and slain with the sword. We have beheld numbers of his papal clergy crowded together into gaols, and put to death*. We have beheld the sovereign Pontiff, that man of sin who had led so many thousands captive, himself go into captivity. The voice of the seven last thunders hath long been sealed: but now it hath begun to shake both heaven and earth.

We are not however to imagine, that the infidel tyrant of the last days is allowed to prosper for his own sake. He is doubtless a mere instrument of vengeance in the hand of God. Like his precursor and type, the haughty sovereign of Assyria, he is "the rod of the Lord's anger, sent against "an hypocritical nation and against the people of "his wrath, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, "and to tread them down like the mire of the "streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so; but it is "in his heart to destroy and to cut off nations not "a few." Hence, when he hath "performed his "whole work," as "the fruit of the stout heart

ce

of the king of Assyria and the glory of his high "looks" were punished, so "shall he come to his "end, and none shall help him."

"The decree was passed on the 15th day of May 1792, "which condemned the non-juring clergy to banishment. "About the time of the federation which followed, many of "the clergy were put to death with circumstances more or less "sanguinary; great numbers also were crowded together in "gaols, and other places of confinement." Hist. the Interp. vol. ii, p. 232.

SECTION IV.

Concerning the two-horned beast of the earth.

To complete his account of the great promoters and upholders of the Western Apostasy, it now only remains, that St. John should describe the spiritual power, by the instigation of which the temporal ten-horned beast was to persecute the witnesses during the space of 1260 years. Accordingly he concludes the third chapter of the little book with fully developing the character of this tyrannical empire within an empire, under the symbol of a second beast or universal empire, co-existing and co-operating with the first beast or universal empire.

"And I beheld another beast coming up out of "the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, "and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth "all the power of the first beast before him, and "causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to """worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was "healed. And he doeth great wonders, in order "that he may make fire come down from heaven "on the earth in the sight of men*. And he de"ceiveth

Such I conceive to be the proper translation of the original. This bringing down of fire from heaven upon earth was not itself a miracle; but wonders were wrought by the beast order that he might possess without dispute or control the

authority

ceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by means "of those miracles which he had power to do in

the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell

on the earth, that they should make an image "for the beast, which had the wound by a sword

and did live. And it was given unto him to give "life unto the image of the beast, in order that "the image of the beast should even speak, and "in order that hef might cause that as many "as would not worship the image of the beast "should be killed. And he causeth all, both small "and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to re❝ceive

authority thus symbolically described. In our present version it appears as if the bringing down of fire was itself one of the beast's miracles: 'whereas the particle ira signifies in order that not so that. To justify the common version, the particle wol ought to have occupied the place of ira. Thus, after the Apostle has mentioned the different gifts conferred upon the Church, he adds that they were so conferred, "in order that "we henceforth should be no more children:" iva penxert wμier

to

(Ephes. iv. 14.). Thus also the same Apostle exhorts us come boldly unto the throne of grace in order that we may "obtain mercy:" iva λaßaμer EλEO (Heb. iv. 16.). Thus again, on the other hand, St. Mark informs us, that "Jesus yet an"swered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled:" OTE DAVμAGEN TOU welov (Mark xv. 5.). And thus St. Paul informs the Corinthians, that God comforted him both by the coming of Titus, and by their fervent mind toward him, "so that," says he, “I

86

ΤΟΥ

rejoiced the more:" wole μs pather xapnrai (2 Cor. vii. 7.). There are three other passages, besides this in the Apocalypse, where in order that is by our translators erroneously rendered so that: Luke xvi. 26. Rom. i. 20, and Galat. v. 17.

That is to say, the beast, not the image, might cause. See Dr. Doddridge and Archdeacon Woodhouse in loc.

Iceive a mark in their right hand, or in their "foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, "save he that had the mark, or the name of the

beast, or the number of his name. Here is wis"dom. Let him, that hath understanding, count "the number of the beast: for it is the number of "a man; and his number is six hundred threescore " and six."

A commentator upon the prophecies of Daniel and St. John can never be too much upon his guard against the fascinating idea, that he may expect to find every passing event of his own day there predicted. Before he ventures to introduce any exposition founded upon present circumstances, he ought to make it clearly appear, that it both accords with the chronological order so carefully preserved in those prophecies, that it strictly harmonizes with the language of symbols, and that it demonstrates every part of the prediction to tally exactly with its supposed accomplishment. How far I have attended to this sound canon of interpretation in the remarks already made upon the character of the king who was to magnify himself above every God, upon the scoffers of the last days, and upon the tremendous calamities conceived to have been introduced by the blast of the third woe-trumpet, the cautious reader must de cide. My object, however I may have succeeded, has been the serious investigation of truth, not the mere establishment of a sytem. I have endeavoured to the best of my judgment to follow pro

phecy,

phecy, not to lead it to my own preconceived scheme of exposition.

Respecting this second apocalyptic beast, truth constrains me to say, that neither Mr. Kett, nor Mr. Galloway, appear to me to have attended to the foregoing canon in their remarks upon its prophetic character.

Mr. Kett thinks, that the second beast and the image are Infidelity and Democratic tyranny; that the two horns of the beast are the German illuminati and French pseudo-philosophers; and that the particular democratic tyranny symbolized by the image is the revolutionary republic of France. Having laid down these principles, he observes (what no doubt is perfectly true), that it was Infidelity, which so bewitched the minds of the people as to induce them to set up the atheistical republic; and that, when the image was thus set up, it caused as many as would not worship it to be killed*. He further observes, that all, both high and low, rich and poor, were compelled to wear a mark in their foreheads, the tri-coloured cockade, as acknowledging the authority of the beast and his image†; and that those, who refused this badge of democratic atheism, were formally proscribed, and deprived of the common rights of humanity ‡.

* I may here repeat my former observation, that it was not the image which caused such as would not worship it to be slain, but the beast.

+ Mr. Kett does not expressly say this: but I fancy it is what he means. See Hist. the Interp. vol. i. p. 396, 420.

Hist. the Interp. vol. i. p. 418, 419; vol. ii. p. 152-208.