TWELFTH CHAPTER OF THE REVELATION.

The Prophet refumes the general Hiftory of the Church, in which he foretels the REFORMATION.

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BISHOP Newton and others, I apprehend, have altogether erred in their explication of this chapter. They have thought that the prophet here refumes the hiftory of the church from the beginning, and, of courfe, that it includes her ftate, while under the oppreffion of pagan Rome; and they have contrived to twift and torture the prophetic figns into meanings never thought of by the prophet, to fupport their opinion. Upon only a curfory view of the chapter, it firuck me in a different light; and upon a careful interpretation of the different figures, I am fully perfuaded, that none of them refer to events ANTECEDENT to the fourth century, when the church became delivered from pagan oppreffion, and exalted over the heathen world: and that the prophet only refumes the hiftory of the church from that time. My reafons for this conftruction of the chapter, I will briefly fubmit to the candid confideration of the reader.

1. The prophet, in the firft nine chapters, had brought down the general hiftory of the church to the prefent times. He had foretold her rife, her wonderful fuccefs in propagating the word of God, her triumph and exaltation over the heathen world, the peaceful and happy ftate of mankind under her influence and power; her fubfequent ungrateful departure from the truth, and the divine judgments to be inflicted upon her upon that account, by the barbarian nations, and the Mohamedan apoftacy. How then fhall we find a reason that could induce him, after he had travelled more than one half of his journey, in the midst of his

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narration to return back to the place whence he had firft fet out; and to detail, a fecond time, the events which he had before defcribed and foretold? Would it not have been an ufelefs and unneceffary repetition, if not an error, which we may be af-fured he never committed ?.

2. It may here be objected: Why then fhould he go back at all? The answer naturally arifes out of the circumftances of the events. He had related those which properly belonged to the church at large, before it became divided into two parts, and had then proceeded with thofe of the eastern part down to the prefent times, omitting the contemporary events which related to the western part, after it was to be divided, in the fifth century, from the mother-church. And as it was neceflary to make his general history complete, he introduces the events which affected the part fo feparated from it. Accordingly, we find, that in the tenth and eleventh chapters he digreffes from his general fubject to the particular hiftory of the western church. In this digreffion he takes a fummary view of his fubject, and defcribes the principal events and characters which were to form his digreffive history; namely, the Papal apóftacy, which was to "tread "the holy city (or church of Chrift in the Weft) "under foot forty and two months*;" and "the "beaft of the bottomlefs pit (or revolutionary "France), which was to kill the two witneffes "of God," in the latter end of that period. And then, in order to introduce thofe two characters into his general fubject, he takes, in this chapter, a brief view of the ftate of the church in the fourth century, just before it became divided. Accordingly, we fhall find, upon a right inter

* Chap. xi. 2.

Ibid. 7.

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pretation of the figures into their natural and literal meaning, that he begins it with a reprefentation of the church in general, in her triumphant and exalted ftate over heathen idolatry; and then proceeds to the fubfequent perfecutions the fhould fuffer from the church of Rome, the late Reformation, the abolition of her influence and power in France, and the present war made with Great Britain by the French atheistical nation. That fuch is the fubject of this chapter, will appear more and more evident in every ftep we shall take, in the tranflation of its figures into their true prophetic fenfes.

Ver. 1." And there appeared a great won"der in heaven; a woman clothed with the fun, and the moon under her feet, and upon "her head a crown of twelve ftars."

This verfe plainly refers to nothing more than the ftate of the church in the fourth century, when she had, from a very small beginning, from a little spark, as it were, diffused the truths of the word of God, and their bleffed influence, over the heathen world: a work, which is here called "a wonder in heaven;" that is, in the church; which is often typified by the word heaven in the prophecies. And was it not a wonder, a great miracle, that a fyftem of theology and virtue, revealed by a poor carpenter's fon to twelve men only, for the moft part part alfo poor, obfcure, and illiterate, of the lowest ranks in life, without power or influence; a fyftem profeffedly and directly tending to combat and subvert the long-rooted prejudices, the luftful defires and vices, and all the varieties of the long-eftablished fuperftitions and religions of the whole world; that fuch a fyftem fhould be propagated and embraced, without any earthly aid whatever, and in the teeth of the mo

dreadful

dreadful perfecutions, and the most difcouraginng and intimidating maffacres, of hundreds of thoufands of its converts; and that at length it fhould fo prevail, as to become, as it were, placed upon the throne of the greatest of nations, and protected by the mistress of the world. Surely this was a great wonder, brought to pafs by the fupernatural providence of God alone. But fuch was actually the ftate of the church in the fourth century; and that ftate the prophet defcribes in the appofite and beautiful figure of " a woman clothed with the fun, "and the moon under her feet, and upon her head, "A CROWN of twelve ftars." She is reprefented as clothed with the fun, to denote that she was protected by the light of the revealed word of God, and, like the fun, with her rays was imparting the truths of it to all parts of the earth; as well as that 'fhe was now, instead of being perfecuted by the power of paganifm, placed under the protection of the greateft prince and empire in the world (for, to clothe, is to protect a perfon against the inclemency of the weather). The fun is alfo the type of a great prince, governing his fubjects by the light of truth and righteoufnefs. She is alfo defcribed as having "the "moon under her feet," to fignify that the had now fubdued pagan idolatry; the moon being a proper type for that wicked fuperftition. For as the moon, although deriving light from the great luminary of the world, yet affords only a dim, faint, darkish light; fo heathen idolatry, though derived originally from the belief in a God, yet is fo obfcured and corrupted by polytheifm, that it is only a faint and very imperfect light, to direct the reafon and consciences of men, in the paths of truth and religion. Indeed the prophet, in divers other places, carries this beautiful allegory yet further, and compares atheism (that abandoned black fyftem of darknefs, which admits of no divine light or truth whatever)

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unto the earth, becaufe that body is impenetrable to, and incapable of receiving the rays of light, or of reflecting them when caft upon it. With refpect to "the crown of twelve ftars," it was intended to fhow, that the church had fubdued and triumphed over pagan idolatry, by the labours and the light of the truth, propagated by the twelve apoftles. Now if we confider the figns of this verfe in the manner I have thus explained them, they were completely fulfilled in the fourth century, and defcribe the true ftate of the church in that period. For it was now, and not before, that Conftantine the Great, emperor of Rome, put an end to pagan perfecutions, became converted to Chriftianity, announced it by an edict as the only true religion, and earneftly recommended it to be embraced, throughout the wide extent of his dominions. It was now the church of Chrift appeared clothed" with the truths of the revealed word of God, the "fun" of righteoufnefs; and alfo with the protection of the Roman empire (the greateft of all political funs, or temporal powers), then the miftrefs of the world. And it was now, and not before, that he may be faid to have the "moon," or heathen idolatry, "under her feet;" and "to wear a crown of twelve ftars," as an emblem of the fuccefs of the labours of the twelve apoftles. But from her rife down to that epoch, the had been unclothed, naked, that is, unprotected by any temporal power whatever, and oppofed, perfecuted, and oppreffed heathen idolatry being her perfecuting : MASTER. Nor was the entitled to wear a crown of "twelve fars," in as much as fhe had no where eftablished her religion. Thefe, with other reasons, which I fhall prefently offer to the confideration of the reader, convince me, that neither this nor any : other verfe of this chapter refers to any events, in which pagan Rome was concerned, but to those which were to follow after fhe became Chriftian.