"temple of God, fhewing kimself that he is

'

The idolatry of this power is pointed out under the terms of blafphemy', Rev. xiii. 6. and fornication, chap. xvii. 1.--5. And his perfecuting the true worshippers of God is mentioned in plain terms, chap. xiii. 7. " It was given to "him to make war with the faints, and to over"come them," a circumftance which exactly agrees with the representation of the prophet Daniel, (chap. vii. 21. and 25.) "I beheld, and "the fame horn made war with the faints, and "prevailed against them ;-he fhall wear out "the faints of the Moft High." And the woman carried by the beaft, is faid to be "drunk"en with the blood of the faints, and with the "blood of the martyrs of Jefus," chap. xvii. 6.

The avowed claims of the Roman pontiff, the uniform practice of the Church of Rome, guided by his authority, and the public records of Europe, abundantly fhew how applicable thefe characters are to the рарасу.

Indeed the facts on which the proof is built, are acknowledged by the moft zealous defenders of the fee of Rome, though the criminality of these facts is denied. By a delufion common to all irreclaimable finners, they call the vices to which they are addicted, by the name of those virtues

(1) Compare with Ifa. lxv. 7. and Ezek. xx, 27, 28.

virtues which they resemble. Arrogance is with them, lawful authority. Idolatry is dovotion; and perfecution is zeal in propagating the faith, and purging the world of heretics. The tyrant Nero would not acknowledge that he exceeded lawful authority. The Heathens defended their idolatry by the fame fophiftical arguments which the Church of Rome offers at this day. And the apoftate Jewish Church fancied they did God good fervice, when they put to death Chrift and his Apostles. We might expect that the Church of Rome, animated by the same spirit, would be under the influence of the fame delufion. But what is more to our purpose, the Prophecies exprefsly mention this delufion. It is of them the apostle fays, (2 Theff. ii. 10, 11, 12.) "Because they received not the love of the “truth, that they might be faved: For this "cause, God fhall fend them strong delufions, "that they should believe a lie: That they "might be all damned who believe not the "truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." When the prophecies are more abundantly fulfilled by the lapfe of time, and spiritual Babylon is more clearly revealed, by the plagues which God will inflict in his providence, ftill this delufion continues. When "the fifth angel poured "out his vial on the feat of the beaft, and his kingdom was full of darkness, they gnawed

"their tongues for pain, and blafphemed the "God of heaven, because of their pains and their fores, and repented not of their deeds." Rev. xvi. 10, II.

The form of the Antichristian government is described in this prophecy. The form of any government, diftinct from the spirit of it, is neither good or evil; it is not therefore fo liable to mifrepresentation by the bias of our prejudices and paffions. It is a matter of historical inveftigation rather than of moral difquifition. The Antichriftian government appears from the prophecy to be very complex; yet the several constituent parts, and their relations to each other, are minutely delineated, fo that there is little probability the representation will fuit any other government but that which the fpirit of prophecy had in view. The conftituent parts of Antichrift's government are thefe: The first beaft, defcribed chap. xiii. 1.--10. chap. xvii. 7. The horns of the first beast, chap. xiii. 2. and chap. xvii. 12.-18. The fecond beaft, xiii. 11.-17. The image of the firft beaft, chap. xiii. 14, 15. The woman carried by the beaft, chap. xvii. 1.-6. and 18.

In the two firft verfes of the 13th chapter, we have a general reprefentation of the Roman empire, under the emblem of a beast with seven heads; that is, as fubfifting under seven diffe

rent

rent forms of government, which include the whole period of its exiftence, from the foundation of the city to its final deftruction. From the 3d verfe, though the term beast is retained, there is a tranfition in the idea conveyed by it from the collective body of the empire to the feventh head of that empire, which makes the firft a beaft as diftinct from the fecond, and conftitutes the principal part of the Antichriftian government. By an ufual figure of fpeech, the whole is put for a part. As this is an observation of the last importance, in forming distinct ideas of the several symbols used in this chapter, it will be neceffary to establish the truth of it.

And in order to this, confider the interpretation of the angel, Rev. xvii. 7.--13. exprefsly defigned to fhew "the mystery of the beast." In that paffage, the term Beaft is used five several times, yet four times of these five the angel muft be understood to defcribe by the term, not the collective body of the empire, but the feventh or laft head. Thus, ver. 11. "The beast that was and " is not, even he is the eighth, he is of the feven." This cannot in any fenfe apply to the collective body of the empire, but obviously refers to the head, ver. 12. " and the ten horns-receive

power as kings one hour with the beast." This cannot mean that they fhould receive power at the fame time with the collective body

of

These

of the empire, for they make a part of it, and it were a folecifm to fay, that they would receive power when they would receive power. The intention is to fhew, that they would be contemporary with the feventh head here defigned by the general term Beast, ver. 13. "fhall give their power and ftrength unto the "beaft." Not furely to the collective body of the empire, for that would be giving their power to themselves, but to the feventh head of the beaft then reigning; ver. 17, " For God hath "put in their hearts to give their kingdom unto "the beaft," that is, to the seventh head.

That the term Beaft here fignifies the head of the Antichriftian empire distinct from the body, is confirmed, by comparing this with the parallel paffage, Dan. vii, 20, 21. 24, 25,; for all the characters here given of the beaft are applied there to the little horn. Now, the fourth beaft in Daniel's vifion correfponds with the collective body of the empire, and the little horn is the fame power represented to the apoftle by the feventh head. Befides, the characters here given fully apply to the head, but not at all to the collective body of the empire. Thus, Rev. xiii. 3. "all the world wondered after the beaft", represents the ftupid admiration of the world for the papacy, or the aftonishment of mankind to fee the power of Rome revived in this new form

of