Verse 36. And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every God, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be done."-The Roman Bishop having gained supreme authority in the Church, shall raise himself above the power of the state, and shall exercise his dominion over all: and, unrestrained by the laws of God or man, he shall exalt himself even as God, assuming the title of Holy Father, pretending his wisdom to be infallible, and that he has power to forgive sins, or to cast soul and body into hell: and in this unhallowed career of impiety and blasphemy he shall be permitted to proceed, and to prosper until the 1260 years, which are the appointed time for the affliction of the Church, are ended.*

Verse 37. "Neither shall he regard the God ofhis fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any

*Mr. Faber considers this verse as introducing a new subject of prophecy, viz. an atheistical or infidel power which shall arise in the last days; and he applies it to revolutionary France, and the Buonapartean Government. This mode of interpretation requires that the verse should be detached from the preceding verses, which Mr. F. accomplishes by reading the passage, "And a king shall do according to his will."-See his Dissertation, Vol. I. p. 32, edit. 1808.—It is objected, that the Hebrew word, can only signify The King before spoken of.

God; for he shall magnify himself above all."-He shall not regard the heathen gods whom his Roman forefathers bowed down to, nor the God of nature whom the philosophers amongst them, worshipped; and setting aside all reverence for Him, who is the sacrifice for sin, and the justifying righteousness of his people, and whom the women of all ages before the incarnation, have desired for the fruit of their womb, he shall exalt himself above every God, and seat himself in the temple of God, styling himself "The Lord God the Pope," and commanding his fellow worms, to worship him.

Verse 38. "But in his estate he shall honour the God of Forces, (Mahuzzim, or God's protectors, margin) and a God, whom his fathers knew not, shall he honour, with gold and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things."-And despising the true and only Mediator, he shall ordain an idolatrous worship of other intercessors, such as the Virgin Mary, (stiling her the Queen of Heaven,) the angels, and the souls of departed saints. And he shall erect, and endow churches for their worship, and shall enrich their shrines, and collect their pretended relics, and set up their images and pictures, and the figure of a crucifix, to bow down before them, adorning these objects of his adoration, with gold and silver,

and precious stones, and appointing a large train of his hireling priesthood to officiate in these blasphemous rites.

Verse 39. "Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange God, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory, and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain."And he shall pursue his idolatrous course, giving, from time to time, an increase of praise and honour to these objects of his profane worship, by pretending that they work miracles. And he shall send out swarms of his clergy, both regular and secular, to spread themselves over the land, each in his appointed district, to levy contributions upon the people, and to increase the revenues of his Church, by a traffic in penances, pardons, absolutions, and indulgencies, and under the pretence of praying the souls of the departed out of purgatory, and many other such contrivances of priestcraft.

Verse 40. "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots and with horsemen, and with many ships."And when the 1260 years (the appointed time of the Church's tribulation) are ended, the Scriptures of

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truth shall obtain currency amongst the nations. And the eyes of many shall be opened to discern the abominations of Popery. In the south, inroads shall be made upon the spiritual dominions of the Roman Bishop, and from the north he shall be assailed by innumerable copies of the written Word, advancing like a whirlwind against him.

The division of the Scriptures into chapters and verses, though highly useful and important, will sometimes cause obsurity, from the divisions being made incautiously, and without sufficient attention to the context.-An instance of this kind is found in verse 40, for the subject of the Pope's prevalence amongst the nations, commences in the middle of this verse. It goes on thus:

Verses 40, 41, 42, and 43. "And he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape; but he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt, and the Lybians and Ethi

opians shall be at his steps."

It must be recol lected, that the extension of a spiritual power is spoken of. If monarchial, and not pontifical sway be looked for, the interpretation becomes difficult; but when we advert to the species of power predicated of, the fulfilment is strikingly accurate.-He shall extend his priestly dominion into many countries, beyond the boundaries of his ten-kingdomed empire, even into every quarter of the earth; and he shall overspread them with his priests, and his monks, his superstitions, and his idolatries. He shall enter even into that land which the Lord sets apart for himself, as the great emporium of his truth. Many shall be entirely subdued by him, but those countries which are inhabited by the recognized descendants of Edom, of Moab, and of Ammon, shall not be brought to serve him. Egypt, however, shall not escape, but her treasures shall be at his disposal, and the Lybians and Ethiopeans shall follow after him. Most accurate has been this fulfilment.

Verse 44, 45. “But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palaces between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end, and none shall