the place and the persons likewise are pointed out, where and by whom it should be exercised. The prophet Daniel, chap. vii. hath described four beasts,' or four kingdoms:' and out of the fourth beast or kingdom, he saith, shall arise 'ten horns,' or 'ten kings' or kingdoms; and among them or after them, shall come up another little horn; and he shall be diverse from the rest;' and he shall have 'eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things, and a look more stout than his fellows; and he shall subdue and pluck up by the roots three of the first horns' or kings; and shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws.' Daniel's first kindgom is the Babylonian, the second is the Persian, the third is the Macedonian or Grecian, and the fourth can be none other than the Roman; and the Roman empire, upon its desolation, was divided into 'ten kings' or 'kingdoms.' It is in the western or Latin empire that these ten kings or kingdoms are to be sought and found; for this was properly the body of the fourth beast, the Greek or eastern empire belonged to the body of the third beast: and out of the western Roman empire, by the incursions of the northern nations, arose 'ten kings' or 'kingdoms;' of whom having mentioned the names before, we need not repeat them here, Now who is the little horn' that was to spring up among these or after these; who as a politico-ecclesiastical power differeth from the other ten powers; who hath eyes like the eyes of a man; that is, 'a seer,' as Sir Isaac Newton says, πIσкоπоç, or bishop, in the literal sense of the word ;* who hath a mouth speaking great things,'— bulls and anathemas, interdicts and excommunication; who hath a look more stout than his fellows,' assuming a supremacy not only over other bishops, but .even a superiority over kings and emperors themselves; who hath plucked up by the roots three of the first horns,' the exarchate of Ravenna, the kingdom of the Lombards, and the state of Rome, and is distinguished by the triple crown; who'speaketh great words against the most High,' setting up himself above all laws divine as well as human; who 'weareth out the saints of the most High,' by wars and massacres, inquisitions and persecutions; who 'changeth times and laws,' instituting new religions, and teaching for doctrines the commandments of men; are questions which I think cannot admit of much dispute; there is only one person in the world who can fully answer all these characters.

Sir Isaac Newton's Observ. on Daniel, chap. vii, 9. 75.

The blasphemous king described in the 11th chapter of Daniel, ver. 36-39, who shall do according to his will, and shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the ndignation be accomplished;' who shall not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of wives, but in his estate shall honor Mahuzzim, and the defenders of Mahuzzim shall increase with glory, and shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain;' is indeed a more general character, comprehending the tyrannical and corrupt power of the eastern church as well as of the western. But when we consider, how much and how far the Latin hath prevailed above the Greek church: how the supremacy, which was first claimed by the patriarch of Constantinople, hath been fully established in the bishop of Rome; how much more absolute the will of the Roman pontiff hath been than that of the Byzantine emperor; how the pope hath exalted himself and magnified himself as a god upon earth; how much more have the Latins degenerated from the religion of their fathers than the Greeks; how the desire of single life and the worship of the dead, which first began in the eastern parts, have been carried to the greatest height in the western empire; how much the jurisdiction and authority, the lands and the revenues of the Roman clergy have exceeded those of the Greeks; how, while the Greek church hath lain oppressed for several centuries, the Roman hath still prospered, and in all probability still may 'prosper till' God's 'indignation' against the Jews be accomplished;' in short when we consider, how entirely this character agrees with that of the little horn,' and how much better it agrees with the head of the Roman than with the head of the Greek church, the particular application of it to the bishop of Rome may well be justified, especially since St. Paul himself hath applied it in the same manner.

son of perdition,'

St. Paul hath drawn the man of sin, the 2 Thess. ii. an exact copy and resemblance of the little horn' and 'the blasphemous king' in Daniel and this man of sin' must necessarily be a Christian, and not a Heathen or infidel power, because he is represented as God sitting in the temple of God.' He is described too as the head of the apostacy' or the falling away' from the faith; and this apostacy is afterwards, 1 Tim. iv. 1, defined by St. Paul to consist in worshipping of demons,' angels and deceased saints and no man surely can have any reason to doubt, who is the head and leader of this apostacy, the patron and authorizer of this worship. The apostle hath communicated to the Thessalonians,

what it was that hindered his appearing: ver. 5, 6,-' Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.' What this was the apostle hath no where expressly in. formed us; but if tradition may be depended upon in any case, it may certainly in this. For it is the constant and current tradition of the fathers, that 'what withholdeth' is 'the Roman empire :' and therefore the primitive Christians in the public offices of the church prayed for its peace and welfare, as knowing that when the Roman empire should be broken into pieces, the empire of the man of sin' would be raised on its ruins. They made no question, they were fully persuaded, that the successor to the Roman emperor in Rome would be the man of sin:' and who hath succeeded to the Roman emperor in Rome, let the world judge and determine.

St. John too hath copied after Daniel, and chap. xiii. exhibits the Roman empire under the same emblem of a beast with ten horns.' It is evident that he designed the same as Daniel's fourth or last beast, because he represents him as a composition of the three former, with the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion.' He describes him too with the qualities and properties of 'the little horn,' speaking the same blasphemies, acting the same cruelties: and having plainly seen what power was intended by the one, we have the less reason to hesitate about the other. But to distinguish him yet more, the number of his name is defined to be 'six hundred and sixty-six.' It was an ancient practice to denote names by numbers; and this number must be resolvable into some Greek or Hebrew name, to which all the characters here given may agree. It is an early tradition, derived from Irenæus, who lived not long after St. John's time, and was a disciple of a disciple of this apostle, that the number 666 includes the Greek name Lateinos, or the Latin empire.* Or if you prefer a Hebrew name, as St. John hath sometimes made use of Hebrew names, it is no less remarkable that this number comprehends also the Hebrew name Romiith or the Roman empire. For more clearness and sureness still, a woman is shown, chap. xvii. riding upon this same beast, and her name is 'Babylon the great;' but Babylon was destroyed long before, and by Babylon, all agree, was meant Rome. The seven heads of the beast are likewise explained to be 'seven mountains on which the woman sitteth,' which all the world know to be the situation of Rome. The woman herself is also declared to be that great city,

*Iren. lib. 5, cap. 30, p. 449, edit. Grabe.

which reigneth over the kings of the earth;' and that can be non other than Rome. Indeed the papists themselves allow (for they cannot but allow) all this to be said of Rome, but then they argue and maintain it to be said of heathen Rome. But that cannot be; because it agrees not with several circumstances of the prophecy, and particularly with the woman's sitting upon the beast with ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns,' which must needs typify the Roman empire, after it was divided into ten kingdoms; but the Roman empire was not divided into ten kingdoms till some years after it became Christian. St. John with the eyes of prophecy saw this beast rise up out of the sea,' and the angel in his exposition saith that he shall ascend out of the bottomless pit;' but heathen Rome had risen and flourished many years before this time. This beast cannot represent heathen Rome because he is successor to heathen Rome, to the great red dragon' in his power, and his seat, and great authority. This beast was to continue and prosper' forty-two' prophetic months,' that is 1260 years; but heathen Rome did not continue 400 years after this time. The woman is represented as the mother of idolatry, with her golden cup intoxicating the inhabiters of the earth;' but heathen Rome ruled more with a rod of iron, and was rather an importer of foreign gods and superstitions than an exporter to other nations. St. John wondered with great admiration,' when he saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus;' but wherefore should he, who had seen and suffered the persecutions under Nero, wonder so much that Heathens should persecute Christians; but that Christians should delight in shedding the blood of Christians, was indeed of all wonders the greatest. The woman rideth upon the beast under his seventh head' or last form of government; out the sixth head,' which was the imperial form of government, is said to be subsisting in St. John's time, and the sixth' was not destroyed, and the seventh' or last form did not take place till after Rome was become Christian. The ten kings with one mind gave their power and strength unto the beast,' and afterwards hate the whore and make her desolate, and burn her with fire;' but never did any ten kings unanimously and voluntarily submit to heather. Rome, and afterwards burn her with fire. Rome, according to the prophecies, is to be utterly burnt with fire,' and to be made a desolation for ever and ever:' but Rome hath never yet undergone this fate, and consequently Heathen Rome cannot be the subject of these prophecies. In short, from these and all other characters.and ircumstances, some whereof can never agree with heathen Rome,

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and all agree perfectly with Christian Rome, it may and must be concluded, that not Heathen but Christian, not imperial but papal Rome was intended in these visions.

III. Besides the place and the persons, the time also is signified of this tyrannical power, when it should prevail, and how long it should prevail. Daniel mentions these things as being at a very great distance, and indeed they were at a very great distance in his time. It is said, viii. 26, x. 24, the vision is yet for many days;' that it comprehends, viii. 19,- what shall be in the last end of the indignation;' that it extends, xi. 35, 40, xii. 4, 9,- even to the time of the end;' that 'when' God 'shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished,'-xii. 7: all which and other passages to the same purpose considered, it appears as unaccountable as strange, that ever any man should imagine, as some both ancients and moderns have imagined, that Daniel's prophecies reached not beyond the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Daniel hath described four great empires, not contemporary, but successive one to another. The fourth and last is represented as the greatest of all, both in extent and in duration. It devoureth the whole earth, and treadeth it down, and breaketh it in pieces.' After which it is divided into ten kingdoms, and the little horn' groweth not up till after this division. So that this tyrannical power was to arise in the latter days of the Roman empire, after it should be divided into ten kingdoms. From St. Paul, too, we may collect, that the great power of the Roman empire hindered the appearing of the man of sin :' but when that power should be diminished and taken out of the way,' then should the man of sin be revealed in his time.' St. John also refers these events to the same æra. Not only the general order and the whole series of his prophecies point to this time, but there are besides particular intimations of it. He describes the beast' as successor to the great red dragon,' in his power, and his seat, and great authority:' but if the great red dragon be,' as he is generally understood to be, the persecuting power of heathen Rome, then the persecuting power of heathen Rome must be removed, before the beast' can take his place. The beast hath also ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns ;' so that ten complete kingdoms must arise out of the Roman empire before the appearance of the beast. Of his seven heads t is said, five are fallen,' that is, in St. John's time five forms of government were past, 'one is and the other is not yet come,' and the sixth which was then present, being the imperial, it necessarily follows that the seventh or last must he some form of governmen