majesty; yea, of a majesty and power far superior to that of all other potentates on earth.

We are not here considering their false doctrines, but their unbounded power. When we think of those, we are to look at the false prophet, who is also termed a wild beast at his ascent out of the earth. But the first beast then properly arose, when, after several preludes thereto, the pope raised himself above the emperor.

P. 7. Hildebrand, or Gregory VII. is the proper founder of the papal kingdom. All the patrons of the papacy allow, that he made many considerable additions to it: and this very thing constituted the beast, by completing the spiritual kingdom: the new maxims and the new actions of Gregory, all proclaim this. Some of his maxims are,

1. That the bishop of Rome alone is universal bishop.

2. That he alone can depose bishops, or receive them again.

3. That he alone has power to make new laws in the church.

4. That he alone ought to use the ensigns of royalty.

5. That all princes ought to kiss his foot.

6. That the name of Pope, is the only name under heaven; and that his name alone should be recited in the churches.

7. That he has a power to depose emperors.

8. That no general synod can be convened but by him.

9. That no book is canonical without his authority.

10. That none upon earth can repeal his sentence, but he alone can repcal any sentence.

11. That he is subject to no human judgment.

12. That no power dare to pass septence on one who appeals to the pope. 13. That all weighty causes every where ought to be referred to him. 14. The Romish church never did, nor ever can err.

15. That the Roman bishop, canonically ordained, is immediately made holy, by the merits of St. Peter.

16. That he can absolve subjects from their allegiance.

These the most eminent Romish writers own to be his genuine sayings: and his actions agree with his words. Hitherto the popes had been subject to the emperors, though often unwillingly. But now the pope began himself, under a spiritual pretext, to act the emperor of the whole Christian world: the immediate dispute was about the investiture of bishops, the right of which each claimed to himself. And now was the time for the pope, either to give up or establish his empire for ever. To decide which, Gregory excommunicated the emperor Henry IV. " having first, (says Platina,) deprived him of all his dignities." The sentence ran in these terms: Blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, incline, I beseech thee, thine ears, and hear me thy servant-In the name of the omnipotent God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I cast down the emperor Henry from all his imperial and regal authority, and absolve all Christians, that were his subjects, from the oath whereby they used to swear allegiance to true kings. And moreover, because he had despised mine, yea, thine admonitions, I bind hun with the bond of an anathema,"

The same sentence he repeated at Rome in these terms: "Blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, and thou Paul, teacher of the Gentiles, incline, I beseech you, your ears to me, and graciously hear me-Henry, whom they call Emperor, hath proudly lifted up his horns and his head against the church of God-who came to me, humbly imploring to be absolved from his excommunication-I restored him to communion, but not to his kingdom,— neither did I allow his subjects to return to their allegiance. Several bishops and princes of Germany, taking this opportunity, in the room of Henry, justly deposed, chose Rodulph emperor; who immediately sent ambassadors to me, informing me-That he would rather obey me, than accept of a kingdom; and that he should always remain at the disposal of God and us.-Henry then began to be angry, and at first entreated us, to hinder Rodulph from seizing his kingdom. 1 said, I would see to whom the right belonged, and give

sentence which should be preferred. Henry forbad this-Therefore I bind Henry and all his favourers with the bond of an anathema, and again take from him all regal power. I absolve all Christians from their oath of allegiance, forbid them to obey Henry in any thing, and command them to receive Rodulph as their king. Confirm this, therefore, by your authority, ye most holy princes of the apostles, that all may now at length know, as ye have power to bind and loose in heaven, so we have power to give and take away on earth, empires, kingdoms, principalities, and whatsoever men can have."

When Henry submitted, then Gregory began to reign without control. In the same year, 1077, on September 1, he fixed a new æra of time, called the indiction, used at Rome to this day.

Thus did the pope claim to himself the whole authority over all Christian princes. Thus did he take away or confer kingdoms and empires as a king of kings. Neither did his successors fail to tread in his steps. It is well known, the following popes have not been wanting to exercise the same power, both over kings and emperors. And this the later popes have been so far from disclaiming, that three of them have sainted this very Gregory, namely, Clement VIII. Paul V. and Benedict XIII. Here is, then, the beast, that is, the king in fact such, though not in name: according to that remarkable observation of cardinal Bellarmine, "Antichrist will govern the Roman empire, yet without the name of Roman emperor. His spiritual title prevented his taking the name, while he exerciseth all the power." Now Gregory was at the head of this novelty. So Aventine himself, “Gregory VII. was the first founder of the pontifical empire."

Thus the time of the ascent of the beast is clear. The apostacy and mystery of iniquity gradually increased, till he arose, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all, 2 Thess. ii. 3. Before the seventh trumpet, the adversary wrought more secretly: but soon after the beginning of this, the beast openly opposes his kingdom to the kingdom of Christ.

P. 8. The empire of Hildebrand properly began in the year 1077. Then it was, that, upon the emperor's leaving Italy, Gregory exercised his power to the full. And on the first of September, in this year, he began his famous epocha.

This may be farther established and explained by the following observations. Observ. 1. The beast is the Romish papacy, which has now reigned for some ages.

Obs. 2. The beast has seven heads and ten horns.

Obs. 3. The seven heads are seven hills, and also seven kings. One of the heads could not have been, as it were, mortally wounded, had it been only a hill. :

Obs. 4. The ascent of the beast out of the sea, is different from his ascent out of the abyss: the Revelation often mentions both the sea and the abyss; but never uses the terms promiscuously.

Obs. 5. The heads of the beast do not begin before his rise out of the sea, but with it.

Obs. 6. These heads, as kings, succeed each other.

Obs. 7. The time which they take up in this succession, is divided into three parts. Five of the kings signified thereby are fallen: one is the other is not yet come.

Obs. 8. One is; namely, while the angel was speaking this.

He places himself and St. John in the middlemost time, that he might the more commodiously point out the first time as past, the second as present, the third as future.

Obs. 9. The continuance of the beast is divided in the same manner. The beast was is not: will ascend out of the abyss, chap. xvii. ver. 8, and 11. Between these two verses, that is, interposed as parallel with them, Five are fallen one is the other is not yet come.

Obs. 10. Babylon is Rome. All things which the Revelation says of Babylon, agree to Rome, and Rome only. It commenced Babylon, when it

commenced The Great. When Babylon sunk in the East, it arose in the West. And it existed in the time of the apostles, whose judgment is said to be avenged on her.

Obs. 11. The beast reigns both before and after the reign of Babylon. First, the beast reigns, chap. xiii. 1, &c. then Babylon, chap. xvii. 1, &c. and then the beast again, chap. xvii. 8, &c.

Obs. 12. The heads are of the substance of the beast: the horns are not. The wound of one of the heads, is called the wound of the beast itself, ver. 3 ; but the horns, or kings, receive the kingdom with the beast, chap. xvii. 12. That word alone, the horns and the beast, chap. xvii. 16, sufficiently shews them to be something added to him.

Obs. 13. The forty-two months of the beast, fall within the first of the three periods. The beast rose out of the sea in the year 1077. A little after, power was given him for forty-two months. This power is still in being.

Obs. 14. The time when the beast is not, and the reign of Babylon, are together. The beast, when risen out of the sea, raged violently, till his kingdom was darkened by the fifth phial. But it was a kingdom still, and the beast having a kingdom, though darkened, was the beast still. But it was afterwards said, the beast was, (was the beast, that is, reigned,) and is not; is not the beast; does not reign, having lost his kingdom. Why? Because the woman sits upon the beast, who sits a queen, reigning over the kings of the East: till the beast, rising out of the abyss, and taking with him the ten kings, suddenly destroys her.

Obs. 15. The difference there is between Rome and the pope, which has always subsisted, will then be most apparent. Rome, distinct from the pope, bears three meanings, the city itself, the Roman church, and the people of Rome. In the last sense of the word, Rome, with its duchy, which contained part of Tuscany and Campania, revolted from the Greek emperor in 726, and became a free state, governed by its senate. From this time, the senate, and not the pope, enjoyed the supreme civil power. But in 796, Leo III. being chosen pope, sent to Charles the Great, desiring him to come and subdue the senate and people of Rome, and constrain them to swear allegiance to him. Hence arose a sharp contention between the pope and the Roman people, whơ seized and thrust him into a monastery. He escaped and fled to the emperor, who quickly sent him back in great state. In the year 300, the emperor came to Rome; and shortly after, the Roman people, who had hitherto chosen their own bishops, and looked upon themselves and their senate as having the same rights with the ancient senate and people of Rome, chose Charles for their emperor, and subjected themselves to him, in the same manner as the ancient Romans did to their emperors. The pope crowned him, and paid him homage on his knees, as was formerly done to the Roman emperors: and the emperor took an oath, "To defend the Holy Roman Church in all its emoluments:" He was also created consul, ond styled himself thenceforward, Augustus, emperor of the Romans. Afterwards he gave the government of the city and duchy of Rome to the pope, yet still subject to himself.

What the Roman church is, as distinct from the pope, appears, 1. When a council is held before the pope's confirmation: 2. When, upon a competition, judgment is given which is the true pope: 3. When the see is vacant: 4. When the pope himself is suspected by the inquisition.

How Rome, as it is a city, differs from the pope, there is no need io shew. Obs. 16. In the first and second period of his duration, the beast is a body of men, in the third, an individual. The beast with seven heads, is the papacy of many ages: the seventh head is the man of sin, Antichrist. He is a body of men, from chap. xiii. 1, to xvii. 7. He is a body of men and an individual, chap. xvii. from the 8th to the 11th verse. He is an individual, from chap. xvii. 12, to chap. xix. 20.

Obs. 17. That individual is the seventh head of the beast, or the other king after the five and one, himself being the eighth, though one of the seven. As he is a pope, he is one of the seven heads. But he is the eighth, or not a head, but the beast himself, not as he is a pope, but as he bears a new and

2

And the wild beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the

singular character at his coming from the abyss. To illustrate this by a comparison:-Suppose a tree of seven branches, one of which is much larger than the rest: if those six are cut away, and the seventh remain, that is the tree.

Obs. 18. He is the wicked one, the man of sin, the son of perdition, usually termed Antichrist.

Obs. 19. The ten horns, or kings, receive power as kings with the wild beast one hour, chap. xvii. 12. With the individual beast, who was not. But he receives his power again, and the kings with it, who quickly give their new power to him.

Obs. 20. The whole power of the Roman monarchy, divided into ten kingdoms, will be conferred on the beast, chap. xvii. 13, 16, 17.

Obs. 21. The ten horns and the beast will destroy the whore, ver. 16. Obs. 22. At length the beast, the ten horns, and the other kings of the earth, will fall in that great slaughter, chap. xix. 19.

Obs. 23. Daniel's fourth beast is the Roman monarchy, from the beginning of it, till the thrones are set. This, therefore, comprises both the Apocalyptic beast, and the woman, and many other things. This monarchy is like a river which runs from its fountain in one channel, but in its course sometimes takes in other rivers, sometimes is itself parted into several streams, yet is still one continued river. The Roman power was at first undivided. But it was afterwards divided into various channels, till the grand division into the eastern and western empires, which likewise underwent various changes. Afterward the kings of the Heruli, Goths, Lombards, the exarchs of Ravenna, the Romans themselves, the emperors, French and German, besides other kings, seized several parts of the Roman power. Now whatever power the Romans had before Gregory VII. that Daniel's beast contains. Whatever power the papacy has had from Gregory VII. this the Apocalyptic beast represents. But this very beast, (and so Rome with its last authority,) is comprehended under that of Daniel.

And upon his heads a name of blasphemy-To ascribe to a man what belongs to God alone, is blasphemy. Such a name the beast has, not on his horns, nor on one head, but on all. The beast himself bears that name, and indeed through his whole duration. This is the name of Papa, or Pope; not in the innocent sense wherein it was formerly given to all bishops, but in that high and peculiar sense wherein it is now given to the bishop of Rome by himself and his followers: a name which comprises the whole pre-eminence of the highest and most holy father upon earth. Accordingly, among the abovecited sayings of Gregory, these two stand together, that his "name alone should be recited in the churches:" and that it is "the only name in the world." So both the church and the world were to name no other father ou the face of the earth.

V. 2. The three first beasts in Daniel are like a leopard, a bear, and a lion. In all parts, except his feet and mouth, this beast was like a leopard, or female panther, which is fierce as a lion or bear, and is also swift and subtle. Such is the papacy, which has, partly by subtilty, partly by force, gained power over so many nations. The extremely various usages, manners, and ways of the pope, may likewise be compared to the spots of the leopard. And his feet were as the feet of a bear-Which are very strong, and armed with sharp claws. And as clumsy as they seem, he can therewith walk, stand upright, climb, or seize any thing. So does this beast seize, and take for his prey, whatever comes within the reach of his claws: and his mouth was as the mouth of a lion-To roar, and to devour. And the dragon-Whose vassal aud vicegerent he is, gave him his power-His own strength and innumerable forces, and his throne-So that he might command whatever he would, having great, absolute authority. The dragon had his throne in heathen Rome, su

mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, 3 and his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads, as it were, wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and the whole earth wondered after 4 the wild beast, And worshipped the dragon, because he gave the authority to the wild beast; and worshipped the wild beast, saying, Who is like the wild beast? and who 5 can war with him? And there was given him a mouth

long as idolatry and persecution reigned there. And after he was disturbed in his possession, yet would he never wholly resign, till he gave it to the beast in Christian Rome, so called.

V. 3. And I saw one-Or the first, of his heads as it were wounded-So it appeared as soon as ever it rose. The beast is first described more generally, then more particularly, both in this and in the xviith chapter. The particular description here, respects the former parts; there, the latter parts of his duration; only that some circumstances relating to the former, are repeated in the xviith chapter.

This deadly wound was given him on his first head by the sword, ver. 14, that is, by the bloody resistance of the secular potentates, particularly the German emperors. These, for a long season, had the city of Rome, with her bishop, under their jurisdiction. Gregory determined to cast off this yoke from his own, and to lay it on the emperor's shoulders. He broke loose, and excommunicated the emperor, who maintained his right by force, and gave the pope such a blow, that one would have thought the beast must have been killed thereby, immediately after his coming up. But he recovered, and grew stronger than before. The first head of the beast extends from Gregory VII. at least to Iunocent III. In that tract of time, the beast was much wounded by the emperors; but, notwithstanding, the wound was healed.

Two deadly symptoms attended this wound, 1. Schisms and open ruptures in the church. For while the emperors asserted their right, there were, from the year 1080 to the year 1176 only, five open divisions, and at least as many antipopes, some of whom were, indeed, the rightful popes. This was highly dangerous to the papal kingdom. But a still more dangerous symptom was, 2. The rising of the nobility at Rome, who would not suffer their bishop to be a secular prince, particularly over themselves. Under Innocent II. they carried their point, re-established their ancient commonwealth, took away from the pope the government of the city, and left him only his episcopal authority." At this," says the historian, "Innocent II. and Celestine II. fretted themselves to death; Lucius II. as he attacked the Capitol, wherein the senate was, sword in hand, was struck with a stone, and died in a few days; Eugene III. Alexander III. and Lucius III. were driven out of the city; Urban III. and Gregory VIII. spent their days in banishment. At length they came to an agreement with Clement 111. who was himself a Roman." And the whole earth-The whole western world, wondered after the wild beast-That is, followed him with wonder, in his councils, his crusades, and his jubilees. This refers not only to the first head, but also to the four following.

V. 4. And they worshipped the dragon-Even in worshipping the beast, although they knew it not: and worshipped the wild beast-Paying him such honour as was not paid to any merely secular potentate. That very title, "Our most holy Lord," was never given to any other monarch on earth: saying, Who is like the wild beast-Who is like him? is a peculiar attribute of God. But that this is constantly attributed to the beast, the books of all his adherents shew.

V. 5. And there was given him-By the dragon, through the permission of God, a mouth speaking great things and blasphemy-The same is said of the