the image, and the ten horns of the beast; and then another kingdom, or little horn, was to arise, which was to be of a very different nature, and is indeed one of the most marked subjects of prophesy. In order, therefore, to know where we are to look for this little or eleventh horn, we must first see at what period the Western empire was divided into ten kingdoms. For this I shall quote a passage from Sir Isaac Newton's treatise on Prophesy; a book which I most seriously recommend to all who study these important subjects. His sixth chapter begins thus: 66 Now, by the wars above described, the West"ern empire of the Romans, about the time that "Rome was besieged, and taken by the Goths, "became broken into the following ten kingdoms: "1. The kingdom of the Vandals and Alans, in "Spain and Africa. "2. The kingdom of the Suevians, in Spain. "3. The kingdom of the Visigottes. "4. The kingdom of the Alans, in Gallia. "5. The kingdom of the Burgundians. "6. The kingdom of the Franks. "8. The kingdom of the Huns. From the same author I find that the divisions of the Western empire was compleated about the year 408; and as the little horn was to arise after them, and to grow up amongst them, we know to a certainty, that we are not to look for it, prior to that æra. This eleventh horn was to have eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things; and his look was more stout than his fellows, and he was to subdue three kings, and to speak great words against the Most High, and to have power for a time, times and half a time. Sir Isaac thus explains these passages: "Kings are "put for kingdoms as above, and therefore the "little horn is a little kingdom. It was a horn of "the fourth beast, and rooted up three of his first "horns, and therefore we are to look for it among "the nations of the Latin Empire, after the rise of "the ten horns. But it was a kingdom of a different "kind from the other ten kingdoms; having a "life or soul peculiar to itself, with eyes and a "mouth. By its eyes it was a seer; and by its "mouth speaking great things, and changing times "and laws, it was a prophet as well as a king. "And such a seer, a prophet, and a king, is the "Church of Rome." For the fuller examination of the rise of the Papal power, I must now turn to the Revelation of Saint John. In his thirteenth chapter and first verse, are these words: "And I saw a wild beast "arise up out of the sea, having seven heads and "ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and "upon his heads the names of Blasphemy." In the fifth verse: 66 And there was given unto him a "mouth, speaking great things, and blasphemies; "and power was given unto him forty and two "months." In the seventh verse: "And it was 66 given unto him to make war with the saints, " and to overcome them." Now, this is only a fuller description of the little horn of Daniel; and we find from it, that time, times and half time, are forty and two months. In the seventeenth chapter of Revelations, the Papal power is more fully described under the name of Babylon, and the Great Whore; and the seven heads are thus explained, verse the ninth: "Here is the mind that has wisdom. "The seven heads are seven mountains, on which "the woman sits." And the eighteenth verse says: "And the woman which thou sawest, is that "great city which reigns over the kings of the "earth" which answers to Rome, and to no other place whatever. But as these passages of Scripture describe the Papal power, so doth the twelfth chapter point out the progress of the true Church, under the name of a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. Now, we are told, this woman is to go into the wilderness, where she was to be nourished for a time, times, and half a time. This is just the period that the little horn, or false Church, is to have power. As therefore the woman is to go into distress, when the Papal power arises, if we can find out a date, before which it is foretold that the woman goes into the wilderness, a new light will be thrown on the rise of the beast.-(a) The fourteenth verse of the twelfth chapter of the Revelations says: "And to the woman were "given two wings of a great eagle, that she might 66 fly into the wilderness, into her place; where "she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a "time, from the face of the serpent." Now the eagle was the well known standard of the Roman power, and might well denote the Roman empire; and its being divided into Eastern and Western, is finely figured under the description of two wings. Therefore the woman was to go into the wilderness, and the beast to arise whilst the Western empire existed for after it expired the eagle had but one wing. The destruction of the Western empire was in the year 476; and consequently the rise of the beast must have been before that æra. And we have already ascertained, that it was subsequent to the year 408. By the conquests made by different barbarians prior to the year 408, we find the kingdom of Ravenna, the sole territory that acknowledged the Western Emperor. Rome was a part of it, but the Emperor made Ravenna the seat of government, as a place of greater security. In the years 451, 452, and 453, Attila still farther weakened this declining power; but in the year 455, it received its fatal blow from the hands of Genseric, king of the Vandals. In this year he took the city of Rome, and sacked it for fourteen days together, not sparing its most sacred places. The Bishop of Rome was however far from suffering in his power by this calamity; but on the contrary, it laid the foundation of his greatness. Ignorance and barbarism were every where established throughout what had been the Western empire. But most of these conquerors became idolatrous Christians; and their being at once illiterate and superstitious, made them ready to receive the most absurd and extravagant doctrines. This subversion of the Western empire, was absolutely necessary to the rise of the little horn; for amongst the enlightened and polished Romans, it could never have flourished. The taking of Rome, in the year 455, with the ravages committed, was one of the most dreadful events that had ever happened to that capital. By it also the solid foundation of the false church was established, and from that time we shall see it in the dark ages that followed, gradually rising to its summit. It is in this year, therefore, that I place the abomination that maketh desolate, and from it I shall give you a concise history of the Papal power. Leo, the first, and surnamed the great, was raised to the See of Rome, in the year 440. One |