who deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out unto the 10 earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come the salvation, and the might, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast out, who accused them before our God day 11 and night. And they have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they 12 loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice He was cast out unto the earth-He was cast out of heaven; and being cast out thence himself, came to the earth. Nor had he been unemployed on the earth before, although his ordinary abode was in heaven. V. 10. Now is come-Hence it is evident, that all this chapter belongs to the trumpet of the seventh angel. In the 11th chapter, from the 15th to the 18th verse, are proposed the contents of this extensive trumpet; the execution of which is copiously described in this and the following chapters. The salvation Of the saints: The might-Whereby the enemy is cast out: The kingdom-Here the majesty of God is shewn: And the power of his ChristWhich he will exert against the beast. And when he also is taken away, then will the kingdom be ascribed to Christ himself, ch. xix. 16, xx. 4. The accuser of our brethren-So long as they remained on earth. This great voice therefore was the voice of men only: Who accused them before our God day and night-Amazing malice of Satan, and patience of God! V. 11. And they have overcome him-Carried the cause against him, by the blood of the Lamb-Which cleanses the soul from all sin, and so leaves no room for accusing: And by the word of their testimony-The word of God, which they believed and testified, even unto death. So, for instance, died Olam, king of Sweden, in the year 900, whom his own subjects would have compelled to idolatry; and upon his refusal, slew him as a sacrifice to the idol which he would not worship. So did multitudes of Bohemian Christians, in the year 916, when queen Drahomire raised a severe persecution wherein many loved not their lives unto the death. V. 12. Wo to the earth and the sea-This is the fourth and last denunciation of the third wo, the most grievous of all. The first was only, the second chiefly, on the earth, Asia: the third both on the earth and the sea, Europe. The earth is mentioned first, because it began in Asia, before the beast brought it on Europe. He knoweth he hath but a little time-Which extends from his casting out of heaven to his being cast into the abyss. We are now come to a most important period of time. The non-chronos hastens to an end. We live it the little time wherein Satan hath great wrath; and this little time is now upon the decline. We are in the time, times, and half a time, wherein the woman is fed in the wilderness: yea, the last part of it, the half time, is begun. We are (as will be shewn) towards the close of the forty-two months of the beast; and when his number is fulfilled, grievous things will be. Let him who does not regard the being seized by the wrath of the devil, the falling unawares into the general temptation, the being borne away by the most dreadful violence into the worship of the beast and his image, and consequently drinking the unmixed wine of the wrath of God, and being tormented day and night for ever and ever in the lake of fire and brimstone; let him also who is confident, that he can make his way through all these, by his own wisdom and strength, without need of any such peculiar preservative as the word of this prophecy affords: let him, I say, go hence. But let him who does not take these warnings for senseless outcries and blind alarins, beg of God, with all possible earnestness, to give him his heavenly light herein. 13 ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them: Wo to the earth and the sea; for the devil is come down to you, having great wrath; because he knoweth he hath but a little time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman that had brought forth the male 14 child. And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wil God has not given this prophecy, in so solemn a manner, only to shew his providence over his church; but also that his servants may know at all times in what particular period they are. And the more dangerous any period of time is, the greater is the help which it affords. But where may we fix the beginning and end of the little time? Which is probably four-fifths of a chronos, or somewhat above 888 years. This, which is the time of the third wo, may reach from 947, to the year 1936. For, 1. The short interval of the second wo, (which wo ended in the year 840,) and the 777 years of the woman, which began about the year 847, quickly after which followed the war in heaven, fix the beginning not long after 964. And thus the third wo falls in the tenth century, extending from 900 to 1000, called the dark, the iron, the unhappy age. 2. If we compare the length of the third wo, with the period of time which succeeds it in the twentieth chapter, it is but a little time to that vast space which reaches from the beginning of the non-chronos to the end of the world. V. 13. And when the dragon saw-That he could no longer accuse the saints in heaven, he turned his wrath to do all possible mischief on earth, he persecuted the woman-The ancient persecutions of the church were mentioned, ch. i. 9, ii. 10, vii. 14. But this persecution came after her flight, (ver. 6,) just at the beginning of the third wo. Accordingly in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the church was furiously persecuted by several heathen powers. In Prussia, king Adelbert was killed in the year 997, king Brunus in 1008. And when king Stephen encouraged Christianity in Hungary, he met with violent opposition. After his death, the heathens in Hungary set themselves to root it out, and prevailed for several years. About the same time the army of the emperor, Henry III., was totally overthrown by the Vandals. These and all the accounts of those times shew, with what fury the dragon then persecuted the woman. V. 14. And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place-Eagles are the usual symbols of great potentates. So Ezekiel xvii. 3, by a great eagle, means the king of Babylon. Here the great eagle is the Roman empire; the two wings, the eastern and western branches of it. A place in the wilderness was mentioned in the sixth verse also. But it is not the same which is mentioned here. In the text there follow one after the other, 1. The dragon's waiting to devour the child. 2. The birth of the child, which is caught up to God. 3. The fleeing of the woman into the wilderness. 4. The war in heaven, and the casting out of the dragon, 5. The beginning of the third wo. 6. The persecution raised by the dragon against the woman, 7. The woman's flying away upon the eagle's wings. In like manner there follow, one after the other, 1. The beginning of the twelve hundred and sixty days. 2. The beginning of the little time. 3. The beginning of the time, times, and half a time. This third period partly coincides both with the first and the second. After the beginning of the 1260 days, or rather of the third wo, Christianity was 3 derness to her place, where she is fed for a time, and 15 times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman, water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by 16 the stream. But the earth helped the woman, and exceedingly propagated, in the midst of various persecutions. About the year 948, it was again settled in Denmark: in 965, in Poland and Silesia: in 980, through all Russia. In 997, it was brought into Hungary: into Sweden and Norway both before and after. Transylvania received it about 1000; and soon after, other parts of Dacia. Now all the countries in which Christianity was settled, between the beginning of the 1260 days, and the imprisonment of the dragon, may be understood by the wilderness, and by her place, in particular. This place contained many countries: so that Christianity now reached, in an uninterrupted tract, from the eastern to the western empire. And both the emperors now lent their wings to the woman, and provided a safe abode for her, where she is fed― By God rather than man, having little human help: for a time, and times, and half a time-The length of the several periods here mentioned, seems to be nearly this : 1. The non-chronos contains less than 1111 years. And comparing the prophecy and history together, they seem to begin and end nearly thus: 1. The non-chronos extends from about 800, to 1836. 2. The 1260 days of the woman, from 847, to 1524. from 947, to 1836. 5. The time of the beast, is between the beginning and end of the three times and a half. In the year 1058, the empires had a good understanding with each other, and both protected the woman: the bishops of Rome likewise, particularly Victor II. were duly subordinate to the emperor. We may observe, the 1260 days of the woman, from 847 to 1524, and the three times and a half, refer to the same wilderness. But in the former part of the 1260 days, before the three times and a half began, namely, from the year 847 to 1058, she was fed by others, being little able to help herself; whereas from 1059 to 1524, she is both fed by others, and has food herself. To this the sciences transplanted into the west from the eastern countries much contributed; the Scriptures in the original tongues, brought into the west of Europe by the Jews and Greeks, much more; and, most of all, the Reformation, grounded on those Scriptures. V. 15. Water is an emblem of a great people; this water of the Turks in particular. About the year 1060, they over-ran the Christian part of Asia. Afterward they poured into Europe, and spread farther and farther, till they had overflowed many nations. V. 16. But the earth helped the woman-The powers of the earth: and indeed she needed help through this whole period. The time, was from 1058 to 1280: during which the Turkish flood ran higher and higher, though frequently repressed by the emperors, or their generals, helping the woman. The (two) times, were from 1280 to 1725. During these likewise, the Turkish power flowed far and wide. But still, from time to time, the princes of the earth helped the woman, that she was not carried away by it. The half time, is from 1725 to 1836. In the beginning of this period, the Turks began to meddle with the affairs of Persia, wherein they have so entangled themselves, as to be the less able to prevail against the two remaining Christian empires. Yet this flood still reaches the woman in her place; and will, till near the end opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river which the 17 dragon had cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went forth to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and retain the testimony of Jesus. CHAP. XIII. 1. And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a wild beast coming up out of the sea, having of the half time, itself be swallowed up, perhaps by means of Russia, which is risen in the room of the eastern empire. V. 17. And the dragon was wroth-Anew, because he could not cause her to be carried away by the stream: and he went forth-Into other lands, to make war with the rest of her seed-Real Christians, living under heathen or Turkish governors. CHAP. XIII. Ver. 1. And I stood on the sand of the sea-This also was in the vision. And I saw-Soon after the woman flew away, a wild beast coming · up-He comes up twice, first from the sea, then from the abyss. He comes from the sea, before the seven phials; the great whore comes after them. O reader, this is a subject wherein we also are deeply concerned; and which must be treated, not as a point of curiosity, but as a solemn warning from God. The danger is near. Be armed both against force and fraud, even with the whole armour of God. Out of the sea-That is, Europe. So the three woes (the first being in Persia, the second about the Euphrates,) move in a line from east to west. This beast is the Romish papacy, as it came to a point six hundred years since, stands now, and will for some time longer. To this, and no other power on earth, agees the whole text, and every part of it, in every point; as we may see, with the utmost evidence, from the propositions following. Prop. 1. It is one and the same beast, having seven heads and ten horns, which is described in this and in the 17th chapter. Of consequence, his heads are the same, and his horns also. P. 2. This beast is a spiritually-secular power, opposite to the kingdom of Christ. A power not merely spiritual or ecclesiastical, nor merely secular or political; but a mixture of both. He is a secular prince; for a crown, yea, and a kingdom, are ascribed to him. And yet he is not merely secular; for he is also a false prophet. P. 3. The beast has a strict connexion with the city of Rome. This clearly appears from the xviith chapter. P. 4. The beast is now existing. He is not past; for Rome is now existing and it is not till after the destruction of Rome, that the beast is thrown into the lake. He is not altogether to come: for the second wo is long since past, after which the third came quickly. And presently after it began, the beast rose out of the sea. Therefore, whatever he is, he is now existing. P. 5. The beast is the Romish papacy. This manifestly follows from the third and fourth proposition; the beast has a strict connexion with the city of Rome; and the beast is now existing. Therefore, either there is some other power more strictly connected with that city, or the pope is the beast. P. 6. The papacy, or papal kingdom, began long ago. The most remarkable particulars relating to this are here subjoined; taken so high as abundantly to shew the rise of the beast, and brought down as low as our own time, in order to throw light on the following part of the prophecy. A. D. 1033, Benedict IX. a child of eleven years old, is bishop of Rome. and occasions grievous disorder for above twenty years. A. D. 1048, Damasus II. introduces the use of the triple crown. seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads a name of blasphemy. A. D. 1058, The church of Milan is, after long opposition, subjected to the Roman. A. D. 1073, Hildebrand, or Gregory VII. comes to the throne. A. D. 1076, He deposes and excommunicates the emperor. A. D. 1077, He uses him shamefully, and absolves him. A. D. 1080, He excommunicates him again, and sends a crown to Rodulph his competitor. A. D. 1083, Rome is taken. Gregory flees. Clement is made pope, and crowns the emperor. A. D. 1085, Gregory VII. dies at Salarno. A. D. 1995, Urban II. holds the first popish council, (at Clermont,) and gives rise to the crusades. A. D. 1111, Paschal II. quarrels furiously with the emperor. A. D. 1123, The first western general council in the Lateran. The marriage of priests is forbidden. A. D. 1132, lunocent II. declares the emperor to be the pope's liegeman, or vassal. A. D. 1143, The Romans set up a government of their own, independant on Innocent II. He excommunicates them, and dies. Celestine II. is, by an important innovation, chosen to the popedom without the suffrage of the people; the right of choosing the pope is taken from the people, and afterward from the clergy, and lodged in the cardinals alone, A. D. 1152, Eugene 11. assumes the power of canonizing saints. A. D. 1155, Adrian IV. puts Arnold of Brixia to death, for speaking against the secular power of the papacy. A.D. 1159, Victor IV. is elected and crowned. But Alexander III. conquers him and his successor. A. D. 1168, Alexander III. excommunicates the emperor, and brings him s● A. D. 1177, He submits to the pope's setting his foot on his neck. A. D. 1204, Innocent III. sets up the inquisition against the Vaudois. A. D. 1208, He proclaims a crusade against them. A. D. 1300, Boniface VIII. introduces the year of jubilee. A. D. 1305, The pope's residence is removed to Avignon. A. D. 1377, It is removed back to Rome. A. D. 1378, The fifty years' schism begins. A. D. 1449, Felix V. the last antipope, submits to Nicholas V. A. D. 1517, The Reformation begins. A. D. 1527, Rome is taken and plundered. A. D. 1557, Charles V. resigns the empire. Ferdinand I. thinks the being crowned by the pope superfluous. A. D. 1564, Pius IV. confirms the council of Trent. A. D. 1682, Doctrines highly derogatory to the papal authority are openly taught in France. A. D. 1713, The constitution Unigenitus. A. D. 1721, Pope Gregory VII. canonized anew. He who compares this short table with what will be observed, ver. 3, and chap. xvii. 10, will see that the ascent of the beast out of the sea, must needs be fixed towards the beginning of it; and not higher than Gregory VII. nor lower than Alexander III. The secular princes now favoured the kingdom of Christ; but the bishops of Rome vehemently opposed it. These, at first, were plain ministers, or pastors, of the Christian congregation at Rome, but by degrees they rose to an eminence of honour and power over all their brethren: till, about the time of Gregory VII. (and so ever since,) they assumed all the ensigns of royal |