Weft, describes it by the fame hieroglyphic*; and when foretelling the rife of the church of Rome, and the vaft extent of her influence over the nations of Europe, he fays, " And I faw a beast rise up out "of the fea." From all which, no doubt can remain, but that the prophet makes ufe of the word fea to defignate Papal Rome, as the object upon whofe power this "vial of the wrath of God was to "be poured out," as a juft judgment for her abominable idolatry, for her artful feduction, and unrelenting and bloody perfecutions of the church of his bleffed Son, and for her daring impiety in the affumption of his divine attributes.

The object upon which this "vial was to be "poured out," thus afcertained, what were to be the dreadful effects of its plagues? In this refpect the text is by no means deficient. It foretels not only the great events, but the very means and manner by which they fhould be brought to pafs. It tells us, that, upon pouring out the vial, "the fea became as "the blood of a dead man." Here the prophet, continuing his metaphorical language, compares the condition of the power alluded to by the word fea, to that of the blood of a dead man," in a figure equally proper and elegant. The blood of a man is the great principle of his life and motion. When it becomes turbid and inert, the man is fick; and when it is no longer put in motion by the heart, it becomes inactive and ftagnate, and the man dies. Juft so it is with a political body or ftate. Its powers, whatever be its form, are the political blood, and principle of its life and motion. When thefe become inert, and are not carried into vigorous execution, by the fupreme magiftrate, the political heart, it becomes weak and fickly: and when they are no

* Chap. viii. 8, 9.

+ Chap. xiii. 1.

longer

longer carried into any circulation or execution, they are fagnate, without life or motion," as the: blood "of a dead man ;" and the political body is dead. Is not this an appofite metaphor for a State that shall fuffer its powers of defence to remain totally inactive, and not make the leaft effort to defend itself against a long-threatening and even invading enemy? And was not this exactly the cafe of Rome, in the year 1798, when taken by the arms of France? It was undeniably the fact. For although Pius VI. had feen, during the courfe of feveral years, the army of the republic overrunning Italy with the flames of war, fubduing ftates, and forming new republics in their ftead; and had reason to believe he would fall in his turn; and although the French general had denounced the deftruction of Rome two months before its capture, the Pope made no preparation whatever for its defence. Inftead of embodying and arming his people, who were folicitous, and petitioned to be armed, he amused them with pompous procef -fions of the clergy and nobility, ladies of diftinction not excepted, with all Rome in their train, for the moft part barefoot, and with their heads uncovered; and perfuaded them to believe that a miracle would be wrought to obftruct the approach of the enemy, and to fave the city, while the republican troops took poffeffion of his citadel. Continuing in this infatuated delufion to the last moment, he opened: the gates of Rome to hoftility and plunder, and received his provoked and enraged enemy as a friend. Thus all the powers, the political blood of the ftate, were motionlefs and ftagnate, and "as the blood of a dead man. And thus this prophetic verfe became completely fulfilled in the fulleft fenfe: "Quos Deus vult per"dere, prius demontat."

From foretelling the capture of Rome, and the particular manner in which it would be taken, the

prophet

99

prophet proceeds to the confequent event, the total diffolution of the government; and thus, by another appofite metaphor, reprefents this great event; "for,' fays he, "every living foul died in the fea." Here the word "fea" is put for Rome, the capital of the Roman territory, and "every living foul," for the whole people fubject to it. And according to the text, all of them are, to die in the "fea," or in Rome. But there are two kinds of death: a natural death, as when the foul is feparated from the body, and its members; and the latter no longer derives any benefit from the counfel and direction of the former. There is alfo a civil death, which is, when the powers of government are feparated from the fociety, and the people no longer enjoy the privileges and benefits derived from its civil inftitutes. Thus a man, attainted and cut off from the protection of the laws, is faid to be "civiliter mortuus,' » dead "in law;" loft to the fociety, and the fociety to him. Now is it to be reafonably fuppofed, that the prophet meant that all the people of the Roman fociety fhould meet in Rome, and there die a natural death? The fact is highly improbable, if not impoffible. I rather conclude, he means a civil death; because the fact is not only poffible, but has literally come to pass, in ftrict verification of the prophecy. For Berthier, the French general, having plundered the city, depofed the Pope, difmiffed every officer of the government from their functions, diffolved the government itself, and its laws, and cut off the whole people from their former rights and privileges, left them in a state of nature, which is a civil death. And as thefe defpotic acts were done in Rome, the prophet has, with wonderful and circumftantial accuracy, foretold the fact of " every living foul," of the Roman fociety, dying in the fea, or in Rome. In this dead ftate, the people remained until the French 1、 general

general eftablished a Jacobin republic of his own creatures and tools.

I will not conclude this fubject without recurring to fome former hints, given by the prophet refpecting this great event, fo interefting to the welfare of the Chriftian church. After having foretold, in the first part of the eleventh chapter, the rife of the church of Rome, under the metaphor of "a beast

rifing up out of the fea," with her artful feduc tions, and violent perfecutions of the church of Chrift, he predicts, in the tenth verfe, her deftruction. "He that carrieth into captivity fhall go into

captivity; and he that killeth by the fword fhall "be killed by the fword." Now it requires no argument to prove, because it is well known, that the Popes of Rome, from the commencement of their power, have carried millions of the church of Chrift from the light of his Gofpel into the dark captivity of a blafphemous idolatry. And thofe whom they could not feduce by their arts, frauds, forgeries, pretended vifions, and falfe miracles, they have put to death by the Inquifition and the fword, until there was fcarcely a ray of the fublime truths of Chriftianity to be found, in the western part of the world. Now, has not this prophetic verfe been completely fulfilled? Have we not feen millions upon millions of the Papal church carried from under the influence of the Pope, into a yet more dark and terrible captivity, that of atheism? And have we not feen the Pope himself literally taken captive, and " go into captivity;" and all his mighty power and dominion overturned in one day by the "fword" of France?

And it is farther worthy of remark, before I leave this topic, that in the fame chapter the prophet alfo foretels the period during which the Papal

power

power should exift. And power was given unto him (the Pope) to continue forty and two "months*," which, in prophetic language, is 1260 years. The period of the continuance of a thing muft be calculated from the time of its "rife," to its diffolution. The power of the Pope certainly commenced, and was established, in the year 606, notwithstanding the incongruous and unfettled opinions of commentators. For it was in that year the bishop of Rome was created Pope by a commiffion from Phocas, then emperor of Rome, and fupreme head of the Chriftian churches, conftituting him and his fucceffors univerfal bishops. It was in the next year that he formally and publicly eftablished his idolatry in the Pantheon at Rome, by changing the names of the heathen gods and goddeffes, to thofe of the deceased martyrs and faints, and ordered their images to be worthipped. If then we date the rife of the Pope from that epoch, we fhall find, upon inquiry, that upwards of 1211 prophetic years from that time are already elapfed, and that this was about the time pointed out by the text, in which we ought to look for the decline of Papal influence, and the delivery of the Chriftian church from Papal perfecution, and from her captivity. Indeed, as I have before shown, the power of the Pope has already received a deadly wound in his late fall and captivity, and the defertion of his adherents and fupporters in France, and other parts of Europe. And although there are fome looking up to him as their deified patron, there is a ftrong probability that his power can never revive to any dangerous extent; and in the course of less than forty years, the remainder of the 1260, it will be little more than a fhadow among nations, according to the feveral predictions of the prophet.

* Verse 5.