Mr. Lowman's scheme appears to me liable to fewer objections than Mr. Mede's. Like myself he confines the whole war between the woman and the dragon to the period of the 1260 years, instead of going back to the days of primitive Christianity, and the age of Constantine; and most justly observes, that the prediction "plainly describes an afflicted and persecuted state of "the Church in general, during this period." Having taken this ground, which to myself at least appears absolutely impregnable inasmuch as it is twice so particularly marked out by the Apostle*. he paraphrases the passage relative to the birth of the man-child, as follows. "The woman ready "to be delivered brought forth a man-child, to

intimate that the Christian Church should be "continued by a constant succession of converts, "notwithstanding all opposition. Thus Christ's "kingdom should prevail over all enemies, and "break all opposition, as the ancient oracles "prophesied concerning him, That he should rule "all nations as with a sceptre of iron. As soon as "this child was born, I beheld it caught up to "God and his throne, to intimate God's care and "protection of the true Christian Church, and the safety of the Church in God's protection †."

* Rev. xii. 6, 14:

This

+ Lowman's Paraph. in loc. He adds in a note, "Grotius "supposes, I think, with great probability, that these expressions, And her child was caught up unto God and his throne

"are

woman previous to her parturition. The question then is, When did the Christian community acquire so complete an establishment as to answer to the allegory of the man-child being completely born? Since the scene lies within the Roman empire, it may be answered, When Christianity was finally established and when Paganism was authoritatively overthrown. This was not the age of Constantine: for, although the child may be considered as then beginning to be born, Paganism still maintained a divided sway with Christianity, and shortly after the death of Constantine was re-established by Julian. But in the age of Theodosius, at the close of the fourth century, the senate publicly decreed the abolition of Paganism; and, although some traces of it remained, even until the sixth century, in the remoter provinces, it then received its death blow, and the paramount establishment of Christianity took place.

Scarcely was the child born, when the dragon attempted to devour him, first by setting on foot a very general apostasy from the truth, and afterwards by causing that apostasy to be openly established. Some time previous to the public developement of the apostasy at the commencement of the 1260 years, an individual apostasy had been gradually introduced into the Roman empire. This at length became so extensive, that the dragon is represented as casting down from heaven the third part of the stars. When matters were thus prepared, he openly attacked the woman

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and her offspring. The saints were delivered into the hand of the little horn, and the man of sin was revealed. But the malice of the dragon was unable wholly to eradicate genuine Christianity. A chosen seed was wonderfully preserved through all the darkness and persecutions of the 1260 years. The mystic child was snatched away from the devouring jaws of the dragon, was caught up to the throne of God, and was placed under the superintending protection of the Almighty; while the woman, the true church, fled into the wilderness*"

These transactions must be considered as forming a brief preface to the main subject of the vision, which, like the other visions of the little book, relates to the persecution of the true Church by the papal Roman empire under the influence of the devil, during the allotted period of three times and a half or 1260 days.

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and "his angels fought against the dragon: and the "dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed "not; neither was their place found any more in "heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that "old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which "deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out

*For this interpretation of the birth of the man-child, with the exception of a few alterations and additions, I am indebted to a correspondent with whom I have not the pleasure of being personally acquainted, Dr. Okely, of Lower Wike, near Halifax in Yorkshire.

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"fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place. "prepared of God, that they should feed her "there a thousand two hundred and threescore

The excellent Bp. Newton appears to me to have failed in no part of his commentary upon the Apocalyse so much as in that on the present chapter. Although he had before very justly stated, that the little book described the calamities of the western church, and as such was with good reason made a separate and distinct prophecy: and although the little book itself repeatedly declares, that it relates to the history of the great Apostasy of 1260 years, which seems to have çommenced in the year 606: yet he now supposes, in direct contradiction to his former statement, that the chief part, or I may rather say the whole, of this allowed chapter of the little book is occupied by matters entirely anterior, and therefore altogether foreign, to the history of the great Apostasy. In short, he makes the present chapter chronologically precede both the last and the following chapter, which he rightly esteems synchronical. Thus, he conjectures, that the red dragon, which persecutes the symbolical woman or the Church, is pagan Rome; and that he is styled the red dragon, because "purple or scarlet was the distinguishing "colour of the Roman emperors, consuls, and generals" that the man-child is primarily the mystic Christ, for whom the Roman dragon laid snares to destroy him in his infancy, as Pharaoh

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did of old for the male children of the Hebrews: but that Constantine however, the first Christian emperor, "was here more particularly intended, "for whose life the dragon Galerius laid many "snares, though he providentially escaped them all; and, notwithstanding all opposition, was

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caught up unto the throne of God, was not દ only secured by the divine protection, but was "advanced to the imperial throne; called the "throne of God; for there is no power but of "God; the powers, that be, are ordained of God." Agreeably to this system, his Lordship thinks that the war between Michael and the dragon, mentioned in the succeeding verses, is the struggle between Christianity and Paganism; and that the fall of the dragon from heaven is the final overthrow of idolatry. In a similar manner, the wrath of the dragon after he is cast down to the earth is the attempt to restore paganism in the reign of Julian, and the discord excited in the Church by the followers of Arius: and the flood, which he vomited forth from his mouth, signifies the irruption of the northern barbarians, whom Stilicho, prime minister of the Emperor Honorius, invited into the Roman empire. The Bishop however, being perfectly aware that the woman's recess into the wilderness during the space of 1260 days, stood in direct opposition to his scheme, maintains, that this is said merely by way of prolepsis, or anticipation; and that she did not flee into the wilderness at this time, but several years after,. during

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