pagating her idolatrous doctrines in Latin, they fhould be the inftruments of the divine will, of preferving an ancient language, in which God had ap. pointed that her own difgrace and punishment Thould be made manifeft, not only in her own fight," or to herself, but to the clear comprehenfion of the true church of Chrift, wherever exifting: a church which she has oppreffed, and " trodden "under foot," during the long period of twelve centuries. 66 Indeed it is a fingular circumftance, clearly demonftrating the power and providence of God, that among all the ancient languages, fuch as the Egyptian, Chaldean, Hebrew, Grecian, Latin, &c. the Latin alone, contrary to the uniform courfe of human events, fhould, after having been fo long obsolete and loft, be thus revived, fo as to be ufed and understood by the learned of almoft all civilized nations, and in a particular manner by the members of the church of Rome. Nor is it to be accounted for, upon any other principle, fave that of making the truth of this prophecy fully known, at least to all those whom it fhould concern, when it should be fulfilled. 3. It was the cuftom of the ancients to denote the names of things relative to their myfteries, by the numerical letters in the name. Having affigned the - name to the thing, in order to conceal its meaning from the vulgar and unintiated, they took the numerical letters it contained, and adding them together, they called the thing intended to remain myftical by the fum total; and thus the number became the mys tical name. Thouth, or Mercury, they called 1218, because the numerical letters in that word amounted to that number; Jupiter, 737; Sol, 608, &c. The nature of the Power, as well as the time of its ap→ pearing pearing in the world, defignated by the beaft, being intended by divine wisdom to remain uncertain and myfterious, until it should come, the prophet here evidently makes ufe of the fame myftical language," and defcribes it by the numerical letters in a certain word. But aware of the difficulty, if not impoffibility, of finding out the true word among the great variety in different languages, which might be in ufe at the time of the completion of the prophecy, the numerical letters of which might amount to the number of the Power, he gives us a clue to the discovery: for he tells us, in direct terms, that "the number (or "name) of the beast is the number (or name) of a "man." If we then faithfully pursue this clue, this pole-star, leading directly to the truth, we must search for the number of the power predicted in "the name "of a man." This pofition is fo evident, that it is ftrange it should efcape the attention of the great and learned commentators, whofe opinion I am oppofing. And yet they have departed from it as far as the north is from the fouth. Inftead of fearching for the number or name of the power in "the name “of a man," they have looked for it in the name of a nation, or of a multitude of men compofing a civil fociety; and finding that the Greek and Hebrew words, Lateinos and Romith, the names of the Latin and Roman empire, contained the number of the beaft, they have erroneously conceived, that the church of Rome must be its real prototype. Thus they have not only departed from the direction of the prophet, but alfo not confidered that the Latin Roman empire could not be made, by any rule of the hieroglyphic or symbolic dialect, a fymbol of the church of Rome: for that language is founded in analogy; and the thing fymbolized, muft, in its principal features, at least, bear an accurate refemblance to the type or fymbol. Now there is no fuch refemblance between the policy and conduct of the church church of Roine, and the Latin Roman empire, by which the latter might be made a perfect figure to represent the former. The latter was pagan, the former is Chriftian; the latter acquired its power and grandeur by open force and conqueft; the other by fecret cunning, craft, and fraud. We must not then look for the number of this formidable and wicked power, either in a Greek or Hebrew, but in a Latin word; nor in the name of a nation, nor in any other name, except the name of a man; and of fuch a man as will properly anfwer to the symbol of the Beast or Nation; and pursuing the express direction of the prophet, find out fuch a name. It must not be the name of a common individual, or of a man of fubordinate rank, because his name could not bear a proper relation and refemblance to a nation or political body; but there cannot be a more apt or a more fignificant figure for a nation than the name of a fupreme magiftrate, who, in his political capacity, reprefents the whole civil fociety. In him the wifdom, power, will, and confent of every individual, is politically fuppofed to exist. He acts in all things as, and for, the commonweal; his acts are as completely the acts of the nation, and as obligatory upon it, as if every individual had perfonally affented to, and figned them; and the civil fociety, in all its public acts, laws, and treaties, bears and is known by, his name. For these reasons, I humbly apprehend that the prophet has veiled the name of the civil fociety, under that of fome man who is the king, prince, or fupreme reprefentative of it. If, therefore, we can find a king or fupreme magiftrate, whose name contains the exact number 666, in numerical Latin letters, it will, of itself, amount to very probable evidence, at least, that the civil fociety over which he prefides, is the prototype of the beast. And if we should farther find, that a name of a king, or or fupreme magiftrate of the FRENCH NATION, CONtains that exact number, exclufively of all other fupreme magiftrates upon earth, and at the fame time add to these confiderations the ftrong and particular verifications of all the other marks of the beaft herein before illuftrated, it will amount to evidence. irrefiftible, that the Beast which the prophet faw "come up out of the carth" is the prototype of the French nation. Now it is a fact, that there have been, not one only, but fixteen monarchs, who have prefided over the French nation by the name of Louis; that the name of the monarch upon the throne, before, at, and even for fome time after the epoch of the revolution, or the "coming of the beaft," was Louis, and confequently the nation was then known by that name. Tranflate the name Louis into Latin, and it gives us Ludovicus; a name which contains neither more nor lefs numerical letters than the number 666, the prophetic number of the beast. Thus, by following the plain direction of the text, we have found the name not only of one man, but of a number of men, by which the French nation has been known during feveral centuries. In this name we count the number of the beaft. The number of the name of the man, and the number of the beaft, are exactly the fame; and the number of both exprefsly and wonderfully foretold seventeen hundred years fince, is SIX HUNDRED, THREESCORE, and SIX *. L The part of this chapter, relating to the number and name of the beaft, was written and fhown to a friend more than feven years fince, and repeatedly mentioned to another. In a publication, which has appeared within the last three years, I find it merely afferted, that LUDOVICUS, or Lewis XVI. King of France, is the THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS OF THE REVELATION. Introduction to the Seven Vials of the Wrath of God. THE prophet, in his digreffion of "the little "book," having written the history of the Weftern Church, and of the rife and perfecutions of Papal apoftafy, and French atheism, her two formidable enemies; or, in other words, having related the events of the fecond woe, and told us that the third woe cometh quickly §, returns to "the great book "fealed with feven feals," containing the general history of the church, and proceeds to narrate the events of the feven vials, of which the third and laft woe were to confift. This was a woe, in which the intereft and welfare of the whole church were to be deeply concerned, because it was to fall principally upon the impious perfecutors of the word of God, and at the fame time lead to her perfect reformation, the prototype of the beaft. But the author affigns no reason for his opinion. If he has unfairly ploughed with either of my heifers, all that I have to fay to him is, what Virgil faid on a fimilar occafion, Hos ego verficulos feci, tulit alter honorem, &c. If he has not, it will be a corroboration of the truth I have endeavoured to eftablish. * Rev. x. 2. 8, 9, 10. The last eight verfes. P + Ibid, xiii. first ten verses. and |