hills, and which certainly, in the time of St John, did reign over the kings of the earth. "And there are seven kings," adds the angel,—as much as to say, that the seven heads are typical not only of the seven mountains on which Rome sitteth, but also of seven different forms of executive personality that were to preside at different times over the Roman commonwealth. That this is the meaning of the angel we are certified of, by comparing the information which the angel adds with the best historians of Rome. "Five are fallen," says the angel : now these five, according to Livy and Tacitus, were kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and military tribunes with consular authority. "And one is," (in the time of St John,) adds the angel further; which was the title of emperor, and which continued, as we shewed, until the year 1806, when it was cut off in the person of the then Emperor of Austria by Bonaparte, who took the seventh head or title of the Roman commonwealth, that of Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine. So that the whole seven heads of the Roman commonwealth have all been fulfilled, and will stand in order as follows: kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes with consular authority, emperors, and protector. The other, the eighth, that is yet to appear, is not different in title, but is, Rev. xvii. 11, of the seven. 2d, Of the ten horns. The ten horns upon the dragon, then, we must understand to denote ten kings, which give their power to the dragon. The crowns are placed upon the heads of the dragon, doubtless to intimate, that, at the time when the dragon was symbolical of the Roman power or commonwealth, sovereignty was resident in its capital city; for we shall find that in the beast described in chap. xiii. 1 and 2, which we shall distinctly prove to be typical of the Roman empire, with the pope resident in its capital, the name of blasphemy is upon the seven heads, plainly intimating that a blasphemous power has his seat in the Roman capital. But we are further told, that the dragon stood ready to devour the man child of the woman as soon as it was born. What man child? In verse 5, we are told that this man child is to rule all nations with a rod of iron; precisely what is said of our Saviour by the Psalmist, Ps. ii.-"I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." To make assurance, however, double sure, that the man child is none other than our Saviour, we are told that the child was caught up unto God, and to his throne; which could be said of none but Jesus Christ. We hereby learn, then, that the dragon is a symbol of the Roman power in the reign of Augustus, when our Saviour was born, whom in his infancy Herod, the tetrarch of Judea and vassal of Rome, attempted to destroy. The woman, the true church, we are then told, sought seclusion in the wilderness, "where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days," the extent of time of the papal supremacy, the end of which brings us to our date

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of 1806.

So that the remainder of this chapter will fall to be expounded in the Second Dissertation.

CHAPTER XIII.-There is more in this chapter than interpreters seem to have been well aware of; and as a just exposition of a part of it peculiarly concerns our result of 1806 being the closing year of the papal period, we would entreat the reader's gravest attention to what we are about to lay before him. "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Now, if the reader will consult the exposition of the seventh chapter of Daniel by Bishop Newton, he will find that the lion, bear, and leopard, of parts of whose bodies the beast here described is made up, are respectively typical of the Babylonian, Medio-Persian, and Grecian kingdoms: perhaps to intimate to us, that the power of which it is emblematical partakes of the characters of the powers which ruled in succession these three empires; for it will be observed, that the beast of v. 1 and 2 must differ from the fourth beast of the seventh chapter of Daniel, seeing that this latter, though not particularly described, is, notwithstanding, said to be divers from all the beasts that went before it. The beast of v. 1 and 2 has the mouth of a lion, so well adapted to the speaking of great things; the feet of the comparatively slow and clumsy, but devouring bear; and the body and bowels of the cruel leopard-all eminently characteristic of the power which the beast, as we shall see, is designed to represent. Though this beast is, in many respects, different from the great red dragon described in the last chapter, yet in several points there is a similarity between them. The number of heads is the same in each, and we have no other resource but to consider them as typical in each of the same things-viz. of the seven mountains, or the locality of the capital of the Roman power; and of the seven different titles of personal executors which have now, as we have shewn in last chapter, presided at the head of the Roman commonwealth-kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes with consular authority, emperors, and protector. -- On the heads of the dragon are placed seven crowns, to denote that at the time of the birth of our Saviour, when the dragon was typical of the Roman commonwealth, sovereignty resided in the city of Rome itself. In the beast, however, we have the crowns transferred to the horns, to signify that sovereignty afterwards resided in the ten kingdoms from which the beast derived its power; and the name of blasphemy now possesses the seven heads, to denote that a blasphemous person resides in the city of Rome, where sovereignty used to dwell. Accordingly, we have it said that the dragon gave the beast "his power, and his seat, and great authority" but, to explain to the reader the profane history by which this part of the text was fulfilled, it will be necessary prematurely to in

form him, that we know the beast of v. 1 and 2 to be emblematic of the papal power, from two expressions concerning him in v. 5 and 7, viz. "and there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things;" "and it was given unto him to make war with the saints,"precisely what we have said, by Daniel, of the little horn, in chap. vii., which all interpreters agree to be typical of the papal power. Daniel, chap. vii. v. 8, "And behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things;" v. 21, "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them." Now, at the time the supremacy of the pope was established by an edict of Justinian, that emperor was residing at Constantinople, the capital of the eastern empire, as it was called. It must be considered, however, that Justinian at that time was the living personal prototype of the sixth or imperial head of the dragon, and also of the dragon itself, — the continuation of the series of emperors, who had been each in their day also the prototypes of the sixth head; and by his supporting, with all his power, the pope in the capital of the Roman commonwealththat is, in Rome-when the dragon was typical of it, the dragon may be truly said to have given the beast "his power, and his seat, and great authority:" which power, and seat, and authority, were continued to the popes of Rome by the heads of the house of Austria, who, ever since the year 800, when Charlemagne was proclaimed Emperor of the Romans by the pope and people of Rome, have continued to enjoy the title of Emperor of Germany, or of the Holy Roman Empire, as it was blasphemously called.

"And I saw one of his hands as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." It is evident that the head here mentioned cannot be considered as typical of the seven mountains; for it would be quite ridiculous to speak of wounding to death the inanimate hills. One of the heads being wounded to death must denote the abolition of one of the seven forms of executive personality, which we shewed have presided in succession over the Roman commonwealth from its first foundation. Now, which of the heads was it that was thus wounded to death? Bishop Newton is of opinion that it was the sixth, or imperial head, which was wounded to death in the person of Momyllus Augustulus, and that the wound was healed when Charlemagne was proclaimed Emperor of the Romans by the pope and people of Rome. From such an opinion, however, we beg leave altogether to dissent; because we have more faith in a little hint thrown out by the scriptures, than in all human speculation, however high in authority it may be. But, besides, how could the imperial head of the beast be wounded before the beast began to exist? It (the western empire of Rome) struggled hard," says Bishop Newton, "and gasped, as it were, for breath, through eight short and turbulent reigns, for the space of twenty years, and at length expired in the year 476, under Momyllus, or Augustulus, as he was named in derision, being a diminutive Augustus. This change was effected by Odoacer, king of the Heruli, who, coming to Rome with an army of barbarians, stripped Momyllus of the imperial

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robes, put an end to the very name of the western empire, and caused himself to be proclaimed king of Italy." Now, we believe no interpreter will allow that the papal power was established so early as the year 476. Bishop Newton dates its establishment from the year 606; Mr Irving from the year 533; and we have shewn, we think, from scripture itself, without the assumption of any date from profane history, that the papal power took its rise in the year 546, 1260 years backwards from the year 1806, at which latter date it was abolished by the breaking up of the empire of Germany; and by this act we think it was that the sixth or imperial head of the papal beast was "wounded as it were to death," or "slain," as we have it in the margin of our Bibles; in which opinion we are much confirmed, from some expressions which lead us to believe that the papal beast, with its imperial head healed, is yet to be an object of worship, which shall be enforced, as we shall see in our Second Dissertation, by another power different from the papal, which is typified by the beast with two horns of v. 11, that cometh up out of the earth.

"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast; who is able to make war with him?" The dragon was typical of the Roman commonwealth, as we have seen, at the birth of our Saviour, and had its prototype in the empire of Germany, which empire may be said to have been worshipped when it was called the Holy Roman Empire. The worshipping of the beast itself, we are disposed to think, is to be accomplished in the fulfilment of that portion of its history which is yet to come to pass, when the worship of the papal beast is to be enforced by the beast with two horns of v. 11.

"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies." This expression, we believe, applies both to the past and future history of the papal power: for in Dan. vii. 11, that prophet tells us, that he "beheld then, because of the great words which the horn spake: he beheld even till the beast (the fourth nondescript beast, typical of the Roman power) was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." He" beheld, then," that is, after "the judgment was set, and the books were opened," which was, Dan. vii. 25, 26, at the end of the "time, times, and the dividing of time," or the papal period, as all interpreters make it, of 1260 years, or after the year 1806, as we have shewn. It is because of the great words which the horn or papal power shall speak, from the year 1806 onwards, that he is to be slain, and his body is to be destroyed, and given to the burning flame. And we are given to know when this signal destruction is to await the beast, from what immediately follows, in point of date, in v. 13. "I saw in the night visions," says Daniel, "and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Now,

from what is here said, we think we may conclude, that at the end of the mystically expressed period, or at the year 1806, as we have determined, the Almighty Jehovah, the Father, is to sit in invisible judgment upon the earth: that during this time the papal beast, with its imperial head healed, is to speak great things; but that at length our Saviour, at the commencement of the Millennium, Rev. xix. 19, shall come in glory to this earth, and the papal beast, with the false prophet which performed miracles before him, shall both be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. That the papal power continues after the papal period, we may also gather from Dan. vii. 26 and 27, wherein we have it stated that the "judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end:" of the time of which end we are informed from v. 27," And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High;" which is to be the case at the commencement of the Millennium, immediately upon that time of great trouble when the Jews are to be restored to the land of Palestine, Dan. xii. 1,—at the time of the great earthquake, Rev. xvi. 18, at the time of the battle of Armageddon, chap. xvi. 16, at the time of the supper of the great God, chap. xix. 17.

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"And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." Bishop Newton says that the words "to continue," should be rendered "to prevail," "to practice," "to prosper;" for after the year 1806 the pope continued to exist, but the ten kingdoms from which he had derived his power were taken from his supporter, the Holy Roman Empire, as it was blasphemously called, the prototype of the dragon. The passage may, therefore, stand as it is in our version, if we understand the verb "continue" to apply to the word "power"; otherwise it must be rendered according to the Bishop.

“If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." Great attention is solicited to what is conveyed by the passage just quoted. But how shall we know who it is that leadeth into captivity, and who it is that killeth with the sword? Is it the papal beast that doth both these things? If the reader will consult the narrative of this power in Daniel, xi. 32-35, he will find that they that understand among the people (the true Christian faith and practice), "shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, days:" so that here we have the papal power leading into captivity, and also killing with the sword for days. But when was the papal power, in return, led into captivity, or killed with the sword? The papal power may be said to have been wounded in its imperial head by a sword, when the title of Emperor, of the Holy Roman Empire as it was impiously called, was taken away from the Emperor of Austria by Bonaparte, the soldier of fortune, in the year 1806; for we are informed, v. 14, that the beast had the wound by a sword, and, v. 12, that the wound was deadly and although the Pope did not go into captivity exactly