if he en- larges his empire with fresh conquests in Africa, America, in the East and West Indies ? In these times iniquity will abound. Universal will have been the propagation of infidelity, irreligion, and immorality, as we have before observed from the words of our Saviour and St. Paul. Defection from faith, disregard for its teachers, licentiousness in opinions, depravity in morals, will so far at last deaden the influence of religion, and cause such degene- racy in mankind, that many will be so base as even to espouse idolatry. This assertion may seem incredible to some at this day, and may be esteemed an absurdity ; but we shall see idolatry expressly mentioned in the Apocalypse, as existing in the time of Antichrist. And indeed, I apprehend our surprise will much abate, if we take into consideration the temper and disposition of the present times. When men divest them- selves, as they seem to do at present, of all fear of the Supreme Being, of all respect for their Creator and Lord ; when they immerse themselves in the gratification of sensuality; when they give full loose to the human passions, and direct their whole study to the pursuits of a corrupt world, with a total forgetfulness of a future state, may we not say that the tran- sition is easy to idolatry ? When all the steps are taken that lead to a mark, what wonder if we arrive at it? Such was the gradual degeneracy of mankind in the early ages of the world, that brought on the abominable practices of idol wor- ship. I am aw'are it will be said, we hav-e the happiness to live in the most enlightened of all ages, our knowledge is more perfect, our ideas are more improved and refined, the human faculties are now better cultivated than ever before, and, in fine, the present race of mankind may be reckoned a society of philosophers, when compared to preceding genera- tions : how then can such a stupidity seize the human mind, as to sink it into idolatry ? But I apprehend, this kind of reasoning is more specious than solid. For, allovying the HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 205 present times to surpass the former in refinement and know- ledge, it must be said tliey are proportionably more vicious. Refinement of reason has contributed, as every one knows, to refine upon the means of gratifying the human passions. Besides, how much soever enlightened the mind may be sup- posed to be, if the heart is corrupted, what excesses the man will run into, daily experience teaches. If the philosopher is not governed by the power of religion, his conduct will be absurd, and even despicable to the most ignorant individual of the lowest rank. A Socrates, a Cicero, a Seneca, are said to have been acquainted with the knowledge of one supreme God; but they had not courage to profess his worship, and in their public conduct basely sacrificed to stocks and stones with the vulvar. When men have banished from their heart the sense of religion, and despise the ties of justice, (and is not this the case of numbers ?) will many of them scruple to incense a statue, if doing so will serve their ambition, their interest, or whatever may be their favourite passion ? Where is then the surprise, that infidelity and irreligion be succeeded by idolatry '? That pride alone, when inflamed with a con- stant flow of prosperity, may raise a man to the extravagant presumption of claiming to himself divine honours, we have the example of Alexander, the celebrated Macedonian con- queror, and of several emperors of Babylon and ancient Rome. From suggestions of that same principle of pride, may it not happen, that the Turks in future time, elated by a long series of success, by a continued course of victories and conquest, may it not happen, I sa\% that they will ascribe all this good fortune to the imaginary protection of their great Mahomet, and thence set him up for a God ? " By the vanity of men," says the Book of Wisdom, " idols came into the world," xiv. 14. If it should so happen, in the vast bulk of people then under the yoke of that empire, how many individuals may yield to the same absurd impiety, some out of fear for what they may lose, others out of a view to gain what they covet? The unparalleled success, which will attend the arms of this domineering prince, the Amichristian hero, the greatness of his power, and the extent of his dominion, superior to every thing that has been seen before, will strike with amazement the whole world, and in particular the Jews, who have been ever expecting such a glorious conqueror. Thej^ will be dazzled by the appearances of such extraordinary prosperity, and will view this great monarch with minds suspended in doubt, whether he be not the Messiah thev have so long waited 18 206 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. for. Such has been the misfortune of the Jews to be always inflexibly fixed in the opinion, that the Messiah is to be a prince of the highest temporal grandeur and power, and who will not only restore them to their ancient land and possessions, but also raise them to such a pitch of eminence as to domineer over the whole world. The Antichristian emperor, knowing this their carnal disposition, and by his unbounded ambition coveting to be acknowledged master, and revered by all classes of men, will craftily encourage the Jews in their delusive no- tions, and draw them into the snare. lie will pretend to be the great personage promised to them by the prophets. He will pretend to be lineally descended from king David, who wae foretold to be the parent of the Messiah. He will feign to be attached to the law of Moses, to be zealous in the observance of its rites, and will allege, for proof of his sincerity, his having been circumcised ; which circumstance will be true, as circumcision has always been in use among the Maho- metans. Thus he will put on the mask of dissimulation ; " Antichrist will be," says St. Gregory the Great, " the chief of all hypo- crites. That seducer will pretend to sanctity, that he may draw others into iniquity." In Job. lib. 25. c. 14. St. Am- brose, in Luc. 12. is of opinion, that he will allege the sacred scriptures to prove to the Jews that he is their Messiah and the Christ. "Before the end of the world," says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, "Satan will raise up a man, who will falsely as- sume the name of Christ, and bv that means will seduce the Jews." Catech. 15. Masked under the title of their glorious Messiah, he will flatter them with promises of restoring them to their ancient inheritance, the possession of the whole coun- try of Judea, and in particular to their beloved city of Jeru- salem. He will promise to rebuild their temple, and reinstate the Mosaic religion in its primitive splendour. He will pre- tend to make them the most glorious people upon earth, and that the great expectations they have so long waited for shall now be fulfilled. To ^ive o-reater weio-ht to all his fictitious pretences, the arch-impostor will place himself at Jerusalem, where the Jews expect their Messiah will hold his residence. Thither he will invite them to resort, that they may receive, the effect of his promises. Thus allured, they will repair thither in great number, and will acknowledge him for their king and Messiah. That such will be the illusion of the Jews, is the general opinion of the ancient fathers of the Church, and of the subsequent interpreters of holy writ. \ HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 207 They ground their sentiment on those words of our Saviour to the Jews : " I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive," John v. 43. By this other v/ho will come in his own name and be received by the Jews, the above writers understand Antichrist. But while the Antichristian impostor is carrying on this farce at Jerusalem, and the Jews moving from all parts of the o-lobe to resort thither, it seems that some sudden accident wlW happen, that will alarm him, and oblige him to set out for the east to assemble an army. For, at the sounding of the sixth trumpet, we shall see an immense body of troops cross the Euphrates from the East. This may come to pass, if we suppose that the European nations combine altogether at this time to revolt, and to rescue themselves from his ty- rannical government. In which view they may join their forces, and make up a most formidable army. Upon this news reaching him at Jerusalem, he will drop all his pro- jects concerning the Jews, and without executing any of the promises made to them, he will set out in great wrath for the East, to raise a large body of forces, to chastise in the severest manner his rebellious subjects of Europe. In his absence, the Jews will continue to flock in great crowds to Jerusalem. But, instead of meeting with the Messiah they expected, they will soon find that their assembling to- gether was designed to serve other purposes of Divine Pro- vidence. For now the term was expiring, which the Almighty had fixed for the duration of the Jewish captivity; now the time was come, which in the decrees of his mercy he had settled for recalling to himself that people who had been so long estranged from him. By a particular mark of bounty, they had been chosen in former ages by him as his peculiar people, and adopted preferably to any other nation. They shared his favours in great abundance, and in the most con- spicuous manner ; and though in their infidelities and gross deviations from their duty he used the rod of correction, yet he always retained the disposition of a merciful Father for them. " Many a time did he turn away his anger, and did not kindle all his Avrath. And he remembered that they are flesh." Psalm Ixxvii. 38, 39. He had forewarned them and told them : " If you despise my laws and contemn my judgments, so as not to do those things which are ap- pointed by me, and to make void my covenant : I also will 208 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. quickly do these things to you : I will quickly visit you with poverty, &c. I will set my face against you, and you shall fall doAvn before your enemies. And I will scatter you among the gentiles." But then the Almighty presently aftei adds : " And yet for all that, when they were in the land of their enemies, I did not cast them off altogether, neither did X so despise them, that they should be quite consumed, and I should make void my covenant with them. For i am the Lord their God." Levit. xxvi. 15, &c. He spoke again by his prophet Amos : " Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth : but yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord." Amos ix. 8. Unfaithful to their God, they frequently offended, he frequently punished them ; and as often as they returned and implored his forgiveness, as often he forgave and again che- rished them. When their ingratitude had grown to such a height, as totally to abandon their indulgent Father and their God, and by a base prostitution to transfer to stocks and stones the worship due to him, and even obstinately to persist in their idolatry, notwithstanding the constant re- proaches he made them : he in his just anger banished them from their native land, and delivered them over to their enemies. The ten tribes, which formed the kingdom of Israel, were carried away slaves into Assyria ; whence they afterwards dispersed themselves into other countries. The tribes of Juda and Benjamin, of which consisted the kingdom of Juda, were removed to Babylon by Nabucho- donosor, where they were subjected to a severe captivity for seventy years. These bounds of time God set to his justice, and then the affection of the Father returned. They re- pented of their iniquities ; he replaced them in their country, and renewed his blessinos to them. Some of the Israelites returned also from Assyria, and uniting themselves to the Jews, formed one body with them. After a period of years, the term arrived, in which their fidelity was to be put to the strictest test. The principal of all the divine dispensations to man, the redemption of the world, was now to be performed. The great personage, the Son of God, who was to execute the work, had been announced to the Jews by their prophets, and was to be born of their race. A command from heaven had been given them, through the channel of the same prophets, to receive him as their promised Messiah, to acknowedge him for their new Le- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 209 gislator, and to accept his doctrine and laws in lieu of those they had hitherto followed ; and that they might not mistake his person, their prophets had given them a full description of his character, of the time of his coming, of the tenor of his life, and his extraordinary miraculous works. But when he appeared, his character and garb not ansAvering to the carnal notions they had formed to themselves of his supposed power and grandeur, they refused to receive him. They expected in their Messiah, a mighty conqueror, a potent monarch, who would raise them above all other nations. They would not understand that the blessings designed by the divine wisdom to adorn and signalize the Messiah, were of a far nobler, sublimer, and more lasting nature, than all that worldly pomp and imaginary dominion their hearts were set upon. As therefore these temporal views and ex- pectations they did not find in the humble and low condition in which Christ appeared, they rejected their God and Saviour, they despised his doctrine, they contemned and blas- phemed his miracles, they treated his sacred person with the utmost indignity, and even proceeded to such an unparalleled instance of impiety, as to put him to death. This enormous crime, the greatest they had been or could be guilty of, drew the whole torrent of divine wrath upon them. They had said: *' His blood be upon us, and upon our children." Matt, xxvii. 25. And effectually their horrible imprecations fell upon their own heads and upon their children also. Within less than the space of forty years after, the Almighty sent upon them his scourge ; the Romans, who ravaged their country, destroyed their city and temple ; and after that an innumerable multitude of them had perished by famine, plague, and the sword, the remainder were expelled Judea, and scattered over the whole face of the earth, conformably to the prediction of our Saviour : " There shall be great dis- tress in the land, and wrath upon this people, (the Jews.) And they shall Ml by the edge of the sword; and shall be led away captives into all nations." Luke xxi. 23, 24. In this desolate condition, without any fixed abode or govern- ment, the contempt of mankind, they have remained for 1700 years, and thus they still continue a dreadful and lasting mo- nument of the divine indignation. But it must be observed that, notwithstanding this most terrible, most severe, and most lasting of all the punishments the Almighty has inflicted upon the Jews, nevertheless he has not utterly exterminated them. Their race subsists, and 18* 210 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. is very numerous. The calamities and oppression they have undergone, would probably have extinguished any other people, but they are still preserved by a special protection for a future great purpose. I'he manifold benefits the Saviour of mankind came to confer on the world, were first otiered to the Jews, but being rejected, they were transferred to the Gentiles who took the place of that people in the favour of God. "Therefore I say to you, (the Messiah told them,) that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof" Matth. xxi. 43. In consequence of this divine determination, the light of faith and the happy tidings of salvation were carried to other na- tions, that lay buried in gross ignorance, and in the darkness of idolatry; they were taught the true knowledge of God, and of Christ their Saviour, which they embraced, and be- came the people of God by becoming Christians. But when the merciful dispensations of heaven to the Gentiles shall be completed, that is, when the gospel of Christ shall have been fully preached to mankind, and the number of converts to Christianity, designed by the Almighty, shall be filled up, and the end of the world approaching, then the last posterity of the Jewish people shall experience that bounty, which the Almighty has hitherto suspended for many ages, but in his mercy has kept in reserve for them. He will then take from them their heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh : he will make them sensible of their past blindness and obstinacy, will open their eyes to acknowledge Christ their Messiah and Saviour, and in fine by making them Christians, will receive them anew into his favour. This doctrine we learn from St. Paul : " hath God cast away his people," (the Jews,) says he; " God forbid. — For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part hath happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in ; and so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written : there shall come out of Sion, He that shall deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob : and this is to them my covenant : when I shall take away their sins." Rom. xi. 25, 26, 27. This passage of St. Paul expresses so fully the future conversion of the Jews to Christianity, that on it, as chief basis, is built the sentiment of the fathers of the Church, who are so unanimous on that head, that it is need- less to quote any of them. The dispersion therefore of the Jews and their long captivi- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 211 ty are to have a period, but a period determined by that event, the vocation of the Gentiles to the faith, which when fulfilled, the Jews are to be re-assembled from all the corners of the earth, will be converted to Christianity, and re-established in that same land they formerly inhabited, and which was given by the Almighty himself to their ancestors. This singular economy of God towards that people is also in part made known to us by our Saviour, in those his words : " They (the Jews) shall be led away captives into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles, till the times of the nations be fulfilled." Luke xxi. 24. But the whole is beautifully described by many of the ancient prophets. A few of those instances shall here be put down. Thus pro- phesied Azarias, in the reign of Asa, king of Juda : " Many days shall pass in Israel, without the true God, and without a priest or teacher, and without the law. And when in their distress they shall return to the Lord, the God of Israel, and shall seek him, they shall find him." 2 Paralip. xv. 3, 4. Thus spoke the prophet Osee, about 800 years before Christ : *' The children of Israel shall sit many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, without altar, and without Ephod, and without theraphim : and after this the children of Israel shall return, and shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king : and they shall fear the Lord and his goodness, in the last days," c. 3. v. 4, 5. Here the prophet first describes the present forlorn state of the Jew^s, without either fixed settlement or government, temple or sa- crifice : then he informs us, that in the last days they will return to God and seek David their king, that is, the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, w'ho is of the race of David and his successor in the kingdom of Juda. " And it shall come to pass in that day," says the prophet Isaiah, " that the Lord shall set his hand the second time to possess the remnant of his people, which shall be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Phetros, and from Ethiopia, and from Elam, and from Senaar, and from Emath, and from the Islands of the sea; and he shall set up a standard unto the nations, and shall assemble the fugitives of Israel, and shall gather together the dispersed of Juda, from the four quarters of the earth," xi. 11. The prophet Jeremiah prophesies on the same subject, in the foUowinof strain : " Behold the whirlwind of the Lord, his fury going forth a violent storm, it shall rest upon the head of the wicked. The Lord will not turn away the wrath of his indignation, till he have executed and performed the thoughts 212 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. of his heart. In the last days you shall understand these things. At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people," xxx. 23, 24, and xxxi. 1. Here the anger of God is announced to fall upon the head of the wicked, that is, upon Antichrist and his society ; which the Jews will understand, or see executed in the last days. About that time the Lord will become the God of all the families or tribes of Israel, and they will become his people. In like manner, by the mouth of the prophet Eze- chiel, we hear the Almighty speaking thus to the Jews: " I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the- stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh. And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers ; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God," xxxvi. 24, &c. We shall close these prophecies with a passage from Micheas : " It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared in the top of mountains, and high above the hills, and people shall flow to it. In that day, saith the Lord, I will gather up her that halteth ; and her that I had cast out I will gather up, and her whom I had afilicted. And I will make her that halted, a remnant ; and her that had been afflicted, a mighty nation : and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Sion, from this time now and for ever," iv. 1, 6, 7. It being then the gracious design of the Almighty to receive again the Jews into his favour, by their conversion to Christ- ianity, at the period we are speaking of, when they are gather- ing together at Jerusalem ; it is now to be examined by what means that great work is to be efl^ected, and who is to be the happy instrument of it. All antiquity and tradition tells us, that Elias is the person. And these vouchers are grounded on the express word of the scripture. Thus spoke God to the Jews by the mouth of his prophet Malachy : " Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers : lest I come and strike the earth with anathema," iv. 5, 6. Here the Almighty promises, that before the great and dreadful day of judgment, he will send the prophet Elias, who shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, that is, he will convert the HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 213 Jews, by convincing- them that their Messiah is that very Jesus whom they have rejected, and by such conviction he will re- concile them to their fathers the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob : who believed in Christ to come, expected him, and desired to see his day, (John viii. 56,) while the Jews by the preachingof Elias will believe in him already come: and thus will ensure a mutual reconciliation ; the fathers and the children, who had been divided from the time of Christ's coming, will be re-united in the same faith and obedience to God. This work will be done lest I come, says the Lord, an«l strike the earth with anathema, or, with utter destruc- tion ; that is, lest the whole body of the Jewish people perish , at the last day for want of faith in their Saviour ; and also lest there should be found at that time so few amon"^ men deserving mercy, on account of their infidelity and irreiigion, as to oblige the Almighty to strike the earth with utter de- struction, or in other words, to condemn almost the whole bulk of mankind. The conversion therefore of the Jews to Christianity is to be the principal function of Elias. For this design he has been reserved by the wisdom and bounty of God, and not been suffered to die. While Eliseus was walkinp- with him, he was taken away by the divine hand^from the earth, and con- veyed to some place unknown to mankind. " As they (Elias and Eliseus) went on, walking and talking together, behold, a fiery chariot and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and. Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 4 Kings ii. 11. Elias therefore still exists in life, and will remain so, till he returns again upon earth, in full vigour, vested with that extraordinary commission from the Most High, to remove the veil of darkness that hangs before the eyes of the Jews, to show them their past error, and introduce them into the fold of Christ their God and Redeemer. That such will be the office committed to Elias, we also learn very clearly from the book of Ecclesiasticus, chap, xlviii. V. 4, 9, 10, where it is said: " Who can glory like to thee, Elias? Who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chiriot of fiery horses. Who art registered in the judgments of times, to appease the wrath of the Lord, to re- concile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.'' Elias is here said by the inspired writer, to be registered in the judgments of times, that is, destined to be, at an appointed time, a kind of mediator, to appease the wrath of the Lord, irritated against the Jews for their in- 214 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. fidelity; to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, by- bringing- them to the faith and the holy sentiments of the patriarchs their ancestors, as we said above ; and in fine, he is destined to restore the tribes of Jacob to the favour of God, by teaching them to acknowledge his divine son Jesus for their Messiah. He will restore the tribes of Jacob, by re-en- grafting them on the true olive tree, from whence, according to the Apostle, they had been cut off for their infidelity. "Because of unbelief," says St. Paul, " they were broken off And if they abide not in unbelief, they shall be grafted in : for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou (Gentile) wert cut off the wild olive tree, which is natural to thee ; and contrary to nature, were grafted into the good olive tree ; how much shall they, the Jews, that are the natural branches, be grafted in their own olive tree ? For, blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in ; and so all Israel should be saved." Rom. xi. 20, 23, &c. The same account of Elias is confirmed by our Saviour, who told his disciples: " Elias indeed shall come, and shall restore all things." Matth. xvii. 11. But let us here observe, that the expression of the book of Ecclesiasticus, Elias will restore the tribes of Jacob, and that of our Saviour, Elias will restore all things, seem to indicate more than the conversion of the Jewish nation to the faith, as this conversion is sufficiently insinuated in the expression of Elias, appeasing the wrath of God, and recon- ciling the heart of the father to the son. It appears there- fore probable, that Elias will, by divine instruction, discover to the Jews the original distinction of their tribes, which they seem to have confounded and lost ; then that he will restore the tribes to their primitive possessions, by re-esta- blishing them in their ancient land of Judasa, each tribe in his new respective partition, as marked out by Ezekiel, ch. 48. The execution of this work will not at all be im- possible to the prophet, as he will be endued with so ample a degree of authority from God, and so extraordinary a power of working miracles. This observation will be con- firmed in the sequel from the ancient prophets, who represent the Jews in full possession of the Holy Land after the time of Antichrist. But if the Almighty, through his special mercy to the Jews, appoints them a teacher in Elias, to bring them back into the true path, from which they have so long strayed, it is not to be imagined he leaves the rest of the world without HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 215 the same kind of assistance. A teacher of extraordinary- power and virtue will be more wanted, as iniquity will abound in these times, and even the good will be exposed to dangerous and most severe trials. To answer this exigency, the all-bountiful God will send another agent, namely, Henoch. We learn from Moses that this patriarch by a par- ticular privilege was preserved from death : " Henoch walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him." Gen. v 24. We learn the same from St. Paul : •' By faith Henoch was taken away that he should not see death ; and he was not found because God had taken him away." Rom. xi. 5. In the whole class of mankind Henoch and Elias are the only two persons to be found, that have not paid the debt of nature ; which is deferred, till they shall have completed the functions to which they are destined, and which are not to take place till the latter days. They will then have, each, their separate commission. That of Elias will be, ' as we have seen, the conversion of the Jews, &c., or, to restore the tribes of Jacob; while Henoch will be sent to preach to the Gentiles, as we learn from the book of Ecclesiasticus : " Henoch pleased God, and was translated into Paradise, that he may give repentance to the nations," xliv. 16. The object therefore of Henoch's ministry is to give repentance to the nations, to withdraw idolaters from idolatry, to move bad Christians to repentance and bring them back into the ways of virtue, and in fine to stem the prevailing tide of iniquity. In the same manner then as St. Peter was appointed the apostle of the Jews, and St. Paul the apostle of nations, Gal. ii. 7, 8 ; so Elias will be sent, chiefly to the former, and Henoch to the latter ; but as the preaching of each of the two apostles was not en- tirely confined to either body of people, but sometimes ex- tended to both ; so likewise Elias and Henoch will some- times mix their labours in favour of both Jews and nations. It is here further to be observed, that Henoch represents the ancient patriarchs and people who lived under the law of nature ; and Elias the Jewish prophets with that people, v\'ho were bound to the Mosaic institution: so that by their preaching the Christian religion we understand that both the patriarchs and the prophets, both the law of nature ana the Mosaic, will appear again, if the expression be allowed, upon the stage of the world, to concur in giving testimony to Christ. The two messengers of God, Henoch and Elias, are the 216 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. two witnesses, whose appearance and functions are described by St. John in the Apocalypse : " And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth," xi. 3. God will give unto these, his two witnesses, the spirit of preaching and prophecy : by virtue of which they will preach and prophesy for a time, that is limited to a thousand two hundred and sixty days, thai is forty-two months of thirty days each, or three years and a half During this period of their ministry they will imitate the conduct observed by St. John Baniist on his preaching, by showing in themselves the examples of a penitential life, and practising the austerities of mortiii- cation, as appears by the expression, that they will be clothed in sackcloth. And such example, doubtless, will add great weight to their preaching. St. John continues to describe the two witnesses : " These are two olive trees, and the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord of the earth," xi. 4. Henoch and Eliasare compared to olive trees ; because, as olive trees yield the unctious sub- stance of oil, so these two powerful preachers will enrich mankind with the streams of the grace of God, aptly repre- sented by the richness of oil. They are also said to be the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord, or God, of the earth ; because as candlesticks are set up to diffuse light, so they will carry the light of faith to the nations of the earth. Here the apostle applies to them a passage in the prophecy of Zachary : " These are two sons of oil, who stand before the Lord of the whole earth." Zach. iv. 14. St. John proceeds : " And if any man will hurt them, (the two witnesses,) fire shall come out of their mouths, and shall devour their enemies : And if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain." " These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy : and they have power over waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will." Apoc. xi. 5, 6. Here are expressed the miraculou-s powers, with which the two witnesses, Henoch and Elias, will be vested. Such powers will be necessary, to enable them to prove their mission, and to give weight to their preaching. Every messenger, who appears with a new com- mission from God, is always furnished with unquestionable proofs of such his commission : and these proofs are no other than miraculous works. Thus did our Saviour, the Apostles, and first planters of Christianity, prove the divine authority of HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 217 their mission, and the truth of their doctrine. Every new teacher, who comes destitute of such a sanction, can claim no credit, but will be deemed an impostor. Among the numerous miracles Henoch and Elias will per- form, here is particular mention of some. If any one offers to hurt them, to injure them, or attempt to seize them in order to put them to death, fire will come out of their mouths, or, they will command fire to come forth and devour those enemies. The same terrible punishment Elias, while on earth, inflicted upon the fifty men, whom king Ochozias sent to apprehend him. The captain of the fifty men, said to Elias : " Man of God, the kinsf has commanded that thou come down. Elias answering, said to the captain of the fifty : If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire frojn heaven and con- sumed him and the fifty that were with him." 4 Kings i. 9, 10. The second miracle of Henoch and Elias mentioned in our text is, that they will shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. At their command, no rain will fall during the three years and a half of their preaching : which drought will naturally produce a famine. This calamity they will probably be inspired to call for, in order to make man- kind sensible of the wrath of God that is armed against them, to induce them to enter into themselves, and withdraw from their evil ways. Elias had formerly worked the same won- der, as we learn from the third book of Kings, where he is introduced speaking to Achab, king of Israel, in the following manner : " Elias the Thesite said to Achab : As the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew no.r rain these years, but according to the words of m.y mouth " 3 Kings xvii. 1. This drought, announced by Elias, lasted three years and a half, as we learn from St. Luke's Gospel, c. 4. v. 2.5, and St. James' Epistle, c. 5. v. 17. The third miracle ascribed to the two wonder-workers is the turning waters into blood. This was also performed in Egypt by Moses, In fine, it is said they will have power to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will. Here is then a general power put into their hands to inflict on mankind whatsoever calamities and disasters they may judge proper, either for their own defence, or to punish the enemies of God, or to bring men back to a sense of religion. Such surpri- sing wonders worked by the hands of Henoch and Elias will undoubtedly make impression upon mankind, and being en- forced by a vigorous preaching will bring many to repentance, 19 218 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The preceding observations show us, then, who are the two witnesses spoken of by St. John, and what will be at least, in part, the object of their mission. If a further confirmation be demanded, we have for vouchers all antiquity. We may begin with St. Justin, who says : " our Saviour himself teaches that Elias will come ; and we know that will happen towards the time that our Lord Jesus Christ is to come from heaven in his glory." Dial, cum Tryph. TertuUian speaks in the following manner : " Henoch and Elias have been taken away, nor do we find any account of their dying, because their death has been delayed : but they must however one day die, that by their blood Antichrist may be extinguished." De anima, c. 50. St. Hyppolitus martyr, says : " St. John Bap- tist was the precursor of the first coming of Jesus Christ, and Elias and Henoch will be the precursors of the second." Orat. de Antichristo. St. Ephrem comforts us by saying ; " God in his mercy will send Henoch and Elias, who will exhort mankind not to believe in Antichrist." Strm. de Antichr. Lactantius seems to indicate Elias in the following words ; " When the end of time will be approaching, God will send a great prophet, to recall mankind to the knowledge of their God, and who will have power of doing great wonders." Instit. lib. 7. c. 17. St. Hilary, explaining the words of our Saviour, says: "Christ told his disciples that Elias would come and re-establish all things, that is, that Elias would come to bring back all the Israelites that remain, to the knowledge of their God." Cap. 17. in Matt. St. Jerom tells that, " according to the prophecy of Malachy, Elias will appear before the second coming of our Saviour, and will an- nounce the approach of judgment." In Matth. xi. And in another place : " When the fulness of the Gentiles will be come in, all Israel shall be saved ] because then the prophet Elias will come, and will reconcile and turn the heart of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, and the new people will be re-united to the ancient." Ifx cap. 4 Zach. And in his letter to St. Marcella, he tells her that, " according to the Apocalypse, Henoch and Elias are to come again and then to die." We read in St. Am- brose that, " the beast which is Antichrist, will rise up from the abyss to fight against Elias and Henoch, who will have been sent again upon earth to give testimony to Jesus Christ, as we learn from the Apocalypse of St. John." In Psalm 45. St. Augustin informs us of the opinion of his times : " Nothing is more common," says he, " in the discourse of the faithful, HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 219 than that the Jews will be converted to the faith of Christ by the great prophet Elias : for it is with reason believed, that he is yet living, and is expected to appear before the coming of our Saviour to judgment." De civ. Dei, lib. 20. c. 19. And again: " It is believed that Henoch and Elias wdll return to pay the common debt of nature, that, though their death has been deferred, they will nevertheless die." Ad. cap. 6 Gen. St. John Chrysostom tells us : " The prophets announce two comings of Christ, and say that Elias will be the forerunner of the second." In Matth. horn. 58. St. Prosper writes as follows; "As God sent ^ against Pharaoh two witnesses, Moses and Aaron; and against Nero two witnesses, St. Peter and St. Paul, so likewise he will send against Antichrist two witnesses, Henoch and Elias." Dimid. Teiwp. c. 13. In fine, St. Gregory the Great speaks thus on the same subject ; '* Those two eminent preachers, Henoch and Elias have been taken away, and their death delayed, that they may return to preach in the last days It is of them that St. John says in the Apocalypse : These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord of the earth : of whom Christ has promised one in the gospel, saying: Elias will come and will restore all things : They are two stars that are covered, and do not appear at present, but will appear here- after for the advantage of the world, and great numbers of Jewish people will be converted to the Faith." In Job. lib. 9. c. 3. Thus do the ancient fathers aofree in assertino- the re- turn of Henoch and Elias, and in explaining the functions of their mmistry. The same has been the general language of ecclesiastical writers, in all succeeding ages. Hence, then, appears the absurd presumption of those, who, from their enmity to the Catholic communion, have asserted the two witnesses to be, not two single persons, but the whole succession of heretics, who in different ages have revolted from the Mother-Church, and abused her doctrine. These two messengers of God, these two candlesticks that stand before the Lord of the earth, will therefore be two great lights that will shine in the Church of Christ in the last age. Vested with the divine commission, they will enter upon their ministry with extraordinary vigour and zeal. Henoch will proceed forth to preach penance to different nations ; while Elias will chiefly employ his labours at Jerusalem and in Judaea for the conversion of the Jews, which he will success- fully effect by the energy of his preaching, by the power of his miracles, and the abundance of divine graces which will 220 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. then flow in upon that people. They, recovering themselves as'from a profound sleep, and opening their eyes to the bright light which Elias will expose to them, they will see their past blindness, will be confounded at their past errors, a«d will be deeply touched at their long ingratitude to their God. They will then recollect, in bitterness of heart, what the Almighty had formerly urged to them, pre-admonishing them of their late unhappy state. " Behold, the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he should not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity." Isai. lix. 1, 2, 3. They will acknowledge the justice of this reproach, making the follow- ing humble reply: "Therefore has judgment been far from us. — We looked for light, and behold darkness : brightness, and we have walked in the dark. We have groped for the wall, and like the blind, we have groped as if we had no eyes : we'have stumbled at noon-day, as in darkness." Ihid. V. 9, 10. From the full and clear instructions of Elias, they will evidently see that all the different characters, ascribed by the prophets to the Messiah, are found in Jesus Christ; they will acknowledge his miracles ; and in deep anguish will bewail the obstinacy of their forefathers, who shut their eyes to such evidence, and with unparalleled impiety put to death the author of life, and in consequence entailed upon their pos- terity such long and severe judgments. In viewing that horrible crime, committed against the sacred person of Christ, they w^ill break out into sorrowful lamentations and tears of compunction. " I will pour out upon the house of David, (says God,) and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayers : and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son : and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the first-born. In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem." Zach. xii. 10, 14. In fine, the Jews, now totally convinced of the whole truth of Christianity, will unite in offering up their adoration to Jesus Christ, and with a full heart confess him to be the eternal Son of God, the seed of Abraham, the race of David, the king of Israel, the desired of all nations, the pro- mised Messiah and Saviour of the world. I'hus that new-modelled people, after passing through the successive steps of surprise, confusion, and repentance, will at HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 221 last rise up to a state of gladness and exultation, at the view of their present happiness. In a tide of joy they will send up their praises to heaven, and will sing a canticle of thanks- giving, which the Almighty himself has composed for them, purposely as it would seem for this occasion, and has delivered by the pen of his prophet Isaiah. Chap. 12. V. 1. " I will give thanks to thee, O Lord: for thou wast angry w^ith me : thy wrath is turned away, and thou hast comforted me. V. 2. " Behold God is my Saviour, I will deal confidently, and will not fear ; because the Lord is my strength, and my praise, and he is become my salvation. V. 4. " Praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name : make his intentions known among the people — remember that his name is high. V. 5. " Sing ye to the Lord, for he has done great things — show this forth in all the earth. V. 6. " Rejoice and praise, O thou habitation of Sion : for great is He that is in the midst of thee, the holy One of Is- rael." To which thanksgiving they will probably join this other: " Lord, thou hast blessed thy land : thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. " Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people : thou hast covered all their sins. " Thou hast mitigated all thy anger : thou hast turned away from the wrath of thy indignation." Psalm 84. The great prophet and apostle, Elias, having thus com- pleted that remarkable work so long before foretold, of break- ing down the wall of separation that stood between the Christ- ian and Jewish people, and uniting them in one society; of " converting the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, of restoring the tribes of Jacob" to the favour of their God, and so saving all Israel ; the happy event will be carried upon the Avings of the wind over all Christendom, and the voice of exultation and praises of the Almighty will resound in every quarter of the Church. And now Elias, having fulfilled this part of his ministry, will be at leisure to convert his attention and labours to other nations. Nor can we sufficiently admire the divine mercy, in sending such powerful preachers as Henoch and Elias, to reform mankind at a time that they will have become so uni- versally corrupt, and that even idolatry will have made its appearance again upon the earth. They will admonish 19* 222 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. mankind of the approaching- end of the world, will reprove them for their profligate morals and infidelity. " The axe is now laid to the root," will they say : " every tree, therefore, that doth not 3n*eld good fruit, will be cut down and cast into the fire." Matth. iii. 10. They will explain the prophecies, showing what part of them has been accomplished, and what remains to be fulfilled ; and they themselves will prophesy. Apoc. xi. 3. They will give notice of the then near approach of Antichrist, of his satanic efforts to make the world aposta- tize from God, and of the dreadful persecution he will exer- cise against the whole body of Christians. The}/- will exhort the people, with all the energy of eloquence, and with a full exertion of their miraculous powers, to return from their ini- quities, to do penance, to embrace the mercy of God, which soon will be no more in their power, and to guard against the terrible disasters that are ready to fall. In order to give more extent to their labours, they will stir up the zeal of the pastors and priests, and will send them forth with the com- mission to renew the face of the earth. The Church will therefore, at this time, exert itself on all sides with extraordi- nary fervour. Its ministers, endued with the apostolic spirit, will, in imitation of the apostles, spread themselves every where, even to the remotest countries, and will make the gospel again resound in all parts of the earth. " This gospel of the kingdom (says Christ) shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the con- summation come." Matth. xxii. 14. This general preaching of the Christian doctrine in the sixth or last age of the Avorld, we also find sublimely set forth, with other particulars, by our apostle and prophet, in the tenth chapter of the Apocalypse. V. 1. "I saw," says he, " another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow on his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire." The appearance of this mighty angel is very remarkable. The different parts of his attire are formed to bear a relation to the events he comes to announce. He is clothed with a cloud to indicate that a cloud of persecution is soon to overspread the Church. He is crowned Avith a rainbow, as a symbol of the alliance Christ has made with his Church : first, to ex- tend her kingdom over the whole earth ; " this Gospel of the kingdom," said he, " shall be preached in the whole world." Matt. xxiv. 14 : secondly, to guide her in all difficulties, " be- hold I am with you to the end of the world." Matt, xxviii. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 223 20 : thirdly, to protect her against whatever attacks may be made upon her, " the gates of hell shall not prevail against her." Matt. xvi. 18. Such is the similitude between this rainbow and that which Almighty God established after the deluge for the sign of his alliance or engagement with mankind, never more to destroy the earth by water. The angel's face was as the sun; a lively image of the brightness with which the Church will shine in coming forth victorious from the great persecution of Antichrist ; a brightness, arising from her invincible faith and the number of her glorious mar- tyrs ; a brightness, that will receive an additional lustre from the extraordinary zeal and sanctity produced in the Christians by the persecution. Lastly, the angeFs feet were as pillars of fire ; the feet being the e.xtremity of the body, here is signified the ending of the world by fire. V. 2. " And he (the angel) had in his hand a little book open." The little book in the angel's hand represents the book of the Gospel, which is not voluminous; and it is open, as ready to be divulged and preached over the whole world. — Thus in the shape and equipment of the angel we read an epitome of vrhat will principally concern the Christian Church from that moment, in which the angel is supposed to appear, to the end of time. V. 2. " And he (the angel) set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth. V. 3. " And he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth " The angel stands with one foot upon the land and the other upon the sea, to show that what he is going to an- nounce, relates to the whole earth. And he cries with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth, to make himself heard over the whole globe. V, 3. " And when he (the angel) had cried, seven thun- ders had uttered their voices. V. 4. " And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write : and I heard a voice from heaven saying to m.e : Seal up the things, which the seven thunders have spoken, and write them not." Here St. John is permitted to write, but ordered to seal up the things which the seven thunders had spoken ; which circumstance seems to insinuate, that the things spoken by the seven thunders were seven par- ticulars of Antichrist's persecution ; as the word thunder is generally used in the Apocalypse to denote some disaster ; and these seven particulars being most dreadful and severe, the Almighty chose to have them sealed up or kept eoncealed. 224 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. lest the foreknowledge of them should too much terrify and damp the human mind. V. 5. " And the angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea, and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, V. 6. " And he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things which are therein : and the earth, and the things which are in it : and the sea, and the things w^hich are therein : that there should be time no longer: V. 7. " But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared by his servants tlie prophets." Here the ang"el announces in the most solemn manner the end of the world, swearing by the eternal God, Creator of heaven and earth, that time shall soon be no more : and that at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the mystery of God shall be finished or consummated, that is, that the whole sys- tem of divine dispensations, which the Almighty had in view in creating the world, shall then be totally fulfilled, and all that he had revealed to or declared by his prophets, relative to his providential economy towards mankind, shall then be en- tirely accomplished : upon which a period will be put to the world. The earth then will be burned, as signified by the angel standing upon it with feet which were as pillars of fire. We may here observe that St. John says, in the days, and not in the day, of the voice of the seventh angel sounding the trumpet ; which expression seems to indicate two soundings of the trumpet, with some interval between tiiem : the first sounding being destined to put an end to time, and to the breath of all then living ; and the second, to call up the dead to judgment. V. 8. " And I heard a voice from heaven again speaking to me, and saying : Go, and take the book that is open, from the hand of the angel, who standeth upon the sea and the earth." St. John is here ordered, by a voice from heaven, to go and take the book ; the little book according to the Greek text ; the same book as mentioned above, A^er. 2, in the angel's hand. The little book is the gospel, as we have said ; and St. John himself here represents the ministers of the Church, who will be stirred up and stimulated by the voice of Henoch and Elias, and of the Church itself, to take the little book, or the gospel, in hand, and to undertake the preaching of it, which will be so particularly wanted in this depraved and dangerous tune. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 225 V. 9. " And I went to the angel, saying unto him that he should give me the book. And he said to me, take the book, and eat it up: and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth, it shall be sweet as honey." St. John goes and asks of the angel the little book : that is, a numerous clergy of all degrees animated by the above voice, and inspired with a new zeal and an apostolic spirit, ask a commission from the Church, to go and preach the gospel to all the nations of the earth. This commission is given them, as the book was given to St. John: and they are enjoined "to go into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark xvi. 15. And as St. John is told to eat up the book, these new preachers are exhorted to proceed to announce the word of God with the same ardour and eagerness with which the hungry man flies to his food. St. John is further told by the angel, that the book will be sweet as honey in his mouth, but will make his belly bitter ; both which the apostle expe- rienced, V. 10. " And I took the book," says he, " from the hand of the angel, and eat it up : and it was in my mouth sweet as honey, and when I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." The new troop of apostolic men, in setting out on their mis- sion, feel an inexpressible satisfaction in undertaking a work, 30 much to the glory of God, and to which are promised such high rewards. In this sense is the gospel as honey in their mouths. But afterwards, when swallowed, it makes their belly bitter, or causes them pains in the bowels ; a figurative expression of the persecutions and severities the preachers were to suffer in consequence of their ministry. Thus then it '- appears, their fate will be alike to that which our Saviour destined for his apostles and foretold them : " They shall de- liver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death :" This will be done in the great persecution of Antichrist, the cloud which clothed the angel. V. 11. " And he," the angel, "said to me, (St. John,) thou must prophesy again to many nations, and peoples, and tongues, and kinsfs."* Here then the above-mentioned minis- ters of the gospel, represented by the person of St. John, after having received their commission, are told to enter upon their work of preaching : " Thou must prophesy again to many nations," &c. Let us however observe, that the expression of prophecying implies preaching accompanied with the gift of prophecy, and of interpreting prophecies. We must observe * In the Greek, " Thcu must prophesy before nations, and peoples, and many tongues, and many kings." 226 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. also, that St. John is told, he must prophesy again ; the mean- ing of which is, that as St. John himself, with the other apos- tles and preachers, had carried the gospel through the world in the first age of Christianity, in the same manner the minis- ters of Christ must announce it again in the last age. In this general preaching, St. John's gospel and his other writings will be chiefly made use of In this manner will the Almighty display the riches of his mercy for the conversion of mankind, by sending them zealous preachers endued with miraculous powers, and by such an abundant effusion of his graces, as will be proportioned to conquer the influence of the then prevailing wickedness; though the greater part of men will remain hardened in their iniquity. And now the holy work will be in some measure advanced, and a select number of people will be prepared for the afflictions and calamities that the Almighty is upon the point of permitting, in his anger, to break out and burst upon mankind. " Behold there come yet two woes more hereaf- ter." Apoc. ix. 12. Of these two remaining woes, the first follows on the sounding of the sixth trumpet : and the second or last belongs to the seventh trumpet, the sounding of which will put an end to the world. We shall now see of what kind is the wo, announced by the sixth trumpet. The sounding of the Sixth Trumpet. Apoc. chap. ix. 13, " And the sixth angel sounded the trumpet : and I heard," says St. John, " a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before the eyes of God. V. 14. " Saying to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet ; loose the four angels, who are bound in the great river Eu- phrates. V. 15. "And the four angels were loosed, who were pre- pared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year ; for to kill the third part of men. V. 16. " And the number of the army of horsemen was twenty thousand times ten thousand. — And I heard the num- ber of them. V. 17. " And thus I saw the horses in the vision: and they that sat on them, had breast plates of fire, and of hya- cinth, and of brimstone, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions : and from their mouths proceeded fire, and smoke, and brimstone. V. 18. "And by these three plagues was slain the third HISTORY Ot THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH- 227 part of men, by the fire and by the smoke, and by the brim- stone, which issued out of their mouths. V. 19. " For the power of the horses is in their mouths ■and in their tails. For their tails are like to serpents, and have heads : and with them they hurt. , ' V. 20. '* And the rest of the men, who were not slain by these plagues, did not do penance for the works of their hands, that they should not adore devils and idols of gold and silver, and brass and stone, and wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. V. 21. " Neither did they penance from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their fornication, nor from their thefts." As the object of the sixth vial is closely connected with that of the sixth trumpet, we shall here immediately subjoin the pouring of that vial. The 'pouring out of the sixth vial of the wrath of God. Apoc. chap. vi. 12. " And the sixth angel," says St. John, " poured out his vial upon that great river Euphrates : and dried up the water thereof, that a way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun." To return to the first text. The sixth trumpet sounds, and St. John hears a voice, according to the Greek text " one voice, from the four horns of the golden altar" of incense, that is, one voice composed of four voices issuing from the four horns, that adorned the corners of the altar, in resemblance to the altar of incense in the temple of Jerusalem. The four horns or corners of the altar denote the four, that is, all the quarters of the globe ; and the four voices that come from thence re- present the voices of the guardian angels* of all the kingdoms of the earth. These angels finding themselves frustrated in their continued labour to reform the people committed to their patronage, at last leave them as incorrigible, in the same manner as w^as done by the tutelar angels of Babylon and the pro\'inces of its empire : " w^e would have cured Babylon," said they, " but she is not healed : let us forsake her." Jerem. li. 9. The angels therefore in the present case flying from their respective countries, and confessing the justice of the * It is sufficiently intimated in Scripture, that empires and nations have their tutelar angels. St. Michael is said to be the prince of the Jewish people. Dan. x. 21. The Christian Church has likewise chosen the same archangel for her patron. Daniel mentions the prince of Persia, which is understood to be its guardian angel. Most of the ancient fathers have in the same manner ascribed the care of kingdoms to angels. 228 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. punishments now to be executed, join in one voice to tell the angel who had sounded the trumpet, to loose the four angels Avho were bound in the great river Euphrates. These four angels, who are tied fast on the river Euphrates, are four evil spirits, representing four barbarous great kingdoms or powers, which they stir up to war. And these powers chiefly lie on the eastern side of the Euphrates with respect to Europe, or with respect to St. John, who was at the time of this revela- tion in the isle of Patmos, in the Archipelago. They are said to be bound in the river Euphrates, because the Almighty had hitherto restrained them, and withheld them from rising up and crossing the Euphrates, to bring mischief to mankind, till the time he had fixed for executing his judgments was come. Then he lets them loose. " And the four angels weire loosed, who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to kill the third part of men," v. 15. Here we see the cruel and bloody dispo- sition of these four nations, as being ready to kill the third part of men. They are said to be ready at an hour, a day, a month, and a year, to destroy mankind; because, of these four nations, one will inhabit the banks of the Euphrates, and consequently will be ready, as may be said, at an hour's warning, to cross that river. A second nation, lying at some distance, will require a day, that is, a longer time to prepare and m.arch to the Eu- phrates. A third more distant nation, and a fourth the most distant of all, will respectively require still a longer space of time, expressed by a month, and a year, to reach the Eu- phrates, cross it, and meet in the field, in order to enter upon the execution of their murderous designs. This explication is confirmed by what is exhibited under the sixth vial. '• And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon that great river Euphrates ; and dried up the water thereof, that a way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun." As at the sounding of the sixth trumpet, the four an- gels or powers, who had been tied upon the river Euphrates, are loosed ; so the sixth vial is poured out upon the Euphrates; and that river is immediately dried up, or the passage is made easy to the kings who come from the east. Both the trumpet and the vial conspire to announce four great powers or kings, coming from the eastern countries of Asia, with their hands ready for destruction. And these are the agents employed by the avenging hand of God to punish mankind for their wick- edness, which will have grown to be excessive at this time. It may here be asked, which are the powers here spoken of? HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 229 If we may be allowed to conjecture from the present situation of empires in Asia, which however may alter, the four great powers in question may be, the Turks, whose dominions ex- tend over the Euphrates and beyond the Tigris, the Persians, the Moguls, and the Chinese with the Chinese Tartars. The time of loosing the four angels that were tied upon the Euphrates, seems to indicate the moment in which Satan himself is loosed from the abyss or hell, where we saw, f. G8, he was chained up for a thousand years. " And when the thousand years shall be finished," says St. John, " Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and he shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the earth." Apoc. XX. 7. The prince of hell is therefore, by the permis- sion of God, at this time let loose with his hellish crew, and is allowed to employ his art and power in seducing mankind to idolatry, impiety, war, and mischief And here we date the revival of idolatry. But we have this comfort, that his time will be short : " He must be loosed a little time." Apoc. xx. 3. Whoever considers the circumstance of Satan being loosed, needs not wonder if strange and extraordinary events fol- low. The first age of Christianity exhibited to us a dismal scene of his power and action. On one hand he deceived mankind by his oracles and other delusive arts ; while a num- ber of individuals groaned under the weight of his malevo- lence, from their being possessed by devils, as we read in the gospels and other books of the New Testament. On another hand we saw with what efforts he opposed the birth and growth of the Christian religion; with what fury and malice he instigated the whole Roman empire against it ; what per- secutions he suscitated ; what torments and horrible cruelties he suggested to be employed against the Christians, and what an ocean of their blood he procured to be spilled. If such, then, was the power of Satan at that time, and if so much he could do by means of his infernal agents, and by his instruments, the emperors, Nero, Domitian, Dioclesian, &c. why shall we be surprised to see his last efforts still stronger in the time of Antichrist, " whose commg," as St. Paul says, " is according to the working of Satan ?" 2 Thess. ii. 9. The Antichristian period is described by the ancient fathers as the most dreadful of all, and the Apocalypse plainly shows it to be so, as we shall see. Four of Satan's associates are the four bad angels we saw bound fast upon the river Euphrates, but now are united and permitted to go and raise up the four above-mentioned barba- 20 230 MISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHTJRClt. rous nations, which they will instigate to carry destruction and devastation through the world. These nations therefore arrive at different times at the Eu- phrates, which they cross without obstruction, and assemble in the plains on this side that river. The Antichristian prince, who had summoned them to his standard, as before related, assumes the command, and glories in being master of such a prodigious army. " And the number of the an.iy of horse- men," says St. John, " was twenty thousand times ten thou- sand. And I heard the number of them," v. 15, See text of the sixth Trumpet. This army is here described as wholly consisting of caval- ry : I suppose for despatch ; and the eastern people have always used much cavalry. But the number is excessive, such as has never been heard of in any instance before. We read in history of Xerxes, the Persian king, invading Greece with an army of one million of men. But an army of two hundred millions, or twenty thousand times ten thousand, is altogether impossible ; as it is doubtful whether there be that number of men, capable of bearing arms, upon the whole globe of the earth ; whereas this body of men is chiefly col- lected from the Asiatic countries that lie on the eastern side of the Euphrates ; and yet St. John assures us he heard their number named. " And I heard the number of them." Such an immense multitude cannot therefore be accounted for, but by supposing a great part of it to consist of the infernal beings. And that it is so, we have reason to conclude : first, from Sa- tan's having been let loose, as we have just now seen, and pro- bably with him a numerous crew of his associates : secondly, from the fourth seal, which relates, as we observed, to the Antichristian prince, and thus describes him : " Behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and hell followed him." Apoc. vi. 8. Here it is expressly said, that hell follows him. Thirdly, the same we shall see, by and by, confirmed by the prophet Joel. Such is the immense horrid army of the Antichristian mo- narch, composed of men and devils in human shape. With this he moves westwards, and is met in the neighbourhood of Je- rusalem by those powers, which we mentioned had rebelled against him, and wh ich have advanced in a body to dispute their liberty with him. Dispositions being made, both armies come to an engagement. The appearance of the monarch's troops on this occasion, and the arms they fight with, are described in a very peculiar manner by St. John in the above-given text of HISTORV OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCtt. 231 the sixth trumpet, ver. 17. "And thus I saw the horses in the vision ; and they that sat on them had breast-plates oi fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions ; and from their mouths proceeded fire, and smoke, and brimstone." The horsemen appeared to St. John with breast-plates of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone. By this expression is indicated the firing of carabines or such fire-arms as cavalry use; which are ap- plied to the breast when shot off! He saw the firing of these guns, in the manner that it is done now a-days, but not being acquainted with such operations, as gunpowder was unknown in his time, he took the fire, that issued out of the muskets, to come from the horsemen's breasts, on which the muskets rested, and so thought the horsemen had breast-plates of fire. The prophet, here, even describes to us the composition of gunpowder, with its three several ingredients, viz. brimstone or sulphur, fire, or charcoal, the properesi matter of fire; and hyacinth or saltpetre. Hyacinth, a precious stone of a purple colour, is here made use of to represent saltpetre, because saltpetre, when set on fire, emits a flame of a fine purple co- lour, similar to the colour of the hyacinth stone. Here then we see revealed to St. John both the composition and use of gunpowder, to which he and all mankind at that time were strangers. Then it is said : " and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and from their mouths proceeded fire, and smoke, and brimstone." Before, we saw the description of the muskets and their fire ; here is pointed out the artillery of the army, or cannon. But, as St. John had not naturally any notion of such things, which did not exist in his time ; and as he saw, in this vision, the whole army drawn up at a dis- tance, and the artillery placed upon a line with the cavalry, he seemed to confound the cannon with the horses, and the cannon's mouths with the mouths of the horses, as the height of both from the ground is nearly the same.* When there- fore he says, the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, it is the same as if he said, the mouths of the cannon were, as to the noise they made, like the mouths of roaring lions ; and from their mouths proceeded fire, and smoke, and brimstone, that is, the fire of gunpowder. Hence it appears, that St. John, in his vision, both saw the fire of the cannon, and heard the explosion. One may further remark, that he points out here a nice difference between musket gunpowder He describes the appearances, as he saw in the vision, not the reaUty. 232 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. and that used in cannon. The first he describes as composed of fire, hyacinth or saltpetre, and brimstone ; the second, as composed of fire, smoke, and brimstone ; that is, the musket gunpowder, which is finer, has in its composition a larger proportion ( f saltpetre : and the cannon gunpowder, which is coarser, corj«ains a larger share of charcoal which produces the smoke. And such, it is known, is really the composition used ai this day. This explanation is further confirmed by what follows in the text : " For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like to serpents, and have heads ; and with them they hurt," v. 19. The power of the imagined horses, or real cannon, lying in their mouths and in their tails, signifies, that the mischievous power of the can- non is directed to the object by their mouths, but takes its birth in the tail or breech of the cannon, where the charge is lodged ; whence the cannon's breech is here compared to the serpent's head, which contains his venom. " And by these three plagues was slain the third part of men, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths," v. 18. This destructive instrument, gunpowder, the invention of latter ages, will there- fore be employed by the Antichristian army, all along in its progress, to slay the third part of men, probably the wicked. And this is conformable to what we read under the fourth seal: " Power was given to him, to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, (or gunpowder,) and with the beasts of the earth," (or cavalry.) Apoc. vi. 8. See the explication ofi/iat seal. As we left the two armies engaged, a question may be asked about the issue of the battle. What it will be with respect to the great hero, the Antichristian emperor, we learn from St. John, who, however, so closely connects this event with that prince's alliance to the Roman empire, that we must beg leave to follow our inspired writer in joining the accounts of both together. Chap. xiii. v. 1. " And I saw," says St. John, •' a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads, and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. V. 2. " And the beast, which I saw, was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his own strength and great power. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 233 V. 3. " And I saw one of his heads as it were slain to death." The heast which St. John sees here rising up from tlie sea, or from the tumultuous scenes of war and the fluctuations of the world, represents the ancient pagan empire of Rome. For the beast he says has seven heads and ten horns ; we have before shown, seven heads are seven heathen Roman empe- rors, persecutors of Christianity, the last of whom will be Antichrist ; and the horns are the northern powers that de- stroyed and divided among themselves the western part of that empire. " Upon his horns.were ten diadems or crowns ;" whereas in chap. 12. v. 3, on his heads were seven diadems. This passing of the diadems from the heads to the horns, shows that old Rome had lost her sovereignty which had been wrested from her emperors by those northera people who had crowTaed themselves with it. And the beast had upon his heads names of blasphemy ; blasphemies, which the heathen emperors spoke against Christ ; blasphemies, or pagan gods which they set up in opposition to him ; blas- phemies, or divine honours, which those emperors required to be paid to themselves. Let us take notice that St. John here gives us in abridg- ment the successive periods of the Roman empire. It is de- scribed, as first ruling under a succession of idolatrous heads or emperors, and then pulled down and divided among a num- ber of invaders denoted by the horns. From them it passes to become the Antichristian empire, as appears by what fol- lows: "And the beast which I saw," says St. John, "was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his x.iouth as the mouth of a lion." But here -we must pre- viously observe, that this extraordinary beast is in its exterior form made up of the three animals, the leopard, the bear, and the lion ; because the empire of Rome had reduced under its dominion the countries belonofinof to the three successive empires of Babylon, of Persia, and of Greece, which are ex- hibited by the prophet Daniel under the types of those three animals. " I saw," says Daniel, " in my vision — And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lioness — And behold another beast like a bear — After this I beheld, and lo another like a leopard." Dan. vii. 3, &c. Which three beasts here specified have always been understood to denote the three above-named em- .pires. These empires preceded that of Rome, and then passed into its dominion ; for which reason it is here represented as 20* 234 HISTORY OF THfi CHRISTIAN CHURCH. composed of them. Great empires are indicated by the pro- phets under the figure of beasts, on account of the devastation and havoc they make, like wild beasts, in the world, to raise up their dominion. This observation premised, St. John says : " and the. beast which I saw, w^as like to a leopard ;" the body of the beast was like unto a leopard, that is, the centre and capital part of the Roman empire under Antichrist will be the Grecian em- pire denoted by the leopard. After the division of the ancient Roman state, the eastern part chiefly consisted of the territory of the ancient empire of Macron or Greece. The Turkish emperor, Antichrist, will one day be in possession of it ; and from it wmU arise the Antichristian kingdom. Rome was destroyed with the western empire : Constantinople then be- came the capital of the remaining part of the Roman empire ; it will be also Antichrist's capital city : and it is now the centre and seat of the Turkish, or formerly Grecian monar chy ; and from this centre, conquest will be carried into those countries that formed the western part of the ancient Roman empire, and over the whole world. Thus, then, the Antichrist- ian empire is founded on the empire of ancient Greece, at present the Constantinopolitan empire. Hence, it appears why the body of the beast is like to a leopard. St. John's description of the beast may receive a further elucidation from the prophecy of Daniel concerning the Ro- man empire, which was also represented to him under the figure of a beast, the fourth of those which he saw in a vision. " After this I beheld," says he, " in the vision of the night, and lo a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong ; it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with its feet," vii. 7. Which an angel explained to the prophet thus : " The fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces." Ibid. v. 23. It is plain, that what Daniel here says of the Roman empire, has never yet been completely fulfilled. For, though the power of ancient Rome extended into Europe, Asia, and Africa, yet there remained vast countries unsubdued in each of those parts, besides America, which was not then known: conse- quently, the Roman power did not reach over the whole earth, as Daniel here specifies it should. Then, though Rome sometimes treated the conquered people with severity and haughtiness, yet it cannot be said that she devoured the whole HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ' 235 earth, and trod it down, and broke it in pieces. Daniel's pro- phecy havinjTf therefore been but partially accomplished in tht ajicient empire of Rome, it remains to be completed in that Roman empire, of which Antichrist will be the head, and which will extend over the whole earth. — And now it will appear that the texts of the two prophets help to explain one another. The beast, says St. John, had a mouth as the mouth of a lion, a proper animal to devour, as Daniel terms it. The beast, again, according- to St. John, had feet as the feet of a bear, an animal that treads down its prey with its feet, as Daniel speaks of it. Lastly, the beast, according- to St. John, was like to a leopard, which with its teeth of a lion and claws of a bear, may break in pieces, as Daniel says of it, or tear in pieces whatever it seizes. Such will be the violence and tyranny of Anti- christ's dominion when he becomes universal monarch. But we must here further observe, that not only the ulti- mate accomplishment of what belongs to the Roman empire* will have its place at the time of Antichrist, but the same must be applied to the ancient empire of Greece, now represented b)'' the Constantinopolitan or Ottoman empire, which we have shown to be the foundation and centre of the Antichristian kingdom. For, Daniel speaking of the empire of Greece, says : " It shall rule over all the world," ii. 39 ; to which also alludes what he applies to it in another place : " Power was given to it," vii. 6. But it is well known, that Alexander the Great, Avho reared up the Grecian empire, never ruled over the whole world. The extent of his dominion fell far short of it. This prophecy remains therefore to be finally com- pleted in Antichrist, who will be the last head of both Roman and Grecian empires. To return to our text: St. John said, " And the draofon crave I'll* o O him (the beast) his own strength, (here the Greek adds, and his throne,) and great powers," v. 2. The dragon, or Satan, prince of the infernal kingdom, gives his own strength to the beast or the Antichristian empire; that is, to its emperor, the Antichristian prince, and his agents ; the dragon or Satan gives him, I say, his own strength, or his armies of hellish fiends to fight and act for him ; in the same manner as the northern powers (Apoc. xvii. 13.) gave their strength to the beast, that is, their armies to the Romans for their assistance. And this is conformable to what was said under the fourth seal : " And hell followed him." Apoc. vi. 8. The dragon furthermore gives to the Antichristian emperor his throne, by constituting him his visible substitute, representative, and dele- 236 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. gate to rule and command as he pleases. In fine, the drag-on gives him great power, or a surprising faculty of working counterfeit miracles and imposing upon mankind by art and deceit ; his coming (Antichrist's) being, as St. Paul tells us, according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders. 2 Thess. ii. 9. — St, John proceeds, V. 3. " And I saw one of his heads as if it were slain to death ; and his death's wound was healed. And all the earth was in admiration after the beast." This head of the beast is the Antichristian monarch, as fiilly appears by the description that follows in this chapter : and here St. John sees him as it were slain to death, that is, wounded mortally, or at least so in appearance. Such, then, is the issue of the above-mentioned battle. This accident un- doubtedly spreads consternation throughout his army, and raises exultation and courage in his enemies. But these dis- positions are soon reversed in consequence of what is added, "and his death's wound was healed," his deadly wound is cured by Satan, who constantly attends him.* " And all the earth was in admiration after the beast:" the whole world is astonished at seeing or hearing the account of this extraor- dinary cure, which exceeded all human power and art ; and thereupon a great part of mankind embrace the party of the beast or of the Antichristian .king. The denomination of beast was before appropriated to his empire, and he was one of its heads ; but now he himself is -styled the beast, because he is the sole and last head by which the beast lives and be- comes a single animal, the other six heads of former emperors being dead. He may be also said to come up out of the sea, as was said of the beast in ver. 1, because we suppose him to be born in Crim Tartary upon the Black Sea, and to succeed * If with St. Jerom, Theodoret, and others, we understand Antichrist to be the shepherd and idol spoken of in the following passage of the prophet Zachary : " Behold I will raise up, says the Lord, a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish that which stands : and he shall eat the fiesh of the fat ones, and break their hoofs. O shepherd and idol, that forsakes the flock ! the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye : his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." Zach. xi. 16, 17. This passage, we apprehend, may point out to us how and in what manner the Antichristian king is wounded, viz. the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye; and St. John tells us, " he had the wound by the sword." Apoc. xiii. 14. Perhaps he receives a stroke upon the head, which reaches down to the right eye, and opens the skull. And though he is cured by the operation of the devil, yet, as diabolical operations usually are, the cure may remain imperfect; as seems to be indicated by what is added: "his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." How dilTercnt are the works of the finger of God ; uot done by halves^ but complete and perfict. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 237 to the Ottoman empire of Constantinople, which city also stands on the sea. The people were seized with astonishment, as just above- mentioned, ver. 4. " And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast : and they adored the beast, saying : who is like to the beast ? and who shall be able to fight with him ?" They suppose the cure of the deadly wound to have been performed by the dragon, or Satan ; and they immediately worship the dragon, for his having show^n such a visible pro- tection to this monarch, and vested him with powder, authority, and dominion, beyond any monarch that ever existed. Upon these considerations they also proclaim this prince superior to every other creature, invincible, a God, and adore him, say- ing : " who is like to the beast ? and who shall be able to fight with him ?" This abominable idolatrous worship may the more easily take place, as we have already observed that idolatry will probably have been revived in the world some- what before this time by the working of Satan, from the mo- ment of his havinof been let loose. Before we proceed further, let us observe from what we have already related out of the 13th chapter of the Apocalypse, that the Roman empire, which had been long ago destroyed, is here revived anew under the Antichristian monarch, who is here styled the head of the beast. And this is a^^reeable to the prediction of chap. 17. v. 8, of the Apocalypse, {see page 103 :) " The beast, \vhich thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruc- tion: And the inhabitants of the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast, that was, and is not ;" here the Greek text adds, and yet is, which makes the sense more complete : the Roman empire in its last period, that is, the Antichristian empire, is here said to rise from the bottomless pit or abyss of hell, because Satan, who lately came from thence, is the soul and actuater of that empire, as he was of the same Roman empire in its first period : and we have just now seen, that efTectually the dragon or Satan gave him, the Antichristian emperor, his own strength, and his throne, and great power. Besides, by Satan this Roman and Antichristian empire is also made the empire of idolatry, as it had been under the ancient Roman emperors ; for, we saw above, that they adored the dragon, who gave power to the beast ; and they adored the beast. This extraordinary re-appearance of that powerful and idolatrous empire, so long ago lost, and its 238 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH* »- signal elevation by the power and management of the devil, seem to form a subject of great astonishment to the world, and the chief inducement to idolatry; for it is here said, the inha- bitants of the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life) shall wonder, seeing the beast, that was, and is not, and yet is ; and again : and all the earth was in admiration after the beast. Above, v. 3. But here the servants of God ought to admire the divine bounty and providence, and may receive comfort, from what is here aflded, that the beast or idolatrous Antichristian empire will soon go into destruction — ^ye now likewise see appear in the course of the Apocalyp- tical history that remarkable personage, the Antichristian emperor, who is the seventh and last head of the idolatrous Roman empire, conformably to what we were admonished to expect, in chap. 17. v. 10, five (of the heads) are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come : and when he is come, he must remain a short time. See page 103. Happy indeed for mankind that he must remain but a short time. To return to the issue of the battle fought in the neigh- bourhood of Jerusalem, between the Antichristian emperor's army and that of his enemies, we saw him, as it were mortally wounded, then cured by Satan, and soon re-appearing at the head of his troops, upon w^hich follows almost a general de- fection of the people, and of his enemies, who came over to his party. In consequence of this, we suppose that the small remainder of the adverse army flies before him, and he enters Jerusalem. And now we are arrived, as we conceive, at the period when this ambitious and impious hero declares himself for- mally Antichrist, that is, enemy to Christ. Enraged, on one side, at his having been wounded and thrown into the jaws of death, perhaps by Christian troops ; enraged again by the defection of the Jews from him, who before had owned him for their Messiah, but w^hom he finds now become Christians, and renouncing all connexion with him, looking upon him as the most audacious and basest of impostors : on the other hand, elated by his extraordinary cure, and seeing himself guarded and supported by the whole power of the devil, and multitudes all around him acknowledging the same, he swells with the spirit of pride and arrogance, with which he is in-' spired by Satan, who has entered into him. He thinks him- self all-powerful. In these satanic dispositions he resolves to acknowledge no superior, in heaven or on earth ; and in that view he proceeds to a temple in Jerusalem, some Christian HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 239 Church, which he enters, and there extol h'ng his own supreme authority, his dominion, his unlimited power over every thing, he proclaims himself God, and ordains divine homage and worship to be paid to his person. This we learn from St. Paul, who thus speaks of him: " The man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God,* showing himself as if he were God,"t 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. * In the Greek, "He sitteth in the temple of God as God." t Would not one suspect that the devil has suggested the titles usually assumed by the sultans or Turkish emperors of Constantinople, viz. " God upon earth, the shadow of God, the giver of all earthly crowns," &c. ; as thus these emperors anticipate in some measure what belongs to their last successor, Antichrist, who w^ill arrogate to himself the real deity and power expressed by these titles. I shall here add a copy of such like assuming titles, translated verbatim from the Arabic language, as appears in the following assent for the ar- mistice agreed on and sent by the Grand Vizier to his Excellency Count Peter Alexander Romanzow : " Firmly relying upon the assistance of the onlv, indivisible, one God, to whom nothing is comparable, and who created all things, and declared and revealed his divine will through the great Mahomet." Amen. "The most righteous, and most powerful, and great emperor and sultan, created to this dignity by the eternal election of the Almighty; gifted with the imperial and philanthropic qualities for exhibiting the vvelfare and pros- perity of the holy state of Mecca ; and invested with the highest power, and reigning over an infinite multitude of nations, both by land and sea; who is the wisest among the righteous sultans, the most deservedly elected, and worthiest among all the regents; Sovereign Lord and Ruler over all the princes in the world ; the only legislator and sovereign, cliosen to it out of the most serene pedigree in the world; all his servants, that is to Bay, all the inhabitants of the world, return him hearty thanks for the least prace he shows to them, and especially for the grace he shows to them by the present declaration, through me, Mahomet, his unworthy servant and slave. Whereas, the extreme need and mistry of his subjects, which are intrusted to him, by the eternnl Creator himself, went to his heart. Accord- ing to his imperial philanthropy, be all the world witness, and learn, mo- rals. How violent the love for his subjects, being in his most noble heart, by thus condescending, through the great love he bjcars towards his ser- vants, to agree upon the present armistice: He declares, before the eyes of the wise and virtuous men, whom he has made free, and exempted from their servitude, that, had it been possible, according to his honour and glory, he would have laid before them the circumstances and events which have pleased God and the great Mahomet, and which have been the cause of breaking the peace between the everlasting Ottoman empire and the Rus- sian inhabitants. After which unreasonable and unclear behaviour in the eyes of God from the Russian side, the sovereign of the globe, my master, lighted tlie fire of war; but, alas! what homicide and bloodshed on both sides hath there been during these last four or five years? "And although it has been predestinated so to be in the eternal council of God, yet as it requires a reconciliation through the great prophet Maho- met, and seeing that at last the most famous prince, the greatest of the princes who believe in Jesi's, the pnly elected man of the people of the Messiah, the only decider of the business and rights of the nations of Na- zareth, to whom my master allows glory and majesty during his pious will ; the high, the happiest governor, and emj)eror of Germany, and likewise the king of Prussia, the end of both which princes, so tliat they may be led into the way of salvation ; and they haying looked into the terrible bloodshed- ding, and written constantly to their minister, residing at the court of tho 240 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURfcH. He thus imitates, but far surpasses in arrogance, Caius Cali- gula and other Roman emperors, his ancient predecessors, who impiously claimed to themselves divine honours. From the above passage of St, Paul, some have inferred that Antichrist will rebuild the great temple of Jerusalem. But, if that temple is ever to be rebuilt, probably it will not be done until after the ravages and persecution of Antichrist^ according to that prophecy of Daniel : "And there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation : and the desolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end," ix. 27. Besides, one may observe that in the New Testament the great temple of Jerusalem is always expressed by the Greek word iepon, and a common temple or church by the word NAOE, as in the present passage of St. Paul ; which gives us reason to think, that the apostle does not here speak of the great temple. However that may be. Antichrist proceeds to forbid any other deity to be acknowledged but himself, and prohibits all worship of the Supreme Being, all exercise of the Christian religion, and particularly the sacrifice of the altar, because Christ is there personally adored as God. These presump- tuous extravagancies, were, in general, foretold by the prophet Daniel. " From the time," says he, " when the continual sacri- fice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto desolation most illustrious Porte, to cry for mercy before the most brilliant and glo- rious throne of my master, whose unworthy slave I am. And as it w'as' at the same time the most ardent wishes and longing from the throne of the glorious princess who is so high esteemed by the princes who believe m Jesus, who reigns over many nations of Nazareth, and governs the people of the Messiah with honour, and with heroic mind ; and who acknowledges her errors and unjust contrivances against the most illustrious Porte, name- ly, the empress of Russia, whose enti also be blessed, and may she be led into the way of salvation ! What a glory for the great and high, mighty, just, wise, and virtuous sultan, to see all the nations of Europe represented by tlie ministers of the princes surrounding his throne, and sighing for his gracious will ! but not to gain the favour of all those princes, nor yet influ- enced by their power or magnificence, hath been the cause of his gracious v/ill ; for nothing but the love for his subjects in particular, and for man- kind in general, liath he declared his most pious and gracious will to agree upon an armistice, as a beginning and the first stone to peace and harmony, ^yhich he haying thus accepted of, the whole world is rejoiced, and the na- tions bring him thanks to his most glorious throne; and to me, his unwor- thy slave, he gave a full power, to wliich I have appointed one of the mem- bers of the highest divan, the president of the college of Revillon, a com- mander of six regiments of horse, the most worthy Sen Abdal Rerim Ef- fendi, whose glory may increase ! who sent to me the nine articles of it after it was agreed upon : and as I found them consisting with the honour, glory, and magnificence of my master, whose unworthy slave I am, and who gave me full power to give my assent in his gloriful name, therefore I say, with joy and praise to God, and to the great prophet Mahomet, he may continue the peace among mankind, and increase the glory of the wisest and most just sultan, &c. HISTOHY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 241 sliall be set up, there shall he a thousand two hundred ninety days," xii. 11. The continual or daily sacrifice of the altar, is here said to be taken away ; and the abomination unto deso- lation is set up, that is, the abominable worship of a man is set up in the place of that of God. A similar impiety and abomination was formerly practised by the idolatrous king and implacable enemy of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes, who " forbade holocausts and sacrifices and atonements to be made in the temple of God — and set up the abominable idol of desolation* upon the altar of God." 1 Maccab. i. 47, &c. 57. We seem to be also forewarned of Antichrist's abomina- tion, as we observed under the sixth seal, by our Saviour him- self, when he said : " When therefore you shall see the abomi- nation of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the pro- phet, standing in the holy place, he that readeth, let him un- derstand : Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains." Matth, xxiv. 15, 16. Upon these words of out Saviour St. Chrysostom speaks thus : " For three years and six months the Christian sacrifice must be taken away by An tichrist, and the Christians flying away before him into the deserts, there will be no one to frequent the Church, or to offer the oblation to God." Homil. 49. in Matth. 24. It is worth our notice what we further learn from the above-cited passage of Daniel, that from the time when the daily sacrifice will be suppressed, and the abomination set up, there will be a thousand two hundred and ninety days, to the end of Antichrist's persecution, which Daniel had spoken of in the preceding verse. That persecution will last three years and a half, as we shall see hereafter. Hence, then, if the year be supposed to consist of 365 days, three years and a half make 1278 days, which the number 1290 exceeds by twelve^ so that there will be an interval of twelve days between the time when Antichrist sets himself up for God in the temple, and the beginning of his nersecution. But this interval will be thirty days, if the year be reckoned only of 360 days, or forty-two months of thirty days each, w^hich round way of counting is usual with the prophets. As therefore a most cruel persecution is soon to follow, and all sorts of other means will likewise be employed by that monster of iniquity. Antichrist, to force the worship of his pretended divinity upon the world, the Almighty sends a most strong and pathetic admonition to mankind to warn thenl against that seduction : " And I saw," says St. John, " another * The statue of Jupiter Olympius. 21 242 HISTORY OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. angel flying- through the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel, to preach unto tliem that sit upon the earth, and over every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people : " Saying with a loud voice : fear the Lord, and give him honour, because the hour of his judgment is come : and adore ye him, that made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of waters." Apoc. xiv. 6, 7. The angel here may represent Henoch and his attendants, the pastors of the Church, who with great vigour will preach up, first in Jerusalem, and then in all other nations, the eter- nal gospel or everlasting covenant, Isai. xxiv. 5 ; that is, the eternal law, founded in nature itself, that forbids divine wor- ship to be paid to any creature, as being the incommunicable right of the Supreme Being. They will say : adore not this impostor, who deceitfully pretends to a power over heaven, earth, sea, and fountains of water ; but " adore him that really made heaven, and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters," and has power to do with them what he pleases. These ex- hortations the preachers will enforce with that peculiar rea- son here given, " because the hour of his judgment is come," because the time will soon come, in three years and a half) when the judgment of God will fall upon this " man of sin, this son of perdition," Antichrist, and he shall be exter- minated. Antichrist finding that many, particularly the Jews, refuse to pay him divine honour, he wull first endeavour to bring them over by persuasive methods. For that purpose he will avail himself of the " power which the dragon gave him," as we saw above, of performing wonders and working false miracles. Many prodigies, therefore, and extraordinary performances, by the devil's operation, he will exhibit; "whose coming," says St. Paul, " is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders," 2 Thess. ii. 9. By the dazzling appearance of these wonderful operations, many will be staggered in their faith, and will be seduced to wor- ship this mock-God, as we seem to learn from our Saviour, who said : " There shall arise false Christs and false pro- phets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive, if possible, even the elect," Matth. xxiv. 24. But Christ, whose providence is never wanting to his Church, will interpose his power to baffle that of the devil and Antichrist. He will invest many of the Christian preachers, particularly Henoch and Elias, with extraordinary miraculous powers. As Moses and Aaron were sent by the Almighty to contend with HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 243 Pharaoh and his magicians, and to rescue the Israelites from slavery : so will Elias and Henoch be the two chief messen- gers, whom Christ will employ to oppose his enemy Anti- christ, and to preserve the elect from falling into his snares. And as the magicians of Egypt, with all their demoniacal charms and incantations, were vanquished by the signal supe- riority of the miracles of Moses and Aaron; so will the pro- digies of Antichrist be eclipsed and confounded by the far greater number and splendour of the miracles of Elias and Henoch. " And 1 will give," says Christ, " unto my two wit- nesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. And if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain. — These have power to shut Heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will." Apoc. xi. 3, 5, 6. These miracles we have before explained, see page 140. In conformity to this passage St. Ephron speaks thus: "God in his mercy will send Elias and Henoch, who will openly exhort the people not to believe in Antichrist." Serm. de Antichr. And St. Ambrose : " Henoch and Elias are destined to be the Apostles of the last times ; for they are to be sent before the last coming of Christ, to prepare the people of God, and to animate all the Churches to resist An- tichrist." In Ep. 1. ad Corinth, c. 4. — St. Gregory the Great likewise says, that " Elias and Henoch will appear upon the stage of the world to oppose Antichrist." In Job, lib. 15. c. 36. When the powers of the Almighty and Satan come in competition, the latter must certainly vanish. — Whence it fol- lows, that those only will be deluded, who wdlfuUy shut their eyes to the clear light of evidence; and so we are informed by St. Paul; "whose coming," Antichrist's, " is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying won- ders, and in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish ; be- cause they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them ihe operation of error, to believe lying; that all maybe judged who have not be- lieved the truth, but have consented to iniquity." 2 Thess. ii. 9,10,11. Antichrist seeing all his wonderful operations baffled by the shining evidence of Henoch's and Elias's miracles, and per- ceiving that multitudes of Christians refuse to acknowledge his godhead, he swells with anger, and being actuated by the hellish fiend that possesses him, he arrogantly boasts of his pre- 244 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. eminence over all other men that have ever existed, of the greatness of his empire, of the number of his armies, of his command over all the beings and works of nature, and even presumes to extol his own povv-er above that of the Almighty; as it seems to follow from what St. John proceeds to say of him: Chap. xiii. 5. "And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies." And St. Paul calls him, "the man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped." 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. Daniel also gives us much the same pic- ture of him : "And behold," says that prophet, " eyes like the eyes of a man were in this little horn, and a mouth speaking- great things," vii. 8. We have before observed, that Anti- christ is meant by the little horn, Avhich is here said to have eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things ; the eyes of a man and a mouth indicate a man, one individual man, who speaks great things, as we have just heard from St. John. Daniel goes on painting his character : " and he shall think himself able to change times and laws," vii. 25. He will imagine himself powerful enough to change times, the course of times and seasons of the year, as night into day, winter into summer, &c., and to change laws, to alter the laws by which nature acts, by which the sun, and moon, and other planeta, move, to alter their times of rising and set- tino-, to raise up the harvest in winter, and to make the earth Till" barren in summer, and to command the clouds to ram, or not, at his pleasure ; in fine, he will boast of having power to re- verse the whole order of nature. And perhaps he will attempt some particular of this sort, which by the devil's aid he may apparently effect. V. 5. "And power was given him to do two and forty months." He is permitted by the Almighty to do what he pleases during two and forty months, or three years and a half; or else, as the Greek text has it, poAver was given him to make war two and forty months, which he resolves to do with the utmost violence and cruelty. V. 6. "And, he opened his mouth unto blasphemies, against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and them that dwell therein." Here is a shocking picture of An- tichrist's superlative arrogance and unparalleled impiety. In- flated with the venom that Satan instils into his heart, and furious against the Christians, whom, with all his art and feigned miracles, he has not been able to gain over, he now, HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 245 in rage, flies in the face of heaven. He pours out blasphe- mies against God ; Lucifer-like, he revolts against God, and blasphemes him ; he blasphemes his name, that is, religion, which commands homage to be paid to the Supreme Being alone ; he blasphemes his tabernacle, or heaven, the seat of God, and his Church on earth ; he blasphemes them that dwell in heaven, that is, the angels and saints. Thus this monster of iniquity, like a swollen sea that overtops all boun- daries, rises up against God and every thing that is holy. — - Daniel with one stroke of his pencil draws much the same picture of him : " And he will speak words against the Most High," vii. 25. He seems to have sucked up all the virulence and spirit of impiety of the preceding ages. In the fourth vial, Ave heard blasphemies against the name of God, Apoc. xvi. 9 ; and in the fifth vial, blasphemies against the God of heaven, Apoc. xvi. 11. Both these sorts of blasphemy Anti- christ uses, and adds others to them. St. John seems to intimate in his first Epistle, some parti- cular instances of this man's presumption and opposition to Christ. He will deny that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah, and will thereby endeavour to take away the belief of the blessed Trinity. " Who is a liar,* but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is Antichrist,! who denieth the Father and the Son." 1 Ep. ii. 22. He will deny that the Son of God took human flesh: " Every spirit that dissolveth Jesus.J is not of God ; and this is Antichrist,^ of whom you have heard that he comes and is now already in the world." 1 Ep. iv. 3. — Here St. John says that Antichrist, who they have heard will one day come into the world, " is now already in the world ;" that is, there are already in the world men, who broach such impious doctrine about Christ, as Antichrist himself will do. Such were the Simonians and Corinthians in St. John's time. St. Paul has likewise sufficiently described the detestable character of Antichrist, calling him, "the man of sin, that sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God — whose coming is according to the working of Satan." 2 Thess. c. 2. Aftd in a similar strain have also the ancient fathers spoken of him. " Satan," says St. Jerom, "will wholly possess Antichrist," in Dan. c. 7. St. Chrysos- tom says : " Antichrist will be a man, that will possess all * In the Greek text, (the Itar.) + In the Greek, (the Antichrist.) t In the Greek, (that doth not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.) § In the Greek, (and this is the spirit of Antichrist.) 21* 246 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH the power of Satan." St. Irenseus is very ample in the de- scription of his character. Adversus HsBr. lib. 5. c. 25. St. John proceeds, V. 7. " And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them." Here Antichrist has power allowed him to persecute "the saints," or good Christians, "and to overcome them," or put them to death with great cruelty and torments ; and this Ave shall soon see him putting in execution. V. 7. " And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation." His power, his dominion will extend over every nation and people of the globe. Already monarch of a great part of the kingdoms of the earth, when he commences Antichrist ; the rest he will now subdue, and thus will become master to tyrannize over mankind, and persecute religion in every corner of the world. We shall here just remark, that the reason why St. John in this and several other places of the Apocalypse uses the four terms, tribe, people, tongue, and nation, seems to be to indicate the four great divisions of the earth, Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; the term people, probably being put for Europe; nation, for Asia; tongue, for Afri'.a ; and tribe, for America. And the order in which the above terms stand in this place, perhaps indicates the progres- sive course of Antichrist's conquests. V. 8. " And all that dwell upon the earth, adored him,* whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, w^hich was slain from the beginning of the world." Here we see such a general apostacy of mankind, that, ex- cept those whose names are written in the book of life of the Lamb, which was slain from the beginning of the world in the decrees of God, that is, except the predestined, all the rest yield to the tyranny and persecution of Antichrist, and adore him as a God. The preceding account of Antichrist's character, power, and actions, doubtless, must appear to every one very alarming : nevertheless we further learn from St. John, that this man of sin, this son of perdition, notwithstanding his exorbitant power and Satanic malice, as if yet not sufficiently armed for mis- chief, will acquire an associate of the same stamp as himself, who will perform the function of his principal minister, and be his chief aid in the course of his future proceedings. Chap. xiii. IL " And I saw," says St. John, " another beast In the Greek text, (will adore him.) HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 247 coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns, like* a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon." The first beast, ver. 1, ap- peared to St. John rising- out of the sea, because it was the figure of a great empire, or a great emperor, viz. Antichrist: this second beast, therefore, rising out of the earth, denotes a private man. And he had two horns, like a lamb ; horns are an emblem of strength or power, and these two horns signify the power of speech, and the power of false miracles, with which this man is endued. These powers are similar, but only in appearance, to those which the true Lamb, or Jesus Christ, eminently possessed ; the miracles of this new man or second beast being no more than impostures, works performed by the intervention of the devil ; and his speech, though eloquent and engaging, is artful, hypocritical, mali- cious, and deceitful; for he speaks like a dragon, or like the devil that deluded Eve. This man is the false prophet, as St. John calls him in chap. xix. 20, and other places, that at- tends Antichrist, is his principal agent, and, like him, receives all his power from the devil. St. Irenasus mentions him thus: "St. John, in the Apocalypse, speaking of Antichrist's attend- ant, whom he calls the false prophet, says, he spoke like a dragon, and executed all the power of the former beast in his sight," &c. as in the following verse. Adv. Haer. 1. v. c. 28. V. 12, "And he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight: and he caused the earth, and them that dwell therein, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed." The false prophet, to enhance the credit of his mas- ter, will perform in his presence the same wonders that Anti- christ himself is capable of doing, and thus will prevail on them that dwell on the earth, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed, that is, Antichrist, w^ho had been mortally wounded, and cured. Perhaps also from the ex- pression, he caused the earth to adore the first beast, it may be inferred, that the false prophet by his enchantments will make the inanimate beings, such as trees and other things, appear to pay a kind of homage to Antichrist. V. 13. " And he did great signs, so that he made also fire come down from heaven unto the earth in the sight of men." Such then w^ill be the power of the false prophet, that he w'ill make fire come down from the sky, by the help of the devil. " What w^e read in the book of Job," says St. Ambrose, " that the devil brought down fire from heaven by the divine per- mission, he will do the same in the last days by his instru- ments. Antichrist and Antichrist's followers." •248 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH The false prophet seems here to imitate one of Henoch^ and Elias's miracles ; hut the miracles of these two witnesses far outshine his in number, lustre, and evidence, and will be the means of preserving from seduction the men of good will» but will be the instrument of error to those, who, as St. Paul says, " receive not the love of truth that they may be saved." For, V. 14. "And he seduced them that dwell on the earth, for the signs which were given him to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make the image of the beast,* which had the wound by the sword, and lived." By them that dwell on the earth, seem to be un- derstood those who wilfully shut their eyes to the truth, and them he seduces by the signs which he is allowed power to do in the sight of the beast, and prevails with them to raise an image or a statue to Antichrist, and to adore it. He en- forces his wonderful performances, by representing his master as certainly God, since he had been mortally wounded by the sword, and was nevertheless alive and well. But this sophister is not able to prove the cure to have been complete, for it is here said that the beast which lived, has the wound by the sword, that is, hath the cicatrix, or mark of the wound remain- ing after the cure ; an argument of its being the work of an imperfect operator. This agrees with what was remarked, p. 236. V. 15. " And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and the image of the beast should speak : and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain." The false prophet has further power, by the divine permission, to give apparent life to the image or statue of Antichrist, insomuch that it shall speak, or rather the devil in it, and deliver his oracles, which was often done in the ancient times of paganism ; and that the image shall cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, or Antichrist, shall be slain, that is, at the command of the devil, speaking by the statue, those who refuse to adore it will be put to death. This will be done in the persecution. V. 16. "And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads." The same wicked minis- ter of Antichrist will oblige people of all denominations, such will be the general apostacy, to let him imprint a character or particular mark in their right hand or on their foreheads^ In the Greek, (an image to tlie beast» which hath the wouad*) &o HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 249 by which they will be distinguished as the votaries of Anti- christ. V. 17. "And that no man mig-ht buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." No one will be allowed to buy or sell any commodity, unless he shows the above mentioned mark, or the name of the beast, that is, the print upon himself of Anti- christ's name, or of the number of his name. A similar severity was used in Dioclesian's persecution, when it was forbid for any one to buy or sell in the public market, unless he firat offered incense to an idol erected there for that purpose. Thus will this other beast, or wicked minister of Antichrist, exert all his skill and power to enforce the execrable and ab- surd opinion of bis master's divinity. Thus will he employ every diabolical art, both of persuasion and force, to prevail with his detestable enemy. And thus, as Tertullian says, •' will the beast Antichrist with his false prophet oppress the Church with persecution." De Resur. Carnis, c. 25. It was said above that no one would be allowed to buy or sell, unless he bore the mark of Antichrist, or his name, or the number of his name. His name then is something mys- terious, as the letters of it will contain a particular number, which God in his bounty here gives as one characteristic among others, by which he may be known, and consequently rejected and abhorred. For thus proceeds St. John, V. 18. " Here is wisdom." He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man : and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six. Here is wisdom, here it is proper to take notice. He that has understanding, he that has a share of skill and knowledge, let him count the number of the beast, which he may do, for it is the number of a man ; that is, it is the number of the name of a man, conformably to what is said m the preceding verse. And the number of him is six hundred sixty-six ; the number thereof contained in Antichrist's name will be 666. According to the account we have given of that impious man, he will be born a Mahometan prince, and will rise to the head of the Turkish empire. We may therefore be allowed to suppose him to bear the name of Mahomet, a name which so many emperors, his predecessors, will have borne before him, in honour of the first founder of the Mahometan religion and empire. This name expressed in the Greek language, be- cause St. John wrote the Apocalypse in Greek, is maometie, or MOAMETiL, as Euthymius, and the Greek historians Zono- 250 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Tas and Credenus write it ; and according to the Greek nu- meration it stands thus : M A O M E T I S 40 1 70 40 5 300 10 200 666 It may be here observed, how contrary to the sense of scrip- ture is the opinion of some moderns, who, in the spirit of op- position to the Catholic religion, assign for the name of Anti- christ a generical term, containing indeed the number 666, but not expressing a determinate man : and this indeterminate name they apply to a succession of many persons ; whereas St. John plainly says ; " it is the number of a man, the num- ber of his name ;" it is therefore the number of the single name of a particular man. And in like manner is Antichrist evidently described by St. Paul as an individual man. For in what other sense, partiality apart, can the apostle be under- stood, when he styles him, " the man of sin, the son of perdi- tion, the opposer, who sitteth as God in the temple of God ; the wicked one, whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth," &c. 2 Thess. 2. The description of him, which we have seen in Daniel, is likewise of the same tenor. The fathers of the Church join also in the same opinion, and are very copious in their account of his charac- ter. The whole series we have hitherto given of his history, drawn from those sources, plainly points him out as one indi- vidual being, an extraordinary man ; and it will be further confirmed in the sequel. In fine, such has been the constant ana unanimous tradition from the rise of Christianity through all ages ; as may be seen in the series of the scripture inter- preters and ecclesiastical writers. Nay, even so universal and fixed has always been that notion of Antichrist, that it may be put upon a level with the belief of the former exist- ence of an Alexander or Julius Caesar ; nor can hardly be found now an individual in the common class of people, and of the narrowest education, but knows in general the charac- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 251 ter of that enemy of Christ, and expects his coming in the last period of the world. This tradition is therefore traced '.ip to the time of the apostles, and owes its existence to what they taught. St. Paul is an express voucher, that he had in- structed the Thessalonians on that head. " Remember you not," says he, "that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" 2 Thess. ii. 5, To return to the transactions of Antichrist : — Finding him- self so powerful by Satan's aid, and seconded by so able a minister, his false prophet, while on the other hand he sees the converted Jews, and other Christians refusing him divine homage, and so fortified by the exhortations and miracles of their teachers, that all his pretended wonders and persuasive arts can make no impression upon them ; he resolves, by the instigation of Satan, to compel them by force into compliance, to show no mercy to the refractory, but to destroy them, and utterly abolish the Christian name. Full of self-conceit and rage, he is determined to suffer no ri^^l in heaven or on earth, but that all mankind shall bow in homage to him as God, and as the sole monarch of the whole world. This he de- signs to effect by the invincible force of his immense army, with which he purposes to carry ravage, devastation, and de- struction, throughout every nation that resists him. Such are the hellish determinations he fixes ; but before he commences the execution of them, Christ, the faithful governor of the Church, and supreme in his power, is pleased to give a spe- cial warning to his beloved servants, and for their suppor* proclaims the following senlence: Chap. xiii. 9. "If any man have an ear, let him heari" let every one give attention. V. 10. " He, that shall lead into captivity, shall go into captivity: he, that shall kill by the sword, must be killed by the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." That is, in the following persecution and war of Antichrist, those that force others into captivity, shall themseh^es be made captives: and those that cruelly put others to death shall undergo the same fate. Judgment is therefore already pro- nounced against Antichrist and his agents, that as they deal with others, they shall be dealt with themselves. Then it is added, Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Here is the motive of the patience and the faith of the saints, or the servants of God in this world. By faith they rely on the pro- mises of God for the reward of their patience, and leave him to vindicate, as he may judge fit, their cause with respect to 252 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. their persecutors. Such is the previous instruction Christ sends to his servants, before the dreadful day of persecution. But as the converted Jews are destined to stand foremost in the battle, and to be the first victims of Antichrist's fury, and must therefore set forth a glorious example of fortitude to the other Christians, they are provided with an extraordinary share of grace, and a peculiar degree of courage and con- stancy for their terrible conflict. For thus we hear this sin- gular favour announced by St, John: Chap. vii. 1. "After these things, I saw four angels stand- ing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that they should not blow* upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree. V. 2. " And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God : and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, V. 3. "Saying: hurt not the earth, the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads." Here are four angels, standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, which they are ready to let go, and which are to cause desolation over the whole globe. By the four winds of the earth are meant the persecutions which are going to rise in every part of the earth, and which will form the general persecution of Antichrist, as the four winds join to compose one general wind. But this persecution is withheld for a while by a divine command, which is carried by an angel ascending from the east, as coming from Him who ascended above the heaven of heavens to the east." Ps. Ixvii. 34. The wind of persecution will hurt the earth and the sea, that is, will fall upon the Christian people wherever they are, and the trees, or their pastors and clergy. But this alarming disaster is suspended, till the angel has marked the servants of God in their foreheads with the sign of the living God, that is, with the sign of the cross of Christ, who having died upon it, rose again to life. But who those servants of God are, we are told in the ne' * verse. V. 4. "And I heard the number of them that were signed; a hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel." No sooner almost have the Jews tasted the comfort of having recovered the iavour of their God by embracing Christianity, but behold ! 144,000 of them are marked out and destined to be immolated to Christ by martyr- * In the Greek, " that a wind should not blow," kind and bring them to themselves. " For his armies are exceeding great," said Joel, " they are strong, and execute his word : For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible : and who can stand it?" Again, the Almighty throws in another energetic exhortation to penance, desirous that the scourge may be taken out of his hand before he strikes : V. 12. "Now therefore saith the Lord," continues Joel, " be converted to me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning. V. 1 3. " And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God : for he is gracious and mer- ciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. V. 14. " Who knows but he will return, and forgive, and leave a blessing behind, sacrifice and libation to the Lord your God? V. 15. " Blow the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. V. 16. "Gather together the people, sanctify the Church, assemble the ancients, gather together the little ones, and them that suck at the breasts : let the bridegroom go forth from his bed, and the bride out of her bride-chamber. V. 17. "Between the porch and the altar the priests, the fjord's ministers, shall weep, and shall say: spare, O Lord, spare thy people ; and give not thy inheritance to reproach, that the heathens should rule over them. Why should they say among the nations, where is their God?" These divine admonitions not prevailing with mankind, who have hardened themselves in iniquity, and carried it to a greater pitch than was ever seen in any former period of the world, the Almighty in his wrath lets loose the reins to Antichrist. This devouring beast and raging tyrant sets out with his army, to ravage and desolate: first, the country of Judaea, then all Christendom, and in fine, to trample under foot all the powers of the earth. The march and progress of this horrible army, Avith the havoc it makes, is described in most pathetic and lofty strains by the prophet Joel. The description, indeed, is applied by some commentators to a vast swarm of devouring insects ; by others, to the Chaldean troops coining against Jerusalem under Nabuchodonosor ; but who- ever will attentively view the particulars of the narrative, will see that they do not tally with either of those cases, but agree HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 261 very properly with the army of the Apocalypse. — Thus cries out Joel : Chap. i. 2. " Hear this, ye old men, and give ear all ye inhabitants of the land : did this ever happen in your days, or in the days of your fathers? V. 3. " Tell ye of this to your children, and let your child- ren tell their children, and their children to another gene- ration. V. 4. " That which the palmer-worm has left, the locust has eaten ; and that which the locust has left, the bruchus has eaten ; and that which the bruchus has left, the mildew* has destroyed (has eaten.) V. 5. " Awake, ye that are drunk, and weep, and mourn, all ye that take delight in drinking sweet wine ; for it is cut off from your mouth. V. 6. " For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number ; his teeth are like the teeth of a lion : and his cheek teeth, as of a lion's whelp. V. 7. " He has laid my vineyard waste, and has pulled off the bark of my fig-tree : he has stripped it bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white." The four insects, palmer-worm, locust, bruchus, and grass- hopper, ver. 4, represents the four great nations, which we saw crossing the Euphrates, to form Antichrist's army.' As they march at present in four separate bodies, it is said that what one leaves, the other eats up, to show that they leave famine behind them wherever they go. They are strong and without number, v. 6, and as furious lions, they root up all the vineyards and fruit trees, v. 7, after having devoured the fruit. Joel goes on : V. 8. " Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. V. 9. " Sacrifice and libation is cut off from the house ot the Lord : the priests, the Lord's ministers, have mourned. V. 10. " The country is destroyed, the ground hath mourn- ed : for the corn is wasted, the \vine is confounded, the oil hath languished. V. 11. " The husbandmen are ashamed, the vine-dressers have howled for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field is perished. V. 12. " The vineyard is confounded, and the fig-tree hath languished : the pomegranate-tree, and the palm-tree, and the * Most interpreters understand the Hebrew word, here rendered by mil' dew, to mean a species of grasshopper, or other insect. 262 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. apple-tree, and all the trees of the field are withered : because joy is withdrawn from the children of men. V. 17, " Tlie beasts have rotted in their dung: the barns are destroyed, the storehouses are broken down: because the corn is confounded. V. 18. " Why did the beasts groan, Avhy did the herds of cattle low 7 because there is no pasture for them : yea, and the flocks of sheep are perished." Here, then, the corn, wine, oil, and fruit, are all swept away by these rapacious wolves, and such universal devasta- tion and desolation overspread the land, that the people are reduced to lamentation, famine, and despair, v. 8, the priests have not even bread and wine sufficient for the holy sacrifice, V. 9, and the beasts of the field perish for want of food, v. 17, 18. Joel continues. Chap. ii. 1. " Blow ye the trumpet in Sion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain, let all the inhabitants of the land trem- ble: because the day of the Lord cometh, because it is nigh at hand. V. 2. "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and whirlwinds: a numerous and strong people, as the morning spread upon the mountains: the like to it hath not been from the beginning, nor shall be after it even to the years of generation and generation. V, 3. " Before the face thereof a devouring iire, and behind it a burning fiame : the land is like a garden of pleasure be- fore it, and behind it a desolate wilderness, neither is there any one that can escape it." At the approach of this tremendous army, the alarm is sounded, ver. 1, 2, to give notice that the day of the Lord cometh, the day of darkness is nigh at hand, that is, the terri- ble day of the wrath of God, who is now going to pour out his judgments upon mankind in a more severe manner than ever before. A numerous and strong people comes, ver. 2, a prodigious army appears, the like to it hcis not been from the beginning, nor shall be after it even to the years of genera- tion and generation, which shows it to be the army of Anti- christ, the most numerous that has been or will be, consisting, according to St. John, of two hundred million, Apoc. ix. 16. It overspreads the land with a swiftness, like to that of the aurora or morning light expanding itself over the tops of the mountains, ver. 2. This is done by means of incorporeal devils, that make part of this army, as we have before obser- ved. Before the face thereof proceeds a burning fire, v. 3, the HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 263 fire of gunpowder with which they destroy mankind ; and behind it a devouring flame, arising from their setting fire to every thing as they march, and thus reducing the whole country into a desert, or as the prophet beautifully expresses it, the land is like a garden of pleasure before it, and behind it a desolate wilderness. V. 4. "The appearance of them," continues Joel, "is as the appearance of horses, and they shall run like horsemen, V. 5. " They shall leap like the noise of chariots upon the tops of mountains, like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, as a strong people prepared to battle. V. 6. " At their presence the people shall be in grievous pain : all faces shall be made like a kettle." The picture here drawn of the army is similar to that we saw from the hand of St. John. Joel does not say the army consists wholly of cavalry, but the appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, ver. 4, including the artillery or cannon under the appearance of horses, in the same manner as St. John saw them. {See page 230.) The carriages of the cannon, as they are drawn up the mountains, make a noise like the noise of chariots, v. 5, and a crackling like that of a flame of fire devouring stubble, as they are dragged over the stones and rocks. These carriages are moreover said to leap up upon the tops of the mountains, by the celerity with which the hellish spirits move them forwards. Consternation, ter- ror, and despair, are the vanguard of such an army, all faces shall turn black like a kettle with fear and dread, v. 6. V. 7. " They shall run like valiant men," continues Joel, "like men of war they shall scale the wall: the men shall •march every one on his way, and they shall not turn aside from their ranks. V. 8. " No one shall press upon his brother: they shall walk every one in his path : yea, and they shall fall through the windows, and shall take no harm. V. 9. " They shall enter into the city: they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up the houses, they shall come in at the windows as a thief" Here is the last part of the description of this strange army. Their intrepidity is unparalleled. They run upon danger, or scale the walls of fortified towns, without the least concern, V. 7; and in their march they keep their ranks without press- ing one another, every one walking in security in his path Avith- out the least fear of enemies, v. 7, 8. Their agility is such, that they come in at the windows as a thief, and if they fall 264 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. through them, they take no harm, v. 8, 9. They insinuate themselves into towns, though the gates be shut; they run upon the walls, as upon plain ground ; they get upon the tops of houses, as if they had wings. It is plain, such actions are not human actions, and consequently the agents are not men, but infernal spirits, as we have so often remarked. At the head, then, of such troops, the furious tyrant and general enemy of mankind. Antichrist, carries ravage and desolation through the land, burns the cities, reduces the strongest fortresses with- out difficulty, and levels them to the ground. He will seem to imitate the proud and haughty king of Assyria, Nabuchodo- nosor, who may be well deemed a figure of him. That monarch said to his general, Holofernes : " Go out against all the kingdoms of the west, and against them especially that despised my commandment. Thy eye shall not spare any kingdom, and all the strong cities thou shalt bring under my yoke." Judith ii. 5, 6, In consequence of these orders, Holo- fernes " went forth, he and all the army, with the chariots, and horsemen, and archers, who covered the face of the earth, like locusts. — He came to the great mountains of Ange, w^hich are on the left of Cilicia: and he went up to all their castles, and took all the strong places. — And he passed over the Euphrates, he came into Mesopotamia; and he forced all the stately cities that were there. And he carried away all the children of Madian, and stripped them of all their riches, and all that resisted him he slew with the edge of the sword. And after these things he went down into the plains of Damascus in the days of the harvest, and he set all the corn on fire, and he caused all the trees and the vineyards to be cut down." Judith ii. 11, &c. And though the inhabitants of the cities, went out to meet him and make their submission, " they could not for all that mitigate the fierceness of his heart : for he both destroyed their cities, and cut down their groves. For Nabu- chodonosor the king had commanded him to destroy all the gods of the earth, that he only might be called God by those nations, which could be brought under him by the power of Holofernes." Judith iii. 11, 12, 13. Here is an imperfect pic- ture of the proceedings of Antichrist, who, according to the accounts above given of Joel and St. John, will far surpass, in rage and barbarity, Holofernes or his master Nabuchodo- nosor. Antichrist will have a more powerful and pernicious instrument in hand, namely, gunpowder, which he will make so much use of, according to St. John, " as to kill the third part of men by it." Apoc. ix. 18. And all obstacles seem HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 265 to vanish before him, as being- easily removed or surmounted by the devils that attend him : for the dragon, Satan, gave him his own strength, or his own armies. Apoc. xiii. 2. All this is permitted by Almighty God in his wrath for the execution of his judgments, as he formerly permitted the northern bar- barous nations in like manner to assist Rome for a while with their armies, " For God hath given into their hearts," said St. John, " to do that which pleaseth him : that they gave their kingdom to the beast till the words of God be fulfilled." Apoc, xvii. 17. The iniquities of mankind having filled up their measure at this period, Antichrist is the rod of punishment in the hand of God ; who therefore allows him an extraordi- nary destructive power, such as had never been permitted to fall into the hands of any mortal before. *' And power was given him," says St. John, " over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation." Apoc. xiii. 7. Thus then the beast be- comes irresistible, and with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion, as St. John says, Apoc. xiii. 2, or with claws and teeth of iron, according to Daniel, vii. 9, the beast devours the whole earth, treads it down, and breaks it in pieces, Dan. vii. 23. Thus we see how fully he answers the character given him in the fourth seal. " Behold a pale horse," says St. John, *' and he that sat on him, his name v»'as Death, and hell follow- ed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." Apoc. vi. 8. And thus he be- comes universal monarch.* Both the ancients and moderns speak of Antichrist as domi- neering over the whole world. Lactantius says, " he will tor- ment the world with an insupportable tyranny." Inst. I. 7. c. 16. Sulpitius Severus tells us he had heard from St. Martin, that "the whole earth and all mankind will be reduced under the power of Antichrist." Dial. 2. de vita S. Mart. St. Jerom says, that " Antichrist will reign over the whole world." In Dan. ix. St. Austin and St. Hyppolytus, martyr, hold the same sentiment. Among the moderns, Bellarmine, Cornelius a Lapide, and others, speak the same language. Several of the preceding articles, relating to the character and actions of Antichrist, being also intimated to us with other * If the prince of darkness be allowed an insight into futurity by means of the prophecies, he may have suggested to the Turkish monarchs the prophetic motto which they inscribe upon their military standard, ^'^ Donee totum impleat orhevi, till it fills the whole earth." 23 266 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. particulars in a passage of the prophet Daniel, Avhich has been applied to Antichrist by St. Jerom, Theodoret, and other an- cient and modern interpreters, we shall here give it. Chap, xi, 36. " The king," says Daniel, " shall do accord- ing to his will, and he shall be lifted up, and shall magnify i himself against every God : and he shall speak great things against the God of gods, and shall prosper, till the wrath be accomplished. For the determination is made." Here is Antichrist's power of doing according to his will; here is his arrogance, his luciferian pride, his rebellion and his blasphe- mies against the Almighty, just as St. John and St. Paul have described them. And it is added, that he shall prosper, till the wrath be accomplished, that is, till the Almighty has exe- cuted, by him, his judgments upon mankind for their wicked- ness. For the determination is made ; for such is the decree of heaven. V. 37. " And he shall make no account of the God of his fathers," continues Daniel, "and he shall follow the lust of women, and he shall not regard any gods : for he shall rise up against all things." Antichrist is here represented as an atheist, and addicted to lust. Daniel proceeds, V. 38. " But he shall worship the god Maozim in his place: and a god whom his fathers knew not, he shall wor- ship with gold and silver, and precious stones, and things of great price." Antichrist, though he was said before not to regard any gods, yet he worships in his place, or privately, the god Maozim, that is, the god of fortresses ; for so the word Maozim is translated by Theodotion and Aquila, by the authors of the Syriac and Arabic versions, and by Vatable and others. It would seem that Antichrist, on his astonishing success in reducing the strong holds and fortified places, be- ond that of any conqueror the world ever saw, will acknow- edge it, but not publicly, to be owing to the aid and operation of Satan, who attends him, and whom on that account he will privately worship with gold and silver, and precious stones, &c. under the name of the god of fortresses. That such will be his success over fortresses, we have seen in the prophecy of Joel. — Lastly, V. 39. " And he shall do this to fortify Maozim with a strange god, whom he hath acknowledged, and he shall in- crease glory, and shall give them power over many, and shall divide them the land for nothing." He will fortify his god Maozim with a strange god, whom he hath acknowledged, that is, with another infernal spirit, from whom he acknow- I HISTORY OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 267 ledges to have received particular assistance ; probably that spirit which attends his false prophet enables him to perform such extraordinary feats and wonders for promoting- Anti- christ's credit and the M'orship paid to him. And he shall increase glory, and shall give them power over many, and shall divide them the land for nothing. Here the Antichrist- ian monarch distributes his favours to his partisans. To some he gives glory, that is, title and pre-eminence ; on others he confers power over many, that is, kingdoms, or governments of provinces, towns, &c. ; and to others he divides the land for nothing, giving them large possessions or estates, gratis. Thus, in quality of universal monatch, he disposes of the earth, of dignities, and riches, at his pleasure. As a pre- lude to his future power of Antichrist, may not the devil have suggested to the Turkish emperors the title, which they now assume by anticipation, of " Bestowers of all earthly crowns?" — See note, p. 239. But now we must return to consider, that such is the gene- ral and dreadful calamity of the times we are describing, that, while Antichrist spreads abroad a flood of desolation and slaughter by his army, and thus becomes the instrument of punishment to the Avicked, he is to be understood to exercise at the same time a most sanguinary persecution against the servants of God. He had begun it with putting to death 144,000 converted Jews. But now the four winds are let loose, which we saw held by the angels, Apoc. vii. 1, and they carry with their innate velocity the rage of persecution into every corner of the globe. Hell and earth combine ; the de- vil. Antichrist, and the false prophet, confederate together to extirpate Christianity. They set all engines at work, to abolish all worship of God, and to establish idolatry. St. Austin, speaking of this dreadful period, saj's: " This perse- cution will be the last, it will happen towards the approach of the last judgment, and it will fall upon the Church in every part of the world ; that is, the whole city of Christ will be persecuted by the whole city of the devil, as far as both are extended upon the earth." De. Civ. liv. 20. c. 11. The barbarous tortures employed in the primitive persecutions, are revived, and new ones more cruel invented. The racks, torches, gridirons, fire, and other instruments of torment, are reproduced. The Christians are dr;agged before the statue of Antichrist, which if they refuse to adore, certain death is their punishment, Apoc. xiii. 15. We are shocked in read- ing the account of the barbarities used by Nero, Domitian, 268 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Dioclesian, &c. against the Christians, but these will be much exceeded by the cruelties of this last persecution. Some of those Roman emperors, for their inexpressible violence against religion, were thought by a part of the Christians to be Anti- christ ; but in the time we are speaking of, the Christians will experience the rage of the real Antichrist, to which nothing in the preceding ages will have been found equal. He is permitted to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, as St. John informs us, Apoc. xiii. 7. He is now in his full career of power, and crushes the saints of the Most High, as Daniel forewarned us, vii. 25. This ferocious monster, as in his war he seemed to imitate the cruel tyrant Nabuchodono- sor; so in his hatred to religion he resembles the impious Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, who by the Christian writers has been always marked out as the figure of him. That prince was an avowed enemy to the worship of God, and exercised a most horrible persecution upon the Jews, inasmuch that, having taken the city of Jerusalem by force of arms, he commanded the soldiers to kill, and not to spare any that came in their way, and to go up into the houses to slay. " Thus there was a slaughter of young and old, a destruc- tion of women and children, and killing of virgins and infants. " And there were slain in the space of three whole days four score thousand, forty thousand were made prisoners, and as many sold. " And when Antiochus had taken away out of the temple a thousand and eight hundred talents, he went back in all haste to Antioch, thinking, through pride, that he might now make the land navigable, and the sea passable on foot : such was the haughtiness of his mind." 2 Mach. v. Antiochus, though retired out of the country, did not abate in his enmity to the Jews. For he sent Apollonius with an army of twenty-two thousand men, who made another dread- ful slaughter of the people in Jerusalem. And, " Not long after," continues the sacred writer, '* the king sent a certain old man of Antioch, to compel the Jews to de- part from the laws of their fathers and of God : and to defile the temple that was in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympius. " And there went out a decree — to oblige them to sacrifice, (to the idol of Jupiter Olympius,) and whosoever would not conform themselves to the ways of the heathens should be put to death." 2 Mach. vi. Let these actions of Antiochus HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 269 against the Jews be looked upon as a faint draught of those violences which Antichrist will exercise upon the Christians. But on account of the weakness of human nature, and to moderate our terror at the sight of such an unexampled per- secution, our Saviour himself has also been pleased to give us previous notice of it. " For there shall be then great tribulation," says he, " such as hath not been from the begin- ning of the world until now, neither shall be. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved ; for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened." Matth. xxiv. 21, 22. — Happily, amidst this frightful prospect, there I shines a ray of comfort. These extreme difficulties and rigor- ous trials, this war and slaughter, which, if continued, would sweep away the whole race of mankind, our Saviour informs us, shall be shortened, that is, contracted to the compass of three years and a half, for the sake of the elect, or, out of re- gard for his faithful and beloved servants, in the same manner as formerly Almighty God offered to spare the wicked city of Sodom, in case ten just men could be found in it. When mankind are brought to so severe a test, what wonder if, in an age of infidelity and irreligion, numbers give up their faith in Christ, and go over to the enemy, the beast, and adore him as a god ? And such, we learn from St. John, will be unhap- pily the case. " And all that dwell upon the earth, adored him, whose names are not wTitten in the book of life." Apoc. xiii. 8. But besides what we have seen concerning this persecution, as the Almighty has judged extraordinary admonitions neces- sary for us in proportion to the rigour of the trial, he has vouchsafed to impart to us a further account of it by his pro- phet Daniel, xii. 1. "At that time," says this prophet, " shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the child- ren of thy people : and a time shall come such as never was from the time that nations began even until that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book." Here the angel tells Daniel, that at the time of the terrible persecution of Antichrist, the arch- angel Michael, who is the patron of the Christian Church, as he was of the Jewish, will rise up to the succour of the Christ- ians, and fight against the powers of hell for them, in the same manner as we saw he did in the first persecutions under the Roman emperors, Apoc. xii. 7 ; that the persecution will also be such as never was from the time that nations began even until that time; and that those only shall be saved who . 23* 270 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. shall be found written in the book of life, as St. John has just told us; which indicates, that few will stand the trial and gain the crown of martyrdom, in comparison to the number of those who will give up the cause. — Then Daniel asked, V. 6. " How lonof shall it be to the end of these wonders ? V. 7. " And I heard," says he, " the man, that was clothed in linen, that stood upon the waters of the river, when he had lifted up his right hand, and his left hand to heaven, and had sworn by Him who liveth for ever, that it should be unto a time, and times, and half a time." Here, then, the answer is given in the most solemn man- ner, and God called to witness, (which shows the importance of the thing,) that this dreadful period will last for a time, and times, and half a time, or three years and a half That by the expression of a time, the prophet means a year, appears from another passage, where the same prophet, speaking of the sentence the Almighty had passed upon Nabuchodonosor, he says : " They shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with cattle and with wild beasts, and thou shalt eat grass as an ox, and shall be wet Avith the dew of heaven : and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth over the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." Dan. iv. 22. The seven times here fixed for the duration of that proud king's punishment are acknowledged by all interpreters to mean seven years. The same period of three years and a half, as we have before observed, is given to the persecution by St. John, when he says : " And the holy city they shall tread un- der foot two and forty months." Apoc. xi. 2. Here it is ex- pressed in months, and again in the same manner: "and power was given to him (Antichrist) to do two and forty months." Apoc. xiii. 5. We likewise see the same period expressed in days for the duration of Henoch's and Elias's preaching, which may be naturally supposed to equal the time of the Church's oppression : " And I will give unto my two witnesses; and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty dav.**." Apoc. xi. 3. In fine, Daniel, speaking of the Church's sufferings at this time, says: "from the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days," xii. 1 1. Upon which St. Jerom writes thus : — " Therefore from the time that the continual sacrifice shall be taken away, and that Antichrist, being master of the world, shall prohibit the worship of God, n:iSl"DRY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 271 to the time of his destruction, there will be three years and a halfi that is, 1290 days." In Dan. xii. There can then be no real doubt, that the time of Antichrist's persecution is con- fined to three j^ears and a half, or 1260 days, and not extended to 1260 years, as some moderns have pretended, with a view of calumniating the Catholic Church. For, though in some particular places of the scriptures, a day may be found to de- note a year, or a month to denote a month of years, that is, thirty years, or a week to signify a week of years, or seven years ; yet there is no instance of a period of time mentioned in scripture under the three denominations of years, months, and days, that is not to be taken in its natural sense. Besides, the nature and circumstances of the case, as appears from the preceding history, evince the same ; and in this sense it has been understood by the fathers of the Church. " That the reign of Antichrist," says St. Chrysostom, " will last three years and six months, the scripture in several places testifies, but particularly the Apocalypse of St. John." Horn. 49. iri. Matt. 24. — See also St. Irenceus adv. H^r. I. 5. c. 30. St. Cy- ril, Catech. 25. S. Hyppol. de co?isum. sccculi^ St. Austin de civ. I. -20. c. 25. St. Jerom, Theodoret, and others. But to resume the instructions given to Daniel concerning this interesting time. Chap. xii. 7. "And when the scattering," continues he, " of the band of the holy people shall be accomplished, all these things shall be finished." That is, these severe trials and calamities will be- put an end to, after that the Christians shall have been scattered for an appointed time, by flying into deserts and caverns, as formerly, for shelter from the face of persecution. But in the mean time, V. 10. "Many shall be chosen, and made white, and shall be tried as fire." The Christians will be tried, and made white or purified, as silver in the fire : such will be the seve- rity of the persecution. Conformably to Daniel speaks also the prophet Zachary : " And there shall be in all the earth, saith the Lord, two parts in it shall be scattered, and shall perish : but the third part shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined ; and I will try them, as gold is tried," xiii. 8, 9. This persecution will be distinguished, as we observed before, by seven particular scenes more shocking than the rest : that are intimated by the seven thunders, which St. John heard speak, but w^as not permitted to write what they said, Apoc. X. 3, 4. — Daniel proceeds. 272 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. V. 10. "And the wicked shall deal wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the learned shall under- stand." The wicked therefore will make no advantage of the times, but will continue to be wicked, through hardress of heart; nor will they understand, through their own wilful blindness, the meaning of those scourges and trials sent upon mankind : whereas the learned, who are truly virtuous and instructed in these prophecies, will understand the reason of the divine judgments, and wdll turn them to their own profit, and to the gaining of an immortal crown. Notwithstanding the dreadful aspect, under which appears Antichrist's persecution according to the preceding account, we should not however be dejected or dismayed. Confidence in the mercies and providence of God should allay our fears and support our fortitude. That all bountiful Being, in his severest judgments, never forgets mercy ; and when he sends trials, he furnishes assistance proportioned to the exigencies. We have already seen that the archangel Michael will come, by the order of God, to the defence of the Christians, and will check the exorbitant power of Satan. Besides, we are assured that boisterous storm w^ill not last beyond threes years and a half But the principal support in these extreme dis- tresses will be, the abundant graces infused by the Almighty into the hearts of the faithful, which will inspire them with the most heroic fortitude and invincible constancy. These dispositions will also be nourished and animated by the inces- sant preaching of the ministers of God, who will be enabled to enforce their exhortations with many shining miracles. Among these apostolic labourers, Henoch and Elias w^ill sig- nalize their zeal. By such means not only the faithful will be supported, but many conversions made. The Church there- fore at this period, though in appearance so much oppressed, will shine more glorious than in any former age, by the num- ber of Christian champions, who will not fear to make open profession of their faith, will bafile by their invincible fortitude all Antichrist's arts and torments, and will soar in triumph to heaven with the crown of martyrdom. It would seem that as the Christians will be fully instructed in the prophecies relating to the time, some of them, perhaps imdcr their torments, will admonish Antichrist of his impend- ing fate ; in a similar manner as the above-mentioned king Antiochus w^as forewarned, by three pf the seven Machabees whom he put to death, of the divine vengeance that would soon overtake him. The fifth of them, in his tortures, said to HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 273 Antiochus : " Whereas thou hast power among men, though thou art corruptible, thou dost what thou wilt : but think not that our nation is forsaken by God. But stay patiently a while, and thou shalt see his great power, in what manner he will torment thee and thy seed." 2 Mach. vii. 16, 17. Anti- christ raging with fury at hearing from the expiring Christ- ians the supreme decree which dooms him with all his men to be slain by Jesus Christ and his celestial army of saints, he resolves upon the most daring and most impious scheme, that ever entered the heart of man, and which, by the concur- rence of Satan and his false prophet, he puts in execution. Chap. xvi. 13. "And I saw," says St. John, "from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. V. 14. "For they are the spirits of devils working signs, and they go forth unto the kings of the whole earth* to gather them to battle against the great day of the Almighty God." The dragon or Satan, the beast or Antichrist, and the false prophet, send forth, each of them, an unclean vSpirit or devil. These they depute to all the kings and potentates, to all the great and little states of the earth, to gather them to battle against the great day of the Almighty God, that is, to engage them to assemble their troops and join Antichrist, who has determined to encounter with the omnipotent God, by whom they will on that great day be crushed and utterly destroyed. What audacious temerity, surely, the advice of Satan, to dare challenge the Almighty to battle ! But what wonder that those proud angels who had rebelled against their God in heaven, should now excite mankind to a similar impiety 7 These three ambassadors, spirits of devils, conceal themselves under human shapes, and, like frogs, which are amphibious, proceed both by land and sea to every state on the continents and in the islands, and by their power of working signs or wonders, im- pose upon the princes, and prevail with them to embark in the mad design of their great master Antichrist. The earth w^as now reeking every where with the blood of Christian victims. The persecution raged with the utmost violence, and daily swept away multitudes. The pastors es- pecially are picked out for slaughter, being more obnoxious on account of their zeal, in opposing Antichrist, in animating the Christians, and fortifying them under their conflicts. And this * In the Greek. " the kings of the earth and of the whole inhabited world." 274 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHtTRCH. is exhibited to us with strong colours by the prophet Jeremy: "Howl, ye shepherds," says he, "and cry: and sprinkle yourselves with ashes, ye leaders of the flock : for the days of your slaughter and dispersion are accomplished, and you shall fall like precious vessels. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to save themselves," XXV. 34, 35. But this persecution was to be distinguished in a particular manner by the martyrdom of the two great mes- sengers of Christ, his two witnesses, Henoch and Elias. Their Saviour and master had assigned them 1260 days, or three years and a half, to prophecy or to perform the function of his special ministers ; during which time he screened them from all attempts of Antichrist and other enemies. But that period being now elapsed, he withdraws that special protection from them, and requires that they shall finish their work by sealing it with their blood. He therefore delivers them over into the power of Antichrist. Chap. xi. 7. " And when they (the two witnesses) shall have finished their testimony," says St. John, " the beast, that ascendeth out of the abyss, shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them." Henoch and Elias then having finished their testimony, or time appointed them to give testimony to Christ by their preaching, they are to be put to death by order of Antichrist, who is impelled to it by Satan, the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss, or bottom- less pit. V. 8. " And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which is called, spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord also was crucified." Their dead bodies lie exposed in the streets of the great city, which is Jerusalem, as appears by what is added, where their Lord was crucified ; and our Saviour had said: " it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem." Lukexiii. 33. Jerusalem is styled, spiritually or mystically, Sodom and Egypt : Sodom, because, as that city was burned by fire from heaven for its iniquities, so was Jerusalem doomed by heaven to be burned by the Romans in consequence of its crucifying its Lord. Jerusalem is also styled Egypt, in allusion to the persecutions the Jews suffered under the Pha- raohs in Egypt, and which they will suffer in a more severe manner at Jerusalem under Antichrist. V. 9. " And they of the tribes, and peoples, and tongues, and nations, shall see their bodies for three days and a half: and they shall not suffer their bodies to be laid in sepulchres. V. 10. "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice HISTORV OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 275 over them, and make merry: and shall send gifts one to an- other, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt upon the earth. For three days and a half the bodies of He- noch and Elias will remain exposed to the sight of an infinite multitude of people from all nations of the earth, who will be then in Jerusalem : nor will they suffer the bodies to be buried, for the hatred they will have conceived to the two holy pro- phets. Xh5§e that -dwell on the earth, or the bad sort of peo- ple, will ev'ery where rejoice at their death, and will send presents to congratulate one another on being freed from such importunate preachers, and from the dreadful effects of their miraculous powers. But, V. 11. "And after three days and a half," continues St. John, " the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them that saw them. V. 12. " And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them: come up hither. And they went up to heaven in a cloud ; and their enemies saw them." Here we see the Al- mighty hand raising the two dead heroes to life ; and they are called to the reward of their labours, a happy immortality ; their enemies seeing them with astonishment mount into hea- ven. In fine, V. 13. "And at that hour there was made a great earth- quake, and the tenth part of the city fell ; and there were slain in the earthquakes names of men seven thousand: and the rest were cast into fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven." At the time that the two resuscitated martyrs will ascend to heaven, an earthquake will happen, which will throw :H5wn a tenth part of the city of Jerusalem, and destroy seven thousand of Antichrist's adherents, who deserve no more than the mere name of men. But those that remain will be struck with terror, will acknowledge the hand of the Almighty in this dreadful event, and, deserting the wicked party, will be converted to God. Such will be the glorious triumph of He- noch and Elias. It will happen some time before the close of the persecution; because the period of their ministry is the same in length with that of the persecution, viz. three years and a half, and they had employed some share of their time in converting the Jews before the persecution commenced. Whether some nations of Africa will revolt from the do- minion of the Antichristian tyrant, or whatever else will be the provocation, it seems that he will himself also carry his arms into that country. This appears from a passage of the 276 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. prophet Daniel, which St. Jerom and some other ancient in- terpreters have so understood. Chap. xi. 40. "And at the time prefixed," says Daniel, *' the king of the south (the king of Egypt) shall fight against him, and the king of the north (Antichrist) shall come against him like a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great navy, and he shall enter into the countries, and shall destroy, and pass through. V. 41. "And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall : and these only shall be saved out of his hand, Edom and Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon. V. 42. " And he shall lay his hand upon the lands : and the land of Egypt shall not escape. V. 43. " And he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt: and he shall pass through Lybia and Ethiopia." During these exploits. V. 44. " And tidings out of the east, and out of the north shall trouble him : and he shall come with a great multitude to destroy and slay many." Antichrist will be alarmed with tidings out of the east and out of the north, probably of na- tions revolting against him, as the sixth age is full of such confusion, according to that of our Saviour : " Nation shall vise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." Matt. xxiv. 7. The exasperated tyrant will therefore leave Africa, and proceed with his prodigious army into Asia, the provinces of which lie to the east and north of Egypt, and there he will destroy and slay many. He is yet in the full gale of pros- perity, and therefore will bear down all before him. Among his present Asiatic expeditions, it seems he will vent his rage a second time against Jerusalem, Provoked, perhaps, that such a number of his partisans had perished in the earth- quake which happened at the triumph of Henoch and Elias, and that the rest had deserted him to become the servants of God, he* will lay siege to Jerusalem, and take it, as we learn from the prophet Zachary. Chap. xiv. 1. "Behold the days of the Lord shall come, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee. V. 2. " And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to bat- tle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses shall be rifled, and the w^omen shall be defiled : and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the rest of the people shall -not be Or one of his generals. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 277 (aken away out of the city." On this occasion the prophet informs us that some Jews will be found in Antichrist's army ; for he says, v. 14, "And even Juda shall fight against Jeru- salem." Antichrist thus goes on, regaling himself with the destruc- tion and havoc he makes every where, and drenching himself with the blood of martyrs. But, notwithstanding all the miseries of war, famine, pestilence, &c. that at this period like a torrent poured in upon mankind, notwithstanding the un- paralleled tyranny of the furious beast, notwithstanding that these excessive calamities are known to proceed from the avenging justice of an angry God ; still, who would believe it ! the wicked remain incorrigible, and those that have basely sunk into the abomination of idolatry, take not warning to re- trieve themselves, but continue hardened in their iniquity. For thus speaks St. John, Chap. ix. 20. "And the rest of the men, who were not slain by these plagues, did not do penance from the works of their hands, that they should not adore devils, and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. V. 21. " Neither did they penance from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their fornications, nor from their thefts." Antichrist having, by the strength of his armies and by the assistance of the infernal associates, borne down all opposition, we may now view him raised up to the pinnacle of human glo- ry, to the summit of power. He reigns the greatest monarch the world ever saw, and a short period of time has carried him through all his conquests, and placed him upon a throne that commands the whole earth. He has prevailed upon or com- pelled a great part of mankind to adore him as a god, and of those that refused he has sacrificed an infinite number to his rage and jealousy. But, unhappy being ! now approaches the period which the Supreme Being, the Almighty, has fixed to his dominion. The three years and a half allowed him to tyrannize over mankind, are noAv expiring. And it had been pronounced : "judgment shall sit, that his power may be taken away, and be broken in pieces, and perish even to the end." Dan. vii. 26. Intoxicated however with pride and power, and stimulated by Satan, he pursues his former resolution to suffer no rival, but to contend for superiority with the Sovereign of heaven, contemning what he had heard from the Christians, that all power shall be wrested from him by Christ, and him- 24 278 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHTTRCH. self laid in the dust. In this view he proposes to cope with Christ and all his heavenly attendants, by a proportionable army assembled from the whole earth by the three evil spirits that had been sent, as we have seen, for that purpose. His thoughts are now wholly bent upon preparations for this daring encounter. He therefore drops the persecution, and ceases the war. — And now the second wo is past, that is, the perse- cution and war of Antichrist : and behold the third wo, or day of judgment, will come quickly, Apoc. xi. 14, Here the pro- phet Daniel pronounces : " Blessed is he that waiteth, and Cometh unto a thousand three hundred thirty-five days," xxii. 12. He had said in the preceding verse : " from the time, when the continual sacrifice shall be taken away," and the abomination unto desolation be set up, " there shall be a thou- sand two hundred ninety days." These 1290 days, which are dated from the time of Antichrist setting himself up for God and forbidding all Christian worship, now expire with the close of his persecution; and that number being taken from 1335, there remain 45 days from the close of his perse- cution to the day of his destruction: and therefore Daniel pronounces him blessed who lives to see that day. This space of 45 days Antichrist employs in collecting together all his armies. We may on our sides employ a share of this time in taking a view of the great body of martyrs, the glorious victims of this persecution. To separate the good from the bad members, Christ has subjected his Church to the severest trial she ever underwent, and streams of holy blood have been flowing to appease the divine anger irritated against mankind for the ex- cess of their wickedness. St. John thus exhibits to us the sight he was favoured with of that blessed company, after they were crowned. Chap. vii. 9. " After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues : standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands." A numberless multitude appears to St. John, consisting of people of all nations from the four parts of the earth, clothed in white robes in token of their present bliss, and with palms in their hands, the known emblems of victory. In this attire they are presented before the throne, and the Lamb. V. 10, "And they cried with a loud voice, saying: salva- tion to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." They break forth into loud acclamations, saying : '* Salvation HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CttURCH. 279 (or victory) to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb," victory and triumph to the Almighty and to our Saviour over their enemies. V. 1 1. ** And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures : and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God. V. 12. "Saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wis- dom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen." The angels here join in the profoundest homage to Almighty God. They acknow- ledge and praise his providential dispensations to his Church on ear^h, with the seven same expressive terms, except one which were applied to the Lamb. Apoc. v. 12. These terms of acclamation to the Almighty are : Benedic- tion or praise for the immortal bliss he imparts to his saints: Glory, that is reflected upon him for his bountiful admonitions to mankind, conveyed by extraordinary signs and threaten ing prodigies in the heavens and in the earth : Wisdom, in raising up kingdoms and demolishing others according to the wise determination of his justice : Thanksgiving, for his pro- tection of the Church against the power of heresy and schism* Honour, which he receives, from the glorious conflicts and victory of his martyrs : Power, which he has so fully mani- fested in subduing the world by the word of his gospel : and Strength, which he exhibits in his t(?rrible scourges upon the wicked part of his people. St. John proceeds, V. 13. "And one of the ancients answered, and said to me : these that are clothed in white robes, who are they ? and whence came they ? V. 14. "And I said to him. My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me : these are they who are come out of great* tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb." St. John not know- ing in particular what that holy troop w^as, is here informed that they came from the great tribulation, that is, from the great persecution of Antichrist, and that they have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb : they have w^ashed them by martyrdom, and they have made them white by entering into glory, both which favours were purchased to them by the blood of the Lamb. V. 15. " Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple : and he, that * In the Greek, " the great tribulation." 280 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. sifteth on the throne, shall dwell over them." The martyrs are placed in the presence of their God, to whom they offer constant homage and adoration: and he will dwell over them, by infusing- the joy of beatitude into their souls, and being their liberal Lord and gracious governor for ever. Lastly, V. 16. " They shall no more hunger and thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. V. 1 7. " For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule* them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Their afflictions and hardships are now all over. They are now promised to be no more subject to the tor- ments or sufferings they have undergone, either from hunger or thirst, or from the sun or any heat falling upon them, that is, from any sort of fire, natural or artificial ; many of them having probably been famished to death, others burned, and others shot. On the contrary, their bodies after the general resurrection will enjoy a most pure and perpetual feast, in being fed by the Lamb and refreshed by the most pleasant living waters, in such manner as is suitable to their glorified state. Before, St. John said; they are before the throne of God, &c. to indicate the happiness of their souls immediately after their passage to the other life : But here he says : they shall no more hunger and thirst, &c. to denote the future period after the general resurrection, when their bodies which were associated in the hardships, will likewise enjoy their share of beatitude. Furthermore, one may here observe the suppression of the word " and," which is so constantly re- peated through the Apocalypse. In verse the 15th was ex- pressed the beatitude of the soul, and in verse ihe 1 6th that of the body: the disparity of these two beatitudes could not well admit of the conjunctive particle and, while the terms of soul and body were not expressed. — And God will wipe away their tears of sorrow : by filling them Avith the abundance of the sweetest joy and most perfect happiness for all eternity. On the expiration of the forty-five days above-mentioned, Antichrist having collected together all the forces, assembled by the three evil spirits who " had gone forth unto the king of the whole earth to gather them to battle against the great day of the Almighty God," Apoc. xvi. 14, he encamps them in the valley of Josaphat, between Jerusalem and Mount Oli- vet, and pitches his own tent on that mountain. He had * In the Greek, " shall feed them." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 281 probably been forewarned by the Christians, that this would be the theatre of his destruction, and therefore he chooses it in defiance of heaven. That this will be really the place, we seem to learn, first, from St. John, who, after the words just above cited, adds : " And he shall gather them together, into a place, which in Hebrew is called Armagedon." Apoc. xvi. 16. The word Armagedon is interpreted the mountain of fruits, which may indicate the mountain of Olives. The same is pointed out by the prophet Daniel, who speaks thus : " And he shall fix his tabernacle Apadno between the seas, upon a glorious and holy mountain ; and he shall come even to the top thereof, and none shall help him," xi. 45. Anti- christ will fix his tabernacle Apadno, that is, his magnificent tent, called Apadno, upon a mountain, viz. Mount Olivet, which has been made glorious and holy by the Ascension and other sacred transactions of our Saviour, and stands between the Mediterranean and Dead Seas. There he will arrogantly fix his standard, but none will be able to help him against the power of the Almighty. We have likewise in the prophet Joel, not only express mention of the same place of encampment, but also a remark- able description of the assembling of this army and its im- pending fate. Chap. iii. 1. " For behold," says the Lord, " in these days and in that time when I shall bring back the captivity of Judea and Jerusalem. V. 2. " I will gather together all nations, and will brinj^ them down into the valley of Josaphat."* The Almighty then says that, soon after he shall have brought back the Jews from their captivity, an event we have before related, he will collect all nations into the valley of Josaphat, the place in- sinuated by St. John and Daniel. — The Almighty continues to speak, V. 2. " And I will plead with them there for my people and my inheritance Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have parted my land. V. 3. "And they have cast lots unto my people: and the boy they have put in stews, and the girl they have sold for wine that they might drink," &c. &c. The Almighty will there plead with them or reprove them for the injuries they have done to his people the Christians, and to his inherit- ance the Israelites, during the tyranny of the Antichristian * Josaphat sigiiifies the judgment of the Lord. 24* 282 HISTORY OF THK CHRISTIAN CHURCH. power. He proceeds to enumerate several of those injuries, which he declares he will retaliate upon them. After which he continues, V. 9. " Proclaim ye this among- the nations : prepare war, raise up the strong : let them come ; let all the men of war come up. V. 10. "Cut your ploughshares into swords, and your spades into spears. Let the weak say : I am strong. V. 11. "Break forth, and come, all ye nations from round about, and gather yourselves together." Here the Almighty challenges them to battle ; after which he pronounces, V. 12. " There will the Lord cause all thy strong ones to fall down." There Avill the Lord, the Almighty Son of God, crush thee, O Antichrist, and all thy strong men. Hitherto God had spoken to them altogether, challenging them to bat- tle; but here he suddenly changes his discourse, and address- es solely their commander. Antichrist: there will the Lord cause all thy strong ones to fall. Joel goes on, V. 13. " Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, and go down, for the press is full, the fat runs over; for their wickedness is multiplied." The harvest and vintage are ready; and therefore people are called to reap the corn, and to gather and tread the grapes. An allusion, showing that the wickedness of these nations is so multiplied, that they are ripe for the slaughter which is going to be made of them. — .Toel continues, V. 14. " Nations, nations in the valley of destruction: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of destruction. V. 15. " The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining. V. 16. " And the Lord shall roar out of Sion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem : and the heavens and the earth shall be moved: and the Lord shall be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Numberless nations, immense armies, now appear gathered together in the valley of Josaphat, the valley of destruction, all which the Lord has determined quickly to destroy. And when he shall come down from heaven to execute his judgments upon these armies, the sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw iheir shining, and he will pass over Jerusalem with a dreadful noise, that will strike them with terror and dread : " the Lord shall roar out of Sion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem." To this we may add a sublime, pathetic, and short de- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 283 scription of the same tremendous scene from the prophet Isaiah. Chap, xxxiv. 1. "Come near, ye Gentiles, and hear ; and hearken, ye people : let the earth hear, and all that is therein ; the world, and every thing that comes forth of it. V. 2. " For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies : he has killed them and delivered them to slaughter. V. 3. " Their slain shall be cast out, and out of their car- casses shall rise a stink : the mountains shall be melted with their blood. V. 4. " And all the hosts of the heavens shall pine away, and the heavens shall be folded together as a book : and all their hosts shall fall down, as the leaf falls from the vine, and from the fig-tree." Here the Almighty declares in the most solemn manner, his indignation is going to fall upon all na- tions, and his fury upon their armies, and he will deliver them up to slaughter, v. 1, 2. Such will be soon the fate of Anti- christ and his armies. What is added of their slain being cast out, and a stench rising from their carcases, &c. v. 3, seems to belong to the destruction of Gog and Magog, which we shall see afterwards. But before these terrible judgments happen, " all the host of the heavens shall pine away, v. 4, and shall fall down, as the leaf falls from the vine, and from the ficr-tree : and the heavens shall be folded together as a book." These threatening signs in the heavens, which were also just above-mentioned in Joel, are here expressed nearly in the same terms, as we saw them in the Apocalypse under the sixth seal, where we read, " The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood : and the stars from heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig-tree casts its green figs when it is shaken by a gi'eat wind. And the heaven departed as a book folded up." Apoc. vi. 12, 13, 14. Isaiah had forewarned us in another place : " The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and high- minded, and upon every one that is arrogant, and he shall be humbled — And the loftiness of men shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. — And they shall go into the holes of rocks, and into the caves of the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his Majesty, when he shall rise up to strike the earth," ii. 12, 17, 19. St. John speaks in the same tenor under the sixth seal : " The kings of the earth," says he, " and the princes — hid them- 284 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. selves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains : and they say to the mountains and the rocks, fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Apoc. 15, 16, — See the explication of the sixth seal. Antichrist therefore having seated himself upon Mount Olivet, with his armies round him extended over the valley ol Josaphat and adjacent plains, he haughtily thinks himselt equal to cope with all the powers of heaven. This man ot sin, this son of perdition, this enemy of God and men, though upon the brink of destruction, persists in his resolution to de fend his impious and insolent pretensions. He claims to himself the power and honours that belong to the supreme Deity, and will permit no other but him.self to be thought master of the world. He has, for the space of three years and a half, exercised the most despotic and cruel tyranny over mankind, and now he braves the Almighty himself. But, behold ! Chap. xix. 11. " And I saw heaven opened," says St. John, " and behold a white horse : and he that sat upon him, was called faithful and true, and with justice doth he judge and fight. V. 12. " And his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems, and he had a name written, which no man knows but himself V. 13. "And he was clothed w^ith a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called. The Word of God." The heavens open, and St. John sees Jesus Christ, the Son of God, descending ; seated on a white horse, in the same man- ner as we saw him first set out on his conquests ; which shows him to have been all along continuing them : " He went forth conquering that he might conquer." Apoc. vi. 2. He is known by the peculiar appellations here attributed to him : faithful and true, v. 11, faithful in protecting his servants and revenging their injuries upon their enemies, and he is ever true to his promises. As the father has given all judgment to the Son, John v. 22, so the Son with justice doth judge and fight, which he is coming to do at present. But what eminently distinguishes him, is his name. The Word of God, v. 13, which is well understood to belong solely to him : but it is so comprehensive in its meaning, that human reason cannot fathom it, and no man knows it but himself, v. 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, indicating his anger ; and on his head were many diadems, the mark of his power over HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 285 all those nations he is now coming to punish : and as this will be done by a great slaughter of all Antichrist's armies, he therefore, appears clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood. — St. John proceeds, V. 14. "And the armies that are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean." The celestial armies of saints follow the son of God, as their cap- tain and commander ; they are all like him, mounted on white horses, and clothed in fine linen white and clean, a symbol of their merit and glory. V. 15. "And out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two- edged sword : that with it he may strike the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron : and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty. V. 16. "And he hath on his garment and on his thigh written, King of kings and Lord of lords." A sharp two- edged sword is the weapon Christ will use to strike the na- tions, which are assembled with Antichrist against him. The sword is said to proceed from his mouth, because it exe- cutes his command. The son of God is the sovereign mas- ter and judge of all mankind, and therefore he rules his re- bellious subjects with a rod of iron, by scourging them in this life, and subjecting them to everlasting punishments in the next. And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty, that is, he is the minis- tor of the Almighty's wrath, and executes his terrible judg- ments upon the wicked. In fine, the son of God is entitled to all his power, because he is King of kings and Lord of lords ; which name is written on his garment, that it may be visible to every eye; and on his thigh, to show that he is pos- sessed of strength to vindicate his sovereign title, the thigh being commonly put for the emblem of strength in man. Some of the attributes here mentioned are also ascribed to Christ by the prophet Isaiah : " Why then is thy apparel red," says he; "and thy garments like theirs that tread in the wine-press ? I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me : I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have trodden them down in my wrath, and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my apparel," Ixiii. 2, 3. — St. John pro- ceeds, V. 17. "And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that did fly 286 HISTORY OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. through the midst of heaven : Come, gather youi selves together to the great supper of God.* V. 18. " That you may eat the flesh of kings, and ^,he flesh of tribunes, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all free- men and bondmen, and of little and of great." While Christ, the divine hero, is advancing to battle with his celestial army, an anoel in the sun with a loud voice invites all the birds of the air to a most plentiful entertainment which is preparing for them ; where they may fill themselves with human flesh of all kinds, from that of kings to that of slaves, and with the flesh of horses and that of their riders ; an expressive pic- ture of the immense slaughter that is going to be made. It would seem that this bloody scene will terminate in the even- ing of the day, as the invitation is given to a supper. — Then, V. 19. " And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together, to make war with him that sat upon the horse, and with his army." We have just now seen the heavenly captain on horseback at the head of his holy troop marching to battle ; and now we see who are the enemies he comes to encounter. Here is the beast, or Anti- christ, with prodigious armies gathered from all parts of the earth, and headed by their kings and princes. Here they are met with that satanic design of engaging in battle with him who sits upon the horse, the omnipotent Son of God. " The kings of the earth," says the royal psalmist, "have stood up, and the princes have met together, against the Lord, and against his Christ: but thou, O Christ, shall break them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Psalm ii. 2, 9. No more is man than a potter's vessel, when he contends with the Almighty. The decisive moment is come. This is the day of the Lord in the valley of destruction. Joel, iii. 14. This is the great day of the Almighty God, Apoc. xvi. 14, in which he will show to whom belong empire and victory. For, V. 20. " And the beast was taken," pursues St. John, •' and w^ith him the false prophet, who wrought signs before him, wherewith he seduced them who received the character of the beast, and who adored his image. These two were cast alive into the pool of fire burning with brimstone." At the terrible appearance of Christ descending through the skies with his army, his enemies are struck with dread and con» * In the Greek, " to the supper of the great God." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 287 sternation ; and by his order the beast Antichrist, is seized and made captive, and with him the great impostor, his false prophet, who by delusive signs and wonders had seduced such numbers to become the beast's votaries. Christ with the sole breath of his mouth hurls down Antichrist alive into hell-fire, " that wicked man, whom," as St. Paul informs us, " the Lord Jesus shall kill (or exterminate) with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." 2 Thes. ii. 8. The prophet Isaiah had likewise said : " with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked man," xi. 4. The false prophet is also precipitated down along with his master. Thus will be exterminated that beast. Antichrist, the greatest monster of impiety the earth ever bore, the declared enemy of Christ, the man of sin, the son of perdition, as St. Paul styles him, an idolater, a mock god, a more cruel persecutor of the Christians than Nero or Dio- clesian. From the pinnacle of arrogance and power he will be flung down, and in a moment buried alive in the bottom- less pit. " I have seen the wicked man," says the psalmist, •' highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus. And I passed by, and lo he was not : and I sought him, and his place was not found." Psalm xxxvi. 35. — Lastly, V. 21. " And the rest were slain," continues St. John, " by the sword of him that sitteth upon the horse, which pro- ceedeth out of his mouth : and all the birds were filled with their flesh." Immediately upon the destruction of Antichrist and the false prophet, the whole army is slaughtered ; Christ commanding his two-edoed sword, or g-ivinof it to an anjjel, to do the execution. In such a wide field of carnag-e, the birds of the air, which had all been invited to this supper, are now filled and sated with the flesh of the dead bodies. "If I shall whet my sword as the lightning," said the Lord, *' and my hand take hold of judgment : I will render ven- geance to my enemies, and repay them that hate me. My sword shall devour flesh. Praise his people, ye nations, for he will revenge the blood of his servants." Deuter. xxxii. 41, 42, 43. And thus we see executed the sentence, taken notice of before, which Christ pronounced at the beginning of Antichrist's persecution and war : " He that shall kill by the sword, must be killed by the sword." Apoc. xiii. 10. Such will be the dreadful vengeance, the almighty Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will take upon his enemies, and in this conspicuous manner will he vindicate his sovereign dominion, and rescue his faithful servants from 288 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. that intolerable tyranny they have laboured under for three years and a half. This exploit of the almighty Son of God, we see expressed beautifully by his prophet Isaiah : Dixistis enim — Idcirco h(EC dicit Dominus Deus ; delebiiur fcedus ves- irum, &c. Isaiah xxviii. 15, 18. But we seem to be furnished with further interesting circumstances of this memorable day by the prophet Zachary, if we understand right his following prophecy : Chap. xix. 1. "Behold the days of the Lord shall come, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee. V. 2. " And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses shall be rifled, and the women shall be defiled : and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the rest of the people shall not be taken away out of the city." This siege and taking of Jerusalem by a body of Antichrist's troops, we have explained before. — Zachary goes on, V. 3. " Then the Lord shall go forth, and shall fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. V. 4. " And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is over against Jerusalem towards the east : and the mount of Olives shall be divided in the midst thereof to the east, and to the west, with a very great opening, and half of the mountain shall be separated to the north, and half thereof to the south. V. 5. " And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him." The Lord my God, the almighty Son of God, will come, accompanied by all the saints, v. 5, as St. John represented him, and he will destroy at once all those nations, V. 3, as he destroyed in the day of battle, the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Mount Olivet, it is here said, v. 4, shall be split in two ; in order perhaps to open a passage to Antichrist and his false prophet, at the moment they are cast down alive into the infernal pit. Christ will stand upon the mountain : and while he is in this posture, the immense heap of slain lying in the plains below him, may not his enemies then be truly said to be made his footstool? Psalm cix. I. V. 6. "And it shall come to pass in that day," continues Zachary, " that there shall be no light, but cold and frost. V. 7. " And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, not day nor night: and in the time of the evening there, shall be light." That one day, known to the Lord, is the day of vengeance upon Antichrist and his people, which properly I wh. neither be day nor night, the sun, moon, and stars, being HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHtTRCH. 289 obscured and veiled over, as we learned frGrn Joel, saying- of that day " the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining," iii. 15. The light that will then illuminate the earth, will be that resplendent brightness with which our Saviour will come down to do the execution. While the rays of the sun are thus intercepted, no wonder the air grows cold and frosty. But in the evening there will be light, that is, when the scene is over, and Christ mounted up back to heaven, the sun's light will return, viz. in the evening, the time indicated also by St. John in the invitation of the birds to a supper, V. 12. " And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall strike all nations that have fought against Jerusalem^ the flesh of every one shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth." While Antichrist's armies in the vale of Josaphat are slain by the sword, those troops which took Jerusalem in the above- mentioned siege, and treated there the servants of God so barbarously, will be punished by their flesh melting and con- suming avt^ay, &c. and thus the people will be preserved from any stench of the carcasses. V. 16. "And all they that shall be left of all nations that came against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the least of tabernacles. V. 17. " And it shall come to pass, that he that shall not go up of the families of the land to Jerusalem, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, there shall be no rain upon them." Those that join not Antichrist's army, but remain in their country, will be ordered to depute a certain number of per- sons to go ever)r year to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of tabernacles : and if any country neglect this obligatory devo- tion, it will be punished by the want of rain. The feast of Tabernacles was kept by the Jews in memory of their so- journing forty years in the desert, and this place may signify the solemn festival, which will be annually observed by the Christians at Jerusalem, in memory of their deliverance from Antichrist, by the destruction of him and his people in and near that city. And as the feast of the tabernacles was kept on the fifteenth of the Hebrew month Tizri, which an- swers to the moon of our September ; this may indicate that the great day of destruction will happen about the autumnal eciuinox ; in which case counting back three years and 25 290 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHUliCn, a half, Antichrist will begin his war and persecution in spring. Though we have already seen a pretty ample account of the fate of Antichrist, we seem however to be presented with another beautiful picture of it, illustrated even with some new scenes, b];" the prophet Isaiah. Thus speaks he : Chap, xiv, 3. " And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give thee rest from thy labour, and from thy vexation, and from the hard bondage, wherewith thou didst serve before, V. 4. "" Thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and shalt say : How is the oppressor come to nothing, the tribute hath ceased ? V. 5. " The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers, V. 6. " That struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under their fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner. V. 7. " The whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced." Though this prophecy may in some measure relate to the king of ancient Babylon, yet it seems to be principally spo- ken of Antichrist, king of the last Babylon, and to be finally completed in him. It is usual with prophets to join in the same description two objects that have a relation one to the other. Here then the Almighty tells his people that, when they shall be freed from their labour, vexation, and hard bondage under Antichrist, v. 3, they shall address heaven in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving, saying : How is the oppressor (Antichrist) come to nothing? The Lord hath broken ihe staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers that struck the people in wrath with an incurable Avound, that brought nations under in fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner: and now the whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced, v. 4, 5, 6, 7. V. 9. " Hell below," continues the prophet, '• w^as in an uproar to meet thee at thy coming, it stirred up the giants for thee. All the princes of the earth are risen up from their thrones, all the princes of nations. V. 10. " All shall answer and say to thee : Thou also art wounded as well as we, thou art become like unto us. V. 11. *' Thy pride is brought down to hell, thy carcass is fallen down : under thee shall the moth be strewed, and worms shall be thy covering." Here we see the reception HISTORY OF THE CHRISTAN CHURCH, 291 Antichrist meets with at his arrival in the infernal regions. All hell is in an uproar, the princes, the giants or famous war- riors whom he had slain, rise up and advance to meet him, addressing him with derision : Oh ! Thou art also wounded then as well as we, thou art at last dealt with as thou deat with us: Thy pride is brought dow^n to hell, &c, V. 12. " How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations ? V. 13, " And thou saidst in thy heart: I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north. V. 14. "I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High, V. 1.5. " But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit." The princes in hell continue to insult Antichrist, saying: How art thou fallen, thou that shone in majesty and brightness like Lucifer, the morning star? They remind him of his former pride, arrogance, superlative inso- lence, his proclaiming himself God, &c., all which they paint in lively colours: After which with a contemptuous triumph they tell him : But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell into the depth of the pit. V. 16. " They that shall see thee, shall turn towards thee, and behold thee : is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms. V. 17. " That made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the prison to the prisoners? V. 18. " All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory, every one* in his own house. V. 19. " But thou wert cast out of thy grave as an unpro- fitable branch defiled, and wrapped up among them that are slain by the sword, and are gone down to the bottom of the pit as a rotten carcass." CHAPTER Xn. THE CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE SIXTH AGE. Notwithstanding the vengeance of God has thus mani- fested itself in the total extermination of Antichrist and his 292 HISTORY OT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. armies, his wrath is not yet satisfied, but requires more vic- tims to atone for the injuiy done to his holy worship by the establishment of idolatry and for the cruelties exercised upon his servants. The Almighty had formerly poured out his indignation upon the Roman emperors, many of whom were struck, and perished under the visible marks of his judgments. But this was not sufficient, he devoted haughty imperial Rome, their capital, to destruction, and laid it in ashes. It had parti- cipated with its masters in the crime of supporting idolatry, and waging war against the saints, and therefore like them was to be cut off In the same manner Constantinople, the centre and metropolis of the Antichristian empire, must also fall under the weight of the hand of God. This we learn from St. John : for thus speaks he, Chap. xiv. 8. " And another angel followed, saying. That great Babylon is fallen, is fallen :* which made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." This Ba- bylon has been supposed by many interpreters to mean pagan Rome, but whoever studies the Apocalypse with attention, will see the error of that opinion. For St. John gives the destruc- tion of heathen Rome in the beginning of the 18th chapter, as we have before seen, and in the same terms nearly, not entirely, as are used here : and as St. John never repeats the same event, this second Babylon must be another city, the great city, which has made all nations to drink of the wine of her fornication or idolatry. This Babylon therefore can be no otherthan Constantinople, the imperial city of Antichrist, which has so readily joined him in admitting idolatry, and so hotly concurred to propagate it over the whole earth. Besides, the same conclusion follows from observing, that the transactions related in this 14th chapter belong to the last period of the world. Other proofs will also presently occur. But our Christian prophet has not only announced to us in general the fall of this last Babylon, but even gives us a spe- cial description of its destruction. This is found in the latter part of the 18th chapter. St. John, after carrying on his nar rative of the fate of old Rome, in the first part of the same chapter, proceeds in verse 20th, to invite heaven and the saints to rejoice and exult on the occasion. " Rejoice over her," says he, " thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets : for God has judged your judgment on her." This indicates that iiere concludes his description of the fall of Babylon or pa- • In the Greek, " Babylon the great city is fallen, is fallea ' HISTORY OF THK CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 293 gkn Rome. What follows, belongs therefore to the second Babylon or Constantinople, and is related thus : Chap, xviii. 21. " And a mighty angel took up a stone, as it were a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying: with such violence as this shall Babylon that great city be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." Here then Constantinople falls, and the manner of her fall is expressed in clear and energetic terms. As a mill-stone thrown with violence into the sea sinks to the bottom in a moment, so will Constai:itiuople be swallowed up by the sea in an instant, ne- ver more to be seen. This description cannot, it is evident, belong to Rome, which does not stand upon the sea. Besides, ancient Rome after its destruction was in some degree rebuilt and still subsists, whereas this last Babylon after its fate shall be found no more at all. The prophet goes on, V. 22. " And the voice of harpers, and of musicians, and of them that play on the pipe and on the trumpet, shall no more be heard at all in thee, and no craftsmen of any art whatsoever shall be found any more at all in thee, and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in thee. V. 23. " And the light of the lamp shall shine no more at all in thee, and the voice of the bridegroom and bride shall be heard no more at all in thee : for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for all nations have been deceived by thy enchantments." Neither music, nor dancing, of which the eastern nations are fond, nor other diversions, shall ever more be heard or seen in that city, &c. All is profound si- lence, and utter desolation. No more vestiges even of that great city remaining than of Sodom and Gomorrha, the very place buried in the deep. Her crimes had grown to their full measure. Her luxury had been excessive, to serve which the great men and the princes of the earth had been compelled to strip themselves and to furnish her with every thing that was valuable. Her voluptuousness was such that she seduced all nations by her riches and her pleasures, which, like an enchantment, fascinate the minds of men. By these allure- ments she had, like ancient Rome, ensnared mankind into her vices and idolatry. Such is the general view of the state of that imperial city, as it will be at the time of her fall. But what completed to make her infinitely odious in the sight of God, and to force down the divine vengeance upon her, was, 25* 294 HISTORY Of THE CHRISTIAN CHtTRCH. V. 24. " And in her," says St. John, " was found the blooil of prophets and of saints, and of all tlmt were slain upon the earth." In the exultation for the fall of pagan Rome in verse 20th, the apostles were mentioned, because their blood was found there, as having- been spilled by her emperors and ma- gistrates. This not being the case of the last Babylon or Constantinople, in her is found the blood of prophets and of saints, of Henoch and Elias, and of an infinite multitude of Christian martyrs, cruelly put to death by her emperor, Anti- christ, and his magistrates ; blood, which cried to heaven for vengeance, and in which he had a share. It is even said that in her was found the blood of all that were slain npon the earth. All this blood is imputed to the city of Constantinople, because she was the capital of Antichrist's empire, which ex- tended over the whole earth. In this same sense it was said that heathen Rome " was drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus," Apoc. xvii. 6, not only of those who had been put to death within her walls, but likewise of all others who had suffered in the extent of her dominions through the whole period of the persecutions. As the subversion of the Antichristian Babylon, in the pro phetic history, follows immediately that of the Roman Baby- lon; in like manner the exultations in heaven for both are joined to one another. The jubilation for the fall of pagan Rome begins thus : " After these things I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude in heaven saying Alleluia," &c. Apoc. xix. I. And that for the fall of Constantinople, thus : " And I heard as it were the voice of a great muhitude — say- ing. Alleluia," &c. ibid. v. 6. The same mode of speech used in both these places, as St. John never repeats the same thing, shows that these expressions of jubilation relate to two different objects, that is, to the fall of two different Babylons. This observation premised, the present exultation is. Chap. xix. 6. "And I heard," says St. John, "as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many wa- ters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord our God the Almighty hath reigned." St. John heard the voice of a great multitude in heaven, of that great multitude of martyrs which he had seen standing before the throne, and who had come out of the great tribulation, or per- secution of Antichrist, Apoc. vii. 9, 14. To these is joined a voice, as the voice of many waters, that is, of the angels that preside over nations, denoted by waters, which had all before groaned under the tyranny of Antichrist : and also another HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 295 voice, like the voice of great thunders, or of the angel that presides over fire, which, as employed in military engines, by its explosion resembles thunder ; and such thundering fire was the instrument Antichrist made use of to kill the third part of men, Apoc. ix. 18. All these different personages have therefore reason to rejoice on this occasion, and to join their voices in singing, Alleluia; for the Lord our God Al- mighty hath reigned, has asserted his sovereign power, and crushed his enemies. The prophet Isaiah, in denouncing the divine wrath upon Babylon of Chaldaea, seems also to have annexed the judg- ment that is to fall upon the last or Antichristian Babylon. The fall of the first is fully described in chapter 1 3th, and w hat follows in the subsequent chapter must therefore belong to another cit}'- ; which is confirmed by particular circum- stances there related. Part of the preamble used bv that prophet seems also to be referred to the last Babylon. Thus speaks he. Chap. xiii. 9. " Behold the day of the Lord shall come, a cruel day, and full of indignation, and of wrath, and fury, to lay the land desolate, and to destro3?" the sinners thereof V. 10. " For the stars of heaven, and their brightness, shall not display their light: the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not shine with her light." These signs indicate the last age of the world. V. 11. "And I will visit the evils of the world, and against the wicked for their iniquity, and I will make the pride of infidels to cease, and will bring down the arrogance of the mighty." Then in the next chapter the prophet, after describing the character of Antichrist and the divine judgment upon him, proceeds to relate the destruction of his Babylon, thus : Chap. xiv. 22. " And I will raise up against them, said the Lord of hosts : and I will destroy the name of Babylon, and the remains, and the bud, and the offspring, saith the Lord. V. 23. " And I will make it a possession for the ericius* and pools of waters, and I will sweep it, and wear it out with a besom, saith the Lord of Hosts." The remains of Babylon ; the bud of Babylon, perhaps the children in the womb ; and the offspring, are all doomed to be utterly extir- pated. This did not happen to the Chaldaean Babylon, which * A water-bird. §St> HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. was gradually abandoned by its inhabitants ; and will only therefore be completed in Babylon, the great city of Anti- christ. We have now seen the execution of the divine judgment* upon Antichrist's armies and his great city. But as his ma- gistrates and his adherents who are dispersed in all the dif- ferent countries of the earth, may be deemed equally guilty with those that have perished, it seems to appear that the. hand of divine vengeance will also reach them. This is an- nounced immediately after the sentence passed upon the last Babylon, and is as follows, Chap. xiv. 9. " And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice : if any man shall adore the beast and his image, and receive his character in his forehead, or in his hand ; V. 10. " He also shall drink of the w^ine of the wrath of God, w^hich is mingled with pure wine in the cup of his wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb." I'hose therefore that have adored the beast, or Antichrist, and his image, and received his character, or mark, are con- demned to drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of his wrath, that is, those who have been guilty of all the three above-named crimes they will be slain, in the same manner as Antichrist's army. To drink of the wine of the wrath of God, denotes the divine punishment on the body or corporeal part of man, as wine itself is not a pure substance, but contains gross lees ; and the mixture of pure wine in the cup of the wrath of God, in- dicates the simultaneous punishment of the soul, which is a pure substance, and which on the slaughter of the body is vio- lently separated from it. When both these component parts, soul and body are reunited at the general judgment, then the whole man shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in hell in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb. But, V. 11. " And the smoke of their torments," proceeds St. John, " shall ascend up* for ever and ever : neither have they rest day nor night, who hath adored the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the character of his name." Here is the present fate of the soul, which at the instant of death is tormented in hell fire, without intermission or rest : which is • * In the Greek, " ascends ud." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 297 the sentence pronounced upon all those who have adored the beast, &c. whatever may be their death, and whenever it may happen. Then St. John adds, V. 12. " Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the comm.andments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Here is the motive, on which is founded the patience of the true servants of God, namely, in bearing with all trials, hardships and per* secutions in this life, with the view of avoiding the eternal torments, and purchasing the eternal rewards, of the other world. . The preceding dreadful judgment of God on the votaries of Antichrist, wherever they be, seems to be also foretold ex- plicitly by the prophet Jeremy, as follows : Chap. XXV. 15. " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel : take the cup of wine of this fury at my hand : and thou shalt make all the nations to drink thereof, unto v/hich I shall send thee." Expressions similar to what we saw above in St. John. V. 30. "And thou shalt prophesy unto them all these words, and thou shalt say to them : the Lord shall roar from on high, and shall utter his voice from his holy habitation : roaring he shall roar upon the place of his beauty : the shout as it were of them that tread the grapes, shall be given out asfainst all the inhabitants of the earth. V. 31. "The noise is come to the ends of the earth: for the Lord entereth into judgment with the nations: he enter- cth into judgment with all flesh, the wicked I have delivered up to the sword, saith the Lord. V. 32. " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts : behold evil shall go forth from nation to nation : and a great whirl-wind shall go forth from the ends of the earth. V. 33. " And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end thereof: they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be gathered up, nor buried : they shall lie as dung upon the face of the earth." Here is the tremendous roaring noise, v. 30, 31, before ta- ken notice of from Joel, of Christ coming down from heaven to destroy Antichrist and his people. The Lord entereth into judgment with all flesh, and delivers the wicked up to the sword, V. 31, and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end thereof, v. 33. Hence it appears, that not only Antichrist's armies, assembled in the valley of Josaphat, shall be slain by the sword, but all his principal idolatrous abettors shall be cut off in the same 298 HiSTORV OF TriE CHRISTtAf* CtttRCtt. manner in every part of the earth. Moreover we are here told, they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be gathered up, nor buried : they shall lie as dung upon the face of the earth. The same we also learn from the prophet Isaiah : " And they (the people) shall go out," says he, "and see the carcasses of the men that have trans^^ressed aofainst me : their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched ; and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh," Ixvi. 24. It may seem strange that the inhabitants of Jerusalem should not be an- noyed with the stench of such a heap of dead bodies lying so near them in the vale of Josaphat ; but the infection is pre- vented by the birds devouring the flesh, as St. John told us, and leaving the bodies mere skeletons. By the destruction of Antichrist, his armies, officers, and chief associates, we now see his kingdom dissolved, his power totally extinguished, and consequently the Roman empire finally put an end to. The prophet Daniel had foretold that Christ, or the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, should break down the statue, the legs and feet of which represented the Roman empire. This was executed in part by the fall of pagan Rome with its dominion, and by the es- tablishment of Christianity upon its ruins. But this prophecy seems to receive a further, adequate, and final completion in the extermination of Antichrist, the last and greatest of the Roman emperors, in the destruction of Constantinople, his imperial city, and in the total suppression of the Anlichristian power. From such a complete victory over its enemies rises then the completes! triumph of the Christian religion. Such appears to be the import of that prophecy, in which Daniel speaks thus to Nabuchodonosor : •' Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and of clay, and broke them in pieces : then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's threshing floor, and they were carried away with the wind: and there was no place found for them : but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth," ii. 34, 35. Here then we may congratulate ourselves for having seen at last an end put to the innumerable evils and miseries, which Antichrist brought upon mankind, and which St. John de- nominates the second wo, chap. xi. 14. "The second wo," says he, " is past: and behold the third wo will come quick- ly." The above dismal scene being over, the respite will not HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 299 be of very long duration; for behold, the third woe, or day of judgment, will come quickly, is not far off. But now the servants of God seemed at last to be rescued from their intolerable slavery, and were much rejoiced at the prospect of a happy peace. They saw their persecutors had all perished under the hand of the Almighty, they saw idola- try^ crushed, and that religioh had regained its liberty. This bright gleam of happiness must however suffer some obscu- rity yet for a little while, before it shines forth in all its lus- tre. An unforeseen storm arises, which alarms them, espe- cially those that inhabit Judea and Jerusalem. Satan, foiled in his prior designs before he could bring them to perfection, retires at seeing the divine vengeance coming to break on the , head of Antichrist, and resolves to try another effort, if not effectual for recovering his power, at least to annoy and dis- tress those he hates, the Christians. He therefore sets for- ward to raise up new enemies. This we learn from St, John, who says, Chap. XX. 7. " And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." We have already seen how Satan stirred up the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, and what desolation and havoc they made. He now instigates another great prince, named Gog, to rise with his people, who are called Magog, and with other nations, and to proceed against the people of God. The omission here of the usual conjunctive particle and before the name of Gog, may be one among other indica- tions, that this is a different army from that of the nations just before mentioned, and will come at a different time. But of this prince and his army and their march, we have a more explicit account in the prophet Ezechiel, who gives it thus : Chap, xxxviii. 1. "And the word of the Lord came to me, saying : V. 2. *' Son of man, set thyself against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal: and prophecy of him, V. 3. "And say unto him: Thus saith the Lord God. Behold I come against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mo- soch and Thubal. V. 4. " And I will turn thee about, and I will put a bit in. thy jaws : and I will bring thee forth, and all thy army, hor* 300 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ses and horsemen all clothed with coats of mail, a great mul- titude, armed with spears and shields and swords. V. 5. " The Persians, Ethiopians, and Lybians with them, all with shields and helmets. V. 6. " Gomer, and all his bands, the house of Thogorma, from the northern parts, and all his strength and many peo- ple with thee. V. 7. " Prepare and make thyself ready, and all thy muhi- tude that is assembled about thee: and be thou commandei over them." Here then the Almighty challenges to battle the prince Gog with all his great multitude, or as St. Johs says, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea, consist- ing of the people of Magog, that is, as commonly understood, of a people of ancient Scythia, or what is now called Great Tartary, and of other Asiatic provinces under the names of Mosoch, Thubal, Gomer, and Thogorma. He will be also attended by the Persians, Ethiopians, and Lybians. — The Almighty continues to speak, V. 8. "And after m.any days thou shalt be visited: at the end of years thou shalt come to the land that is returned from the sword, and is gathered out of many nations, to the mount ains of Israel which have been continually waste ; but it hath been brought forth out of the nations, and they shall all oi them dwell securely in it." Gog therefore will come at the end of years, or in the last period of time, to the land that is returned from the sword, and is gathered out of many nations, &c. that is, he will come to invade Judaea, from whence the Jews had been formerly expelled by the Roman sword, but are now returned and become Christians, and are settled in their land, in the possession of which they will be secured by the divine hand against all attempts. V. 9. " And thou, Gog, shalt go up and come like a storm, and like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands and many people with thee. V. 10. "Thus saith the Lord God: In that day projects shall enter into thy heart, and thou shalt conceive a mis- chievous design. V. 11. "And thou shalt say: I will go up to the land which is without a wall, I will come to them that are at rest, and dwell securely: all these dwell without a wall, they have no bars nor gates." This refers to w^hat St. John relates of Gog and his army: "and they came upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, the good Christians, and the beloved city of Jerusalem." Apoc. xx. 8. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 301 It also refers to the future prosperous state of that city as foretold by the prophet Zachary : '* Jerusalem shall be inhabit- ed without walls,'' says he, "by reason of the multitude of men, and of the beasts in the midst thereof," ii. 4. — Ezechiel proceeds to give the reason of Gog's invading Judaea. V. II. *' To take spoils and lay hold on the prey, to lay thy hand upon them that had been wasted, and afterwards restored, and upon the people that is gathered together out of the nations, which hath begun to possess and to dwell in the midst of the earth." Here is the intent of Gog's coming, viz. to plunder the converted Jews and Christians that are settled in Judaea, and who are come into possession of the immense spoils of Antichrist's army, as we learn from the prophet Zachary, who speaks thus of the abundance of those spoils: *' And the riches of all nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and garments in great abundance," xiv. 14. V. 16. "And thou, Gog, shalt come," continues Ezechiel, " upon my people of Israel like a cloud, to cover the earth. Thou shalt be in the latter days, and I will bring thee upon my land : that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. V. 17. "Thus saith the Lord God: Thou then art he, of whom I have spoken in the days of old, by my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in the days of those times that I would bring thee upon them :" namely by the prophets Isaiah and Joel, as we shall see presently, besides Ezechiel. V. 18. " And it shall come to pass in that day, in the day of the coming of Gog upon the land of Israel, saith the Lord Gog, that my indignation shall come up in my wrath. V. 19. " And I have spoken in my zeal, and in the fire of my anger, that in that day there shall be a great commotion in the land of Israel. V. 20. " So that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the ground, and all men that are on the face of the earth, shall be moved at my presence : and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the hedges shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." Here is mention of different alarming signs that will happen about that time, some of which are similar to the following, related by St. John, under the sixth seal : " every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places : and the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every 26 302 HISTORY Ot tht CMRIStlAK CJHURCtt. bondman, and every freedman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains." Apoc. vi. 14, 15. V. 21. " And I will call in," continues Ezechiel, " the sword against him in all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be pointed against his brother. V. 22. " And I will judge him with pestilence, and with blood, and with violent rain, and vast hailstones : I will rain fire and brimstone upon him and upon his army, and upon the many nations that are with him." Here we see in what manner the Almighty will destroy Gog with all his army in the mountains of Judsea, by turning every man's sword against his brother, by pestilence, by violent rain, and vast hailstones; and in fine, he will rain fire and brimstone upon them. To the same the royal psalmist seems to allude, saying : " The Lord shall rain snares upon sinners : fire and brimstone and storms of wind shall be the portion of their cup." Psalm x. 7. St. John also gives us their destruction in few words, but to the same purpose : " And there c&me down fire from God out of heaven," says he, " and devoured them." Apoc. xv. 9. And thus is fulfilled what God had promised by his prophet Zachary : " I will be to Jerusalem, saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about," ii. 5. The Almighty again, speaking by his prophet Isaiah, after proclaiming his future vengeance upon the Anti-christian Babylon, proceeds to announce also his judgments upOn Gog in the same terrible language, styling that prince the Assyrian, on account of his reigning over the country formerly called Assyria : " So shall it fall out," says God, " that I will destroy the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot : and his yoke shall be taken away from them, and his burthen shall be taken off their shoulders." Isaiah xv. 25. And again : " And the Lord shall make the glory of his voice to be heard, and shall show the terror of his arm, in the threatening of wrath, and the flame of devouring fire ; he shall crush to pieces with whirl- wind and hailstones. For at the voice of the Lord the Assy- rian shall fear being struck with the rod." Isa. xxx. 30, 31. Ezechiel having described the fate of Gog by anticipation, is told to return to the historical account of him : Chap, xxxix. 1. " And thou, Son of man, prophecy against Gog, and say : thus saith the Lord God : behold I come against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal. V. 2. " And I will turn thee round, and will lead thee out, and will make thee go up from the northern parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel. ^. HlSTOftV OF THE CHRlStUJj CtlURC«. 303 V. 3. " And 1 will break thy bow in thy left hand, and I will cause thy arrows to fall out of thy right hand. V. 4. " Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and thy nations that are with thee : I have g-iven thee to the Avild beasts, to the birds, and to every fowl, and to the beasts of the earth to be devoured. V. 5. " Thou shalt fall upon the face of the field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God." With this account coincides what the Almighty promises the Jews by the pro- phet Joel : " I will remove far off from you," says he, " the northern enemy : and I will drive him into a land unpassable, and desert, with his face towards the east sea, and his hinder part towards the utmost sea : and his stink shall ascend, and his rottenness shall go up, because he has done proudly," ii. 20. Here the northern enemy points out G'og, who, accord- ing to Ezechiel, comes from the northern parts, v. 2. He is driven into a land unpassable, that is, into the mountains of Israel, v. 2, where he is placed between the east or Dead sea, and the utmost or Mediterranean sea. In these mountains, after that fire from heaven has slain him and his people, their carcasses shall lie to infect the air with stench and rottenness. — The Lord continues to speak b^^ Ezechiel : V. 6. " And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell confidently in the islands : and they shall know that I am the Lord." Does not this perhaps mean, that at the time that Gog perishes, fire will also be sent to make de- struction in Magog, his own country, and in the islands that are confederated with him ? V. 7. " And I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel ; and my holy name shall be profaned no more : and the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, the holy one of Israel. V. 8. " Behold it cometh, and it is done, saith the Lord God : this is the day whereof I have spoken. V. 9. " And the inhabitants shall go forth of the cities of Israel, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, the shields, and the spears, the bows and the arrows, and the hand staves, and the pikes: and they shall burn them with fire seven years. V. 10. "And they shall not bring wood out of the coun- tries, nor cut down out of the forests : for they shall burn the weapons with fire, and shall make a prey of them to whom they had been a prey, and they shall rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. 304 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH./ V. 11. "And it shall come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a noted place for a sepulchre in Israel : the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea, which shall cause as- tonishment in them that pass by : and there shall they bury Gog, and all his multitude, and it shall be called the valley of the multitude of Gog. V. 12. " And the house of Israel shall bury them for seven months to cleanse the land. V. 13. " And the people of the land shall bury him, and it shall be unto them a noted day, wherein I was glorified, saith the Lord God. V. 14. "And they shall appoint men to go continually about the land, to bury and to seek out them that were re- maining upon the face of the earth, that they may cleanse it: and after seven months they shall begin to seek. V. 15. " And they shall go about passing through the land* and when they shall see the bone of a man, th-ey shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers bury it in the valley of the multi- tude of Goof. V. 16. "And the name of the city shall be Amona,* and they shall cleanse the land. V. 17. "And thou, O son of man, saith the Lord God, say to every fowl, and to all the birds, and to all the beasts of the field : Assemble yourselves, make haste, come together from every side to my victim, which I slay for you, a great victim upon the mountains of Israel ; to eat flesh, and drink blood. V. 18. "You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and you shall drink the blood of the princes of the earth : of rams, and of lambs, and of he-goats, and bullocks, and of all that are well fed and fat. V. 19. " And you shall eat the fat till you be full, and shall drink blood till you be drunk, of the victim which I shall slay for you. V. 20. " And you shall be filled at my table with horses, and mighty horsemen, and all the men of war, saith the Lord God. V. 21. "And I will set my glory among the nations: and all nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them." Thus is Gog and his whole army exterminated. They are not allowed to reach Jerusalem, but are stopped by the divine hand at a distance in the mountains of Judaea, where by fire * Multitude. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 305 from heaven and other terrible judgments, they all perish. And thus ends that impious enterprise of Gog, of which we have been reading in Ezechiel a full history rather than a prophecy. Satan is here again defeated ; nor is he now allowed to make further attempts. He has done immense mischief, by seducing mankind into idolatry, and raising up a most hoi • rible persecution against the faithful servants of God. He has by his agents desolated countries, and destroyed a prodi- gious multitude of the human race : " for he was a murderer from the beginning." John viii. 44. But, though he has act- ed by the suggestion of his own malice and hatred against God and man, yet it has not been done without the Almighty's permission, and it all serves the unfathomable purposes of di- vine wisdom. But now the period of the releasement of Satan is elapsed, in consequence of which St. John informs us : . Chap. XX. 9. " And the devil who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, V. 10. " Where* both the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Here the prince of the infernal regions is cast down again into his pri- son, there to be closed up ; and is plunged into the lake of hell-fire, there to be tormented for evermore with Antichrist and the false prophet. One may suppose that the greatest part of his hellish crew are banished along with him, to under- go the same fate. Some determinate number of them may perhaps be permitted to remain upon earth to tempt mankind : as seemed to be the case when Satan was bound up in the abyss after the persecutions of the first Christian ages : but the power of these fiends will be circumscribed within much narrower bounds than it was before. One cannot but here take notice, that our incomparable prophet opens to us a particular piece of history, which we were little acquainted with, namely, that of Satan, the prince of the apostate angels. In chapter xii. we see him falling down from heaven with his proud associates. We see his charac- ter described, and among other names there given him, he is styled the old serpent, that is, the very serpent which de- ceived Eve, and by her seduction ruined all mankind. After having done that mischief, he proceeded by crafty insinuation to work upon mankind, and prevailed upon the greatest part * In the Greek, " where the beast and false prophet are. And they shall be tormeated day and night for ever and ever." 26* 306 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCtt. of them to abandon the worship of their Creator, and to sub- stitute idolatry in its place ; that is, in reality, the worship of Satan himself, and thus he seduced the whole world. At the rise of Christianity, we see him exerting his utmost efforts to crush it in its birth : for which purpose he stimulated the Ro- man emperors, and others, to oppose with all their might the propagation of the Christian religion. Christ, with his supe- rior power, frustrated all these attempts; and expelled Satan from the face of the earth, and confined him in the infernal dungeon, Apoc. ch. xx. ; where he is to remain for an appoint- ed period of time, after the expiration of which he will be re- leased for a short while. His employment will then be to re- establish idolatry, and to persecute the Christian religion. Antichrist will be his great instrument for these purposes. But after the extermination of that son of perdition, and the destruction of Gog, Satan himself will then be remanded back to his infernal prison, never more to go forth from it. — Now to resume the thread of our history : -* The expulsion of Satan from the earth, who was the author of idolatry, and the extermination of Antichrist, who was its supporter, are followed by the extirpation of idolatry itself For such seems to be the language of the prophets : " The loftiness of men shall be bowed down," says Isaiah, "and the haughtiness of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And idols shall be utterly destroyed," ii. 17, 18. Thus also speaks the prophet Sophonias: " The Lord shall be terrible upon them, and shall consume all the gods of the earth," ii. 11. In like manner we see the same work of the divine hand announced to us by the prophet Za- chary: " And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I will destroy the names of idols out of the earth, and they shall be remembered no more," xiii. 2. It is fit the offspring should follow the parent, and that idolatry should disappear with Satan. And now we seem to be arrived at the glorious epocha of the triumph of the Church over all her enemies. The tyrants, that domineered over her, are crushed ; the boisterous winds of persecution are ceased; and the anger of God, before in- flamed by the excessive wickedness of mankind, is now ap- peased and gives way to mercy. Idolatry is vanished, and the Cross of Christ is the sole standard that is acknowledged and resorted to. Christ has suppressed all adverse powers, both earthly and infernal, and now extends his dominion from one extremity of the earth to the other. People and kings IIISTORy OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 307 equally bow down to receive his commands, and join in pro- fessing their submission to his Church, as we learn from Daniel: "And judgment shall.sit," says he, "that the king- dom and power, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, may be given to the people of the saints of the Most High : whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall serve him and shall obey him," vii. 26, 27. " He shall rule from sea to sea," says the psalmist speaking of Christ, " and from the river unto the ends of the earth — And all the kings of the earth shall adore him ; all nations shall serve him." Psalm Ixx. 8, 11. The prophet Zachary acquaints us of the same, thus : " And the Lord shall be king over all the earth : in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name shall be one," xiv. 9 : his name shall be one, or there shall be but one religion over the whole earth. These are the halcyon days of the Christ- ian people, during which the Almighty pours forth the abun- dance of his spiritual and temporal blessings. To the storms of persecution and war succeed the calm of peace and the sunshine of joy and prosperity. And to this period seems to belong the following admonition: Apoc. xiv. 13. " And I heard," says St. John, " a voice from heaven, saying to me : Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. For henceforth now, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labours: for their works follow them." Or rather, according to the Greek text : " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. Certainly, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labours : but their works follow them." Those are here pronounced blessed, who from henceforth, that is, from the time of the extermina- tion of Antichrist and all external enemies, or who, during the time of peace, having no expectations of the crown of mar- tyrdom, nevertheless live in the constant practice of virtue, and so merit to die in the favour of their Lord. The Spirit or Holy Ghost confirms the sentence of their happiness, not only because at the moment of their departure their hard la- bours and penitential exercises cease, but their souls are ad- mitted to a glorious immortality, the recompense of their good works. Such is the extraordinary happiness of this period of time, that, as in the days of the birth of Christianity, so now the supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost descend plentifully upon the zealous Christians. " And it shall come to pass after this," says the Lord by Joel, *' that 1 will pour out my spirit upon 308 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. all flesh : and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy : your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Moreover, upon my servants and handmaids in those days I will pour forth my Spirit. And I will show wonders in heaven, and in earth, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood ; before the great and dreadful day of the Lord does come," ii. 28, &c. While the bounties of God flow in a full stream upon mankind, we see nevertheless he thinks fit to send, at times, warnings of the approaching great and dreadful day of the Lord, by signs, and wonders in hea- ven and earth, agreeably to what we read in the Apocalypse under the sixth seal. The all-bountiful God desires, that all should watch and be prepared for the great day of judgment, which may be supposed not to be far distant at that time. For the same reason Christ, after "the battle of the great day of the Almighty God," Apoc. xvi. 14, immediately proclaims; " Behold I come as a thief Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Blessed is the man, that keepeth solicitously his garments of virtue and good works, lest at Christ's coming he be found naked and exposed to shame and condemnation. If we turn our eyes on another side, we see a beautiful pic- ture, exhibited to us by the prophets, of the temporal prosperi- ty which will be enjoyed at this period of time by the Jews, that is, the Jews changed into Christians, under whose name may be comprehended the whole body of the Christian peo- ple. Among the many passages relating to this subject, we shall recite a few. Joel, after describing the great slaughter in the vale of Josa-. phat, thus continues, Chap. iii. 17. " And you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Sion, my holy mountain: and Jerusa- lem shall be holy, and strangers shall pass through it no more. V. 18. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk: and waters shall flow through all the rivers of Juda : and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of thorns. V. 19. "Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a wilder- ness destroyed : because they have done unjustly against the children of Juda, and have shed innocent blood in their land. V. 20. "And Judaea shall be inhabited for ever, and Jeru- salem to generation and generation " HISTORY OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 309 Ezechiel speaks in the following manner : Chap, xxxvii. 21. "And thou shalt say to them: thus saith the Lord God: behold, I will take the children of Is- rael from the midst of the nations whither they are gone: and I will gather them on every side, and will bring them to their own land. V. 24. "And my servant David* shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd, they shall walk in my judgments, and shall keep my commandments, and shall do them, V. 25. *' And they shall dwell in the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, wherein your fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell in it, they and their children, and their children's child- ren, for ever: and David my servant shall be their prince for ever, V. 26. "And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them : and I will es- tablish them, and will multiply them, and will set my sanc- tuary in the midst of them for ever," &c. The same prophet, after relating the destruction of Gog, pursues thus, or rather the Almighty by his mouth : Chap, xxxix. 22. " And the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. — V. 26. " And they shall hear their confusion, and all the transgressions wherewith they have transgressed against me, when they shall dwell in their land securely, fearing no man. — V. 28. " And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I caused them to be carried away among the nations : and I have gathered them together unto their own land, and have not left any of them there. V, 29. " And I will hide my face no more from them, for 1 have poured out my spirit upon all the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." The prophet Amos gives us also a pleasing description of the same prosperity. Chap. ix. 13. " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of the grapes of him that soweth seed : and the mountains shall drop sweetness, and every hill shall be tilled. V. 14. " And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel : and they shall build the abandoned cities, and inhabit them : and they shall plant vineyards, and shall drink the * Christ, the Messiah. 310 HISTORY or THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. wine of them ; and shall make gardens, and eat the fruits of them. And I will plant them upon their own land : and I will no more pluck them out of their land, which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God." Such is this remarkable sera of peace, prosperity, and spiritual blessings. One may naturally suppose that the Christians, at their emerging from the severe trials they had been subjected to, were uncommonly full of zeal and religious fervour: and so it seems to be intimated by the above-cited passages out of the prophets. But the human mind from its native inconstancy soon forgets the greatest troubles, when they are passed. Prosperity also is a charm generally productive of inattention and neglect, and contributes much to revive in man his natu- ral propensity to licentiousness. Such will be the case of this last period of time, in which mankind will gradually relax in their fervour, and degenerate in their morals. Our Saviour has told us to beware of the last day, to watch, and be ready to appear before him at the bar of judgment: " Watch ye," says he, " because ye know not what hour your Lord will come. Be you ready, because at what hour ye know not, the Son of man will come." Matt. xxiv. 42, 44. And again he speaks in the Apocalypse : — " Behold I come as a thief," xvi. 15. St. Peter also gives us the same warning: " The day of the Lord will come as a thief" 2 Pet. iii. 1 0. But these admonitions will by degrees lose their influence, and be forgotten, the human passions will recover their power, and the pleasures of the world will become again the common pursuit of men; as we learn from our Saviour's own words; " As in days of Noe," says he, " so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that in -which Noe entered into the ark. And they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away : so also shall the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. xxiv. 37, 38, 39. Thus then the generality of mankind having degene- rated into a state of forgetfulness of God, employed now in indulging themselves in sensual gratifications, unmindful of all the ominous alarming signs that had preceded, and the repeated admonitions given them, Behold ! The seventh seal is opened. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 311 CHAPTER XIII. THE HISTORY OF THE SEVENTH AGE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The seventh Seal is opened. Apoc. viii. 1. " And when he (the Lamb) had opened the sev^enth seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour." The Lamb having opened the seventh seal, there follows a silence in heaven for a while, in appearance about half an hour. During this time the Almighty thinks fit to disclose to the whole heavenly court of angels and saints, his eternal and inscrutable decrees respecting mankind and the existence of this world.* The heavenly auditory attend in silence and with profound respect, while he graciously un- folds to them the whole system of economy, by which he has governed the world* ever since its creation, and the whole course of his great and merciful dispensations to man. The Almighty is willing to display before them the immense and superabundant store of blessings, that have flowed from the inexhaustible source of his paternal affection upon mankind, ever since the first moment of their existence. He shows that his tenderness and bounty towards mankind have been without measure, and that if a great number of them perish, their perdition is owing to themselves. He then makes known his intention of putting an immediate stop to the whole human race, and bringing them to judgment; he signifies, that the time he had fixed for the existence of the world is now ex- pired, and he is now going to put an end to it.f Upon which The seventh Trumpet sounds. Chap. xi. 15. "And the seventh angel sounded the trum- pet: and there were great voices in heaven, saying: the * This he does, not in words, but by secret interior communication, such as is suitable to the nature of spirits. t That such are, in part, the divine intimations on this occasion, may be collected from the applauses of the heavenly choirs expressed in the fi)l- lowing trumpet. As upon the opening of the seventh seal the period of the world finishes, it is just that at that time tlie wise and bountiful economy of Christ through the whole government of his Church should be ac- knowledged. For that reason benediction or praise was solemnly offered to the Lamb. Apoc. v. 12, See page 43, 312 HISTORY Of TBS CHRISTIAN CHURCH. kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and his Christ's, and he shall reii>-n for ever and ever. Amen. V. 16. "And the four and twenty ancients, who sit on their seats in the sight of God, fell on their faces, and adored God, V. 17. "Saying: We give thee thanks, O Lord God Al- mighty, who art, and who wast, and who art to come : be- cause thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and thou hast reigned, y. 18. "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst render reward to thy servants the prophets and the saints, and to them that fear thy name, little and great, and shouldst destroy them who have corrupted* the earth. V. 19. "And the temple of God was opened in Heaven: and the ark of his Testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices,! and an earthquake, and great hail." ^ On the sounding of the seventh trumpet, which follows on the Almighty concluding the communication of his councils, all the heavenly choirs break out into acclamations and ap- plause, saying: "The kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and his Christ's, and he shall reign for ever and ever:" or, praise be to the Lord, because he is going to take possession of all the kingdoms of the earth, &c. Thus, they acknowledge it is time that he should suffer no long-er any human power to reign; but that He, Omnipotent, with his eternal Son, the Christ, should assume all dominion, and sway for ever. Then the four and twenty ancients, v. 16, 17, whom we saw from the beginning sitting round the throne of God, fall down prostrate before the Almighty, and offering their homage, give him thanks also for assuming all power into his hands, as belonging solely to himself, who is, who was, and who is to come; that is, who is the beginning and end of all things, who was the Creator, is the Conservator, and will come presently as the Judge, of all mankind. The ancients continue to say: "the nations were angry," v. 18., mankind in different ages abandoned thee, their God, rebelled against thee, and set up the infamous worship of idols ; they endea- voured to exterminate thy holy name from the earth, and * In the Greek " who destroy the earth." t Here the Greek text adds, " thunderings." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 313 tliey waged war against thy people ; but thy wrath is come, and it is just it should now at last overtake them, and punish them according to their deserts. We are glad the time of the dead is come, that they should be judged, &c. the course of human nature has run a sufficient period; it is now fit and just, that judgment should be passed upon the whole race of men, that your faithful servants may receive the full rev/ard they have deserved, and your enemies be destroyed, or a final period be put to the efforts of the wicked, who are labouring to subvert your holy worship, and again to corrupt mankind. Thus the whole company of angels and saints express their approbation of the divine decrees and declarations which the Almighty had condescended to communicate to them. Then " the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his testament (or covenant) was seen in his temple," v. 19. This passage alludes to the sanctuary or holy of holies of the temple in Jerusalem, which was kept shut, and contained the ark of the covenant. The ark Avas ordered by Almighty God to be thus kept as a monument and testimony of the covenant he had made with the Jews. And as the opening of the sane tuary at Jerusalem, when the veil that hung before it, was rent in two at our Saviour's death, showed that the Jewish covenant was then fulfilled and terminated j so here, the tem- ple or sanctuary of God in heaven is opened, and the ark of his covenant with the whole human race is exposed fully to view, to indicate that God has now fulfilled his covenant or all his en'gagements with mankind relative to this world, which is therefore now to be put an end to. We had heard the angel that stood upon the sea and land, Apoc. X. 5, 6, solemnly proclaim, that at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, time shall be no more. The trumpet has sounded, and here then is finishing the period of time allotted for the existence of the Avorld. The destruction of the whole frame of the universe follows, and is ushered in by the terri- fying alarms mentioned above : and there were lightnings and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail, V. 19. Upon which immediately The seventh vial of the wrath of God is poured out. Chap. xvi. 17. " And the seventh angel poured out his vial upon the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple from the throne, saying : ' It is done !' • V. 18. " And there were lightnings, and voices, and thun ders, and there was a great earthquake, such a one as never 27 314 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. '^ had been since men were upon the earth, such an earthquake, so great. V. 19. " And the great city was divided into three parts : And the cities of the Gentiles fell. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the indignation of his wrath. V. 20. "And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. V. 21. "And great hail like a talent came down from hea- ven upon men : and men blasphemed God for the plague of the hail : because it was exceeding great." The seventh vial is poured upon the air, which lies be- tween the earth and the heavens, to indicate that the judg- ments of God are going to fall upon both the heavens and the earth, that is, on the whole system of the creation. " And there came a great voice out of the temple, v. 17, from the throne where sits the Almighty, saying : it is done : all is over : this is the last hour ; time shall be no more !" Then follow the dreadful calamities of the last hour. And there were lightnings, v. 18, and voices, and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, such a one as never had been since men were upon the earth, such an earthquake, so great. Here is enough to strike all the living at that time with dread, hor- ror, and consternation. We saw the same sort of disasters happen at the sounding of the trumpet, but here they are re- newed and aggravated to the most terrible degree. The hea- vens echo with the loudest and most terrifying thunder ; the sky is rent in every part with most dreadful flashes of light- nino- ; and the whole air resounds with horrible voices or noises. The earth is shaken from its foundations with an earthquake, such as has never been felt before, nor has ever entered into man to imagine such a one. The whole" compages or fabric of the world is unhinged and falls to pieces. All is confusion, wreck and ruin. The great city of Jerusalem, v. 19, is split into three parts, and the other cities of the world fall to the ground. But such is the weight of God's anger against the great Babylon, that is, the two Babylons, viz. pagan Rome and pagan Constantinople, or against the heathen Roman em- 'perors and their people, and against Antichrist and his peo- ple, for their impiously opposing the worship of him to give place to idolatry, and for their spilling so much of the blood of his faithful servants ; such, I say, is the weight of God's anger against them, that they stand as the prmcipal detestable HISTORY or THK CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 315 object in his sight, and he now resolves to make them drink the full cup of the wine of the indignation of his wrath, by completing the measure of their punishment, in dooming their bodies together with their souls to burn in the most scorching flames of fire and sulphur for ever. Such is the general concussion caused by the above-men- tioned earthquake, that all the islands immediately vanish, v. 20, being perhaps either sunk in the deep, or thrown against the continent ; and of the mountains, some tumble to pieces, and are levelled with the surface of the earth by the same cause;, others burst out into volcanoes, and by their internal fire are dissolved and melted into a fluid matter.* Then follows a storm of hail, v. 21, infinitely exceeding what had ever been heard of: the hailstones are of the weight of a talent, or four- score pounds : which doubtless must kill a great number of people. But, notwithstanding such a shocking catastrophe — strange ! — many will persist obstinate in their wicked dispo- sitions, will not yield to turn their hearts to repentance and sue for pardon in these last moments, but will even complete their impiety by blaspheming. God for these calamities which they suffer. As all mankind are sentenced to die, those that are not car- ried off by the disasters just mentioned, will probably be des- patched by the fire which will go before the Son of man when he comes to judgment : for so it seems to be specified by the royal psalmist with other circumstances relating to this terri- ble day: "A fire shall go before him, (the Lord,) and shall burn his enemies round about. His lio'htnings have shone forth to the world : the earth saw and trembled. The moun- tains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord ; at the pre- sence of the Lord all the earth. The heavens declared his justice, and all people saw his glory." Psalm xcvi. And again in another place: '* The earth shook and trembled : the foun- dations of the mountains were troubled and were moved be- cause he (the Lord) was angry with them. There went up a smoke in his wrath: and a fire flamed from his face: coals were kindled with it. He bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Highest gave his voice, hail and coals of fire. And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them : he multiplied lightnings and troubled them. Xhen the foun- * Before we saw the islands, and mountains "moved out of their places," Apoc. vi. 14., but here they entirely disappear. 316 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. tains of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were discovered." Psahn xvii. It is plain that many of the dread- ful events and convulsions of nature here expressed are the same with those related above by St. John. Such will be the friofhtful scenes, the universal confusion and destruction in that day of wrath, that day of tribulation and distress, that day of calamity and misery. The prophet Isaiah has also sketch- ed out to us the outlines of that same terrifying picture: Chap. xxiv. 17. " Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon •thee, O thou inhabitant of the earth. V. 1 8. " And it shall come to pass, that he that shall flee from the noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit ; and he that shall rid himself out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare ; for the floodgates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. V. 19. " With breaking shall the earth be broken, with crushing shall the earth be crushed, with trembling shall the earth be moved. V. 20. " With shaking shall the earth be shaken as a drunken man, and shall be removed as the tent of one night ; and the iniquity shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and shall not rise again." The beautiful frame of the universe being therefore now totally disfigured, broken, torn to pieces, and reduced to a mere wreck, fire will be the instrument the Almighty will use to dissolve the whole mass ; as Ave learn from St. Peter, 2 Epist. iii. 10. " The day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, the elements shall be meited with heat, and the earth and the works that are in it, shall be burnt up. V. 11. "Seeing then that all these things are to be dis- solved, what manner of people ought you to be in holy con- versation and godliness ? V. 12. " Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of the Lord, by which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burn- ing heat." Here then we see that the world will be set on fire, that the heavens will be quickly dissolved by the prodi- gious activity of the fire, and so vanish : that the earth will be likewise burned, with the works that are in it, with all that it contains within it or upon its surface; and that the elements, namely, water and air, will lose their fluidity, and their sub- stantial parts will be dissolved or melted. " Heaven and earth shall pass away," said our Saviour. Luke xxi. 33. But vi HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 317 we miisl observe it is not said that they will be wholly con- sumed and annihilated, but dissolved or burned, and conse- quently transformed into a different appearance, as God shall direct. But while these stupendous operations of fire are subvert- ing nature, and changing the whole face of the universe, the Son of man descends from the highest heaven to come and judge mankind. For, " the Father doth not judge any man ; but hath given all judgment to the Son. John v. 22. Apoc. XX. 11. "And I saw," saj-s St. John, "a great white throne, and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away and there was no place found for them. V. 12. " And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened : and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works." I'he son of God appears in the firmament seated on a great and bright white throne, and at his presence the earth and heaven flee away, or disappear, that is, the earth, the atmos- phere, and all belonging to the sky, are not only enwrapped in flames; but entirely pass away and vanish out of sight, so that their place is not found nor can be distinguished. No- thing is now visible of the works of the creation. The sole object thai fills the expanse of heaven, is the resplendent majesty of the Son of God sitting on his throne. The dead then, both great and small, of all ranks and degrees, appear before h*im, namely, the last generation of the human race, who have just expired in the general destruction of the world. This prodigious multitude of souls are summoned to undergo th® particular judgment which is fixed for all mankind at the hour of their death. *' It is appointed unto men once to die, after this, the judgment." Ep. to the Hebr. ix. 27. This particular judgment must be here meant by St. John, and not the general judgment which is described in the next verse, as our prophet never repeats the same thing. The books are opened, and will remain open during the general judgment that is quickly to follow. In these books are recorded the actions of every individual man, according to which sentence will be passed upon him. The Son of God, from his own infinite knowledge, is equally acquainted with the works of every man, as if they vrcre registered in a book ; but this figurative expression shows the rigour and exactness of his 27* 318 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, scrutiny, which will not let the least fault or good work escape his notice. Another book is likewise opened, viz. the book of life, in which are written the names of all the pre destined or elect. This numerous company of souls being therefore judged by those things which were written in the books according to their works, Christ sends forth his messenger, an archangel, who by his order blows the last trumpet ; the sound of which echoes to all the extremities of the earth. At this sound, in an instant, all the dead rise up from their graves, never more to die. " In a moment," says St. Paul, " in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet yet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible." 1 Cor. xv. 52 The general resurrection is likewise thus briefly described to us by St. John : Apoc. XX. 13. " And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them." The sea is first here said to deliver up its dead. By the sea, in our prophet's language, we must understand the Avhole ex- tent of the terraqueous globe, in as much as it contains the dead bodies of the saints, who may be said to have waded through the tempestuous sea of this world, or through a long course of tribulations, persecutions, and hardships, which sanctified their lives. Their bodies therefore rise up the first, and this is confirmed by St. Paul: " The dead who are in Christ, shall rise first." 1 Thes. iv. 15. Heaven presents their souls, and by the happy union of soul and body, the saints stand vested with complete immortaljty. Then death and hell give up their dead ; death here signifying the graves of the wicked, as containing the mortal part of those whose souls lie in the death of damnation. These bodies likewise rise to life, and are joined to their souls which hell vomits up, and thus they become inseparable companions of the same eternal fate which they Avill soon be doomed to undergo. Every individual of mankind being thus raised to life, from Adam to the last of the human race, they will all see the Al- mighty Son of God coming down through the upper regions of the sky, seated on bright clouds as upon a throne, sur- rounded with the splendour of his divine Majesty, attended by the angels, and his cross, the instrument of the world's redemption, carried before him : " And then," says Christ himself, "shall appear the sign of the Son of man in hea- ven : and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn ; and they shall see the Son of man coming* in the clouds of heaven HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 319 with much power and majesty." Matt. xxiv. 30. And our prophet in the Apocal3^pse also says of him: "Behold he cotneth with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him," i. 7. The appear- ance then of the Son of God coming in his majesty to judg- ment will strike the wicked with dread and consternation. The different tribes of them will mourn and bewail their miserable condition : the Jews, that pierced him or put him to death, and those who had refused to acknowledge him for their Saviour and Messiah: the infidels, who would not be converted, and who had persecuted him in his servants ; in fine, the rest of the wicked, who had made no use of the re- demption he had purchased for them, but on the contrary had heinously injured him by their repeated crimes and impiety. But on the other hand, what a consolation, what an auspi- cious moment, will it be for the just, to see their Redeemer coming to reward them, and to make their happiness com- plete, for all eternity ! They will fly to meet him, as their Father and Saviour, with inexpressible alacrity and joy; as we learn from St. Paul : *' The Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God : and the dead who are in Christ, shall rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord." 1 Thes. iv. 15, IG. All the individuals of the human race appear now existing at once and together, a wonderful spectacle that never was seen before, nor will be seen after. For this great company- will soon be divided into two bodies that must separate, never more to be joined. They are called up and cited to appear at the bar of the throne and judgment-seat of the Son of God. There "they are judo-ed every one according to their works." Apoc. XX. 13. To the just are adjudged eternal rewards for their labours: and this may be styled, the second resurrec- tion, as the prior admission of their souls to beatitude, on the death of their bodies, was called by St. John, "the first resur- rection." Apoc. XX. 5. The saints having thus receiv^ed their happy sentence, are admitted to attend Christ and to sit with him in judgment over the wicked, according to what he had pro- mised : "Amen, I say unto you, that you who have foliov/ed me, in the reofeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judg^mg^ 320 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. the twelve tribes of Israel." Matt. xix. 28. Then follows the sentence upon the wicked, by which they are doomed to the unquenchable flames of hell for ever, or, as St. John ex- presses it, Che. p. XX. 14. "And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death." Hell and death, before, denoted the places where the souls and bodies of the reprobate lay, but here, by an easy transi- tion, they are employed to signify these souls and bodies them- selves, which are cast into the infernal pool of fire : and this damnation of both together, at the last judgment, is here de- nominated, the second death; while that of the soul only, which had preceded at the time of her separation from the body, may receive the name of first death. — Thus much from the Apocalypse. But the general arraignment of all mankind before the tri- bunal of Christ at the last day, and the special judgment he will pass upon them, are more clearly and explicitly exhibited us by Christ himself in his following words : " When the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty ; and all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats : and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then shall the king- say to them that shall be on his right hand : ' Come ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ' For I was hungry and you gave me to eat : I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink,' &c. — Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand : ' Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink,' tfec. — And these shall go into ever- • lasting punishment : but the just into life everlasting," Matt. XXV. 31, &c. And again, our Saviour speaking on the same subject in another place, says : " As tares are gathered up and burnt with fire, so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity : and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the just shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father." Matt, xiii, &c. In fine, the general judgment finishes by r^ HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 321 Cliap. XX, 15. " And whosoever," says our prophet, "was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire." All those who have not " by good works made sure their calling and election," 2 Pet. i. 10, and so have not got- ten their names registered in the book of life, are condemned to hell fire for all eternity. The general judgment is an event so tremendous and so interesting to mankind, that our Saviour frequently inculcated it in his discourses, as we see in the gospel : and St. John in the Apocalypse, besides the natural description of it above cited, gives us a second allegorical one, with new circum- stances, under two elegant expressive figures of harvest and vintage. Thus paints the admirable and exact pencil of our incomparable prophet: Chap. xiv. 14. "And I saw, and behold a white cloud: and upon the cloud one sitting like to the Son of man, having on his head a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle. V. 15. " And another angel came out from the temple, cry- ing with a loud voice to him that sat upon the cloud : Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, because the hour is come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. V. 16. " And he that sat on the cloud, thrust his sickle into the earth, and the earth was reaped. V. 17. " And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. V. 18. " And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire : and he cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying : Thrust in thy sharp sic- kle, and gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth' because the grapes thereof are ripe. V. 19. " And the angel thrust in his sharp sickle into the earth, and gathered the vineyard of the earth, and cast into the great press of the wTath of God. V. 20. " And the press was trodden without the city, and bloed came out of the press, up to the horses' bridles for a thousand six hundred furlongs." The Son of man, v. 14, or Christ, is seen by St. John sit- ting on a white cloud, as we saw him before, bearing on his head a crown of gold for a mark of his sovereign power and dominion over the world, and in his hand a sharp sickle, an instrument for cutting down corn.* Then an angel comes out from the temple in heaven, v. 15, from the Almighty who * In Great Britain and Ireland all kinds of grain are called by the gene- ral term Corn.— Am. Ed. ♦, 322 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. sits there enthroned, and brings orders to the Son of man to thrust in his sickle and reap ; because the hour is come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe; the number of saints pre-or- dained by the Almighty is completed," and the period allotted to the existence of the human species is run out. Christ, in obedience to his eternal Father, thrusts his sickle into the earth, and the earth is reaped, v. 16; he puts an end to the world, and reaps the harvest of his elect, by withdrawing them from all further labours, and gathering them to himself, as the hus- bandman gathers his corn into his granary. " And he (the Son of man) shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great voice : and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them." Matt, xxiv, 31. The harvest being made, follows the vintage. An angel comes out, v. 17, from the temple in heaven, as sent by the Almighty, with a sharp sickle in his hand, and presently comes forth, v. 18, from the altar of holocausts where fire was perpetually kept, a second angel who hath power over the fire, and who is commanded, because perpetual fire is to be the punishment of the wicked, to tell the first an- gel to thrust in his sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth : because the grapes thereof are ripe. The angel executes the order, cuts off in an instant the clusters of grapes over the whole earth, v. 19, gathers them together, and casts them into the great press or wine-press of the wrath of God : that is, the angel collects together the vv^hole troop of the reprobate, and casts them, as being ripe for punishment, into the deep pit of hell. This is conformable to what we hear from our Saviour: •' The Son of man," says he, "shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all scan- dals, and them that work iniquity : and shall cast them into the furnace of fire." Matt. xiii. 41, 42. St. John then adds, V. 20, " And the press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the press, up to the horses' bridles for a thousand six hundred furlongs." Here is a striking allegorical expres- sion of the effusion of God's anger upon the damned, who are represented as trodden in the lake of hell, in the same manner as grapes are trodden in the wine-press : and the person*that thus treats them, we are told, is Christ himself; "he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Al- mighty." Apoc. xix. 15. Christ is constituted the avenger of the injuries done to his almighty Father, and is his minis- ter to execute his judgments upon the impious. The allusion HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 323 of the treading of the wine-press is carried on, and as if it were supposed that the whole heap of the damned lodged in the pit of hell, were there trodden, there would issue out from their bodies a quantity of blood that would cover a space of ground, all around, to the distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs, or two hundred miles, and to such a height, that the blood would reach to the horses' bridles, if waded through. This sea of blood would not, however, affect the city or man- sion of the blessed, which is placed at a great distance. One cannot but shudder at the picture here exposed to us, as it sug- gests the dismal idea of such an immense multitude o/ the human species devoted to the flames of hell without hope of redemption. For, in effect, if a circular space, of four hun- dred miles diameter, be covered with blood to four feet height, which is about the height of a middle-sized horse's bridle from the ground ; and if we suppose fifteen pounds to be, at an average, the quantity of blood in a man ; the density of blood being nearly one 25th greater than that of water, a foot cubic of which weighs a thousand ounces ; we shall find, by making the computation, that the number of men's bodies, requisite to give the mass of blood above mentioned, will be upwards of 60,000,000,000,000. We have now seen, on one side, the body of the reprobate banished from the presence of Christ, and doomed to their perpetual prison : while on the other side the whole company of saints shine with all the noble qualities belonging to bodies clothed with immortality. They now see the happy moment arrived for the accomplishment of all their expectations. That part of them, who adorned the world before the Saviour of mankind appeared in it, are called into the heavenly mansions with angelical acclamations. They enter, singing in jubila- tion : " Come, let us praise the Lord with joy : let us joyfully sing to God our Saviour. Let us come before his presence with, thanksgiving : and make a joyful noise to him with psalms." Psalm xciv. The other body composed of the Christian saints, are gratified in a peculiar manner with the gracious countenance of Christ, their Lord and Master, who invites them to reign with them in bliss for all eternity. On so happy an Occasion that crowns all their wishes, the heavens resound with the loudest acclamations of joy and exultation : Chap. xix. 7. " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him, (God,) for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has prepared herself V. 8. "And it was granted to her that she should clothe 324 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. herself with fine linen, glittering- and white. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints. V. 9. " And he said to me : Write, blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." The heavenly choirs thus break out into jubilation and transports of joy, be- cause the time is come for the nuptials of the Lamb, that is, for Christ to espouse his Church, which is the society of his saints, by taking her to himself, by freeing her from all ene- mies, by removing all evils for ever from her, by enriching her with every blessing, and in fine by cherishing her as a spouse does his beloved consort. The wife or bride of the Lamb, that is, the company of Christian saints, appears in a suitable garb for the marriage. She is dressed in fine linen, the symbol of the justifications or the good works and merits of her holy members ; the most pleasing attire in which she can present herself to the Lamb. Her robe is glittering and white, be- cause she has been purified as silver in the furnace, and washed white in the waters of tribulation and persecution. Here then follows the marriage of the Lamb, or the gracious and affectionate union of Christ with his saints. He then in- troduces them into heaven, and presents them, as- his bride, before the throne to his eternal Father. Then may be truly said, Blessed are they, v. 9, that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb ; the saints are seated in glory, and filled with ineffable and endless bliss, which is the marriage supper, the ultimate term of all. After so glorious a conclusion of the marriage feast, St. John proceeds, V. 9. " And he saith to me : these words of God are true." The angel of Christ, that is, St. John Baptist, who in the form of an angel attends the apostle during this prophecy, gives tes- timony to what has been just pronounced : Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The an- gel afhrms that these are the words of God, and consequently true, or will infallibly have their accomplishment at the ap- pointed time, viz. at the last day. The apostle supposing this to be the conclusion of all that was to be revealed to him, turns to the angel : V. 10. "And I fell down," says he, "before his feet, to adore him. And he saith to me: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Adore God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit \ of prophecy." St. John, in token of gratitude, offers to pay to the angel such homage as is due to a being of his rank, * HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 325 which the angel however refuses to accept, giving for reason, that he is a fellow-servant of the apostle and of the apostle's brethren who bear testimony to Jesus Christ. This speech evidently agrees with the character of the Baptist, but not with that of a real angel. Then St. John is told to adore God, as the author of all prophecy : after which the angel adds : for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, that is, the testimony which you give to Christ by suffering for his holy name and the profession of his doctrine is of equal value with the spirit of prophecy, by which I reveal to you these future events. Though the divine incomparable revelation, here imparted to St. John, seemed in this place to terminate, as havinp- car- ried on the history of the Christian Church from its birth to its triumphant state after the resurrection, yet we see further discoveries communicated, and new scenes shown to the apos- tle. He has described to us the wreck and dissolution of the world, the resurrection of mankind, the judgment passed upon them, with the punishment of the wicked and the recompense of the good. The prophet now proceeds to lay before us a series of new pictures, the objects of which are of so uncouth a nature, so different from any thing we are acquainted with, that it is beyond the power of man to explain them to full satisfaction. " The first of these pictures he exhibits to us is the following: Chap. xxi. 1. "And I saw, says he, a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven, and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more." Here is a total change in our system of nature. The earth, that was, the heaven or sky, with its atmosphere, its clouds, &c. had passed away and vanished ; but now a " new heaven and a new earth" appear. The same we are taught by St. Peter ; " We look," says he, "for new heavens and a new earth, according to his promises in which justice dwelleth." 2 Ep. iii. 13. This new heaven and new earth are not of new creation, but the former heaven and earth, purihed by fire, renewed by the hand of C4od, and made much more perfect, "not other heavens and another earth," says St. Jerom, "but the former ones changed into better." In Isai. Ixv. And St. Gregory the Great, speaking of the same, says : " Others are not to be created, but these same renewed." Lib. xvii. Moral, in Job. c. 5. This senti- ment is founded on Scripture. The psalmist represents the heavens and the earth growing old and wearing away like a garment, and then to be changed. " In the beginning, O Lord, 28 826 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. thou foundedst the earth : and the heavens are the works of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest : and all of them shall grow old like a garment: and as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed." Ps. ci. "26, &c. Solomon also seems to assure us, that every thing shall remain that has been created : " I have learned," says he, " that all the Avorks which God has made, continue for ever." Eccl. iii. 14. Upon which St. Gregory the Great's comment is: " they will pass, as to their present figure or appearance, but as to their substance they will ren)ain for ever." Lib. xvii. Moral, in Job. c. 5. St. Austin tells us, that " by the change of things the world will not entirely perish or be annihilated. Its form or external appearance will be changed, but not its substance." Lib. xx. de Civ. c. 14. And again more amply: " The figure of this world will pass aw^ay by the general con- flagration. — The qualities of the corruptible elements, of which our world is composed, which were proportioned to our corruptible bodies, will be entirely destroyed by the fire : and the substance of those elements will acquire new qualities which will be suitable to our immortal bodies : and thus the world, by becoming more perfect, will be proportioned to the then improved state of the human body." Ibid. c. 16. After the same manner speak St. Justin, St. Basil, and other holy fathers. Hence we may conclude that our new world, as to its substance, will be the same as the old ; but its qualities will be totally altered, so as to be no more pernicious to the human body, offensive to the senses, or obnoxious to unsea- sonable vicissitudes. Every part will then appear bright, glo- rious, pleasing to the senses, and inspiring happiness. They will form as it were a paradise. Whether the superior hea- vens, that contain the sun, moon, and stars, will undergo the same change, is uncertain ; and the writers on this subject are divided in their opinions. St. John adds in this place a particularity worthy our no- tice; and the sea is now no more; being perhaps wholly dried up, as to its fluidity, by the fire; and its component solid parts reduced into the same state with the rest of the terrestri- al globe. Thus the sea will be no more, as being of no further use. This entire suppression of the sea may give a reason, why the angel, whose feet were as pillars of fire, when he announced the end of the world, stood with his right foot upon the sea, and his left upon the land, Apoc. x, 1, 2. The right foot denoting a greater power of strength, which is HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 327 here required to consume water, so much more opposite in its nature to fire than dry land. The scene of nature being- now totally changed, and the* new heavens and the new earth being formed, St. John proceeds. Chap. xxi. 2. " And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of hea.ven, from God." Here our prophet begins* a new period, which is, the period of eternity. He had hitherto related the history of the Christ- ian church in a regular course from its first rise to its pass- ing away with time itself and with the destruction of the world. He does not however stop here, but eagle-like, with a new flight carries us into the regions of eternity, and shows us a sketch of the glorious state the blessed will enjoy during that endless period. The account of this new period St. John now begins, and for that reason says not simply, I saw, as is usual with him : but I John saw, in the same manner as he began the first part of his history, with, " I John, your brother — was in the spirit on the Lord's day," &c. Apoc. i. 9, 10. From what we have seen it appears, that St. John's prophecy is almost confined to the history of the Christian Church, but that he has nevertheless gone bej^ond that bounda- ry, in the instance of relating to us the general judgment of all mankind. In like manner he is now going to describe the heavenly triumphant state of the whole Church of God, that is, of the whole body of the saints. But we must here take notice of the plan which he follows, which is, to divide them into two societies. The first is of the saints that lived in the aaes prior to Christianity, and who worshipped the supreme Deity in the unity of Godhead. The second society compre- hends all Christian saints, who adored God in Trinity of persons. These observations premised, we now return to the text. Chap. xxi. 2. "And I John saw," says he, "the holy city the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. V. 3. " And 1 heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God Avith men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people: and God himself with them shall be their God. V. 4. " And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. 828 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. V. 5. " And he that sat on the throne, said : Behold, I make all things new." This holy city, this new Jerusalem, that is seen descending from heaven, from God, and appears so bright and shining, like a bride dressed up to meet her husband, is the heaven or the glorious and happy mansions of all the saints that existed before our Saviour, or that lived under the law of nature and the Mosaic: and it is newMn alkision to the former Jerusalem w^hich had been their habitation on earth. This heavenly Jerusalem may therefore be styled the patriarchal and Jewish Jerusalem. We shall see in the sequel the Christian Jeru- salem. This new city of the blessed is seen coming down out of heaven from God, to the new earth where it fixes, to show that now heaven and earth are joined, and that heaven is there wherever God is. To express the extraordinary de- gree of light, with w^hich this heavenly city wall be illumi- nated, Isaiah says: "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven fold, as the light of seven days," xxx. 26. The expressions that follow in verse 3: "behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them," &c. apparently belong to the Jewish and patriarchal ages, and frequently occur in the Old Testament, and particularly in the ancient prophets; which shows that this is the patriarchal and Jewish heavenly Jerusalem. The holy inhabitants of this city w411 be blessed with complete felicity, arising from the presence of God dwell- ing with them, and will experience no more sorrow nor any other misery, v. 4. " God shall Avipe away all tears from their eyes : and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat on the throne, (God,) said : Behold I make all things new." The prophet Isaiah had said nearly the same things: "The Lord," says he, "shall cast death down headlong for ever : and the Lord God shall wipe away tears from every face," xxv. 8. And, " Behold," says God by the same prophet, " I create new heavens and a new earth : and the former things shall not be in remem- brance, and they shall not come upon the heart. But j^ou should be glad and rejoice for ever in these things, which I create : for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and the people thereof joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people, and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying," Ixv. 17, &c. The Almighty makes all things new to these blessed beings, a new Jerusa- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 329 lem or seat of bliss, a new state of existence quite different from what it had been in this world : all is now happiness, glory, and exultation. — St. John proceeds, V. 5. " And he said to me : write, for these words are most faithful and true," Here is the sanction of the Almighty. He gives testimony to the truth of what has been said of the hap- piness and glory of the Jewish and patriarchal Church in heaven, and he professes to be faithful in the execution of these promises. V. 6. " And he said to me : It is done. I am Alpha and Omega: the beginning and the end." The Almighty again speaks, and says: It is done; time is past and eternity is be- gun. I am Alpha and Omega : the beginning and the end : I framed the universe, I destroyed it, and renewed it at my pleasure : All mankind received their existence from me, and they ultimately return to me to be rewarded or punished : I called the patriarchs, and I chose the Jews, I was their God, and of all the just of those ages, and I shall be their God and reward for all eternity. The Almighty proceeds, V. 6. " To him that thirsteth I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely. V. 7. " He that shall overcome, shall possess these things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." To those that shall have thirsted, says God, after the water of life, after heavenly beatitude, and endeavoured to deserve it, I will give it ; and my gift will be free or gratuitous, be- cause human merit can never equal the reward which I be- stow, nor is there any human merit withput the concurrence of my grace. I shall give them plentifully to drink of this water of life, by replenishing them with that abundance of sweet satisfac- tion, which surpasses all conception. " They shall be inebri- ated with the plenty of thy house," says the psalmist; " and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure," Psalm XXXV. 9. And whoever shall have overcome, v. 7, that is, Avhoever shall have courageously fought in the cause of religion, or who shall have preserved himself free from idolatry, injustice, and works of iniquity, and shall have walked in the observance of my precepts, he shall inhabit this city, this mansion of immortality, and shall possess for ever the ineffable blessings of felicity that abound in it, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Such will be the happy state of the courageous and zealous servants of God. V. 8. " But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abomina- 2a* 330 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ble, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." . ' The account being here concluded of the future state of that part of mankind which preceded the age of Christianity, we are now invited to a nev*^ spectacle. V. 9. " And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying : Come, and I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. V. 10. " And he took me up in spirit to a great awd high mountain: and he showed me the holy city of Jerusalem* coming dow^n out of heaven from God, V. 11. " Having the glory of God: and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper-stone, even as crystal." Here w^e are favoured with a sight of the heavenly Jeru- salem, or seat of bliss of the Christian saints. The ground of this distinction of tw^o Jerusalems appears, not only from the prophet's invariable rule of not repeating the same thing, but also from their respective descriptions. The first, which we saw above, agrees with the nature and terms of the cove- nant of God with mankind relatively to the ages before the asra of Christianity ; and this latter Jerusalem is particularly distinguished by being styled the bride and wife of the Lamb, which evidently characterizes the Christian Church. The view of this seat of heavenly beatitude is offered to St. John by one of the seven angels who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, it being fit that the rewards of the just should be proclaimed by the same angels, w^ho before had poured the vials of divine punishments on the Avicked. These vials ap- pertain solely to the Christian Church. St. John is carried in spirit to the top of a great and high mountain, to be ena- bled to see over the high wall into this great city, the holy Jerusalem of the Christian saints, w^hich he sees coming down out of heaven from God, to fix upon the earth. It is filled with the brightness of the glory of God ; and its light is as shining as the lustre of the finest precious stone, and as agree- able to the eye as the view of the most transparent green jas- per sto le. V. ^ I. "And it had a wall great and high, having twelve In the Greek text, " the great city, the holy Jsrusalera." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 331 gates, and in the gates twelve ang-els, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the child- ren of Israel. V. 13. " On the east, three gates; and on the north, three gates ; and on the south, three gates ; and on the west, three gates." This heavenly city is surrounded with a great and high wall, and has twelve gates, three to the east, as many to the west, to the north, and to the south. They are guarded by twelve angels in the same manner as an angel was appointed to guard the gate of the terrestrial Paradise : and upon each gate is inscribed the name of one of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, because from them the Christian Church was first formed, and thus they became the leaders or gate of entrance to all succeeding Christians. V. 14. " And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." The wall stands, on twelve foundations raised one upon another, on which are severally inscribed the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb ; they being, after Christ, the foundations of his Church. V. 15. "And he that spoke with me, had a measure of a reed of gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof, and the wall. V. 16. " And the city lieth in a four-square, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth : and he measured the city with a golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs : and the length, and the height, and the breadth thereof are equal. V. 17. " And he measured the wall thereof an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man which is of an angel." The angel who shows and explains these things to St. John, measures with a golden rod the city, its walls and gates, and finds the plan of the city to be an exact square, and its whole circuit to be twelve thousand furlongs, or fifteen hun- dred miles. The wall of each side of this square is therefore, three thousand furlongs, or three hundred and seventy-five miles long ; and what is strange, its height is said to be equal to its length ; so that the wdiole fabric of the city forms an exact cube, the length, breadth, and height of which are, each severally, three hundred and seventy-five miles. What a prodigious city! but, "In my father's house," says our Sa- viour, "there are many mansions." John xiv. 2. Such an extensive habitation, w'e hope, indicates the vast multitude that will be of Christian citizens. The angel likewise measures 332 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. the thickness of the wall, v. 17, and finds it to be an hun- dred and forty-four cubits, or two hundred and sixteen feet ; a cubit being the measure from the elbow to the extremity of the hand of an ordinary man, or a foot and a half nearly, which is the measure used by the angel. V. 18. "And the building of the wall thereof was of jas- per-stone : but the city itself pure gold, like to clear glass." St. John having described the dimensions of this great city, the basis of which being a square and the structure a cube, form the most elegant and most perfect figure of an edifice ; he now proceeds to give us an account of the materials of w^hich the whole is built, which are the richest that can be imagined. The wall is built of fine green jasper-stone, the colour best suited to the eye. The city itself, by which Ave suppose are meant the buildings of the city, is constructed wholly of pure gold as transparent as crystal. V. 19. "And the foundations of the wall of the city, were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foun- dation was jasper : the second, sapphire : the third, a chalce- dony : the fourth, an emerald : V. 20. " The fifth, sardonyx : the sixth, sardius : the se- venth, chrysolite : the eighth, beryl : the ninth, a topaz : the tenth, a chrysoprasus : the eleventh, a jacinth: the tw^elfth, an amethyst." The twelve foundations that support the wall of the city, are adorned with the most shining and most beauti- ful precious stones, which are here particularly specified: As the names of the twelve apostles are inscribed upon them, v. 14, perhaps the qualities of each stone bear some relation to the peculiar endowments of the apostle whose name is upon it ; but this relation we cannot pretend to discover, V. 21. "And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one to each : and every several gate Avas of one several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." The twelve gates of the city in their jambs and ex- ternal structure and decorations are made of so many beau tiful pearls, a pearl for each gate : and the door of each gate is formed of one single pearl. And the streets and whole area of the city are paved with pure gold, transparent as chrystal. What can be more rich, splendid, or sumptuous? V. 22. " And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb. V. 23. " And the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof" This heavenly city HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 333 wants no temple : Almighty God and the Lamb residmg in it supply the place of a temple : they are always present to the blessed inhabitants, who thus see their God and Saviour face to face, and offer their homage immediately to them. Nor is there any occasion for the light of the sun or moon: the city is al- ways illuminated by the resplendent glory and brightness of the Deity which serve in the place of the sun, and the Lamb him- self is the great luminary of it, in lieu of the moon. The same glorious perfections of this city are also painted to us in the same colours by the prophet Isaiah ; " Thou shalt no more have the sun for thy light by day, neither shall the brightness of the moon enlighten thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee for an everlasting light, and thy God for thy glory," Ix. 19. V. 24. " And the nations* shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it." The citizens, who shall enjoy these blessings will be se- lected from all the nations that have espoused the Christian law. And the kings of the earth who have truly served Christ, the King of kings, shall there offer their homage to the Al- mighty and to the Lamb, and lay their crowns and honours at the foot of the throne, V. 25. " And the gates thereof shall not be shut by day : for there shall be no night there. V. 26. "And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it." The gates of the city will always be open, as it can suffer no danger from enemies, nor any disturbance. Nor will there be ever the least obscurity or darkness, its light, which proceeds from God and the Lamb, remaining al- ways equally intense and inextinguishable. Some of all ranks and conditions, out of all the nations of the earth, will there be found offering to the supreme Deity their glory and honour, that is, their riches, their dignities, or whatever blessings they had been possessed of in life. The same glorious things we hear from the mouth of that ancient prophet, who always spoke with rapture of Christ and his kingdom : " Thy gates shall be open 'continually : they shall not be shut day nor night, that the strength of the Gentiles may be brought to thee, and their kings may be brought." Isaiah Ix. 11. V. 27. " There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb." Such is the holi- ness of the place, that nothing defiled, unclean, nothing stain- • In the Greek text, " the nations of those that are saved." 334 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. ed with the abomination of idolatry, injustice, lying or impos- ture, or any other species of iniquity, can enter there. It is a mansion of bliss for those only whose names are written in the book of life of the Lamb, that is, for those only who have been called and chosen by the Lamb, and whom he has registered in his book. Such expressions repeatedly prove that the city here described is the Christian Jerusalem. Chap. xxii. 1. " And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. V. 2. "In the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healinof of the nations." Through this celestial abode runs a river of water of life, clear as crystal, which rises from the foot of the throne of God and the Lamb. On the banks of this river, as it runs through the middle of the streets, grows the tree of life, bearing tw^elve different sorts of fruit which ripen every month; the food of which nourishes the inhabitants, preserves their bodies from all tendency to corruption, and keeps them in full vigour and strength without the least impair for all eternity. The leaves even have the virtue of healing, or of securing the body against the least attack of sickness or disease. An emblem of this was the tree of life in Paradise. With such fruit and such water the heavenly citizens eat and drink immortality. V. 3. "And there shall be no curse any more: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. V. 4. " And they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads." In this blissful habitation there will be no curse, there will be no danger of experiencing the anger of God or his punishments. He and the Lamb will fix their throne in the midst of them, to gratify them forever with their amiable presence : while they with boundless affection will offer their praise and thanksgiving. Thus will the saints see their God face to face, and enjoy the possession of him with expressible and never-ceasing joy. And they will bear on their foreheads his name, that is, the names of God and the Lamb expressed in one name, as both are one God : and thus they will carry an honourable and distinctive mark of their bavin 2f been the devoted servants of God and the Lamb. — We may 9bserve, that in this and other places of the Apocalypse, where St. John names together God and the Lamb, HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 835 he always proceeds to speak of them in the singular number, to show the unity of Godhead. V. 5. " And night shall be no more : and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever." We saw above, xxi. 23 and 25, nearly the same things applied to the city, which are here promised to the inhabitants, who will never more be troubled with the vi- cissitude of day and night, but will be cheered with perpetual day. Nor will they want a sun, a lamp, or any other created light ; because the Almighty himself will enlighten them with the glory and lustre of his divinity, and they will reign with him in an ocean of happiness for ever and ever. Thus we have seen a full description of the heavenly Jeru- salem, that is, of the triumphant state of the Christian Church, which, when once begun, will last for evermore. The saints here will be filled with all those gratifications that can soothe and make happy the soul and body. Both these com- ponent parts of the human individual, as they concurred to advance the glory of God in the world, so they will have both their respective objects of delight and happiness. But it must here be observed that, though our explication has been most literal, we cannot pretend to determine how far the prophet's glorious description of the heavenly city is to be understood in the literal, how far in the allegorical sense. We are certain that the happiness of the saints will be complete, but it is not allowed to man to investigate the particulars of that future state ; for " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor. ii. 9. To return to the text, St. John says : V. 6. *' And he said to me : " These words are most faith- ful and true." Here is the seal put to the whole preceding account of the heavenly Jerusalem : The angel gives testi- mony that it is most faithful and true, or that it will certainly take place, as God's \A'ord and promise cannot fail. This conclusion is always subjoined to those parts of the prophecy which treat of the ultimate state of man, namelj% a happy eternity. Then is added, V. 6. " And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his ang-el to show his servants the things which must be done shortly." That is, God who inspires the prophets or is the author of all prophecy, has vouchsafed to send his angel, St. John the Baptist, to signify the preceding prophecy of the 336 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Apocalypse to his servants, agreeably to what was notified in the very beginning of it, ch. i. 1. Here,then seems to terminate the prophetical history of the Christian Church We have seen her described, in her rise, in her progress, and in the principal events that related to her. The whole course of her existence and transactions was aptly divided into seven ages, the last of which shows her triumphing in heaven, and crowned with immortal glory. CHAPTER XIV. CONCLUSION OF THE APOCALYPSE. The remaining part of the Apocalypse contains several useful admonitions which claim our attention, and with them the book concludes. Apoc. xxii. 7. " Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book." Here Christ himself speaks : Behold I come quickly, to execute the things delivered in this prophecy: therefore blessed is he who keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book, or who attends to what is contained in this book, and takes warning and in struction from the important events therein described. The same admonition had been given at the beginning, i. 3 ; a repeated argument of the extraordinary usefulness of this book. V. 8. " And I John, who have heard and seen these things." Here St. John speaks : I John am the person that heard and saw all these things : by which declaration he gives testimony of having received from the angel the whole preceding pro- phecy. And then he proceeds, V. 8. " And after I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel, who showed me these things: V. 9. " And he said to me : See thou do not : for I am thy fello vv -servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book. Adore God." St. John offers, as he had done before, xix. 10, his homage of gratitude to the angel, St. John Baptist, who had "shown him these things." The angel refuses it, and tells him to offpr his adoration and thanks to God, who is the au- ■* HISTORY OF THE CnRISTIAN CHURCH. 837 tlior and giver of this prophecy. The angel furthermore plainly insinuates, that he has no title to the apostle's thanks, nor is he of a nature superior to the apostle : for he tells him, he is his fellow-servant, having- been formerly so on earth ; and fellow-servant of his brethren the prophets, that is, of the ministers of Christ's Church : and fellow-servant of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book, that is, of all the faithful Christians from the beginning of Christ's Church to the end of time. V. 10. "And he saith to me: Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand." The angel, or perhaps Christ, says to St. John : Seal not the words of this prophecy of the book ; leave the book open, that every one may read it, and be informed of the contents ; because the time is at hand for their accomplishment to begin, or which is already begun, and which will continue successive- ly, till the whole be completed. V. 1 1, " He that hurteth, let him hurt still : and he that is jfilthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is just, let him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still." That is, the unjust and the wicked, who are obstinately so, may make haste, says Christ, to complete their injustice and iniquity: and the just and the holy should endeavour to hasten their steps in sanctifying and perfecting themselves more ; for, V. 12. "Behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his works." Behold, I shall soon summon them by the writ of death, to appear be- fore me, says Christ, and shall reward these according to their merits ; and those, the impious, I shall punish in the ri- gour of justice, according to the measure of their iniquity. Let us then be prepared for the summons. V. 13. "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Christ here attributes to himself the same divine qualities, which were assumed by Almighty God. Chap. xxi. 6. I am, says Christ, the beginning and the end. I existed from all eternity, and shall exist to all eternity. I am the creator of the universe, the conservator of it, and shall put an end to it. " I am the first and the last," as he had be- fore said, Chap. i. 17. I am prior to all mankind, they die and return to dust, but I am living for ever and ever. I am the first founder of the new Church on earth, and I shall be the last and eternal reward of the same. V. 14. "Blessed are they, that wash their robes in the 29 $88 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. blood of the Lamb:* that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city, V. 15. "Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and unchaste, and murderers, and servers of idols, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie." Christ continues to speak, and pronounces blessed those Christians, that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb by suffering martyrdom, or by preserving them- selves clean from the filth of sin, and by the observance of his commands. These will be entitled to be admitted through the gates into the city, that is, into the mansions of the Christ- ian heavenly Jerusalem ; where they will have a right to the tree of life, to eat the fruit of immortality. But all those others will be excluded from this heavenly city, who, after the nature of snarling dogs, calumniate and slander their neigh- bour ; also, all sorcerers, unchaste, murderers, idolaters, and those that love and make lies, or impostors and teachers of false doctrine. V. 16. " I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches." Jesus Christ here speaks and says : I have sent my angel, John the Baptist, to deliver to you, John the Apostle, this my revelation, and to give testimony to it ; that you may transmit it in an authentic manner to the seven churches of Asia, and they to others. — Christ continues, V. 16. "I am the root and stock of David, the bright and morning star." I am the root and stock or stem that spring from David : I am that son of David, of whom it was said : " The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke i. 32, 33. To me then were decreed all power and dominion : and from me flow the divine blessings to all nations, both of redemption and future immortality. These are my rights. I am also the bright and morning star ; the true morning star that shines so bright above all other stars, and that " enlighteneth every man that comes into the world." John i. 9. " I am that star, the Orient, that enlighteneth them who sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death." Luke i. 78, 79. I am the bright morn- ing star, that guides mankind to the gate of heaven. " I am the way, the truth, and the life." John xiv. 6. — Christ con- tinues, Y. 17. "And the spirit and the bride say: Come. Ana he that heareth, let him say : Come. And he that thirsteth, In the GrG«k, " that observes his commandments." HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 339 let him come : and he that will, let him take the water of life freely." The Spirit or Holy Ghost, wlio directs the Church, and the bride of Christ or the Church herself, cry to me, say- ing: Come, hasten the general judgment, put an end to the labours of your servants, and admit them into the heavenly city. Whoever heareth this cry of the holy Spirit and the Church, let him also say: Come. Let every one join in the same request, because it is for the ultimate and greatest bless- ing. And if any one thirsteth after the water of life, after the glory which I give, let him come and meet me, let him hasten to me in fervour and sanctity. And he that will, let him take the water of life freely ; he that desires to drink of the water of life, and will take the pains to come at it, may have it freely or gratis, without money, without any other price but faith and good works, both which proceed from the gratuitous gift of my grace : for " without me you can do nothing." John xv. 5 : when I crown your merits, I crown my own gifts. — The same invitation to eternal beatitude, which alone will satisfy all our desires. Almighty God formerly gave by his prophet Isaiah : " All you that thirst, come to the waters : and you that have no money, make haste, buy, and eat : come ye, buy wine and milk, without money, and without any price," Iv, 1. V. 18. "For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. V. 19. " And if any man shall take away from the w^ords of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book." Christ had said just before, V. 16, that he had sent his angel to give testimony to his pro- phecy ; and therefore he here denounces a severe punishment upon all those, who shall presume to add any thing to, or de- tract from, this prophecy of the Apocalypse. Hence it ap- pears, with what respect and caution it ought to be read and handled. And indeed whoever has studied the Apocalypse with attention, must have observed the precision of it to be such, that a word cannot be added or retrenched without dan- ger of derogating from the sense. V. 20. " He that gives testimony of these things, saith : Surely, I come quickly : Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." Christ here gives testimony of these things, that is, he bears wit- ness and gives his sanction to all that is written in this pro- phecy: and then concluding, proclaims for the third time: 340 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Surely, I come quickly : I shall certainly come soon, for good and all, to judge the whole body of mankind at the last day, and to recompense the just, and punish the wicked. St. John answers his divine master : Be it so, O Lord Jesus : come and grant us, your servants, the favour of enjoying you foi all eternity. CHAPTER XV. REFLECTIONS ON THE SEVEN AGES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Thus have we taken a view of the whole prophetic history of the Apocalypse. We have travelled through the whole tract of duration, which reaches from the rise of Christianity to the fixed state of eternity after the close of all time. We have seen the most remarkable transactions, that take place in the Christian Church during that Avhole period. And thus we are arrived at last to enjoy a full view of the plan of economy which Christ, the supreme governor, observes in the administration of his Church. This plan appears truly grand and admirable. It consists of three parts, contained under the seals, the trumpets, and the vials. The trumpets exhibit to us the painful trials he thinks fit to subject his people to. The vials describe the punishments Avhich he inflicts on their enemies. The nature therefore of both these parts of his conduct towards his Church is sufficiently clear : but that of the seals, it must be allowed, is not so obvious, and may re- quire some elucidation. In the prelude to the seals the Lamb was introduced, all power was given him, the period of his sovereignty was opened, and his reign commenced. This clue leads us to the understanding of the general tendency of the seals. In them we see Christ proceed to the work of forming and establishing his kingdom or Church, which he carries on through all ages. But as every prince, who undertakes to conquer to himself a new kingdom, must necessarily encoun- ter many enemies and obstacles ; so here we see enemies rise up against Christ, the prince of the Christian kingdom, and oppose his undertaking. Thus, in the first seal, Christ sets out upon his conquests to form his kingdom upon earth. The second seal shows us the rise of a body of heretics, the Arians, HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 341 Christ's own subjects, who rebel against him, and attempt to wrest from him part of his kingdom. The third seal opens to us the scene of the subversion of pagan Rome with its em- pire, which is the triumph of Christ over that mighty idola- trous power, and the establishment of his kingdom in its place. In the fourth seal we see again the rise of another powerful enemy of Christ, namely, the Mahometan or Antichristian empire, which deprives him of some part of his dominions for a time. The fifth seal exhibits to us the martyrs of the fifth age, who are told that vengeance will in due time be taken on their persecutors, for the spilling of their blood : and in the mean time they are clothed with the robe of beatitude. This shows Christ's economy with regard to these his faithful and valiant soldiers. Under the sixth seal we see dreadful prodi- gies and signs, and the heavens and the earth in confusion. By these, Christ, the bountiful King, alarms the impious and rebellious part of his people, and tries by terror to bring them back to their allegiance and duty, and to reform them into good subjects, before he comes to judge them. The seventh seal opens the scene, in which he completes his work by taking possession of the whole earth, and putting an end to all other power. In consequence of this he is acknowledged universal Lord and Master of the world, and receives the ap- plauses and acclamations of the heavenly choirs, who sing: " The kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and his Christ's, and he shall reign for ever and ever." Apoc. xi. 15. Thus then we see described in the seals the series of Christ's operations for the formation and establishment of that king- dom which was promised him upon earth. " I beheld," says Daniel, " and lo one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came'even to the Ancient of days : and they presented him before him. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all people, tribes, and tongues, shall serve him : his power is an everlasting power, that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom, that shall not be de- stroyed," vii, 13, 14. Such in fine is the abstract of the his- tory, that is written in detail in the book sealed with seven seals, where this new powerful King, the Son of man, had laid down before hand the whole plan of the work he design- ed to carry on during all future ages. Here it may bo further proper to remark, that the prophe- cies contained under the seals are delivered in natural histori- cal language ; whereas those under the trumpets and vials are expressed in allegories : the reason of which seems to be, that 29* 342 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH^ as the seals exhibit to us the abstract of a history contained in the book sealed with seven seals, this abstract must be sup- posed to be written in the same natural historical style as the full history itself The style of the trumpets is allegorical, because, as the trumpets sound alarms, troubles, and persecu- tions to the Church, a previo.us general notion of them would be useful and at the same time sufficient, and such is convey- ed to us by obscure allegory : but a clear and minute detail of those calamities would naturally terrify and make too much impression upon the mind. Likewise, if the punishments an- nounced by the vials were clearly and fully expressed, such might be the malice and perversity of some among the guilty part of mankind, as to attempt to frustrate the decrees of God and oppose their execution. Such punishments therefore are purposely covered with the veil of allegory, the meaning of which remains more or less uncertain. In fine such a compass of knowledge, imparted to us through the channel of the Apocalypse, ought to inspire us with the warmest sense of gratitude for so signal a favour, and should be a powerful motive for making good use of it. We see laid open to us the course of the dispensations of God towards man ; and what subject can furnish us with more useful instructions, for admiring the bounty of this sovereign administrator, for contemplating his wisdom, and dreading his justice? To pro- mote this sort of consideration, we shall here subjoin a few reflections upon each of the seven ages, to which we recom- mend the reader to add his own, I. In the first age of the Christian Church, which compre- hended little more than the space of three hundred years, we saw the gospel preached to the greatest part of the known world, notwithstanding all the opposition that earth and hell could contrive against it. The divine power shone in its full lustre, and confounded all the enemies of religion. Miracles were so frequent, that every day was distinguished by some illustrious marks of supernatural interposition. The meridi- an sun could not appear clearer and brighter than the divine power operating in favour of the new promulgated doctrine. In this manner Christ builded his Church on such a firm foundation as nothing could ever shake, and he established his religion by such incontestable proofs as no pretences could invalidate. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCfl. 343 But the sanction of the Christian religion was not only di- vine and irrefragable, its intluence on the minds of its profes- sors was altogether astonishing. It inspired them with such, firmness of fortitude, that they were ready on all occasions to shed their blood in defence of it. When put to the trial, they resigned all temporal advantages, they were deaf to all entrea- ties and offers, they viewed without emotion the racks and cru- dest torments, and bowed down their heads with joy to the ex- ecutioner. Such was the behaviour of not a few only, but of prodigious numbers. As Adam had first yielded to sin, through want of courage, and infinite calamity had fallen upon all his posterity, it would seem that Almighty God designed that fault should be retrieved, as far as possible to human nature, by the eminent fortitude of his new servants, the Christians; v/hom for that purpose he made pass through most severe per- secutions, the acutest tortures, and death itself in its most dread- ful shapes. Thus the earth was bathed with Christian blood, but the souls of the generous victims went to share immortal glory and power with the Lamb : " And 1 saw seats," says St. John, " and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God. — And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Apoc. xx. 4. The spirit of the Christian doctrine was no less manifest in those that were left on the stage of life. They appeared by the sanctity of their conduct to form a new community entirely different from the rest of mankind, and they practised such transcendent virtues as before were deemed impossible. Some entered into courses of the severest austerities, of mortifica- tion and fastinof. Others retired into remote solitudes, conse- crating their whole time to God, with little or no allowance to nature ; spending days, weeks, and years, in contemplating the perfections of the Supreme Being, in meditating on his bountiful dispensations to mankind, and in aspiring after that state of bliss which they hoped to succeed to after this mortal life. Thus the infancy of the Church was decorated with all the hiw^hest ornaments of reliq-ion. This was the aa^e of Chris- tian perfection : and Christ set up the most eminent models of all the virtues human nature is capable of, that he might make appear to the world the power of his grace, the excellence of his doctrine, and that all future ages might have before their eyes perfect examples for their encouragement and imitation. On another hand it is necessary to observe, that if such be the all wise economy of the Almighty to put the fidelity of o4'4 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. many of his servants to the test, by conducting them throngfe the fiery trials of persecution, he nevertheless views with de- testation the hands that inflict those severities on them. The persecutions crown the faith and fortitude of the sufferers. But the persecutors are guilty of malice and cruelty, and in consequence draw the divine vengeance upon them. And thus it happened to the heathen Roman emperors and people, who for spilling the Christian blood, felt, as we have seen, the weight of God's judgments. Many examples likewise of this sort in prior ages are recorded in holy writ. Among others, Sennacherib, the Assyrian king ; Nabuchodonosor the Baby- lonian, and Antiochus the Syrian, were punished by the hand of God for their malicious attempts, and inhumanities, against his people, the Jews. The course of his providence we see is the same under the Christian dispensation. For from the Apocalypse we learn, that seven vials of the wrath of God are poured out for the punishment of the enemies of the Christian Church. Ought not this reflection be sufficient to deter the evil-minded from directing their malice and power against the people of that community ? 11. In the second age of the Church, which begins about toe year 320, and contains nearly 100 years, we see rise up a scene of a different kind. This age may be styled the age of heresy. In the preceding period we saw a strenuous contest between religion and idolatry, between Christianity and pa- ganism, or as one may say, between the Almighty and Satan, which should claim the worship of mankind. The Almighty having vanquished his enemy, and exploded idolatry by the preaching of the Christian religion, and establishing the adoration of the one supreme Deity; Satan, to pursue his unrelenting malice, shifts his ground, and reneW'S his strata- gems, still to defraud the Almighty of his right, and to rob him, if possible, of his favourite creature man. For that pur- pose this infernal fiend, by his wiles, prevails upon an ambi- tious man, to renounce his alleofiance to Christ and submis- sion to Christ's Church. Arius is inspired by that spirit of falsehood with sentiments wholly incompatible with the di- vine nature and perfections of the Son of God, and by divulg- ing those sentiments he sows the seeds of rebellion and here- sy. Though some heretical principles had been set forth in the preceding age, yet they had been confined to narrow HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 345 limits of place, and to a small number of abettors: but now they show themselves with open effrontery, they seize whole cities, provinces and kingdoms. They are espoused by kings, emperors, and bishops. The malignant spirit of heresy raises dissension and animosity among the Christians, the Church is laid waste by her own children, and the seamless garment of Christ is torn in pieces. The flame of division blazes so high, that Christians do not fear to seize the sword and destroy one another. And what is the utmost misfor* tune, great numbers are seduced into the snare of eternal per- dition. For, as no one escaped perishing in the deluge, who was not in Noah's ark, as St. Cyprian remarks, lib. de Unit Eccl. so no one can hope to be of the company of the saints, who separates himself from the unity of the Church. The rise of Arianism is therefore the second general alarm which Christ sounds to his Church, to try the fidelity of his people, and to give occasion of meriting a reward to those who remain stanch in their faith, and continue firm in fight- ing under his standard. The crown of immortal glory and happiness is of too high a value to be wholly a gratuitous gift. We must purchase it by labour, by suffering, by maintaining our fortitude and constancy in the different trials sent us by Providence. No one will be crowned but he that has fought well. If on one hand Christ is fliithful to his promises in reward- ing his servants, on the other those escape not his indigna- tion, whether heretics or idolaters, that seduce his people by false doctrine, or lay waste his fold by the sword of persecu- tion. Thus the Arians, the strongest body of heretics that ever assaulted the Church, sunk in proportion to their former power, even so as to vanish from the face of the earth. In a period of about 340 years from their first appearance, they were no more to be found. This and the other examples of divine judgments, which the vials discover to us, make a con- v-incing proof, that no nation, no collective body of people ever rebel against the Church, or persecute it with impunity. The divine vindictive hand in due time overtakes them, and for- ces them to acknowledge from their own sad experience, that Christ is the faithful protector of his Church, and the certain scourge of her enemies. III. The third age, which commences about the year 406, and contains 220 years nearly, is remarkable for the judgments of 346 HlSTOftY of THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, God upon ancient Rome and the western empire. The Al- mighty, who is the Creator of the universe and sole Lord of all, necessarily claims all homage from his creatures, nor can he suffer that greatest of all impieties, the transferring to any other being, the honour that is due to himself alone. Rome had Sacrilegiously employed its great power for the support of idolatry ; it had also opposed with its Avhole might the establishment of Christ's kingdom, and had most inhumanly persecuted his servants, and shed the innocent blood of an infinite number of them. The Almighty, after such enor- mous provocations, at length rises up in his wrath, and pours down the whole torrent of it upon that guilty empire. He had before, as we have seen, struck those emperors, who had notoriously pursued the same impious and audacious courses. But now the sovereign punisher of iniquity sends out against the whole empire of Rome a multitude of barbarous people, who pour in upon it like fierce tigers, tear it to pieces, destroy its inhabitants, and demolish its cities, with Rome itself But why should we wonder at this striking instance of divine vengeance, while we see the same plan of economy folloAved in the preceding ages ? Do we not read in the written word of God, that a similar fate had attended the empires and cities of Ninive and Babylon ? Were not Tyre and Sidon devoted in the same manner to destruction? Was not the opulent and populous kingdom of Egypt overturned and enslaved 1 These kingdoms, cities, and several others, owed their ruin to an angry God, who would suffer no longer their pride, idol- atry and wickedness. " Behold the .eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and 1 will destroy it from the ^ face of the earth." Amos ix. 8. Nay even, he would not spare his chosen land and beloved seat of Jerusalem. When his people had renounced their fidelity to him, and adopted strange gods in his place, he sent upon them a scourge, Nabuchodo- nosor, the Babylonian king who ravaged the country, level- led the city and temple with the ground, destroyed by famine, fire and sword, a great part of the inhabitants, and the rest he carried into capiivity. When the Jews, by their repentance, had recovered their favour with God, and in consequence their land and city, we see again, upon their new rebellion, and tlie most grievous of all iniquities, in putting to death their Messiah and Saviour, the wrath of God inflamed to such a degree, as to devote to destruction a prodigious multitude of them by the severest scourges that could be inflicted on man- kind. Their city was also entirely demolished, and the re- HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 347 mainder of the people expelled from their country, dispersed over the whole face of the earth, exposed as objects of de- rision to the rest of mankind, and continue to this day a last- ins" monument of the divine indio^nation. That the same course of divine providence in punishing wicked nations is still pursued, we learn clearly from the Apocalypse. Hence then appears, how necessary is the prin- ciple of the fear of God, and how essential it is to man to re- vere the sovereign Deity and respect his commands. Should not these considerations impress a check on the proceedings of princes in the administration of their governments? If the sovereign King of heaven and earth is not invited to share in their councils, but if politic views direct solely their steps without regard to equity, or if ambition, resentment, or any other passion, wholly sways their conduct, what injustices, what crimes, may not be the result, in the guilt of which their whole states become generally involved? Then what is the consequence? Such national deviation from the Law of God, certainly provokes the divine vengeance, as appears from what has been said, and is the cause of the dreadful disasters that sooner or later befall those states, and often terminate in their utter ruin. How much would it be the interest of princes to attend to the admonition of the great and wise king David ! *'And now, O ye kings, understand: receive instruction, you that judge the earth. Serve ye the Lord with fear, and re- joice unto him with trembling. Embrace discipline, lest the Lord become angry." Psalm ii. 10, &c. IV. The fourth Age comprehends a period of nine centuries, from about the year 620 to 1520. But if the length of this exceeds that of the preceding, we may observe, it is compen- sated by the importance of three different successive events. The rise of Mahomet and the Mahometan empire distin- guishes the first part of this period. We are astonished at the success of that great impostor, and at the progress his successors have made in conquering the world. It is like- wise a subject of surprise, that Christ, who is the " Prince of the kings of the earth," Apoc. i. 5, should suffer such an enemy to rise up, to establish a doctrine quite opposite to that he himself had taught, and to re-introduce death into the world by exploding the very source of salvation, the redemp- tion from sin. But our surprise will abate, when we consi- 348 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHtJRCH. der, that those nations, which adopted this Antichristian reli- gion, had made themselves in great measure deservedly ob- noxious to so dreadful a judgment. The Christian countries of Asia, and Africa, and some eastern provinces in Europe, had been guilty of manifold inconstancy and perfidy, in relin- quishing the true faith to espouse the heretical and schisma- tical doctrines of Arius, Macedonius, Donatus, Nestorius, Eutyches, Pelagius, Photius, &c. while the most part of west- ern Christendom remained firm in their adherence to the unity of faith. What wonder then, if Almighty God suffered the Orientals to run into a precipice, who had already volun- tarily left the path of truth? The second interesting event that distinguishes this age, is a dismal alarm sounded to the Church, namely, the defection of the Greeks from the faith, which, like a great earthquake, shook the continent of Christendom, and severed a great number of fair eastern churches from the body of the faithful. Pride, ambition, jealousy, fondness of novelty, or such like vici- ous dispositions, are the general origin of heresies and schisms. The Orientals suffered themselves to be guided by such pas- sions, and in consequence they bewildered themselves in error, and withdrew from the communion of their Catholic brethren. Rebellion often grows contumacious ; and effectually they aggravated highly their guilt, by obstinately rejecting all means offered them for their reconciliation with God and his Church. Such a grievous and lasting provocation armed the avenging hand of God, which made use of the Mahome- tans as a scourge to punish them. This punishment, which proved very severe, was the third momentous transaction that characterized the fourth age. And may we not here bewail the misfortune and stubborn blindness of the present Greeks, who though so fully admo- nished by the punishment of their forefathers, under which they themselves lie groaning, yet remain hardened and in- flexible? But, what indeed is highly deplorable, our Christ- ian prophet had said of them ; "They did not penance to give God glory." — See the fourth vial. Christ, who essentially loves concord and union, commanded the same to be observed among his followers, and in that view addressed his heavenly Father by a special prayer. " Not for them only do I pray, (said he,) but for them also w^ho through their word shall be- lieve in me : that they may be one, as thou (Father) in me, and I in thee : that they also may be one in us." John xvii. 20, 21. To fix this necessary union and make it stable, he HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 349 established the centre of it in one person, the person of St, Peter and each of his successors. " Thou art Peter," (that is a rock) said our Saviour, " and upon this rock I will build my Church." Matt. xvi. 18. He told St. Peter again on ano- ther occasion : " I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not, and thou being once converted, confirm thy brethren." Luke xxii. 32. Here then is the centre, with which the whole cir- cle of the Church must be linked, and connected by the bond of union and faith. Whoever breaks this chain, dissolves as much as in him lies the work of Christ, and disunites him- self from the society of his brethren. Such has been the crime of the Greeks, who renouncing communion with the successor of St. Peter, have set up in his room one of their own bishops, equally schismatical with themselves. " Christ has builded his church," says St. Cyprian, "upon one, who is Peter: and has placed one chair. He has indeed given to all bishops the full participation of power equally to govern their flocks, all deriving their authority from Christ: but the beginning arises from unity in Peter." De Unit. Eccl. The breaking of this tie of " Unity in Peter," was the occasion of the heavy disasters that have fallen upon the Greeks, and which they continue to labour under at this day. And is there not further reason to apprehend that their oppressions will not be alleviated, if not even made heavier, as long as they return not to what they so criminally abandoned, the centre of unity in Peter ? This indeed they found clearly pre- dicted in the revelations of St. Bridget, who died in the year 1373. But as to what degree of authority and credit these revelations may claim, we shall say nothing ourselves, but re- fer the reader to the learned Cardinal Lambertini, afterwards Pope Benedict XIV. who writes thus : " Though an assent of Catholic faith be not due to such revelations, they deserve a human assent, according to the rules of prudence, by which they are probable and piously credible, as the revelations of B. Hildegardis, St. Bridget, and St. Catherine of Sienna." De Canoniz. Sa?ict. I. 2. c. 32. n. l\. The passage in St. Bridofet's works relatinaf to the Greeks runs thus : " Be it known to the Greeks, that their empire and their kingdoms, or dominions, will never stand secure, nor in settled peace ; but that they will always be held in subjection by their ene- mies, from whom they will ever sufter most grievous hard- ships and constant distresses, until they shall have sincerely submitted themselves with true humility and good will to the Church of Rome and to her faith, conforming themselves en- 30 350 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. tirely to the holy ordinances and rites of that church." Re- vel, lib. 7. c. 19. How certain and at the same time how terrible are the judgments of God ! " Who knoweth the power of thy anger : and for thy fear can number thy wrath?" Psalm 89. il, But we must acknowledge that "just and true are thy ways O King of ages." Apoc. xv. 3. The Babylonians and other pagan nations were the scourge of God's wrath upon the Jews. The barbarous nations of the north went forth, by virtue of a divine sentence, against idolatrous Rome and her empire, both which they demolished. We then see rise up, about the beginning of the seventh century, a new and for- midable power, that of the Mahometans, a people inspired by the devil with an implacable hatred to the Christian name. These seem to be designed by the Almighty to serve as his instrument for chastising his rebellious and bad subjects among the Christians through all succeeding times. They enslaved the eastern countries ; and they have swallowed up the Constantinopolitan empire of the Greeks. They will spread havoc and destruction through the Christian Church in the sixth age, as we have seen in the Apocalyptical account of that period of time. V. The remarkable transactions that characterize the fifth Age, are more generally known, as they stretch to our own times, and touch us more nearly. The Reformation, first set on foot and propagated by Luther about the year 1520 or 1525, is the Epoch of the present age, the period of which to the pouring out of the Vial consists of three hundred years, of which two hundred and fifty are nearly elapsed.* Many have been the troubles, as we have seen, which the spirit of novelty occasioned in different parts of Christendom. The mischief, which the eastern part had sustained by the de- fection of the Greeks, was afterwards brought upon the west- ern by the protestants. The Church of Christ sat bewailing the loss of a great number of her children; and she saw be- sides with unspeakable grief an endless train of disputes, dis- sensions, and animosities, the new heresies had given birth to. Several countries, particularly Germany, were subjected to great calamities, the consequence of wars that were kindled * This work was first printed in the year 1771. / HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 351 by the same fire. Dreadful violences were committeJ, and severe persecutions followed, in which many suffered death for their adherence to the ancient faith. Indeed what else could be expected, the work being carried on by the " Angel of Extermination?" After the period of about one hundred and fifty years, by a special mercy of the Almightj'', the severities exercised by the reformed against the Catholics began to abate, that spirit of animosity against the Mother church in some degree cooled ; and at this day, though most of the former persecuting laws subsist, we have the comfort to see them less attended to, and not so strictly put in execution. All this was fully intimated, as we have seen, in the Apocalyptical account of this age. But though the persecutions be less rigorous in the present times, yet we cannot but lament to see the many temptations that lie in the way, to withdraw the weak, the tepid, the am- bitious, and the covetous, from the right path, and engage them in an erroneous one that suits better their inclinations. Hence arises a deplorable spectacle to well-thinking persons, of so many that choose to sacrifice their religion to some worldly advantages that are offered them, or to some disorder- ly passions which they can by their apostacy more freely gratify. The world was very sensible, that Christ had established his Church, fifteen hundred years before the existence of the reformation, and that he had communicated his spirit to her, by which he had solemnly promised she should be guided through all ages. " I will ask the Father," said Christ, " and he will give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for p.?er, the spirit of truth — And he will teach you all things." John xiv. 16, 17, 26. The reforming teachers came therefore fifteen hundred years too late, and as they presumed to publish a doctrine contrary to what was taught in the Church, its novelty became its own condemnation. Never- theless they were resolved to make it pass upon mankind for divine truth. But to effect this, thev should have ascertained it by the intervention of miraculous works, in the same man- ner as the apostles had originally established Christianity. " Let them prove," said Tertullian, speaking of the heretics of his own time, " Let them prove themselves to be new apostles — let them produce their miracles." L. de Prsescrip. c. 30. But the reformers never were able to procure such a divine sanction. To supply this defect, and to acquire credit to their new 352 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. systems, what measure did they take ? They employed an artifice, we are sorry to say it, suggested undoubtedly by that angel of the bottomless pit who was their governor and guide, namely, to indulge human nature, by gratifying the passions, by allowing such freedom and latitude in the practice of virtue, as religion had never admitted. They banished at once all those mortifications, which distinguished the Christian reli- gion, and were ordained by its author as the principal exer- cises to merit eternal life ; such as fasting, abstinence, confes- sion of sins, penance, &c. They pretended that all these practices were 'of no signification, that they were even intole- rable encroachments on Christian liberty, and that faith alone sufiiced for salvation. By these means they let loose the hu- man passions, they enfranchised man from all constraint, and in fine, they boasted of having smoothed the way to heaven. But, " thy silver is turned into dross : thy wine is mingled with Avater." Isai. i. 22. For, our Saviour had said : " If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Matt. xvi. 24. But, instead of the thorny way of self-denial and the cross, they opened a path strewed with roses. What wonder then, if so many took them for their guides, and espoused their maxims ? Our Saviour again tells us, that " narrow is the gate, and strait is the way, that leadeth to life : and few there are that find it." Matt. vii. 14. On the contrary, the new gospellers inform us, that the way to heaven is broad and easy ; and they offer to conduct us through' it with little or no difficulty, because, say they, our Saviour took upon himself the load of hardships that should have been our portion, and has sustained them in our stead. But, " wo to them that sew cushions under every elbow : and make pillows for the heads of persons of every age to catch souls." Ezech. xiii, 18. Thus a survey of the doctrine and practical maxims of the reformers points out clearly to us the judgment we ought to pass upon their character, according to the criterion Christ has given us : "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them." Matt. vii. 18, 20. It would be a matter of surprise, that men nursed in the bosom of Christianity could adopt and teach such unchri-stian doctrines, if we did not see the source of it, which lies in the malign influence of their perfidious instructer, Abaddon. He laid open the way to introduce into their minds the most absurd tenets, by separating them first from that Church, " the * # HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 353 pillar and ground of truth," 1 Tim. iii. 15, which had been constituted the repository of genuine doctrine and morality We cannot but lament that the pc^rfidious prompter prevailed upon them to renounce the authority of that infallible guide, and to set up their own in its place ; and thus he prepared them to receive his dictates, and to change the whole system of the Christian faith. But novelty in faith is an infallible mark of heresy. The doctrinal articles of scripture are not to be interpreted by every man's private conceit, which would be infinitely various, but by the tradition derived from the apostles and perpetuated by their lawful successors. For as St. Vincent of Lerius observes : " It is the part of true Christian moderation not to impose one's own opinions upon posterity, but to adhere to what has been transmitted to us by our predecessors." Comm. c. 9. The same is urged very strongly by TertuUian : " The apostles," says he, " published the faith to the Gentiles, and constituted churches in every city; from which the other churches derived the first prin- ciples of faith and seeds of doctrine ; and from which also other churches do daily derive in the same manner, or they could not possibly be true churches. For this reason then they have the reputation of apostolic, because they ire the offspring of apostolic churches. For every kind mast cer- tainly be traced up to its original. And on this account every other doctrine is to be deemed false and spurious, that is not conformable to the truth taught by these apostolic churches." De Prasscrip. c. 20, 21. And again : '' What was first delivered, was the doctrine of our Lord and of truth; what is of later date, can be no other than the tenets of flilsehood, mere fictions. And this observation will stand firm and immoveable against all novel heresies which labour under the consciousness of not -having this antiquity to plead in their defence." Ibid. c. 31. But the licentious spirit of forming new tenets of faith and new rules of life in this fifth age, not only invaded and set aside the general authority of the Church of Christ, but in particular bent its virulence and rancour against the Church of Rome. The reason was plain : because the special province of that Church is, to oppose all innovations in faith, and to suppress, as far as possible, the tares that spring up among the good corn. Such all antiquity had acknowledged to be the charsre committed to that Church. To that Church therefore the reformers ow^ed respect and obedience ; to that Church, " the greatest," as St. Irenasus speaks, " the most ancient and known to all, founded at Rome by the two most 30* 854 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. glorious apostles Peter and Paul, which retains the tradition it received from them, and which is derived through a suc- cession of bishops down to us Showing which we confound all who any way out of seif-conceit, love of applause, blind- ness of false persuasions, embrace what ought not to be taught. For to this Church of Rome, on account of its more chief presidentship, it is necessary that every church, that is, the faithful every where, address themselves." Lib. 3. contra. Hceres. How happy might it have been for the reformers of these late times, if upon cool reflection they had applied to ihemselves what St. Optatus in the fourth century spoke to the Donatist heretics: "You cannot deny," said he, "that you know the episcopal chair was first given to Peter in the city of Rome, in which first sat the head of the Apostles, Peter ; which chair was one, that all others might preserve unity by the union they had with it, and lest the other apostles should erect and defend chairs to themselves : so that now he is a schismatic and an offender, who sets ud another against the only chair." Lib. 2. We shall here add one general observation relative to the plan, which Christ seems to follow in the government of his kingdom on earth. Whenever he permits an enemy to wrest from him any part of his church by heresy, schism, or infi- delity, we see that at the same time he proceeds to conquer new countries by the preaching of the Gospel, and to incorpo- rate them in his dominions. From the first foundation of his kingdom he " went forth conquering that he might conquer," Apoc. vi. 2 ; which he continues to do through "all ages. Thus the breaches made in his church by the heresy of Arius and the Greek schism, he repaired by the conversion of new nations to the faith : as may be seen in ecclesiastical history. But never was this economy more remarkable than at the time of the rise of the reformation. For, about that period, the new great continent of America was discovered, and the Catholic faith carried thither, and diffused over vast countries of it. About the same time the Gospel was also announced to the distant people of the great empire of China with prodigious success ; it was likewise carried into the kingdom of Japan, and into most of those immense tracts of land and the islands, comprised under the name of the East Indies, where the preaching of zealous ministers sent by the apostolic see con- verted multitudes of people, and thus greatly enlarged the do- minions of Christ's kingdom. If then the late heresies, under the denomination of the reformed relio-ion, have lopped off a HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 855 considerable portion of country in Europe from the Catholic Church, the loss has been abundantly retrieved by the acces- sion of much larger regions elsewhere that have embraced her communion. In regard to the vial of this age, we shall add nothing more, to what has been said of it in its place, than the follow- ing admonition. If the true servants of God, faithful members of the Catholic Church, observe that towards fifty years from the present date,* the state of kingdoms and the course of public affairs seem to presage the approaching eflusion of the fifth vial, accordingly as we have intimated, then " Go out from her, my people : that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues, "Apoc. xviii. 4 : fly from the countries of wrath and perdition. VI. The sixth Age is the last of the Christian Church militant on earth. The time of its commencement cannot be ascer- tained, much less its final period, that is, the day of judgment, which, as our Saviour says, "no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father." Mark xiii. 32. Among various sentiments touching the duration of this world, that seems to have prevailed most, which fixes its pe- riod at about six thousand years : but as all is uncertain with respect to this point, we shall not trouble the reader with any discussion about it. The Apocalyptical description of the sixth age paints it in colours, that leave no doubt it will be the most turbulent, the most calamitous, and most persecuting of all other ages. How alarming and how terrible will ap- pear those extraordinary and unnatural signs in the sun, moon, and stars, the earthquakes, the enormous swellings and roarings of the sea, the bloody wars and battles, &c. ! Both our Saviour in the Gospel and St. John, in the Apocalypse, express sufficiently the impression these calamities will make on mankind, by saying, " that men will sink away for fear, and call upon the mountains to fall upon them and cover them." How dreadful will be the destruction made bv the terrible army of Antichrist ! How cruel and bloody his per- secution, which will last three years and an half! These shocking events, Avhich throw confusion in the whole system of nature, will be certain presages of the approaching dissolu- * Printed 1771. 356 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. tion of the whole structure of the world, Happy those men, who shall take due warning from them, and shall consider them in a true light. And here we ought tc acknowledge the particular favour the Almighty God is pleased to grant us, in giving us pre- vious notice of the disasters attending the sixth age, that we may prepare for them. And this duty is the more incumbent on us, since we touch so near that period, that the next gene- ration or next but one, will probably see some part of it. For after the fifth vial is poured out, which we have shown will be done about fifty years hence,* we do not know how soon the commencement of the sixth age may follow. There even seem to appear already some indications of the approach of that period. For the Almighty, in his wisdom and mercy, before he pours down heavy disasters, generally sends lesser calamities by the way of admonition : and thus Ave see in these present times greater irregularities in the seasons of the year than used to be, more dearth and distress, earthquakes more frequent, &c. all which may be esteemed a prelude to those much more dreadful disasters of the next ao;-e. Who would not then judge it highly necessary that parents should prevent their children of such unparalleled calamities that are to happen, and which it may be their lot to share in. They should be made acquainted with the principal transactions of the next age, as they are recorded in the Apocalypse. For disasters, when foreseen, generally make less impression. The pastors of the Church will probably think it expedient to inculcate the same to their flocks, because those who shall exist in the next age, ought to be prepared and fortified in a peculiar manner with a lively faith, with the love of God, and an ardent desire of their own salvation. Since many of them may be destined, by divine appointment, to pass through a most severe trial in the persecution of Antichrist, they cannot be too well grounded in the above-mentioned principles. The account we have from St. John and the prophet Daniel of that persecution, indicates, it will surpass in violence and cruelty all the persecutions of the first age of Christianity : what de- gree of fortitude therefore must be requisite to support the faithful on so trying an occasion ? " The Church now ad- monishes you," says St. Cyril, " and announces to you the things that relate to Antichrist before they come to pass. Whether they will happen in our time or later, we know not : ♦Printed 1771. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 857 i>ut, as yoTi are prevented of them, it is fit you should prepare yourself." Catech. 15. Let the history of former persecutions be assiduously read, in order to acquire some idea of them, with which when the mind is familiarized, they will appear less terrible. Prepared by these means, and animated by the influx of divine grace, the faithful servants of God will hope to be able to undergo the same hardships and sufferings, which the primitive Christ- ians sustained, and of w^hich we read in St. Paul the follow- ing description : — " Some were racked," says he, — " Others had trials of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bonds and prisons. They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheep-skins, in goat-skins, being in want, distressed, afflicted : of whom the world was not worthy : wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth." Ep. to the Hebr. xi. 35, &c. Let especially a diligent and repeated perusal be made of the trials of the martyrs : that by viewing their invincible fortitude and con- stancy, the faithful may be inspired with the same spirit. They will see with what courage the primitive Christians appeared before the tribunals of the pagan judges, with what noble fortitude they answered to the questions put to them, with what unconcern they viewed the racks and other instru- ments prepared for their torture, with what inflexibility they continued to profess their faith in the midst of torments, and with what resolution they bowed down their heads under the hand of tlie executioner. "We say we are Christians," says Tertullian, " and proclaim it to the whole world ; and under the hands of the executioner, and in the midst of all the tor- ments you inflict upon us, to compel us to unsay it. Torn and mangled, and weltering in our blood, we cry out as loud as we are able : that we are worshippers of God through Christ." Afol. c. 21. Those invincible heroes of antiquity, who thus sealed their faith with their blood, are the models we must set before our eyes, and which we must copy after. They had always in view that heavenly recompense which waited for them after their combat, and which infinitely sur- passed whatever they could suffer in this world. They said to themselves, " the sufferings of this time are not worthy to oe compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us." Rom. viii. 18. They recollected what our Saviour had said . " Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer — Be faithful unto death: and 1 will give thee the crown 358 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH of life." Apoc. ii. 10. And again: "Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you. — Be glad and re- joice, for your reward is very great in heaven." Malt. v. 11, 12. This heavenly prospect animated their courage and sweeten- ed their torments. They had likewise before their eyes the divine pattern of their Lord and Saviour, who had trodden the same path before them for their encouragement. And what homage can be more acceptable to him, than to offer our lives to him who laid down his for our sake ? How beautiful a spectacle in the sight of God is a Christian enter- ing the lists with affliction, and with a noble constancy com- bating menaces, racks and tortures ! When like a conqueror he triumphs over the judge that condemns him. For he is certainly victorious who obtains what he fights for. Min. Fel. in Octav. Full of such thoughts and sentiments, and inspired with interior joy, those champions congratulated one another on the view of their approaching triumph, saying: the persecutor wrests from us our lands, but heaven is open to us : the enemy of Christ threatens, but Christ protects us. They put us to death, but we are crowned with immortality; by killing us they deprive us of this world, but paradise is offered us in its stead : our temporal life is extinguished, but is changed into eternal. Cyprian de exhort. 7narL c. 12. Such ought to be the reflections of those who shall exist in the next age. The complexion of that period will be similar to that of the first age under the persecuting Roman emperors, and will exceed it in violence and cruelty. The consideration therefore of the behaviour of the primitive Christians is the best preparation that can be recommended to their successors in the last age. Let them add to it another reflection, which should never be absent from their mind, namely, the immortal glory and happiness, which Christ expressly promises and describes as the portion of all those who shall sacrifice to him their lives in the persecution of Antichrist. " These are they who are come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple : and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them. They shall no more hunger or thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them or any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Apor. vii. 14, &c. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 359 Besides the reasons we have given above, the necessity of beginning to inculcate the preceding lessons to the present rising generation appears the more, when we consider the general decay of religion which now prevails. So little is the practice of morality attended to, so little even is religion thought of, that we see already no small progress made to- wards that apostacy, as St. Paul calls it, or towards that general defection from faith, and that degeneracy of morals, which will take place before the great minister of Satan, An- tichrist, appears. How swift indeed must be the decline of true faith, while free-thinking grows at such a pace? While every one seems to fix it as a principle, to believe nothing more than his reason comprehends, or that coincides with his own private humour? What practice of morality can we expect from people, who are immersed in wordly plea- sures, or in pursuits of private interest, who never spend a moment of thought about eternity, nor scarce ever address their God and Creator in a short prayer ? And is not this the general course of life of the present generation of man- kind ? Certainly then, due care should be taken to prevent as many of the new rising race as possible from being infect- ed by this pestiferous corruption, and to prepare them to be enrolled in the list of the few elect of the approaching time. When a tide of irreligion and infidelity has broken in, and is seen to swell every day, what wonder if the period approach, when God will bring all to the test, and try them as metal in a fiery furnace, in order to discriminate between the good and the bad, and to separate the sound from the unsound grain? The few that will remain firm and stanch under all tempta- tions and persecution, will shine with great lustre in those days, when the bulk of mankind will suffer themselves to be seduced so far, as to go over to Antichrist, adore him as a God, and renounce their Creator, their religion, and their own conviction. Notwithstanding the great power of Antichrist, and his faculty of performing surprising wonders, the small body of the faithful will bear away the palm of victory, by their constancy in maintaining the cause of God at the ex- pense of their lives, and by their fortitude in not yielding to promises, threats, or torments. And thus the fruit of their perseverance will be, to see their victory completed, and the cause of religion fully vindicated, by the just judgments of God upon the impious, when he will exterminate in the most public and terrible manner that satanic man, Antichrist, with 360 HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. his associates, and will extirpate idolatry from the earth, and restore peace to his Church. To these reflections we shall add one remark, that of the six vials of the wrath of God, hitherto considered, three, namely, the first, third, and sixth, are poured out for the pu- nishment of idolaters, and the other three, viz. the second, fourth, and fifth, for the punishment of heretics. VII. The seventh age is the last and longest of all. It is the age of eternity. We see it ushered in by the tremendous scene of the general judgment of mankmd; of whom a part are admitted into the heavenly Jerusalem or everlasting bliss, and the other or greater part are doomed to suffer inexpressi- ble torments for all eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone. Whoever will take the pains to meditate a little on the great disparity of these two states, will certainly be moved, if he has not lost all sensibility, to use his utmost endeavours to gain the one and prevent his falling into the other. Both the happiness of the saved, and the torments of the damned, far surpass indeed our conception ; but if they be even consi- dered only in a general view, who would not shudder at the thought of being condemned to an eternal prison, in devour- ing flames that will never be extinguished ? " Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of you can dwell with everlastinir burning-s ?" Isai. xxxiii. 14. And on the other hand, if we reflect on the possession of God, the source of all delight, joy, and felicity; with which we shall be filled ac cording to the whole capacity of our being, and this without even the least interruption or allay, are we not transported with the most vehement desire of attaining such a happy state? "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house ; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure." Psal. xxxv. 9. To this all-happy state let us then " by our good works make our election secure." Let us spare no pains for it during the short period of our existence here. The recompense will infinitely exceed our labour, and th« time of our labour bears no proportion to eternity. HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 361 CONCLUSION. Thus have we seen the whole history of the Church of Christ traced from her birth through her various difficulties and trials, through her persecutions from idolaters, and con- vulsions by heresies ; under all which, she shone bright like the sun by the vigour of her faith and fortitude : nor was it in the power of hell and earth, though combined together, to crush her or hinder her growth. We have ha