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EUREKA:

AN EXPOSITION

THE APOCALYPSE

IN HARMONY WITH

"THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF THE DEITY, AND

THE NAME OF JESUS ANOINTED".

BY JOHN THOMAS

AUTHOR OF ELPIS ISRAEL," AND OTHER WORKS

VOLUME 4

"BLESSED he that knows accurately, and they who give heed to the words of the prophecy, and narrowly observe the things which have been written in it; for the time is near." - APOC. 1:3.

"IF any man speak, let him speak according to the Oracles of the Deity." -PETER.

"WE have more established the prophetic word, to which ye do well giving heed as to light shining in a dark place while day may have shone, and a light-bearer have arisen in your hearts." - PETER.

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Picture page 4 not shown

The massive city Wall of Rome, pictured above, Was built between 271-280 AD, during the reign of Aurelian (270-275), the restorer of the Empire, and the man who met the widespread monotheism of Christianity by introducing the cult of the sun, the symbol of the Empire. It was probably he who introduced the feast of the birth day of the invincible sun - natalis solis invicti - on 25th December, which was later (in AD 330) taken over by an apostate Christianity, and given the name of Christ. Constantine Was not only the "first so-called Christian Emperor", but also an avid worshipper of the Sun. Re identified himself closely with its Worship. Eusebius wrote: "Aurelian builds a temple for Sol and surrounds Rome with stouter walls". But though the enormously stout wall of Rome completed by Probus (276-82), has been preserved almost intact in spite of the ravages of time, it has not been able to protect the city against the barbarians or against treachery from within. The Apocalypse predicted the fall of Rome from these causes, and all the efforts of man to prevent it were in vain. This volume of Eureka witnesses to this fact - Publishers.

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PREFACE

THE APOCALYPSE has now been before the world 1770 years. Since its first appearance among the Seven Ecciesias of Asia Minor there have been various short expository notices of certain parts of the prophecy by some of the earlier overseers of the Christian community, who flourished from about the middle of the second to the middle of the third centuries: such as Justin Martyr, Irenu'us, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and the pseudo-Sybilline Oracles.

The earliest essay at a systematic exposition of the wonderful and ingenious prophecy now extant, is one by Victorinus, overseer of an ecclesia at Pettau in Pannonia; who was put to death in the period of the Fifth Seal, or "ten days' tribulation" of the Diocletian persecution, from A.D. 303 to A.D. 313

The next hundred and sixty years, extending from the accession of Constantine to the wounding of the Sixth Head of the Beast, and the manifestation of the Seventh Head upon the Seven Hills, several scribes belonging to the Laodicean Apostacy, enthroned by Constantine as the religion of the Roman State, bestowed upon their contemporaries some bewildering speculations, by which the prophecy was intensely darkened. These were the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius; the tutor of Crispus, murdered by his father Constantine, the chief bishop of the Apostacy named Lactantius; Athanasius, Hilary, Cyril, Euph rem Syrus, Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, and Tychonius, who was said to be a Donatist, reclaimed from Donatism by Augustine.

After these came certain Latin expositors, named Primasius, Bede, Ansbertus, Haymo, Andreas, Arethas, and Berengaud. These flourished from the wounding of the Sixth Head, and in the period of the rising of the Ten Horns, to A.D. 1,100. They were no more luminous in their expositions than their predecessors. They failed to discern the signs of their own times; and either endorsed the foolishness, or made more manifest the impenetrable obscurity, of them that preceded them.

Anselm, Joachim Abbas, Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, the "angelic doctor," Pierre d'Olive, and Walter Brute, followed after them; and set to their hands in the work of making darkness visible. They had no misgivings as to the divine origin of the Apocalypse. In this Luther, "The Great Father of the Reformation," who came after them in the 16th century, was not in the same assurance. He had doubts of the genuineness of the Apocalypse as an apostolic or lnspired book; though he came at length when he perceived how it might be

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wielded against his late master the Pope and papacy, to hold his doubts in abeyance, and presumptuously to venture upon its exposition.

But this "great father" made out no better than the Laodiceans who preceded him. The "Mighty Angel," says he, "with a rainbow and a little bitter book, is Popery: the open book being that of papal laws, given to John to eat!" The Seventh Head he supposed to be Spain: while the three frog-like spirits depicted papal sophists, like Faber, Eck, and Emser, stirring up opposition to what he called gospel. His conceptions of the Millennium were as cloudy as those of Jerome and Augustine, who could see nothing in it but the triumph over Satan in the hearts of true believers! In short, to men in the fog even the truth itself is foggy but where the light within is not darkness, all things are bright and resplendent. Jerome, Augustine, and Luther did not understand "the truth as it is in Jesus," nor the voices of the Old Testament; it was impossible, therefore, that they could discern the import of the Apocalypse, which is "the Mystery of the Deity as He hath announced the glad tidings to His servants, the prophets" (Apoc. 10:7). Luther was as a useful anti-papal element of "the Earth that helped the Woman" in her tormenting witnessing against "the god of the earth;" but, as a guide to the blind, and a teacher of babes, in the way of salvation; or an expositor of apocalyptic mysteries, his incompetency was only second to the Pope himself.

In the 16th century also appeared as apocalyptic expositors, Bullinger, Bale, Marlorat, Foxe, Brightman, Pareus, Ribera, and Alcasar. Bullinger interpreted the ascent of the witnesses of the ascent of their departed spirits entering Paradise! He dated the Millennium from Christ's ascension; or from A.D. 60, when Paul speaks of the gospel "having been preached to every creature under heaven;" or from A.D. 73, the date of the destruction of Jerusalem. In either case, df course, it has long since passed away. Bale commenced it at Christ's ascension. From these two may be learned all. It was only a question between them of more or less foolishness. Ribera and Alcasar were Spanish Jesuits who sought to expound the Apocalypse so as to deliver the Papacy from any identification with its symbols. Alcasar's Commentary was the result of over forty years' study; but a worshipper of the beast might study it twice forty years, and at the end thereof his speculations would not be worth the paper consumed. The true meaning of the Apocalypse is accessible only to the Brethren of Christ, and the fellow servants of the apostle, who keep the sayings of the book. All others will prove but vain and fanciful theorists with whom the secrets of the Deity are never found.

Next after the era of the Lutheran rebellion against papal authority came Mede, Jurieu, Cressener, Bossuet, Vitringa, Daubuz, Sir Isaac Newton, Whiston, and Bishop Newton. Mede first published his Clavis Apocalyptica in 1627, and his Commentary in 1632. He was regarded by his contemporaries in England as a man' almost inspired for the exposition of apocalyptic mysteries. And assuredly in comparison of all his predecessors who had written upon the subject, he was a great light shining into thick and incomprehensible darkness. In several important points he much advanced the science. He interpreted the prophetic periods on the year-day principle; made the resurrection and ascen-

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sion of the witnesses an ascent to political eminence; made the Sixth Head under which John lived, the Imperial Caesars; adopted Lateinos as the Beast's name and number, explained the sun of the fourth vial of the German Dynasty, as the chief luminary in the Papal Imperial system; indicated Rome as the throne of the beast upon which the fifth vial would be poured; interpreted the drying up of the river Euphrates of the exhaustion of the Ottoman power; and coincided with Justin, Irenaeus, and others of the earliest date, in the first resurrection, being the literal resurrection of the saints to be developed on Christ's coming to the Antichrist's destruction; after which the Millennium will be introduced. This is quite refreshing after all the absurdity to be waded through in the writings of fifteen hundred years.

Jurieu, who wrote in 1685, indicated the death of the Witnesses as occurring in that year; and that they would lie dead and unburied in the street of the great Papal city, or empire, which he judged to be France, where, of course, their resurrection and ascension would ensue.

Cressener seems to have been the first who, in my judgment, rightly, in 1690, concluded that the Seventh Head was the Ostrogothic, which continued but a short time: the Eighth being the revived secular imperial, confederated with a Roman ecclesiastical head, somewhat as under the old emperors; that is, the secular Western Emperors combined with the Popes. The Image of the Beast he makes to be the Roman Church, and the name Lateinos.

Vitringa's exposition was no improvement upon Mede, Jurieu, and Dr. Cressener. He was a spiritual Millennialist, whose future age was to be characterized by a thorough evangelization of the world, by what he regarded as "the Church," which would then answer to the New Jerusalem! Alas, for the world if its evangelization depend upon the ecclesiastics of Vitringa's church! He was a very learned man, and well versed in the wisdom current a hundred and fifty years ago; but in apocalyptic intelligence, his wisdom was the foolishness of a babe.

Daubuz, who published in A.D. 1720, was about as luminous as Vitringa which is not saying much for the result of his apocalyptic labors.

Sir Isaac Newton published his brief commentary in A.D. 1733, appended to his treatise on Daniel. Many of his opinions were very crude. He generally agreed with Mede, but not always. The five-month period of tormenting in Apoc. 9:5,10, he expounds as I have done, as signifying two periods of 150 years each, or 300 years for the times of the Saracens. The "hour day month and year" he reckons to signify 391 years; namely, from Alp Arslan's first victories on the Euphrates, A.D. 1063, to the fall of Constantinople, A.D. 1453. Generally speaking, his commentary was not equal to his reputation.

Whiston Sir Isaac Newton's successor in the Mathematical Professorship at Cambridge, combated the opinions of others without shedding upon the subject any particular light of his own, save that the seven vials ought to be deemed contained in, and the evolution of, the Seventh Trumpet.

When the great French Revolution caused the astonished world to shake to its foundations, a shock was given to the minds of men whose vibrations have not yet subsided. The murdered witnesses, slain by the sanguinary Bourbons,

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had started into life, and ascended into political eminence, as Mede had taught his readers to expect. This, and the coincidence also, that this ascension was exactly 1260 years from the epoch of the delivery of the saints into the hand of the episcopal element of the Little Horn by Justinian, in A.D. 533; all concurred in arousing some to a renewed and earnest study of the prophetic word. Prominent among these was Mr. Bicheno, who published his "Signs of the Times" in 1793. His writings were interesting, though abounding with many speculations proved fallacious by the lapse of time. One thing, however, he did which should not be forgotten. He showed that the three days and a half during which the two witnessing prophets were to lie unburied in the platea of the great city, should be interpreted as three lunar days and a half of years; and that Jurieu, therefore, was right in his conjecture that their death ensued, A.D.1685.

Since Mr. Bicheno's time several writers on prophecy have risen up. Of these may be mentioned Irving, Faber, Keith, Cuninghame, Frere, Bickersteth, Elliott, and others. But I am not aware that they have added anything that would at all increase the intelligibility of the Apocalypse. Of this I am well assured, that from the days of Justin Martyr in the beginning of the second century, to the publication of Mr. Elliott's elaborate commentary, there has been produced by no writer, a systematic and thorough exposition of the Apocalypse that will stand the test of scripture, history, and reason enlightened by the truth. If there ever were such a work, it is certainly not extant. A perusal of a digest of their apocalyptic speculations, has convinced me that none of them, from Justin Martyr to Elliott, understood the prophecy. With no other guides to the blind than these, it is not to be wondered at that men should give the Apocalypse the go-by, and, with a reviewer in a London weekly, conclude "that nothing is more ridiculous than for any one to arrogate to himself the power of interpreting the prophecies contained in Daniel and the Revelation; being convinced that it would require as divine and miraculous an inspiration to interpret and apply those prophecies as was necessary to utter them." This is the conviction of the general public, which, like the public of the third century that had no ear for what the Spirit said to the ecclesias, pronounced it "without sense and without reason;" and denied that it was even a revelation. If so, then the man that composed it was the most extraordinary genius of the ancient or modern worlds. But it is not necessary to defend the Apocalypse at this crisis. The Constitution of Europe for the past thousand years which it so accurately exhibits, is evidential of its inspiration. It was revealed to be understood by the uninspired: and that it can be understood by them is proved to a demonstration by the three volumes of EUREKA, (NOTE, there are now 5 volumes due to being reprinted)which are now, through the munificence of a few CHRISTADELPRIANS, who desire to understand this neglected portion of "the Word," and have confidence in the author's ability to expound it, in the hands of their fellow-servants and brethren. I claim no "divine and miraculous inspiration;" yet, I maintain, that whatever failures others may learnedly have accomplished, the exposition I have given in these three volumes, however "ridiculous" and "arrogant" it may be considered to affirm it, cannot be set aside by a fair and candid appeal to the testimony of Jesus, political geography,

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and the truth of history.

Since the publication of the second volume, and even since the writing of the third was finished, events have been progressing steadily and stealthily to the appointed end. The most striking characteristic of the times is the neglect, or indifference to, tending to the repudiation of, the PUBLIC WOMEN OF EUROPE, apocalyptically styled "the Mother of Harlots, and all the Abominations of the Earth. "The "women" with whom the Lamb's Virgins are undefiled:

Apoc. 14:4. Behold the changed policy of the Two-Horned Beast of the Earth since the overwhelming defeat of its hosts at SADOWA. This power, that for-merly gave life to the Image, enabled it to speak, and caused that as many as would not worship it should be killed, has now taken almost all the life out of it, so that it can no longer speak in terror to the worshippers of the beast in all the Austrian Empire. Territorial continuity with "St. Peter's Patrimony" being in-Ierrupted, through the intervention of the revolutionary kingdom of Italy, the Concordat, the political bond between "His HOLINESS" and "His Apostolic Majesty," is dissevered, and the worshippers of the beast are freed from the audacious inspection, and profane decrees, of the "EYES like the eyes of a man and the MOUTH speaking great things and blasphemies." Inspired by "the Spirit of the Age," which is "the Spirit of Life from the Deity" that entered into the slain prophets, who ascended to power in 1789, the Reichsrath, or Imperial Legislature of Austria, practically abolished one of the seven sacraments of the Church of Rome in authorizing "civil marriage." Besides this, it proclaimed "liberty of worship" to all sects: and has taken the education of the people out of the hands of an accursed priesthood, and given it to schoolmasters of their own choice. By the Concordat the Roman Pontiff King, was above the emperor in all the spiritual affairs of the Austrian Empire; throughout which, all such things were "given into his hand" as absolutely as when Justinian made him "Head over all the Churches" of his estate. But behold how great a reverse of fortune hath befallen the "UNIVERSAL BISHOP" in this False Prophet section of his dominion. What doth all this mean. What else than that the 1335 and 1260 years of his ascendancy from the times of Justinian and Phocas, are come to an end; and that he is doomed no longer to "practice and prosper" to the ruin of saints, and the quenching of the Spirit of the Age; which is a spirit of liberalism, and of democratic hostility to the old order of things in Church and State a spirit that may be impeded, but cannot be extinguished till the manifestation of THE ANCIENT OF DAYS.

Then, if we turn our attention to Spain, the "Most Catholic," from which the virtuous and immaculate ISABELLA, the last of the infatuated and atrocious Bourbons, the ensanguined murderers of the saints, hath so recently been expelled, what see we there? Do we not behold the Spirit that rose and ascended to power in 1789, notwithstanding all its misfortunes, and frequent discomfiture’s triumphant in 1868? The virtuous, pure, and most catholic daughter of His Papal Holiness, his last and most devoted friend among the Ten Horns, driven into exile at the end of the 1335 and 1260? A letter from Spain to La Liberte, dated Sept.22, says: "Isabella has lost her throne. She seized it in 1839, supported by the Spanish Liberal party, which, in 1837, made her proclaim the

Logos Publications January, 1985.

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Constitution, which suppressed les seigneuries, les droits des ames, and tithes. It was this party which caused her to sell the mortmain property, suppress privileges, shut up the convents, sending away with a pension 30,000 monks useless to the country, and hurtful to public prosperity. But as soon as the Queen was married to Prince Francis of Bourbon, in 1846, reaction gained the upper hand everywhere. All the conquests made by the Liberal party were lost again. In 1863, Conservatives, Progressists, and moderate Liberals, wished to resist the reaction. Marshall O'Donnell, the head of this party, recognized Italy, and promulgated several liberal was in 1866. The Revolution was vanquished. O'Donnell could not profit by his success, for, to the great amazement of everybody, he was suddenly replaced by Narvaez two days after his victory Since then all the constitutional system has disappeared; and Spain is in the same condition as if Don Carlos and his ideas had triumphed in 1840.

"The Queen has become the humble servant of the Pope. All Spain nearly burst with laughter, when, a year ago, she read the papal letter announcing to the whole world that Pius IX sent the 'golden rose' to Isabella, in recompense for her virtues and the purity of her life!

"The struggle has now begun between the Liberal and the reactionary party. Everything would incline one to believe that the latter will be beaten; for, in fact, the Liberal party, composed of all shades opposed to absolutism, form a very compact whole".

Here is the last pillar of the papal throne leveled with the dust. While yet upon the throne, the same correspondent wrote, "the clergy is above the Queen." But where will they be now that the spirit of '89 has driven into exile the humble servant and most catholic daughter of their UNIVERSAL BISHOP, the lambskin-invested wolf of the Seven Hills? Will Louis Napoleon now be able to send 40,000 troops through Isabella to garrison Rome and protect the Pope against Italy, while he combats Prussia for the Rhenish frontier of France? May we not rather expect that the Spanish section of "the Revolution" will ally itself with the Italian section, and revive the work with renewed energy of "hating the Harlot and making her desolate and naked, and eating her flesh, and burning her with fire?" Further developments will soon illustrate this point in the Roman Question; though it is not to be expected that Rome will become the capital of any other dominion than is enthroned there. No Ninth Head can constitutionally exist upon the Seven Hills.

And what see we in England? We behold there the Spirit of '89 in its British manifestation, carrying out the principle of hatred and desolation, of stripping and eating, in regard to the Anglo-Hibernian Harlot, a daughter of ROME, "Mother and Mistress of All Churches," and sister to those other "Harlots" of England and Scotland, "as by law established". This, hating, desolating, stripping, eating, and burning of ecclesiastical establishments has been a striking characteristic of the past seventy-five years. The abolition of the Gallican harlot is "only a question of time." The world will progress until the ignorance, superstition, hypocrisy, and spiritual wickedness in the high and low places of old, worn out, ANTICHRISTENDOM, shall come to be abolished by Christ and his Resurrected Brethren, whose apocalypse is soon to be revealed.

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With all these signs of the times before the faithful, well may they rejoice and lift up the head; for assuredly "the redemption draweth nigh."

In conclusion, as the Corsican remarked concerning the leadership of his victorious hosts, "it is the hand of God that leads my armies;" so when I consider the difficulties surmounted in the development of this Exposition, I may truly affirm, that the power of the Deity has performed the work. The labor has been diffused over twelve years; but, if I had not well understood "THE GOSPEL OFTHE KINGDOM," which "is the Power of God," I might have contained in my earthen vessel all the lore of ancient and modern times, and consumed twelve years thrice told in the study of its mysteries, yet should I have signally failed; and have had to confess with Dionysius, "the great bishop of Alexandria;' as Eusebius styles him, that the words of the Apocalypse were "too lofty to be comprehended by me." I have been careful to treat nothing as non-essential or unimportant because of apparent difficulties. The work is now finished by "the power" aforesaid through my instrumentality - a work concerning which it may be said in the words of an old Roman exile,

Eregi monimmentum perennius u're:

this generation may not appreciate it, but one in the future will.

The following (see pg. 12) is my scheme of the prophecy to be studied in connexion with the Chron. Tab. in Vol.1, p.428, and the Tab. Analysis, Vol.2 p.110.

- Author

PUBLISHERS' NOTE Originally, the Third Volume of Eureka was a large book of over 700 pp. Subsequent editions divided it into two volumes called Volumes lllA and llIB. They comprised books of over 300 pp. each. However, with the additional matter that we have included in the form of illustrations and footnotes, a single Volume would make too unwieldy a book. As it is, the present volume, answering to Volume lllA of previous editions exceeds 400 pp. And we anticipate the final Volume will exceed the present one in the additional information we hope to include; for in the form of footnotes, we shall try to bring up to date the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in accordance with the Author's anticipations of over 100 years ago.

Note tables pages 12 and 13 not shown

CHAPTER Xll

Analysis 17

Summary 18

Translation 19

Remarks connecting Second and Third Volumes 20

1. "The Time of the End" 20

2. The End, last developed, but first revealed 27

3. A Great Sign in the Heaven 31

4. The Sun-Invested woman 35

5. The wreath of Twelve Stars 41

6. The woman Pregnant 47

7. The Period of Pregnancy 52

8. The woman cries, being in pangs 53

9. "Another Sign in the Heaven" 54

10.The Great Fiery Red Dragon 55

11.The Seven Heads of the Dragon 58

12.The Ten Horns of the Dragon 63

13.TheTailoftheDragon 65

14."The Old Serpent" 66

15. "The Devil and Satan" 82

16. The Dragon stands before the woman 86

17.The woman's Son 88

18.TheMannerofhisBirth 94

19. The Son's Ascent to the Deity 101

20. "War in Heaven" - The Ascent Historically Illustrated 102

21. The Great Voice in the Heaven 112

22. The Ruling of the woman's Son 120

23. The Flight of the woman 121

24. The woman's Place 127

25. The Period of the woman's Sojourn 130

26. The Earth helped the woman 138

Historical Illustration 141

27. The woe 154

28. The Other Remnants of the woman's Seed 157

29. The Earth again runs to the woman's Help 161

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CHAPTER XIII

Analysis and Summary 175

Translation 176

1. Preliminary Remarks 177

2. The Prophetic Standpoint of the Vision 183

3. The Sand of the Sea 186

4. The Sea 187

5. The Bottomless Pit 189

6. The Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns 192

7. The Seven Heads 192

8. The Ten-Diademed Horns 193

9. The Ten Diadems 201

10. The Name of Blasphemy 206

11. The Body of the Beast 217

12. The Mouth of the Beast 222

13. Development of the Name of Blasphemy 228

14. The wounding of one of the Seven Heads 267

15. The Healing of the Deadly wound 269

16. Rise and Decollation of the Seventh Head 272

17. Development of the Name of Blasphemy - continued 284

Justinian's Decretal Epistle 286

18. The Forty and TWO Months 301

19. Speaking Great Things and Blasphemies 309

20. The Name and Tabernacle of Deity, and the Dwellers in the Heaven 317

21. War with the Saints 322

22. The Faith and Patience of the Saints 323

23. Names Written from the Foundation of the world 325

II - THE BEAST OF THE EARTH

24. The Ascending of the Two-Horned Beast out of the Earth 331

25. The Image-Worship Question 333

26. Further Development of the Beast of the Earth 345

27. Two Horns like a Lamb 351

28. The Episcopal Beast causeth the Earth to Worship the First Beast's

Sixth Head 358

29. Fire Descending from the Heaven 360

30. The Image of the Beast 364

31. The Image Historically Identified 368

32. The Utterances of the Speaking Image 381

33. The Sign of the Beast 389

The Sign left by Christ 399

34. Buy or Sell 401

35. Name of the Beast and Number of his Name 406

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Picture of Rome page 16 not shown

Chapter 12

1 THE FIRST GENERAL DIVISION OF THE SEVEN SEALED SCROLL

The first four and THE SIXTH SEALS representative of the judicial manner of "taking out of the way" the PAGAN CONSTITUTION of the Dreadful and Terrible Fourth Beast," which withheld the revelation of "THE LAWLESS ONE;" (Dan. 7:7; Apoc. 6; 2 Thess. 2:3-9) and the consequent manifestation of the CATHOLIC MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, or Man of Sin Power, in the Heaven of the said beast, or "GREAT FIERY-RED DRAGON" (Apoc. 12:1-5, 7-13).

TIME OF EVENTS

From A.D. 107 to A.D. 325-See Tab. Analysis, Vol.2, p.110.

SIXTH SPECIAL DIVISION OF THE SEVEN SEALED SCROLL

ACT VI-SEAL6

A great earthquake inaugurates this judicial period. War in the Heaven, (Apoc. 12:7) resulting in an eclipse of the sun, in the moon becoming blood, in the stars of the heaven, the stars drawn by the Tail of the Dragon, (Apoc. 12:4) falling into the earth, and of the casting out thereunto of the great fiery-red Dragon (Apoc. 12:9). The heaven of the Dragon-Polity departs as a scroll rolled up; and every mountain and island change their places. The angels of the Dragon are cast out with him (Apoc. 12:9). No place for them any more in the heaven from which they are ejected, having been effectually conquered by the Archer of the First Seal - the Fellow-servants and Brethren of the souls under the Altar; who conquered him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, on account of which they were slain, not loving their lives unto death (Apoc. 12:11; 6:9). Great rejoicing in the heavens by them who succeed the ejected Dragon and his officials, who rage with great fury in the earth and sea of their late dominion (Apoc. 12:12). The great day of wrath upon Paganism.

The woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess, the Laodicean Apostasy, imperialized, and the Man of Sin Power revealed (Apoc.2:20).

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TIME OF THE SEAL

FROM A.D. 311

THE LAODICEAN STATE

Vol.1 pp.428,449; Vol.2 pp.87, 89, 276

The "little strength" of the Philadelphian State exhausted, and Laodiceanism fully established, Pagan persecution having ceased, and "the Catholics," as nominal Christians were now called, being in high favor with the authorities, they say "We are rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing" - Apoc. 3:17. Being "lukewarm," the Spirit "spues them out of his mouth". This state continues until abolished by the judgments of the Seventh Vial, which are executed by the Saints after the resurrection.

SUMMARY

End of the "rest for a little season," when the "Despot Holy and True" avenges the blood of the souls under the altar, upon them that dwell upon the earth. A great earthquake inaugurates this day of vengeance. The woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, appears in the Roman Heaven invested with imperial dignity and glory. Her son, having triumphed over the Great Red Dragon, which sought to destroy him, becomes the sovereign ruler of the nations.

The Spirit "spues" her Laodicean element "out of his mouth," and a remnant of her seed, as the woman fuitive, is found in the wilderness.

War ensues in the Roman Heaven between the powers there, which results in the ejection of the great Draco-Serpent Devil and Satan from thence. The "Brethren" and "Fellow-servants" of the souls under the altar rejoice at his expulsion. But woe be tides the inhabiters of the earth and sea, where the Dragon retains power for a "short time" longer; and persecutes the constituents of the woman dwelling in his dominion.

The woman being in the wilderness is protected there for a period of 1260 days; and in her flight thither is pursued by the Serpent, which seeks to sweep her away; but the Earth helps her, and defeats her enemy. The Dragon is wroth with her; and resumes the war with the remnants of her seed.

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TRANSLATION

APOCALYPSE 12

1. And a great sign appeared in the heaven; a woman who had been in-vested with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head and a wreath of twelve stars. 2. And being pregnant she cries being in pangs and straining to bring forth.

3. And there appeared another sign in the heaven, and behold, a great fiery-red Dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems: and his tail draws the third of the stars of the heaven, and he casts them into the earth. And the dragon stood in the presence of the woman about to bring forth, that when she may have brought forth, he might devour her offspring.

5. And she brought forth a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre: and her son was forcibly carried up to Deity and his throne.

6. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place that had been prepared of the Deity, that they may sustain her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days.

7. And there was war in the heaven. The Michael and his angels waged war against the Dragon; and the dragon waged war and his angels.

8. And they prevailed not; neither was their place found any longer in the heaven.

9. And the great dragon, the old Serpent, surnamed Diabolos, was cast forth; and the Satan which deceives the whole habitable was cast into the earth; and his angels were cast forth with him.

10. And I heard a great voice saying in the heaven, Now is the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our Deity, and the dominion of His Anointed; for the prosecutor of our brethren, who accused them in the presence of our Deity, day and night, has been cast down.

11. And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb and through the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life unto death.

12. On account of this let the heavens rejoice and those who tent in them.

Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and the sea, because the Diabolos has fallen among you having great wrath, foreseeing that he hath a short time.

13. And when the Dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he pursued the woman who brought forth the male.

14. And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, in which she is sustained there a time and times and half of a time, out of the sight of the serpent.

15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a flood, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

16. And the earth ran with help for the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17. And the dragon was enraged against the woman, and went away to wage war with the remnants of her seed who keep the commandments of the Deity and have the testimony of the Anointed Jesus.

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INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

BY WHICH THE SECOND AND THIRD VOLUMES ARE CONNECTED*

1. "The Time of the End"

The end of the eleventh chapter of the Apocalypse conducts the reader into what Jeremiah styles, "the time of Jacob's trouble," out of which he shall be saved (Ch. 30:7) - a time in which there are "light-flings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail" (Apoc. 11:19). This is that "TIME OF THE END" of which Daniel prophesied, saying, "There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time." This is that time which certain chronologists term "an un-chronological period"; that is, a period which is left scripturally undefined, having no revealed commencement nor termination: so that it may be a moment exemplified by a flash of lightning, a year, or several years, for anything that is, or can be, known.

But to such a conclusion as this, it is impossible that any one intelligent in the word can come. It is, on the contrary, a period well and clearly indicated. Its commencement is synchronical with the ending of "the time of the vision" seen by Daniel "in the third year of the reign of King Belshatzar"; for, it is written, "to the time of the end the vision" -l'eth kaitz he khazon - ch. 8:17. Now in an answer to the question, "How long the vision?" it was replied, "for an evening-morning of two thousand four hundred." This, according to what time has proved to be the best reading, is the time of the vision - a period of 2400 (†) years; which, having expired A.D. 1860, bring us to the time of the end, in which "the holy shall be vindicated" from the violence and injury resulting from so long a period of subjection under the feet of the Gentiles.

The world must therefore now be in the eighth year of the Time of the End. The termination of the 2400 years, and the synchronical beginning of the time of the end, were both signalized by the outbreak of the American civil war, which in its development proved to mankind, that with all their boasted science, civilization and religion, they are not one whit in advance of the beasts that perish (Psa. 49:12,20). The time of the end thus portentously begun continued to unfold itself in the events of the Franco-Mexican war, and in those of the Russo-Polish, and Prusso-

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* In this edition of Eureka, the 2nd and 3rd volumes have been replaced by Volume 3 and4-Publishers.

(†)The correct time period is 2300 days, not 2400 as accepted by Bro. Thomas! See our footnote Vol.3 p.323 - Publishers.

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Austrian Danish, and Prusso-Austrian Italian wars. By the American civil war several millions of Southerners have been subjected to an ignoble military despotism, and social degradation and ruin; while the fanatics used by Providence in its judicial visitation upon the South, have blasted the prosperity of the North, filled its families with lamentation and death, and laid the foundations of trouble that will only be finally assuaged in the absorption and obliteration of the so-called United States in the NEW UNIVERSAL EMPIRE of the Ancient of Days.

The invasion of Mexico by France, England, and Spain, resulted in the fall of a republic - a corrupt and worthless popular sovereignty; and in the provisional establishment (for it will prove to be nothing more) of a Franco-Austrian imperiality, which has this redeeming quality, that it is hostile to the Papacy, and inimical to the priests. These events in Mexico are, it is most likely, only preparatory elements of the situation being now organized in the providence of the Deity. They are preparing for a future complication, by which the trouble of the latter days will pervade not Europe and Asia only, but America as well.(*)

The Russo-Polish war was most ferocious. In the ratio of its extent it was as savage a conflict as the American civil war, though of shorter duration. It was a contest between Russo-Greek and Polish Latin, in which the Greeks, "the worshippers of the Dragon," destroyed the Polish nationality of the Latins, "the worshippers of the Beast." Poland was blotted out from the political geography of the world. It became a monument of the dead, whose epitaph forewarns the nations of the fate that awaits their kingdoms and republics when judgment shall be given to the saints, and the time comes that they shall possess the dominion under the whole heaven (Dan. 7:22,27). In devouring Poland, "Gog, the Prince of Rosh, Mesech, and Tobl," has prepared, and become a guard to so much of "Gomer and all his bands" as it contains. Nor has the Prince of Rosh, whom we style the Autocrat of All the Russians, being negligent of his mission in the direction of "Togarmah of the north quarters and all his bands" (Ezek. 38:2,6,7). Since the end of the 2400 years, he has advanced his frontier so as to include Khokan and Bokhara, so that there is now but one state between him and British India, namely, Afghanistan (†,)all of whose sympathies are in accord with the enemies and rivals of British rule in India. Thus "Gog of the land of Magog," the great king of the north, who is to figure so conspicuously

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(*)This was written in 1866. Events since that time have proved this observation to be correct. The future of US is inextricably bound with that of Europe and Asia as anticipated above - Publishers. ~

(†) In recent years, the Soviet has moved into Afghanistan, and in doing so has occupied portion of the territory of the King of the North of Daniel 11, surely a significant sign of the times. The territory of the ancient king of the North extended to the River Indus thus reaching to modern Pakistan -Publishers.

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"in the time of the end" - b'aith kaitz, styled by Ezekiel "the latter years" and "the latter days," is standing almost face to face with "Sheba and Dedan, and the Merchants of Tarshish;" whose young lions ere long will need all their strength and prowess for the repression of the further aggrandizement of the Russo-Assyrian power in the East.

Nor is the alliance of Austria, Prussia, and Germany, the two-horned beast of the earth, against Denmark, for the possession of Schleswig and Holstein, without significance in this eventful time of the end. It is a question pregnant with trouble; and a necessary complication of a situation in which "the kings of the earth and of the whole habitable" will be engaged in an angry and sanguinary conflict,(†) preparatory to "the war of the great day of AIL-Shaddai," when their thrones will be cast down, and the Ancient of Days shall sit (Apoc. 16:14; Dan. 7:9).

And besides all this, not to dwell upon the increase of taxation(*)financial embarrassment, pestilence, destruction of mankind and their fellow-beasts, and all the minor evils by which humanity is grieved, there is the all-important and inevitable Roman Question. This is preeminently the question of the time of the end. It can only be solved in the final and complete abolition of the Papal Kingdom. This result, however, can not be developed by the action or policy of France, Italy, or the Roman people. They are blindly preparing this consummation; and will doubtless develop for "the Great Harlot that sitteth upon many waters" a hatred of the European Powers, that shall cause them yet more than ever to "make her desolate and naked, and to eat her flesh and burn her with fire" (Apoc. 17:1,16). But the final and complete destruction of the Papacy is an honor decreed for a more noble and powerful class of agents than these. It is a glory reserved for "the Heirs of the Kingdom which the Deity has promised to them that love him" (James 2:5). These are the destroyers of the Papacy in the time of the end. They are the Avengers of the Holy - the avengers of the blood of the saints and witnesses of Jesus, and of all slain upon the earth in defense of righteousness and truth (Apoc. 18:6-8,20,24). It is from these proceed the lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and earthquake, and great hail" (Ch. 11:19).

The Roman is a question that cannot be evaded or postponed. A policy must be pursued towards the Pope that will cause his government to use all its influence to enlist the powers in his defence against the Red Republicanism of the Italians and their allies. The cry of these is "an

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(†)This was written in 1866, before the Prusso-Austrian Italian campaign, so fatal to the influence and interests of the Papacy.

* What would the Author of Eureka say today of taxation and the other listed problems - Publishers.

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united Italy with Rome for its capital, or death!" To give effect to this would be the expulsion of Austria from Venetiat; and the incorporation of the States of the Church with the kingdom or Commonwealth of Italy. If Red Republicanism can acquire the ascendancy in Italy, it will assuredly adventure the experiment of giving effect to its cry. In this event an appeal to arms would be inevitable. First, because Austria will never consent to the surrender of Venetia without a struggle; and secondly, because the spiritual influence of the Pope, which is still great in all the ten kingdoms of the beast, would go forth with all its unclean and demoniac activity to stir up war in his behalf. In this array of belligerents the combinations will be for a trial of strength between the expiring feudally of the middle ages, and the revolutionary principles of 1789 a sanguinary and final conflict between the adherents of Church and State Absolutism, and the partisans of popular sovereignty as "the voice of God."

Thus, by the intervention of the Roman and Eastern questions, a situation is created in the time of the end in exact accordance with the description of it in the prophetic writings. These questions create a trouble for all the nations and governments symbolized by the four beasts seen by Daniel arising out of the great sea (Dan. 7). They are all questions affecting the vested interests of the Image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream. This great image, whose brightness is excellent, and its form terrible, appears in all its majesty and power in the time of the end. In the terminal epoch of the sixth vial, which obtains after the ad-vent of the Ancient Days, the great Russo-Assyrian Gogian Image stands prepared for conflict with "the Prince of princes," whom Daniel styles "Michael, the Great Prince" (Dan. 8:25; 12:1). When the image stands thus in the time of the end the crisis will be of the most troublesome and exciting character. "The nations" will have been "made angry;" nor will their anger subside henceforth until the image shall be utterly broken, and all its fragments ground to powder. This result, however, will be beyond their power to accomplish. No combination short of the mighty angel clothed with cloud and rainbowed (Apoc. 10:1) can shiver it to pieces reduce these to chaff, and sweep them away that no place shall be found for them (Apoc. 2:27; Psa. 2:8,9; Dan. 2:35).

The time of the end, which is notably chronological, commences with the termination of the 2400 years, and ends with the exhaustion of the Seventh Vial. Hence the time of the end embraces part of the sixth and the whole of the seventh vials. It embraces so much of the sixth as

(†) This has since been effected by the Prusso-Italian campaign against Austria.

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pertains to the development of the Roman Question after 1860; the events attendant on the coming of the Ancient of Days; and those consequent on His appearing to the beginning of the seventh vial. Here are three epochs - the present, characterized by the three wonder-work-ng, unclean, frog-like demon-spirits, proceeding out of the mouth of the papal false prophet; the adventual epoch, characterized by the visible presence of Christ in Southern Asia; and the third, or terminal epoch, characterized by the gathering of the military forces of the powers into the Holy Land for that signal discomfiture, which constitutes the place of slaughter the apocalyptic Armageddon. The events of the sixth vial in the aggregate prepare "the way of the kings" which arise in the light of the Sun of Righteousness. The way of these kings is the career of judgment marked out for them in the full development of the seventh vial, which is at once the consummation of the Seventh Trumpet, and the Seventh Seal; and the filling up of the wrath of the Deity upon the nations. The angriness of these, the coming of divine wrath, and "the time of the dead that they should be judged and rewarded," are series of events which synchronize with the adventual epoch of the sixth vial. In this epoch, the dead in Christ, both just and unjust, are caused to stand upon their feet again among the living. This anastasis, or standing again, precedes the destroying of them "who destroy the earth" Rev. 11:18. The honor of executing the judgment written belongs to all those saints whose names may, in the judgment which begins at the house of Deity, be found registered in the Lamb's book of life Rev. 20:15; Ps. 149:9; Dan. 7:22. Hence, resurrection must precede the setting in of judgment; and this must begin at the house of the Deity; "and if it first begin there, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of the Deity?" 1 Pet. 4:17. It will be "destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" 2 Thess. 1:9.

The destruction issuing from this glorious presence, is styled in Rev. 14:10. "tormenting with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Holy Angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." The end of the eleventh chapter expresses this torment in the words, "lightnings, and voices and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Hence the conclusion of the eleventh chapter, with which the second volume of this exposition is concluded, is synchronous with all of the fourteenth chapter from the beginning to the end. I say from the beginning of it, because all the things therein represented are subsequent to the saints standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Now, when Christ comes, as I have shown in my second volume, he does not come direct to Zion. Moses, in his prophetic blessing of the sons of Israel, says, "Yahweh came from Sinai and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran; and he

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came with ten thousands of saints" (Deut. 33:2). He comes to Sinai before he can come from Sinai; and to Seir and Paran before he can rise up and shine from them. He comes to Sinai in the adventual epoch of the sixth vial; and to Mount Zion consequent upon the Armageddon overthrow, by which the sixth Vial is closed, and the Seventh Vial period is inaugurated.

The time of the Seventh Vial is that portion of the time of the end chronologized in the words of Micah, "according to the days of Israel's coming out of the land of Egypt" (ch. 7:15). It requires no proof that these days were a period of forty years. Hence, in the vindication of the Holy from injury and violence after the termination of the 2400 years, a judicial period of forty years will be manifested. The object to be attained in the vindication of the holy, is the deliverance of the holy and the host from the treading under foot "the transgression of desolation" to which they have been subjected for 2408 years to the date of this work: in other words, the putting an end, or accomplishing, to scatter the power of the people of the holy yadam-kodesh (Dan. 8:13-14; 12:7). The full import of these words is the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, in building again the tabernacle of David, that it may be as in the days of old; with the additional glory of Christ and his Brethren, the glorified Israel of the Deity, in possession of the throne (Amos. 11:11; Acts 15:16; 1:6; Matt. 19:28; Luke 1:32-33).

The work then of the seventh vial will be the setting up of the kingdom by the ELOAHH of the Heavens (Dan. 2:44). This work cannot be fully accomplished until the now widely scattered tribes of Israel are concentrated in the Holy Land, and restored to the independence they enjoyed under David and Solomon. No prosperity in the "breadth of the Great City spiritually called Sodom and Egypt," can compensate the loss of this. They must be brought out of this Egypt in the seventh vial section of the time of the end, as was the generation out of the literal Egypt in the days of Moses, "with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out" (Ezek. 20:33). In other words, the seventh vial is the exodal period of Israel's return from their enemies' lands; and of the punishment of all peoples who have burdened themselves in any way with the Holy City (Zech. 12:2-3; Rev. 11:2). In the accomplishing to scatter the power of the people of the holy in this second exodus of the nation, the Spirit, who will co-work with the saints in their seventh vial execution of the judgments written, says in the testimony already cited from Ezekiel, "I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I

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pertains to the development of the Roman Question after 1860; the events attendant on the coming of the Ancient of Days; and those con-sequent on His appearing to the beginning of the seventh vial. Here are three epochs - the present, characterized by the three wonder-work-ing, unclean, frog-like demon-spirits, proceeding out of the mouth of the papal false prophet; the adventual epoch, characterized by the visi-ble presence of Christ in Southern Asia; and the third, or terminal epoch, characterized by the gathering of the military forces of the powers into the Holy Land for that signal discomfiture, which constitutes the place of slaughter the apocalyptic Armageddon. The events of the sixth vial in the aggregate prepare "the way of the kings" which arise in the light of the Sun of Righteousness. The way of these kings is the career of judgment marked out for them in the full development of the seventh vial, which is at once the consummation of the Seventh Trum-pet, and the Seventh Seal; and the filling up of the wrath of the Deity upon the nations. The angriness of these, the coming of divine wrath, and "the time of the dead that they should be judged and rewarded," are series of events which synchronize with the adventual epoch of the sixth vial. In this epoch, the dead in Christ, both just and unjust, are caused to stand upon their feet again among the living. This anastasis, or standing again, precedes the destroying of them "who destroy the earth" Rev. 11:18. The honor of executing the judgment written belongs to all those saints whose names may, in the judgment which begins at the house of Deity, be found registered in the Lamb's book of life Rev. 20:15; Ps. 149:9; Dan. 7:22. Hence, resurrection must precede the setting in of judgment; and this must begin at the house of the Deity; "and if it first begin there, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of the Deity?" 1 Pet. 4:17. It will be "destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" 2 Thess. 1:9.

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came with ten thousands of saints" (Deut. 33:2). He comes to Sinai be-ore he can come from Sinai; and to Seir and Paran before he can rise up and shine from them. He comes to Sinai in the adventual epoch of the sixth vial; and to Mount Zion consequent upon the Armageddon over-throw, by which the sixth Vial is closed, and the Seventh Vial period is inaugurated.

The time of the Seventh Vial is that portion of the time of the end chronologized in the words of Micah, "according to the days of Israel's coming out of the land of Egypt" (ch. 7:15). It requires no proof that these days were a period of forty years. Hence, in the vindication of the Holy from injury and violence after the termination of the 2400 years, a judicial period of forty years will be manifested. The object to be at-tained in the vindication of the holy, is the deliverance of the holy and the host from the treading under foot "the transgression of desolation" to which they have been subjected for 2408 years to the date of this \vork: in other words, the putting an end, or accomplishing, to scatter the power of the people of the holy yad-am-kodesh (Dan. 8:13-14; 12:7). The full import of these words is the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, in building again the tabernacle of David, that it may be as in the days of old; with the additional glory of Christ and his Brethren, the glorified Israel of the Deity, in possession of the throne (Amos. 11:11; Acts 15:16; 1:6; Matt. 19:28; Luke 1:32-33).

The work then of the seventh vial will be the setting up of the king-dom by the ELOAHH of the Heavens (Dan. 2:44). This work cannot be fully accomplished until the now widely scattered tribes of Israel are concentrated in the Holy Land, and restored to the independence they enjoyed under David and Solomon. No prosperity in the "breadth of the Cireat City spiritually called Sodom and Egypt," can compensate the loss of this. They must be brought out of this Egypt in the seventh vial section of the time of the end, as was the generation out of the literal Egypt in the days of Moses, "with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out" (Ezek. 20:33). In other words, the seventh vial is the exodal period of Israel's return from their enemies' lands; and of the punishment of all peoples who have burdened them-selves in any way with the Holy City (Zech. 12:2-3; Rev. 11:2). In the accomplishing to scatter the power of the people of the holy in this second exodus of the nation, the Spirit, who will co-work with the saints in their seventh vial execution of the judgments written, says in the testimony already cited from Ezekiel, "I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I

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plead with you face to face; like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel." But concerning Israel cleansed from the rebellious; and, by continuing no longer in unbelief, prepared for the blessedness promised in Abraham and his seed, He saith, "in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, there shall all the house of Israel all of them in the land, serve Me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations with all your holy things. I will accept you with your sweet savour when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the nations. And ye shall know that I (the Anointed Jesus) am YAHWEH when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up My hand to give it to your fathers."

This regeneration of the twelve tribes of Israel, and resettlement of them in the Holy Land, is a grand and important result of the seventh vial outpouring of judgment. When it is consummated, "Yahweh's servant David will be a Prince among them, and be their Shepherd." They will have stood upon their feet an exceeding great army in their enemies' lands; and from thence have opened for themselves a way by divine cooperation into the land of Israel, upon the mountains of which they will be, for the first time since the fourth year of Rehoboam, B.C. 982, one nation, and one kingdom, under one king. "They shall no more be two nations neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all." The sanctuary will be in the midst of them, and the tabernacle also; and Yahweh will be their Elohim, and they shall be His people (Ezek. 34:23; 37:10,11,12; 22-27). This restitution of all things pertains to the seventh vial, which embraces "the times of" that "restitution of all things which the Deity hath spoken by the .mouth of all His holy prophets since the days of Moses" (Acts 3:21). Jacob is saved out of his trouble; the yoke of Esau is at length broken from off his neck; and the first dominion, the kingdom, has come to the daughter of Jerusalem (Gen. 27:40; Mic. 4:8). The vindication of the holy is complete.

Now, as the reader may well suppose, this wonderful and mighty operation of Deity becomes an affair of world-wide interest and importance. It will not be a work of peace. The Frog-Dominion has been pro-claimed to be peace: l'empire c'est la paix but not so the kingdom pro-claimed in the gospel. This kingdom, in the period of its establishment,

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is not peace; but war, until it has been broken in pieces and subdued the four beasts of Daniel; and planted itself without a rival in all the earth. Such an enterprise as this may be planned and prepared, but cannot be executed in secret. It is therefore testified that "the nations shall see and be confounded at all Israel's might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of YAHWEH our Elohim, and shall fear because of thee" (Mic. 7:16). The testimony of Micah is developed in the forty years of the time of the end immediately preceding the Millennium, as the result of the Seven Thunders, by which, not the earth, but those who corrupt the earth, are destroyed (Rev. 11:18).

2. The End, Though Last In Development, Last Revealed.

In studying the Apocalypse, the student cannot fail being impressed with a notable peculiarity, frequently illustrated, of its structural arrangement. The peculiarity is that of stating in the beginning first, that which is to be executed last. Thus, in the first chapter, the coming of Yahweh in clouds is announced; and his presence is symbolically exhibited: but it is not until the preterminal epoch of the sixth vial that He actually appears. So that it takes all "the things that shall be hereafter" exhibited in all the six seals, and so much of the seventh seal as is contained in the six trumpets; and so much of the seventh trumpet as is contained in all the five vials, and at least half the sixth, to develop the Ad-vent. The apocalypse of the Ancient of Days, or his manifestation in his kingdom, is the end proposed in the prophecy. It is therefore first announced. It is the grand proposition to be illustrated and proved by the logic of events. The end divinely purposed is not stated first because it is to be first established, as the first thing to come to pass, after John had the vision; and because all "the things that shall be here-after" are to happen after it. The logical order of a prophecy in statement or fulfillment is first state, then illustrate, and afterwards prove. "Behold, he comes, and every eye shall see him." This is a proposition, or purpose, stated; but after eighteen hundred years, not yet proved by its coming to pass. By what course of events will that coming be developed? By the events coursed out in the seals, trumpets, and vials, which are the illustration of how the end proposed is to be made identical with the proof. Hence, the end, though first in purpose, and therefore first verbally stated in the prophecy, is the last in development; and consequently not to be looked for as the first event of a prophetic series. The Son of Man in the midst of the lightstand-embodiment of the Spirit

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.is the symbolical prefix to the prophecy of the seven epistles; but the actual manifestation of the Spirit's presence in the midst of the redeemed is not revealed until he occupies the throne in the time of the ending of the Laodicean state (ch. 3:20-21).

Again; this peculiarity is exhibited in the fourth chapter. Here the whole is occupied with a symbolical exhibition of the Spirit in covenant-manifestation. The throne and kingdom of David, termed Yahweh's by the prophets, have been covenanted to Jesus and his Brethren, who are to possess them when "glorified together." This purpose, or end proposed, is first represented to John; not because it existed then or since; but because all to be shown him, called "the things which shall be hereafter", are to result in the development of that revealed purpose. It would be a great mistake to look for the subject-matter of the fourth chapter as extant in heaven or upon earth while John was in Patmos. There was no counterpart to them. The figuration was simply a symbolic vision, showing, that at some future time not specified in the chapter, there should be a throne established in the air, or firmament, of the Romano-Dragonic Universe, which should be possessed by an Omnipotent Theocracy, from which should "burst forth lightnings, and thunderings and voices;" and having thereby established its sovereignty, should rule with universal dominion. But, though so early exhibited in the scroll, it is not until the seventh trumpet period that the announcement is made of its actual development, saying, "The kingdoms of this world are become Yahweh's and His Anointed's" (Ch. 11:15). Thus the end, though first in purpose is in development the last; and we are taught that to establish this throne of omnipotence will require, according to the divine predetermination, the full development of all the events prefigured in the seals, trumpets, vials, and thunders.

Another notable instance of this structural characteristic of the apocalypse is found in the eleventh chapter. It occurs in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth verses. In these is announced the end purposed in the complete sounding of the trumpet, and therefore the con-summation of the seventh seal; or, as it is expressed in ch. 10:7, the finishing of the mystery of the Deity, as he hath declared the glad tidings to his servants the prophets. This is finished en tais hem era is hotan melle salpizein, in the days when he (the Seventh Angel) shall sound; not "when he shall begin to sound," as in the Common Version; nor while he is sounding; but when he shall have finished sounding, then the mystery shall be finished in the kingdoms of this kosmos or constitution of things, the unmeasured court of the Gentiles becoming Yahweh's and his Anointed's. The sounding being over, and the wrath of Deity, consequently, all expended, the mission of the FOUR LIVING ONES FULL OF

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EYES is completed: the "lightnings" flash no more, the "voices" are hushed, the "thunderings" burst forth no more from the throne, the vibrations of the "earthquake" have ceased, and the "hail" falls no more Out of the heaven upon men. In other words, the "judgment given to the saints" has accomplished its work in putting them in possession of "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven" (Dan. 7:27). For this cause, therefore, in the ascription of thanks to YAHWEH AlL Shaddai, the four belligerent Living Ones are withdrawn from the figuration; and the four and twenty elders only are in prostration before the Everliving One. The reader is aware that the saints are symbolized both by the Four Living Ones and the Elders, only in different relations. The Four represent them in their militant an-tagonism to the powers that rule the nations; while "the elders" represent them as victorious kings and priests in the glorious and peaceful possession of their conquests. When "the war of the great day of AlL Shaddai" is over, and peace obtains in all the earth, there is no more pre-millennial work for the saints to do as the "Four Living Ones full of eyes." As militants they have "gotten the victory," and their community is wreathed with the coronals which "they cast before the throne." These are cast there when the cause of thanksgiving, rejoicing, and prostration has been developed. Hence, ch. 4:10, is parallel with ch. 11:16. The saints, no longer belligerent, give thanks because YAHWEH AIL-Shaddai has acquired great power on the earth and reigned. When this thanksgiving was dictated to John in Patmos, it was the revelation of a purpose - an end which Deity had predetermined. The "great power" had not been taken, nor the reign commenced, when the apocalypse was given to John. Nor have they yet; nor will they be till the end of the seventh trumpet. Hence, the eighteenth verse of the eleventh chapter does not treat of what is to ensue after the reign mentioned in the seventeenth verse has commenced. "The nations are angry," not when the divine wrath is fulfilled, but when it comes. "The nations were made angry, and thy wrath came." This arrival of the divine wrath is synchronous with the advent of Christ, and with the operation of the Frog-Power in the final development of its working upon the Papal False Prophet, as prefigured in the sixth vial (ch. 16:14-15). The arrival of the divine wrath in the advent of the YAHWEH-NAME from far with anger burning (Isaiah 30:27) is at the epoch of the resurrection of the saints. It is from this epoch that ch. 11:18 originates a series of events, which ultimate in the destruction of the destroyers of the earth, and in the conquest and appropriation of their kingdoms by the Four Living Ones constituted of the prophets, the saints, and the venerators of the divine name, small and great. So that the order of the prophecy according to its succession

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of events is first verse 18, then 19, and after this verses 15,16,17: but, as a verbal revelation, the last event which crowns the whole series is first indicated; and then an outline is given of the series which ultimates in the victorious consummation.

This structural characteristic of the primordial statement of the end, is illustrated also in ch. 14. In this the primordial statement is contained in the first verse. It specifies a great predetermined end-the occupation of Mount Zion by the son of the Divine Father, together with those upon whom he has previously written the name of his Deity (Ch. 3:12). But this predetermined end is not the first thing executed. On the contrary, it is the last. The redeemed get possession of Mount Zion consequent upon the effect of the "voice out of the heaven" indicated in verse 2 the voice of a belligerent multitude, even the roaring voice of the Rainbowed and Cloud-invested Angel, who takes victorious possession of the City where David dwelt.

Thus, the end, first in purpose, is the last developed, but first revealed in the prophecy. Not attending to, or ignorant of, this structural peculiarity, some have committed grievous errors in their efforts at in-erpretation and exposition. It has led them to affirm, that the apocalypse is all to be fulfilled after the advent of Christ; while others declare that its revelation has been fulfilled long ago. Both these extremes meet in absurdity, where they embrace and kiss each other. They are mere assumptions, and too ridiculous for a serious refutation. The former theory is very convenient for the ignorant and the indolent; for if the apocalypse as yet is none of it fulfilled, nor even to begin to be fulfilled till after the advent of Christ, all are upon one low, common level respecting it. He that knows much of doctrine and history is at equal disad-vantage with him who knows nothing of either, and thus ignorance Is strengthened and consoled.

There are others again who think that much of the apocalypse is fulfilled but have not discernment enough in things past and present to draw the line between the future and the past. Some of these have taken up a notion that all the vials are poured out after the advent of Christ! This imagination has been conceived in a misunderstanding of the fifteenth chapter. They have not perceived that the whole chapter is de-clarative of the end purposed to result from the outpouring of the vials. It is declarative of the victory of the saints over the constituted authorities of the nations; and the subjection of these to the King of Kings because of manifested national judgment. They err also in supposing, that "the seven last plagues" are identical with "the seven vials." The seven vials contain "the seven last plagues;" but the plagues and the

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vials are not severally synchronical. On the contrary, the seven last plagues are synchronical only with the seventh vial; and so much of the sixth as obtains between the advent of Christ and the opening of the judgments of the seventh, is the epoch when One of the Four Living Ones gives the plagues to the angels. The seven last plagues are identical with the Seven Thunders; and as they are comprehended in the seventh vial, the giving of the plagues is represented in the presentation of the "seven golden vials." These vials contain much more than the "seven last plagues." They contain first plagues, styled "these plagues" in ch. 16:9, as well as last plagues. The plagues of the vials exhibited in this chapter are separated by the thief-like advent of Christ. "Last plagues" imply others that are not the last. The former plagues precede the advent; and all developed after it are "the seven last plagues." What extraordinary blindness to affirm that none of the vials are poured out till after Christ comes, while his coming is predicted under the sixth! This sixth-vial prophecy is subversive of the notion. The position it occupies as a speaking hieroglyphic shows, that five of the vials, and a considerable part of the sixth, were to be poured out before the advent. It is impossible therefore for the outpouring of all the vials to be delayed till that event. When it takes place, then in giving judgment to the saints recently raised, judged, and chosen, as signified by the "golden girdles" and "pure and white linen," the golden vials are given to them; and they consummate in their seventh vial mission the work of the whole seven vials, which without their intervention would never ultimate in victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name.

This structural feature appears in the prophecy of the seventh vial itself. This is given in the last five verses of the sixteenth chapter; while the result of the whole is briefly stated in three words of the first of them 'it is done!" It is done consequent upon the pouring out of the vial into the air. The mystery is finished. But this finishing results only when there is no more wrath to pour out upon the air. Before the end thus primordially stated is developed, the voices, thunders, lightnings, earthquake, and hail ,must do their work upon the Great City, the cities of the nations, and their political islands and mountains. When these are all disposed of judicially, then, and not till then, will the consummation, primarily announced in the words "it is done" be established.

3. A Great Sign in the Heaven.

"And a Great Sign appeared in the Heaven; a Woman who had been invested with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and upon her head a wreath of Twelve Stars."

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Thus reads the text of Rev. 12:1. In the sixth verse this "great sign" is styled a "a great wonder." The word semeion signifies "a work by which something is known." A footstep in the sand is a mark by which it is known that a human being had been there. Hence the footstep is a sign, or mark with a signification; a mark by which something is signified. The mark is not the foot; but the impression stepped by the foot

- the sign of the foot, in a like sense is the sign of the text to be taken. This first verse exhibits a mark, or sign, by which something may be known. To constitute the sign there is a woman, the sun, moon, and stars, an investment, and a wreath. These are but lesser marks or signs of the "great sign." The woman, and the luminaries in the great sign are no more, as some imagine, a real human being of the female sex, and the lights of the sky, than the step of the foot is the foot itself. They are merely signs of something else, between which and them there is an analogy, or resemblance. These lesser marks when grouped together, as in the text, constitute "a great sign," which must, therefore, be regarded as representing a notable development, a wonderful appearance in the apocalyptic heaven.

The sun, moon and stars of this great sign, belong to the heaven in which the sign appears. It is the same heaven as that in which "silence, as it were a half hour," supervened after the departure like a scroll of the heaven which preceded it (Rev. 8:1; 6:14). These two apocalyptic heavens are evidently revealed in these texts. In my exposition of the sixth seal (see Vol.2. pp.276, 292), I treated of the abolition of the former of these two heavens, in the taking out of the way that which hindered the revelation, or manifestation of the Anomos, or Lawless One (2 Thess. 2:7). The removal of this obstacle is predicted apocalyptically in these words, "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of the heaven fell into the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken by a mighty wind." And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. This prediction was fulfilled in the change of the constitution of the Roman Orb consequent upon the success of Constantine, crowned by the victory of Chrysopolis, A.D. 324. Until this epoch of eighteen years, "the heaven" of Daniel's Fourth Beast styled apocalyptically the Dragon, had been in all its constituents pagan. The emperors were all worshippers of Jupiter, and his associate gods. The sun-light of their imperialism was reflected from the idol superstition, of which they were ex-officio the High Priests or Supreme Pontiffs. This was the moon of the heaven shining by reflected imperial light. So long as the Roman constitution of the Fourth Beast continued pagan, none but pagans could constitutionally execute the functions of the imperial office; for

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none but a pagan could be Pontifex Maximus of the Roman Orb. But the victories of Constantine changed all this. He shook the Dragonic Fig tree with a mighty wind, and caused the stars of the heaven to fall into the earth, as perished figs from the parent tree. He slew with great and sanguinary defeats the adherents of the State Superstition, so that "the moon became as blood." She no longer walked in the brightness of im-perial favor, reflecting to the earth the glory of the Roman Sun. The testimony of Jesus Christ against idolatry, borne by his witnesses, had alienated the popular mind from Jupiter and the gods, though it had failed to convert it to the gospel. The priests of the idols having lost their hold upon the affection of the multitude, the way was prepared for the subjection of Roman Idolatry to the Catholic, or Laodicean Apostasy. The consummation was necessarily sanguinary; for the testimony of history, and present experience, show that a minority in arbitrary power can only be brought to abdicate by the arbitrament of the sword. This award was appealed to by the contending parties of the day. The issue was between the PAGANS and the CATHOLICS; or between a pagan minority in place and power, and a majority of anti-pagans of all varieties and shades, who desired a change in the civil and ecclesiastical constitution of the Roman State. In their appeal to arms the power of the minority was broken. It could no longer bring an army into the field to defend the interests of the idols constitutionally vested in their priests; so that nothing remained but the favor of an infidel and alienated multitude, inconstant as the wind. The revolution was complete. The ancient order of things incorporated with the reigning idolatry was canceled, and the scroll of its constitution rolled up out of the way. The pagan imperiality became black as sackcloth of hair. Since the death of Licinius, the last of Constantine's rivals, only one worshipper of Jupiter has occupied the Roman Throne. The total eclipse of the pagan sun, the sanguinary obscuration of the brightness of the pagan moon, and the hurling of the pagan stars into the lowest walks of life among the people, finally and effectually signalized the departure of the pagan heaven as a scroll rolled up. We have witnessed the departure of a heaven as a scroll when it is rolled up, in the collapse of the Southern Confederacy (†). The dispersion of the southern forces resulted in the abolition of its civil constitution, and the consequent suppression of all things related to it; so that with the exception of the calamities entailed, it is as though it had never been. Such was the collapse of Roman Idolatry in its church and state constitution, or heaven. Its forces were overpowered and dispersed, and as the

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(†) The reference is to the American Civil war. The Southern Confederacy constituted the southern States of America who resisted the abolition of slavery. They were defeated in battle and the nation reformed as USA as a result Publishers.

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world never 'wonders" after a sinking cause, but is always ready to worship success, it easily transferred its allegiance to the more powerful rival which had dethroned it.

Thus the idol-heaven of Daniel's Fourth Beast-dominion was rolled out of the way by the judgments of the Sixth Seal to make room for a new heaven with its own appropriate luminaries. This "heaven" was a church and state constitution of things, in which the Apostasy, foreshadowed in the epistle to the ecclesia at Laodicea. shone with all the brightness and glory an unscrupulous world lying under the wicked could confer upon a system of delusion congenial to it. Its sun, moon, and stars shone brightly. Though a new constitution of the aerial was proclaimed, the sun was not abolished. The storm-clouds of a departing idolatrous institution had blackened it. It no longer shone in the splendor of pagan majesty which was totally eclipsed; still the supreme power continued to be a diademed imperiality. It was the same twelve-starred Sixth Head which was developed in the Augustan epoch of Daniel's "dreadful and terrible" beast. When the half hour's silence invaded the heaven, the "mighty wind" which had been rudely shaking the Roman Fig-tree for eighteen years, was calmed; and the sun of imperial power and majesty emerged again from the hair-sackcloth blackness of the darkening and sanguinary revolution by which it had been obscured. It emerged again to shine with an unclouded blaze upon an entirely new order of things - an order, such as the sun in the natural heaven had hitherto never shone upon since he was placed there to rule the day; an order therefore, which, in the words of the apocalypse, might fitly be represented as "a great sign in the heaven."

In the "great sign" of ch. 12:1, the Roman Sun is no longer invested with blackness, but invests a sign-woman with a blaze of glory peculiar to himself - a woman invested with the sun." Whatever the woman may signify, this investiture symbolizes the clothing of the thing signified with supreme imperial authority; so that whatever might emanate from the woman would be by sanction and co-operation of the highest orders of the state.

The woman, or Laodicean Community, could not have been invested with a more appropriate symbol than "the sun," expressive of the imperial embrace, as well as of the particular emperor by whom she would be patronized. Gibbon informs us that Constantine had a particular veneration for Apollo, or the sun, to which Julian alludes in his orations. His words are, "The devotion of Constantine (while yet in embryo) was more peculiarly directed to the genius of the sun, the Apollo of Greek and Roman mythology; and he was pleased to be represented with the symbols of the god of light and poetry. The unerring shafts of

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that deity, the brightness of his eyes, his laurel wreath, immortal beauty, and elegant accomplishments, seem to point him out as the patron of a young hero. The altars of Apollo were crowned with the votive offerings of Constantine; and the credulous multitude were taught to believe, that the emperor was permitted to behold with mortal eyes the visible majesty of that tutelar deity; and that either waking or in vision, he was pleased with the auspicious omens of a long and victorious reign. The sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine; and the pagans might reasonably expect that the insulted god would pursue with unrelenting vengeance the impiety of his ungrateful favorite in his becoming a Laodicean Catholic. Diocletian had chosen Jupiter, and Maximinian, Hercules; but Constantine preferred the sun before all the gods of his fathers, as his guardian and protecting deity." When, therefore, Constantine came to occupy the Roman throne, and was manifested as Supreme Bishop of the Catholic Church, this Laodicean community might fitly be said to hav been "invested with the sun."

The position of the imperially invested woman in this "great sign" with "the Moon under her feet," indicates that she occupies the former place of the Roman Moon. In the heaven which had departed as a scroll, there was no woman standing upon the moon. There was simply the moon-hierarchy invested with the light of imperialism by which it shone; and between this hierarchal moon and the throne of the Dragon power, nothing intervened. But the Constantinian Revolution, or "great earthquake" of the Sixth Seal, had baptized the idol-hierarchy in blood; so that the moon became AS BLOOD.~ The sun and moon were not annihilated, but only subjected to changed conditions consequent upon the great earthquake revolution. This popular convulsion exalted one from among the people, and placed her in the moon's orbit. The light and glory of the imperial majesty fell upon her. The rays whose brightness had formerly glorified the priests of Jupiter, and conferred dignity upon his superstition, were now intercepted by a Hierarchy more favored by the state. This new hierarchy had been elevated by the earthquake above the old one; so that, in the "great sign," their relative position is symbolized by the former moon being subjected, or placed under the woman's feet.

4. The Sun-Invested Woman

This ch. 12:1 is the second place in the general prophecy where a figurative woman is introduced. The first place in which the Spirit speaks specifically of one is ch. 2:20. In his epistle to the Star-Angel

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presbytery of the ecclesia in Thyatira he charges it with suffering, or tolerating, teachers and seducers within its jurisdiction, whose traditions were destructive of those "servants" who received them. Those teachers and seducers constituted a class of men of which Balaam is a representative. They "ran greedily in the error of Balaam's reward" (Jude 11). They were seducing spirits and demons who spoke lies in

Picture of medallion page 36 not shown

The gold medallion depicted above. commemorates thc entrance of the triumphant Constantine into Rome after the defeat of Maxentius, and shortly before the defeat of Licinius. The coin gives honour to the invincible Sun-god, whilst the Emperor atso acknowledges the God of the "Christians". In his coins and monuments, Constantine honored the pagan gods (and particularity the Sun god) as well as the so-called Christians.

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hypocrisy (1 Tim. 4:1,2): false teachers privily bringing in destructive opinions, and denying the Despot who bought them. Through covetous-ness, with feigned words, they made merchandise of professors unstable In the faith, sporting themselves with their own deceivings. They had once known the way of righteousness, and by the obedience of faith it inculcates had become children of God. But they afterwards forsook the right way, and went astray. Their heart was exercised like Balaam's with covetous practices; and without regard to the honor and interests of the truth, they zealously and volubly entertained their hearers with crotchety conceits and speculations. Their teaching and practices favored the wantonness and lusts of the, flesh. The inconstant and unstable among the saints favored their traditions, which proclaimed a liberty in things which the word condemns. This licentiousness strengthened the flesh to which it is congenial; and as this was developed, the power of the word became impotent; their hold upon it was relaxed; they became entangled again in the pollution’s of the world, and were overcome of their inordinate desires. Thus these teachers and seducers, with the disciples they had drawn away after them by the perverse things they taught, though they zealously contended for one God against the idolatry of the Roman State, adopted opinions and practices applauded by the profane. They "committed fornication, and ate things sacrificed to idols." For this contemptible "mess of pottage" they sold their birthright; and not only ruined themselves, but caused the truth to be evil spoken of by those whom it was designed to benefit (2 Pet. 2).

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Picture page 37 not shown

This illustration is taken from a Roman Catholic catechism, and pictures Mary with twelve stars circling her head and the crescent moon under her feet. It is significant that the Egyptian goddess of fertility, Isis, is similarly pictured, and that The Apocalypse identifies the Apostasy with Sodom and Egypt (Ch. 11:8). Publishers

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Now teachers and seducers of the Balaam type either gained the ascendancy in the ecclesias, or not being able to maintain themselves therein, separated from them, and organized "churches" to suit themselves in which they could lord it over their flocks. But whether tolerated within the ecclesias, as in Thyatira, or separated in distinct and in-dependent congregations, they were all prefigured by a woman. The character of this figurative woman is known to the faithful by the name she bears. She is in certain relations apocalyptically styled JEZEBEL. because of the analogy subsisting between the character of the infamous daughter of Ethbaal and wife of Ahab, and that of the teachers and seducers by whom the Laodicean Catholic Apostasy was organized and perfected within the Anti-pagan Community. The original Jezebel essayed the utter abolition of Yahweh's worship in Israel; and substituted the adoration of other deities, with the lascivious abominations which had formerly brought extermination upon the Canaanites. Her fate also made her a fit emblem of the apocalyptic Jezebel, whose children will be eaten by dogs in the day of Jezreel (Psa. 68:23). The false teachers and seducers of the first three centuries, although they did not avow it as their purpose, effected completely what Jezebel aimed to accomplish in Israel. They utterly abolished "the doctrine of Christ" by their traditions; and if it had not been for "a little strength" found among a very small remnant that kept the Spirit's word, and had not denied His name, "the Israel of the Deity" would have been entirely transformed into "the Synagogue of Satan." The Star-Angel Presbytery of Thyatira was too tolerant of "the depths of Satan as they taught," for the Spirit's approval; for, after commending the angel's love, service, faith, patience, and works, he adds, "Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols." In this toleration the Star-Angel or Eldership, was culpable. They ought to have silenced their false teaching, and to have permitted nothing to reach the ears of the flock not in harmony with the written word. This would have preserved "the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God;" and have prevented the development, out of the One Body espoused to Christ, of a self-complacent Catholic Jezebel, who in the epoch of the "great sign" was at once wretched, and miserable and poor, and blind, and naked" (Ch. 3:17).

Such was the figurative antipagan woman we behold exhibited in the heaven invested with the sun's majesty, and his ancient lunar idol-harlot made subject "under her feet." The "great sign" represents her situation as it appeared the outer world, for under another aspect of

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things, the "few names not defiled" of the same figurative woman are represented by "the remnants of her seed who keep the Commandments of the Deity, and hold the testimony of Jesus Christ." Hence the figurative woman of ch. 12, invested with the Roman Sun, and fleeing from the Dragon, represents the whole ANTIPAGAN COMMUNITY; the vast majority of which answered to Jezebel and her children; while the remainder, with whom alone the doctrine of Christ was to be found, refused to have anything to do with a church in alliance with the "dreadful and terrible beast having seven heads and ten horns." These two divisions of the antipagans, though opposed on the question of church and state alliance, were agreed in their hostility to the ascendancy of the existing Imperial Idolatry, which grievously afflicted them all. The first ecclesiastical separation of these two divisions did not occur till after the birth of the woman's son, who was to rule all the Greek and Latin nations with an iron sceptre. When this event transpired, the anti-state church party repudiated the desecrating alliance with emperors and their courts. They refused to recognize the emperor's claim of being at once the representative of the Sixth Head of the Dragon, and Bishop of the Bishops of Christ. The truth was with this party. They seceded; and by their secession incurred the enmity and bitter hostility of the. New Church imperially established. The secessionists became the subject of virulent persecution by this new power, which caused them to take refuge in the wilderness. In this flight they are prefigured by the woman, who therefore leaves behind her the sun and moon, and wreath of twelve stars.

But this transient appearance of the woman in the heaven characterizes the sun, moon and stars she had repudiated. They had become the catholic luminaries of a new heaven; which, under the sounding of the fourth wind-trumpet, are found ruling the day and the night of the Catholic Roman Orb. The transient standing of the woman upon the moon indelibly stamped the character of Jezebel upon it; and proclaimed it to be the lunar representative of the Laodicean Synagogue of Satan; which ever since has been allied, in some form or other, to the blasphemous and ferocious despotisms of the world.

But, though "the Lamb's Woman" refused to be allied to the Roman State, and retired into the wilderness, the State-Church Woman, Jezebel, was not so scrupulous. As "the church by law established" she retained her place in the heaven; and became "the Great Harlot" of the world. Little notice is taken of her apocalyptically until she is exhibited in ch. 17:1, in all the enormity of her profligate career. In this scene, she appears in the wilderness, into which the Anti-State Church Woman fled. She is seen "drunk with the blood of the saints,

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and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus;" and sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. She represents a "great city" of polity, "reigning over the kings of the earth." Her name in the beginning was Jezebel; but in the crisis of her fate it is also "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the earth." She reigns until the Ancient of Days is revealed, who "casts her into a bed, and them who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, and kills her children with death" (Ch. 2:22). This is the end of Jezebel in the day of Jezreel (Hos. 1:11).

A different destiny, however, is apocalyptically indicated for the woman espoused as a chaste virgin to Christ. She entered the imperial presence, but soon found that it was impossible to enjoy imperial favor and protection, and maintain her honor and allegiance to her Divine Husband in purity and truth. She therefore fled from the sunshine of royalty, and left behind her the Jezebel of her communion, to whom the meretricious blandishments of courts were altogether congenial.

While her Jezebel counter-self remained invested with the Roman sun, and acquired and exercised dominion over the kings of the earth, she was sojourning in the wilderness; in which, however, Jezebel after-wards succeeded in establishing her blasphemous, licentious and sanguinary rule. The Anti-Jezebel Woman dwelt in the wilderness as many months of years as Israel did years in the exodus from Egypt; and two months of years more. She remained there 1,260 years, or forty-two generations of years after her flight; and will continue trodden under-foot by the lovers and protectors of Jezebel until the end of another period of 1,260 years, when the Ancient of Days will come(*), and avenge the wrongs she has suffered, in the judgment which shall sit. At this crisis, she is carried to the Lamb to whom she has been so long espoused. Her husband who is her head is Christ. In "the time of the dead," having "made herself ready", she is "arrayed in fine linen clean and white" (ch. 19:7,8). Her marriage with the Lamb establishes such a oneness between those she represents and Christ, as exists between him and the Father in heaven. She is then "the Holy and Great City, the New and Holy Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Ch. 21:2,10). When thus "glorified together with Christ" (Rom. 8:17), the Jezebel-Synagogue of Satan will "be made to come and worship before her feet, and to know that Christ has loved her" (Ch. 3:9). Jezebel's children will have been slain with death, and her communion and sovereignty abolished; and the only woman seen in the heaven will be the glorified fugitive of the wilderness; clothed with the sun of

Righteousness, the moon of the Laodicean Apostasy under her feet. and

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* See note on the Publishers comment of these prophetic dates in Vol.2 p.10. Publishers.

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upon her head a wreath of twelve Apostolic Stars.

What a remarkable contrast between these two apocalyptic women. The one, Jezebel, the Great Harlot and the Mother of Harlots; the other, the Lamb's wife and the Mother of all the Saints. The former, sovereign in all times of the Gentiles; the latter, trampled underfoot of the Gentiles in all their times; and persecuted with the utmost rancor and bitterness of hate: the former, "arrayed in purple and scarlet-color, and decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls, and reigning over the kings of the earth;" the latter, clothed in sackcloth, and the habiliments of subjection: the former, the embodiment of ignorance, superstition, cruelty, blasphemy, hypocrisy, and vice; the latter, holy, harmless, undefiled, and without fault before the throne. Nor is the difference of their destiny less striking. Jezebel is first hated by her subject kings, who make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her with fire (Ch. 17:16); and afterwards, having somewhat of intermission from his rough usage, she is utterly and forever destroyed out of the way by YAHWEH ELOHIM who avenges on her the righteous blood she has caused to be poured out upon the earth. The world being thus freed from the accursed presence of the Jezebel-superstitions of "Christendom" so-called; the nations henceforth enlightened, regenerated, and saved, walk in the glorified fugitive's light; who, for a thousand years, sheds the glory of the divine majesty with which she is invested upon all peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues; all of them blessed with faithful Abraham, in Abraham and his seed (Gal. 3:7-9). This blessedness under the government of Christ and his Bride is the theme which concludes the Apocalypse given by the Deity to Jesus Christ.

5. The Wreath of Twelve Stars

In this "great sign" is seen upon the head of the Sun-Invested Woman "a wreath of twelve stars". Thus I have rendered in my translation the words stephanos asteron dodeka. The twelve stars were set in a stephanos, not in a diadema. If there had been seen upon her head a diadem of twelve stars, it would have indicated that she was an integral part of the diademed sixth head of the dreadful and terrible dragon, all of whose heads are diademed. But no; the "crown" of the C. V., was a stephanos, and not a diadem.

Now, the reader of the former volumes of this exposition is aware of the important apocalyptic difference there is between a stephan and a diadem. The former was given to a combatant when victorious in his conflicts; the latter is the symbol of regal and imperial, or elective sovereignty of an established order. The Antipagan Woman was a combatant community, to whom dominion and power over the nations were

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promised, as a prize to be contended for, and bestowed upon the victor (Ch. 2:26,27). This prize was signified by a stephanos. If she were victorious, her success would be indicated by a stephan upon her head, as in the "great sign".

It may be remarked here, that the antipagan Woman and the arrowless Archer of the first seal are representative of the same community in its warfare "against the principalities, powers, world-rulers of the darkness, and the spirituals of the wickedness in the heavenlies of the Roman Orb (Eph. 6:12). The Antipagan Archer went forth to conquer the Graeco-Latin Dragon. He had first to overcome and dethrone Jupiter and the gods, "by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of his testimony;" and afterwards to take possession of the diadems enthroned under the whole heaven, and to rule their nations for a thousand years. Significative of this it is written in ch. 6:2, edothe auto stephanos, there was given to him a stephan, or wreath. John saw that the archery of this communion, to which he himself belonged, was prevailing "against the darkness of the course of things" - tou aionos toutou - which obtained while he was in Patmos. He saw it, therefore, going forth "conquering, even that it might conquer." Its career of conquest, though harassed by the enemy, was not to be stopped. The stephan was to be placed upon the woman's head by the highest authority in the state, as the result of "a great earthquake," or revolution, which should place her son upon the throne. When John in vision saw the archer ride forth upon the white horse he had not then won the stephan. He had a combat for the faith of over two centuries before him; at the end of which the fraternity he represented was seen in the heaven invested with the sun, the moon in subjection, and the stephan of victory emblazoning her head with its stars. Thus far the triumph was complete: nevertheless, the earnest or type only of a greater yet to come.

But, the placing of a simple stephan upon the Woman's head would have merely signified that she was a victor. But what was the prize of victory? What had she gained by her victory over the Dragon persecutor, which accused her people. incessantly before the Deity? This question is apocalyptically solved by the TWELVE STARS inserted in the wreath. These were the twelve most conspicuous stars of the Roman Firmament. They were stars of the first magnitude which excelled all the other stars in the glory of their position. There were none brighter in the political astronomy of the state. They were the stars of that imperial dragon- headship of which it was remarked to John in chapter 17:10, saying "ONE is." These stars of this Sixth Head at the time of the apocalyptic going forth of the archer of the first seal were exactly twelve, and may be enumerated chronologically thus -

1. AUGUSTUS, founder of the Sixth Headship of the Roman Dragon. This Star reigned 44 years from the battle of Actium, which was fought B.C. 30. He died A.D. 14, in his 76th year. He made Tiberius his colleague in the empire three years before his death A.U.C. 764, to..............................................A.D. 11

2. The SECOND STAR was Tiberius Caesar, successor to Augustus. In the 15th year after being made the colleague of Augustus, "the word of God came to John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness;" and he began to preach. This was 483 years from the 20th of Artaxerxes, the beginning of Daniel's seventy weeks. John was aged 27; Jesus 26 years and six months A.D. 26 At the end of three years and a half, Jesus having been immersed, and John cast into prison, Jesus began to preach the gospel of the kingdom. This began the second half of Daniel's seventieth week ................................................ .A.D. 30

At the end of Daniel's Seventieth Week, or 490 years from the 20th of Artaxerxes, which was the 22nd of Tiberius Caesar, sin was condemned in our common nature by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ ....................................................... A.D. 33

3. Tiberius dies in the 23rd year of his reign, and is succeeded by the THIRD STAR, named Caius Caesar Caligula A.D. 33

Of this human monster Tiberius said, that he had brought up a serpent for the Roman people; concerning whom he expressed the wish that they had but one neck, that he might cut if off at one stroke. He died ................................... A.D. 37

4. The FOURTH STAR was Claudius Caesar. The famine mentioned in Acts 11:28, pervaded the whole Roman Habitable under this star. He reigned not quite fourteen years, and died aged 63 .......... ........................................................... ..A.D. 51

5. The FIETH STAR was his successor Tibenus Llaudius Nero. This Caesar for the first five years reigned with applause, being provoked to good conduct by the perpetual admonitions of the renowned Seneca. But changing his manners, he sunk to the lowest depths of degradation. He reduced the greater part of Rome to ashes, and charged it upon the christians, upon whom he inflicted the most exquisite torture. He died by his own hand in the fourteenth year of his reign, aged 32............ A.D. 64

6. The SIXTH STAR, was Galba, who reigned 8 months.

7. The SEVENTH STAR was Otho, remarkable for his wickedness, and the shortness of his reign, which scarcely exceeded three months. He died by his own hand, and was succeeded by a man of incontinent gluttony.

8. Vitellius was the EIGHTH STAR, whose reign of seven months was signalized by the expenditure of thirty millions of dollars in feasting and riot. In the 57th of his age, he was dragged half-naked by a Roman mob into the forum, and with exquisite tortures torn to pieces, and thrown into the Tiber.

9. The NINTH STAR was Vespasian. He emulated the excellences of Augustus, and grieved to inflict punishment when justice demanded it. He was, however, extremely avaricious. He reigned ten years, and died aged69................ A.D.75

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10. The renowned Titus was the TENTH STAR. On account of his singular humanity, he was called "the delight of mankind." In the life-time of his father Vespasian he destroyed Jerusalem. He reigned rather more than two years, and died aged 41. He is supposed to have been poisoned by his brother who succeeded him............................................................................................................................. A.D. 77

11.Domitian was the ELEVENTH STAR of the Imperial Stephan. He persecuted the christians with the greatest rigor. He was a second Nero. John, the Apostle, was banished by his decree to the isle of Patmos, where the Apocalypse was revealed to him for the benefit of all true Christadelphians, or Brethren of Christ. After a reign of fifteen years, being detested on account of his cruelty, he was put to death by his own guards, age 55......................................................................... AD 92.

12.The TWELFTH STAR of this "dreadful and terrible" succession Cocceius Nerva, a man of prudence and moderation, who acquired the dominion late in life. During his brief reign of one year and four months, John was restored to the society of his brethren and companions in tribulation. He died, aged 66, and was succeeded byTrajan........................................................................................................A.D. 94

In the foregoing chronological table the dates are given according to the true time, which is four years earlier than the regular era.

Such was the WREATH OF TWELVE STARS extended by the Deity as a prize to be gained by the conquest of the Dragon. All the twelve were imperial supreme pontiffs. For the archer-and-woman fraternity to carry off the prize, was for it to be wreathed with the imperial stephan of the Caesars; and to subdue their pontificate under their feet. This it did most effectually; and, as a sign prophetic of this great victory over the principalities, authorities, world-rulers, and spirituals of the Roman Heaven; and for the encouragement of all engaged in the good fight of faith against the gods, who had eyes to discern the import of the vision, the woman was photographed in the firmament of the Roman Orb, wreathed with the supreme pontifical authority of the twelve.

For two centuries after the reign of the twelve stars, the soldiers of the faith, when they perused the verbal description of the "great sign in the heaven," would understand what was the stephan to be conferred; and would be filled with a full assurance of hope, that they would go on conquering until they obtained it. It was under this conviction, that on the opening of The Fifth Seal, they are represented as crying with a loud voice from underneath the altar, "How long?" How long till their brotherhood should wear the dodecal Caesarian starry stephan? They knew that this wreath of victory was Caesarian. A believer living in the beginning when the apocalypse commenced to be fulfilled; that is, at the accession of Trajan; knew that twelve Caesars had occupied the draco-Roman pontifical throne. From Augustus to Constantine there were about fifty-four emperors. Why, then, were there not as many stars upon the imperial stephan, seeing that it was gained when so many had

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sat upon the Italian throne? Because, I conceive, the number of the stars was given to indicate, that the opening of the apocalyptic. seals was to begin when the twelfth imperial star had set; that is, with the reign of Trajan, who was a thirteenth, or number one of a new series. Trajan and his pagan successors may be said to have worn the crown of the Twelve Caesars(*) But they could not retain it. It was wrested from them by the Woman, whose Jezebel-son claiming to be her Head - the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church - wreathed himself therewith; and then caused her to become a fugitive in the wilderness of the Great Eagle.

Ignorance and superstition have sadly misinterpreted the significance of this "great sign in the heaven." An engraving published with the sanction of the authorities of the Mary-worshipping synagogue of New York City, as a fronttspiece to a book entitled "The Glories of Mary," interprets the sign as a signification of the "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary." In the centre of the picture is a woman standing upon a cloud. She stands, as it were, in the sun, with beams of light issuing from the palms of her hands downwards towards the earth, as if they were rays of grace being shed upon her worshippers. Around her head is a halo, in which is a circlet of twelve stars; and over these a diadem supported by winged angels resting upon the upper margin of the cloud on each side of the woman. Under her feet is the moon, and beneath this, the ocean and rocks of earth. Thus is represented the ghost of a dead woman having been taken up into heaven and being on exhibition there as queen; for the legend of the picture is "salve regina," Health to thee, O Queen! Assuredly, nothing can be more remote than this from the true import of this "great sign". The reader, unless he be a Mariolator or d Puseyite, need scarcely be told, that the sign is wholly irrelevant to the mother of Jesus; and but for the adoption of the heathen dogma of the immortality of the soul by the Laodicean Apostasy, such a signification could never have been invented. There is no such woman in being, whether in heaven above or tn the earth beneath, as the Virgin Mary, body or ghost. The dust of what was once Mary is in "the pit of corruption," or Sheol, and will there remain until "the time of the dead," when she will stand again upon her feet the "blessed among women," and thenceforth all generations will call her blessed." In all "the times of the gentiles," however, she is non-existent. This is well known to all who are not drunk - drunk with the wine of the abominations and filthiness

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(*)The first twelve of the emperors, who ruled the Roman Habitable with undivided authority assumed the surname of Caesar, this title was therefore their original distinction -Imperator Caesar But when their successors associated colleagues with them in office, it became an inferior title the chief emperor being styled Augustus, the rest Caesars. Hence the diadem of the Sixth Head of' the Dragon was the Crown of the Twelve Caesars with which the woman's head was wreathed The Austrian emperors, who claim to be the secular chiefs of the Holy Roman Empire are styled Kaisar or Caesar to this day. - J.Thomas

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of Jezebel's fornication (Apoc. 17:4; 18:3). Hence the object of the adoration of Romanists is the merest fiction that can be conceived They have deified nonentity, and fall down and worship the conceit as the goddess-queen of heaven. This is not only folly, but the idiocy of pietism notably characteristic of the ecclesiasticism of our day.

But not only have Romanists missed the truth of this great sign, but their Protestant brethren likewise. Dr. Newton, a former Bishop of Bristol, in his work on the prophecies, page 600, in commenting most meagerly upon this sign, says, "St. John resumes his subject from the beginning, and in ch. 12:1,2, represents the church as a woman, and a mother bearing children to Christ. She is 'clothed with the sun,' invested with the rays of Jesus Christ, the sun of righteousness; having 'the moon,' the Jewish new moons and festivals, as well as all sublunary things, 'under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars,' an emblem of her being under the light and guidance of the twelve apostles." This is all he can see signified by this great sign! The bishop of Jezebel's English daughter has certainly made a nearer approach to the import of the sign than Jezebel herself. He does perceive that the woman represents church of some kind - that she is a sign-ecclesiastical woman, and not the emblem of a phantasma yclept the Queen of Heaven. But more than this he sees nothing signified.

The Rev. E. B. Elliott, however, does not agree with the interpretation of his ecclesiastical superior. He admits with him that church in some sense is meant by the woman in the sign; but this is all. On page 8, vol.1, he says, speaking of the sign, "But what the things prefigured hereby? This is the question. And first there can scarce be meant by the solar emblem, I think, what so many commentators have suggested in explanation - the church's investiture with Christ, as the sun of righteousness. The sun is no where in the Apocalyptic imagery made the representative of Christ. His countenance with its own intrinsic light is

described as like the sun, not as borrowing the sun to enlighten it: and, when fully revealed in the heavenly city, as altogether superseding it to the favored inhabitants. Nor, again, by her having the moon subjacent can there be meant a trampling upon things sublunary. Can the moon signify things under the moon? Consistency requires that we explain these greater luminaries to signify the chief rulers of the state, according to the general prophetic use of the symbols; and in the same way the stars, also seen in symbol, to signify lesser rulers in it. As to the precisely defined number of twelve stars - considering that the professing church on the Apocalyptic scene, including the true, was in an earlier vision (though one depicting somewhat later and worser times) numerically symbolized as the twelve tribes of Israel, we can not well err, I think, in

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explaining them to signify the heads, or ecclesiastical rulers, of those twelve tribes. The rather so, since this interpretation agrees with that which is given by inspiration itself of almost precisely the same symbol in the earliest of all emblematic visions, the dream of Jacob's son Joseph: and indeed with that explanatory note given at the very commencement of the Apocalyptic visions by the revealing angel himself; 'the seven stars are the angels (or chief and presiding ministers) of the seven churches.'

"And thus we are led to see that the figuration here given of Christ's faithful church was not one universally or generally true; but designative of it at some remarkable and particular time and conjuncture, viz: when the ruling powers in the Apostolic world would be associated with it, as its decoration and support; and its ecclesiastical rulers, or bishops, would be recognized as dignified authorities before the world. And in-deed much the same thing is indicated by the very representation of the woman as in heaven. For the heaven meant is evidently that of political elevation; just as in the vision, a little while since discussed by us, of the ascent of the witnesses; it being one in which the dragon might occupy a place as well as the woman; and one, the position in which is contrasted with dejection to the earth, as of a change from political power to political degradation."

Thus far Mr. Elliott, in whom there is certainly more light than in bishop Newton. Still Elliott's light is but darkness after all. The woman-church being crowned by the heads, or ecclesiastical rulers, of the twelve tribes of the apostolic Israel, is a very far-fetched conceit. He admits, that the sun and moon of the sign belong to the heaven common to the woman and the dragon; what consistency then is there in not recogni zing the twelve stars as belonging to that heaven also! Why interpret the sun and moon of the Roman Heaven, and twelve stars of the woman's own polity in apostasy? The stars are Roman as well as the sun and moon; and stripped of these in flight, the twelve stars remain with the sun and moon in the same heaven from, or out of, which she flies; otherwise, we ought to behold her a fugitive with a wreath of beauteous stars upon her head in the wilderness; a symbolization which would be Incompatible with her trampled condition there.

6. The Woman Pregnant

"And being pregnant she cries being in pangs and straining to bring forth" - verse 2

En gastre echousa, literally, having in belly. She contained something within the pale of her communion afterwards to be manifested, or

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brought forth. She contained it, according to the fitness or decorum of the symbol, previous to her cries in parturition. She did not cry being in pangs and straining to bring forth after her investiture with the solar mantle of imperialism. Her being invested with the sun was consequent upon her giving birth to what was contained within her, and its being placed upon the Italian throne. Had her child not been born, the "great sign in the heaven" would not have there appeared. The Italian throne in Rome had first to be vacated by its pagan occupant, before anything produced from the Laodiceanized Christian Body, pre-figured by this woman, could be herpasthe, carried up from its birth-place in the Roman heaven to godship and its throne - proston Theon, kai ton thronon autou. Hence the "great Sign" described in the first verse, was representative of the consummation of certain antecedents; and though first stated, was the last thing in the situation developed before the world.

The woman's pregnancy, then, preceded her cries. With what was she pregnant? This is now the question to be solved.

Zion and Jerusalem not only signify the geographical and topographical things so called, but all those, whether Jews or Gentiles, who have acquired citizenship in the Commonwealth of Israel by adoption through Jesus Christ. These all constitute a community, which in Isaiah 66:7, and Jer. 6:2, is likened to "a comely and delicate woman". In the former text the Spirit saith of her, "before she travailed, she brought forth; before her patn came, she was delivered of a man child." It was the same comely and delicate woman the exile in Patmos saw in the heaven invested with the sun. Isaiah's woman and John's woman are both represented as pregnant, and bringing forth, or giving birth to, a man child. But the difference existing is this, that John's woman brought forth under the Sixth Seal, A.D. 312-313; while Isaiah's woman brings forth under the Sixth Vial at "the time of the dead." There is difference also in the things brought forth. Isaiah's woman brings forth a multitudinous man child; that is, a nation, the "holy nation" (1 Pet. 2:9) consisting of the children of Zion., whom the earth is made to bring forth in one day. This nation is "born at once" before the travailing of Zion in the bringing forth her children after the flesh. As the saints are still mostly in the grave, and Israel and Judah in captivity among the nations - en-tombed in national graves - Zion is now a pregnant woman waiting until her time come to be delivered.

But we have to do with the comely and delicate Zion-woman as pregnant neither with Israel and Judah, nor the Saints, but with some other thing. What was that thing?

In writing to the Corinthian section of the Zion-community, Paul

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says,. "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2). By this we are taught, that the "One Body," likened to a woman, is to be considered in the absence of Christ, not as a married, but as an espoused woman - a bride elect. Paul desired that she might be presented in all the purity of her original espousals, when she was "sanctified and cleansed iri the laver of the water with doctrine" (Eph. 5:26). But, though this was his desire, penetrating the dark-ness of the future by the light of the Spirit, he could not forbear the expression of his fears lest the fate of Eve, the espoused of the first Adam, who was corrupted from the simplicity of the truth, should become the unhappy condition of the betrothed of the second Adam. "I fear," says he. "lest by any means, as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

What Paul feared, and to prevent which he was "jealous over all with a godly jealousy," was even then secretly at work, impregnating the Christian Eve with principles which in fruition caused her to give birth to a Cain, who has been murdering his brother Abel for fifteen hundred vears. It was even then at work. He styles it "the Mystery of the Iniquity" - the secret principles of that lawlessness which would develop itself into the Lawless One, or Man of Sin - anthropos tes hamar-tia - THE MAN OF THE APOSTASY. The seed-germ of this man was already in the womb of the espoused. "The mystery of the iniquity is already effectually working," says the apostle in 2 Thess. 2:7. Yes, it was this working, which, in verse 9, he styles "the inworking of the Satan," gave him so much trouble, and caused him such great anxiety, as evinced in his epistles. The principles of the apostasy were being inwrought, as he informs us, "with all power, and Signs, and miracles of falsehood ,and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." So effectual and specious was this inworking that, as Jesus predicted, even the elect would be endangered (Matt. 24:24). How could it be otherwise when, as Paul said to the Star-Angel of the Ephesian section of the betrothed Woman, "Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:30). These Star-Angel men had been made overseers of the ecclesia of the Deity by the Holy Spirit. They were the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, who had been supernaturally qualified by spiritual gifts "for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). With all the sanction of these gifts from the ascended Lord himself, they had been recognized by the flock they episcopized as the ministers of Christ. How unlikely therefore, that they would speak perverse things, and, becoming deceivers, rend the flock as grievous wolves, instead of feeding it, as they were exhorted to do by Paul. But,

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unlikely as it might seem, such was the fact. It is true that the Lord had bestowed upon them spiritual gifts; but these gifts did not act compulsorily upon those who had them. They did not compel them to speak only the truth, and to use them aright; they only qualified them so to do if they were disposed; but if, under the temptation of the flesh, they were indisposed, they could falsely teach, and speak perverse things, and misapply the signs and miracles they were able to work, to confirm what they said; for Paul says plainly that "the spirits (or spiritual gifts) of the prophets are subject to the prophets" (1 Cor. 14:32): the prophets were, therefore, responsible for the right use of them. They could abuse them, and many of them did, to the overthrow of the faith of those who heeded them.

It was by the inworking of these unfaithful teachers constituting "the Satan", "the Serpent," that the Christian Eve was "corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ." The depths of the Satan as they taught (Apoc. 2:24) impregnated her with the mystery of iniquity. They formed within her the embryo of the Man of Sin. They preached a Jesus which was not according to the Jesus Paul preached; they taught another gospel than that proclaimed by him; and denied a future resurrection of the dead; or, which was equivalent thereto, said that it was already past. The inworking of this mystery, or perverse teaching, showed itself very early in the history of the Christian Eve. The first intimation on record of this subverting of souls is found in Acts 14:1-5. In this place we are told that certain who believed were not satisfied with the sufficiency of the simplicity which is in Christ for salvation. The belief of "the things concerning the kingdom of the Deity and of the Name of Jesus Christ;" and the immersion of such a believer for salvation from the sins of the past did not satisfy them. They required that Moses should be obeyed as well as Jesus; and that no gospel short of this would save any one:

"Except ye' be circumcised after the manner of Moses, and keep his law, ye cannot be saved." This was their perversion of the gospel, which Paul terms "another gospel," the preachers of which, though of celestial angelic origin, he pronounced "accursed."

But these accursed preachers did not regard the anathema of Paul. They did not desist from the sowing of tares; but continued to heap tradition upon tradition until the distinctiveness of the truth was lost in "the commandments and doctrines of men" (Col. 2:22); and the way of truth came to be evil spoken of. Many followed their pernicious ways. Nor were the apostles able to extinguish their evil influence. Their reasonings and denunciations and threatenings, although sanctioned by the Spirit, failed to check or restrain the rapidly developing apostasy. Whole houses were subverted from the faith by these mercenary, unruly

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and vain talkers and deceivers (Tit. 1:11): and as error always progresses more rapidly than truth, the apostles found their influence waning, and the faithful falling into a minority; which steadily increased until there remained but few names who had not defiled their garments; and only a little strength to maintain the truth before the world (Apoc. 3:4,8).

From these premises then, we perceive, that the Zion-woman community was no longer, as a whole, "a chaste virgin." She had been corrupted and defiled by the subtlety, or "slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they laid in wait to deceive," after the example of the beguilement of Eve. Hence, the woman-community, originally a chaste virgin, and all her constituents virgins undefiled, came to be pregnant with a multitude of "children tossed to-and-fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine." These were tares, or "children of the wicked one, and sown of the enemy, the devil" (Matt. 13:38,39). In the seven Apocalyptic Epistles, the constituents of this embryo apostasy are termed "liars," "Nikolaitanes," blasphemers, spurious Jews, "the synagogue of the Satan," "Balaam", "that woman Jezebel", "her children , 'the Satan", "the dead," "the wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." In the pentecostal beginning, these constituents were not found in the Christian Eve. Then "the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul" (Acts 4:32). They had not yet been distracted and thrown into confusion by "grievous wolves," and "men speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them," for their own glory and advantage, reckless of the truth. But, in the course of three hundred years, all this was changed. The multitude of them who styled themselves Christians, were destitute of all unity of heart and soul; and had degenerated into a "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" set of catholic politicians. These gave character to the woman-community in the beginning of the fourth century. The Christadelphians or Brethren of Christ, at that crisis, were the "few names left, who had not defiled their garments." These alone were the pillar and support of the truth;" and but for them, it would have died out from among men; and there would have been no woman to fly into the wilderness, and to be sustained there 1,260 years. But the Deity had reserved to Himself a remnant, styled "the remnants of her seed, who keep the commandments of the Delty, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Ch. 12:17).

Thus the woman, who had become excessively attenuated, as it were skin and bone, a living skeleton, in all the period of her pregnancy, was grieved with a multitude of nominal professors ready for any enterprise by which they might acquire power and office in the state. This was the party with which she was pregnant. It styled itself "the HOLY APOSTOLIC

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TOLIC CATHOLIC CHURCH;" and only waited for a catholic man of power to lead them in their attack upon the pagan Roman government. This was "THE COMING MAN" of the fourth century - a leading politician, a Man of Power, who should be able to make the party to which he should belong the ruling power of the state. With this party, waiting for the manifestation of its chief, the woman was pregnant before "she cried being in pangs and strained to bring forth."

7. The Period of Pregnancy

The decorum of the symbol requires that the period of the woman's pregnancy be analogous to the time during which in nature a woman compasses a child before she gives it birth. Now it is well known, that the time of gestation from conception to birth, is a period of forty weeks or 280 days. This being the "set time" - the time appointed by Deity for the development of children from the womb of humanity - it became a law of nature. If, therefore, one of "the deep things of Deity" in a revelation has to be symbolized by the natural result of a woman's pregnancy, which is the birth of a child, it is necessary that the law of nature in the case become the measure of the duration of the symbolic pregnancy before the symbolic child is manifested in the world. This is styled "the decorum of the symbol," and must be regarded in the interpretation of all symbols. To neglect it would produce sad confusion in an exposition. We must therefore find the woman in espousable existence 280 years before the manifestation of any MAN OF POWER, who in any sense could be decorously styled "her child."

The espousal of the "one body," symbolized in this prophecy by a woman, occurred on the day of that Pentecost, which first followed the crucifixion of the anointed Jesus. The apostles were instrumental in this betrothal, and promising the virgin bride of believers marriage to the Lamb when He should return to celebrate his nuptials with all who should be found faithful to the end. "I have espoused you," says Paul, "to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ ' He had begotten them to this honorable and glorious destiny by the truth he had taught them, and which they had received in its simplicity; therefore he says in another place, "to Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:15).

But the Chrisladeiphian Eve had not been espoused twelve months before it became manifest that iniquity was working within her. The case of Ananias and Sapphira was illustrative of this. The evil manifested through them was the evil principle which generated that "Mystery of Iniquity" which at length developed the Lawless One or Man of Sin. It was the spirit of falsehood, which Paul styles "the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish" (2 Thess. 2:10).

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This case of Ananias and Sapphira marks the commencement of the woman's symbolic pregnancy. It occurred A.D. 33. This was the epoch of her impregnation. From this year of apostolic espousal to what Mr. Whiston styles "the famous proclamation and edict for the universal liberty and advancement of christianity (more correctly, "the Apostasy") by Constantine and Licinius, A.D. 313, which put an end to the pangs of birth in the heaviest persecution that ever was then known, was exactly 280 years." A pregnancy of forty weeks of years, at the end of which there was manifest a Man of Power, who professed the faith of the majority of the woman's community; delivered her from the sanguinary oppression of the pagan "Devil and Satan," whom he cast out of the heaven into the earth together with the stars of his tail; and who set himself up as the Bishop, or Overseer, episkopos (the Eyes and Mouth) of all the bishops of the Roman world.

8. The Woman Cries Being In Pangs

The woman was pregnant, and therefore, if she lived through the period of her painful gestation, her time would certainly come to bring forth. It is therefore written of her, "she cries being in pangs and straining to bring forth."

The period during which she was tormented with the pangs of parturition were the "ten days," or years, preceding the proclamation and edict of Constantine and Licinius, which were issued, as I have said, A.D. 313. This parturient crisis in the woman's history is foretold in the letter to the ecclesia at Smyrna in these words - "the Devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days" (Apoc. 2:10). This ten days' parturient tribulation came upon her with the opening of the fifth seal, A.D. 303. This is known in history as the great Diocletian Persecution, the severest ever inflicted by the great red pagan "Devil and Satan" upon professors of Christianity. In this fifth seal period her "cries" were uttered "with a loud voice, saying, Until when, 0 Despot, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on the dwellers upon the earth?" Her pangs produced these outcries, which need not to be expounded heie in detail, seeing that they have been sufficiently treated of in the second volume at p.264. After the death of the Augustan emperor Galerius, in A.D. 311, her straining efforts began. Her pains now became forcing. She felt that she must die, if she did not give birth to a deliverer. The time of judgment and vengeance was to come at the end of "a little while," chronon mikron; and of that little while about two years only remained for the manifestation of her son upon the throne of the Roman Orb. The strain-

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mg efforts of the woman were synchronous with the opening of the sixth seal, by which was initiated that "war in heaven" which resulted in casting the pagan Dragon out, and her own investment with the sun; in allusion to which, Eusebius, in his Life of Constantine, says, "In short, as the sun, when he rises upon the earth, liberally imparts his rays of light to all, so did Constantine, proceeding at early dawn from the imperial palace, and rising as it were with the heavenly luminary, impart the rays of his own beneficence to all who approached his person" - lib. 1 ch. 43. The totality upon which these rays of the imperial beneficence fell, was all of the woman's adherents previously to his drawing the line between those who recognized his EPISCOPAL SUPREMACY and those who rejected it as the usurpation of the ANTICHRIST. After this line was drawn, the rays of his beneficence were reserved exclusively for what he styled "THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH," of which he was the acknowledged episcopal head. All others were regarded as perverse and wicked.

9. "Another Sign in the Heaven"

"And there appeared another sign in the heaven, and behold a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. And his tail draws the third of the stars of the heaven, and he cast them into the earth" - Verses 3,4.

John saw "another sign in the heaven." The first Sign which he terms "a great sign," was the woman invested with the sun. The same heaven was the scene in which the two signs were exhibited to all who observed them. It was the heaven of the Roman Orb in Which shone all the luminaries of the Graeco-Latin body politic. The Dragon had long occupied the heaven of Italy; but it was not until the judicial crisis of the sixth seal that he was exhibited as "a sign." He was significative of a power occupying a position of hostility to the Christian Eve, and to all who favored her. This third verse is the first place in the Apocalypse where this hostile power is mentioned by the name of Dragon, though it is not the first where the power itself is indicated. The power is referred to in ch. 2:10, where it is styled "the Devil." Here the Smyrnean section of the woman is exhorted to "fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the Devil shall cast some of you into prison that ye may be tried." The Devil was the power which owned and controlled the prisons into which then, as now, he casts all whom his prosecuting attorneys convict of violating his laws. All the sufferings of the woman in her gestation.of 280 years were inflicted upon her by "the Devil and his Angels," who reigned in the heaven of the Roman Orb. These were her

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opponents who sought her destruction. The Devil was her adversary, who, "as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour;" but she resisted him being steadfast in the faith; nevertheless, though cast down by the afflictions he heaped upon her, she was not destroyed (1 Pet. 5:8); but overcame him in the epoch of this other sign in the heaven (Apoc. 12:11).

Picture shown page 56 not shown

PAGAN ROMAN DRAGON

- Overthrown AD 312-313 Rev. 12:3

"Dragon" applied to Eastern Emperors AD 395-AD 1453

This illustration is taken from the Apocalypse And Gospels by F. Bilton. Rev. 12:3 states:

~Behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads". This is not to be confused with the beast of the sea with its "seven heads and ten hoins" (Rev. 13:1), for the description of the latter symbol represents the crowns as on the horns. The position of the crowns illustrates the time sequence. The dragon of Rev. 12:3 represents Rome before divided among the horns or kingdoms of Euro p e, and so the crowns are on the heads, or Rome proper; the beast has the crowns upon the horns, not on the heads, and so represents the penod when Rome no longer dominates the horns which have secured independence of rule. - PublIshers.

10. The Great Fiery Red Dragon

A dragon is a kind of beast, and therefore partakes in the characteristics of beasts. These in prophetic writing are the well-known symbols of destroying monarchies or powers; and, where the people of the Deity are found sojourning under their authority, the persecutors of the saints. But, though the dragon is a beast, he is apocalyptically distin-

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guished from the beast of the earth, and the beast of the sea; nevertheless, he possesses certain characteristics in common with them both: for they are all found upon the same arena, though not contemporary in all their history

The four beasts in Dan. 7:3, the winged lion, the bear, the winged leopard, and the anonymous fourth beast, are explained in verse 17, as representative of four kings or powers, styled kingdoms in verse 23. The nameless fourth beast, that is not named by Daniel, is styled by John diversely a dragon and a beast, according to the subject he may be treating of.

The Hebrew tannin, and the Greek drakon, rendered in our English version dragon, it is evident from Ezek. 29:3, signifies a crocodile; the great scaly serpent-fish of the Nile, the symbol of the Egyptian power, styled "Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers."

The dragon, then, whose force is in his tail, symbolized the power of the old Egyptian Polity. This, in the days of Moses, was the great enemy of Israel after both flesh and spirit. It embodied in its institutions all the filthiness, and superstition, and tyranny of human nature; and stood before the world as the great SIN-POWER of antiquity - "the Old Serpent, the Devil and the Satan."

But the empire of the Dragonic-Sin-power was westward. It did not remain enthroned in Egypt. Yahweh's servant Nebuchadnezzar transferred it to Babylon; whence in due time it migrated, and was at length found in the city of the Seven Hills. The power there, in the epoch of the sign, was the old Egyptian Dragon incorporate in the Graeco-Latin polity, which possessed Egypt, Syria, and the East. Hence, the territory of the Dragonic fourth beast of Daniel is apocalyptically and "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified" (Ch. 11:8); "the great city Babylon."

"The Dragon," says Daubuz, "is a crocodile, a creature which is ranked among the serpents by Honis Apollo; and is called by the Arabians Pharaoh, and which was held by the Egyptians as the symbol of all mischief. And therefore' Typho being, in their belief, the author of all evil, was supposed to have transformed himself into a crocodile, or dragon. So that the principle of all evil, or Typho, was in the symbolical character represented by a crocodile or dragon; and under this symbol was the said principle worshipped. Agreeably whereunto in the Chaldean theology the principle of evil was called Arimanius; that is, the crafty serpent, from 'aruwm, crafly, and 'tachash, serpent."

Amongst profane writers may be mentioned Horace, who compares the Roman people, not only to a beast because of its ferocity, but

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to a many-headed beast - lib. 1 Ep. 1 ver. 76. The apocalypse denominates that Egypto-Roman monster a great seven-headed dragon.

The dragon was one of the military ensigns of imperial Rome. Ammianus Marcellinus, as quoted by Elliott, thus describes it: "The dragon was covered with purple cloth, and fastened to the end of a pike gilt and adorned with precious stones: its wide throat being opened, so that the wind blew through it; and it hissed, as if in a rage, with its tail floating in various folds to the breeze." He elsewhere often gives it the epithet of purpureus, purple-red; "purpureum signum draconis." In another note Mr. Elliott remarks that "in Trajan's time the dragon was a Dacian ensign, not a Roman; as appears from the basreliefs on Trajan's arch. A century afterwards it was, as a Roman ensign, sculptured on Severus'

Picture page 57 not shown

At one time apurpurcus or purple-red dragon was used as a standard for Rome. It was first used as an ensign near the close of the second century, though it was not until the third century that its use had become common. It is most appropriate, there-fore, that The Apocalypse should introduce it at this particular point of the prophecy.

arch of triumph. Later in the third century it had become almost as notorious among Roman ensigns as the Eagle itself: and is in the fourth century noted by several authors. Among these John, surnamed Chrysostom, who flourished then, says that "the emperors wore among other things to distinguish them, silken robes embroidered with gold, in which Dragons were represented." Speaking of the procession of Constantine from Milan to Rome, Gibbon says, "he was encompassed by the glittering arms of the numerous squadrons of his guards and

cuirassiers. Their streaming banners of silk, embroidered with gold, and shaped in the form of Dragons, waved round the person of the em-peror".

Daniel's nameless "dreadful and terrible" fourth beast is a contraction, or condensation, of John's great fiery-red dragon, ten-horned

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beast of the sea, two-horned beast of the earth, image of the beast, and scarlet beast and drunken woman. These apocalyptic symbols are illustrative amplifications of the head, ten horns, eleventh horn, and eyes and mouth, of Daniel's "dreadful and terrible" beast, in its relations with the saints in all the 1260 years of their subjection, or down-treading by the Gentiles. In Daniel's description of it no mention is made of more heads than one. "The ten horns that were on his head." This is all recorded of its head. Daniel says nothing about "seven heads" on any beast shown to him. He only saw one; but behind this one were con-cealed seven others, of which we should have no more knowledge than he, had not the Apocalypse brought them into view. In this, the seven heads are brought out conspicuously. They are seen upon the Dragon, the Beast of the Sea, and the Scarlet-coloured Beast of the Wilderness. Though seen on different symbolic beasts, they are not different sets of seven; that is, one set of seven heads for the Dragon; and a set of different seven heads for the Marine Beast; and yet a different seven from either, for the Scarlet Beast of the Wilderness. They are one and the same seven heads upon all three beasts; so that the signification of them in connection with the scarlet beast, is their signification as the heads of the Dragon and the Beast of the Sea.

11. The Seven Heads of the Dragon

I have said that behind the head seen by Daniel there were seven other heads which he did not perceive. This is equivalent to saying, that the head seen by him was an EIGHTH HEAD. This is the truth. The beast he saw was headed with this eighth head contemporary with its destruction by the saints. The seven heads, except the sixth, which precede this, have now no other political existence than what may be found on the page of history. They are things of the past, save only so far as the eighth is a partaker ofthe political character of the seven. The eighth head, in Apoc. 17:11, is styled a beast'; as, "the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth irto perdition." The eighth head is styled the beast, because a headless beast is a mere carcass, and incapable of action. All the seven heads, topographically viewed, being politically defunct ages before the judgment sits for the slaying of the Beast, it became necessary to give it an eighth that it might live on to the time when judgment should be given to the saints. The Eighth Beast is therefore the "dreadful and terrible fourth" in eighth head manifestation. Its history begins after the fall of the seventh head, and winds up in its perdition after the advent of the Ancient of Days.

But the seven heads have not only a political, or ecclesiastical and

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secular, signification; they have also a topographical one. By this, I mean, they represent the particular place, or city, where the seven heads, in their political manifestation, were to be enthroned. The heads were politically anchored to the capital of the body politic. They must be sought for there, and only there; for the legislative head of a dominion is constitutionally located at the seat of government.

Now "here is the mind which hath wisdom" - here is the sense or meaning which is true. "The seven heads are seven mountains, where the woman is sitting upon them." This is a Hebraism; an idiom, in which "are" is used for represent. It is a form of speech often used in Scripture; as, of the rock smitten by Moses, it saith, "that rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4); it represented Christ: "this bread is my body;" it represents my body: ~the seven lightstands are the seven ecclesias;" they represent them: and in many other places too numerous for reference. The seven heads have a two-fold signification, the first whereof is given in Apoc. 17:9. They represent seven mountains. But, if nothing more had been said, we should have been at a loss with regard to the particular seven represented. It was therefore added, "where the woman is sitting upon them." But what does "the woman" represent? There can be no doubt about the signification of this symbol; for John was informed that the woman represented "a Great City" -an Imperial City; even "that great city, which," while he was in Patmos, is "having dominion over the kings of the earth" (verse 18). From the description, it was impossible that John could mistake as to the signification of this imperial woman. He knew, as we may know, that no other city could be meant than "the Seven Hilled City" ROME. This is the only city situate upon seven mountains, in John's day or since, that can be said to have dominion over the rulers of the earth. Her topography is seven heads, or elevations, of the land drained by the Tiber; and are thus named:

1. Mount Coelius;

2. Mount Viminal;

3. Mount Aventine;

4. Mount Esquiline;

5. Mount Quirinal;

6. Mount Capitoline;

7 Mount Palatine.

Upon these seven mounts Rome, styled by its historians, "the Eternal City," is sitting; and, when the Apocalypse was revealed to John, contained a population of millions. She was founded by Romulus753 years before the birth of Jesus Christ; so that in A.D. 1868 she is 2621 years old. Her limits are now greatly reduced. About thirty years before Christ, and in the days of Augustus Caesar, Rome contained two

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millions of inhabitants; and was fifty miles in circumference; but in 1847, she contained only 175,883 inhabitants, exclusive of Jews, whose number was computed at 8000. As long as she continues above ground she will be an interesting city. She contains 354 edifices, termed by Daniel mivtzerai mauzzim, BAZAARS OF GUARDIANS; but, by "the daemons, foul spirits, and unclean and hateful birds" of "Christendom" so-called, "churches;" which, in their ignorance and folly, they have dedicated to ghosts or phantoms, which they have decreed to be immortal, and protecting guardians to all who worship them therein. Among these bazaars of Romish saints, St. Peter's, the temple of the Roman God, holds the first rank, being the largest temple in the world. It is 666 feet long, 284 wide, and its magnificent cupola rises to the height of 408 feet. It was 200 years in building. It is the temple of "the god of the earth", before whom, in belligerent antagonism, the saints and witnesses of Jesus stood; prophesying in sackcloths 1260 years (Dan. 11:39; Apoc. 18:2; 11:3). It is the temple in which is worshipped "the Man of Sin and Son of Perdition," styled also "the Lawless One"; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called a god or is reverenced: so that, as a god, he sits in the temple of the god, publicly exhibiting himself that he is a god" (2 Thess. 2:4). Such are the capital and chief temple of the apocalyptic Sodom and Egypt; the Queen City of the Gentiles, and most holy sanctuary of Satan.

Picture of Basilica "Vatican" not shown

The interior of the Basilica or temple of "the god of the earth" in the Vatican. Its painted walls depict the "pleasant pictures against which judgment is to fall (Isa.2:16).

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The second signification of the seven heads is expressed in Apoc. 17:10; as, "And they are seven kings"; the "and" connecting them with the seven mountains - "the seven heads are seven mountains, and they are seven kings," or governing bodies, as basileis also signifies. These seven forms of government belong to the seven hills; and are therefore Roman and Italian. John was informed, that at the time of the revelation of the mystery being made, five of the heads had fallen; and that the one in existence, consequently, was the sixth head; and that the other, or seventh head, had not yet appeared; but that when it came up, it would continue only a short time: "they are seven kings; the five have fallen, and the one is, the other not yet come; and when he may come, it behooves that he continue a short time." The two greatest historians, Livy and Tacitus, have enumerated the five from the building of the city, as,

1. The Regal Head, which continued 240 years;

2. The Consular Head, which continued 11 years;

3. The Dictatorial Head, which continued 5 years;

4. The Decemviral Head; and,

5. The Tribunitial Head with consular authority, which continued till it was superseded by

6. The Imperial Head, B.C. 31. John the apostle and Tacitus the historian, lived under this head, which continued in Rome 507 years. It was then wounded as it were to death by the

7. Or Gothic Head, A.D. 476. But, as this was only to continue "a short time" compared with the sixth, it was slain after reigning 60 years, in A.D. 554.

Picture of coins pg 61 not shown

Rome seated on seven mountains as depicted on a Roman coin in the British Museum struck A.D. 69-79.

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There was this peculiarity about the sixth head, namely, that, about A.D. 330, Constantine, the first catholic emperor, dedicated a new city, which, after his own name, he called CONSTANTINOPLE.(*) This new Rome was also built upon seven hills; nevertheless, it is impossible to mistake it for "the woman", or "great city", of Apoc. 17,' inasmuch as it has never been the capital of hoi hepta basileis, the seven governing bodies enumerated by the historians of the Italian Rome. On the dedication of Constantinople, the imperial residence and court were established there; while the ancient Senate of the empire continued its sittings and the exercise of its functions in Rome, until it became contemporarily extinct with the seventh head A.D. 554, after a continuance of 1307 years from its institution by Romulus, the founder of the Roman State. Thus, from the dedication of the City of Constantine to the establishment of the Seventh Head upon the seven mountains, the Sixth Head of the Dragon had two capitals and two thrones to which the governing orders of the state were related. This was an arrangement peculiar to the sixth head, and doubtless providentially ordered with reference to future predetermined constitutional developments, to be manifested after the fall of the Seventh Head. The sixth head continues enthroned in Constantinople, though not in Rome, to this day. Rome has witnessed eight heads upon her seven mountains; but Constantinople only one. The government in Constantinople has always been imperial, whether administered by a Roman or Ottoman dynasty. The imperiality of the Ottoman capital has descended, through Constantine, from Augustus Caesar, the founder of the sixth head of the Dragon. The loss of old Rome by the sixth head did not deprive the governing power in Constantinople of its sixth headship. The sixth head there still rules over the eastern section of the territory of the Dragon; and perpetuates the Dragon Power for the developments of which it is to be the subject in "the time of the end". Hence, the Constantinopolitan power, without regard to the particular race administering it, be it Italian, Greek, Turkish, or Russian, is the Dragon, as opposed to the Beast of the Sea, and the Beast of the Earth, of Apoc. 13. The Constantinopolitan power, as we have seen, originally owned both Rome and Constantinople; but in after times "yielded to the Lion Mouth of the Beast of the Sea his power, and his throne, and great authority"; reserving to itself what it was able to keep: so that the Roman Orb came to be divided between the Eastern Dragon and the Western Beast; and the populations of the two sections "worshipped" each respectively, as it is written, "they worshipped the Dragon which yielded power to the Beast: and they worshipped the Beast" Apoc. 13:4.

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(*)Today better known as Istanbul. Constantinople was called the new or second Rome.

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Further details concerning the Imperial Sixth Head will be exhibited when I come to treat of the Beast of the Sea. I would, however, call the attention of the reader to the remarkable feature in the symbolism of the Dragon in contrast with that of the Beast, namely, that upon the seven heads are "seven diadems", while upon the seven heads of the Beast there are none. Now, a diadem is a symbol of sovereignty. Upon the ten horns of the Dragon are no diadems, but only upon its seven heads. Had there been seven diadems upon the heads, and ten diadems upon the horns, seventeen in all, there would have been no Beast of the Sea and Image of the Beast, to have divided with it the political "worship in all the earth." The heads of the Dragon being only diademed indicates that its heads are sovereign; and that the Dragon symbol during the continuance of the Beast has specially to do with apocalyptic developments connected with the heads, Therefore it is we find the Dragon in existence after the destruction of the Beast and his Image in "the Lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Ch. 19:20). These are entirely destroyed when "judgment is given to the saints"; but the Dragon is not. This power is bound in the abyss for 1000 years; but at the end thereof, he lifts up his diademed sixth head, of which is the eighth, and by which the nations are again beguiled into the old delusion of the sovereignty of the people, and independence of all power but that which is inherent in themselves (Apoc. 20:7,5). But this is the last effort of flesh and blood to rule itself imperially upon the earth. The power that binds the Dragon, and destroys the Beast and his Image, premillennially, will at the end of the thousand years crush the Dragon's Sixto-Octavian Head, and so rid the earth forever of man's accursed nature, which is the Devil and Satan, in apocalyptic eight-headed and ten-horned manifestation -verses 9,10.

12. The Ten Horns of the Dragon

The difference between the ten horns of the Dragon and the ten horns of the Beast of the Sea, consists in the ten upon the Beast being diademed, while the ten upon the Dragon are not. This indicates that the Beast symbol represents things concurrent with the Horns in their exercise of sovereignty; while the Dragon, as far as old Rome is concerned, had to do with the sovereignty of the heads before the horns had received their kingdoms.

John in the wilderness saw the horns in what may be termed their Dragon-state, and writes of them thus, "the ten horns which thou sawest", said the angel to him, "are", or represent, "ten kings", or sovereignties, "which have received no kingdom as yet" (Apoc.17:12).

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This was their apocalyptic status until the Sixth Head of the Dragon had been wounded. After this had been slain almost to death, then we may look for the ascending of the Beast out of the abyss, in the dragon-horns receiving their kingdoms at the cost of the Dragon power (Apoc. 11:7;13:1).

We have seen that the heads were interpreted to John by the revealing angel, topographically and politically; thus conferring upon them a two-fold signification. So it is with the Horns: they are to be interpreted chronographically and politically. Until they had received their kingdom, they were mostly chorographic appendages of the Dragon-empire

The Pagan Dominion called the Old Serpent or Satan's Kingdom.

Map page 64 not shown

that is, they existed as provinces, territorial regions, of the dominion, upon which ten kingdoms were afterwards established by the barbarians, who founded the seventh head upon the seven mountains; wounded the Dragon's Sixth Head, which was afterwards "healed", and subverted the Dragon's jurisdiction over extensive regions.

Those regions were styled, by anticipation, horns - undiademed horns. In the time of John, they might be enumerated as, Greece, Moesia, Illyricum, Pannonia, Noricum, Rhoetia, Italy, Gaul, Spain, and Africa. The Dragon had then, and afterwards, other provinces in the east; but those only are to be reckoned as horn-provinces upon which kingdoms "receiving power as kings one hour with the Beast's" eighth head, horns sustaining the Papacy, were established. The political organization of the peoples that was developed upon these Dragon-horn provinces, became the apocalyptic Beast of the Sea; while

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Macedonia, Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, remained to the Dragon, as at this day.

13. The Tail of the Dragon

"And his Tail draws the third of the stars of the heaven."

The tail of the old Roman Dragon swayed by this power must have partaken of the character of that power, as the tail of a beast partakes of the peculiar vitality of the beast. The dragon in the heaven, heads, horns, body and tail, as a sign there, is to be viewed chronologically, in his tail-conflict with "Michael and his angels". This tail-conflict was the last conflict of the Pagan Roman Serpent-power, or Dragon, with the partisans of the Christian Eve. "The ancient and the honorable he is the head, and the prophet that teaches lies he is the tail" (Isa. 9:15). All the pagan priests and philosophers were the teachers of lies in this, the crisis of the sixth seal. They would therefore constitute a very important element of the Dragon's tail. Added to these would also be all "the rulers of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains (or chiliarchs, commanders of a thousand men), mighty men, and every slave, and every freeman" (Apoc. 6:15) who adhered to the pagan prophets. Of these were "the Stars of the heaven" in which the Dragon was a sign. Entering into the composition of his tail, his tail is said to "draw" them. The tail of a power in motion, represents ':ie fierce anger of that power against its enemies, as manifested in its movements of an

CONSTANTINE REIGNS SUPREME

Map page 65 not shown

Constantine in Italy (Rome) and Licinius in II lyricurn issue a Joint decree proclaiming religious toleration Constantine attacks and defeats Licinius in Illyricum and Pannonia Licinius retires to Byzanttum but is there defeated by Constantine land and sea forces with crawing to Asia Mtnor, the Eastern third of the Roman Empire, he is finally defeated and then murdered by the first

Christian Emperor who then reigns over a Christianized Empire

Constantine becomes Sole Ruler replacing Gairriss Masentius Masimin and finally Licinius

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army to destroy them. This appears from Isa. 7:4, where the armies of Syria and Israel, in march against Jerusalem, are styled the two tails of as many smoking firebrands, or their fierce anger. The tail of the Dragon is represented as in motion; for it is written, "his tail draws the third of the stars of the heaven, and did cast them to the earth." The power of the Dragon, or crocodile, is in its tail. It sways it violently in its anger; but if the power of its tail is overcome, all composing the tail, or attaching themselves to the party of the tail, will be laid prostrate under the feet of the victor; or, in the words of the prophecy, be "cast to the earth." The conflict was between Michael and the Tail of the Dragon, both being in the heaven. A third of the stars of this heaven sided with the Dragon's Tail; while the two thirds ranged themselves under the Standard of "the Cross," by which sign "Michael" proposed to conquer. At that time, the Dragon dominion was divided into three parts - the Eastern, the Western, and the Illyrian, prefectures. On the defeat of Maxentius, Constantine ruled the Western, Licinius the Illyrian, and Maximin the Eastern, Third. Maximin was the champion of Jupiter and the gods. This third was chorographically the Dragon's Tail, his Head being in Rome. Maximin dying in great torments, was succeeded in the Eastern Third by Licinius; who, apostatizing from the Catholic profession, solemnly professed himself at an idolatrous altar the champion of the gods. He was now the Pontifex Maximus of Paganism, or Chief Prophet of the Tail of the Dragon. He was the centre of attraction to the stars of the Eastern Third of the Heaven; and therefore to a "third of the stars of the heaven." He drew them after him to a final struggle against the Archer of the First Seal. But he was defeated and dethroned, and ignominiously ejected from his high position in the state; and, in his fall from the heaven, drew with him to the earth, all the men of power, philosophers, and priests of Paganism, the stars of the Dragon's Tail, who had staked their all upon his success.

14. The Old Serpent

"The Great Dragon, the old Serpent, surnamed the Diabolos and the Satan, who misleads the whole habitable."

The whole habitable, ten oikoumenen holen, was that portion of the earth comprehended within the limits of the great Pagan-Dragon dominion, which, in the epoch of the Sixth Seal, acknowledged the jurisdiction of the great city Rome. The head of this dominion was the Roman emperor, who united in his own official person the supreme pontifical, civil, and military authority. He was the sovereign living incarnation, for the term of his official existence, of the power resulting

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from the combination of the dwellers upon the habitable into a body politic, or kingdom of men. Human power enthroned upon the seven mountains, and exercising authority over the whole habitable imperial human power - is apocalyptically styled "the Old Serpent," ho ophis, ho archaios - the Serpent which was in the beginning.

The apocalyptic dominion ruled by this Serpent was Mediterranean. It enclosed this sea within its territory. On the north, it was bounded by the Caucasus, the Euxine, the Danaster, the Danube, the Rhine, and the German Ocean. On the south, by the Roman Africa, a strip of land lying between the Atlas range and the sea, and extending from the Atlantic to the Red Sea: on the west, it was washed by the Atlantic: and on the east reached to the Tigris, Euphrates, and the Arabian Desert. This territory, two thousand miles by three thousand, extended into Scotland; but did not include Ireland, Germania, Sarmatia, nor Persia. The former three were peopled by savage hordes; but at the epoch of the Sixth Seal they did not belong to the dominion of the apocalyptic Serpent.

But an inquirer might ask, were not all the outlying countries as much ruled by the Serpent, as the inhabiters of the Roman earth and sea? To this I reply, not in the apocalyptic sense. The apocalypse prefigures the conflict between "the Seed of the Woman" and the Serpent, for the sovereignty of the world (Gen. 3:15). This conflict was not between the Woman's Seed and the governments outlying the Roman empire. At the opening of the Sixth Seal, the time had not come for that. The time to deal with the sin-powers of Asia and America had not then arrived. It was therefore necessary only to indicate by appropriate symbols that section of the general enemy with whom the saints would have especially to contend; and this was the Serpent in his Graeco-Latin, or Roman, manifestation upon the territory defined.

But, if the Pago-Roman Dragon Power be the Old Serpent, did that power exist in the days of the serpent that tempted Eve? To this question the answer is, it did unquestionably exist. The testimony before us, bears witness to the fact. It is there styled archaios, which signifies, not only old, ancient; but primeval, from the beginning, original. The Roman Dragon was the original serpent power. This is not to be disputed.

The reader will bear in mind that we are treating of a power styled the old serpent," not of the reptile styled nahkash, which Moses says, "was more sagacious than any beast of the field, which Yahweh Elohim had made." The animal was not the power, but only the type of it. He was quick of thought, penetrating, and acutely discerning. He was the most intellectual of all the creatures, and had but one superior among

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the living, and that was Man. The difference between man and the serpent was diversity of organization. They were both dust of the ground; but the one more highly and perfectly organized than the other. The organism of the serpent embodied faculties whose functions placed him in harmony with man's nature. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, were common to them both; so that their intellectual and animal tendencies were on a par. Hence, man was more nearly related to the serpent than to any other animal - so nearly, that the serpent-nature and the man-nature, without much exaggeration, might be termed identical. I have said that man was intellectually his superior. This, however, must not be taken absolutely. The serpent showed himself to be more of an adept than Eve. He purposed to make her and Adam eat the fruit; and to do so by reasoning them into the commission of the act. In this he succeeded, and thereby proved that his intellectual subtitle was superior to theirs. Had they been as quick of thought and penetrating as he, he would have found his match, and the temptation would have failed. They, however, were over-matched by the serpent, who succeeded in deceiving them. He was the intelligent deceiver who darkened their understandings; while they stood in the humiliating position of the serpent-deceived.

Man has a class of faculties which the serpent had not. These are the moral faculties. The possession of these is the mental difference between the two creatures. The moral faculties are the basis of man's accountability. If he had been destitute of these he would have been as little accountable as the serpent. This organic difference is a matter of capacity for the reception of ideas. The mental capacity of the man was more ample than the serpent's, though less acute. He had more knowledge of things in general, and was capable of higher attainments in knowledge than the serpent, but he was not so sharp-witted in the use of what he knew as the subtile beast, whose wisdom has passed into the proverb, "Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

The moral faculties, I say, are the basis of man's accountability. The mere fact, however, of their possession would not have made him responsible to the Deity. The possession of them gave the man no advantage over the serpent. The serpent was "very good," and the man was "very good;" for it is written, "Elohim saw everything that he made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31). As mere material creatures, then, the capacity of one of them for the reception of moral, or spiritual ideas, did not destroy the analogy, or rather the identity, of the serpent nature and the man nature. The truth of this is apparent in mankind at this day. The Fejees, Japanese, New Hollanders, and such-like,have the same number of cerebral organs as Adam when pronounced "very

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good." Among those are organs capable of high moral developments. But ,what better are they for the possession of them under existing circumstances? Manifestly none. They are as thoroughly serpent in nature as though they had but the intellectual and animal faculties of the serpent, and no more.

Morally, then, the serpent could not respond to the thoughts, principles, and the institutions of the Deity; but man could, because of his organic capacity for the reception of them. The serpent could not, and the man would not; so that in relation to the way and principles of the Deity, both man and the serpent were reprobate; and of the two the man who could but would not believe and do, was unquestionably the worse.

Man was the only creature of the Deity's "very good" animal creation, whose action was restrained by a law. It was said to him, "Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day of thine eating thereof, dying thou shalt die." This was spoken to man only; but in the hearing of the serpent. Had the serpent, or any other animal, eaten of it he would not have transgressed, because the eating, or touching of the tree, was only prohibited to man. The law demanded of man the recognition of the Deity as his ruler and lawgiver by a faithful abstinence from the thing forbidden. The law was the spoken word, or oracle, of the Deity; and threatened the man with death if he despised it. No greater offense could be committed by the man; because "the Deity hath magnified his word above all his name;" so that to despise his word is equivalent to despising him.

The serpent saw the lawgiver, heard the law, and could distinguish the trees. Being very quick of thought, he instinctively speculated, or reasoned, upon what he saw and heard. "The eyes of the Elohim are open, and they know both good and evil, and yet are immortal. Adam is made in their image and after their likeness; and is doubtless like them in all things but the knowledge of evil as well as good. This knowledge, it is clear, may be obtained by eating of the tree forbidden. If they eat thereof, the man and the woman would be like the Elohim; their eyes would be open, and they would know good and evil. And as for dying, that is by no means a necessary consequence. The Elohim are immortal, and Adam and Eve may be so too; for all that is needful to be done to avoid the threatened penalty of the law, is for them to go to the other tree, called the Tree of Lives, and to eat of it' and they will live forever." Such was the intellectualizing of the serpent upon what he had seen and heard. It brought him to conclusions, not altogether false nor entirely true. His conclusion was a mixture of truth and error, in which the error neutralized the truth and made it void. It was therefore "a lie;" and he,

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though ignorant of the falseness of the theory he was thinking out, "a liar, and the father of it."

Highly satisfied with his newly discovered views of the situation, he presented himself before the mother of all living, and opened a conversation with her upon the subject of the law and its penalty, in which he submitted to her the conclusions to which he had come from the premises before him. He introduced the conference by showing that, he knew what the Elohim had said, "Yea," said he, "hath Elohim said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden!" The "yea" implies that he knew the fact; but he put what he knew interrogatively to draw the woman out. She admitted that it had been so said, and specified the particular tree, and its locality in the midst of the garden, and added that they were forbidden even to touch it upon pain of death. This was the point he wished her to come to as it enabled him at once to state the discovery he had made of what Deity really intended contrary to his word. He replied, "Dying ye shall not die:" that is, "Your dying shall not end in death." This was a point-blank denial of what the Deity had said. He had said they should die, and the serpent said they should not, and undertook to establish his position by declaring his acquaintance with the secret of the Deity hidden from her - "Dying ye shall not die; for Elohim knows that in the day of your eating thereof then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as Elohim, knowing good and evil." The Elohim do not die, they know good and evil, and you will become like them.

The woman listened to his sermon on the law, and thought his exposition of the word might be its true spiritual import. It was possible that the Deity did not mean what he said; that it was the letter of the law only that killed; but the spiritual or secret meaning expounded by the intelligent and eloquent serpent, was the real life-imparting truth. She entertained this supposition, since become so popular with her descendants; and, half convinced, she moved towards the tree to take a look at it, and more practically consider the matter. Her faith in the unadulterated Word was shaken. She believed the spiritualizing serpent, and she believed the Deity; for she believed the eating of the tree would impart the knowledge of the good and the evil divinely indicated; but then she believed also, that the death-penalty might be evaded according to the doctrine of the serpent. The tree, she knew, was "good for food," it was also "pleasant to the eyes." Here were two classes of human lusts co-working in favor of the serpent's conclusion. There remained only one class more to be gained and his triumph would be complete. She was ambitious. She knew the Elohim, how wise and exalted they were, and how superior to Adam and herself. She wanted to be like them, and the serpent had assured her that she had the power of this desirable self-exaltation in her own hands. But then, might she not lose all by the operation of the death-penalty? True; but the serpent had assured her that Elohim did not intend to carry it into effect; and besides, was there not that other tree - the tree of lives - as accessible as the tree of the know-ledge of good and evil? could she not also eat of that, and be immortal as the Elohim? Surely, this was a well-combined scheme of the serpent's by which they might easily and speedily attain to wisdom and immortality upon their own terms! With the earth in their possession, what independent, glorious, and powerful ones they would be when like the Elohim! The thought was charming; it was quite fascinating to contemplate! What more could "the pride of life" desire? They would live on the earth forever; and all the world that might inhabit it would be subject to them and to the principles of the serpent, by which they would have attained their high Elohistic estate!

Thus was the mother of all living "drawn away of her own lusts, and enticed." She was attracted by "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." These instincts of the flesh predisposed her to believe the serpent and to follow his suggestion, regardless of the divine law. Lust conceived within her. The doctrine of the serpent sown in her heart inflamed her desires, and stirred them up into rebellious exercise. Faith in the word was obliterated; her mind was darkened by false teaching; she was beguiled and corrupted from the simplicity of the truth; her thinking was serpentized, and she "brought forth sin," or the transgression of the law; and when the sin was perfected, contrary to the serpent's theory and her own expectation, "it brought forth death" (James1:14,15).

Such was the first lie, the father of it, and the consequence of believing it. YAHWEH Elohim admitted that the lie contained some truth. As the serpent said, their eyes were opened, but opened to discover their own shame; they became as the Elohim in the knowledge of good and evil of an evil state adapted to the formation of character under trial; but independence, glory, honor and power, they were not permitted to attain. Nor could they so easily as they imagined eat of the tree of lives, and live forever. When the sin was finished they were too much occupied with their new discovery of their nakedness, and devices to conceal it from their expected Elohistic visitors, to promptly follow out the serpent's program. In the midst of their perturbation they perceived their approach, and fled for concealment among the trees from the presence of YAHWEH Elohim. This appearing of "the Lord the Spirit" was an incident not provided for in the program of the serpent. It marred the whole scheme, and stamped his speculation with falsehood and de-

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-ceit. The Lord's appearing arrested the guilty in their career of sin, and brought them before the Judge for trial and sentence according to their works. The offense was charged upon Adam, who accused the woman as the first in the transgression; and when she was interrogated she confessed, saying, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." The serpent was the progenitor of the whole transaction. Animal intellectuality, or the thinking of flesh in accordance with its own lusts, emanating from the serpent in discourse, was the spirit that worked in the disobedient, and caused them to stumble at the word. The divine Judge did not inter-rogate the serpent. It had preached according to its instinct, making proclamation simply of its own reasoning in the premises. The subtle beast, however, was visited with reprobation for the mischief incurred by his ignorant presumption in prating about what he did not understand. He had given expression to what had proved to be a lie, and therefore, he was truly the father or inventor of it. This particular serpent that beguiled Eve by his subtlety, spent all the days of his life in the dust upon his belly; and from being the most sagacious, he became "cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field." The intellectualism of the serpent had been transferred to the man. The serpent-system of ideas and mode of thinking had become characteristic of the man, whose lustful nature, inflamed to rebellion by the serpent's reasoning, came to occupy the same relation to the word of the Deity in all after ages, that the original speaking beast did before the fall of man. All the primeval serpent, or any other kind of serpent, has had to do with serpentine developments since that important crisis has been merely as the expressive and appropriate symbol of the nature of man.

The serpent, then, is the reasoning of the flesh, which is inseparable from it, and tends only to death. This is human nature, and styled by Paul in Rom. 8:3, sarx hamartias, SIN'S FLESH, in which, inch. 7:18, he says, "dwelleth no good thing." In its original creation, this flesh, like the serpent, was "very good" of its kind. It had its affections and desires, which, like the affections and desires of other creatures, were innocent and harmless; and the man would not have known sin in the gratification of them, except the law had said, Thou shalt not eat of the tree. There would have been no scope for the serpent's speculation if no law had been enacted; for without the law his doctrine could have no existence. The serpent's reasoning was sin in conception. "Sin is the transgression of law," and this transgression was originally conceived in the brain of the serpent, and by reasoning on false premises, was transferred into the woman's, where, taking occasion by the commandment ordained for life, and in itself holy, just and good, it wrought in her all manner of intense and unlawful desires. Had she been contented to believe the Deity, and to obey the commandment, her course would have resulted in life eternal. But, instead of this, she found the commandment to be for death; because the reasoning of the serpent, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived her, and by it slew her. Thus, the serpent's reasoning which she adopted as her own, worked death in her by the good and just and holy law, by which, when the reasoning was perfected in transgression, Human Nature displayed itself as an exceedingly great sinner - kath' huperbolen hamartolos.

The theory generally entertained concerning "the old serpent" is, that "an Evil Genius under the semblance of a serpent styled the Devil, was the primary cause of man's fall, and that he used the serpent as his instrument. This theory is founded in incredulity, or unbelief of the Mosaic account. A brute beast, they say, was incapable of reasoning the woman into the transgression of the law. They might as well say that the dumb ass upon which Balaam rode was incapable of speaking with man's voice and rebuking the madness of the prophet. The one is as improbable as the other; yet improbable as the story of the ass, and incapable of speaking and rebuking madness, as by experience we know asses to be, the fact is attested by both Moses and Peter, and, therefore, rests upon as good evidence, and is as worthy of belief as any other fact in Scripture. He that made the serpent and the ass - "very good" brutes of their kind, and not so inuch inferior to man, their fellow brute, as is generally supposed - could also for any special occasion or emergency confer upon them the power of expressing their thoughts in human speech. No reasonable being will deny the power of the Creator to do this. Whether he did so is a matter. of evidence, and no evidence can be more plainly, pointedly, and intelligibly testified than that the serpent was a beast of the field, preeminently subtle, and capable of expressing his thoughts in man's speech rationally. There is not a word said about any other "evil genius," devil or satan, than the serpent himself; and to bring in another in an interpretation is only to spoil the narrative, and to confess ignorance of its meaning, and inability to expound it as it stands. No, the whole transaction is referable exclusively to the serpent and the woman. There was no third party behind the scenes styled "the great enemy of mankind". The greatest enemy of mankind is man, and more to be feared than any devil or evil genius incredulity and ignorance of the word are able to invent. The serpent was an acute observer and an attentive listener; and all the inspiration he was the subject of consisted in the things he had seen and heard.

As to the incapability of a woman being reasoned into transgression by a brute beast, we are every day familiar with the contrary. Man that is in honor and does not understand the word has no pre-eminence over a

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beast. This is the doctrine of Scripture. He is as an ass or a serpent, whether performing in a pulpit, a temple, a mosque, or in the private walks of life. The folly that hisses from their mouths is but the teaching of the serpent less speciously expressed than in the beginning; so that it is not a question of principles and brains, but of external configuration, that establishes an apparent difference between them and "their father who abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him" (John 8:44). These "natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed," serpent-like, speak evil of the things that they understand not; "and creeping into houses, lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." They reason them into transgression of the word, and into self-satisfaction and contentment in sin, as effectually as their father did the mother of all living.

After the death of the particular serpent that beguiled Eve, the only speaking serpent was within man. His own lusts are the internal serpent by which he is drawn away and enticed. He is hungry. This condition of stomach creates a strong desire for food. This is a lust. He may have power to convert stone into bread for the satisfying of his hunger. He begins to reason, what harm is there in exercising one's power for the appeasing of one's hunger? Manifestly none. But would it be right to exercise the power under the circumstances of the case? I have been placed thus in order to be made to know that man lives not by bread only, but by what proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh. If I exercise the power, I distrust him, and express my conviction to the contrary; and in effect declare, that without bread supplied by my own providence, I should die. I have the power, it is true, to put an end to this painful craving for food; but I will not frustrate Deity in placing me here, by anticipating his deliverance.

In this example, the reasoning suggested by the hunger, and counseling its immediate satisfaction by any means within reach, is the innate serpent, or devil, speaking within the man. It is the "I carnal sold under sin" - the sin dwelling in the man; the sin-law in the members. Such reasonings are the writhing and twistings of the serpent, or the motions of sins working in the members, which, if unchecked and unrestrained by "the engrafted word" as the law of the mind, bring forth fruits unto death. All unenlightened men are what the Scripture terms "the natural man." This man does "not assent to the things of the Spirit of the Deity;

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for they are foolishness to him; and he is unable to know them because they are spiritually discerned". This was exactly the serpent's case. He was without the power of spiritual discernment. And so with all men in default of a revelation of spiritual things from the Deity.

If he had not made known his purposes none of Adam's descendants could have discovered them. Hence, while ignorant of the word, they are as the serpent, and Scripturally classed with him as his seed or children.

Thus, mankind in whom the truth is not, being the Seed of the Serpent, the flesh of sin, is their natural parent. This is "their father the Devil, whose lusts they do." But when the truth obtains entrance into a serpent-man, or sinner, and makes a lodgment in his understanding and affections, a power gets possession of him, and generates there "a new man," styled also "the inward man;" so that a Christadelphian, or brother of Christ, is not what he appears to be in the eyes of ordinary men. The serpent-world of sinners does not know them. To the eye of sense they appear as serpent-men. Their outward man differs nothing from the seed of the serpent; while their inward man is beyond the range of the perceptions of the serpent-man, or sinner. It is this new man of the heart, within the old man of the flesh, which constitutes an individual a saint, a son of the Deity, and a brother of Christ. Collectively, the saints or brethren of Christ, constitute his woman or spouse; they are, there-fore, styled the Seed of the Woman. This arrangement distributes man-kind into two unequal and opposite classes - THE SERPENT-WORLD, and the Woman-Seed; the former, being based upon a lie; the latter, upon the truth.

In the beginning, the Serpent-World consisted of no more than two sinners - Adam and his wife; yet small as was its extent, all the evil that has since manifested itself, was latent in them. Their symbol was the Serpent, or Dragon, and represented falsehood, unbelief, and rebellion against the Deity. Wherever these three have been found politically organized, and in conflict with the saints, there is the Serpent which was in the beginning - "the old serpent." Of this serpent-world the Scripture saith, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of the Deity abideth for ever" (1 John 2:15-17).

Now, after Adam had brought sin into being by transgression of the law, the Deity proceeded to organize the "evil" to which man had sub-ected himself by his rebellion. He had come to know it elohistically, as the serpent had said; but he was not also to be like the Elohim in abiding for ever. He had sinned, and the law he had violated was now to take its course. YAHWEH Elohim therefore proceeded to expound the penalty of the law, and to teach him the practical import of the phrase, "Dying thou

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shalt die." He began with the instinctive whispering promoter of the mischief, whom having cursed, he addressed as the representative of the disobedient in all future time, and said, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between THY SEED and HER SEED; this shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." To the woman, as first in the transgression, he said, her progeny should be greatly multiplied, her desire should be to her husband, who should rule over her. And to Adam, because he hearkened to his wife instead of to him, he said, "Cursed' is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; . . . till thou return to the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:15-19). The specifications in these sentences upon the serpent, the woman, and the man form THE CONSTITUTION of the Serpent-World, or KINGDOM OF SIN; and termed in Scripture "the Kingdom of Men" - dominion hostile to the Divine law administered by the Serpent's Seed. It matters not what form the dominion assumes, whether imperial, regal, republican, or papal, its basis is one and the same; and most appropriately symbolized by the serpent which was in the beginning - ho ophis, ho archajos.

In after times, far distant from the beginning, the serpent-world acquired an immense development. From two persons it had increased to myriads of millions; and without specifying the outlying savages of the dominion, is treated of in Scripture as "the kingdom of Egypt;" which, in the days of Moses, had attained great political proportions - a kingdom of kingdoms. It was "the dragon, the old serpent," of his day-the great enemy and bruiser of the woman's seed, who sought their extirpation from the earth. This was the political relation of things then. The "Woman's Seed" was identified with Israel; the "Serpent's Seed," with all that had enmity against, or oppressed, them; while the "Head of the Serpent," styled in the sentence upon the serpent "thy head," is that chief government of the Gentiles, or nations, which directs, controls, or influences, the policy of the world for the time being.

The Scriptures oftentimes connect the beginning and the end with-out taking cognizance of the interval of a multitude of generations and ages, or, if at all, only very slightly. Thus, in Psa. 74:12, the Mosaic salvation from Egyptian bondage, and the future Messianic salvation from the down-treading of the mystic Babylon, apocalyptically and "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt" (ch. 11:3), are so connected: as it is written, "My King of old is Elohim, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength." Then, predictive of what will assuredly come to pass, and befall the same Serpent-power in its latter-day manifestation, as apocalyptically displayed in the binding of the Dragon, it proceeds in verse 14 to state, "Thou bruisedst the

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heads of leviathan, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness." LEVIATHAN signifying "a serpent coiling himself in folds," is the Dragon of Apoc. 20:2; and embraces all the intermediate dragonic manifestations of previous ages and generations, which are the folds of his coil. The "heads of leviathan" are those apocalyptically exhibited. "The people inhabiting the wilderness" are the saints, and Israel after the flesh made willingly subject to them. "The wilderness" is "the two wings of the Great Eagle" where the fugitive woman was fed and "nourished for a time, times, and half a time from the face of the serpent," or, for 1260 symbolic days (Apoc. 12:6,14); and where John saw Leviathan as he will be seen by the discerning after the thief-like advent of the Ancient of Days (ch. 17:3).

In the thirteenth verse of the Psalm brief and passing reference is made to the dragon-powers of the interval; as, "Thou breakest the HEADS OF THE DRAGONS upon the waters." In the English Version, 'breakest" occurs in relation to the "heads of the dragons" and "the heads of leviathan;" though in the original different words are used. In reference to the dragon-heads the word used is shivbarta; while the other is ritzatzta. This verbal difference was doubtless not accidental. The former signifies "to break the power of, destroy;" the latter, "to bruise." Leviathan is bruised and bound for a thousand years, and at the end thereof revives, and embraces the serpent-world in his coils: but the power of the dragons and their heads in the long interval antecedent to the epoch of the binding, is destroyed.

Now there have been different dragon-manifestations of "the old serpent" in the long interval between the Mosaic salvation of Israel and the Messianic, which is at the door. That contemporary with Moses, and styled "Rahab" in Isa. 51:9, was developed into what Ezekiel describes in ch. 29:3. Here the power of Egypt, called Pharaoh, is thus addressed by the Spirit, "Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh, King of Egypt, THE GREAT DRAGON that lieth in the midst of his rivers" - the mouths of the Nile, representative of the subjects of the power: "which hath said, My river lS my own, and I have made it for myself." For this arrogance, and blasphemy against the source of all power, YARWER Elohim sentenced it to destruction, so that Egypt should no more exalt itself above the nations to rule over them; and, as Nebuchadnezzar had received no recompense for executing the sentence of Deity against Tyre, therefore YAHWEH Elohim gave the land of Egypt to him for his labor. Thus Egypt became a part of Babylon; the great Egyptian Dragon was abolished; and the power of "the old serpent" thus symbolized, transferred to the FIRST of Daniel's four Mediterranean empires; which under Nebuchadnezzar stood man-like upon its feet, with a lion's head, and the heart of a

Picture page 78 of 4th Century Rome not shown

EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. 79

man (Dan. 7:2,4). Hence, at this epoch, when the Seed of the Woman; of which Daniel, Ezekiel and Jeremiah were constituents, was heel-bruised in Babylon, the wing-plucked lion-power was "the Great Dragon, the old serpent, surnamed the Devil and the Satan. "The Head of the old serpent, in this first beast manifestation, was the dynasty represented by Nebuchadnezzar, who had conquered Egypt, and plucked the wings of the Assyrian Lion. This dynasty was "the Head of Gold" - the cockatrice, or adder, which came forth out of the Egypto-Assyrian Serpent's root, whose fruit the world has found to be "a fiery flying serpent" (Isa. 14:29).The Dragon under this dynastic form continued only seventy years. At the end of this period it was changed; and "Lucifer, son of the morn-ng, who weakened the nations, was cut down;" and made to give way to YAHWEH'S "sanctified ones," the Medes and Persians; who, under the command of Darius and Cyrus, "took the kingdom" (Isa. 14:12; 13:17 Dan. 5:28,31). This was the Medo-Persian dynasty of "the old Serpent". It answered to the second of Daniel's four beasts; and is represented in Nebuchadnezzar's Lion-Man image by the breast and arms of silver; and by the two horns of unequal height upon the ram (Dan. 2:32; 8:3).The old serpent continued under the Bear, or silver, dynastic manifestation some two hundred and six years. Another change was then developed. Power set in from the west, and diffused itself "over the face of the whole earth." The Medo-Persian Bear, or Ram dynasty was made to give place to Daniel's third dominancy, symbolized by the four-winged and four-headed Leopard, the brass of the image, and the four-horned goat (Dan. 7:6; 2:32; 8:5-8). These symbols represent "the old serpent" in the Era of the Greeks. Dominion was given to this people over the whole Dragon territory, which was enlarged towards the west. But the power of the old serpent was not to remain in the form of the four heads of the leopard, and four horns of the Grecian goat. The Greeks of "the whole earth," the sovereign race, were to yield the dominion given to them, to "A LITTLE HORN," or power; which, in relation to the Lion-Man territory of Daniel's first beast, which included the Holy Land, was to appear in the country of the Northern Horn of the Goat. This is evident from Dan. 8:9. The power, which was new to the Asiatic, came from Europe west of Greece; and planting itself in Syria, north of Palestine, extended its dominion eastward, and southward, until it had absorbed within itself the power of all the Four Horns of the Goat. The Little Horn power was that of a rude and uncultivated people inhabiting Italy; and known in the history of that country, as Etrurians, Umbrians, Ligurians,Sabines, Veientes, Latins, Aequi, and Volscians. About five hundred years after the foundation of ROME, Italy was sub-

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dued to the authority of this city of the seven mountains; and all these tribes came to bear indiscriminately the name of Romans. After the subjugation of Italy, the Little Roman Horn proceeded to conquer all the nations round the Mediterranean. It subdued Greece about 146 years before Christ. In 67 before Christ, it appeared in Syria; and from thence "waxed exceedingly great, toward the south," and "toward the pleasant land," absorbing Palestine and Egypt; "and toward the east," to the Tigris and lands of Euphrates.

Thus the Little Horn became an exceedingly great power. Its empire, which, seven hundred and thirty years before the birth of Jesus, was confined to the walls of a small city, in the second century of our era, was about two thousand miles in breadth, from the walls of Antonine and the northern limits of Dacia, to Mount Atlas and the tropic of Cancer; it extended in length more than three thousand miles from the Western Ocean to the Euphrates, and was supposed to contain 6,000,000 square miles. The number of subjects, who, either as citizens, provincials, or slaves, observed the rule of Rome, is estimated at

120,000,000.

This Little Horn become so great was now the fourth of Daniel's beast-dominions. It planted itself in Jerusalem B.C. 63; and in A.D. 33, was popularly and pontifically acknowledged as "the King of the Jews" (John 19:12,15). It had acquired identity with "the old serpent" by it sin-corporation of the Syro-Babylonian, or Northern Horn power (out of which, in relation to the Holy Land, it come forth), into its Italian dominion. It was now "the Dragon, the Old Serpent" - Leviathan, the flying and very tortuous serpent, the dragon that is in the sea (Isa. 27:1). But when it conquered the Syro-Babylonian Horn, B.C. 67, it did not thereby acquire the apocalyptic "surname" of "the Diabolos and the Satan." It was not until the Little Horn had "magnified itself against the Prince of the Host," or Messiah the Prince; and undertook, as "a roaring lion, prowling about, seeking whom he might devour," to exterminate the saints from among the living; that it acquired the character signified by the terms "fiery red," "diabolos," and "Satan" (Apoc. 12:9).

This crocodile, or Egypto-Romaic Babylonian, embodiment of falsehood and rebellion is styled purros, "fiery red," or red as fire. Daubuz, on the authority of certain heathen writers, says, "the Roman emperors and empresses had fire carried before them; also kings and generals at the head of their armies; it serving instead of trumpets as signs to begin the fight." This was notably the fact in the aggressions of the Dragon. Fire preceded him when he stood before the woman and her seed. During 280 years he had contended with her in all the fire of his fury, blazing forth against her with all the power of destruction at his command. He became red with rage and slaughter, especially in the period of the fifth seal, in which he vowed the extermination of the very name of christianity, which he likened to a hydra. But the archer of the first seal, who continued his warfare through all the six, was Divinely commissioned to go on conquering until he conquered him "through the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony." The fiery redness of his wrath caused multitudes of the woman's seed 'to lie beneath the altar weltering in their blood. But their death availed him nothing in the end. The truth is stronger than human wrath too mighty for the Dragon though confederate with all the potentates of earth.

I have termed this symbol of fiery destruction, the Egypto-Romaic Babylonian Crocodile. The propriety of this designation will appear from what has been said in this section; and from the fact, that "the Great City" of the Seven Hills, which in John's day, as also in ours, "reigns over the kings of the earth," is styled Babylon and Egypt (Apoc. 11:8; 17:5,18). These specifications identify Rome, Babylon, and Egypt, as well as Sodom, with "the Great City;" so that the crocodile, dragon, or serpent, symbolizing the power of which Rome was the capital until ceded to the Beast (ch. 13:2) is properly designated Egypto-Romaic Babylonian.

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15. The Devil and the Satan

This crocodile, or dragon, is said to be at once ho kaloumenos Diabolos, kai ho Satanas ho planon ten oikoumenen olen; - "surnamed the Diabolos, and the Satan who deceives the whole habitable."

A surname is a name added to the original name. The original name for the embodiment of falsehood, unbelief, and disobedience, was "the Serpent". In all the five Books of Moses we do not once find it styled "the Diabolos," nor "the Satan." This surname was not bestowed upon the Egypto-Romaic Babylonian Dragon until, as the Little Horn of the Macedonian, or Grecian, Goat, it "magnified itself against the Prince of the Host “Christ" (Dan. 8:11). It did this when it falsely accused and crucified him. I need not repeat here what has been written in the first volume of this work on the Diabolos and Satan. The reader can refer to this on pages 234 and 241, at his leisure. '5uffice it in this place to say, that the Roman power acquired the surname of the diabolos, because, being falsehood and transgression politically incarnate, it enacted the part of the Old Serpent in tempting the Brethren of Christ to cross the line of their allegiance to him in burning incense to Caesar as the god of the earth - diabolos, in its etymological import, being that which causes to cross the law-line of Deity.

But, it also acquired the surname of "the Satan." This word sahtahn, signifies an adversary; and without the definite article the, may signify any adversary in general. It is applicable to persons and things of whatever kind they may be. Thus, when the sons of Zeruiah counseled the death of Shimei, David rejected their impolitic advice, and styled them, Satan, (2 Sam. 19:22). So also when Yahweh became adverse to Israel because of transgression, He is styled Satan. This appears from 2 Sam. 24:1, where it is written, that Yahweh moved David against Israel to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah:" while in 1 Chron. 21:1, it is written, "And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." There is also the case of Job. Job was a man of substance and power, being "the greatest of all the men of the East". He was one of "the sons of the Deity" belonging to that generation. There was among them also another man of power, an oriental, who was nominally a coreligionist, but full of envy and unfriendly feeling towards Job. This is not an unusual circumstance, even in societies reputed apostolic. In these, Satans too often abound, and become the adversaries of those they cannot imitate. In Job's day, there were general gatherings of the Men of the East, with the sons of the Deity, at the place where the symbol of Yahweh's presence was established. If I might hazard a conjecture I should say, they assembled at Salem, in the days of the High Priesthood of Melchizedek. Be this, however, as it may, "the sons of the

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Elohim came to present themselves before Yahweh, and the Satan has-sahtahn, came also among them." Here were two classes of worshippers, the nominal and the true; the former constituting the Satan; the latter consisting of the Sons of Deity, of whom Job was most eminent and conspicuous. Among his adversaries, one seems to have been more notable than the rest. This was probably the Chief of the Sabeans, a tribe of Arabia Felix, who fell upon Job and did him much mischief. To this man Yahweh said by His priest (for, in Scripture, what is said by his priests and prophets, Yahweh is said to say Himself) "Whence comest thou?" To which he replied as any marauder would, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. His attention was then directed to Job, whose character was highly eulogized. This developed the latent enmity of the Sheik, who insinuated that Job's fear of Elohim had been purchased by extraordinary favors; but that, if these were withdrawn, and he were reduced to poverty, he would curse Him to his face. Yahweh, however, knew Job better; nevertheless, He was willing that he should be tested, that his enemies might be confounded; and a triumph of principle in adversity might be exhibited, as an example for the Sons of Deity in all future times. Therefore to Job's adversary He granted permission to do what he pleased against him, short of personal injury. Having obtained this grant, he returned home, and organized his Sabeans and Chaldeans for raids, which, with the fire of heaven, soon stripped Job of all he possessed.

Now, in the first chapter of Job, this is all attributed to Satan, as though, according to popular tradition, it had been done by a Fallen Angel, the world has agreed to call "The Devil." But, in the second chapter, the Eternal Power informs us, that it was He that brought Job to poverty; for addressing his adversary, He says, "thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause." All that was done being averse to Job, it was attributed to his personal enemy, who was the moving cause; though the efficient cause was the power of Deity Himself.

Such was the Satan in Job's case. In the case of Jesus Christ the satanic development assumed a different phase. Jesus was tempted by both the Diabolos and a Satan. These were both concerned in the trial to which he was subjected; and as the one co-operated with the other, they are spoken of as if the same. Jesus was "led up," or "driven," of the Spirit, into the wilderness "to be tempted of the diabolos;" or that which causeth to transgress, and "hath the power of death" - sin's flesh. This was subjected to the long abstinence of forty days, at the end of which he felt a hunger that must have been very keen. We all know what would be the promptings of our flesh in a like situation. "Hunger," it is said, "will break through stone walls." It is very obstreperous, and will do any

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thing to satisfy itself. If any one had the power, under the pressure of intense hunger, he would convert stones into bread and eat them. Jesus had that power; and there was one acquainted with the Scripture, introduced himself to his notice at this crisis, and suggested that he should use it. Paul doubtless alludes to this personage in 2 Cor. 11:14 saying, "the Satan is transformed into an Angel of Light." Such an angel is a messenger enlightened in the word, who handles it in such a way as to test the fidelity of others to it. Such an one becomes a Satan in suggesting a course of action in conformity with the promptings of the flesh. And if Deity became Satan to Israel, and to Job, it is not to be denied that an angel may have assumed the same attitude in the case of Jesus Christ.

Peter, though a good man and devoted friend of his Master, was styled Satan by Jesus. He had told his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and be killed, and be raised on the third day afte?. But Peter rebuked him, saying, "Be merciful to thyself, Lord; this shall not be unto thee." He could not endure the idea of such a catastrophe. But Jesus said to him, "Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me; for thou savorest not the things that be of the Deity, but those that be of men." Had Jesus been merciful to himself, as Peter advised, he would not have been "obedient unto death;" in the event of which he would have frustrated the Father's purpose, incurred the fate of the first Adam, and failed in the dedication of the Abrahamic Covenant by which alone man can be saved. Peter's well-meant advice was adverse to the first and last of these things, and therefore as such an adviser, he was for the time a Satan to Jesus.

On another occasion, the Lord said to his disciples, "I beheld the Satan fall out of the heaven like lightning". This was the Satan in heaven contemporary with his sojourn upon earth. He beheld his fall as the prophets beheld things not yet come to pass: for this Satan was still in the heaven after his assumption to the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. This is evident from Paul's assurance to the saints in Rome, the Capital of the Satan's empire, that "the Deity of peace should bruise the Satan under their feet shortly" (Rom. 16:18). When Paul wrote this, the Satan was still in the heaven. It was the same Satan that prevented Paul more than once from visiting the saints in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 2:18). It was their great and potent adversary in the Dragon government, the Pagan Roman Church and State. It was this Great Red Dragonic Diabolos and Satan, that "magnified himself against the Prince of (Is-rael's) host: and by whom the Daily Sacrifice was taken away, and the place of its sanctuary was cast down" (Dan. 8:9-12). It is symbolized in this place by "a Little Horn, which waxed exceeding great." It was by this Satahic Power, "Messiah the Prince was cut off;" and by which the

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city and sanctuary were destroyed" (Dan. 9:26). It was the great adversary of Judah, and of the Saints, whom it reckoned also as Jews. When the Lord Jesus saw it in vision fall like lightning from heaven, he saw their adversary expelled from the Roman Heaven, as symbolized in this twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse. Paul said it would be bruised "shortly" after he wrote. It was ejected by the lightning of war from the heaven, about 250 years after, when the Michael and his party fought against the Dragon and his angels (ch. 12:7). It fell out of the heaven, as Jesus said; and John records, that "he was cast out into the earth," to the great terror of those among whom he fell (ver. 9,12).

The Dragon-Power of Rome, then, was surnamed THE SATAN, because it was the great and persistent Adversary of Christ, and His Brethren. No one intelligent in the word would confound the Satans related to Israel, Job, Jesus and Peter, and merge them into one and the same Satan, identical with such a Devil, as is pressed into the service of the Clergy, to aid them in scaring sinners into church-membership. The clerical devil and satan belongs to the mythology of the heathen, and is as unreal as their gods: nevertheless, this mythical phantasm has a real and tenacious hold of their worshippers; who are much more careful to treat him with reverence, than to praise and honor Him by whom they live and have their being.

The apocalyptic or Roman-Satan is the great enemy of Jerusalem, and of all related to her. Zechariah saw it in vision, when he saw the Satan standing at the right hand of Joshua to resist him. In all the times of the Gentiles, during which Jerusalem and the saints are trodden under their feet, the Holy City is subjected to the Satan. When these are fulfilled, then Yahweh who hath chosen Jerusalem, will rebuke the Satan, in "rebuking strong nations afar off," and making them powerless (Mic. 4:3); and "pluck Jerusalem as a brand out of the fire". Her warfare will then be accomplished; and her deliverer will be a wall of fire round about her, and the glory in the midst of her (Zech. 2:5; 3:1,2).

The Satan of Apoc. 12, is characterized as the power "which deceives the whole habitable" - ten oikoumenen olen; not "the whole world," as in the English version, in the sense of all the inhabitants of the globe; but the whole of that portion of it subject to the Dragon-Power of Old Rome. When the apocalypse was communicated to John, the Satan in the heaven was pagan. It deceived the people of the empire by the priests and poets (and the emperor was the High Priest) of the reigning superstition. But while this Satan flourished in the heaven of Italy, there was another Satan in embryo preparing to occupy the same heaven from which the pagan Satan was foredoomed to fall like lightning. This was the Satan enthroned in Pergamos (Apoc. 2:13); where his principal

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synagogue was situated (ch. 2:9,24; 3:9). This Satan consisted of nominal christians; professors, who claimed to be Jews by adoption through Christ; but not being what they claimed, the Spirit denounced them as liars and blasphemers. They were zealous anti-pagans, as Protestants are, or used to be, zealous anti-papists; but their spiritual condition was that of Sardians and Laodiceans; and fit only to be "spued out of the Spirit's mouth." These pretenders styled themselves "the Church of God;" or "the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church." They contended earnestly against paganism; from which "with all power and lying wonders," styled by Paul "the working of the Satan" they alienated multitudes; but failed to indoctrinate them with "the love of the truth that they might be saved" (2 Thess. 2:9,10). Their Satan was enlarged, and their political influence increased; so that, when the pagan Satan fell from the heaven, the "Holy Catholic" Satan was prepared to occupy the Bishoprick vacated by his fall. The revolution of the Sixth Seal substituted the one Satan for the other. The Catholic Satan is still in the heaven; and will remain there, until he is ejected by Christ himself, after the type or pattern, exhibited in this twelfth chapter. This final expulsion of the Satan from the heaven, is represented in Apoc. 20:1-3. In this scene, hs head is bruised; and "the Dragon the Old Serpent, which is Diabolos and Satan," is bound in the abyss, and shut up and sealed, so that the nations may be no more deceived for a thousand years.

16. The Dragon Stands Before The Woman

"And the Dragon stood before the Woman about to bring forth, that when she may have brought forth, he might devour her offspring" - verse 4.

Understanding that the "Great Red Dragon" is symbolical of the blood-stained powerof Rome-pagan; and that the Woman represents the Anti-pagan Community of the Roman empire; the only points for exposition under this head are the standing of the one before the other; and the time when the standing occurred.

For a power to stand before that which is offensive to it, is to assume a hostile attitude. In Esther 9:16, the Jews against whom a decree of extermination hadgone forth, and who were afterwards permitted to use their weapons for attack upon all assailants, are said to have "stood for their lives." In Jer. 46:15, it is said of the Egyptians "they stood not, because Yahweh did drive them." And in Dan. 8:7, speaking of the relative power of the Macedonian Unicorn, and the two-horned Persian Ram, it says, "there was no power in the ram to stand before him."

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Hence, to have power to stand, is not only to be able to struggle for victory, but to do it with effect.

The standing of the Dragon before the Woman indicates that he was in an aggressive attitude. His standing had no courtesy in it, for he stood before her that he might devour her offspring.

The time when he stood before her with this ferocious intent, was before her delivery. She was "about to bring forth " while he was standing, or making war upon her. Her child had not been manifested to the world. Hence, the historical illustration must be applicable to a time of the Woman's career when she had no champion, but when that "Coming Man" was just about to be manifested.

The time, then, of this standing was the period of the Fifth Seal; or the ten years preceding the development of Constantine, as the imperial chieftain of the anti-pagan party. The exposition of the Fifth Seal will be found in Vol.2 p.264. Its historical illustration shows the attitude assumed by the Dragon, and how that sanguinary power deported itself towards her in its standing. The following extract from Gibbon will furnish an exhibition of the situation at the crisis of the Woman's delivery:

"The fame of Constantine has rendered posterity attentive to the most minute circumstances of his life and actions. The Great Constantine was most probably born at Naissus, in Dacia. He was about eighteen years of age when his father (Constantius) was promoted to the rank of Caesar. Instead of following Constantius in the west, he remained in the service of Diocletian, signalized his valor in the wars of Egypt and Persia, and gradually rose to the honorable station of a tribune of the first order. The favor of the people and soldiers, who had named him as a worthy candidate for the rank of Caesar, served only to exasperate the jealousy of Galerius (the chief emperor of the Dragon): and though prudence might restrain him from exercising any open violence, an absolute monarch is seldom at a loss how to execute a sure and secret revenge. Every hour increased the danger of Constantine, and the anxiety of his father, who, by repeated letters, expressed the warmest desire of embracing his son. For some time the policy of Galerius supplied him with delays and excuses, but it was impossible long to refuse so natural a request of his associate, without maintaining his refusal by arms. The permission of the journey was reluctantly granted, and whatever precautions Galerius might have taken to intercept a return, the consequences of which he, with so much reason, apprehended, they were effectually disappointed by the incredible diligence of Constantine. Leaving the palace (of the Dragon) at Nicomedia in the night, he traveled post through Bithynia, Thrace, Dacia, Pannonia, Italy and Gaul, and amid the joyful acclamations of the people, reached the port of Boulogne in

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the very moment when his father was preparing to embark for Britain." Such was the narrow escape of the Woman's future imperial chief from being "devoured" by the imperial Pontifex Maximus who "stood before her" in ferocity watching to that end.

17. The Woman's Son

"And she brought forth a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre" - verse 5

The Spirit is here careful to designate the sex of the child that was to be born of the Woman. It is termed in the original, huion arrhena, literally, a male offspring. He was brought forth at length; but not "devoured" by the Dragon-Power; for he was destined to "rule all the nations with an iron sceptre," in the Italian Heaven, from which the Woman's adversary, or Satan, was to be ejected. It was not a female child that was to be born; but a man, whose birth had long been foretold in the prophets. In Psa. 10:15,18, he is styled "the wicked and evil man," and "the Man of the Earth," whose arm is broken in the epoch when "Yahweh" becomes "King of the hidden period and bey6nd; and the heathen are perished out of His land." The Spirit in David makes the following address to him in Psa. 52: "Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, 0 Mighty Man? The mercy of AlL is all the day. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Thou lovest all devouring words, 0 thou deceitful tongue! But AlL shall beat thee down forever, He shall take thee away, and pluck thee from thy dwelling-place, and will root thee out of the land of the living. The righteous shall see and fear, and upon it they shall laugh, saying, Behold the man that made not Elohim his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness."

Daniel styles this Mighty Man, "THE KING" a man of power; ruling potentially and sovereignty over nations, during many centuries to the epoch of his destruction in the time of the end." He is thus described in Dan. 11:36-39. "And the King shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every ail (or Power); and shall speak marvelous things concerning the AlL of ails (the Power of powers, or the greatest, and the source, of all power); and he shall flourish till the indignation shall be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the gods of his ancestors, elohaiavothahv; nor the desire of wives, nor regard any eloahh, "or god". "But upon his place (or throne) shall he do honor to the eloahh mahuzzim - the god of guardians: and to an eloahh, 'or god,' which his ancestors knew not shall he do honor with gold, and silver, and with costly gems, and durable

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things. Thus shall he do to the Bazaars of the guardians pertaining to a FOREIGN GOD (eloahh) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall give them authority over many: and shall divide the land for gain."

Thus, we see exhibited in the ancient and remarkable oracle of the Deity, an Absolute Sovereign Power, which repudiates the gods of his predecessors, and sets up in their place a god of foreign origin, who becomes a constituent of the power by which he is enthroned. Hence, the power consists of, or is represented by, the King and his god; who exalt and magnify themselves above every power, temporal and spiritual, claiming sovereignty and lordship upon the whole habitable. The King has the priority of existence in the New Constitution of things - new in relation to the old, under which the gods of his predecessors bore rule through their priests. The priority is manifest from the fact, that he is the founder of the glory of his New God - "whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory." The acknowledgment of the candidate for divine honors, must be accepted as the date of his creation: that is, the aspirant became a god, as soon as he was recognized by the King. Until this recognition, the King would be supreme in all the spiritual and temporal affairs of his dominion. He would be the chief magistrate, the commander-in-chief of the military forces, and the chief bishop, of his empire; but when he should come to set up his new god, he would in so doing, delegate to him the supervision and administration of all spiritual and ecclesiastical affairs. This arrangement would make his god "the Head of all the Churches" of the habitable; while he would reserve to himself the headship of the State.

This foreign god unknown to his predecessors, is styled Eloahh Mahuzzim - a god of fortresses. A fortress is a strong place affording defense and protection. "The way of God," is termed in Proverbs 10:29, "a fortress to the upright". Upon the same principle, "saints and angels" are regarded as fortresses, or guardians, to those who worship them. These are the fortresses, or Mahuzzim, of the system of superstition, whose Supreme Pontiff is the god created by "the King". His special fortress, is a phantasm he styles St. Peter. This is the guardian of his god-ship; besides which, he claims the protection of all the supposed

existences of "the spirit-world". The Virgin Mary, whom he styles "the Queen of heaven," is conspicuous among these. No god, according to his own tradition, was ever so strongly fortified as he. All the conceivable saints and angels of the invisible world are his fortresses, protectors, or guardians. One cannot help but think, however, that they must be very negligent of their duty at the present time; for his godship is manifestly dying for want of protection by the powers of heaven and earth.

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Illustrative of these fortresses are the remarks of Chrysostom, a subject and priest of the King, who flourished in the 4th century. In his homily on the martyrs of Egypt, he says: "The bodies of those saints fortify the city more effectually for us than impregnable walls of adamant; and like towering rocks placed around on every side, repel not only the assaults of enemies that are visible, but the insidious strategerns also of invisible demons, and counteract and defeat every artifice of the devil as easily as a strong man overturns the toys of children."

The buildings pertaining to this God of Guardian Saints and Angels are styled by Daniel, "the Bazaars of the Guardians". The noun mivtzahr, is derived from the root bahtzar, which among other meanings signifies to enclose with a wall. As a noun betzer signifies ore of gold and silver, precious metals, store, or treasure so secured. Parkhurst has the following upon the word: "Derivative, Bazaar, a kind of covered market-place among the eastern nations, somewhat like our Exeter 'Change in London; but frequently much more extensive. Latin, or rather Punic, Byrsa, the Burse at Carthage;" equivalent to the French Bourse. In the English version, the phrase is rendered, "the most strongholds," with which those who compiled the marginal readings were not satisfied; and therefore they have tried to improve it by substituting the words of Moses Stuart renders it fenced strongholds; and the foreign god he styles, "the god of strongholds; that is, the god that has power over them." He confesses, however, that verse 39 is "a difficult verse, which has occasioned many discrepant interpretations." He refers to Lengerke, who, he remarks, "makes the fenced strongholds to mean temples, and the sentiment to be, that the tyrant will do for temples and their foreign gods the same thing that verse 38 says he will do in respect to the god of strongholds, that is, he will bestow many liberal presents upon them." As neither Lengerke nor Moses Stuart seem to see anything in Daniel (the last chapter, perhaps, excepted) beyond the times of Antiochus, some hundred and sixty years, or so, before the birth of Jesus Christ, their temples and "strongholds" have relation to "fortified strongholds of foreigners" attacked by Antiochus, and temples of idols. Lengerke has almost fallen upon the correct meaning. Had he referred the betzer, heemantively written mivtzar, to the temples of "guardian saints" instead of to those of the pagan Greeks, he would have hit the mark exactly; but then, how could he be so uncharitable as to turn the "Holy Father" of Christendom so-called, into a foreign god, and all the ecclesiastical edifices of his bishopric dedicated to the disembodied ghosts of reputed saints, into Bazaars, or places of traffic in spiritual merchandise, and in "the bodies and souls of men!" (Apoc.

18:13).

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The churches, chapels, and cathedrals, then, are "the most strong-holds" of the King's superstition, which has spread itself over Europe and America. They are the houses of business dedicated by the prospering craft to "Guardian Spirits". There are laid up in store the images and pictures of reputed saints. They are Saints' Houses in which are deposited their shrines; silver, gold and ivory crucifixes; "religious articles" of all sorts; together with old bones, and various kinds of votive trumpery. They are literally, "Dens of Thieves," without ever having been houses of the Father - dens, where people are hoodwinked, and by "sharp practice" robbed of their money under divers false pretenses. They are places where pews are sold by auction, the proudest sittings being knocked down to Mammon's greatest favorites; places where fairs of vanity and deceit are held for "pious objects;" and whose spiritual empirics pretend to "cure souls" in consideration of so much per annum. In view of these facts, the Scriptural epithet bestowed upon the ecclesiastical edifices of the Apostasy , is most appropriate. They are truly bazaars of spiritual merchandise; and the prospering craft, "the great men of the earth," papal, catholic, and protestant, made rich by trading in their wares, are the Bazaar-Men, who extort all kinds of goods from their deluded customers by putting them in sulphurous and mortal fear; and comforting them with counterfeits upon some transpatial bank when time shall be no more! They "buy and sell" under license from the Ecclesiastical Power, having received its "mark upon their foreheads, or on their right hands." The reader may find their inventory of merchandise in Apoc. 18:12,13. Among the articles received in exchange for their "spiritual things," are tithes, bodies (somata) and souls of men. But the trade of these soul-and-body merchants is in anything but a satisfactory state at present. Great numbers of their customers have discovered that the profit is all upon one side; nor are they back-ward in proclaiming that when a favorable opportunity presents they will break up the iniquitous concern, and make the cheats disgorge their unhallowed gains (†). This will be to them a sad day - a day of universal

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(†) when Eureka was written there was vigorous opposition manifested towards the Papacy throughout the countries of western Europe in fulfillment of the prediction of Rev. 17:16: "the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire". This antagonism had been generated by the political philosophy of Karl Marx, whose Manifesto of The Communist Party, written in the same year as Elpis Israel, resulted in a revolutionary spirit being manifested throughout the Continent. There were widespread anti-papal movements and in Italy these culminated in the loss of temporal power by the Papacy, anticipated by Bro. Thomas, but which took place in 1870 after his exposition had been published. However, in recent years, the Papacy has gained in influence both in Europe and the Third world; and this, too, is in accordance with tlie requirements of the prophecy. For John saw the Papacy at the epoch of its judgment at the hands of Christ and the saints in a position of dominance over the "beast and its European horns) which in order to "fulfill the words of God" are required to give "their kingdom unto the beast" (Rev. 17:17). In a very exciting manner, because of the implications relating to the return of Christ, the prophecies of The Apocalypse are being fulfilled. - Publishers.

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bankruptcy for the weeping and wailing merchants of "Babylon the Great;" for "no man buyeth their merchandize any more." When a man's trade is thus extinguished, nothing but ruin stares the shattered tradesman in the face. This is the fate that awaits the preachers of all the "other gospels" of the bazaars gospels other than Paul preached, and which leave men in ignorance and disobedience; gospels which make them partisans of human crotchets and traditions; and the apologists of anything sincerely professed as a substitute for the truth.

It is a remarkable feature in this prophecy that the Bazaars for priestly and clerical wares are distinguished from houses or shops of fair and honorable trade, by being styled Bazaars of Mahuzzim. When jewelers, bakers, hardware-men, and such-like, open stores, they emblazon their signs with their own names. When people go to the baker's or the butcher's, they do not say they are going to St. Paul's or St. Barnabas', as if the stores were theirs. But when the clergy of "the King" and his foreign god, whether they be loyal or non-conformist, open bazaars for the sharp practice of their trade, they impose upon the credulous and strongly deluded public the idea that they belong to the apostles and their brethren! They say that these ancients "of whom the world is not worthy," are still alive and in heaven, and greatly interested in human affairs, especially in church edifices, and in the orchestral and pulpit demonstrations therein! Hence, they set up statues in niches, and on parapets, which they call by their names, and make them presents of their churches, as is evident from the names they bear; as St. Sophia's at Constantinople, St. Peter's at Rome, Our Lady's at Paris, St. Paul's at London, and so forth. The flagrancy of the imposture, however, consists in this, that while they profess to give these houses of the king's god to the "departed spirits" they call by these names, they will not permit the gospel the apostles preached, and the institutions they ordained, to be announced in their walls; but, by various arts, perversely persist in its exclusion, and in making it of none effect by their vain and foolish traditions. But the whole system is a cheat, and a very profitable one for the present to those who live by it. It is ecclesiastical craft caused to prosper by the Civil Power, or "the King;" and it will continue to prosper "till the indignation shall be accomplished;" when Israel's Commander will bring it to an end, and cause the truth, by the energy whereby he is able to subdue all opposition, and to unmask all impostures, to prevail at last.

This king, or Imperial Power, and its foreign god, are presented in Dan. 7:8,20,24,25, under the symbol of a Little Horn, in which were EYES like the eyes of man, and a MOUTH speaking very great things. In this, the Eyes and the Mouth are representative of the foreign god;

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while the Little Horn itself is significative of "the king," or power, that glorifies him. This remarkable constitution of Church and State did not obtain in the days of Paul and John. The former in 2 Thess. 2 predicted its manifestation as the result of apostasy from the faith; and that when that apostasy was well developed, the power would be revealed. Not, however, in full manifestation at the beginning. The power had to receive its birth, and to grow to manhood, or maturity; so that when it had fully established itself above all, it might be in a position to set up its foreign god. Paul styles the power, "the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition:" and foreseeing the extraordinary arrogance of the spiritual element of the power, he speaks of it as one "who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called a god, or an object of reverence; so that he as a god sitteth in the temple of the god, showing himself that he is a god." This is the god Daniel styles "a foreign god;" and by John in Apoc. 13:2,5, "the Mouth of the Beast as the mouth of a lion, and speaking great things and blasphemies;" and in verses 14,15, "the Image of the Beast," which received life and ability to speak from the Civil Power.

Now, the Pagan Imperial Roman Power existed before the Woman; and so did Jesus Christ. Neither of them, therefore, could be the son to be born of her. But in the days of Constantine, there was a great revolution in the State, the effects of which are felt in all Europe and America to this day. When he became Emperor of Rome, the constitution of the empire was modified in Church and State. He assumed supremacy in both; and became the Chief Bishop - "the Bishop of the bishops" - of "the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church," so called. He established the Catholic Apostasy as the most favored religion of the Roman State; but, according to Labanius, "made no alteration in the legal worship; the temples indeed were impoverished, but the sacred rites were performed there." Though the Court was transferred to Constantinople, the Senate continued to hold its sessions in Rome, where by solemn decrees it still presumed to consecrate the divine memory of their sovereigns; and Constantine himself was associated, after his death, to those gods of his predecessors whom he had renounced and insulted during his life. "The titles, the ensigns, the prerogatives, of SOVEREIGN PONTIFF" says Gibbon, "which had been instituted by Numa, and assumed by Augustus, were accepted without hesitation, by seven christian emperors, who were invested with more absolute authority over the religion which they had deserted, than over that which they professed." Hence, this Son of the Woman, styled by historians "the first christian emperor," was at once Sovereign Pontiff of paganism, and Chief Bishop of the Catholic Church! Such a child born and son given could be no other than "THE MAN OF SIN." The historical

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testimony of Gibbon concerning this personage is demonstrative of the true character of the Woman's Son. "The first of the christian emperors," says he, "was unworthy of that name till the moment of his death." This he clearly proves in his great work. In the days of the apostles they only were christians who believed "the gospel of the kingdom," and were immersed; but Constantine was ignorant of it, and therefore could not believe it, and was not immersed until three days before his death, A.D. 337. During many previous years he was reputed a christian by the Catholic Church. He assumed the character of a bishop, presided at ecclesiastical councils, gave judgment against christians reputed "heretical" by his party, enjoined the solemn observance of the first day of the week, which he called the day of the sun, Die Solis, after his once favorite god, and in the same year, A.D. 321, directed the regular consultation of AURUSPICES.§ He was permitted by the Catholic Woman to enjoy most of the privileges of her communion. Instead of retiring from the congregation, when the voice of the deacon dismissed the profane multitude, he prayed with the faithful, disputed with the bishops, preached on the most sublime and intricate subjects of theology, celebrated with "sacred rites" the vigil of Easter, and publicly declared himself, not only a partaker, but, in some measure, a priest and hierophant of the "christian mysteries". In view of such premises as these, what shall we say of such a church, and of such a religion, whose professors could permit, and even applaud, such flagrant violation of the first principles of the doctrine of Christ? The only conclusion attainable is that such a community is the CHURCH OF ANTI-CHRIST, and her imperial protector and chief, THE MAN of SIN.

18. The Manner of His Birth

The Man-Child of Sin, or "the King," was born, or made manifest, after this wise. We have seen how Constantine escaped the designs of the Dragon-Emperor Galerius. Having arrived at Boulogne, he accompanied his father to Britain, who died soon after in the imperial palace at York, A.D. 306. According to the constitution of the empire, the appointment of a successor to the vacant office of Augustus, was the prerogative of Galerius. The flower of the western armies had followed the deceased monarch into Britain. The opinion of their own importance, and the assurance that Britain, Gaul, and Spain would acquiesce in their nomination, were diligently inculcated on these legions by the Woman's partisans, and other revolutionary adherents of Constantine. The throne was the object of his desires: and the attainment of it was his only

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* See illustration p.37.

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means of safety. He was well acquainted with the character and sentiments of Galerius, who in vowing the destruction of the christian name, was implacable towards those who favored it. He was therefore sufficiently apprised, that if he wished to live he must determine to reign. After a show of decent and even obstinate resistance, affected to justify his usurpation, he yielded to the acclamations of the army, which saluted him as Augustus, and emperor. Upon this, he immediately dispatched a letter to Galerius, informing him of his father's death, modestly asserting his natural claim to the succession, and respectfully lamenting, that the affectionate violence of his troops had not permitted him to solicit the imperial purple in the regular and constitutional manner. The first emotions of Galerius were those of surprise, disappointment, and rage; and as he could seldom restrain his passions, he loudly threatened that he would commit to the flames both the letter and the messenger. But his resentment insensibly subsided. Without either condemning or ratifying the choice of the British army, Galerius accepted Constantine as the sovereign of the provinces west of the Alps, but gave him only the title of Caesar, and the fourth rank among the Roman princes, whilst he conferred the vacant place of Augustus on his favorite Severus. The apparent harmony of the empire was still preserved, and Constantine, who already possessed the substance, expected, without impatience, an opportunity of obtaining the honors of supreme power.

For the first, and indeed the last time, the Roman World was administered by six emperors, A. D. 308. The opposition of interest, and the memory of a recent war, divided the empire into two great hostile powers. In the west, Constantine and Maxentius acknowledged the superior influence of Maximian; while in the east, Licinius and Maximin honored with more real consideration their benefactor Galerius: but upon the death of the elder princes, Maximian and Galerius, a new direction was given to the views and passions of their surviving associates.

During six years Maxentius reigned in Rome. He was repeatedly heard to declare that he alone was emperor, and that the other three princes were no more than his lieutenants, on whom he had devolved the defence of the frontier provinces, that he might enjoy without interruption the elegant luxury of the capital. In the crisis thus formed, A. D. 312, Constantine was convinced that the hostile and ambitious designs of the Italian emperor made it necessary for him to arm in his own defense. Maxentius was constitutionally the head of the Dragon-Power, being enthroned in Rome, and identified with the Roman Senate. He openly avowed his pretensions to the whole monarchy of the west, and

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had already prepared a very considerable force to invade Constantine's jurisdiction on the side of Rhoetia.

That Constantine at this crisis was in the womb of the Catholic Woman, appears from the fact, that while he exercised his limited sovereignty over the provinces of Gaul, his christian subjects were protected by his authority, while, says Gibbon, "he wisely left to the gods the care of vindicating their own honor. If we may credit the assertion of Constantine himself, he had been an indignant spectator of the savage cruelties which were inflicted by the hands of Roman soldiers on those citizens whose religion was their only crime." The example of Galerius, his implacable enemy, had made this severity odious to him. By the authority and advice of his dying father, he determined to pursue an opposite course. He immediately suspended or repealed the edicts of persecution, and granted the free exercise of their religious ceremonies to all those who had already professed themselves members of the church. They were soon encouraged to depend on the favor as well as on the justice of their sovereign, who had imbibed a secret and sincere reverence for the name of Christ, and for the God of the christians.

Picture of Constantine’s head not shown pg 96

The colossal head of Constantine's stature in Rome (the rest of which is now in fragments). Constantine is the man child of sin of Rev. 12:5. He was a very skillful and powerful ruler. He united the empire under his sole rule, and established the authority of the Church. He is claimed to have been the "first Christian Emperor" but, in fact, only submitted to baptism a short time before his death. - Publishers.

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"The warm and active loyalty of the Catholics exhausted in Constantine's favor every resource of human industry; and they confidently expected that their strenuous efforts would be seconded by some divine and miraculous aid. The enemies of Constantine," continues Gibbon, "have imputed to interested motives the alliance which he insensibly contracted with the Catholic Church," or the Woman, and which apparently contributed to the success of his ambition. In the beginning of the fourth century the Catholics still bore a very inadequate proportion to the inhabitants of the empire; but among a degenerate people like the Romans and Greeks, who viewed the change of masters with the indifference of slaves, the spirit and union of the Catholic minority would assist the popular leader, to whose service, from a principle of conscience, they had devoted their lives and fortunes. The ranks of his legions were filled with the proselytes of the new faith; so that when they marched against Maxentius, a great number of the soldiers had already consecrated their swords to the service of Christ and of Constantine. In the Catholic councils assembled under Constantine's protection, the authority of the bishops was employed to ratify the obligation of the military oath, and to inflict the penalty of excommunication on those soldiers who threw away their arms during the enjoyment of peace by the church. But the Woman was not confined to the dominions of Constantine. She overspread the Dragon empire; so that while he increased his adherents from her communion in Britain, Spain and Gaul, he could depend on the support of the Catholics in the provinces, which were still possessed or usurped by his rivals. Thus a secret disaffection was diffused among the Catholic subjects of Maxentius and Licinius - the Dragon Power against which he was about to contend. The regular correspondence which connected the bishops of the most distant provinces, enabled them freely to communicate their wishes and their designs, and to transmit without danger any useful intelligence, or any pious contributions, which might promote the service of Constantine, who publicly declared that he had taken up arms for the deliverance of the Catholic Church.

By this declaration he constituted himself the Woman's champion against the Dragon, in all the Roman World; nevertheless, he had not yet announced himself as one of her sons. The real and precise date of Constantine's conversion to Laodicean Catholicism has been variously stated. Eusebius has ascribed the faith of Constantine to a sign alleged to have been displayed in the heavens whilst he was waging war against Maxentius. A contemporary writer affirms with the most perfect confidence, that in the night that preceded the last battle with Maxentius, Constantine was admonished in a dream to inscribe the shields of his sol-

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diers with the celestial sign of God, the sacred monogram of the name of Christ - thus (Sign was a Capitol P with an X superimposed); that he executed this command, and that his valor and obedience were rewarded by the decisive victory of the Milvian Bridge. But it is not easy to determine if this were a real miracle, or merely a "lying wonder." Probably it was the last. Be this as it may, the victory of the Milvian Bridge developed Constantine as the FIRST IMPERIAL SON OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, commonly, but absurdly, styled, "the first Christian Emperor." Previous to that victory he was an usurper of imperial rank, unrecognized by the Roman Senate, and the Coming Man of the Catholic party; favoring its policy, but temporizing between them and their opponents. He was in the womb of his mother, but not yet born of her, as the chief ruler of the Roman nations.

His birth could not be accomplished without the pains of parturition. His mother was "in pangs, straining to bring forth." These pangs and strainings were the pains of persecution, and the efforts of war for deliverance. The threatened invasion of his territory by Maxentius caused Constantine to hesitate no longer. He gave private audience to ambassadors, who in the name of the Senate and people, conjured him to deliver Rome from a detested tyrant; and without regarding the timid remonstrance’s of his council, he resolved to prevent the enemy, and to carry the war into the heart of Italy.

The enterprise was as full of danger as of "glory." Maxentius was prepared to resist him with 120,000 foot, and 18,000 horse. But Constantine was not to be deterred by this array. At the head of about 40,000 soldiers, he descended into the plain of Piedmont by the road across the Cottian Alps, now styled Mount Cenis, with such activity, that his army arrived there before the court of Maxentius had received any certain intelligence of his departure from the banks of the Rhine. He stormed, and entered Susa sword in hand, and cut in pieces the greater part of the garrison. About forty miles from thence, in the plains of Turin, he encountered the lieutenants of Maxentius, commanding a force largely consisting of heavy cavalry, horses and men clothed in complete armor. Their weight was almost irresistible, and they flattered themselves that they would easily break and trample down the army of Constantine. But his skillful evolution’s divided and baffled them. They fled towards Turin, which shut its gates against them, so that very few escaped the sword of their pursuers. The result of this victory was the submission of Milan, and almost all the cities of Italy between the Alps and the Po, which also embraced with zeal the party of Constantine.

From Milan to Rome the AEmilian and Flaminian highways offered an easy march of four hundred miles. But he preferred for strategic reasons the route by Verona. He was met by a large body of cavalry

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which he defeated near Brescia, and pursued to the gates of Verona. He crossed the Adige, a rapid river encompassing three sides of the city, and laid siege to it. Pompeianus, finding that he could not successfully defend it, escaped from Verona, and with indefatigable diligence collected an army sufficient either to meet Constantine in the field, or to attack him if he obstinately remained within his lines. But leaving part of his legions to continue the siege, he led those troops on whose valor and fidelity he more particularly depended, in person against the enemy. The engagement began at the close of the day, and was contested with great obstinacy the whole night. The return of light displayed the victory of Constantine, and a field of carnage covered with many thousands of vanquished Italians. Pompeianus was found among the slain; Verona immediately surrendered at discretion, and the garrison was made prisoners of war.

The resources of Maxentius, both in men and money, were still considerable. A third army was soon collected, more numerous than those which had been lost in the battles of Turin and Verona. The contempt of the Roman people, who tumultuously reproached his pusillanimity and insolence, while they celebrated the heroic spirit of Constantine, compelled him to assume the command of the army in person. But before he left Rome he consulted the Sibylline books. These were the ancient oracles of the old Roman superstition, whose guardians were as well versed in the arts of this world, as they were ignorant of the secrets of fate; they returned him the very prudent answer that, Illo die hostem Romanorum esse periturum, "on that day the enemy of the Romans would perish;" which might adapt itself to the event, the vanquished prince, of course, becoming the enemy of Rome.

On arriving at Saxa Rubra, about nine miles from Rome, Constantine discovered the army of Maxentius prepared to give him battle. Their long front filled a very spacious plain, and their deep array reached to the banks of the Tiber, which covered their rear, and forbade their retreat. Constantine charged in person at the head of the Gallic horse, whose impetuosity determined the fortune of the day. The defeat of the two wings left the flanks of the infantry unprotected, and the undisciplined Italians precipitately fled. The praetorians, conscious that their offenses were beyond the reach of mercy, were animated by revenge and despair. But they were unable to recover the victory. The confusion then became general, and the dismayed troops of Maxentius, pursued by an implacable enemy, rushed by thousands into the deep and rapid Tiber. Maxentius endeavored to reach the city by the Milvian Bridge, but he was forced into the river by the crowd, where he was immediately drowned by the weight of his armor. On the recovery of his

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body from the mud next day, his head was exposed to view, which convinced the people of their deliverance, and admonished them to receive with loyal and grateful demonstrations the victorious Constantine, "who thus achieved," says Gibbon, "by his valor and ability the most splendid enterprise of his life."

This "most splendid enterprise" was his birth as the Woman's Son. Before, he was an usurper and adventurer, but by these splendid defeats of the forces of the Dragon, and the acquisition of his throne and capital, he was assigned by the decree of the Roman Senate, the first rank among the three Augusti who governed the Roman World. He was now exalted to a position of great influence, which he speedily exerted in favor of the Catholic Church. He had not yet attained to Supreme God-ship in the Roman heaven, by which he could "rule all the nations" of the empire "with an iron sceptre." By the overthrow of Maxentius he annexed Italy and Africa to his dominion; but there still remained the territories held by Licinius and Maximin, the two other Augusti. The former ruled the nations of Illyricum; the latter, those of Egypt and Syria. But the destiny marked out by Deity for the Woman's Imperial Son, was that he should rule all these nations with an iron sceptre; so that we may expect to find that his career will be onward until he acquires the sole dominion over the whole Roman Habitable.

About five months after the conquest of Italy, in March, A.D. 313, Constantine made a solemn and authentic declaration of his sentiments, by the celebrated Edict of Milan, which restored peace to the Catholic Church. After the death of Maximin, it was received as a general and fundamental law of the Roman world. Constantine, with the ready, but not hearty, concurrence of Licinius, provided for the restitution of all the civil and religious rights of which the catholics had been deprived. It was enacted that the places of worship, and public lands, which had been confiscated, should be restored to the Catholic Church, without dispute, without delay, and without expense; and this severe injunction was accompanied with a gracious promise, that if any of the purchasers had paid a fair and adequate price, they should be indemnified from the imperial treasury. The two emperors proclaimed to the world, that they had granted a free and absolute power to the catholics, and to all others, of following the religion which each individual thinks proper to prefer, to which he has addicted his mind, and which he may deem the best adapted to his own use. Thus, as expressed by Eusebius, while the East was involved in the shades of infernal darkness, the auspicious rays of celestial light warmed and illuminated the provinces of the West. The piety of Constantine was cited as an unexceptionable proof of the justice of his arms; and his use of victory in their favor confirmed the opinion of

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the catholics, that their hero was inspired, and conducted, by the Lord of hosts.

19. The Son's Ascent to the Deity

"And her son was forcibly carried up to the Deity, and his throne"

Before the Woman's Son could "rule ALL the nations" of the Roman Habitable, it was necessary that he be placed upon the throne of the Deity. "There is no power but of the Deity," says Paul; "and the powers that be are ordered of the Deity." The throne of the Deity upon the Roman Habitable would be the seat of the Supreme and Sole Sovereignty of the empire, wherever it might be located. Jerusalem is styled "the throne of Yahweh" in Jer. 3:17. That city is the place where supreme power will be established in the Millennium. It was also Yahweh's throne when occupied by David and Solomon - 1 Chron. 29:23. But in the days of Constantine, supreme power had long before departed from Jerusalem. Israel and Judah had been broken and divorced; and a people formed from among the Gentiles for the Divine Name. This people came to contend with the Pagan Dragon for supreme power. After a long and bloody conflict they acquired it by the will of the Deity, "of whom are all things" (1 Cor. 8:6). Their military commander is therefore, said to have arrived at the Deity and his throne. Hence Constantine, as sole emperor of the Roman world, invested with supreme power in all spiritual and temporal affairs, is the illustration of the import of the text predicting the translation of the Woman's Son "to the Deity and his throne."

But under the circumstances of the case it was not possible for him to attain that high position without further conflict. He had fought his way up from a Caesar of the fourth rank of Roman princes, to be the first of the three Augusti of the empire; but he could ascend no higher while his two colleagues, Licinius and Maximin, ruled Illyricum and the East. These had to be removed by force of arms; for they were not the men voluntarily to abdicate position and power in favor of a rival as ambitious as themselves.

The word in the original indicating this necessity, is herpasthe; rendered in the Common Version, "was caught up." The phrase "to the Deity" implies ascending from a lower to the highest position. Hence the word "up." The word implies violence in the action it represents; as, to convey, take or carry by force. I have, therefore, rendered it, was forcibly carried up. Her son did not forcibly translate himself into the possession of supreme power; but he was carried up to that high position by his Victorious armies, whose hearts and arms were energized by Divine power.

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WAR IN THE HEAVEN;

OR,

20. The Ascent Historically Illustrated

"And there was war in the heaven; the Michael and his angels waged war against the Dragon; and the Dragon fought and his angels, but prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in the heaven."

When Constantine was declared by the Roman Senate the first of the three Augusti, Licinius, the Illyrian Augustus, seemed cordially to endorse his policy with respect to the Catholic Church. But his subsequent conduct soon betrayed the reluctance with which he had consented to the wise and humane regulations of the Edict of Milan. The convocation of provincial synods was prohibited in his dominions; his catholic officers were ignominiously dismissed; and if he avoided the guilt, or rather danger, of a general persecution, his partial oppressions were rendered still more odious, by the violation of a solemn and voluntary engagement.

The interview between Constantine and Licinius at Milan was brief. In the midst of the public festivity these allies were suddenly obliged to take leave of each other. An inroad of the Franks demanded the presence of Constantine on the Rhine; and the hostile approach of Maximin required the immediate presence of Licinius. Maximin had been the secret ally of Maxentius, and without being discouraged at his fate, he resolved to try the fortune of a civil war. He invaded the dominion of Licinius with a disciplined and veteran army of about seventy thousand men. Licinius encountered him with thirty thousand, and after a severe contest, gave him a signal and decisive overthrow. Maximin, perceiving that all was lost, fled with great precipitation. He was the most implacable of all the enemies of the Catholic Church; but he did not long survive his defeat to torment it. Three or four months after he died by Divine justice; and the provinces of the east, delivered from the terrors of civil war, cheerfully acknowledged the authority of Licinius.

The Roman world was now divided between Constantine and Licinius; the former being master of the West, and the latter of the East. Constantine, as the military chieftain of the Catholic Church, which the Deity had predetermined should have the rule instead of the Pagan Priesthood, is styled in the prophecy ho Michael, the Michael: that is, the Michael of the situation. This name is Hebrew in a Greek dress. The Hebrew is resolvable into three words put interrogatively, as Miyka'el,

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or Mi, who, cah, like, ail power? Or Who like that power Divinely energized to cast the Pagan Dragon, surnamed the Diabolos and the Satan, out of the Roman heaven? There was no contemporary power under this Sixth Seal that was able to contend successfully against it. Hence Constantine, as the instrument of the Deity in the development of his purpose, is styled "the Michael". He was not personally the Michael, or "first of the chief princes" spoken of in Dan. 10:13, nor the Michael termed in Dan. 12:1, "the great Prince who standeth for the children of Daniel's people;" but for the time being he filled the office that will hereafter be more potently and gloriously illustrated by the Great

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Map showing the Roman Empire under Constantine not shown

THE ROMAN EMPIRE UNDER CONSTAN"IINE

The extent of the Roman Empire was very great. It reached from the Atlantic coast to the Caspian Sea, and from the coast of North Holland to that of Africa comprising the then known world, fulfilling Revelation 12:5.

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Prince from heaven, who will bind the Dragon and shut him down in the abyss for a thousand years (Apoc. 20:2,3). The militant mission of Constantine and the Great Prince, Jesus Christ, are similar, but not identical. The power of the Deity was with Constantine, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, and the first Napoleon; while Christ is the great power of the Deity corporealized. Constantine was to rule all the nations of the Roman Habitable with an iron sceptre from the time he attained supreme power till he died, which was about four

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teen years. Christ Jesus and his brethren are to rule all the nations of the globe with an iron sceptre for a thousand years (Apoc. 19:15; 2:26,27). Constantine stood up with Catholics and for them and Christians, against the Pagan Dragon. Christ Jesus will stand up for the saints, and with them, against the Catholic Dragon and Beasts whom he will bind and destroy. Thus the word parallelizes the greater and the less in their military antagonism, to the powers hostile to the Divine Name. It may, therefore, be fairly admitted that in his military career against the Dragon, Constantine was a typical Michael - typical of that Michael who shall stand up in the resurrection period, and bring all the nations of mankind into subjection to his almighty power.

But the Michael, Constantine, was not alone in his wars. There were associated with him "his angels". Angels are agents employed to execute the will and pleasure of those who commissioned them. They may be mortal or immortal agents, and hold their commission of the Deity or of men. In the prophecy, the Divine Power, or AlL, commissioned certain mortal agents, known as Constantine and his adherents, to cast the Dragon and his adherents out of the Roman Heaven. The same power that co-worked with Constantine cooperated with his retainers. They were, therefore, the Michael-power and its angels - the corrupt and militant class of the Woman's children.

"And there was war in the heaven." "Wherever the scene is laid," saith Daubuz, truly, "heaven signifies, symbolically, the ruling power or government; that is, the whole assembly of the ruling powers, which, in respect of the subjects, or earth, are a political heaven, being over and ruling the subjects, as the natural heaven stands over and rules the earth: so that according to the subject is the term to be limited." The scene is laid in "the whole habitable of the Dragon;" hence "the heaven" in the prophecy signifies the whole assembly of the ruling powers of the Roman Dragon. This being the subject of the prophecy, the term must be limited to the official region of the Roman world.

In the Roman Heaven, then, there was to be war. There had already been a war there; that namely, between Licinius and Maximin. But this could not be the war predicted; for, although Maximin was

defeated, he was not cast out by Licinius; having died in office and from disease: neither were Licinius and his adherents "the Michael and his angels." The chief difference between Licinius and Maximin was, that the former was a hypocritical and cruel politician and pagan; while the latter was all this and more ferocious, but without the hypocrisy. No; the particular war predicted was to be waged between "the Michael" and the Dragon; and not to reach its final termination until the place of "the Dragon and his angels" should be "found no more in the heaven." Con-

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stantine took no part in the war against Maximin, being engaged in checking the incursions of the Franks across the Rhine.

Since the death of Maximin, Licinius by his patronage of "the gods of his ancestors," and his hatred, ill-concealed, of Constantine and the catholics, came to be represented from A.D. 314 to A.D. 324, by the Dragon-tail which "drew the third part of the stars of the heaven"

Ver. 4.1 say from A.D. 314, because previously to this date, he was the chief luminary of two-thirds; of his own Illyrian third, and of Maximin's Asiatic third which he acquired by his death.

Now, he was reduced from a tail, or following, of two-thirds to one-third of the stars of the Roman firmament by a war with Constantine. A year had scarcely elapsed after the death of Maximin, before Constantine and Licinius turned their arms against each other. This was a war, but not the war predicted. It was a war for the development of the Dragon's Tail - the tail end of the pagan dragon-power. The character of Licinius was perfidious. He secretly fomented a conspiracy against the authority of Constantine. But this vigilant ruler discovered it before it was ripe for execution. Licinius haughtily refused the extradition of the criminals who had sought refuge in Illyricum. This confirmed the suspicions of Constantine; who, without further loss of time in the interchanges of diplomacy, marched against him with twenty thousand men. Licinius met him near Cibalis in Pannonia with thirty-five thousand. Licinius was defeated with a loss of twenty thousand. After this he retreated, but halted in the plain of Mardia in Thrace, where he determined to hazard another battle. This was no less obstinate and bloody than the former; the troops on both sides displayed the same valor and discipline; but the superior abilities of the Woman's Son again decided the fortune of the day in his favor. The loss of two battles, and of his bravest veterans, reduced the fierce spirit of Licinius to sue for peace. His situation was almost desperate. Constantine, however, consented to retain him in "the heaven," but with a dominion considerably reduced. He left him in possession of a third part of the Roman Habitable, consisting of Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt; now comprehended in Modern Turkey: but the provinces of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Dacia, Macedonia, and Greece, the other third, were annexed to the Western Empire; so that the dominions of Constantine now extended over two-thirds, from the confines of Caledonia to the extremity of Peloponnesus.

Thus terminated this war in the heaven. It had reduced the dominion of the pagan element; but had not given the Woman's son rule over all the nations of the habitable; nor had it cast the great red dragon and his angels out. The overthrow of Maxentius, with whom Maximin was

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allied, that is, the birth of the Woman's son; left "the earth and the sea" in the possession of Licinius and Maximin: who, in relation to "the inhabiters of the earth and sea," constituted "THE DIABOLOS." The signs of the times convinced them, that the pagan political power was doomed to speedy extinction, unless its fall could be arrested by the overthrow of the catholic party and its military chief. This they were determined to compass if possible. Hence, the two wars in the heaven, which brought "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and sea: because the diabolos had come down (from Italy where he had reigned before the defeat of Maxentius) unto them, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time" - verse 12. This "short time" was a period of about twelve years; that is, from A.D. 312 to A.D. 324, when Constantine became sole emperor of the Roman world.

The recent treaty of peace between the Diabolos-emperor, Licinius, and the Woman's Son, Constantine, maintained the tranquillity of the empire above eight years. A very regular series of imperial laws commences about the period of this treaty, the most important of which were intimately connected with the new system of policy and religion, which was not perfectly established till the last and peaceful years of his reign.

In the exalted state of glory to which he had attained A.D. 323, it was impossible that Constantine should any longer endure a partner in the empire. Confiding in the superiority of his genius and military power, he determined to exert them for the ejection of "the dragon and his angels out of the heaven." For this purpose he commenced the war predicted in the seventh verse. Licinius prepared himself for the contest, collected the forces of his Eastern Third, the "Angels" of his power, and soon filled the plains of Adrianople with one hundred and fifty thousand f6ot, and fifteen thousand horse; and the straits of the Hellespont with a fleet of three hundred and fifty galleys of three ranks of oars. The troops of Constantine, the Michael of the situation, amounted to a hundred and twenty thousand horse and foot. Constantine's naval preparations were in every respect much inferior to those of Licinius. They did not exceed two hundred small vessels. With this naval preponderance he might have carried an offensive war into the centre of his rival's dominions, and so have changed the whole face of it. But the prudence of Licinius was at fault in contending with "the Michael and his angels," whose attack he awaited in a fortified camp near Adrianople. Constantine's advance from Thessalonica was arrested by the broad and rapid Hebrus, the steep ascent from which to the city was filled by the army of Licinius. Here were now assembled Licinius and Martinianus, whom he had made Caesar, "the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the

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rich men, and the chiliarchs (chiefs of a thousand men) and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman" (Apoc. 6:15). This was the great day of the Lamb's wrath upon the pagan dragon-tail, and the third part of the stars of the Roman firmament that followed it. "The Michael and his angels," the executioners of the Lamb's wrath, "waged war against the Dragon." Many days were spent in doubtful and distant skirmishes; but at length the obstacles of the passage and the attack were removed by the intrepid conduct of Constantine. Zosimus, an historian who was the partial enemy of his fame, relates a wonderful exploit of Constantine. He says that the valiant emperor threw himself into the Hebrus, accompanied only by twelve horsemen, and that by the effort or terror of his invincible arm, he broke, slaughtered, and put to flight a host of one hundred and fifty thousand men. Other causes combined to develop this result; for while he was perplexing Licinius with his artful evolution’s, a body of five thousand archers deployed from a thick wood in his rear, and made it necessary for him to take up a new position in the plain. The advantage of position being lost, the contest was no longer equal. "The Dragon fought, and his angels, but prevailed not". His confused multitude of new levies was easily vanquished by "the Michael," and his experienced veterans of the West. Thirty-four thousand of the Dragon's forces were slain; their fortified camp was taken by assault on the evening of the battle. The greater part of the fugitives "hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains." The logic of their flight hither was that they might hide from the conqueror; and the language of it was, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne" (Apoc. 6:16). Next day they came forth from their hiding places, and surrendered themselves to the discretion of the victor.

This battle of Adrianople had been a consummation of "woe to the inhabiters of the earth:" the time had now come for a like consummation of "woe to the inhabiters of the sea." Here were five hundred and fifty vessels full of combatants, drawn together from the maritime part of the Roman earth, to engage in the great conflict between the worshippers of the idols, and the catholic believers in the Divine Unity. While Constantine was besieging Byzantium, to which Licinius had retired after his defeat at Adrianople, Crispus, the eldest son of Constantine, was entrusted with the daring enterprise of forcing the passage of the Helles-pont. This he performed with great courage and success. The engagement between the contending fleets lasted two days. A south wind springing up about noon, carried his vessels against the enemy, and as the advantage was improved by his skill and intrepidity, he soon obtained a complete victory. A hundred and thirty vessels were destroyed, and five

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thousand men were slain. The Hellespont being now open, Licinius perceived that he could not hold Byzantium much longer. Therefore, before the place was surrounded, he prudently removed his person and treasures to Chalcedon in Asia.

Such were still the resources and abilities of Licinius, that, after so many successive defeats, he collected in Bithynia a new army of fifty or sixty thousand men, while Constantine was still actively employed in the siege of Byzantium. The vigilant Michael did not neglect the last struggles of the Dragon. He transported a considerable part of his victorious army across the Bosphorus; and soon after their landing fought the decisive battle of the war on the heights of Chrysopolis, or, as it is now called, Scutari. "The angels" of the Dragon, though lately raised, ill armed, and worse disciplined, made head against "the Michael and his angels" with fruitless but desperate valor, till a total defeat, and the slaughter of five and twenty thousand men, irretrievably determined the fate of the Supreme Pontiff of the Idols and his adherents. Licinius retired to Nicomedia from whence he opened negotiations with Constantine. Peace and affluence were granted to him on condition of sacrificing Martinianus, whom he had created Augustus, and of resigning the imperial office. Licinius accordingly solicited and accepted the pardon of his offenses, laid himself and his purple at the feet of his Lord and Master, was raised from the ground with insulting pity, was admitted the same day to the imperial banquet, and soon after was sent away to Thessalonica, which had been chosen for the place of his confinement, which was soon terminated by death at the hand of the executioner.

Such was the result of this last "war in the heaven." "The Dragon and his angels fought and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in the heaven" - verse 8. "He was cast out into the earth; and his angels were cast out with him" - verse 9: and in his projection, "his tail drew the third part of the stars, and cast them to the earth" - verse 4. The memory of Licinius was branded with infamy(*), his statues were thrown down, and, by a hasty edict, all his laws, and all the judicial proceedings of his reign were at once abolished. By this victory of Constantine, A.D. 324, the Roman world was united under the authority of one emperor; and he the first of a long line of emperors, who, though not christian, but catholic, repudiated "the gods of their ancestors." The immediate and memorable consequences of this revolution were the

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(*)(*)Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260-340) wrote a History of the Church and a Lfe of Constantine in which the Emperor is praised for his piety and ability. The earlier editions of his Church History also praised Licinius, but following his fall from favour and execution by order of Constantine, he promptly excised all complimentary allusions to Licinius from the latest edition of his Church History". This statement from Who Was Who In The Roman World illustrates Bro. Thomas' comment above. - Publishers.

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foundation of Constantinople, and the establishment of the Laodicean Catholic Apostasy as the religion of the State.

While these stirring and exciting events were transpiring, their connexion with apocalyptic prophecy was not unperceived by Constantine and his adherents. In a letter to Eusebius he writes of "that dragon having been deposed from the governance of affairs, by God's providence". And Eusebius further relates, that in a picture elevated by Constantine over his palace gate, there was represented the cross placed over his head; and beneath his own and his children's feet, his enemies under the semblance of a dragon cast down headlong into the abyss. In a letter also to Eusebius he says, "But now that liberty is restored, and that Dragon driven from the administration of public affairs by the providence of the Supreme Deity, and our instrumentality, we trust that all can see the efficacy of the Divine power." A dragon is a symbol stamped on some of the coins of Constantine. I have the representation before me of two, on which the cross, the symbol of the catholic church, is erected over a fallen dragon, the symbol of Roman superstition in its political constitution.

Licinius himself seems to have been aware that the conflict was not simply a matter of personal rivalry and ambition between him and Constantine, but the great question which system of belief and practice was genuine and designed of the Eternal Power, be that power the gods of the Roman Habitable, or "the foreign God" whom the adherents of those gods derided, to prevail. This question was considered by both

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Coins not shown

Licinius (left) and Constantine (right) are depicted upon contemporary gold medallions. Every attempt was made to emphasise the serene, pious features of Constantine in contrast to those of Licinius. - Publishers.

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parties as on trial in the contest of the "short time," and to be determined by its issue.

As a religious preparation for the impending conflict, Licinius col-ected around himself Egyptian seers and diviners, enchanters, jugglers, and the priests and prophets of his idols, and having propitiated his deities with sacrifices, then inquired what was to be the issue to him of this "war in the heaven." If he had inquired of an enlightened Chrisladeiphian of the period he could have told him that it would be to cast him out of the heaven into the earth, and his angels (the Egyptian seers and diviners, enchanters, jugglers, priests, prophets, and all his officials) with him; but there was none such in his tail, or following, to testify the truth; he therefore, had recourse to the stars drawn in his tail, who unanimously assured him that he would undoubtedly prove the stronger in the contest, and be victorious; a judgment everywhere reiterated in long and elegant songs by the Oracles of the Idols. Elated by these deceitful promises, he advanced with great confidence, and prepared for battle. When about to begin, he summoned his trustiest attendants and friends to meet him in a consecrated grove, spacious and irrigated, in which were set up all kinds of idol-statues, and having lighted wax tapers, in the after-fashion of papists and ritualists, and offered the accustomed victims to them, he delivered the following address:

"Friends and fellow-warriors, these are the gods of our ancestors, whom, received from our earliest predecessors as objects of worship, we honor; but he who commands the army that is drawn up against us, having adopted an atheistic Opinion, violates the customs of the fathers, venerating a god from abroad, I know not whence, and disgraces his troops with his ignominious standard (the Cross with the monogram of Christ) trusting in which he arms not so much against us as against the gods whom he offends. This occasion therefore will show which of us errs in his belief, and will decide between the gods who are honored by us, and by the other party; for either by showing us victors, it will show our gods are most justly regarded as auxiliaries and saviours; or, if the Deity of Constantine, come from I know not whence, shall prevail over ours, which are many, let no one thereafter doubt what Deity ought to be worshipped, but go to the strongest, and present to him the reward of the victory. If the foreign god, whom we now deride, should appear the mightiest, we must acknowledge and honor him, and bid farewell to those to whom we have vainly lit wax tapers. But if ours prevail, which is not to be doubted, then, after the victory, we must proceed to war against the atheists."

Thus, the contest was considered by both parties as between the christians' Deity and the many gods of paganism. Each party regarded

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Picture not shown

Illustrative of the chicanery of the Church in its relation to the State, is the so-called Donation of Constantine This was a document advanced by the Church in the 8th century to support its claim to exercise temporal power with the emperor as the secular arm of the church wielding the sword on behalf of the vicar of Peter It was claimed that Constantine on transferring the civil and military authority to Constantinople conferred dominion over Rome on pope Sylvester 1(314-35) This document was proved to be a complete forgery The illustration above is a fifth century fresco entitled the Donation of Constantine No such authority was ever conferred by the Emperor but the Church is notorious for using any means to gain power - Publishers

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itself as the respective instrument of these. Hence the propriety of the apocalyptic title bestowed on the enemy of the dragon-tail, "the Michael." Constantine's victory was regarded by him, by the church, and by the people at large, as the victory of the Deity, that is living and true, over the false deities, of christianity over idolatry. Eusebius says, that "when the whole was, by the power of Deity, the Saviour, subjected to Constantine, he made known to all the Giver of his prosperity, and testified that the Deity, not he, was the author of his victories."

21. The Great Voice in the Heaven

"And I heard a great voice saying in the heaven. Now is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our Deity, and the authority of His Anointed; for the prosecutor of our brethren who accused them in the presence of our Deity, day and night, has been cast down.

11. "And they overcame him, through the blood of the Lamb, and through the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life unto death. 12. On account of this let the heavens rejoice and those who tent in them."

"The heaven," in which John, in prophetic vision, heard this "great voice," was the same heaven as that in which the Woman, the Dragon, the Michael, and the war, had contemporary existence. I say contemporary existence; for, on the defeat of Maxentius, A.D. 313, the Catholic Church, or "Woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and a stephan of Twelve Stars upon her head," was the established religion of Constantine's dominion; but not of the whole habitable, the rest thereof still rejoicing in the ascendancy of the Dragon and the gods of antiquity. Hence there were two contemporary established religions in the empire, each of them sustained by rival political factions. The Dragon had been cast out as the result of the recent war in the heaven. His "short time" was at an end. He had no longer any place in the heaven, nor his adherents. He who ruled there had no regard for the defeated gods of his ancestors. The heaven had been effectually cleared of all who rejoiced in them; so that there were now found therein only the Sun-clothed Woman and her Son.

This woman and her son constituted "the heavens and those who tent in them." In other words, they were the constituted authorities of the Church and State, who were now all real or pretended catholics. Their religious and political adversaries and oppressors had been turned out of place and power; and they had been turned into them by the wonderful revolution, with all the comforts and advantages accruing to

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those who by victory may claim the spoils. It was these in the heaven from whom the "Great Voice" ascended joyously. They had been long looking for "the salvation," "or deliverance," and "the power," which they now enjoyed without fear; and what could that constitution of things, exhibited in the Woman and her Son, be, but "the kingdom of our Deity and the authority of His Anointed?" So they thought; for Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, who was one of the most prominent among those who then tented in the heaven, being one of the bishops of the Woman, and a companion of her Son, speaking of the new order of things in Church and State, says, "The event surpassed all words. Soldiers with naked swords kept watch round the palace-gate. But the men of God passed through the midst of them without fear, and entered the heart of the palace. And they sat down, some at the emperor's table, the rest at tables on either side of his. It looked like the very image of the kingdom of Christ; and was altogether more like a dream than a reality. And on the occasion of opening a new catholic temple at Tyre, he said to the multitude assembled, 'What so many of the Lord's saints and confessors before our time desired to see and saw not, and to hear and heard not, that behold now before our eyes! It was of us the prophet spake when he told how the wilderness and the solitary place should be glad, and the desert rejoice and blossom as the lily. Whereas the church was widowed and desolate, her children have now to exclaim to her, Make room, enlarge thy borders: the place is too strait for us. The promise is fulfilling to her, In righteousness shalt thou be established: all thy children shall be taught of God: and great shall be the peace of thy children'."

From these quotations which have reference to the real kingdom of Christ, Eusebius in his application of them to the Catholic Church, in the good fortune of which, he says, they were fulfilling; manifestly concluded that it was not only "the image", but the very kingdom of Christ itself! This was his Opinion, and that also of the clergy and people of his communion generally. Their belief was that "the salvation, power, and kingdom of the Deity, and the authority of His Anointed" had really come; and that now, all that remained was for professors to lead moral lives, or at all events to live at peace with, and in the favour of "Mother Church," which would secure to them an abundant entrance into the only other kingdom known to them, termed "the kingdom of glory," situated afar off from earth, "beyond the realms of time and space!" This opinion of Eusebius and his coreligionists, that the church is the kingdom of God, took deep hold of the catholic mind of his generation; and in the nineteenth century is a characteristic of those who know not the truth. Catholics, papists and protestants all believe that what they

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call church is the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven. Of course, Millennarians may claim exception from this rule. Still, few of them are free from the tradition; for while they expect the reign of Christ upon earth, they hold the church to be the kingdom in some sense; and send off disembodied "immortal souls" to transkyanal regions, there to await the terrestrial millennial reign!

If Eusebius had restrained his fancy, and contented himself with saying, that the New Order of things was the shadow, type, or pattern, of the kingdom of Christ, there would have been little ground for objection. But "the very image of the kingdom of Christ", is that kingdom it-self; "the very image," being used by Paul in Heb. 10:1, for the reality of things shadowed forth, or typified. The kingdom of "the Michael and his angels" shadowed forth the kingdom of Christ, the real Michael, and his angels, the Saints. Constantine, like Cyrus, in his military career, and in his ecclesiastical relation to the Catholic Church, was a type of Christ. The typical hero established his kingdom in its fullest extent on the ejection of the pagan dragon from the heaven; Christ will establish his by binding the Catholic Dragon, and shutting him down in the abyss (Apoc. 20:2,3). The typical hero attained "to Deity and his throne;" Christ will sit down with Deity upon his throne (Apoc. 3:21). The typical hero acquired all the kingdoms of the Roman earth; Christ will acquire all the kingdoms of the globe (Apoc. 11:15). The typical hero ruled all the Roman nations with an iron sceptre; Christ will rule all the nations of the globe with an iron sceptre (Apoc. 19:15). The catholic clergy shared with the typical Michael the glory, honor, and power of his kingdom; the Saints will share with Christ the glory, honor, and power of his (Apoc. 2:26,27; 3:21). After his birth of the unprivileged and persecuted woman, the sun-clothed catholic church became the Spouse of the typical Michael; the glorified Saints become the married wife, or bride adorned for her husband, Christ (Apoc. 19:7,8; 21:2,9). The power of the Deity was with Constantine in measure; Christ is the great power of Deity without measure. Constantine established a new religion, the catholic; founded a new administration of affairs; and built a new capital, called Constantinople, or New Rome: Christ will establish a new system of worship for all nations, the Millennial; will organize a new government of the world; and establish a new capital for the throne of the Deity, Jerusalem rebuilt, in the midst of which he will be the glory (Isa. 56:7; Zeph. 3:9; Acts 17:31; Eph. 1:10; Jer. 3:17; Zech. 2:5; 8:21-23).

Now, I take it, that these parallels are not accidental, but designed. Michael and the Dragon was literally enacted as previously explained. Its performance is the history of the last twenty-five years of the life of

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Constantine. This history in its most striking particulars was like much of the history of the Jews. Jewish history is not like common history - a story of the past unprophetic of the future. The things that happened to Israel as narrated in their history, happened unto them for types (tupoi); and they were written for our admonition, "upon whom," says Paul, "the end of the aeons is come" (1 Cor. 10:11). Typical history is the past representative of the future. This is the character of Michael and the Dragon. It is a past series of events. typical of a future contest between the Michael of Dan. 12:1 and the Dragon of Apoc. 20. This view of the prophecy imparts to it an interest for us which it would be devoid of if it were regarded merely as belonging to a past epoch over fifteen hundred years remote. There was war in the heaven then; and when the door shall be opened in the heaven, and the throne shall be set therein (Apoc. 4:1,2) there will be a war in the heaven again, "the war of that great day of AIL.Shaddai, "which will terminate in similar, but grander results; for "the very image" is always greater and more magnificent than the type. The great voice in the heaven, celebrative of the victory over the great red dragon, partakes of this typical character. It not only expresses what then obtained in shadow; but by anticipation celebrates the greater realities of the victory of Christ and the Saints over all the apocalyptic beasts; when the great salvation, and power; and kingdom of Yahweh, consisting of the kingdoms of the world, and the authority of His Anointed, the One Body of which Jesus is the head, shall have actually come. Then there will be in the heaven a great voice indeed "a voice as the sound of many waters; and as the voice of a great thunder; the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Praise ye Yah: for Yahweh Elohim omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made her-self ready" (Apoc. 1:15; 14:2; 19:6,7).

But to return to the "great voice" of the Constantinian period. The things spoken were uttered in the heaven: namely, by those appointed to the vacancies created by the ejection from the heaven of the adherents and worshippers of the gods. In other words, the voice proceeded from the officials in church and state, who all professed the catholic religion, and said they were now "rich, and increased with goods, and had need of nothing:" but "they knew not that they were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Apoc. 3:17). Such was the choir which sang:

"Salvation now, and pow'r, are come,

The kingdom also of our God,

And the dominion of His Christ:

For he who did our brethren try,

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And night and day 'fore God accus'd,

Hath from the heaven been cast down.

And they through th' Lamb's blood him o'ercame,

And also through the word they taught:

Nor yet their life lov'd they till death.

Because of this, 0 heavens, rejoice,

And all ye who sojourn therein!"

It is not to be wondered at that such a people who imagined that "they had need of nothing," should mistake the shadow for the substance; and rejoice in what then existed as the full accomplishment of the Divine purpose. Salvation, or deliverance, had indeed come from the tyranny of the Public Prosecutor (ho kategoros) who continually accused them falsely, and punished them with torture unto death. But the "great salvation," preached by Christ and his apostles, has not come yet. A new power, and a new kingdom, and a new dominion, had taken possession of the Roman Heaven, to the exclusion of the old order of things; and to the generation witnessing so wonderful a revolution, it seemed "more like a dream than reality." The prophecy attributes it all to the power of Deity, as symbolized in the apocalyptic name Michael The salvation, power, kingdom and dominion, therefore, are very properly predicated of the Deity and Christ; for assuredly, if they had stood by Licinius instead of by Constantine, this epinikon, or song of victory, would never have been heard in the heaven. But we must be careful not to fall into the error of Eusebius and his Laodicean Catholic companions, who had need of nothing more, and to take the type for "the very image of the things." The typical "kingdom of the Deity and dominion of His Christ" had come; and therefore it was, that the Woman's Son, when he had fought his way up, by the providence of Deity, to supreme power in the heaven, is said to have been "carried up by force to Deity and his throne." The power of the Deity was enthroned in the New Capital, Constantinople. But the shadowy representation of the kingdom of the Deity and the dominion of His Christ, passed away with the death of the typical hero, Constantine. The reigns of David and Solomon were prefigurative of the reign of Christ; but the typical character of their reigns was not transferred on their decease to their successors. And thus it was in relation to Constantine and those who came after him. His career of conquest, and "half-hour's" peaceful reign (Apoc. 8:1), typified the future career of Christ in the conquest of the world, and the succeeding tranquillity of his times. But all this typical manifestation was dissolved when his three sons succeeded him, and divided the empire between them. The Heaven was still catholic; but, as the Spirit had "spued them out of his mouth" on their indifference to his "counsel" (Apoc. 3:16,18), he left them to their delusions; and "the Serpent" by

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whom they were beguiled; that is the Sin-power of the flesh, in a catholic instead of a pagan, political manifestation was enthroned; and became the future antagonist of the ANTI CATHOLIC WOMAN and her seed (vers. 14-17).

The Laodicean officials in their victorious declaration refer to those they style "our brethren, whom the public prosecutor accused day and night before the Deity." All passed for brethren untl'l the Spirit formally spued the state party out of his mouth. Politically, they might truly claim all the saints who had, for two hundred and eighty years previous, been engaged in the conflict with the pagans. They were all "brethren and fellow servants," as all democrats are brethren politically; while, religiously, they are scattered among sects of the most perverse and contradictory opinions. This is true of all other political factions in all ages; and it was true of those who uttered this great 'voice of triumph over the fallen adversary of their party. As anti-pagans, they belonged to a common brotherhood; but, when it became a question of religious doctrine, this political brotherhood resolved itself into two great hostile parties, between which no fellowship obtained.

In this great voice, the whole brotherhood might to some extent concur. It was a deliverance to them all from the Great Red Dragon; but to many of them, it was only a change from his oppression to that of a new form of tyranny. They allude to the fallen power as the kategoros. This signifies one who speaks against another, especially before judges; one who appears as a prosecutor. The fallen power is said to have spoken against them as prosecutor "before the Deity, " enopion, in the sight of the Deity. This was literally true; for during the first five seals, which, at the end of the fifth, brings us down to the birth of the Woman's Son, A.D. 312-313, the Seven Eyes of the Deity, which are his Seven Spirits (Apoc. 5:6) were present in the ecclesias. In the first four seals, their presence is symbolized by the Four Living Ones full of eyes; and their absence from the scenery of the fifth is supplied by the phrase "and it was said unto them." The Deity dwelt in the encampment of the saints; and by His spirit, or power, "dwelt in them, and walked in them" (2 Cor. 6:16). Whatever, therefore, was transacted against them was done "in his sight," or "before his eyes. "He was therefore the Judge before whom the Dragon unconsciously displayed his malignity. He seemed to prevail for a time; but when the end of the "little season," or ten years persecution of Diocletian arrived, the Deity stepped into the arena, and judicially vindicated his elect.

The victory of the souls weltering at the altar base is attributed by the "great voice" "to the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. "These brethren, "who were slain for the word of the Deity, and for the testimony which they held" (Apoc. 6:9) were brethren, of whom

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those in place and power giving utterance to the great voice, were not worthy. "They loved not their life until death" laid them at the altar base. "The word of the Deity," in the prophecy of the fifth seal, is parallel to "the blood of the Lamb," in the great voice. The official utterers of this voice did not venture to say, "WE have overcome the fallen power by the word of the Deity concerning the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony." They knew very well that they had overcome him by hard fighting. No; the honor and glory of the victory was not due to them who drew the sword; but to those faithful brethren, who had so leavened the Roman world with the truth, as to make the strongholds of paganism no longer tenable. "The blood of the Lamb," as opposed to the blood of idol-sacrifices, was the great theme of "the word of the Deity." The word of their testimony demonstrated the efficacy of the one; and the inutility and utter worthlessness of the other. Every pagan convinced by the word and their reasoning in exposition of it, was alienated from the party of the Dragon, and added to the faithful. The threatenings and torments unto death, inflicted upon them by the pagan authorities, could not put their testimony to silence. Where one fell others stepped in and stopped the breach; so that, "the blood of the witnesses became the seed of the church." Thus, the power of the word accumulated, until society, but superficially acquainted with "the deep things of Deity," had become too much enlightened any longer to tolerate the licentiousness and absurdity of the old superstition. Therefore, having no conscientious scruples as to war, they repudiated the passivity of the faithful; and having found in Constantine an ambitious politician and skillful general suited to their purpose, they unsheathed the sword against the idols, and cried, "Victory or Death." As we have seen, they gained the victory; and in the great voice of triumph, clothed the memory of their non-resisting predecessors in the conflict with the "white robes of purity and truth" (Apoc. 6:11). The victims slain by the fallen power had borne the heat and burden of the conflict; and the catholic church entered into their labors. The "great voice" called upon all catholics in power to rejoice at this result; saying, "Rejoice, 0 heavens, and ye that tent therein!" They are addressed as hoi skenountes, dwellers, or rather, sojourners in a tent. This is a very temporary indwelling. They were not permanently established there. There tenantcy was transitory: the mere shadow of the holding to which the slain victors shall attain in "the time of the dead, when they shall be judged, and the reward shall be given to them," with the "white robes" of incorruption and eternal life. These will not then merely "tent" in the heavens of the conquered world. When they enter there, they become the pillars of the Divine temple, and go out no more (Apoc. 3:12): they possess the king-

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dom for the Olahm, even for the Olahm, and Beyond (Dan. 7:18). Then, not only will the heavens rejoice, but all the earth will be glad. This was not the case in the time of the "great voice;" for, while it called upon the heavens to rejoice, and those that tented in them, it gave no invitation to the inhabiters of the earth and sea to join in the joyousness of the time. But when the great salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of the Deity, and the dominion of His Christ, shall exist in the very image, then "every creature which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, shall say, Blessing and honor and glory and power, unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for the aeons of the aeons (Apoc. 5:13), for all will then be blessed in Abraham and his seed.

Such was the "great voice," and the interpretation of it. Did the character of the time, consequent upon the victory over Licinius, correspond to my exposition? Unquestionably it did. Eusebius, who lived at the time, testifies to this. "On the fall of Licinius," says he, "the great conqueror Constantine and his son Crispus the Caesar, received the East as theirs, established one government as formerly over the Romans, and swayed the whole in peace from east to west, and from north to south. The people therefore being freed from all fear of the Court by which they had before been overwhelmed, held festal days of great splendor. There were everywhere illuminations. They who were before dejected, looked on one another with joyful aspects and smiles, and with choirs and hymns through the cities and country, gave honor, first to God the Supreme Ruler of all, as they were taught, and then to the pious emperor and his children. The miseries and impiety of the past were forgotten; joy and exultation prevailed at the blessings now prom-ised, and happy anticipations of the future. Philanthropic edicts were everywhere published by the emperor, and laws that displayed his munificence and piety." And Lactantius also, a contemporary and friend of Constantine writes; "Let us celebrate the triumph of God with gladness; let us commemorate His victory with praise; let us make mention in our prayers day and night of the peace which, after ten years of persecution, He has conferred on his people." Eusebius narrates very fully how, at the same time, there was solemn remembrance of the witnesses and confessors that had illustrated the past persecution, and praise and honor rendered them: he tells how public notice was taken of those who had suffered unto death, as of heroes that had conquered by the doctrine of the cross in their conflict of witnessing unto death; and how, as a further tribute to their innocence and worth, the property con-iscated from them was reclaimed and restored to their surviving relatives, or to the catholic church.

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22. The Ruling of the Woman's Son

"Who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre" - v.5.

In consequence of the final overthrow of the idols by the defeat and death of Licinius, their champion, the Woman's Son, who had cast him and his partisans Out of the heaven, became, by right of conquest, the Supreme Ruler of "the whole habitable". He had now arrived at "the Deity and his throne." There was no power on the Roman inhabited earth equal to him; his authority was absolute in church and state, in both of which he did "according to his own will; and exalted himself and magnified himself above all." He was now the chief of a great dominion, and prepared to rule with an iron sceptre. He was to rule all the nations; not all the nations of the globe, but all the nations of Daniel's Fourth Beast so far as it was then developed. Beyond the limits of this symbolical dominion he exercised no rule. The nations of Persia, China, India, and so forth, with the tribes of what is now called Germany and Russia, were all exempt from his jurisdiction. He ruled "all the nations" inhabiting Britain, Gaul from the Rhine to the Atlantic, and from the Channel to the Alps and Pyrennees, Spain, Italy, the Roman Africa, Egypt, Syria from the Mediterranean to the Tigris, Asia Minor, the rest of Turkey and the Danubian Principalities, and Hungary (as they are now termed), Greece, the Islands of the Mediterranean, and the region lying between the Danube and the Adriatic: all the nations of these countries were subjected to his iron rule.

The character of Constantine as a ruler is no doubt correctly delineated in the eighteenth chapter of the Decline and Fall of the Roman empire. Therein Gibbon remarks, that by the grateful zeal of what he calls "the christians," he has been decorated with every attribute of a hero and a saint; while the vanquished party compared him to the most abhorred of those tyrants, who by their vice and weakness, dishonored the imperial purple. But neither of these opinions can be admitted with-out qualification. He was doubtless a hero and a tyrant; but neither saint, nor the worst of the tyrants that had reigned. Had he fallen on the banks of the Tiber, or even on the plains of Adrianople, he might have transmitted to posterity, with some exceptions, a less questionable fame: "but the conclusion of his reign," says Gibbon, that is, the last fourteen years, "degraded him from the rank he had acquired among the most deserving of the Roman princes." This remark of the historian assigns the worst period of his rule to that indicated in the prophecy; namely, from the time he arrived at "the Deity and his throne" by the overthrow of Licinius. This was the period "the conclusion of his reign," when he was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre; and Gibbon re-

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fers to it as the period of his degradation among princes. In regard to this period of his life he says, "we may contemplate a hero, who had so long inspired his subjects with love, and his enemies with terror, degenerating into a cruel and dissolute monarch, corrupted by his fortune, or raised by conquest above the necessity of dissimulation. The general peace which he maintained during the last fourteen years of his reign (the Half-hour's silence in the heaven - Ch. 8:1) was a period of apparent splendor rather than of real prosperity; and the old age of Constantine was disgraced by the opposite yet reconcilable vices of rapaciousness and prodigality. The oppression of the people was the only fund which could support his magnificence. His unworthy favorites, enriched by the boundless liberality of their master, usurped with impunity the privilege of rapine and corruption. A secret but universal decay was felt in every part of the public administration, and the emperor himself though he still retained the obedience, gradually lost the esteem of his subjects. An impartial narrative of the executions, or rather murders, which sullied the declining age of Constantine, will suggest to our most candid thoughts the idea of a prince who could sacrifice without reluctance the laws of justice, and the feelings of nature, to the dictates either of his passions or of his interest." The murderous executions of his son Crispus, his nephew Licinius, and of a great number of respectable and innocent friends, who were involved in their fall, were sufficient to justify the discontent of the Roman people, and to explain the satirical verses affixed to the palace-gate, comparing the splendid and bloody reigns of Constantine and Nero. Such was the character of his rule - a sceptre of iron in the hand of the Man-Child of Sin.

23. The Flight of the Woman

"And the Woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place of the Deity, that they may sustain her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days" - Verse 6

The ANTIPAGAN BODY, compared in the prophecy to a WOMAN, consisted of Catholics, Novatians, Donatists, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulists, Cataphrygians, and others, whose names are no longer remembered. Out of this heterogeneous community, which agreed only in its Opposition to the reigning idolatry, the Man-child of Sin was developed, A.D. 312,313. The fall of Maxentius was the crisis of his birth. Being decreed by the Senate the first of the three Augusti of the Roman world, and being in intimate alliance with Licinius, then seemingly favorable to his policy, he published jointly with him the famous Edict of Milan. This was the great charter of toleration. It granted to "the whole body of the christians," as well as to others, the free choice to fol-

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low that mode of worship which they may wish; and that no freedom at all shall be refused them. No distinction was made between christian and pagan in this matter; so that each might have the privilege to select and worship whatsoever divinity he pleased. Nor was there any distinction made with regard to sect in "the whole body." When the edict was published, Constantine's mind was either undecided as to which religion was absolutely true, or he hesitated to speak plainly that he might not offend the latent prejudices of his colleague. This indiscriminate toleration, he said, "has been done by us, that we might not appear in any manner to detract anything from any manner of religion, or any mode of worship."

But, though well disposed to Antipaganism, the Man-Child of Sin, at the time of the edict of Milan, did not know his own Mother. He was too young to be able to discern her. He did not know to which sect of "the whole body of christians" he belonged. It was not long, however, before the worst of the sects was able to establish its ascendancy over the untutored mind of this ambitious and fortunate soldier. This was the sect which styles itself, and taught him so to style it, "THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH." This was that sect which was preeminently "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked;" but which said, "l am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." It was the sect in which the rage of faction exploded in frequent and violent seditions; and the blood of its members was shed by each other's hands. Hilary, a contemporary of the times, writes to Constantine's successor, and declares concerning the catholic clergy, that "in the wide extent of the ten provinces of Asia, to which he had been banished, there could be found very few prelates who had preserved the knowledge of the true God. It is a thing equally deplorable and dangerous that there are as many creeds as Opinions among men, as many doctrines as inclinations, and as many sources of blasphemy as there are faults among us; because we make creeds arbitrarily. The Homousion is rejected and received and explained away by successive synods. The partial or total resemblance of the Father and of the Son is a subject of dispute for these unhappy times. Every year, nay every moon, we make new creeds to describe invisible mysteries. We repent of what we have done, we defend those who repent, we anathematize those whom we defended. We condemn either the doctrine of others in ourselves, or our own in that of others; and reciprocally tearing one another to pieces, we have been the cause of each other's ruin."

Such was the sect which Constantine concluded it would be to his interest to ally himself to. He, therefore, used the altars of catholicism as a convenient footstool to the throne of universal dominion. He came

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to imbibe the piety peculiar to it, and with it its sanguinary spirit of persecution, and murderous hostility to all who dissented from it. The catholic church became the especial object of his care and favorable legislation; and he was taught by its bishops to believe that its members were his only real and trustworthy adherents. Impressed with this conviction he established it by law; and set it up in the heaven as the "Woman invested with the sun, and the moon underneath her feet, and upon her head a wreath of twelve stars." And there she has remained over fifteen hundred and fifty years, even to this day. She has never been a fugitive in the wilderness: but has always (except in the short reign of Julian, who apostatized from her communion) retained her position in the heaven, by enacting the part of a Harlot with the kings of earth, until with her whoredoms and sanguinary abominations, she be-came "the Great Harlot sitting upon many waters, drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus" (Apoc.17:1,2,6).

But when Constantine came to recognize the catholic sect as his Mother Church, what became of the rest of the Anti-pagan Body "the whole body of the Christians" besides, namely, of the Novatians, Donatists, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulists, Cataphrygians, and others? They were still "the Woman," only minus the catholic sect. Whatever other differences obtained among them, they were generally opposed to the union of church and state; for, as all of them could not be the world's church, they were displeased at any one sect enjoying that preeminence over the rest. "What," said they, "has the emperor to do with the church? What have Christians to do with kings, or what have bishops to do at court?" Hence, without ceasing to be anti-pagan, they now became an ANTI-CATHOLIC BODY. This was the Woman" of the sixth verse of this twelfth chapter - the ANTI-CATHOLIC WOMAN. Between this woman and the Sun-clothed Harlot in the heaven, there has been, and can be, no fellowship. They are essentially hostile Organizations. Not that the anti-Catholic woman as such is what Mr. Elliot styles "Christ's faithful orthodox church;" for there were sects in her communion whose principles and practices were both worldly and unscriptural; but there were to be found in her anti-Catholic pale hoi loipoi tou sper-matos autes, remnants of her seed, who were characterized by "keeping the commandments of the Deity, and holding the testimony of the anointed Jesus" (verse 17). These were anti-Catholic of the intensest character; but they were also opposed to all other sects of the anti-Catholic woman, which did not keep the commandments of the Deity, and did not hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus. This is illustrated by the position of CHRISTADELPHIANS in regard to all sects at this day.

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They are intensely anti-catholic, and are, therefore, an ecclesiastical element of the anti-catholic woman; but they do not, therefore, recognize as Christians, the anti-catholic sects of "Christendom" so-called.

The edict of Milan(*) had confirmed to each individual of the Roman world the privilege of choosing and professing his own religion. But this inestimable privilege was soon violated; for with the knowledge of Catholic principles, the son and protector of the Catholic church, imbibed the maxims of persecution; and the sects which dissented from it were afflicted and oppressed by the triumph of Laodiceanism. Constantine easily believed that Heretics who presumed to dispute his opinions, or to oppose his commands were guilty of the most absurd and criminal obstinacy; and that a seasonable application of seventies might save those unhappy men from the danger of an everlasting condemnation. Not a moment, therefore, was lost in excluding the ministers and teachers of the separated congregations from any share of the rewards and immunities which the emperor had so liberally bestowed upon the Catholic clergy.

An imperial persecuting and represent influence was thus brought to bear upon the anti-catholic woman, who under the hostile pressure would set her face fugitively towards the wilderness - eis ten eremon. The anti-catholic sect that took the lead in Opposition at this crisis was that of the Donatists. It was in feud with the catholic sect before the overthrow of Maxentius; and, therefore, before the Roman Africa became subject to Constantine. It was such a feud as might be supposed to exist in the Baptist denomination, resulting in the development of the Campbellite sect. There was, doubtless, error and wrong-doing both with the Donatists and Catholics; but, as from among the Anti- baptist Campbellites was originated to foutro tou hudatos en remati, by the laver of the water with doctrine (Eph. 5:26), the CHRISTADELPHIAN DENOMINATION; so from among the anti-catholic Donatists began to be manifested in the three years of their trials before Constantine and his bishops, by the sealing angel that had ascended from the East (Apoc. 7:2), the first of "the remnants of the woman's seed, who keep the commandments of

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(*)The Edict of Milan was a decisive document in political and ecclesiastical history. Published in A.D. 313 as the joint agreement between Constantine, then ruler in Rome, and Licinius, the Augustus of the East, it granted freedom of worship to all, both Pagans and Christians, and ordered the restoration of all property seized from the latter. At the same time it gave to Christians the right, as a corporation, to own property. The text of the edict is lost, but it began a new epoch in human history, laying the foundation of Catholicism as a corporate body. It was received with great joy and relief by the Christians who had previously experienced bitter persecution. Though Licinius was joint author with Constantine of this Edict, in 316 war broke out between them. Constantine attacked on the pretext that his colleague had recommenced persecution of the Christians, and in the ensuing war, he won nearly all of Licinius' European possessions. In 324 Constantine again advanced through the Balkans and Byzantium. His fleet forced the passage of the Dardanelles, Licinius was decisively defeated, and Nicomedia, his capital, captured. Constantine granted him his life and entertained him at dinner, but killed him with in a year. - Publishers.

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the Deity, and hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus." The name of this first remnant, if it had any other than Donatist, has not come down to us. But it matters not what it was called in its beginning it was the sect composed of "the servants of the Deity sealed in their foreheads." This is the apocalyptic description of it. Arising in the epoch of the Donatist trials, and being with the Donatists intensely anti-catholic, it is very likely to have been confounded with them, without having at all been mixed up with the feud between the party of Caecilian and that of Majorinus.

This feud is styled in history "the African Controversy." The provinces south of the Mediterranean, from the confines of Cyrene to the columns of Hercules, A.D. 312, were distracted with religious discord. The source of the division was derived from a double election in the Catholic church of Carthage, the second in rank and opulence of the ecclesiastical thrones of the West. Caecilian and Majorinus were the two rival bishops of Africa, and the death of the latter soon made room for Donatus, who, by his superior abilities and virtues, was the firmest support of his party. The advantage which Caecilian might claim from the priority of his ordination was destroyed by the illegal, or at least indecent haste, with which it had been performed without awaiting the arrival of the bishops of Numidia. The bishops of the contending factions maintained, with equal ardor and obstinacy, that their adversaries were degraded, or least dishonored, by the odious crime of delivering up the Holy Scriptures to the officers of Diocletian to be burned. In this state of bitter partisanship, the divided church was incapable of afford-

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126 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

mg an impartial judicature. Application was, therefore, made to Constantine by the Donatist bishops of Africa, A.D. 313, desiring him to appoint bishops of the church in Gaul to settle their difficulties. "Good emperor,' said they, "as you are of a just family, of all the emperors your father alone having never persecuted, and as Gaul is now exempted from that outrage, we ask you in your piety to appoint bishops from that province who may judge between us and the other bishops of Africa, with whom we are at variance." Their request was granted, and the controversy was tried in five successive tribunals, and the whole proceeding, from the first appeal to the final sentence, lasted above three years. A severe inquisition taken before the praetorian vicar and the proconsul of Africa; the report of two episcopal visitors who had been sent to Carthage; the decrees of the Councils of Rome and Aries, and the supreme judgment of Constantine himself in his "sacred consistory," were all favorable to the cause of Caecilian: and he was unanimously acknowledged, by the Civil and Ecclesiastical Powers, as the true and lawful catholic primate of Africa. The honors and estates of the church were attributed to his suffragan bishops, and it was with difficulty that Constantine was satisfied with inflicting the punishment of exile on the principal leaders of the Donatists.

The punishment of exile was banishing, or causing to flee into a wilderness state. This was the imperial sentence upon the anti-catholic, or anti-state-church woman in the African wing of the empire. Her seed were banished from the high places of church and state, and made to seek refuge in the wild and uncivilized places of society.

Speaking of this "schism of the Donatists" A.D. 315, Gibbon remarks: "This incident, so inconsiderable that it scarcely deserves a place in history, was productive of a memorable schism, which afflicted the provinces of Africa above three hundred years, and was extinguished only with Christianity itself. The inflexible zeal of freedom and fanaticism animated the Donatists to refuse obedience to the usurpers, whose election they disputed and whose spiritual powers they denied. Excluded from the civil and religious communion of mankind (driven into the wilderness), they boldly excommunicated the rest of mankind, who had embraced the impious party of Caecilian, and of the Traitors, from whom he derived his pretended ordination. They asserted with confidence that the prerogatives of the catholic church were confined to the chosen portion of the African believers, who alone had preserved inviolate the integrity of their faith and discipline. Whenever they acquired a proselyte, even from the distant provinces of the east, they reimmersed and reordained him, as they rejected the validity of the baptism and ordination administered by heretics or schismatics. Bishops

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and virgins were subjected to the disgrace of a public penance, before they could be admitted to the communion of the Donatists. If they obtained possession of a temple which had been used by their Catholic adversaries, they purified the unhallowed building with the same jealous care which a temple of idols might have required. They washed the pavement, scraped the walls, burnt the altar, which was commonly of wood, melted the consecrated plate, and cast the 'holy eucharist' to the dogs, with every circumstance of ignominy which could provoke and perpetuate the animosity of religious factions. The narrow and solitary path which their first leaders had marked out, continued to diverge from the great society of mankind; so that they could affirm that when Christ should descend to judge the earth, he would find his true religion preserved only in a few nameless villages of the Caesarean Mauritania."

From this condensed quotation from Gibbon the reader will easily discern the feeling that existed between the Woman Jezebel in the heaven, and the Woman, by oppressive imperial edicts, caused to begin her flight into the wilderness. No enlightened professor of the doctrine which is according to godliness would think of looking for the true believers in “the heaven" where all was sunshine and imperial favor. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). This testimony is true and not to be gain-said, and directs us in our search for "the remnants of the woman's seed, who keep the commandments of the Deity, and hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus," to that anti-catholic community of professors, which has been ever since the great Donatist repudiation of the self-styled "Holy Catholic Church." and "Church of God," A.D. 315, an oppressed, proscribed and persecuted people - persecuted in some form or shape, if not by governments, by the machinations and slanders of scribes, pharisees and others; of all professors, in fact, whose foreheads are unsealed by the truth, and whose hearts, consequently, are unpurified by "faith that works by love" of the truth believed.

24. The Woman's Place

"The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place that had been prepared of the Deity - verse 6: And to the woman were given the two wings of the Great Eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place" - verse 14.

The fourteenth verse, in certain particulars, is explanatory of the sixth. In this it is said that "the woman fled;" but nothing is hinted about "the two wings of the great eagle." The sixth verse testifies that "she fled into the wilderness," in which wilderness a place hath been prepared for

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her of the Deity. But where was this wilderness to be found? The Roman habitable was well stocked with wildernesses. Was it simply an uninhabited solitude, a desert waste? or did the word eremon, indicate her isolation and exclusion from the ecclesiastical pale recognized by the powers that be? She fled into the wilderness-state, in which she did not stand in the presence of the Serpent. The Serpent was in the heaven, from the sunshine and splendors of which she was caused to fly. It was the woman Jezebel that stood before the Serpent, and gloried in his embrace. The Serpent had beguiled her, and enthroned her in the heaven; but those of her party, who were proof against his enticements and subtitles, he banished from his imperial presence, that they might dwell alone in the solitude of social isolation.

But the woman fugitive was not an abstraction, of a mere idea. She was a multitude of dissidents from the new and established order of things. Like Israel after the flesh, they were to dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations; still, like Israel, they required some place, or country, in which to dwell. Where did the woman dwell in her wilderness-state? This question is answered in the fourteenth verse in the words, "The two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman." These were the sections of the habitable Divinely appointed for her, that there she might be sustained in her wilderness-state.

But, what was represented by this great bird of pray? The original is quite emphatic - ho aetos ho megas, the Eagle which is the great one. There was but one eagle contemporary with the woman's flight that could be styled emphatically, ho megas, the large, spacious, ample one. This was the Roman territorial jurisdiction. Rome was the eagle's head; Italy, its body; and the Roman Africa and the regions of the Alps, Pyrennees, Britain, Bulgaria, Thrace, Asia Minor, and Armenia its wings or extremities. The eagle is the well-known symbol of the Roman Power. Moses alludes to this power in connection with the eagle in Deut. 28:49,50,63,64, as, "Yahweh shall bring a nation against thee from far ,from the end of the earth, which as (kaasher) the eagle shall fly; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance.. . and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates. .. and ye shall be plucked from off thy land whither thou goest to possess it; and Yahweh shall scatter thee among all peoples." This cannot refer to the Eagle of Nineveh and Babylon; because these eagle powers did not come "from the end of the earth" against Israel; and because they understood the tongue spoken by the Assyrians and Chaldeans. "The end", not ends "of the earth" in regard to Palestine, was Chittim, or Italy; whose ships came against Asshur, when Antiochus, king of Assyria, invaded Egypt (Dan. 11:30). Israel did not understand the tongue

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of Chittim, which is known as that of the Roman Eagle, the Latin, between which and the Hebrew there is no family likeness. This eagle nation was to come against them as a bird of prey to devour their body-politic, and to scatter them among all peoples, because they did not fear ~that glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH ELOHIM." This was accomplished by the Roman legions under Titus, A.D. 70; predictive of which, YAHWEH ELOHIM, in fleshly manifestation, said, "wheresoever the carcass is, there shall the Eagles be gathered together" (Matt.

24:38).

But, in relation to the woman's flight into the wilderness, the two wings of the great Roman Eagle, spreading along its northeastern and southwestern regions, were not for destruction, but that she might find safety and protection in obscurity; upon the principle of being "out of the Serpent's sight" (apo prosopon) she might be out of his mind also. The two wings" is regarded by some as a more correct reading than .two wings". They say that it reads thus in certain manuscripts - hai duo pteruges. They are, no doubt, right. Daniel's leopard had four wings; but there is nothing in symbolic prophecy to indicate that the great Roman Eagle had more than two. The mountains, glens, fastnesses. and more open valleys of these wings of the empire, would be but little cared for, or regarded, by the priests of the Catholic Church, who would crowd to those centers whence wealth and honors were distributed. The more interior locality of the eighteen hundred temples, endowed by the munificence of the emperor, would be the arena upon which they would, as Arians and Trinitarians, Iconoclasts and image-worshippers, disputatiously exhaust their zeal for the ensuing five hundred years. The violence of these all-absorbing disputes within the pale of the Serpent's communion, would so occupy him that he would have but little time or ability to hunt for "heretics" and "chismatics" in the two wings of his dominion. In this way was Providentially "prepared a p/ace," or country, for dissenters and nonconformists of whatever names their enemy, the Seed of the Serpent in church and state, might, in the plenitude of ignorance and malice, think proper to call them. It is not to be supposed, however, that in all sections of the Eagle's Wings they would be always nourished in peace and safety. The woman's seed could not evade the common lot of mankind, which is born to trouble. They are an afflicted people, clothed in sackcloth, until the end of their appointed time, when they will be invested with white raiment. But till then, affliction is more or less the rod of their condition; and necessarily so. for 'whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourgeth every son

whom he receiveth;" that, by this wholesome, but unjoyous, discipline they who are exercised by it, now partaking of the Divine holiness, may

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hereafter reap the peaceable fruit of righteousness - Heb. 12:6; Apoc 11:1-3.

25. The Period of the Woman's Sojourn

"She hath a place which has been prepared of the Deity, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days" - verse 6.

In the fourteenth verse, this is equivalently expressed by the words, "where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time out of sight of the Serpent." This parallelism shows us that "1,260 days" is a form of words importing the duration of "a time, times, and half a time". Whatever the word day may signify, it requires 1,260 of them to equal three Limes and a half. In common time, 1,260 days are forty-two months, or three years and six months. But in dramatic prophecy, where the things predicted are acted on a small scale, by the persons of the drama, the time is proportioned, and therefore expressed in miniature. Hence, when a piece is performed on the boards of a theatre, its incidents, which are spread over a long series of years, are all brought in the acting before the spectator's eye in the short space of an evening. This is a practical condensation of the time of the piece performed. If the acted time of the piece were dramatically expressed by the performer, according to the real time, an evening theatrical entertainment would be impossible. He has therefore, in his acting, to reduce the literal, or real, time of the incidents he represents, from years to minutes, which all the audience, from pit to gallery, easily perceives.

Now, upon the same principle of condensation is time exhibited in the apocalyptic drama. It is condensed from real time to acted time, the latter being proportioned to the former, and to the agents dramatically engaged. Thus, if the real time be 1,260 years, it is proportionally rep-resented by 1,260 days, or forty-two months, or three times and a half. It is also made proportional to the agents acting in the time. Thus, in the dramatic prophecy before us, the woman and her feeders, or nourishers, are the agents. She dwells in her place as a woman, the cycle of whose natural existence is threescore years and ten. Now, to affirm of her that they nourished her 1,260 years, would be in violation of the decorum of things. It would be a monstrosity in the picture, because out of all proportion, seeing that, naturally, women do not live 1,260 years. But the fitness and suitableness of things are observed; and the language descriptive of her pregnancy and subsequent life, does no violence, but is in strict accordance with, the laws of a real woman's natural existence. The remarks of Daubuz upon symbolic time, are to the point in this place.

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"The way of the symbolic language," says he, "in expressions determining the spaces of time may be set in a plain light from the manner of predictions, or the nature of the prophetical visions. For a prophecy concerning future events is a picture, or representation of the events in symbols; which, being fetched from objects visible at one view, or cast of the eye, rather represent the events in miniature, than in full proportion; giving us more to understand than what we see; and, therefore, that the duration of events may be represented in terms suitable to the symbols of the visions, the symbols of duration must be also drawn in miniature. Thus, for instance, if a vast empire, persecuting the Church for 1,260 years, was to be symbolically represented by a beast, the decorum of the symbol would require that the said time of its tyranny should not be expressed by 1,260 years; because it would be monstrous and indecent to represent a beast ravaging for so long a space of time; but by 1,260 days. And thus a day may imply a year; because that short revolution of the sun bears the same proportion to the yearly, as the type to the antitype."

Thus, the anti-catholic community was to be sustained, out of the sight of the Serpent-government, in the two wings of the Great Roman Eagle, for one thousand two hundred and sixty years from the epoch of its legal condemnation as heretical, its exclusion from high places, and its banishment from the sunshine of imperial favor, A.D. 312-315. The three years intervening between these dates, constitute the initiatory epoch of the Woman's flight. The individuals who composed the party of the woman were not all saints; they were all, as we have seen, exceedingly hostile to the State Church: but it was only a particular class of the woman's seed which was entitled to be regarded as consisting of the saints. Her seed was composed of remnants, hoi loipoi, not, as in the Common Version, of a remnant. She was providentially placed in the wilderness, that she might be fed and nourished; for without food and nourishment she could not exist in such a world as this. The "faithful men" who were within her pale, "who were able to teach others" (2 Tim. 2:2), fed her with knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:15); and "the earth," with whom she found an asylum, "helped her" with the nourishment of protection, without which she would have been carried away of

the serpent-flood. A remnant of her seed, and the common people of the Eagle's wings, "the earth," coalesced. They became political allies against the party in power; and were upon emergency prepared to withstand their oppressor by force of arms. These were the vanguard of the other remnant of her seed, whose principle is passive endurance of injury "unto death;" and trusting for vindication to Him who saith, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." These were the saints sealed in their

foreheads as the especial servants of the living God.

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Now, to what in our own times shall we liken the civil and ecclesiastical arrangement of things existing at the crisis of the woman's flight? The following constitution of things with which the reader is familiar, will answer the purpose of bringing vividly before his mind what was presented before John's in the dramatical exhibition of the woman in the wilderness. The British Imperial Unicorn is an element of the Serpent-power of the world. It is enthroned in all the splendor of the heaven; and sheds the rays of its glory and power upon all the constituted authorities of the state. Invested with this brightness is a Harlot, diademed with the jewels of the British crown. This woman is a daughter of "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and all the Abominations of the Earth;" and is constitutionally styled, "the Church of England and Ireland, as by law established." In the palmy days of the Tudors and the Stuarts, there was another woman, who fled from the face of the British Serpent. This was the woman of nonconformity and dissent. And to this fugitive were given the wings, or extremities, of the Great Unicorn; that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished until the coming of the Ancient of Days. These wings are now known as the United States and British America. Here the Puritan Woman exists out of the sight of the British Serpent, fed by her spirituals, and nourished by "the earth," which is remarkably inimical to everything British. But, are the sects of which this Anti-British State-Church Woman is composed, "the remnants of her seed which keep the commandments of the Deity, and hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus?' Far, very far, from it; they are as far from it as the British Harlot herself; nevertheless, there will be found within the pale of Anti-British Harlotry a remnant, styled CHRISTADELPHIANS, whose intellectual and moral characteristics are answerable to the last clause of Apoc. 12:17.

Now, the Puritan Woman, styled by her enemies and persecutors "the Donatists;" but by the children of her body, Cathari, or the Pure Ones; for the first 1260 years of her existence was Providentially settled in the wings of the Roman Eagle. Her remnants were not to be found in Persia, India, China, or America: but after the discovery and settlement of America, the persecutions and massacre of her seed by the Serpent-Powers of Europe caused her to seek refuge in the American wilderness, whereby the help of "the earth," which styles itself "the unterrified democracy," she is fed and nourished to the full.

It is now over 1550 years since her flight began in the days of Constantine, or A.D. 315. In Apoc. 11:3, "the remnants of her seed" are specified by the names "THE HOLY CITY "and "The two Witnesses. "The former, consists of those "who keep the commandments of the Deity,

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Picture of the copy of the Edict of Nantes not shown

A copy of the Edict of Nantes, which was promulgated by Henry IV in 1598, an important date in Apocalyptic prophetic chronology. This edict granted Protestants a degree of toleration. Its benefits, however, were terminated by its revocation in 1685 by Louis XIV, which resulted in the political death of the Witnesses (Rev. 11:9). However, as predicted, after their "dead bodies" had remained un-buried in "the street" (France) of the Great City (Babylon the Great) for 31/2 lunar "days" or 105 years, their political "resurrection" followed in 1790 through the French Revolution, Rev. 12:14 also requires a period of 1260 years during which time the "woman" finds refuge in the "wilderness" or in various parts of the Roman Empire. Commencing from A.D. 312 when the Donatist controversy divided the Church, 1260 years terminates in 1572 and the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day. This commenced the "war" of Rev. 11:7, and whilst the Edict of Nantes gave temporary relief to the Protesting communities, this terminated its revocation. See comments opposite, and compare with the time periods epitomised in Vol.2, p.282 - Publishers.

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and hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus:" the latter, the Politico-Religious Democracy essentially and constitutionally hostile to the "Mother of Harlots" and her Harlot Daughters, in all the countries where they are "by law established."

Now, the times of these two classes are differently arranged. The duration of the symbolical formulas is the same number of years with respect to each; though the symbolical formulas themselves are differently expressed. Thus the symbolical formula of "the Holy City" is written " forty two months" while the symbolical formula of the woman with especial reference to the remnant, "the witnesses," is written "one thousand two hundred and sixty days." This is also expressed in the form a time, and times, and half a time:" and the reason why these two various formulas are given in the sixth and fourteenth verses of this twelfth chapter is, that this form, which is reproduced from Dan. 7:25, and 12:7, might be shown to consist of 1260 symbolic days. The form in Daniel indicates a period reaching to the epoch when judgment is given to the saints of the Highest Ones, which implies the manifestation of the Ancient of Days and the subsequent resurrection of the dead; because, there can be no judgment until they are raised; and no resurrection till he comes.

But the time when the 1260 aeon commences is not the same in all its relations. In Dan. 7 and 12, it has special reference to "the Holy City," or saints, in the highest sense; and begins with their delivery as heretics into the hand, or power, of the Roman Blasphemer, styled in Dan. 11:38,49, "a foreign god" and "a god of guardians." The "forty-two months" of Apoc. 11:2, begins at the same time. Not so, however, the 1260 of the Two Witnesses, and the times of the woman in ch. 12:6,14. These all begin with the commencement of her flight in the Constantinian epoch. In these times she was to be fed and nourished; and fire was to proceed out of the mouth of her dualized witnessing remnant, to devour her enemies and theirs. During these times they had power to shut the heaven, that it might not rain in their days of the prophecy, or the 1260. But when they may "have finished their witnessing," which they accomplished at the end of that period, or 1260 years after their banishment by Constantine, that is, in the epoch of A.D. 1572-'75, war was made upon them, and they were overcome, and put to death politically: they were "killed" in a like sense to the killing of "the third of the men" in ch. 9:18 - a death which said third sought, but could not find, because the time Divinely appointed to extinguish the eastern Roman dominion had not yet come.

But, though the 1260 years of the sackcloth-witnessing of the anti-catholic remnant of the woman's seed ended in A.D., 1575; the other

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class of her seed, "the Holy City," still continued to travail in the affliction of its down-trodden condition; and to press on through the weary years assigned to it in the "forty-two months," or "the reed like to a rod" with which it was measured (Apoc. 11:1). The finishing of the witnessing by the secular element of the woman in A.D. 1572-'5, marks the lapse of nine hundred and sixty-eight years of the forty-two months; in all of which time "the Holy City" had been in the hand of the Roman Blasphemer. At the end of the witnessing in A.D. 1575, there still remained two hundred and ninety-two years of the forty-two months to be traversed by the Holy City. These elapsed, and she attains the A.D. 1867-'8; or, having traversed and completed an aeon or cycle, of forty-two months of years from A.D. 607, she is justified in looking for a speedy deliverance from the down-treading she has been subjected to in all that terrible and sanguinary time.

But though the 1260 years of her sustentation in the two wings of the Roman Eagle were fulfilled, it must not be supposed that, because war was made upon her seed, and they were overcome and politically killed, she was therefore dead, and had no further part in the history of the papal world. So long as she has a remnant upon the earth, she lives in it; though she may no longer be found in her original place of abode. Exterminated in one section of the Habitable, her seed reappear in another, on the principle of being persecuted in one city, they flee to another. In the first 1260 years of her sojourn out of the Serpent's sight, her fugacious migrations were confined to the wings of his dominion. For three hundred years after her flight she was fed and nourished in the Roman Africa, and the Cottian Alps. At the end of these centuries, she disappeared from the African Wing of the Great Eagle, and manifested her presence in Armenia and Asia Minor; and when she could no longer find food and nourishment there, she migrated in the course of a hundred and fifty years into France, and thence into Bulgaria, and up the Danube westward and northward through Hungary and Bavaria. In the ninth century, the witnessing of her seed was no longer heard in Armenia, Asia Minor, and Thrace; but was more particularly limited to the Alpine regions of Italy, Switzerland, and France. In the twelfth century, the witnessing of her seed in these countries became so hateful to the Roman Catholic Church, that its malice against her became unbounded. "The rivers and fountains of waters," or those who ruled among the mountains and valleys of the Alps, were stirred up by the spiritual head of that communion, to shed their blood without mercy (Apoc. 16:4-7): nevertheless, the food and nourishment afforded her, enabled her to endure, and to continue her witnessing in these Alpine regions until the expiration of her 1260 years. But in the sixteenth and

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seventeenth centuries, the power of the strong governments of Europe was brought to bear upon her seed. The two wings of the Great Eagle no longer afforded her protection; so that her witnessing against catholicism, and THE ANTICHRIST, whose power had now reached its greatest altitude and breadth, was suppressed in all the kingdoms, or Horns, of the Beast of the Sea (Apoc. 11:7; 13:1)

This was the death of the witnessing of the politico-ecclesiastical remnant of her seed. The war upon her that ultimated in this result, continued over a century after the termination of her aeon (aion) of 1260 years. From A.D. 1685 to A.D. 1790, her seed's voice against the Roman Antichrist was death-stricken in all the Ten-Horns of the Beast of the Sea. During this period of three lunar days and a half of years, her anti-catholic communities lay voiceless in the streets, or kingdoms, of the Great City, very much to the joy and mirthfulness of the priests and rulers of the Horn-Powers, especially of the VICE-GOD of "Christendom" and his Cardinals, whose sanguinary domination is now tottering to its fall. These priestly and besotted tyrants "rejoiced over them, and made merry," because the tormenting testimony of her seed was, as they thought, effectually and finally silenced (Apoc. 11:4-10). But they knew not the purposes of Him who doeth all things after the counsel of His own will. They knew not that a great revival of this tormenting witnessing had been decreed; and that their joyous mirth was doomed to set in mourning, lamentation, and woe. For, after the expiration of the three lunar days and a half of years, that is, of 105 years; marked also by the termination of 1260 years from the epoch A.D. 530-533, in which the Dragon-Power "acknowledged" the bishop of Rome as "a god" over all the spiritual affairs of his dominion (Dan. 11:39): after the end of his cycle, "the Spirit of life from Deity was to enter into them, and they were to stand upon their feet." In the epoch of A.D. 1789-'93, this came to pass in the birth of what the terrified "foul spirits" and "unclean and hateful birds" of the Roman "cage," denominate "THE REVOLUTION." This fearful power, which is now sternly and threateningly glaring in the face of the trembling demon-and-idol-worshippers of the Roman "hold" (Apoc. 18:2), is the organized witnessing of the politico-ecclesiastical remnant of the Woman's Seed. Created A.D. 315, slain A.D. 1685, it rose again A.D. 1789-'93; and, in the last epoch "it ascended to the heaven," where it is now working through the Frog-like influences of the French, Italian, and Prussian powers which will not cease to operate until they shall have unwittingly "gathered the kings of the earth and of the whole habitable to the war of that great day of God Almighty - a day which is near, even at the door, and waiting only the expiration of the forty-two months of the down-treading of the Holy

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Picture of Constantinople not shown

Above: Constantinople (modern Istanbul) occupies a commanding position on the Bosphorus that links Europe with Asia Minor. The widespread territory ruled by Constantine demanded a more convenient centre than that of Rome. Below: Coins depicting Constantine, and the dedication of the city of Constantinople on 11 May 330.

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City; that is, of 1260 years from the giving of the Saints into the hand of "the Foreign God," A.D. 607-'8; or 1335 from his "acknowledgment" by the King that did according to his will in A.D. 533; which gives for a glorious epoch to the believer, A.D. 1868-'9.

26. "The Earth Helped the Woman."

"And the Serpent cast out of his mouth after the Woman water as a flood, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

16. And the earth ran with help for the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the Dragon cast out of his mouth. 17. And the Dragon was enraged against the woman, and went away to wage war with the remnants of her seed who keep the commandments of the Deity, and hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus" - Verses 15-17.

The Dragon, the Serpent, the Diabolos, and the Satan, in this twelfth chapter, are all terms expressive of the political, or civil, military, and spiritual, "enmity" in organized activity against the woman and her seed. When the political Organization that seeks her destruction is wholly pagan, then it is represented as "a Great Fiery Red Dragon" -ver. 3: if still pagan, but not wholly so in all departments of the state, then it is no longer the "great fiery red dragon," but simply the Diabolos, as in ver. 12; and if no longer pagan, but a subtle and seductive power, wise in its own conceit, and invested with supreme authority, it is indicated by "the Serpent" and "the Dragon," as in ver. 15,16. This identity is established by the testimony concerning the flood of water, which states that it issued both from the mouth of the Serpent and the mouth of the Dragon: now the flood being one, not two, the Serpent and the Dragon in the verses at the head of this section must represent the same power.

But the Dragon and his angels were cast out of the political heaven, or Roman government, "and their place was found no more in the heaven;" nevertheless, in the last four verses of this chapter we find the Dragon in power, and exercising it vengefully for 1260 years against the woman, and making war with the remnants of her seed. How is this? It was the pagan constitution of power enthroned in Rome and Italy that was cast out, and has reappeared no more to this day. But after the battles of Adrianople and Chrysopolis all power over the Roman Habitable came to be vested in Constantine. He was the sole imperial bishop of the Dragon empire; which, by the revolution he had consummated, was transformed from the Pagan Dragon, into the Catholic Dragon, dominion. It is this Catholic Serpent and Dragon that figures in the concluding verses of this chapter, as well as in the thirteenth and twentieth chapters

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of the Apocalypse, which has no more to do with the Great Fiery Red Dragon after ch. 12:13.

The throne of the Pagan Dragon was Rome; but when the Dragon-power came to be vested in Constantinople he established a New Polity in a New Capital, which after himself he styled, the City of Constantine, or Constantinople. In the period in which the woman became a fugitive, Constantinople, previously called Byzantium, became the capital of the Roman world. It has retained its sovereign rank over 1540 years. Its founder ascribed his resolution of building it to the infallible and eternal decrees of Divine Wisdom; and in one of his laws, he declares that it was in obedience to the commands of God, that he laid the everlasting foundations of Constantinople. His choice of Byzantium for a city is said, by contemporary writers, to have been owing to a vision which appeared to him while he slept within the walls of that city. Its tutelar genius, a venerable woman sinking under the weight of years and infirmities, was suddenly transformed into a blooming female, whom his own hands adorned with all the symbols of imperial greatness. The emperor awoke, interpreted the auspicious omen, and obeyed, without hesitation, the supposed will of heaven. On the day on which the foundation of the city was laid, Constantine on foot, with a lance in his hand, traced out the boundary of the destined capital. It was of great extent, which his assistants observing, ventured to remark, that he had already exceeded the most ample measure of a great city. "I shall still advance," replied Constantine, "till he, the invisible guide who marches before me, thinks proper to stop." Whether or not the emperor did see the vision of his dream, it is a fact as already sh6wn, that this twelfth chapter was generally supposed by anti-pagans of that day to refer to the events of the life of Constantine. Hence, it is more than probable that the dream he professes to have had was not a vision of his own, but a fiction into which he introduced the two women of this chapter, the one distressed, inferior, and persecuted, the other blooming and decorated with the sun, the moon and the stars, the symbols of imperial greatness, with which "his own hands adorned her;" and for whom he determined, dream or no dream, to found a new capital.

'Water as a flood" is said to have been cast Out of the Serpent's mouth after the woman to sweep her away. Water flowing like a river indicates an army or body of men in motion. That water symbolises people is evident from Apoc. 17:15. Hence, when the water is in motion the people are moving; when it flows like a river the body of people moves In a certain direction; when the river overflows its banks, the army crosses its frontiers and invades another nation; when the water sweeps along like a flood, the army subdues and carries all before it; but when

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the earth opens and absorbs the flood, then the operations of the army are spent without effecting its purpose; and if the water of the river be dried up, as in Apoc. 16:12, the power and independence of the people represented are destroyed. Some of these definitions are strikingly illustrated in Isaiah 8:7: "Behold," says the prophet, "Yahweh bringeth up upon them (the Jews) the waters of the river, the strong and mighty; even the king of Assyria and all his force. And he shall rise above all his channels, and shall go over all his banks; and he shall pass through Judah, overflowing and spreading; even to the neck shall he reach; and the extension of his wings (the wings of his army) shall be over the full breadth of thy land, 0 Immanuel!" The kingdom of Assyria was divided from that of Israel by the Euphrates, termed in Scripture "the river," and "the great river." Hence, it came to symbolize his power; so that when he invaded Israel, the waters of his river are said to have swelled over their banks, and flooded their country to so great an extent as to rise "to the neck," or capital, but without submerging it; so that it would be an overflowing invasion, which would recede without finally subjecting the nation.

The Mouth of the Serpent or Dragon is symbolical of the words, utterances and commands, proceeding from the power called Serpent or Dragon. The commands of a power are expressed or made audible and effective by the reigning administration of public affairs; and which holds a similar relation to the power that the mouth does to the brain of a man. Hence, "the Mouth of the Dragon, the Mouth of the Beast, and the Mouth of the False Prophet," are the governments of the powers signified by these symbols.

The Serpent and Dragon are said to have cast water as a flood out of their Mouth; that is, an army of pursuers was sent forth by order of the catholic government of Constantinople and Rome, to sweep the fugitive woman from among the living. The execution of this decree of extermination might have been successful, had not "the earth ran with help for the woman, and opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood." The Common Version says, "the earth helped the woman. "This is not incorrect; but it is not as exact as it might be, and as the events represented justify. The word boetheo, signifies properly, "to run to the aid of those who cry for help." The woman in her flight was pursued, or persecuted by power, which caused her in her sufferings to cry aloud. Her cries fell upon the ears of the earthiest of earthborns, who ran to and fro dealing the most terrific vengeance upon her foes. The ferocious purpose of the catholic power encountering this most unexpected resistance was defeated; the earth swallowed up the wrath which expended itself upon it, and the woman was saved.

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HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATION

Such, then, is the meaning, or "mystery," of the form of words pre-sented in the prophecy. The Catholic Dragon, or Man of Sin power, in-corporate in the unbaptized episcopal emperor, Constantine, and in the ignorant and superstitious ecclesiastics whom he had associated with himself in synodical session, was the effluent pursuer of the woman, who rejected the traditions and commands of the tribunal which had arraigned and condemned her, and all her seed, as odious and pestilent heretics. Having lost their cause at Rome and Arles, the Anti-catholic Donatists had appealed for the last time to Constantine himself, who in A.D. 316, examined the whole affair at Milan, in the presence of the contending parties. The issue, as might be expected from the character of the judges, was not more favorable to the Donatists than the decisions of the previous councils, which were confirmed by the sentence he pronounced. Condemned by the Bishop of Rome, and by that bishop's imperial master, "this perverse sect," as they are styled by Mosheim, are said to have loaded the emperor with "the bitterest reproaches," and complained that Osius, bishop of Cordova, who was honored with his friendship, and was intimately connected with Caecilianus, had, by corrupt insinuations, engaged him to pronounce an unrighteous sentence. "Perhaps their complaint," says Gibbon, "was not without foundation, that the credulity of the emperor had been abused by the insidious arts of his favorite, Osius. The influence of falsehood and corruption might procure the condemnation of the innocent or aggravate the sentence of the guilty." Be this as it may, "the Dragon, the old serpent, incited to great wrathfulness by these irritating trials, which disturbed the serenity of the party in power, deprived the anti-catholic Donatists of their churches in Africa, drove their bishops into exile, and carried his resentment so far as to put some of them to death. This was the commence-ment of the Catholic Dragon's wrath against the woman, and of the war he waged against the remnants of her seed (verse 7). The immediate effect of these violent measures, were desperate commotions and tumults in Africa, as the Donatists were exceedingly influential and numerous in that wing of the great eagle. But these insurrections were regarded by them with the utmost detestation and abhorrence; and, therefore, though a persecuted people, we are not to attribute these popular uprisings in their defense to a spirit of recrimination in them against their "christian" oppressors. The Donatists Remnant had fled "into the wilderness" of Getulia that they might be "out of sight of the Serpent" - of "the first Christian emperor" and his catholic myrmidons, who had seized their property, exiled their teachers, and put some to death. Upon this, the Spirit of Deity stirred up the indignation of "the Earth"

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- of those who, though neither catholics nor Donatists, had spirit enough to defend the oppressed against imperial and ecclesiastical tyranny, and that in their own irregular and violent way. This situation of affairs may be illustrated by the following supposition. Thus, Christadelphians where known are in very bad odor with "every name and denomination," against which they protest as the Anti-christian "Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." Suppose these were to lay aside all their animosities and strifes, and to combine to suppress and exterminate them with fire and sword; would not the "infidels," who have predilection for no sect, oppose force to force in their defence? There can be no doubt of it; and, though Christadeiphians deprecate, and would discountenance all violence in their behalf, the infidels, as in the first French Revolution, would make the quarrel with the oppressor their own; and the most horrible cruelties would probably be perpetrated upon the enemy under the pretence of assisting them. To a certain extent, such an event occurred in the epoch of the American revolution, when the infidel leaders of revolt against British tyranny in church and State, interposed between the episcopal church and the Baptists and other sects it was oppressing, and proclaimed an equality of rights for sects of every name. But they were not content with proclamations; they drew the sword, and watered the earth with blood for seven years, to establish it. Shall we charge the Baptists and Quakers of that day with appealing to the arbitrament of arms against the Established Church of England, because they, in common with others, obtained exemption

Picture of Donatists not shown

The Donatists used the title traditores to describe weak bishops who handed over the sacred writings to persecuting authorities. The title was derived from the term Tradito letis, the Catholic title or the imagined action of the Lord in handing the scroll of authority and teaching to Peter. This is illustrated in the motif above from the fifth century. Therein the Lord is depicted handing over a scroll to Peter Publishers.

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from future whippings and incarcerations on account of their religious principles, by the triumph of revolutionary unbelievers? Even supposing that many Baptists and Quakers were found in the ranks of the insurgents, as no doubt there were, should we, therefore, condemn the Baptist and Quaker bodies as baptized in human gore? A community is not to be condemned as a murderer of its species, because of the delinquency of some of its adherents; if so, then most of the apostolic churches would have to be condemned as anti-christian. The case, however, is entirely altered where a sect, as the Catholic Anglo-Episcopal, in ts corporate capacity, condemns, imprisons, and puts to death as heretics, those who assert the imprescriptible and inalienable right of judging what is truth for themselves. Here the murder of "heretics" so-called, is the crime of the whole body; which, as in the case of individuals, will sooner or later suffer the just penalty of the Divine law. The case of the Donatists is parallel to our supposition. The indignation of the people was roused, and in the language of the prophecy, "the Earth ran with help to the Woman." The emperor and his party were alarmed, and Constantine endeavored by embassies and negotiations to allay the disturbances, but without effect.

Who are represented by "the Earth" in the period of the woman's flight into, or towards, the wilderness, will readily appear from the fol-owing account. The persecution of the servants and brethren of Christ by the Catholic Serpent at this juncture was acquiring strength, the flame of discord gathered force daily, and seemed to portend the approaching horrors of civil war. To prevent this, Constantine, having tried in vain every other method of accommodation, abrogated at last, by the advice of the governors of Africa, the laws he had enacted against the Donatists, and allowed to the people the full liberty of adhering to that party which they in their minds preferred. This state of tranquillity, which did not long continue, was brought about by a horrible confederacy of desperate ruffians who passed under the name of CIRCUMCELLIONS. These bands were composed of a set of furious, fearless and bloody men, formed of the rough and savage peasantry of the Numidian and Mauritanian villages, who were semi-pagans, and had been imperfectly reduced under the authority of the Roman laws. "This outrageous multitude," says Mosheim, "whom no prospect of sufferings could terrify, and who, upon urgent occasions, faced death itself with the most audacious temerity, contributed to render the sect of the Donatists (whose cause they espoused) an object of the utmost abhorrence (to the Catholics) though it cannot be proved, by any records of undoubted authority that the bishops of that faction (those at least who had any reputation for piety and virtue) either approved the proceedings or stirred up

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the violence of this odious rabble." This was truly "the unterrified," and unterrifiable, "democracy." This may be styled the spontaneous soldiery of the Donatists, extemporized by the urgency of their distress. These Circumcellions never failed to take up arms to defend them against their enemies. The imperial officers were usually sustained by a military force in the execution of the wrath of the Catholic Dragon, which issued like a sweeping flood from its Mouth; but it did not carry the woman away. It was sometimes successfully repelled. The blood of some Donatist teachers which had been shed by the imperialists, in-flamed the Circumeellions with an eager desire of revenge. By their own cruelty and rashness, the ministers of persecution sometimes provoked their fate; and the guilt of an accidental tumult precipitated them into despair and rebellion. The leaders of the Circumcellions assumed the title of CAPTAINS OF THE SAINTS. Their principal weapon, as they were in-differently provided with swords and spears, was a huge and weighty club, which they termed AN ISRAELITE; and the well-known sound of "Praise be to God," which they used as their war-cry, diffused consternation over the unarmed provinces of Africa. At first, their depredations were covered with the plea of necessity; but they soon exceeded the measure of subsistence, indulging without control their intemperance and avarice; burned the villages they had pillaged, and, in defiance of the Roman legions, reigned the licentious tyrants of the open country. The occupations of husbandry, and the administration of justice, were interrupted; and as the Circumcellions pretended to re-

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Map page 144 of North Africa not shown

The Donatists and Circumcellions were active in the North African area. The Donatists were given military protection by the fierce and warlike Circumcellions. The latter wanted to break away from the empire (hence the name given them), and supported the Donatists who had broken from the State religion. The Donatists were so called after the name of their leader Donatus who opposed those Bishops that supported Constantine in his drive for power Publishers.

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store the primitive equality of mankind, and to reform the abuses of civil society, they opened a secure asylum for slaves and debtors and all other refugees, who fled to their standard in crowds from their pursuers; or in the language of the prophecy, "the Earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood." When they were not resisted, they usually contented themselves with plunder, but the slightest opposition provoked them to acts of violence and murder; and some catholic priests, who had signalized their zeal, were tortured with the most refined and wanton barbarity. They engaged, and sometimes defeated, the provincial legions of the Dragon; and in the sanguinary action of Bagai, when the troops of Constans were sent against the Donatists, as a flood from the Dragon's Mouth, the Circumcellions attacked in open field, but with unsuccessful valor, an advanced guard of the imperial cavalry. Those who were taken prisoners died without a murmur, either by the-sword, the axe, or the fire; and the measures of retaliation were multiplied in rapid proportion, which aggravated the horrors of rebellion, and excluded the hope of mutual forgiveness.

Such disorders are the natural effects of religious tyranny; but the rage of the Circumcellions was enflamed by a frenzy of a very extraordinary kind. Many of them were possessed with a horror of life, and the desire of martyrdom; and they deemed it of little moment by what means, or by what hands, they perished, if their conduct was sanctified by "the intention of devoting themselves to the glory of the true faith." Such was "the Earth," and such the manner in which she "opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the Catholic Dragon cast out of his mouth," in voluntary defence of the woman's seed in the African wing of the Great Eagle.

But the defensive operation of "the Earth" was not restricted to the African provinces of the empire. The peasantry of Paphlagonia was inspired by the same spirit. During the reign of Constantius, son and successor of Constantine, when the catholic Trinitarians and catholic Arians unsheathed the sword of the flesh against one another to arbitrate the rights of Homoousion and Homojousion (*) to the claim of orthodoxy, the Novatians, another remnant of the woman's anti-catholic seed, became obnoxious to the Arian emperor and patriarch of Constantinople. The latter distinguished pietist, whose name was Macedonius, being informed that a large district of Paphlagonia was al-

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(*)These are titles given to various religious sects within the Apostate church of the 4th century. The Homoousians taught that the essence or substance of the Father and the Son is the same; the Arians believed that Jesus Christ was mere man; the Trinitarians claimed that he is very God of very God; and the Homojousians argued that the essence of the Son is similar to, but not the same as, that of the Father. How beautiful, practical and satisfyingly clear is the teaching of the Truth, that of God manifestation, in comparison with the confusion that reigns in the doctrines relating to Trinitananism - Publishers.

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most entirely inhabited by the Novatians, resolved in fiery excess of zeal, either to convert them to Arian catholicity, or to exterminate them; and as he distrusted on this occasion the efficacy of an ecclesiastical mission, he determined to vomit forth a legionary flood to sweep them from the earth. To this end, he ordered a body of four thousand legionaries to march against these unoffending dissenters, and to reduce the territory of Mantinium under his patriarchal authority. "The Serpent cast out of his mouth water like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood." But the armed flood did not accomplish the purpose of the Constantinopolitan government. It was foreshown in the prophecy that it should not succeed; for it was Providentially arranged that the flood should be ineffectually expended upon the earth, as it is written, "the earth ran with help for the woman, and opened her mouth, and drank up the flood which the Dragon cast out of his mouth." And so it came to pass; for the Paphlagonian peasants, animated by despair and religious fury, boldly encountered the invaders of their country; and though many of them were slain, the Serpent's legions were vanquished by an irregular multitude armed only with scythes and axes; and except a few that escaped by flight, thousands of soldiers were left dead upon the field of battle. The Emperor Julian, who succeeded Constantius, an apostate from this sanguinary catholicism to paganism, speaking of his predecessor's reign, in his fifty-third epistle, says, "many were imprisoned and persecuted and driven into exile. Whole troops of those who were styled 'heretics,' were massacred, particularly at Cyzicus and Samosata. In Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Galatia, and many other provinces, towns and villages were laid waste and utterly destroyed."

After the death of Constantine, in the division of his empire between his three sons, Italy and Africa were allotted to Constans. He sent Macanus and Paulus into Africa to heal, if possible, this "deplorable schism," as Mosheim terms it; and to engage the Donatists to conclude a peace. The efforts of Constans to induce them to coalesce with the catholic church were strenuous, but ineffectual. Force and corruption were the royal arguments employed for their conversion by these imperial commissioners. The chief bishop among the Donatists opposed all these methods of reconciliation with the utmost vehemence; and his example was followed by the rest of his brethren. The idea was odious to them of a coalition with those, who in the Diocletian persecution and distress, in order to avoid martyrdom, had delivered up the Holy Scriptures, the best gift of the Deity to man. This zeal for the word was a remarkable characteristic of the Woman's Seed. It underlaid the whole controversy between the Catholics and Dissenters of the period. The

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Catholics very lightly esteemed the Scriptures; and were daily with-drawing the people's attention from them more and more, until at length they came to legislate against the use of them by "the laity" at all. Not so their opponents, with whom the sacred writings have always been a tower of strength against their enemies. To the fugitive woman was Providentially committed the custody of the Divine Oracles; for it is the remnants of her seed which are testified to have held the testimony of the anointed Jesus, which is to be found only in the Holy Scriptures. No wonder, therefore, that these worthy and excellent people turned a deaf ear to every overture of reconciliation with the word-neglecting adherents of the tyrannical church of Constans. The cruelties of Macanus and Paulus only exasperated "the earth", and widened the breach. The Circumcellions, provoked by their arbitrary proceedings, wreaked their vengeance on the persecutors of the Donatists by assassinations and massacres executed with unrelenting fury. "The Dragon was wroth with the woman," when he saw his projects baffled. He, therefore sent Macanus against them with "a flood". The Earth encountered the flood in the battle of Bagnia, A.D. 345, in which, however, the Circumcellions were defeated. This "servant of God," as Gratus, bishop of Carthage styled Macanus, now gave vent to the fury and rage of the Dragon, and indulged in crimes of deeper dye than he had yet perpetrated before victory. There was now no safety for the woman but in flight. Optatus of Milevi, a contemporary writer, whose testimony, Mosheim says, is beyond exception in this matter, informs us that a few of the Donatists submitted; "the greatest part of them saved themselves by flight;" numbers were sent into banishment. Among them were DONATUS, whom they called "the Great," on account of his learning and virtue; and many of them were punished with the utmost severity. "During these troubles," says Dr. Mosheim, "which continued nearly thirteen years, several steps were taken against the Donatists, which the equitable and impartial will be at a loss to reconcile with the dictates of humanity and justice; nor indeed do the catholics themselves deny the truth of this assertion."

The following passage from a Donatist writer would seem to indicate that they discerned the apocalyptic sign of their time. In treating of the suffering of Marculus, he says, "Behold suddenly the polluted flood of the Macarian persecution burst forth from the tyrannical church of king Constans, and two beasts being sent to Africa from thence, to wit, Macarius and Paulus, a most horrible and cruel ecclesiastical war was proclaimed, that a christian people should be compelled by the naked swords of soldiers, by the standards of Serpents or Dragons (draconum proesentibus signis) and by the blasts of trumpets, to unite with

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Traditors!" Compare this passage with the 15th and 16th verses of this chapter. How striking the resemblance! The Donatists, doubtless, discerned that "the polluted flood of the Macarian persecution which burst forth from the tyrannical church of king' Constans," was the "water like a flood the serpent or dragon cast out of his Mouth.', From this, and other instances, I doubt not, that among the woman's seed there have been in all ages some who were able to discern the apocalyptic signs specially pertaining to the times in which they lived. They might not have been able to expound the apocalypse as a whole, but they could discern sufficient to answer the question. "Watchman, what of the night?" Let us be thankful, that the believer of the truth is also able, at this crisis of the woman's history, to discern the signs of these times; so that when the Ancient of Days comes in as a thief upon an intoxicated and insane generation like ours, he will find us with our lamps trimmed and our lights brightly burning, ready to go out to meet Him.

"And the Dragon was enraged against the woman". These calamities triumphed over them until A.D. 361, when the "earthquake" of Apoc. 8:5, placed the anti-catholic nephew of Constantine, "Julian the Apostate," so called, upon the Constantinopolitan throne of the Roman world. This imperial pagan proved more humane and merciful to the Donatists than his "christian" (?) predecessors. He permitted them to return to their country, and restored them to the enjoyment of their former liberty. This revolution so far renewed their vigor, that they recruited their wasted ranks by bringing over, in a short time, the majority of the provincials to their interests. Gratian published several edicts against them, and in A. D. 377, deprived them of their houses of assembly, and prohibited all their meetings public and private. But the fury of the Circumcellions, and the apprehension of intestine tumults, prevented the vigorous execution of these laws. This appears from the numerous conventicles they possessed in Africa towards the conclusion of this fourth century ,to which were attached not less than four hundred bishops. About this time a celebrated, or rather, notorious ecclesiastic entered the lists against them. This was that veritable saint of the Serpent calendar, equally glorified by Greek, Latin, and Protestant, historically known as St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo. He attacked them in every way; and as he was a hot-headed and active spirit, he animated against them the whole antichristian world with its imperial court. "The catholic bishops of Africa," says Mosheim, "animated by the exhortations, and conducted by the counsels of this zealous prelate, exerted themselves with the utmost vigor in the destruction of those seditious sectaries (the Earth-assisted Woman) whom they justly looked upon, not only as troublesome to the (catholic) church by their obstinacy (as

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he calls her faithfulness to "the testimony of the anointed Jesus") but as a nuisance to the State (or Dragon) by the brutal soldiery ("the earth") which they employed in their cause (though on p.124,(*) viii. he says, "the Donatists regarded the Circumcellions with the utmost detestation and abhorrence"). Accordingly, deputies were sent, A.D. 404, from the council of Carthage to the emperor Honorius to request that the laws enacted against heretics by the preceding emperors might have force against the Donatists, who denied that they belonged to the heretical tribe also to desire that bounds might be set to the barbarous fury of the Circumcellions." In acceding to this request, the Dragon-emperor imposed a fine upon all the Donatists who refused to return into the bosom of the catholic church, and sent their bishops and teachers into banishment. In A.D. 405, new and severer laws were enacted against them under the title of Acts of Uniformity; and as the lay magistrates (the earth) were too tardy in the execution of vengeance for "christian priests," the council of Carthage, A.D. 407, sent deputies a second time to the emperor, desiring that certain persons might be appointed to execute the new edicts with vigor and impartiality, in other words, without mercy. This was granted also. But the Donatists, though much shaken by these repeated assaults of the Dragon, were still "nourished" and fed" by the Providence of the Deity. Their strength revived A.D. 408, aftet Stilico had been put to death by the order of Honoriits; and gained an accession of vigor the following year, in which the emperor published a law in favor of liberty of conscience, and prohibited all compulsion in matters of religion. This law, however, was not of long continuance. There is nothing the catholic clergy detest so much as liberty to think, speak, and act, contrary to their traditions. This has been characteristic of them in all ages. It is a characteristic of the craft of all orders, though times and circumstances repress its manifestation when things are not convenient or propitious. Liberty to discuss freely the demerits of the Traditorial Church was terribly annoying to those who justified the delivering up of the Holy Scriptures to be burned as the redemption price of their nondeliverance. These word-despising catholic traitors would let the Dragon government have no rest until the edict of toleration was repealed; and the blood of the Witnesses of Jesus was caused to flow afresh. The law was therefore abrogated at the earnest and repeated solicitation of the council of bishops which met at Carthage, A.D. 419; and Marcellinus, the tribune, was sent by Honorius into Africa with a flood

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·(*) The records extant of the Donatists and Circumeellions are mainly those of their enemies, and they have sought to blacken their reputation. The Circumeellions are branded as crazed suicidal fanatics ,blood thirsty terrorists, the scum of a desperate peasantry. It is claimed that they indulged in ritual drunkenness, and were capable of mass suicide. Murder and pillaging of Catholics was a way of life for them. - Publishers.

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of legionaries effluent of the Dragon's Mouth. Full power was given to him to sweep the woman away; and so to bring to a conclusion, or to extinguish, the testimony of these faithful witnesses against that DIABOLICAL AND SATANIC APOSTASY, blasphemously styled "the Holy Apostolic Catholic Church." Who can but be penetrated with disgust and horror at the villainous and execrable cruelty of the clergy of this and after ages! It was evident that the emperor was reluctant to persecute the Donatists. But, though an emperor, he doubtless had reason to fear, lest in shielding the lives of the innocent, he might forfeit his own at the bidding of his episcopal allies. Nothing but extermination seems to have satisfied these hissing serpents and dragon-speaking priests. How thankful ought we to be, that the Deity has put it into the heart of "the Earth," to open her mouth against the execution of sanguinary vengeance upon the believers and advocates of the truth by the generation of vipers whose vested interests are opposed to it.

Marcellinus, by imperial commission, instituted a judicial investigation at Carthage. The trial lasted three days, and, as might be expected, judgment was given in favor of the dominant clergy. The catholic bishops present were 286; and those of the Donatists 279. The latter, like Paul, appealed to the emperor, but without any favorable result. The terrors of this persecution caused many to apostatize to the catholics; while the severest penalties were inflicted on those who continued to "obey the commandments of the Deity, and to hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus." Fines, banishment, and confiscation of goods, were the ordinary punishments visited upon the Donatists; and says Mosheim, "the 'pain of death was inflicted upon such as surpassed the rest in perverseness, and were the seditious ringleaders of that stubborn faction." Some avoided these penalties by flight, and others by concealing themselves; and the malice of their enemies has not failed to blacken their memories by imputing to them the crime of suicide In the meantime, the Circumcellion-Earth again "ran with help for the woman," and interposed between her and her oppressors to ward off the execution of the sentence against her seed. They ran up and down through the African wing of the Great Eagle in the most outrageous manner, committing acts of great cruelty upon the catholics, and defending themselves by force of arms.

But, while the remnant of the woman's seed, which, in those trying times, "kept the commandments of the Deity, and held the testimony of the anointed Jesus," were thus witnessing unto death, and by their witnessing, tormenting them that dwelt upon the Catholic terrene, they had a powerful and influential intercessor within the veil, whose eyes beheld the ferocious wickedness of the Roman Serpent, and whose ears

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were not inattentive to their prayers. It is not difficult to conceive, that these prayers would be many, earnest and fervent; for, having faith in God and in his word, they would know that deliverance could come from Him alone. He had placed them in the African Wing of the Great Eagle, to testify against the Laodicean Apostasy in Church and State. This was a dangerous mission, but it had to be done, and faithfully performed until there should be no catholic power there to witness against. This was their hope; but of the time when it should be broken in Africa, and they delivered, they had no knowledge. All they could do then was to "offer much incense upon the golden altar before the throne" (Apoc. 8:3) - pray much, "contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints," and patiently wait for an answer to their earnest supplications, which would "ascend before the Deity out of the hand" of the incense-bearing angel of His presence.

Picture of Coins not shown pg 151

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JULIAN THE APOSTATE - Julian (361-363) reversed the religious revolution of Constantine and attempted to restore paganism throughout the Empire; but his reign did not last long enough to make this really effective. Reissued a coin depicting "his image and superscription", on the reverse side of which was a bull, symbol ot pagan worship-Publishers.

These prayers had been partially replied to in the salutary events of the Julian Revolution, A.D. 361-'3. The angel Incense-Bearer had taken fire from the Golden Altar, and cast it from his censer into the earth; and there were in consequence, "voices, thunderings and lightnings, and an earthquake" (Apoc. 8:5). The time had now arrived to answer their prayers more fully in the breaking of the power of the catholic oppressor in Africa, by the events of the Second Wind Trumpet. For details, see Vol.2, p.53. The instrument of this great and righteous retribution was the world-wide renowned and terrible GENSERIC

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whose invasion of Africa, A.D. 439, was favored and prompted by the impolitic persecution of the Donatists. The king of the Vandals, though a catholic, was an enemy of the Trinitarian communion. Represented himself to the Donatists as a powerful deliverer from whom they might reasonably expect the repeal of the odious and oppressive edicts of the Dragon-emperors. Raving wrested the province from the hands of the Romans, he ministered "food" and "nourishment" to the woman in protecting her seed, and giving them liberty and peace.

"But the wounds", says Mosheim, "which this sect had received from the vigorous execution of the imperial laws, were so deep, that though it began to revive and multiply by the assistance of the Vandals, it could never regain its former strength and luster." They continued to enjoy the sweets of freedom as long as the Vandals reigned in Africa. These formidable barbarians were the Deity's messengers of wrath to punish the Trinitarian Catholics of the African Wing for the serpent ferocity with which they tormented his faithful witnesses. The scene, however, was greatly changed when the empire of the Vandals was overturned by the forces of Justinian, A.D. 534. Then, now nearly 1335 years ago, the African Wing was reannexed to the body of the Great Eagle, and the Donatist section of the Witnesses was brought into contact and collision again with the "Dragon, the old Serpent." They still continued a separate body, and not only retained their testimony, but toward the conclusion of the sixth century, and particularly from A.D. 591, defended their principles with renewed vigor, and were bold enough to proclaim the gospel publicly in the ears of the Romoousian Serpents themselves. Gregory, bishop of Rome, opposed these efforts with all the spirit and assiduity of the Antichrist, and tried various methods of putting them down; or, as Mosheim expresses it, "of depressing this faction which was pluming its wings anew, and aiming at the revival of those lamentable divisions which it had formerly excited in the church." From this time, however, they do not appear to have attracted the notice of ecclesiastics. The early subjection of Africa to the Mohammedans, will account for this. The mission of the Witnesses was not against Mohammedanism; but against Homoousian Blasphemy. When this was eradicated by the Saracens, the witnessing of the woman's seed was no longer required in Africa. As the Vandals favored Homoiousianism, which was the creed of Genseric, it is highly probable that they were from this time confounded with the Arians. The names of Arians and Manichaeans , although originally employed to designate sectaries of the class the apostle terms "false teachers privily bringing in damnable heresies" (2 Peter 2:1), they were afterwards used by the ignorant and malicious to distinguish the inhabitants of the mountains and

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valleys of the other wing of the Great Eagle, in after times known by the general terms Albigenses and Waldenses. In fact, all who repudiated the Bishop of Rome after he had been created a god by the Dragon-power, as the Antichrist, were denounced as Manichaeans, though they held nothing in common with those semi-pagans. Odious names imposed upon "heretics," so called, by catholic doctors and councils rarely expressed the truth concerning them. It is the Serpent's policy to call good things which are obnoxious to him and his sect by bad names. To bestow names expressive of the reality would be to speak the truth; and the highest authority has declared "that there is no truth in him" (John 8:44). Not being ignorant of this device, we are not to be hoodwinked by the foul names and hard speeches bestowed upon alleged "heretics" by popes, inquisitors, monks and doctors of "the church." These all being ignorant of what constitutes a saint, are more likely to style him an Arian or Manichaean(*), or by any other name that prejudice or malice may invent, than by one that truly and Scripturally represents him. "The saints of the Highest Ones" have been denounced as "heretics" by the ruling faction ever since the woman fled into the wilderness; and will doubtless continue to be until the times of the down-treading of the Holy City shall be fulfilled.

Thus, then, while the eleventh chapter exhibits the sackcloth witnessing of the woman's seed "before the god of the earth" for the truth of "the God of heaven" in the Alpine Wing of the Great Eagle (verses 4-13); this twelfth chapter, verses 14-17, represents her obedient and faithful remnant and protectors at war with the Serpent and Dragon of Constantinople and Rome, in the African Wing more especially, and before the Bishop of Rome was developed by the authority of the Constantinopolitan Serpent into the Supreme Pontiff of Antichristendom, apocalyptically styled "the god of the earth; and by Daniel, "a foreign god, a god of guardians, acknowledged by the king who does according to his will; a god whom his pagan ancestors did not know." The twelfth chapter concludes at the epoch in which history loses all trace of a people, whose testimony against the superstition by law established kept the African Wing of the Catholic Empire in an excited and tumult-

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(*) Mankhoeism originally described the teaching of a Persian prophet Mani who theorized upon the supposed primeval conflict between light and darkness. According to him, the purpose of religion was to restore the original separation of light from darkness, which had become obscured, enslaving man to evil. As with other pagan philosophies, an attempt was made to superimpose this on an apostate Christianity, and so it became the subject of discussion and controversy. In its so-called "Christian" form it made its way to Rome and North Africa where it was opposed as a Christian heresy. The Arians were another sect, that whilst vigorously opposing Trinitarianism, went to the opposite extreme and taught that Christ was mere man, the son of Joseph. The Novatians followed the lead of Novatianus (200-258). Appalled at the lenient treatment of the Church towards Christians who were prepared to compromise with paganism, he joined the rigorist party, becoming antipope in his teaching (A.D. 251). His followers were excommunicated by the Catholics - Publishers.

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uous condition to the great annoyance of all privileged bishops, priests, and deacons, who sought peace and comfort in high places for three hundred years. This brings us down to A.D. 612; or about five years after the Dragon had confirmed the gift of all heretics into the hand of the Bishop of Rome, who had been "acknowledged" by Justinian as a god over all the spiritual affairs of his empire, A.D. 533.

When the witnessing remnant had accomplished its mission against the Apostasy in Africa, the power of their oppressor, the Catholic Church, was broken there by the Saracens, as predicted in Apoc. 9:1-11. "The common granary of Rome and mankind" as the fertile and highly cultivated province is styled by Gibbon, was appropriated by the followers of Mohammed, who have possessed it, (Algiers excepted, and since A.D. 1830 occupied by the French) from Tangier to Tripoli, unto this day. Thus had been blotted out from the arena of their power and glory, the people who had become "drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus" (Apoc. 17:6); a fate richly deserved, and one which awaits the same class of superstitious savages in all of the other wing and body of the Great Eagle.

But the reader is not to suppose that the ferocity of the Catholic Dragon was confined to the seven fertile and populous provinces of the African Wing. All dissentients who protested against the imperial superstition in other provinces suffered as well as the Donatists. I have already referred to the case of the Novatians in Paphlagonia. By whatever name reproached, "the Serpent cast water, like a flood, out of his mouth after" them all. They were cast down, but not destroyed; persecuted and tormented in every way, yet not exterminated; for, says Mosheim, in speaking of "the heresies" of the 9th century, "the sects that had sprung up in the early ages of the church subsisted still with little change in their situation or circumstances;" and it may be added, that the saints of the Holy City and the witnesses of Jesus against the Laodicean Catholic Apostasy, have always existed under names imposed upon them, and holding views falsely attributed to them, by the malignity of their enemies, to the present day.

27. The Woe

The song of victory acclaimed by the privileged adherents of the MAN-CHILD OF SIN, in which they are made to ascribe their triumph over "the Great Fiery-Red Dragon" of Pagan Rome, not to themselves, but to the self-sacrificing devotion of their brethren, and to the faithfulness of their testimony even unto death; this epinikion, as it is styled by some, is contained, as we have seen, in the tenth, eleventh, and first clause of

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the twelfth verse of this chapter. The whole of the twelfth verse does not belong to the song. This verse should have begun at the word "Woe!". The address to "the inhabiters of the earth and sea" is continuous of the subject of the ninth verse, and in place would read thus: "the Dragon was cast out INTO THE EARTH, and his angels were cast out with him. WOE to the inhabiters OF THE EARTH and sea! for the DIABOLOS is come down unto you having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the Dragon saw that he was cast INTO THE EARTH, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the Man-Child" - Verses 12-13.

It is evident from this connection, that the casting out of the Dragon into the earth, and the beginning of the "woe" to the earth, were synchronous, or contemporaneous events. Though cast out of the heaven, he still retained power as the Diabolos to persecute the woman. He had lost position in the heaven. The Supreme Dragon-power and authority was located apocalyptically upon the "Seven Mountains," the area of the "Seven Heads" - ch. 17:9,10. To be excluded from the exercise of dominion in ROME, the Queen City, over Italy and the African Wing of the Great Eagle, was to be cast out of the heaven; but this might obtain without the entire deprivation of authority and power. "The earth and sea," or all the Roman Habitable not included in Italy and Africa, still remained to be governed by emperors enthroned in other capitals. To lose authority in Rome, but yet to retain it in the earth and sea habitable, was to fall from the one "into" the other.

This was the fate of the Pagan-Roman Power, the subject of the prophecy. As we have seen elsewhere, it was "cast down" from supreme authority, and "cast out" from the "Seven Mountains into the earth," when Maxentius was dethroned and superseded in the government by Constantine, A.D. 312. But the dominion of the idols was not thereby abolished: the situation, or relative position of parties, had only been changed. The imperial ascendancy of the idols had been destroyed in Italy, Africa, Spain, Gaul and Britain; but they were still sovereign in the lower, or less dignified and important countries of Illyricum, Dacia, Macedonia, Thrace, Grecia, Asia Minor, Armenia, Syria, and Egypt. Of these countries, Illyricum, comprehending the region south and west of the Danube, north of Macedonia, northeast of the Adriatic, and north of Lombardy and Venetia; DACIA, including Hungary and the region between the lower Danube and the Balkan Mountains; GREECE, MACEDONIA, and THRACE; these constituted "the inhabiters of the earth": while Asia Minor, Egypt, Syria, and the East, were occupied by "the inhabiters of the sea." Before the idols lost their ascendancy, all these countries were ruled by the great political firm "Dragon Serpent,

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Diabolos and Satan." But these partners in iniquity quarreler, though all brethren of the same church. Dragon and Serpent lost caste, having fallen deeply into debt with nothing to pay. Their creditors therefore pronounced against them: and caused two other parties of the same name (and as after experience proved, of characters no less iniquitous) to take their place in the establishment. It was now "a house divided against itself," consisting of Catholic and Pagan parties in the State -Dragon and Serpent catholic; and Diabolos and Satan zealous worshipers of the gods of their ancestors. The situation being thus changed, the administration of affairs was changed also. DIABOLOS was allowed to retain the direction and supervision of things spiritual and temporal in "the earth and sea;" while the catholic members of the firm rejoiced in the greater dignity and authority of the Italian Heaven.

But DIABOLOS saw clearly that this arrangement could not stand. He not only knew that the house of the kingdom was divided against it-self; but that such a house must fall. The administrative elements were too incompatible to work in harmony together; for, though essentially there is no difference between Catholicism and Paganism, yet the intense lust of the former for universal empire would inevitably bring on a collision that would ultimate in the destruction of the weaker of the firm. Diabolos therefore knew that "he had but a short time. "He was determined, then, to make the most of his present opportunities, and to pour out the "great wrath" of idol worship upon the sympathizers with Dragon and Serpent, the catholic partners of the West, whom he might find among his subjects of "the earth and sea.

DIABOLOS represented the interests of "the Great Fiery-Red Dragon" in "the earth and sea" after his supersession by the Man-Child of Sin upon the "Seven Mountains." His principal agents after the fall of Maxentius, were Maximin and Licinius; the former the ruler of "the sea;" and the latter, of "the earth," as already defined. The "short time" Providentially allotted to him to exhaust his "great wrath" upon the woman-inhabiters of the earth and sea, was a period of twenty years from A.D. 312 to A.D. 324. This great wrath constituted the "WOE" upon them; and consisted in the persecution of Maximin, "the most implacable enemy" of anti-pagans; his war with Licinius; the persecution of Licinius; and Licinius' war with Constantine, when he led the forces of "the earth and sea" in the great and final conflict between the Michael and the Dragon - verses 7,8.

Thus, the great wrath of Diabolos expended itself in the complete bankruptcy of the old concern. But this house had been so long established, that it was deemed expedient to continue it under the ancient

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style of "Dragon, Old Serpent, Diabolos, and Satan;" the essential difference between the old house and the new being, that the former did business in the interest of Jupiter and the Idols; while the sharp practice of the latter is in the name of an imaginary Peter and fictitious saints. The foundations of the two houses are the same. They are based solely in the flesh and the speculations of the fleshly mind so that their normal condition is "enmity against Deity," and hatred of those who "keep his commandments, and hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus."

28. Other Remnants of the Woman's Seed

The Novatian remnant was numerous in most parts of the Great Roman Eagle until towards the end of the sixth century. After this their name is not found in the history of the times. This arose from the fact of other leaders appearing to direct the witnessing of the woman's seed against traditions and superstitions more recently introduced by the Catholic Satan. Laxity of discipline, which was protested against by Novatianus, had caused the division of Anti-pagans into two distinct bodies, A.D. 251, or thereabouts. The majority styled themselves Catholics; the others, NOVATIANS, and Puritans. Some sixty or seventy years after, these received an accession of strength and numbers by the secession from the catholics of multitudes, who were opposed to professors being ordained bishops, who surrendered the Holy Scriptures to be burned as the condition of personal safety in the Diocletian persecution; and who were also opposed to the incorporation of the church with the Roman State. These at the end of the sixth century were no longer the leading questions of the day. All the Woman's witnessing seed, whether called Novatian or Donatists, were united in judgment concerning them; but there were other topics that now came to demand more especial attention, in the witnessing for which other names than Novatians and Donatus strongly attracted the notice of mankind.

The tyranny and arrogance of catholic bishops had become insufferable. Their oppressiveness created what might be styled the episcopal question; or the inquiry, Does the New Testament make any difference, in order or degree, between Presbyters and Bishops? The difference was generally admitted in the fourth century; but is without the least sanction in the apostolic writings. This was the earnest conviction of a presbyter named 'Erius, whom Mosheim depreciates by nicknaming him "a Semi-Arian." He says, that in the latter part of the fourth century, "He erected a new sect, and excited divisions throughout Armenia, Pontus, and Cappadocia, by propagating Opinions different from those that Were commonly received. One of his principal tenets was, that bishops

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were not distinguished from presbytersby any Divine right; and that according to the institution of the New Testament, their offices and authority were absolutely the same." Had this tenet been received and maintained by the catholic church, the world could never have been afflicted by the blasting presence of the Roman Pontiffs. "How far Aerius pursued this opinion, through its natural consequences, is not certainly known; but we know with the utmost certainty, that it was highly agreeable to many good christians, who were no longer able to bear the tyranny and arrogance of the bishops of this century."

"There were other things in which Aerius differed from the common notions of the time: he condemned prayers for the dead, stated fasts, the celebration of Easter, and other rites of that nature, in which the multitude erroneously imagine that the life and soul of religion consists. His great purpose seems to have been that of reducing Christianity to its primitive simplicity. This was a great and noble enterprise, and places the Aerians, as those who associated themselves with Aerius were styled, in the apocalyptic category of "the remnants of the woman's seed."

But the Novatian and Donatista remnants were not only reinforced by the Aerians; their strength and influence were augmented in the middle of the seventh century by the Paulicians. It was about A.D. 653, that a new sect arose in the Roman East, upon which this name was bestowed. There resided in the city of Mananalis, in Armema, a person of the class to whom the gospel is preached, the obscure, whose name was Constantine. One day a stranger called upon him, who had been a prisoner among the Saracens in Syria, and having obtained his release, was returning home through this city. He was kindly received by Constantine, and for some days entertained at his house. The stranger had been a deacon of a church. In return for the hospitality he had received, he presented Constantine with two manuscripts; one of the "four gospels;" the other, of Paul's epistles. Constantine studied them as they deserved to be; and when he came to understand them, he would touch no other books; and commenced to teach the doctrines of Christ and his apostle to the Gentiles. He threw away his Manichaean library, exploded and rejected many popular absurdities; and led his countrymen to abandon their former teachers whom they had most venerated; and opened an effective battery upon the superstitions of the catholic church and its hierarchy.

The history of the Paulictans is traceable only through the writings of their adversaries. The account given of their origin is derived from Peter the Sicilian, who was sent by Basil the Great to the Paulicians in Armenia, A.D. 870, to negotiate with them an exchange of prisoners. The following extract from Gibbon will show the special abominations

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against which they faithfully testified in their character of a remnant of the woman's seed. "Against the gradual innovations of discipline and doctrine," says he, "they were as strongly guarded by habit and aversion as by the silence of the Apostle Paul and the evangelists. The objects which had been transformed by the magic of superstition, appeared to the eyes of the Paulicians in their genuine and naked colors. They reasoned that an image made with hands was the common workmanship of a mortal artist, to whose skill alone the wood and canvas must be indebted for their merit and value; - that miraculous relics were a heap of bones and ashes, destitute of life or virtue, or of any relation, perhaps, with the person to whom they were ascribed; - that the true and vivifying cross was a piece of sound or rotten timber; - the body and blood of Christ, a loaf of bread and a cup of wine, the gifts of nature and the symbols of grace. The Mother of God, in the creed of the Paulicians, was degraded from her celestial honors and immaculate virginity; and the saints and angels were no longer solicited to exercise the laborious office of mediation in heaven and ministry upon earth."

"The Paulician teachers were distinguished only by their (assumed) Scriptural names, by the modest title of fellow-pilgrims, by the austerity of their lives, their zealous knowledge, and the credit of some extra-ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. But they were incapable of desiring, or at least obtaining, the wealth and honors of the catholic prelacy; such antichristian pride they bitterly censured; and even the rank of elders or presbyters was condemned as an institution of the Jewish Synagogue."

By the labors of Constantine, who added Sylvanus to his name, numerous disciples were made and collected into societies; and "the remnant," in a little time, was diffused over the provinces of Asia Minor and the region westward of the Euphrates. Ecclesias were constituted, as much upon the plan and model of the apostolic ecclesias as it was in their power to form them. Six of their principal congregations were designated by the names of those to which the Apostle Paul addressed his epistles; and their pastors adopted Scriptural names, as Titus, Timothy, Sylvanus, Tychicus, and so forth. "This innocent allegory," says Gibbon, "revived the memory and examples of the first ages." Their endeavor was to bring their contemporaries back to the original simplicity of Christian faith and practice. In this good and laudable enterprise Constantine Sylvanus spent twenty-seven years of his life with considerable success. The Catholic Dragon was greatly alarmed at the defections caused by his labors; and at the formidable proportions into which "the remnant" was being developed. After the ancient method of dealing with heretics, he proceeded to "cast out water like a flood" to sweep them away. He began to persecute the Paulicians with the most san-

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guinary severity; and the bloody scenes of the Great Fiery-Red Dragon ministered by Galerius and Maximin were repeated under catholic names and forms. "To their excellent deeds," says the bigoted Peter of Sicily, "the divine and orthodox emperors added this virtue, that they ordered the Montanists and Manichaeans (as he falsely styled the Paulicians) to be capitally punished, and their books, wherever found, to be committed to the flames; and further, that if any person was found to have secreted them, he was to be put to death, and his goods confiscated." "What more," asks Mr. Gibbon, "could bigotry and persecution desire?"

In the outpouring of the flood, a Greek official named Simeon, armed with legal and military powers, appeared at Colonia to strike the shepherd, and to reclaim, if possible, the lost sheep of Satan's flock. By a refinement of cruelty, this monster of vengeance planted Constantine Sylvanus before a line of his disciples, who were commanded, as the price of their pardon, and a proof of their repentance, to stone him to death. But they nobly refused to imbue their hands in his blood. Only one apostate named Justus, but styled by the wretched catholics, a new David, could be found boldly to overthrow the Goliath of heresy. This Judas again deceived and betrayed his unsuspecting brethren; and as many as were ascertained and could be collected, were massed together into an immense pile, and by order of Justinian the Second, whose native cruelty was stimulated by the piety of superstition, consumed to ashes.

But Simeon, the officer, who had breathed out threatenings and slaughters against them, struck with astonishment at their valor, in the face of such cruel torments, like another Paul, became a preacher of the faith he once destroyed. He renounced his honors and fortune, and three years afterwards became the successor of Constantine Sylvanus, and at last sealed his witnessing for the anointed Jesus against the apostasy with his blood.

But though they did not fear to die for the faith, "the Paulicians," says Gibbon, "were not ambitious of martyrdom; but in a calamitous period of one hundred and fifty years, their patience sustained whatever zeal could inflict. From the blood and ashes of the first victims, a succession of teachers and congregations arose." The great instrument of their multiplication was the New Testament, as illustrated in the following example related by Peter of Sicily. A young man named Sergius, conversing one day with an aged woman, of the Paulician Remnant, was thus addressed by her: "I hear, Sir, that you excel in literature and erudition, and are besides, in every respect a good man: tell me, then, why do you not read the sacred gospels?" He answered, Nobis profanis

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ista legere non licet, sed sacerdotibus duntaxat "it is not lawful for us the profane to read them, but for the priests only." "Not so," she replied; "there is no respect of persons with God; he wills that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; but your priests, because they adulterate the word of God, do not read all to you." She then repeated to him various portions of the holy Scriptures. After hearing them, he took the gospels, examined them for himself, and became a Paulician. Sergius was an important acquisition to the remnant. For thirty-four years he devoted himself to the ministry of the word; or to give it in his own words, "From the east to the west, and from the north to the south, have I been proclaiming the good news of salvation, and laboring on my knees." And this he did with such success that the catholic clergy of Rome and Constantinople considered him to be the forerunner of Antichrist; and declared that he was producing the great apostasy foretold by the Apostle Paul! Peter of Sicily pronounced him "the wolf in sheep's clothing, the Devil's chiefest champion, the crafty dissembler of virtue (that is, an accomplished hypocrite), the enemy of the cross of Christ, a blasphemer, the hater of Christ, the mother of harlots;" "all which epithets," says Turner, "have only one meaning, namely, that he taught with great effect."

The Paulician Remnant of the Woman's Seed were harassed by the ferocity of the Catholic Dragon for a long period. Michael the first, and Leo the Armenian, were foremost in the race of persecution; "but," says Gibbon, "the prize must doubtless be adjudged to the sanguinary devotion of Theodora, who restored the images to the oriental church. Her inquisitors explored the cities and mountains of the Lesser Asia, and the flatterers of the empress have affirmed that, in a short reign, one hundred thousand Paulicians were extirpated by the sword, the gibbet, or the flames!"

29. The Earth Again Runs to the Woman's Help

"The most furious and desperate of rebels," says Gibbon, "are the sectaries of a religion long persecuted, and at length provoked. In a holy cause they are no longer susceptible of fear or remorse; the justice of their arms hardens them against the feelings of humanity; and they revenge their father's wrongs on the children of their tyrants." Such were the Circumcellions of Africa, the peasants of Paphlagonia, and such in the ninth century were the popular sympathizers with the Paulicians of Armenia and the adjacent provinces.

History styles these sympathizers Paulicians; but history is written by men who are ignorant of the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and are the enemies of "the remnants of

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the woman's seed, who keep the commandments of the Deity, and hold the testimony of Jesus the anointed." These are neither fanatics, nor furious and desperate rebels; neither are they hardened against the feelings of humanity, nor do they seek to avenge themselves; for this they are strictly forbidden to do by Him who says, "vengeance is mine; I will repay". The furious and desperate fanatics, steeled against the Divine law and the feelings of humanity, are the serpents, the generation of vipers, in place or power, "the spirituals of the wickedness in the heavenlies," who counsel and execute the sanguinary ferocity of the Dragon and the Beast. Providence has graciously and mercifully arranged that these insatiable shedders of the blood of His saints shall be fiercely antagonized by the indignant hatred of tyranny, and the love of civil and religious liberty, common to the Scripturally enlightened of mankind; for men may have light enough to discern the folly, and hypocrisy, and diabolism, incorporated in Church and State, and yet be very far from an intelligent belief of "the truth as it is in Jesus" by which alone they can be saved.

Of this earthly class were the "Paulicians," so called, who revolted and warred against the Constantinopolitan Catholic Dragon, A.D. 845-880. They were the militant Paulicians of the pike and gun, stirred up to deeds of blood and valor by the cruel torments of the clergy, in defense of the spiritual and real disciples of the apostle Paul, whose only fight was "the good fight of faith." This thirty-five years of Paulician warfare with the Dragon was "the earth running with help to the woman, and opening her mouth to swallow up the flood cast out of the Dragon's Mouth." They were first awakened to inflict death upon a governor and a bishop, who lent themselves to execute the imperial mandate for the conversion and destruction of "heretics." A more dangerous and consuming flame was kindled by Theodora's persecution, and the revolt of Carbeas, a valiant sympathizer, who commanded the imperial guards of the General of the East. His father had been skinned alive by the Catholic Inquisitors. This horrible cruelty determined him to abandon the service of the Dragon. Five thousand sympathizers joined him in renouncing their allegiance to anti-christian Rome, and in forming an alliance against her with the Saracen "Commander of the Faithful." "During more than thirty years," says Gibbon, "Asia was afflicted by the calamities of foreign and domestic war; in their hostile inroads the disciples of St. Paul were joined with those of Mohammed; and the peaceful christians, the aged parent and tender virgin (the besotted catholics) who were delivered into barbarous servitude, might justly accuse the intolerant spirit of their sovereign. So urgent was the mischief, so intolerable the shame, that Michael was compelled to march in person against

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the Paulicians: he was defeated under the walls of Samosata: and the Roman emperor fled before the heretics whom his mother Theodora had condemned to the flames." The valor and ambition of Chrysocheir, successor to Carbeas, embraced a wider circle of rapine and revenge. In alliance with his faithful anti-catholic Moslems, he boldly penetrated into the heart of Asia Minor. These were the times of the Moslem Woe, in which the catholics were "tormented with the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man." "The men who had the seal of Deity in their foreheads," the Paulicians, were "not hurt" by it; but, as we see, were defended by the Moslem Locusts, who, as the sword of Deity, avenged them upon "the shaven crowns" whose skulls they cleft without mercy. "In those days they sought death (or the political extinction of the State, which would relieve them of those tormenting inroads), but they found it not; and they desired to die, but the death fled from them" (Apoc. 9:4-6). The Dragon legions were repeatedly overthrown, and his edicts of persecution were responded to by the pillage of Nice and Nicomedia, of Ancyra, and Ephesus, whose cathedral was turned into a stable for mules and horses; and the Paulician sympathizers vied with the Saracens in evincing their contempt and abhorrence of the idols and relics of catholic superstition.

This was a righteous retribution encouraging to behold. Truly, as Gibbon remarks, "it is not unpleasing to observe the triumph of rebellion over the same despotism which has disdained the prayers of an in-jured people." The dragon was reduced to sue for peace, to offer ransom for catholic captives, and to request, in the language of moderation and charity, that Chrysocheir would spare his fellow-christians, and content himself with a royal donation of gold and silver and silk garments. "If the emperor," replied the Paulician defender, "be desirous of peace, let him abdicate the East, and reign without molestation in the West. If he refuse, the servants of the Lord will precipitate him from his throne." But the time for the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire had not yet arrived. The emperor Basil the Macedonian accepted Chrysocheir's' defiance, and led his army into "the land of heresy," which he wasted with fire and sword.

With the death of Chrysocheir the power of the Paulicians' defenders declined. About the middle of the eighth century, Constantine Copronymus had transplanted many of the Paulicians from the Euphrates to Constantinople and Thrace; and by this emigration their doctrine was introduced and diffused in Europe. The Paulicians of Thrace struck their roots deeply into this foreign soil, where they resisted the storms of persecution, maintained a secret correspondence with their Armenian brethren, and gave aid and comfort to their preachers, who labored, not

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without success, among the Bulgarians. They were restored and multiplied by a more powerful colony of Paulicians transpiated A. D. 970, by John Zimisces, from Armenia to Thrace. Their exile to this country was softened by a free toleration. They held the city of Philippopolis, and the keys of Thrace; the catholics were their subjects; they occupied a line of villages and castles in Macedonia and Epirus; "and many native Bulgarians," says Gibbon, "were associated to the communion of arms and heresy." As long as these Thraco-Bulgarian Circumcel lions "the Earth," were awed by power and treated with moderation, they were distinguished in the Dragon armies as volunteers; and the courage of these "dogs ever greedy of war and thirsty of human blood," is noticed with astonishment, and almost with, reproach, by the pusillanimous Greeks. The same spirit rendered them arrogant and contumacious; they were easily provoked by caprice or injury; and their privileges were often violated by the faithless bigotry of the Dragon- government and clergy. The emperor Alexius Comnenus undertook to proselyte them to the reigning superstition. Those of their leaders who were contumacious were secured in a dungeon, or banished; but their lives were spared by the prudence, rather than the mercy, of the emperor, at whose command a poor and solitary heretic was burnt alive before the cathedral of St. Sophia.

But the proud hope of eradicating the faith and testimony of the remnant was speedily overturned by "the invincible zeal of the Paulicians," who ceased to dissemble, or refused to obey. After the death of Alexius, they soon resumed their civil and religious laws. In the beginning of the thirteenth century their head-quarters were on the confines of Bulgaria, Croatia, and Dalmatia, with which filial relations were maintained by the Paulician congregations of France and Italy. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries they found great favor and success in these countries, which Gibbon says, "must be imputed to the strong, though secret, discontent which armed the most pious christians (catholics) against the Church of Rome," now in the seventh century of its legal supremacy over all the spiritual affairs of the Great Roman Eagle. "Her avarice," he continues, "was oppressive, her .despotism odious; less degenerate, perhaps, than the Greeks in the worship of saints and images, her innovations were more rapid and scandalous: she had rigorously defined and imposed the doctrine of transubstantiation; the lives of the Latin clergy were more corrupt, and the eastern bishops might pass for the successors of the apostles, if they were compared with the lordly prelates, who wielded by turns the crosier, the scripture, and the sword."

Under the Constantinopolitan standard, the Paulicians were often

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transported to the Greek provinces of Italy and Sicily: in peace and war they and their sympathizers of "the earth," who were confounded with them under the same name, freely conversed with strangers and natives, and their views were silently propagated in Rome, Milan, and the newly-arisen Ten-Horn kingdoms of the Beast beyond the Alps. It was soon discovered, that many thousand catholics of every rank, and of either sex, had embraced the "heresy" of Paul; and the flames that consumed twelve cathedral priests of Orleans was the first act and signal of persecution in the West. "They spared their branches," says Gibbon, "over the face of Europe." United in common hatred of idolatry and Rome; they were connected by an ecclesiastical organization of over-seers and presbyteries, usually styled elders and pastors. The French called them "Bulgarians" by way of reproach, meaning thereby "unnatural sinners". Their catholic enemies also falsely styled them Manichaeans, and charged them with contempt of the Old Testament, and the denial of the body of Christ, either on the cross or in the bread and wine. They repudiated the catholic dogmas connected with the cross and eucharist; but they took both bread and wine, discerning by "the testimony of the anointed Jesus which they held," the representation therein of his broken body and blood, shed for remission of the sins of the many (Matt. 26:28). "A confession of simple worship and blameless manners," says Gibbon, "is extorted from their enemies; and so high was their standard of perfection, that the increasing congregations were divided into two classes of disciples, of those, who practised, and those who aspired. It was in the country of the Albigeois, in the southern provinces of France, that the Paulicians were most deeply implanted; and the same vicissitudes of massacre and uprising of "the Earth" which had been displayed in the neighborhood of the Euphrates, were repeated in the thirteenth century on the banks of the Rhone. The laws of the Constantinopolitan Dragon and Serpent were revived by Frederick the Second, the reigning emperor of the Two-Horned Beast of the Earth, which "spake as a Dragon" (Apoc. 13:11). The barons and cities of Languedoc were "the earth that ran with help for the Woman: and Pope Innocent the Third surpassed the sanguinary and murderous renown of the ferocious Theodora. It was in cruelty alone that her soldiers could equal the Crusaders; and the cruelty of her priests was far excelled by the founders of the Inquisition. The visible assemblies of the Albigensian Paulicians were extirpated with fire and sword; and "the bleeding remnant" escaped by flight, concealment, or conformity to the hated superstition of the destroyer. But the invincible spirit which they had kindled still lived and breathed in the western world. A latent succession was preserved of "the disciples of St. Paul," who protested

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against the tyranny of Rome, and embraced the Bible as the rule of faith.

Thus, I have briefly tracked "the remnants of the woman's seed," under the names of Novatians, Donatists, Aerians, Paulicians and Albigenses, through a long and sanguinary period of sack-cloth-witnessing of a thousand years, against the Apostasy as by law established in "the two Wings of the Great Eagle." In this weary and heart-rending journey, we have visited the Roman Africa, Armenia, Asia Minor, Thrace, Bulgaria, and working our way up the Danube, crossed the Alps into Italy and France. But how changed is the constitution of "the Great Eagle" at the close of this Millennium of Blood! When the remnants of the Woman's seed began their anti-catholic witnessing in the African Wing, the great eagle was subject only to "the Dragon the old Serpent," enthroned in Constantinople. Then there was no Pope of Rome; no Ten-Horned Beast of the Sea; no Two-Horned Beast of the Earth; nor any Image of the Beast. Then, the simple inquiry was, "Who is like the Dragon? who is able to make war with him?" for in those days they all "worshipped the Dragon," in all the length and breadth of the Roman world. But now, in the twelfth century, we stand in the Alpine regions of France and Italy as witnesses "before the god of the earth" (Apoc. 11:4); a god unknown to the Dragon in the epoch of the woman's flight, A.D. 315-345, and his pagan predecessors, in whose times he was but the simple OVERSEER of an ecclesia in Rome. But, ere this century, he had long become a god by the grace and power of the Dragon, who had bestowed upon him "his power, and his throne, and great authority" (Apoc. 13:2). And besides this, in surveying the subjacent landscape from the Alpine heights, we see the Beast of the Earth and the Beast of the Sea intensely catholic and hostile to "the commandments of the Deity and the testimony of the anointed Jesus". Whence came these dominions? They are the results of the outpouring of the Divine wrath upon the Dragon, in retribution of his catholic worship of daimonia and idols, and of the murders, sorceries, fornications and thefts of his clergy (Apoc. 9:20,21); in other words, they are the results of the sounding of the wind-trumpets in answer to the prayers of "the remnants of the woman's seed," which, as "much incense," ascended, through their Golden Intercessor, before the throne (Apoc. 8:3,4).

But, while we have been making this millennial tour through the Wings of the Great Eagle, has it been all peace and spiritual tranquillity in the interior regions? No; from time to time, reformers started up amidst the catholics themselves; and, as pioneers, prepared the ground for more advanced believers to cultivate and sow with the incorruptible seed. Of these pioneers was Claude, Catholic bishop of Turin, ap-

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pointed to that See by Charlemagne. He was in high repute for his knowledge of the Scriptures and his first-rate talents as a preacher; in consequence of which, says the Abbe Eleury, "the French monarch being apprised of the deplorable state of darkness in which a great part of Italy was involved in reference to the doctrines of the gospel, and anxious to provide the churches of Piedmont with a teacher who might counteract the growing rage for image-worship, appointed Claude to the See of Turin, about A.D. 817." Though he died the catholic bishop of Turin, he is regarded as the spiritual father of the "meek confessors of Piedmont," who seceded from the catholic church, and became for many centuries a remnant of the woman's seed. Claude continued his zealous anti-Romish labors until A.D. 839, by which time the valleys of Piedmont were filled with his disciples; and, says Jones, "While a night of awful darkness sat brooding on almost every other part of Europe, the inhabitants of Piedmont preserved the gospel among them in its native simplicity, and rejoiced in the healing beams of the Sun of righteousness".

In the tenth century, that is, from A.D. 900 to A.D. 1000, there were thirty occupants of "St. Peter's Chair." When describing this period Mosheim says: "The history of the Roman pontiffs who lived in this century, is the history of so many monsters and not of men, and exhibits a horrible series of the most flagitious, tremendous and complicated crimes, as all writers, even those of the Romish communion, unanimously confess". In this dismal period, the clergy was, for the most part, composed of a most worthless set of men, shamefully illiterate and stupid; ignorant, more especially in religious matters; equally enslaved to sensuality and superstition, and capable of the most abominable and flagitious deeds.

To stem this torrent of corruption, there appeared in the south of France, in the province of Languedoc and Provence, one Peter de Bruys, about A.D. 1110. He was the founder of the petrobrusians(*). His labors were successful. He taught that "the ordinance of baptism should be administered only to adults; that it was a piece of idle superstition to

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(*)The Petrobrusians followed the lead of Peter de Bruys. They denied infant baptism, the need of consecrated churches, transubstantiation with masses for the dead. One of his followers ,Henry, gave his name to another group known as Henricians, centered in Tours. These teachers were known for their high character and dedicated lives. In spite of persecution they went from place to place, making many converts from those who were dissatisfied at the want of clerical discipline. About this time (1170), a rich merchant of Lyons, Peter Waldo, sold his goods and gave them to the poor; then he went forth as a prayer of voluntary poverty. His followers, the Waldenses, or poor men of Lyons, spread to many parts. Among the principles that some of them put forward for acceptance was that the Catholic Church was not the Church of Christ, but the scarlet woman of the Apocalypse. Therefore its precepts ought not to be obeyed. Such teaching resulted in religious warfare, including the use of carnal weapons to enforce the beliefs and authority of the Church Publishers.

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build and dedicate churches to the service of God, who, in worship, has peculiar respect to the state of the heart, and who cannot be worshipped with temples made with hands; that crucifixes are objects of superstition, and ought to be destroyed; that in the Lord's Supper the real body and blood of Christ were not partaken by the communicants, but only represented in the way of symbol or figure; and, lastly, that the oblatons, prayers and good works of the living, can in no way be beneficial to the dead".

A few years after the decease of Peter de Bruys, an Italian by birth, generally styled Henry of Toulouse, arose to bear witness against the corruptions of the time. He declaimed with fervid vehemence against the vices of the clergy and the superstitions they invented. He rejected the baptism of infants; treated the festivals and ceremonies of the catholic church with the utmost contempt, and held clandestine assemblies, in which he explained and inculcated the doctrine he set forth.

Contemporary with Henry, and eight years his survivor, was Arnold of Brescia, who from A.D. 1147 to 1155, bearded the papal lion in his den. He was inferior to Peter de Bruys and Henry, neither in fortitude nor zeal, while in learning and talent he excelled them both. The zeal of this daring reformer was first directed against the wealth and luxury of the Romish clergy. He charged upon them most of the corruptions that disgraced religion, and called upon them to renounce their usurped possessions, and to lead a frugal and abstemious life on the voluntary contributions of the people. The inhabitants of Brescia revered him as the apostle of religious liberty, and rose in rebellion against their accredited bishop. Driven by persecution from place to place, he determined on the desperate experiment of fixing the standard of revolt in the very heart of Rome.

He was the Garibaldi of the twelfth century. For a time he found protectors among the nobility and gentry. He harangued the populace with his usual fervor, and inspired them with such a regard for their civil and ecclesiastical rights, that a complete revolution was effected in the city. The papal Pontifex Maximus struggled in vain against this invasion of his power, and at last sunk under the pressure of calamity. His successors, Celestine and Lucius, were unable to check the popular frenzy. The leaders of the insurrection waited upon Licius, demanded the restitution of the civil rights which had been usurped from the people, and insisted that he and the clergy should trust only for their stipends to the pious offerings of the faithful, as at the beginning. The pope survived this astounding demand only a few days, when he was succeeded by Eugenius III., who, dreading the mutinous spirit of the inhabitants, withdrew from Rome, and was "consecrated" in a neighboring fortress.

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Arnold, who had withdrawn from Rome during this extraordinary insurrection, hearing of the escape of the newly-elected pope, repaired once more to the city, and animated with fresh vigor the energies of the populace. He called to their remembrance the achievements of their ancestors, and painted in the strongest colors the sufferings which sprung from ecclesiastical tyranny. He charged them never to admit the pontiff within their walls till they had prescribed the limits of his spiritual jurisdiction, and fixed the civil government in their own hands. The passions of the populace were aroused by these harangues; and, headed by the disaffected nobles, they attacked the cardinals and other ecclesiastics, set fire to the palaces, and compelled the inhabitants to swear allegiance to the new constitution.

The excesses of this ungovernable mob, "the Earth," stirred up all the wrath of "the successor of St. Peter;" who, placing himself at the head of his troops, marched against the city, into which he was admitted after making some trifling concessions. The friends of Arnold were nevertheless still numerous, and for ten or a dozen years they "shut the heaven," or continued to agitate the city. It was not till A.D. 1154, that anything like a settled peace was established. The presence of Arnold and his witnessing brethren in the very face, as it were of "the god of the earth" was the cause of all this tumult. For it was their mission to agitate the waters, and "to shut the heaven, that it rain not in their days of the prophecy; and to turn the waters into blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they willed" (Apoc. 11:6). But at this date, a riot having ensued, Adrian IV. placed the city under an interdict, and from Christmas to Easter deprived it of all catholic worship. This gave a sudden turn to the public mind. Arnold and his friends were expelled from the city, and fled for protection to the Viscount of Campania. Thither the vengeance of the pope pursued them, and he instigated Frederick Barbarossa to force Arnold from his asylum in his territories. Immediately after this he was seized by Cardinal Gerard and burned at the stake, in the midst of the fickle populace, who gazed with stupid indifference on the bold and valiant champion who had fallen in defence of their dearest rights, and whom they had regarded with the highest veneration.

"We may truly say," says Dr. Allix, "that scarcely any man was ever so torn and defamed on account of his doctrine as was this Arnold of Brescia. It was because, with all his power, he opposed the tyranny and usurpation which the popes began to establish over the temporal jurisdiction of the kings of the earth. He was the man who by his counsel renewed the design of re-establishing the authority of the Senate of Rome, and of compelling the pope not to meddle with anything but what con-

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cerned the government of the church, without invading the temporal jurisdiction; this was his crime, and this, indeed, is such a one as is unpardonable with the pope, if there be any such".

Though Arnold, like Garibaldi, was a zealous anti-papist, there is no proof of his belonging to "the Holy City;" but much presumptive evidence that he did not. He was a strenuous advocate of civil and religious liberty, and heretical according to the catholic standard of orthodoxy. But he might be all this, and yet not a christian of the New Testament type. However, he was enlightened enough to impugn the dogma of transubstantiation, and to deny that baptism should be administered to infants. And this alone in catholic judgment was sufficient ground for his condemnation.

The memory of Arnold was long and fondly cherished by his countrymen, and his tragical end occasioned murmurs both loud and deep. His murder was regarded as the act of the Bishop of Rome and his clergy. Arnold's friends, who were numerous, separated themselves from communion with the pope's church, and by the name of Arnoldists long continued to bear their testimony against its numerous abominations, as another of "the remnants of the woman's seed".

A multitude of converts in all the southern provinces of France, and the states of Italy, resulted from the able and faithful labors of these three men. When it became aware of it, the Court of Rome became alarmed, and resorted to torture and destruction for the suppression and extermination of them, as heretics that troubled the church, or "tormented them that dwelt upon the earth" (Apoc. 11:10). "It made war upon them," and ultimately "overcame them, and killed them" (v.7; 13:7); for what was deemed a good and sufficient reason, namely, their tormenting testimony, styled by the catholic destroyer, "HERESY." The following extract from Venema's Ecclesiastical History will serve to show in what their heresy consisted:

"The chief articles of their heresy," says he, "were the following:

1. That the Holy Scriptures were the only source of faith and religion, without regard to the authority of the fathers and tradition; and although they principally used the New Testament, yet, as Usher proves from Reinier and others, they regarded the Old also as canonical scripture. From their greater use of the New Testament, however, their adversaries took occasion to charge them with despising the Old.

2. They held the entire faith, according to all the articles of the apostles' creed.

3. They rejected all the external rites of the dominant church, except baptism and the Lord's Supper; such as temples, vestures, images, crosses, the religious worship of holy relics, and the remaining sacraments, confirmation, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and extreme

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unction; "these they considered as inventions of Satan and the flesh, and full of superstition.

4. They rejected purgatory, with masses and prayers for the dead, acknowledging only two terminations of the present state - heaven and hell; but in what sense of these terms, Venema says not.

5. They admitted no indulgences, nor confessions of sin, with any of their consequences, except mutual confessions of the faithful for instruction and consolation.

6. They held the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist only as signs, denying the corporeal presence of Christ in the eucharist, as we find in the book of this sect concerning Antichrist, and as Ebrard of Bethunia accuses them in his book against heresies.

7. They held only three ecclesiastical orders - bishops, priests or presbyters, and deacons - and that the remainder were human figments: that monasticism or monkery was a putrid carcass, and was the invention of men; and that the marriage of the clergy was lawful and necessary.

8. Finally, they asserted the Roman Church to be the Whore of Babylon; and denied obedience to the pope or bishops, and that the pope had any authority over other churches, or the power of either the civil or ecclesiastical sword".

Towards the end of the twelfth century heresy of this sort grew apace; for a new impulse was given to it by the labors of another enterprising witness against Rome, named PETER WALDO of Lyons. He was an opulent merchant, whose attention was drawn to the Holy Scriptures, which he was able to read for himself in the Latin Vulgate, the only edition of the Bible at that time in Europe. From the Scriptures alone he obtained the knowledge of the way of salvation; and being enlightened in this, he began to teach it to his neighbors. He felt the necessity of their having the word in their own tongue; he therefore, rendered the four testimonies for Jesus into French. This accomplished, he proceeded to expound their contents. Reinerius Saccho, a Romish Inquisitor, says of him, that "being somewhat learned, he taught the people the text of the New Testament in their mother tongue". "His kindness to the poor," says one of the Magdeburgh Centuriators, "being diffused, his love of teaching, and their love of learning, grew stronger and stronger, so that great crowds came to him, to whom he explained the scriptures. He was himself a man of learning; nor was he obliged to employ others to translate for him, as his enemies affirm." Be this as it may, the inhabitants of Europe were indebted to him for the first translation of the Bible into a modern tongue since the time that the Latin had ceased to be a living language - a gift of inestimable value to all who spoke French.

Animated with an enlightened zeal, he repudiated all the dogmas,

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rites, and ceremonies of human invention; and lifted up his voice like a trumpet against the arrogance of the pope arid the reigning vices of the clergy. In short, he seems to have taught the truth in its simplicity, while he exhibited in his own example its excellency, and labored most assiduously to demonstrate the difference between the teaching of the New Testament and that of the blasphemous clergy of the Latin church.

These proceedings of Waldo were reported to the Archbishop of Lyons, who became very indignant. He forbade Peter to teach any more on pain of excommunication, and of being proceeded against as a heretic. But Waldo belonging to a remnant of the woman's seed, was not to be silenced by archiepiscopal authority. He replied, that though a layman, he could not be silent in a matter which concerned his fellow-creatures. Attempts were presently made to apprehend him, but without success: so that he lived concealed in Lyons for a space of three whole years. At the end of these, pope Alexander III. hearing of his doings, anathematized both him and his adherents. The shepherd and his flock were therefore scattered abroad, and like the faithful in Jerusalem on the death of Stephen, "went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:4). Waldo retired into Dauphine, where he preached with great success. Persecuted from place to place, he next retired into Picardy. Driven from thence, he proceeded into Germany, carrying along with him "the testimony of the anointed Jesus." He at length settled in Bohemia, about A.D. 1184, where he continued witnessing until death.

His followers were chiefly called "Leonists," after the city of Lyons, where he commenced his labors: they were also frequently designated "the Poor of Lyons". Numbers of his disciples fled for an asylum into the Valleys of Piedmont, taking with them the new translation of the Scriptures. In this country they mingled with the Paulicians and other witnesses against Romish superstition previously existing there, and were afterwards known by the name of "Waldenses," or Vaudois: they also diffused themselves over the South of France, where they became known as "Albigenses;" for it is the same class of witnesses styled by these different names, according to the different countries, or districts of the same country in which they appeared. In Alsace and along the Rhine, the doctrines of Waldo spread extensively. Persecution followed in their wake. Thirty-five citizens of Mentz were consumed to ashes by the papists in one fire in the city of Bingen, and eighteen in Mentz itself. The bishops of Mentz and Strasburgh breathed nothing but vengeance and slaughter against them; and at Strasburgh, where Waldo himself is said to have narrowly escaped, eight persons were committed to the flames. Multitudes died praising God, and in the confident hope of resurrection to eternal life. The blood of the witnesses

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became the seed of a new generation of faithful ones; and in Bulgaria, Croatia, Dalmatia, and Rungary, societies were established which flourished throughout the thirteenth century.

It is not surprising that the great and rapid increase of the witnesses should stimulate the Court of Rome to great activity against them. Their testimony was tormenting; and it is not in human nature to endure torment without seeking relief. Rome had but one remedy, and that was persecution to the ruin of body and estate. Councils were held in continual succession, and persecuting edicts issued to check the growing evil, though with little or no effect.

The following is an extract from the fourth canon of the council of Tours, held A.D. 1163. Evidently referring to the Albigensian Remnant, it thus proceeds:

"In the country about Toulouse, there sprang up long ago a damnable heresy, which, by little and little, like a cancer, spreading itself to the neighboring places of Gascony, hath already infected many other provinces; which whilst, like a serpent, it hid itself in its own windings and twistings, crept on more secretly, and threatened more danger to the simple and unwary; wherefore we do command all bishops and priests dwelling in these parts, to keep a watchful eye upon these heretics; and under the pain of excommunication, to forbid all persons, as soon as these heretics are discovered, from presuming to afford them any abode in their country, or to lend them any assistance, or to entertain any commerce with them in buying or selling; that so at least, by the loss of the advantages of human society, they may be compelled to repent of the error of their life. And if any prince, making himself partaker of their iniquity, shall endeavor to oppose these decrees, let him be struck with the same anathema. And if they shall be seized by any catholic princes, and cast into prison, let them be punished with confiscation of all their goods. And because they frequently come together from divers parts into one hiding place, and because they have no other ground for their dwelling together save only their agreement and consent error - therefore we will that such their conventicles be both diligently searched after, and, when they are found, that they be examined according to canonical severity".

But, while power was on the side of the oppressor, the Deity had also given power to His witnesses (Apoc. 11:3). This made their sack-cloth witnessing singularly effective, as is very plain from the following extract of a letter from the Archbishop of Narbonne to Louis VII., king of France: "My Lord the King;" says he, "We are extremely pressed with many calamities; amongst which there is one that most of all affects

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us, which is, that the catholic faith is extremely shaken in this our diocese; and St. Peter's boat is so violently tossed by the waves that it is in great danger of sinking"!

The god of the Roman earth was exceedingly incensed at this stormy buffeting of his bark. In A.D .1181, Lucius,. the third pope of that name, fulminated his decree against them, in which he said, "We declare all Catharists, Paterines, and those who call themselves 'the Poor of Lyons,' etc., to lie under a perpetual anathema!" All who presume to buy and sell without authority from the Roman image (Apoc. 13:17) - all who held or taught opinions concerning baptism, the Lord's Supper, remission of sins, marriage, or any of the sacraments of the church, differing from what the holy church of Rome doth teach and observe - are to be judged heretics, and anathematized. The refusal to take an oath is to be deemed a proof of heresy, and treated accordingly; and all the afore-mentioned were to be delivered up to the secular power for punishment, and their goods confiscated to the use of the church. The clergy are enjoined to make vigilant search after all such heretics, and to call to their aid all earls, barons, governors, and consuls of cities, and other places, to execute the ecclesiastical and imperial statutes concerning these matters; and any city that refused to yield obedience to these "decretal constitutions" was to be excluded from all commerce with other cities, and deprived of the episcopal dignity.

These intolerant proceedings, directed chiefly against the witnessing remnants of the Woman's seed in the south of France, drove multitudes of them into and across the Pyrenees, into Spain; in consequence of which, Ildefonsus, king of Aragon, published an edict, A.D. 1194, charging and commanding all the "Waldenses, Insabbati, who are otherwise called 'the Poor of Lyons,' and all other heretics, who cannot be numbered, being excommunicated from the Holy Church, adversaries to the cross of Christ, violaters and corrupters of the Christian religion, to depart out of our kingdom, and all our dominions." Moreover, "whosoever from that day forward, should presume to receive the Waldenses, Insabbati, or any other heretics, of whatsoever profession, into their houses, or be present at their pernicious sermons, or afford them meat or any other favor, should incur the indignation of Almighty God, as well as that of his majesty - have his goods confiscated, without the remedy of an appeal; and be punished as if he were actually guilty of high treason!" Such was the state of matters at the end of the twelfth century; and it may serve to make the reader's mind more appreciative to the appalling scenes of slaughter and carnage inflicted upon the woman's seed in the war upon them by "the Beast that ascendeth out of the abyss" (Apoc. 11:7). See Vol.3, p.268-269; and ch. 13:21.

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Chapter 13

THE LAODICEAN STATE

CONTINUED

The Laodicean State, typified by the Apocalyptic ecclesia at Laodicea, is parallel with the Seventh Seal Period from its opening to the Fall of the apocalyptic Babylon after the appearing of "THE ANCIENTOF DAYS."

From A.D. 324 to A.D. 1864-'8, or thereabout.

See Vol.1, p.428

2. SECOND GENERAL DIVISION OF THE

SEVEN SEALED SCROLL

The Seventh Seal, Seven Trumpets, and the Six Vials to the appearing of Christ "as a thief;" exhibitirig the development of the Ten Horns of Daniel's Fourth Beast in the wounding of the Sixth Head and the establishment of the Seventh; (Apoc. 8) the subversion of the Greek Catholic Dynasty of Constantinople, (Apoc. 9) the rising of Daniel's eleventh Episcopal Horn, or Eighth Head, that speaks blasphemies, and "as a Dragon;" (Apoc. 13:1-5, 11-18; 17) the war of the Saints and Witnesses with this power; their subjugation, death, resurrection, and ascension to the heaven at the ending of the Sixth Trumpet; (Apoc. 11:3-12; 12:14,16,17; 13:6-10) judgments upon their enemies, the Horns, Eighth Head, and Image; (Apoc. 16:1-11) and the preparation of their way (Apoc. 16:12-14).

TIME OF EVENTS

From A.D. 324 to the Fall Seasons of A.D. 1864-'8, or thereabout.

SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 13

The Apostle John, standing upon the Sand of the Sea, beholds a Beast ascending out of the sea, even that beast he alluded to in Ch. 11:7,

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as the destroyer of the Witnesses. Like the Dragon, it had Seven Reads and Ten Horns; and its power, throne, and great authority, it acquired from the Dragon. Thus it divided the Habitable with the Dragon; so that the inhabitants thereof worship the Dragon and the Beast. Upon the Seven Heads he saw a Name of Blasphemy, to which was given a Mouth like a Lion, with which he gave utterance to the great things and blasphemies he conceived. He sees them in continuance forty and two months, in the course of which long period they make war upon the saints and at length overcome them.

After the ascending of this beast from the sea, John beholds another beast ascending out of the earth, having Two Horns and speaking as a Dragon. After his ascent, he sees this beast in contemporaneous existence with the other; and of like constitution with the wounded head of the Ten-Horned Beast. John also sees an IMAGE of the Wounded Head, which the Two-Horned Beast caused to be set up; and to which all on the earth of every degree were subjected.

The Name of the Beast symbolically revealed.

TRANSLATION

Apoc. 13

1. And I stood upon the Sand of the Sea, and I saw ascending out of the Sea a Beast, having Seven Heads and Ten Horns: and upon his horns Ten Diadems, and upon his heads a NAME OF BLASPHEMY.

2. And the beast which I saw was like to a Leopard, and his feet as of a Bear, and his Mouth as the mouth of a Lion: and the Dragon yielded to him his power and his throne, and extensive authority.

3. And I saw one of his heads as if wounded to death: and the plague of his death was healed; and there was wondering in the whole earth after the beast.

4. And they worshipped the Dragon which yielded dominion to the Beast; and they worshipped the Beast, saying, Who is like to the Beast? Who is able to make war with him?

5. And there was given to him a Mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was granted to him license to practice. Forty-Two Months.

6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy concerning the Deity, to have blasphemed his NAME, and his Tabernacle, and those who tabernacle in the heaven.

7. And it was given to him to make war with the Holy Ones, and to over-come them: and there was given to him dominion over every tribe and tongue and nation

8. And all the dwellers upon the earth shall worship him, of whom there hath not been written the names before the foundation of the world, in the book of the Life of the Lamb that hath been slain.

9. If any one have an ear, let him hear.

10. If any gathereth together a cap-

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tivity, into captivity he goes away; if any shall kill with the sword, it behooves that he be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.

And I saw another Beast ascending out of the Earth; and he had Two Horns like to a Lamb, and he spake as a Dragon.

And all the dominion of the former beast he exerciseth in his sight: and he causeth the earth, and the dwellers therein, that they worship the former beast whose plague of his death was healed.

And he performs great signs, so that he even causeth fire to descend out of the heaven into the earth in sight of the men.

. And he deceiveth the dwellers upon the earth through the signs which it was given to him to perform in the sight of the beast, commanding the dwellers upon the earth to make an IMAGE to the beast which hath the plague of the sword, and lived.

15. And it was given to him to give spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might both speak and practice, that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16. And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there should be given to them a mark upon their right hand, or upon their foreheads;

17. and that no one be able to buy or to sell, but he having the mark, or the Name of the Beast, or the Number of his Name.

18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath the understanding, count the Number of the Beast: for it is a Man's Number, and his number is Six Hundred and Sixty-six.

I. BEAST OF THE SEA

1. Preliminary Remarks

In the first year of Belshatzar, the prophet Daniel saw in a vision of the night, Four Beasts. The first resembled a Lion; the second, a Bear; the third, a Leopard; but the fourth was like nothing seen among beasts. It was diverse from all the beasts that were before it," which signifies, according to the interpretation given in Ch. 7:23, "diverse from all kingdoms."

The vision was communicated to him with special reference to this Incongruous fourth beast. It had a head, and upon his head Eleven Horns, and claws of brass, and teeth of iron. Daniel saw it arise in a stormy period out of the Great Sea; and he perceived that it continued until the Ancient of Days came, when, judgment having been given to the Holy Ones, or Saints of the Most High Ones, they destroyed it with fire and sword.

This simple statement of facts identifies the Fourth Beast of Daniel with the Scarlet-colored Beast of John in Apoc. 17:3,11. The light shed upon the subject in these texts, reveals that the head seen by Daniel was

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the Sixto-Octavian, or the last; and gives us to understand what was concealed from the prophet, that the nameless beast he saw had Eight Heads. John's Scarlet Beast 'goeth into perdition." Daniel saw this consummation; and John saw the perdition inflicted by the same agents -by the Lamb, and his called and chosen, and faithful companions-the Saints (Ch. 17:14).

Now, a beast with an eighth head and ten horns, contemporary with the advent of the Ancient of Days, implies its previous existence, either under seven heads coevally extant, or under seven heads successively existing. The revelator disposes of this alternative by telling John that five of the heads had fallen, that the sixth was in being in his day, and that the seventh had not then as yet come. Hence this succession of heads, and development of horns upon the imperial head, implies the subjection of the Fourth Beast to successive revolutionary changes. Daniel saw one revolution connected with its horns, in which an Eleventh Horn with Eyes and Mouth, came up upon the head after the

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Picture of Beast pg 178 not shown

I considered the horns and behold there came up among them another little horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man and a mouth speaking great things (Dan 7 8) the Papacy in power

..' .... .

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ten horns, of which it rooted up three; but in regard to the head he saw nothing.

Thus there is a great lack of particulars in Daniel's vision, which the Deity "reserved in his own power," as not important to be made known at that time. He gave Daniel a general outline of "the matter," in symbol and its description; but he deferred the details, or a more particular representation, until he sh6uld give them to "the Son of Man" in actual manifestation. When the Son had received them of the Father, he sent his messenger and signified them to John in Patmos. Among the signs exhibited were the Great Fiery-Red Dragon, the Catholic Dragon, the Beast of the Sea, the Name of Blasphemy, the Beast of the Earth, the Image of the Beast, and the Woman-Bearing Scarlet-Beast. All these apocalyptic signs are contained in Daniel's Fourth Beast. They are a symbolical analysis of this beast, which they exhibit in its chronological, geographical, and constitutional relations at different periods of its long and eventful, or its "dreadful and terrible," career.

Thus, Daniel's Fourth Beast commences its career with the Foundation of Rome, B.C. 753, and does not finish it until after the advent of Christ and the resurrection, of which long period 2,621 years are now in the past. It was predestined to "devour the whole earth, and to tread it down, and to break it in pieces" (Dan. 7:23). This is the extent of what is styled in Apoc. 16:14, "the earth and the whole habitable" - its territorial dominion in its amplest extent; and comprehending the countries represented by the dynastic sovereignties of the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron, and the clay, of Nebuchadnezzar's Image. This is the whole earth, and exhibits the reason why Britain, France, and Russia, elements of Daniel's Fourth Beast, have been so much occupied of late In China, Cochin-China, India, Mexico, Algiers, and Central Asia. These countries added to Europe, Turkey, and America, are "the whole earth" subdued to the authority of the Fourth Beast.

But, besides Daniel's Four Beasts, and their appendages, the prophet saw a class of people, for whose sake all things consist (2 Cor. 4:15). These he styles, "the Saints of the Most High Ones." They are the Seed of the Woman, against which the Fourth Beast in many centuries of his career, would have great and deadly "enmity;" for all the elements of said beast are "the Serpent" and his seed; or, in the words of Christ, ~the Devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41; Gen. 3:15). He was to make war upon them, and to prevail against them till the end of "a time, times, and the dividing of a time," when the Ancient of Days would come, and join them in the execution of judgment unto the utter and complete destruction of their enemy.

Now this, in the estimation of Deity, is an all important matter; and

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all worthy of ample illustration for the support and strengthening of "the faith and patience" of the sufferers in so long and sanguinary a conflict with the beast. Hence the signs apocalyptically exhibited to John. This one, especially, which he calls attention to as "the Beast ascending out of the Sea;" for, like Daniel's beast, it makes war upon them, and over-comes them; yea, and kills their allies, the witnesses (Apoc. 11:7; 13:7): but then, there is hope in their end. For, as this great sea monster "gathereth them into a captivity and killeth them with the sword" -fills his prisons with them and puts them to death; so the serpent-seed he represents are to receive measure for measure, heaped up and shaken down; or, as Daniel expresseth it, "he shall be slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." "Here is the patience and faith of the Saints."

But the saints were not to be scattered over "the whole earth," or fourth-beast habitable in its amplest signification; but, for two distinct, and partly parallel periods of 1260 years, to be fed and nourished in the Two Wings of the Great Eagle. Because of the Serpent's relations to them in the wilderness, or Court of the Gentiles, in their long antagonism, it was deemed necessary for the illustration of the times, to exhibit the Fourth Beast analytically. And this is the analysis with reference to him in his conflicts with the saints. The Fourth Beast made war upon them from the crucifixion of the Captain of their salvation, until A.D. 324. Daniel did not see this war in his vision; but John saw it; and predicted that the saints' would come out of the conflict victorious. This victory we have seen celebrated in the twelfth chapter, tenth and eleventh verses. In this relation the fourth beast appears as "the Great Fiery-Red Dragon." While this constitution of power obtained, its jurisdiction extended over "the whole habitable," but not over "the whole earth," as when the Ancient of Days comes. Had this particular been revealed to Daniel, it might have been in these words, "And the Great Fiery-Red Dragon made war upon the Saints; but the Saints overcame him, and cast him out of the heaven." But the Spirit condescended to be more specific; and instead of this brief and summary statement, represented the stages of the conflict ultimating in that result, in the prophetic symbols of the first six seals.

But the Fourth Beast, though vanquished in this war of two hundred and ninety-one years, was not subdued: for afterwards, as we have seen, he put on a new uniform, and in all the sanctimonials of Lodiceanism, "he went away to make war with the Remnants of the Woman's Seed." He was the Fourth Beast in catholic uniform; and although he inflicted great cruelties upon the saints, he did not overcome them, nor have they as yet conquered him.

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But Daniel saw the saints conquered by the Fourth Beast. That is true in part. He saw them conquered by a horn of the fourth beast, styled "a Little Horn that had eyes, like the eyes of a man, and a Mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows." This Little-Horn power subdued them, and prevails against them until the Ancient of Days come. Representative of this prevalance, we have the symbols of this thirteenth chapter. The Beast of the Sea, like the Catholic Dragon, who, since the cession of his throne, has assumed the uniform of Mohammed, is the enemy of the saints; and for the very obvious reason, that the Mouth of the Sea-Monster is the veritable Mouth of Daniel's Little Horn whose "very great things" John characterizes as "blasphemy concerning the Deity to have blasphemed his Name, and his tabernacle, and those tabernacling in the heaven." And for the same reason the Beast of the Earth is their enemy; for the Speaking Image he sets up is the embodiment of the same Mouth which commands all be killed who will not worship it. This command brings it into collision with the Saints, who worship no power but the Deity in manifestation. Hence war ensues between them and the beasts. This is the war Daniel saw; and both he and John testify that the Saints were prevailed against; while John goes further and explains the prevalence by saying their allies, the Two Witnesses, were killed.

In this thirteenth chapter, we have presented to us Daniel's Fourth Beast under the analytic symbols of the Dragon, the Beast of the Sea, the Beast of the Earth, and the Image of the Beast. The throne of the Dragon was Rome, so long as the Roman Senate existed there, and the Seven Heads of the Dragon were incomplete. But when this throne was "yielded," and the Roman Senate expired, the throne of the Dragon was confined to Constantinople exclusively. The jurisdiction the Dragon-Power was able to reserve extended over all the habitable Eastward of a line following the Rhine up to its point of nearest proximity to the source of the Danube, that is, half way between Strasburg and Basle; thence down the Danube to Belgrade; and thence southwardly to Dyrrachium, now called Durazzo, and across the Adriatic and Mediterranean to the Syrtis Major and the great Desert of Africa. All to the east-ward of this line was the Constantinopolitan Dragon, or Greek division of the Great Roman Eagle, and comprehended MCSIA, or Bosnia, Servia, and Bulgaria: THRACE, or Roumelia; Macedonia, Greece, ASIA MINOR, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt. This was a great diminution of the original Dragon dominion; still it was ample, and sovereign over rich and fertile regions.

The Beast of the Sea divided the Roman habitable with the Catholic Dragon of the East. They are the two limbs of Nebuchadnez-

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zar's Image. The dominion of this Sea Monster was, as John predicted, "extensive". It ruled all the habitable to the Westward of said line, including France, Spain, the Roman Africa, Italy, and the region between the Alps and the Rhine, Danube, and Save, anciently known under the names of Rhtia, Noricum, and Pannonia, but in our times as Switzerland, half Suabia, Bavaria, and Austria and the western part of Hungary. In this outline I have not included England, Scotland, and Ireland, for reasons which need not be mentioned in this place.

The beast, which John styles "another Beast," and which he says "ascended out of the earth," came up among the Horns of the Sea Beast, and after they had made their appearance (Dan. 7:8,24). The Beast of the Earth was to be "diverse" from the Beast of the Sea, and to subdue three of its horns. These three horn-territories were so much of the Dragon Fourth Beast habitable taken from the Beast of the Sea; and conferred upon it the Roman characteristic. A map of Central Europe will exhibit the Beast of the Earth with sufficient accuracy. Its acquisition of ROME conferred upon it the quality of holiness in the estimation of its worshippers; so that by them it came to be styled "THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE." It comprehended Italy, Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, and Germany to the North and Baltic seas. Its secular throne, in the beginning, was at AIX-LACHAPELLE, but afterwards at VIENNA; and its spiritual seat in ROME. The Beast of the Earth is an extension of Daniel's Fourth Beast northwards through the forests of Germany, in which the Romans of the old world could never effect a permanent settlement.

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The Beast of the Sea emerged after the collapse of the western Empire in 475 A.D. It was superseded by the Holy Roman Empire, or Beast of the earth in 800. The Dragon resented the military power of eastern Rome centered in Constantinople which fell to the Turkish Power in 1453.

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As, then, the moon hath her different phases, called new, half, gibbous, and full, nevertheless the same moon; so also Daniel's Fourth Beast hath his phases, which are different constitutional manifestations, yet the beast remains the same to the end of his "dreadful and terrible" career. He has nearly passed through his Sea-Beast and Earth-Beast phases; that is, in certain relations: but there yet awaits him a vast extension, and a constitutional development of thirty years duration which will be final. In this future and last phase of his existence, he will stand before the nations in his most dreadful and terrible aspect, scarlet of body with sin and blood, with his SIXTO-OCTAVIAN HEAD diademed with Ten Horns, and a Drunken Harlot sitting upon his back. Thus panoplied with the Mystery of Iniquity in Church and State, he will have consummated the mission revealed to Daniel, in the full discharge of which, he was to "devour the whole earth, and tread it down, and break, it in pieces." Having accomplished this, "he goeth into perdition," where in the popular abyss, he is bound for a thousand years (Apoc. 17:11; 20:1-3).

2. The Prophetic Stand-Point of the Vision

Picture of Isle of Patmos not shown

Daniel reclined upon his bed and dreamed but John stood upon the Sand of the Sea, and saw thtngs beartng resemblances to what he deemed sufficiently striking to establish their identity. Daniel says that It was stormy in his vision; or, as he expresses it, "the four winds of the heaven strove." But in this thirteenth chapter John says nothing about a strife of winds; but simply "I stood." I take it therefore that there is a sense in which John's standing is equivalent to storminess of the situation. Any one who has stood upon the sea shore, especially if rocky, will know that the situation is not characterized by silence, or the absence of noise. On the contrary, the roar of the waters is incessant. If the sea were quiescent as a pond, then to stand upon its beach would be to ex-

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perience the silence and solitude of the boundless prairie. Such a standing for observation of phenomena would be symbolical of times of tranquillity and peace. But this could not be the nature of John's standing; for no such politico-ecclesiastical organizations could ascend into a position to command, or rather, to divide the command of, the world in halcyon days undisturbed by the storms of war and conquest. His standing then upon the margin of the roaring waters was significant of the storminess of the times, when what he "saw" should ascend to dominion "in the whole earth," en hole te ge. He stood, and the roar he heard was "the multitude of many peoples, making a noise like the noise of the seas; the rushing of nations, making a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters." Such a roaring of the waters implies a tumult of the sea from the strife of words. This implication places John and Daniel side by side as spectators of the storm. Daniel saw the four winds lashing the sea into fury; east, west, north, and south winds, all blowing upon the same sea. No ship could live in such a storm.

Each of Daniel's four beasts, or dominions, was brought up out of the sea by the four winds of his vision. The Fourth Beast was brought up thereby; and so was his Sea-Beast development; and John apocalyptically beheld the same four winds as he "stood upon the Sand of the Sea, and saw." This leads me to remark as to the time of his standing. He stood there while the Four Winds continued the storm. The winds producing the roar of the sea, were "the four winds of the earth," which, in their blowing, gave voice to the first four trumpets, which in my Tabular Analysis, Vol.2 p.114, are styled, "Wind Trumpets." And from this tabular exposition I would transfer the "note" in Vol.2 pg. 115, as appropriate to the place. It reads thus: "The judgments of these four winds culminate in the development of the Seventh Head, which 'continues a short space'; and of the Ten Diademed Horns of the Beast that rises out of the sea; in the 'wounding as it were to death' of its Sixth Head; and in the consequent cession by the Dragon of his power, throne and dominion over the affected Third Part, which before the blowing of those winds, was a constituent of his empire". The time of tbis stormy period is indicated on p.115 of that volume, as "from A.D. 395 to A.D. 554-'59, the epoch, or beginning, of the darkened day and night in the third of them, being equal to a period of 159-'64 years." The reader will please compare what is written here concerning the "time of events," and correct what he finds on p.115 under this caption, by this erratum.

Now the time represented by John's standing on the sand, was all the time of the sounding of the four wind-trumpets, to the end of the darkened day and night in their third part. This was a long period; but

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defined by the work done as revealed in this chapter. It was a period of 405 years. This was the time of his symbolic standing upon the Sand of the Sea, beholding the development of the Fourth Beast, in its Seventh Head, Ten Horns, and Little Horn, with Man's Eyes and a Lion's Mouth. The four hundred and five years are composed of 164, from the beginning of the first trumpet to the darkening of Rome's day in the epoch of the Pragmatic Sanction, or settlement of Italian affairs, by Justinian, A.D. 554-'9. "Under the Exarchs of Ravenna," says Gibbon, "Rome was degraded to the second rank." Rome had hitherto been imperial or regal, under the Sixth and Seventh Heads of the Dragon; but she was now, as the consequence of the blowing of the four wind-trumpets, neither the one nor the other; but a city which had "reigned over the kings of the earth" (Apoc. 17:18), now degraded to a rank in which she exercised no sovereignty at all. She was therefore now in a state of eclipse both in respect of the luminaries of her day and night; for "the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise" (Apoc. 8:8,12). The reader will please connect, by reference, what I am now writing with what appears in Vol. 3pp. 68-75. The phrase "the third part of the day," and "the third part of the night," implies a whole day and a whole night, each equal to the third part three times repeated. With the Jews, a day and a night were each twelve hours long; so that "a third part of' a day would be four hours; and "a third part of' a night, also four hours; in all eight hours. Now there is a certain class of Laodicean speculators in apocalyptic mysteries, who style themselves "Literalists," and who would have us to believe that day and night signify nothing more than what is ordinarily meant by these terms!, So that they would reduce us to the absurdity of believing, that the events of the four trumpets culminated in the darkening of the natural sun, moon, stars, day and night, for the short period of only eight literal hours! But this folly is too ridiculous for an argument against it, or for a serious refutation. The "day" and the "night" must be proportional to the subject treated of. The subject is the obscuration of the luminaries of a political universe of a dominion. These are things of centuries. Their day and their night, is their day-time and their night-time of ages. Hence a time is a minor cycle contained in the aeon, or aeon, of their duration. The aeon of the Sea-Monster's Mouth is three cycles and a half, or three times and a half, or three days and a half, or 1260 years and as a cycle, or circle, is geometrically divisible into three hundred and sixty equal parts -A time or day, is a year of years, or 360 lunar years. Rome's lights which ruled her day and night times were not eclipsed for a whole day and a whole night: but only for a third of each of these times. Had she lost her rule for a whole day and a whole night, her ruling would have been suppressed

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for seven hundred and twenty years, or a dual of times: but as it was, her day-time and her night-time only ceased shining two hundred and forty years, which are the sum of the thirds predicted; for the third of a day-time of three hundred and sixty years is one hundred and twenty years: and the third of a night-time of three hundred and sixty' years; is also one hundred and twenty years; and these two periods of one hundred and twenty years each added together give two hundred and forty years. Now if these 240 years be added to A.D. 559, the epoch of Rome's degradation, it gives the sum A.D. 799; when, if my exposition of the symbolic time of the Fourth Trumpet be correct, history ought to testify Rome's restoration to the IMPERIAL DIGNITY from which she had been degraded by the will of the Catholic Dragon. Now John informs us, that he stood and saw the ascending of the Sea-Beast and the ascending of the Earth-Beast: this then was the period of his standing - he stood while they were ascending. The latter Beast was developed imperially, with Rome for its tempo-spiritual throne, A.D. 799. Hence John's standing upon the Sand of the Sea reaches, in its significance, to this date, or to the end of the 240 years. Add then these years to the terminal epoch of the fourth trumpet, and we have a period of 405 years - a stormy period, which changed the face of the world; and laid the foundation of a polity, which, after a lapse of more than a thousand years, is manifest in the existing constitution of MODERN EUROPE.

3. The Sand of the Sea

But John in his symbolic standing "stood upon the Sand of the Sea". There must be some meaning in this standing upon the sand. In the tenth chapter the "mighty angel" stands upon the earth and sea; and in the fifteenth, John's brethren, and John himself, therefore, are seen standing upon the transparent sea, no longer mingled with fire; evincing that they had gotten the victory over the Ten Horned Beast, and the Image of the Sixth Head of the Beast, which had ascended out of the stormy sea while John stood upon the sand thereof. But here John stands not upon the earth to view the ascent of the Beast of the Earth; nor upon the sea to behold the ascent of the Beast of the Sea; but upon the sand of the sea to see the ascent of them both.

Jeremiah says, that the Deity placed the sand for a bound oft he sea- ch. 5:22. This is true in a natural sense; when, therefore, the sand of the sea is introduced into symbolical prophetic writing, it must be taken to represent the bound, shore, or limit, of the symbolical sea. But the sand of the sea is also the similitude for a multitude of people. Thus Hosea predicts the multitude into which Israel shall be developed in the

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day of their glory under this figure, saying in Ch. 1:10, "the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand oft he sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered": and sand also in the sense of multitude we find used apocalyptically in chapter 20:8, where the hosts of the post-millennial Gog and Magog, or Dragon released from confinement in the abyss, are compared to the Sand of the Sea.

Now John was "a man wondered at," a man of sign, or as we say in our vernacular, a representative man; and his actions and postures, like Daniel's and Ezekiel's, were dramatic. Hence John upon the sand represented that portion of "the great multitude which no man can number" (Apoc. 7:9) existing contemporaneously with the ascending of the beasts out of the sea; and who refused to worship the Image of the Beast, and would not receive his mark, nor the number of his name (ch. 13:15; 15:2). The position they occupied in the four hundred years of the ascending of the monsters of the sea and the earth, was that of neutral observers of events; whose antipathies were against their old enemy the Catholic Dragon, who was compelled by the four wind-trumpet powers to "yield his power, throne and an extensive dominion" to the Ten Horns. The judgments of the four wind-trumpets were not sent against the servants of the Deity, sealed in their foreheads with the Father's name (chap. 7:3; 14:1) whom John represented; but upon the catholic worshippers of daimonia and idols (ch. 9:20). Hence John's multitude in the Wings, or extremities, of the Great Eagle, had the sympathy of "the barbarians" who rushed in upon the Dragon's domain to establish king-doms for themselves. The saints and witnesses being at war with the Dragon (ch. 12:17), his enemies, "the barbarians," would naturally be their friends; so that, while the Dragon and the barbarians were in tempestuous and stormy conflict, their multitude in the Roman Africa atid the Alpine regions would hear the roar of the tempest-tossed sea, standing as it were upon the shore.

4. The Sea

In the Hebrew tongue any collection of waters is termed seas as in Gen. 1:10, "The gathering together of the waters, he called seas." The word before us in the original is thalassa, on which the lexicon says, "when Homer uses it of a particular sea, he means the Mediterranean, for he calls the outer sea Okeanos, Ocean, and holds it to be a river. Herodotus calls the Mediterranean the inside sea; and the Ocean, the outside sea; the Latins called it MARE NOSTRUM, "Our Sea" as it is geographically and apocalyptically. What Matthew in ch. 8:20, calls thalassa, Luke in ch. 8:23, terms limne, a lake, or, an inland sea.

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"Many waters," says Daubuz, "upon the account of their noise, number, and disorder, and confusion of their waves, are the symbol of peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. The symbol is so explained in Rev. 17:15. And in Jer. 47:2, waters signify an army, or multitude of men. The comparison of the noise of a multitude to the noise of mighty or many waters, is used by Isaiah in ch. 17:12,13, much after the same manner as Homer compares the noise of a multitude to the noise of the waves of a sea in a storm."

"SEA, clear and serene, denotes an orderly collection of people, in a quiet and peaceable state." "Sea, troubled and tumultuous, signifies a collection of men in motion and war. Either way, the waters signifying people, and the sea being a collection of waters, the sea becomes the symbol of people, gathered into one body politic, kingdom, or jurisdiction, or united in one design."

"The resemblance between the noise of an enraged sea, and the noise of an army, or multitude in commotion is obvious, and frequently taken notice of by the prophets."

Daubuz truly remarks, that "the accomplishment of a prophecy must be considered, and consequently applied according to the signification of the terms by which it is expressed. This signification is either symbolical or literal. But it happens sometimes that there are occasions in which the event appears to be suitable to both these. The first signification, if the terms are in their nature symbolical, is the principle in the intention; the second, if joined with the other, is only concurrent. If both suit the terms, the first (or symbolical) must always have the preference, as being the more noble, and worthy of the Holy Spirit's care to foretell it; and then we may give way to the latter, where it will concur. The principal event is that which answers fully to the majesty and first intention of the symbols; in which God does, as it were, speak in His own dialect, and so is always of greater extent, and more comprehensive than any other. The secondary event of a symbolical prediction is, when such an event, being also concomitant with the other, answers more nearly to the literal signification of the terms in which the symbolical prediction is expressed; and, as it were, alters the nature of the symbols, as if they were literal characters of the things meant by them. An example will set this in a clear light. The prophet Nahum predicts the over-throw of Nineveh in these words: 'with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof (Ch. 1:8). An overrunning flood is the symbol of desolation by a victorious enemy. The accomplishment, however, showed the signification to be two-fold, that is, symbolical and also literal. Diodorus informs us, that in the third year of the Siege, the river being swollen with continual rains overflowed part of the city, and

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broke down the wall for twenty furlongs; and the enemy entered the breach that the waters had made, and took the city."

According to the same principles, the Sand of the Sea, and the Sea itself may be rightly viewed in the chapter before us. The events in their accomplishment show that the signification of the Sea is both symbolical and literal. Daniel's vision of the ascendency of the Horns plalnly shows, that their manifestation was in connexion with the literal LATIN SEA, the Mediterranean. His words are, "the four winds of the heaven strove upon THE GREAT SEA." This was the name given to the Mediterranean, or Sea in the midst of the earth, by the Hebrews. He describes the four beasts that came up out of it, as four dominions: and in the interpretation, the Sea is styled the Earth; and the beasts arising out of it, are termed kings (Ver. 17,3). Compare the symbol in verse 3, with the signification in verse 17: thus, "Four beasts came up from the sea (upon which the winds strove); diverse one from another;" and now read the explanation, "These great beasts which are four are four kings which shall arise out of the earth". Now the fourth king was the "dreadful and terrible" one. He came up with his body, head, and horns Out of the Great Sea, in the sense of arising out of the countries by which the sea is almost enclosed as a lake. Here is a blending of the symbolical and the literal; and so, that in the interpretation, the symbolical is anchored to the literal; by which I mean, that we must not go away to the Baltic, and Atlantic, and German Oceans, to find the fourth beast and his heads and horns; but must confine our investigations to those countries which in the days of the prophecy had outlets upon the Great Sea.

Now, what Daniel beheld arising out of the sea as the results of the storms of war upon it, John also saw in part from his Patmian stand-point ascending from the same sea and in the same sense. He saw the kingdoms and empires of Modern Europe so far as their origin was Mediterranean, ascending from this sea. He stood literally upon its Patmian Shore, in a numerous cluster of its islands, which were as but the sands of its coast; and from this, as the representative of a multitude occupying the wings of this sea-region, he saw kingdoms arise from the symbolic sea inhabiting the literal maritime earth enclosing the Latin Sea, of which he has presented us with a symbolical description in the chapter we have in hand.

5. The Bottomless Pit

"The Beast that ascendeth out of the Bottomless Pit" - Ch. 11:7

In the apocalypse there are the earth, the sea, the sand of the sea, the abyss, and the pit of the abyss. All these terms have their own special

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signification where they occur. The sea, the sand of the sea, and the abyss styled in the Common Version, "the bottomless pit," are related to the Beast of ch. 11:7 and chapter 13:1. In the former text, it is said to ascend out of the abyss, and in the latter, out of the sea. But, though the terms expressive of the place of origin are two different ones, there are not two different beasts, but one and the same beast only. But then, why are these two different terms employed with reference to the same beast? There must be a reason for it. In elucidation of this inquiry, then, I remark in addition to what has already been written in Vol.3. p.85, that, though in the Septuagint and certain texts of the New Testament, abyss, or abussos, is identical with the sea and deep, yet symbolically and apocalyptically, sea and deep do not represent all that is intended to be conveyed by the word.

Map of Roman empire at its greatest extent not shown pg 190

Abussos is derived from a priv. and bussos, the depth, and therefore signifies, that which is not, or has not been, fathomed; hence, in general, boundless, exhaustless. The apocalyptic terms above recited are terms of extension. The sea and the earth of this chapter are coextensive with the Mediterranean and its countries to the Rhine, and Danube; these were a deep that had been politically bounded, or fathomed: but, what of that vast unmeasured, or boundless, region beyond? That region styled in John's time, Germania, European and Asiatic Sarmatia, and Scythia, beyond the Rhine, the Danube, the Carpathian Mountains, the Dniester, the Black Sea, the Caucasian Mountains, and the Caspian Sea? This was a wild, unsubdued wilderness stretching along the northern frontier of the Great Roman Eagle, inhabited by swarms of fierce barbarians, whom the Romans were unable to fathom, or to bring

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within the appreciable depths of the earth and sea. They were an unorganized confused multitude an abyss of which no conqueror or legislator had been able to reach the bottom.

But how changed this country of the abyss since John stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw arise out of the Latin Sea and the Earth, the Beasts of the Sea and Earth! Since then the Abyss has been fathomed, and no longer erupts its wild barbaric hordes in destructive inundations, whereby suddenly and without warning, cities and rural districts are plundered and reduced to smoking ruins. The abyss, which was "the Northern Hive" from which swarmed forth the destroying agents of the first four trumpets, sounded against the Roman Earth and Sea, is now the area of Germany from the Rhine and Danube to the Baltic, Bohemia, Poland, the Great Russian empire, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. In the times of the ascending of the Sea Beast, these were the ultramarine, abyssal fountains of the Great Sea; which, when broken up, roared forth their floods and tempests, and developed upon the Latin Habitable the Ten-Horn Kingdoms of Modern Europe. Hence the reason why the same beast is attributed to different sources. He came latent, or hidden, as it were, being as yet undeveloped, from the outlying abyssal region, when the Barbarians of the North rushed in upon the sea, and the rivers, and the fountains of waters, belonging to the Catholic Dragon: and he came up above the waters of the sea when the invading hosts of the abyss effected settlements upon the Dragon-territory, and were developed into the Ten Diademed Horns of the Beast.

But, very different to this is the speculation culled from "Horsley's Sermon on the Descent of our Lord into Hell." He says, "the abyss is where the wicked spirits are reserved in chains unto the great day. This abyss is situated in the central regions of the earth, and therefore is below the sea. It is therefore not impossible that in the ascent of the Beast (Rev. 13:1; 17:8) two different ideas may be combined. He might be described as arising out of the sea in reference to his secular and political resurrection; and as ascending out of the abyss, or region of condemned spirits, with relation to his spiritual removal. Moreover, even if he ascended from Hades, the sea might be the medium of his ascent; and there is a peculiar fitness in its being so represented, to denote his arising out of the commotions and struggles of the nations, the symbolical sea."

"According to the Jews," says Daubuz, "the abyss was a place under the earth, in the most internal parts of it, and was thought to be a great receptacle of waters as a reservatory to furnish all the springs or rivers. And this opinion was not only held by the Egyptians, Homer, and Plato, but also by some of the modern philosophers. And Seneca

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seems to be of the same opinion. And in this sense, the abyss symbolically signifies a hidden multitude of confused men."

6. The Beast

"A Beast," says Daubuz, "is the symbol of a tyrannical, usurping power or monarchy, that destroys its neighbors or subjects, and preys upon all about it, and persecutes the church of God?

"The four beasts in Dan. 7:3, are explained in ver. 7, of four kings or kingdoms, as the word king is interpreted, yer. 23.

"In several other places of Scripture wild beasts are the symbol of tyrannical powers; as in Ezek. 34:28, and Jer. 12:9, where the beasts of the field are explained by the Targum, of the kings of the heathen and their armies.

"Among profane authors, the comparison of cruel governors to savage beasts, is obvious. And Horace calls the Roman People a many-headed beast - Lib. 1, Ep. 1 ver. 76. And as for the Oneirocritics, wild beasts are generally the symbols of enemies, whose malice and power is to be judged of in proportion to the nature and magnitude of the wild beasts they are represented by. 'As a roaring lion and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people"' (Prov. 28:15).

Upon the principle of this proverb the beasts of the apocalypse are symbolical of wicked rulers. They are "dreadful and terrible" to the choicest of mankind; for it is written, "the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss," said the Spirit, "will make war upon my two witnesses, and will overcome them, and kill them" (Apoc. 11:7); and the same thing is affirmed of the beast of the sea in ch. 13:7, as, "and it was given unto him to make war with the Saints, and to overcome them;" but in relation to these, which he overcomes, or treads them, as the Holy City, under foot, it does not say that he kills them as he killed the witnesses. Truly, as a roaring lion and a ranging bear," have these apocalyptic beasts been to the poor saints and witnesses over whom they have tyrannized for ages.

The general description of this symbolized dominion is, that it has seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his head the Name of Blasphemy." These are few words, but they comprehend much of an interesting and important character. I shall take them in their order, and proceed to treat therefore of

7. The Seven Heads of the Beast

"The Head of a beast answers to the supreme power, and that whether the supreme power be in one single person or in many. For as

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the power abstractly is not considered, so neither the persons abstracted from their power; but both in concreto, make up this head politic. And, therefore, if the supreme power be in many, those many are the head, and not the less one head for consisting of many persons, no more than the body is less one body for consisting of many persons." Daubuz.

The Beast of the Sea has seven heads as well as the Pago-Cathelic Dragon. They are the same heads, and identify the Dragon and the Beast as apocalyptically diverse constitutional developments of the same power. The only difference of the two series of heads symbolically viewed is, that the Dragon series is diademed, while the Beast series is not. In the latter symbol the Horns, not the Heads, are diademed; but in the case of the Dragon it was the heads and not the horns. This diversity, of course, is significative of some peculiarity, and has to be explained when we come to the further consideration of the horns.

The reader will please to turn to what has been written concerning the heads of the Dragon in the previous chapter. What is found there is equally applicable to the heads of the Sea Beast, and need not, therefore, be repeated here. Leaving the heads, then, for the present, I proceed to a further exposition of the horns.

8. The Ten Diademed Horns of the Beast

"Horns are the symbols of power, exerted by strength of arms because such beasts as have horns make use of them as their arms.

"As the symbol of strength they are used in Psa 18:2. They are also used to denote the regal power; and when they are distinguished by number, they signify so many monarchies. Thus horn signifies a monarchy in Jer. 48:25; and in Zech. 1:18, the Four Horns are the four great monarchies which had each of them subdued the Jews. See also Dan. 8:20-22.

"The Horn of David in Psa. 132:18, is explained by the Targum of a glorious king to arise out of the house of David.

"It appears from Valerius Maximus, that the ancient Romans understood horns as the symbol of regal government; and the images of the gods, kings and heroes, among the heathen, were adorned with horns as a mark of their royalty and power.

"Horns upon a wild beast are not only expressive of powers, but also of such powers as are tyrannical, ravenous and at enmity with God and his saints, as in Dan. 8" Daubuz.

The Horns of the Sea Monster represent Ten Kingdoms established by the Barbarians of the Abyss upon all that Mediterranean territory conquered by them from the Roman Dragon. This appears from the testimony that "the Dragon yielded to him his power, and his throne,

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and an extensive jurisdiction" - ver. 2. In relinquishing it to the beast, he yielded them to his appendages, the horns and mouth as well.

In ch. 17:12, John was informed that the ten horns were symbolical of kingdoms: "the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdoms as yet;" that is, they had received no kingdom at the time the interpreter was talking with John. Daniel gives the same record in ch. 7:23. He had said that he wished to know the truth represented by the ten horns upon the fourth beast's head; upon which it was stated to him that "the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise;" and those in ver. 9, are styled "the thrones" which are to be "cast down" when the Ancient bf Days comes to sit in judgment upon them. And this judgment John indicates in the words: "These (Ten Horns) shall make war upon the Lamb, and the Lamb shall over-come them; for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him (the Saints of the Holy City) are called chosen and faithful" (Apoc. 17:14).

The geographical extent of the Roman Habitable upon which the barbaric tribes of the abyss established themselves with Feudal Sovereignty, was the Mediterranean West. They have to be enumerated by the names they bore in the period when, they were engaged in the work of establishing themselves upon that territory. The symbol, as we shall see, requires at least eleven abyssal tribes - ten for the horns, and one or more for the Seventh Head. The following is the list that seems to me authorized by history: 1. Huns; 2. Vandals; 3. Visigoths; 4. Burgun-dians; 5. Gepidoe; 6. Lombards; 7. Franks; 8. Suevi; 9. Alans; 10. Bava-rians. These were the founders of the Horn-Kingdoms of the Beast. This divided form of Mediterranean Europe has continued for ages, even to the present time; though the number of its divisions has not always, nor is it now, ten. The prophecy does not require that the number of the kingdoms should be invariable. They were ten in the period of their foundation, and from this fact have acquired the symbolic designation of the Ten Horns. So that though their number might be reduced one-half, the power that might be established over the territory they originally occupied would, to that extent, be represented as the Ten Horns.

"The emergence of the wild beast of the sea," says Mr. Lord, "is not to be regarded as having been accomplished in a moment, or a brief space, but as having occupied such a period as would naturally be required for the invasion of the empire (of the Catholic Dragon) by many separate tribes migrating from vast distances, engaging in numerous wars, and, finally, after victory, establishing new and independent governments. Nor are the chiefs who rule them after the conquest of parts of the empire, to be considered as having assumed that relation in which

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they are symbolized by the horns while they remained, as in France for a long period, in subordination to Rome. They emerged from the sea as dynasties, when, by concession or victory, they became rulers of portions of the empire in independence of that power. The institutions of the horns, therefore, took place at different periods, and they were those that subsisted when the conquest of the (Western) empire was completed and the imperial power extinguished" A.D. 476.

On the conquest of Italy and termination of imperial authority by the deposition of Augustulus by Odoacer, the Herulian Goth, A D. 475, the barbarians of the apocalyptic abyss held possession of the whole western division of the Latin Sea, with the exception of a part of Gaul, and were distributed under ten kingly governments

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The collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 475 left the Eastern Roman Empire intact but found Europe divided Into various Individual nations These answer to the ten homs of the beast The numeral ten is used figuratively In Scripture in the sense of completeness so that there is no need to seek for ten specific nationalities but rather for a welding of existing nationalities on the territory defined in the prophecy as in the Common Market Organization today Though both Britain and Greece form parts of the Common Market, as the former had been separated from the Western Empire before its fall

and the latter formed part of the Eastern Roman Empire, the indications of prophecy are that both will ultimately leave the Common Market Greece coming more directly under the domination of the Soviet - Publishers-

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1. The Huns, erupting from the Scythian region of the Alps, crossed the Volga, the Don, the Dnieper, the Dniester, and planted themselves in the vicinity of the Danube, and, therefore, styled Hungary, A.D. 370. Under Attila, A.D. 451, they descended into Thrace, about thirty miles from Constantinople; then turning westward into Macedonia, he wheeled north into Pannonia, a part of Hungary; and thence, passing through Noricum, a part of Austria and Bavaria, crossed the Danube and the Rhine near their sources, and pursued his march through Belgium almost to the English Channel. He then crossed the Seine, and descended to the Loire, whence he turned eastward, recrossing the Seine, the Rhine and the Danube near their sources; thence he descended into Lombardy, from which, repassing through Noricum and Pannonia, he again crossed the Danube, where he died at his seat of government. This was the course of the Great Blazing Star of the third wind-trumpet, the remains of whose dominion exists in the Horn-Kingdom of Hungary.

2. The VANDALS descended from the Swedish section of the abyss, and entered Gaul, A.D. 406. They soon passed into Spain, and after occupying a part of that Mediterranean province nearly twenty years, A.D. 427, crossed into Roman Mrica, wrested it from the Catholic Dragon, set up an independent kingdom under GENSERIC, and ruled it until A.D. 533. The kingdom was founded under the sounding of the second wind-trumpet, when a Great Mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea.

3. The VISIGOTHS, or Western Goths came originally from Sweden with the Ostrogoths, or Eastern Goths. The Visigoths, as the "hail and fire mingled with blood" of the first trumpet, after their separation from the Ostrogoths, who encamped between the Dnieper and the Dniester, descended upon Greece under the leadership of ALARIC, and after-wards, having ravaged Illyria, Lombardy and Italy, laid siege to Rome. In A. D. 408, they passed from Italy into the south of France, and maintained a kingdom there till A.D. 506, when, being driven by the Franks into Spain, they wrested a part of it, Gallicia, from the Suevi, and in A.D. 585, extended their sway over the whole peninsula.

4. The BURGUNDIANs issued from the Germania region of the abyss east of the Vistula. They established themselves in Belgic Gaul A.D. 407. After a few years they obtained possession of Savoy, and sub-sequently of Gaul on the Rhone, and maintained a separate kingdom till A.D. 524, when they were conquered by the Franks. On the division of the Frank kingdom, it again became a separate state, and continued such most of the time for several centuries.

5. The GEPID~ migrated from the Scandinavian country west of

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the Baltic, now called Sweden. They crossed the sea and proceeded southeasterly across the Dnieper, and encamped between that river and the Don. From thence they passed westward into Hungary and thence radiated to Illyria, now styled Dalmatia, in which they established them-selves on the Adriatic Bay of the Mediterranean, after the death of Attila in A.D. 453. Ardaric, the king of the Gepidae, erected his throne in the palace of Attila, whence he exercised royal authority over the old country of Dacia, from the Carpathian hills to the Black Sea. The kingdom of the Gepidae continued until A.D. 566, when it was destroyed by the Lombards.

6. The LOMARDs migrated originally from Scandinavia, ascending thence nearly due south to the Danube. On the dissolution of the empire of Attila, A.D. 455, whose standard they followed, they took possession of a portion of Pannonia, a part of Hungary. Subsequently to the conquest of the Gepidae, they extended their possessions as far as Bavaria, A.D. 568; they invaded and conquered Italy, where they maintained themselves till near the close of the eighth century, when they were "plucked up by the roots" (Dan. 7:8).

7. The FRANKS is a name assumed by a confederacy of German tribes, inhabiting that section of the abyss lying between the Lower Rhine and the Weser. It signifies the Freemen. In Gibbon's day, their original territory was in part enclosed within the Circle of Westphalia, the Landgravate of Hesse, and the Duchies of Brunswick and Lunenburg, now absorbed by the Prussians in their transitory confederation of Northern Germany. In their inaccessible morasses, redolent of mud, water, and frogs, they used to shake defiance at the Roman arms. When the time arrived for the ascending of the Diademed Horns out of the sea, they instinctively obeyed the summons of the First Trumpet, and in A.D. 407, entered Gaul, and within a few years established a kingdom upon the Rhine, which they continued to maintain and advance, until in the sixth century it extended over the whole territory embraced in modern France.

8. The SUEVI filled the interior Germanian countries of the abyss from the banks of the Oder to those of the Danube. A short time before the sounding of the first trumpet, they united with the Alemanni. They passed through Gaul, conquered Gallicia in Spain, and maintained themselves there as a Diademed Horn of the Sea till A.D. 585, a space of one hundred and seventy-seven years.

9. The ALANS migrated from the Asiatic Sarmatia, lying between the Black and Caspian Seas. They passed from this section of the abyss into Germania, being joined on their march by the Vandals, who had previously descended from Scandinavia, and had halted in European

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Sarmatia, between the Dnieper and the Don. In Germany their forces were still further increased by the accession of the Suevi. Thus strengthened, the Alans, who did not remain in Gaul with the Vandals and Sueves, crossed the Pyrenees into Spain, where they divided; the Suevi settling in Gallicia, the Alans in Portugal, and the Vandals in Vandalitia. After sustaining a separate government eight or nine years, they were incorporated by conquest with the Vandals and Sueves, and passed with the Vandals under Genseric into Africa. Another body of Alans had settled between the Rhine, the Seine, and the Loire. They repulsed Attila from Orleans, their capital, on his invasion of Gaul, A.D. 451, and were stationed in the centre of the army by which he was defeated at the great battle of Chalons. On his invasion of their territory, A.D. 453, they were supported by the Goths, and gained another victory. A.D. 464, they invaded Italy, and laid Liguria, the southern part of Sardinia, waste. Clovis, king of the Franks, extended his conquests over their territory as far as the Loire, A.D. 485, but they continued to subsist as a separate people till A.D. 507, or thereabouts, when they were conquered by the Franks.

10. The BAVARIANS. The present Bavaria in the time of the Romans formed part of the Dragon empire, known as Vindelicia and Noncum. Besides South Bavaria, Vindelicia also embraced the south-eastern part of the kingdom of Wurtemberg; while Noricum comprehended the Archduchy of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and part of Carniola. The Jesuit Gordon in his Opus Chronologicum, referring to A.D. 511 says "Theodon, the first king of Bavaria, dies." We are not informed how long he had reigned; but Mr. Elliot thinks we may date it as before A.D.493. The Bavarian Horn is noticed by Gibbon as forming one of the boundaries of the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy under Theodoric: "He reduced," says he, "the unprofitable countries Rhoetia (the Tyrol), Noricum, Dalmatia, and Pannonia, from the source of the Danube and the territory of the Bavarians." And again he says, "the Lombard kingdom extended east, north, and west, as far as the confines of the Avars, the Bavarians, and the Franks of Austrasia and Burgundy;" and Muller:"the Bavarians had now (that is, about the end of the sixth century) given name to Noricum."

Such, then, is my list of the ten notable abyssal horns of the sea. Though separate dynasties, they are very properly united in a single symbol, and exhibited as one great combination of tyrannical states, from the identity of their origin in the abyss, the oneness of their policy (ch. 17:13), and the similarity of these rulers. This European Common-wealth was composed of monarchies that were all feudatories of the Dragon; for Gibbon shows, that they all adopted, in a great degree, the

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laws of the ancient empire as their common law. They all came at length to submit themselves to the Papal Yoke; a power which was rising with them out of the sea, whose system of falsehood they cooperated in imposing upon their subjects at all hazards. They may truly be styled the Papal Horns; for their history has proved them to have been, in all their past career, the blind instruments of "THE NAME OF BLASPHEMY" that sits upon the Seven Heads.

In the foregoing enumeration of the horns of the sea, I have made no mention of the Saxons and Danes, who issued forth from the Scandinavian and Germanian abyss against the Dragon province'of Britannia. In all the lists of the horns I have seen, the Saxons have been made to figure as one; and, consequently, the Anglo-Saxons of Britain, now styled England, have been set down as one of the horns of the Beast. But this classification of England with the horns cannot be admitted. It is true that the Saxons and Angles issuing from Holstein and Schleswig, A.D. 449, conquered Britannia. But, instead of constituting themselves one horn, they founded seven kingdoms, styled Kent, Essex~Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumberland. These were called the Saxon Heptarchy; and were as distinct and independent kingdoms as any of their ten contemporaries upon the Continent(*).

Another objection to England being numbered with the ten, is that she is not a country of the Great-Sea world. The ten horns were to ascend out of the Mediterranean upon which Daniel saw the tempest raging. Gaul, Spain, Italy, Illyria, Africa, and Dacia, are political sections of a torrene, whose waters, directly or indirectly mostly discharge themselves into the Mediterranean. But the British Isles afar off have no relation to it at all. As Origen says in Horn. 6, A.D. 230, "The Britons are divided from our world." They are no part of the Sea Monster's interior maritime territory. Even in modern times they are three kingdoms, not a single horn only; and those three horns, the horn of England, the horn of Scotland, and the horn of Ireland, are more imperial than regal, and more Oriental than European.Another objection to Britain being numbered among the ten horns

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Britain not included among the ten horns of the beast. This important fact of prophecy is outlined by the Author of Eureka above, but is frequently ignored by others who attempt to interpret The Apocalypse in accordance with current events. Though Britain once formed part of the Roman Empire, by the year 449, on the eve of the termination of the western Empire in 475 when the horns received their independence (indicated by them being crowned as described in Rev. 13:1), Britain was invaded by the Jutes, Angles, Saxon and Danes, and being divided into the seven kingdoms mentioned in the text of Eureka, never did form part of the "beast of the sea" the political order of western Europe following the fall of the western Empire in A.D. 475) nor the "two-horned beast" (the so-called Holy Roman Empire that superceded the "beast of the sea" in the year 800). Therefore, the present affiliation of Britain with the European Common Market must be only temporary, and before the "beast of the sea" is again formed in its latter-day manifestation as required by the prophecy of Rev. 17:8, she must withdraw or be excluded therefrom. The map on p. 200 depicts Europe about A.D. 449 - Publishers.

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is, that though, indeed, she is ruled ecclesiastically by a name of blasphemy, her constitution is, in word and deed, opposed to "the Name of Blasphemy" upon the heads of the Beast. The ten horns all worship this Name, and recognize it as their Holy Father; and maintain ambassadors at his court; and exercise their infitience to uphold him in glory and power, that his supposed relations with the heavenly world may, by his favor and blessing, be caused to redound to their spiritual and temporal prosperity. He is their Mouth in all spiritual utterances, "speaking great things and blasphemies concerning the Deity, his Name, his Tabernacle, and them that dwell in the heaven" (ch. 13:5,6). But, blasphemous as Britain is in her constitutional ecclesiasticism, she protests against, and repudiates, the Chief Blasphemer of the world. She does not belong to the politico-ecclesiastical system, or body politic, of which he is the Mouth. She sends no ambassador to the Court of Rome; and though there may be spiritual imbeciles who have real, and crafty politi-

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Map pg 200 not shown .

The map above depicts the Roman Empire about 449 A.D. (see p.~199). By that time the invasion of Britain by he Angles, Saxons etc. , had politically severed

the British Isles from the Empire; and as the ten horns of Western Europe were to receive their independence after its fall (AD. .475), Britain is not to be numbered among them - Publishers.

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cians who have feigned, reverence for the Roman God and the mummery of his superstition, the heart of the British peoples is hardened against them with the impenetrability of adamant. This hostility is known and understood at Rome, where the will, but not the power, has always existed to reduce Britain to subjection to the so-called "Holy See." In witness of this, there is the Spanish Armada equipped and sent against England in the days of Elizabeth, at the instigation of the Court of Rome, that by the thumb-screw arguments of the Inquisition, the British nation might be brought within the pale of the Mediterranean Sea Monster, beyond which no heretical soul can be saved!

No, the United Kingdom of England, Scotland and Ireland was never one of the ten horns . The taint of imperiality, as it were , was indelibly infixed in British soil by the Dragon. The Saxons and Angles from the abyss did not expel him. The Dragon withdrew, and told the Britons to defend themselves. Invaded by the Picts and Scots, they invited the Saxons and Angles to come over and help them. The Celts were repelled; but when the war was over, the Saxons refused to leave, and made the heptarchial settlement for themselves. Nearly fourteen centuries have passed since these events; and the Dragons carved in relief upon the interior of the House of Lords, are now the appropriate symbol of British power. The real ruler at Constantinople, the throne of the Dragon, is Britain, who claims "the Sick Man" there, as her "ancient and faithftil ally." Her interests are intimately associated with the destiny of the Turkish empire, more especially with that part of it termed Syria and Egypt. If the British power in any way be an element of the beast, it can only be in connexion with its body, which is like unto a Leopard." As the power indicated by the words, "Sheba and Dedan, and the Merchants of Tarshish and the young lions thereof," in Ezek. 38:13, she becomes identified with Daniel's third beast, the four-winged and four-headed Leopard, which is to have its dominion taken away when the Ancient of Days comes; but which, before it loses its dominion thus, is to come into collision wlth "the feet of the Bear."

9. The Ten Diadems

"And upon his Horns ten Diadems."

The Horns on the Dragon had no diadems upon them; because the nations of the abyss had not then issued forth to erect kingdoms upon the Roman Habitable. But in the chapter before us, the Dragon-Horns of the sea are exhibited with diadems upon them, indicating that they were not Republics; but States, whose chief magistrates were en-

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throned, and diademed, and who would figure in the unmeasured Court of the Gentiles (ch. 11:2) as "the Crowned Heads of Europe."

The diadems upon the ten horns is a symbolical rebuke of the foolish prediction of republican politicians and prophets, who deceive their worshippers with the conceit, that the kingdoms of Europe are to become republics after the type of the "MODEL REPUBLIC" of this western world! A horn with a diadem upon it is nowhere to be found, in sacred or profane heraldry, as the symbol of a republic. It always represents a kingly power, or dominion. The Gothic nations of the Abyss acquiesced in the military leaders who had led them to victory, and founded States upon the Roman territory, being recognized as kings, and decorated with diadems, by the Dragon-power. Hence they were kingdoms in their beginning; and will continue kingdoms until the Ancient of Days shall come, and by their overthrow, transfer the many diadems of these horns of the sea to his own glorious and snowy head (Apoc. 19:12; 1:14; 11:15). The very reverse of these republican prophecies is the real truth of the matter. Instead of the kingdoms of the world becoming republics, all the republics of the world will become kingdoms. This will be a great blessing to mankind, who have proved themselves incompetent for self-government upon wise and righteous principles, under any form of rule they may devise. It is the Divine purpose to bless mankind in Abraham and his seed. This is the great gospel prophecy of the word (Gal. 3:8,9): and when the nations rejoice in peace and security under their own vines and fig-trees, they will be interested in nobler themes than the crude, unprofitable and lying vanities of those who now deceive them. Their political interests will be supervised by kings, who will then reign "by the grace of God". It will be theirs to command of their own sovereign will and pleasure; and for all nations simply to obey without question or dispute; for then, "judgment will be given to the Saints;" who will take the kingdom and the dominion under the whole heaven, and possess them for a thousand years and more (Dan. 7:22,27,18; Apoc. 20:4,6). Then the universal world will be "ruled in righteousness," and truly "blessed in Abraham and his seed."

A few last words may be added in reference to the diadems, which I find collected by the industry of Mr. Elliott, from Gibbon, and other writers with whom the reader will never probably become acquainted. What follows, he says, he has borrowed from Lelewel's great work ('n the coinage of the Middle Age. "It is well known," says Elliott, "that the barbarian Gothic or German kings, after their first conquests, were almost all anxious to receive appointment from the Roman emperor as Masters-General or Patricians of the empire" of the Dragon; "the appointment being equivalent to that of Viceroy; and most useful above all

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in order to legitimize their government in the eyes of their Roman subjects, who in respect of number immensely exceeded the barbarian population that had conquered them. In the negotiations and treaties on which matter, it was usually stipulated by the Roman emperors, and agreed to by the barbaric kings, that the Diademed Bust and names of the emperors should be stamped upon the barbarian coinage (at least on their gold coins) not the Gothic princes' own. Hence there was a semi-Roman state of the Gothic coinage, as Lelewel calls it, for a century more or less, from about A . D .450 to 550; the Vandals of Africa forming however an exception apparently, and acting more or less independently in this respect. At length Clovis the Frank, at the opening of the sixth century, had the plenary sovereignty of Gaul awarded to him by the Byzantine emperor, with the title of Consul and Augustus, and the Diadem of Pearls as its badge and token: a grant renewed in A.D. 532 to Clovis' children, by Justinian, with full power over the coinage; and engagement that his purely Frank money should have the privilege of currency assured to it throughout the whole Roman empire. In the course of the sixth century, the example of Clovis was followed by others of the princes; the Lombards coming last about A.D. 600.

"On the whole, it appears that at the opening of the sixth century, not only did the several Gothic princes exercise in their respective dominions the prerogatives of supreme sovereignty, but also had begun to appropriate to themselves the Roman Diademic Badge of such sovereignty; and that at the close of the century their assumption of the diadem, in sign of it ,had become universal."

In connection with these remarks he gives an engraving illustrating the reservation of the diadem to the Dragon, which was not assumed by the horns in their beginning. I conceive that the apocalyptic reason of this is found in the Dragon symbol of ch. 12. In this all the Seven Heads are diademed or sovereign; but the horns not. The idea then is this, that the horns were not to be diademed in their own absolute right, until the Seventh head had passed away; when the Romano-Gothic Sea Monster would stand before the world with Seven undiademed Heads and Ten Diademed Horns.

The first coin .of the engraving is Burgundian On one face is the diademed bust of the Dragon-emperor, Anastasius, and on the other, Sigismund, king and consul. The second, is a coin of the Suevi, with the bust, diademed, of the emperor Honorius on one side; and on the other, Richiarius, king. This was issued by the Suevi twenty-seven years after the death of Honorius, and his name stamped upon it out of regard to Roman imperial authority. A third coin is Ostrogothic. It was issued during the reign of the Seventh Head, while Theodoric was king of Italy,

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and Justinian was emperor. On one face is the diademed bust of the Dragon-emperor; and on the other, a wreath with the monogram of the king in the centre . There is another Ostrogothic coin about the size of a quarter dollar, with the diademed bust of Justinian on the one side; and the name and office of the ruler, king Witiges, on the other.

I would remark here, that these two last-mentioned coins are evidence that the Ostrogothic kings of the Seventh Head, who reigned in

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This coin was issued durng the reign of Athalaric (51~535) king of the Ostrogoths who succeeded his grandfather, Theodoric in A.D. 526 after the fall of the Western Empire. The coin shows the king as wearing a diadem illustrating the point made by Eureka in this section

- Publishers.

Rome, did not consider the emperors of the Sixth Head as abolished from all influence in the affairs of Italy; but only "wounded as it were to death;" for here is evidence of the Sixth and Seventh Heads of the Dragon uniting in the coinage of the realm, which only mutually recognized governments and dynasties are free to do . Gibbon, writing of the first two kings of the Seventh Head, Odoacer and Theodoric, says of the former, that "he abstained, during his whole reign from the use of the purple and diadem;" and of the latter, he says, that "from a tender regard to the expiring prejudices of Rome, he declined the name, purple, and diadem of the emperors;" though "he assumed the whole substance and plenitude of imperial prerogative". This was the simple difference between the Imperial Sixth, and the Regal Seventh, heads of the Dragon and the Beast. Had Odoacer and Theodoric assumed "the name, purple and diadem of the emperors" when they reigned in Rome sovereigns of Italy, their government would have been a mere continuation of the Sixth Head. The substance and plenitude of sovereign prerogative remained, only the form of its constitutional administration

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was changed. This change in the form of the supreme power, with its exclusion from Mrica, Sicily , Corsica , Sardinia , Majorca , and Minorca , then possessed by the Vandalic Horn , established a marked dissimilarity between the Sixth and Seventh Heads.

The fifth coin of the engraving I regard as a very remarkable one . It is a coin of the Vandals, about the size of an English shilling. Upon one side is the front figure of a man, standing upon an altar. From each shoulder projects a wing with four little circles in each, as if he were an angel, or were identified with an angelic mission. From his waist to his ankles is a four-square in which are inserted four rows of precious stones, three in a row, or twelve in all, and strikingly resembling the Jewish High Priest's breastplate of righteousness on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes. In his extended right hand he holds a globe surmounted with a cross; and in his extended left, a rude representation of a trumpet. On the other side, is the legend GenserAu-gustus, and underneath, a star of considerable magnitude. The age of this coin is over fourteen hundred years.

Genseric was an Arian catholic, and the ally of the Circunicellions against the Dragon persecutor of the Donatists . Hence , when he conquered Africa and the islands of the Mediterranean from the Dragon, he proclaimed himself the Augustus of the Catholic world, as the word "Augustus" after his name, and the globe and cross in his right hand, upon the coin, evince. Having delivered the Donatists from the bloody persecutions of the Catholics, they, doubtless, gave him to understand, that they hailed him as one of the Angels of the Four Trumpets and the deliverer of the true church. Hence, the wings on his shoulders with four little circles upon them; and the four-square plate of Twelve Stones . All that Mr. Elliott has to say upon this interesting coin, is to correct Lelewel's reading of the name from Jensoe to Genser; but, to my mind it is a striking indication that the Donatists of Africa, contemporary with the sounding of the Four Trumpets, were sufficiently advanced in apocalyptical exposition, to discern the true character of the times in which they lived, and their own' ecclesiastical relations to them. The "terrible Genseric" and his Donatists clients, were neither Preterists, Futurists , nor Literalists; but rational interpreters of the Apocalypse as a symbolic prophecy of events concurrent with the conflict of the Saints with the powers that be, to be explained in the light of history. In this, Vandal barbarians of the fifth century far transcended the intelligence of the "ripest" and brightest scholars of our age!

Besides these he gives two other coins, one of the Franks, and the other of the Visigoths, to show that the diadem came at length to be

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adopted by the Gothic kingdoms, without regard to the Diadem Bust of the emperors. This was after the fall of the Seventh Head.

10. The Name of Blasphemy

"And upon his Heads a Name of Blasphemy. "

The name of a person or thing, according to the Hebrew style, frequently imports the quality or state thereof. Thus in Ruth 1:20, "and she said unto them, call me not Naomi," that is, pleasant, "but call me Mara," that is bitter; "for Yahweh hath dealt very bitterly with me." And thus, when it is said in Isaiah 7:14, "she shall call his name Immanuel," the meaning is, that the Son of the Virgin there spoken of should be "AlL," or Eternal Power, "with us," Israel, dwelling in their midst. And so in Luke 1:32, "He shall be called the Son of the Highest," is, He shall be the Son of the Highest.

Names of men are sometimes taken for the men themselves. Thus in Acts 1:15, "the number of the names," that is, the number of the men. And thus in Virgil, Sylvius, "A lbanum Nomen," an Alban Name, is Sylvius, a man of Albania.

Isaiah 30:27, it is said "The NAME of Yahweh cometh from far, HIS anger burning, and the burden thereof heavy; HIS lips are full ofindignation, and HIS tongue as a devouring fire." Here name obviously denotes a person, an· individual of great power, developing great anger and fiery indignation. It is the name styled by Moses in Deut. 28:58, "the glorious and fearful Name, YAHWEH Elohim:" for the repudiation and blasphemy of which Judah and Benjamin, with a multitijde of Levi, have been banished from their country, and tormented among the Nations for nearly eighteen hundred years.

Name also is equivalent to power. This appears from Acts 4:7, where the rulers demanded of the apostles, saying to them, "by what power, or name, have ye done this?" - and in ver. 30, they pray that "wonders may be done by the name of Jesus," that is, by his power. Hence, the Jesus Name is a name of glory and power, as well as a name of holiness and truth, and is styled by Paul "a Name above every name; that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow" (Phil. 2:9,1Q).

But name not only denotes the existence, quality, or state of a person, power, or other thing, singly considered; it also' denotes these things in multitudinous manifestation. Thus, in Jer. 13:11, Yahweh caused "the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Judah" to cleave unto Him, "that they might be to me, saith he,. for a people, and for a name, for a praise, and for a glory." Here is a name inclusive of the whole nation. There are numerous instances in the prophetic writings

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where name is representative of many , too numerous to be quoted here . The gods of the nations were so many names, whether idols or founders of sects. In this sense, name denotes an object of worship, invocation, or reverence. Thus, in Mic. 4:5, "all people walk, every one in the name of his God; we will walk in the name of our God." To walk in the name of any one is, first, to have said name constitutionally placed upon the walker; and, secondly, to shape the course of life according to the precepts and institutions of such name. Every one that does this is in said name; and, therefore, denominationally a part, or element, of that name. Thus, the NOMEN LATINUM, or Latin Name, the Nomen Anglicanum, or Anglican Name, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and a host of others, are all names of Gods in which the peoples walk. They are specially related to the Romano-Gothic Beast of the Abyss, which John testified would be gemon onomaton blasphemias, full of Names of Blasphemy (Ch. 17:3). All the peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, constituting the body politic of the fourth-beast system of nations, "walk every one in the name of his god," glorying in the Latin Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Heads; the Anglican Name of Blasphemy in Canterbury, York, and Dublin; and in all the other blasphemies, to which the names of Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and others too numerous to mention, are attached.

But, while all the people walk every one in the precepts of these "worshipful names" of the unmeasured Court of the Gentiles, "the remnant of the woman's seed, who keep the commandments of the Deity, and have the testimony of the anointed Jesus," will walk in the name of their God alone. First, believing "the truth as it is in Jesus," the Name of the Deity has been constitutionally placed upon them according to the command that all such believers be "immersed into THE NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 8:12,16): and secondly, being taught to observe the all things the apostles were commanded to teach (Matt. 28:20), they walk in the name of the Deity as constituents of that name; having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; but, as the grace of Deity which brings salvation teacheth, they "deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the appearing of the glory of the great Deity, and of their Saviour, the anointed Jesus" (Tit. 2:12). This is the Name which, in Ch. 13:6, is styled His Name the name of the Deity, blasphemed by the Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Heads, and by all the other names which fill up the body politic of the Beast.

The Name of Blasphemy is a power; and like the Beast over which

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it presides is, or rather has been, in centuries of its career, a "dreadful and terrible" power. It is an EPISCOPAL NAME, because it is the embodiment of those audacious "Eyes" Daniel was so observant of in his vision. He saw a Little Horn come up among, and after, the ten. It was not like the other horns. These had no eyes in them; nor had they any mouth . If they had possessed these, there would have been twenty eyes and ten mouths . But a different constitution of the evil was predete-mined. One pair of Eyes and one Mouth were to suffice for the Little Horn and all its ten associate horns. Had there been eleven pairs of eyes instead of one pair, there would have been eleven names of blasphemy upon the sea-monster's heads, which would have been incongruous, and a cause of inextricable confusion .

The eyes Daniel saw were "like the eyes of a man." And not only so, but they were representative of a man; for, speaking of the glare, or fierce piercing look, of the eyes, he says, in Ch. 7:20, "whose look was more stout that His fellows." They represented a human power, whose function was preeminently that of supervision over certain styled "his fellows." His official state, therefore, was that of an episkokos, or a BISHOP. His look being "more stout" than his fellows of the episcopal order , he would , therefore, claim superiority over all spirituals; and to be entitled above all to the veneration and homage of mankind . Such an OVERSEEING NAME as this would be, within the sphere of his jurisdiction, a Bishop of bishops, such as Constantine claimed to be when he assumed headship over all the catholic churches of the Dragon empire.

But this Nomen Latinum, or Latin Name upon the Seven Heads, was not only a Supreme Bishop, but it was also a Name of Blasphemy. It was itself a blasphemy, and an utterer of blasphemy. A power claiming to be what it is not, is a blasphemy. Thus, certain of the synagogue of Satan in the ecciesia at Smyrna claimed to be Jews, when they really were not. This false claim is styled "their blasphemy" (Apoc. 2:9): because, being false, it injured the fair fame and reputation of those in Christ who were Israelites indeed.

BLASPHEMY is a thing but little understood by those who most glibly use the word in their denunciation of what they term heresy. In the Court of the Gentiles, in which the truth is trodden under foot by "the Spirituals of wickedness in high places" - THE CLERGY - everything is blasphemy, which, however Scriptural it may be, exposes their word-nullifying traditions to the well-merited contempt of mankind . Against this exposition they rend their garments instead of their hearts, put dust upon their heads, and with eyes and hands upturned to heaven, cry out blasphemy! But this is all theatrical. Mere sound has no terrors for the friends of truth. The clerical orders, whose apocalyptic chief is this

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Name of Blasphemy, are like him, essentially a blasphemy; because they arrogate to themselves the prerogatives of Christ and his Brethren, to which they have not the remotest or slightest Scriptural pretension. Being of the world, and speaking under the impression of the world, as proved by the world hearing and hiring them, their alleged identity with the members of the Divine Family, injures the reputation thereof, which is the import of the word blaspheme. For an order of men to claim to be "Vicars of Jesus Christ upon earth," that is, his official substitutes, by Divine appointment; or to be his ambassadors and plenipotentiaries to the nations, by the same authority; and for them to be notoriously deficient of the least proof substantiatory of their high pretensions , is to convict themselves of falsehood; and when self-convicted liars and hypocrites claim to be the brethren and intimates of honest and righteous men, on the principle of a man being known by the company he keeps, the reputation of those excellent, people is injured or in other words

BLASPHEMY a picture not shown pg 209

Reproduced from Watchman What of the Night this a representation of a painting which was hung in the Genoes Arch in Rome, depicting Pope Leo X as the Light of the world Beneath the painting is the inscription " The world hath Unveiled its Light, the King of Glory has come forth" CP this claim and illustration with Revelation 10:1

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blasphemed, in the estimation of the Deity, and of those "who hold the testimony of the anointed Jesus." Thus, the Albigenses(*) among whom the faithful may be found, in the twelfth century testified to their generation, saying, "We must not obey the Pope and Bishops, because they be wolves to the ecciesia of Christ" - quja sini lupi ecclesiut' Christi. They repudiated the Name of Blasphemy and the clerical ministers of his name, as the transformed ministers of the Satan, who pretended to be ministers of righteousness, but were really nothing more than wolves in sheep's clothing of the most ravenous and ferocious description . They protested against them as the orders of that DREADFUL AND TERRIBLE NAME OF BLASPHEMY, enthroned upon the Seven Heads of the Fourth Beast. This name they denounced as the Antichrist, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition - the Antichrist, because he set himself up as the VICAR OF CHRIST; that is, the Divinely deputed substitute of Christ, as indicated by the word Antichristos, from anti, in the place of, christos, the Anointed One, or Christ: they denounced this Name as the Man of sin in maturity, or full manifestation. They did not regard the Man of Sin substitute for Christ as an individual man, but as an order of ecclesiastical rulers, a Name, or Body, with its Eyes, Mouth, and subordinate members. Being an imperial spiritual human power, its chief ruler would be a man, the supreme representative for the period of his reign, of the power that created him for adoration, as "the god of the earth" - quem creant adorant, whom they create they worship. And thirdly, they denounced this Man of Sin name of Blasphemy, as the Son of Perdition; because the power, in the Scarlet-Beast phase of it, is foredoomed, "and goeth into perdition" (Apoc. 17:11): and because Paul, in writing of the same power, whom he styles ho anomos, the Lawless One, as well as the Man of Sin, terms him likewise the Son of Perdition, "whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his presence" (2 Thess. 2:8).

It may not be uninteresting to the reader to peruse, in their own words, the views entertained by the witnesses of Jesus concerning this Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Heads, over seven hundred years ago. The following is from a remarkable tract written by one of them, in A.D. 1120, for the express purpose of vindicating himself and friends for separating from communion with this name. It professes to be an

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(*)The Albigensians were followers of a Sect in the 12th and 13th centuries that was bitterly opposed to the Papacy, and located mainly in Languedoc, southern France. Pope Innocent III called for a crusade against them (commenced in 1209) which was led by Simon de Montfort, who mercilessly persecuted them. The comment above states: "among whom the faithful may be found". The Albigenses, as a community, did not embrace the Truth in its purity, but, most likely, there would have been those who did so, and who were classified among their number by contemporaries who did not perceive the real difference between the finer doctrines of Truth and Error Publishers.

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answer to the question, "WHAT IS ANTICHRIST?" which it thus proceeds to answer:

"Antichrist is a falsehood or deceit varnished over with the semblance of truth, and of the righteousness of Christ and his Spouse, yet in opposition to the way of truth, righteousness, faith, hope, love, as well as moral life . It does not respect any one particular person ordained to any degree,-or office, or ministry; but it is a SYSTEM OF FALSEHOOD (Name of Blasphemy) opposing itself to the truth, covering and adorning itself with a shew of beauty and piety, yet very unsuitable to the ecciesia of Christ, as, by the names and offices, the Scriptures and the sacraments and various other things may appear. The system of iniquity thus perfected, with its officiating ministers, great and small, supported by those who are induced to follow it with an evil heart and blindfold -this is the congregation or composition of things (the Name, or Body) which, taken together, comprises what is called Antichrist, or Babylon, the Fourth Beast, the Harlot, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, all of which are titles given to it in the Holy Scriptures. His ministers are called false prophets, lying teachers, the ministers of darkness, the spirit of error, the Apocalyptic Harlot, the Mother of Fornication, clouds without water, trees without leaves, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, wandering stars, Balaamites, and Egyptians.

"He is termed Antichrist, because being disguised under the semblance of Christ and his ecciesia, he oppugns or opposes the salvation purchased by Christ, and truly administered in his (Christ's) own ecclesia, which salvation the faithful are made partakers of by faith, hope, and love. Thus he counteracts the truth by the wisdom of this world, by false religion, by feigned holiness, by ecclesiastical power, secular tyranny, riches, honors, dignities, and the pleasures and allurements of this world.

"It is notorious, therefore, that Antichrist never has been brought forth without a concurrence of all the things now mentioned, so as to form a system of hypocrisy and falsehood (or Blasphemy); that is to say, there must be a concurrence of the wise of this world, ecclesiastical orders, pharisees, ministers, and doctors; the secular power and the people of the world, all mixed up together: all these combined make up the Man of Sin, and that Wicked One complete. For, though Antichrist was conceived so long since as the times of the apostles (see 1 John 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 7) he was then only in his infancy (in embryo) wanting members both inward and outward. Consequently, he was the more easily detected, destroyed, and cast out of the ecclesias, being then unshapen and wanting utterance. As yet, he was destitute of that plausible, imposing, judicial or determinative wisdom which he afterwards attained; he

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wanted those hypocritical ministers (the clergy), and human appointments, and the outward show of those religious orders which were necessary to give him perfection. As he was destitute of those riches and endowments necessary to allure persons to his service, and enable him to multiply, protect, and defend his adherents, so he also needed the Secular Power to compel men to forsake the truth, and embrace a system of falsehood. Wanting these requisites, his deceitful practices had not their full effect - he was young and tender, and with difficulty got a footing in the ecclesias. But growing up in his members, that is, in his blind and dissembling ministers (the clergy) and in worldly subjects, he gradually arrived at maturity when men whose hearts were set upon this world, but blind in the faith, multiplied in the ecclesias, and BY THE UNION OF CHURCH AND STATE (in the time of Constantine), got the power of both into their own hands."

After describing the wickedness of this Name of Blasphemy which arrogated Divine honor, the writer adds, "Christ never had an enemy to be compared with this; one so able to pervert the way of truth into false-hood; insomuch that the true ecclesia, with her children, is trodden under foot by it (Apoc. 11:2). The worship that pertains to God alone is transferred to Antichrist; to the creature, male and female, deceased-to images, to carcasses, and relics. The sacrament of the eucharist (the Lord's Supper), is converted into an object of adoration, and the worshipping of God alone is prohibited. The Saviour is robbed of his merits, and the sufficiency of his grace in justification, regeneration, the pardon of sins, sanctification, establishment in the faith, and spiritual nourishment - ascribing all these things to his own authority - to a mere form of words - to the intercession of saints and to the fire of purgatory. Thus people are seduced from Christ, their minds are drawn off from Seeking those blessings in him, by a lively faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching his followers to expect them by the will and pleasure and works of Antichrist.

"A third work of Antichrist consists of this, that he attributes the regeneration of the Holy Spirit unto the mere external rite, baptizing infants in that faith, teaching that thereby baptism and regeneration must be had, on which principle he confers and bestows orders (Apoc. 13:16,17) and, indeed, grounds all his christianity, which is contrary to the mind of the Holy Spirit. He places all his religion and holiness in going to mass (as his Protestant relations now do in 'going to church') in which he has mingled together all kinds of ceremonies, Jewish, Heathen, and Christian; and by means thereof, the people are deprived of spiritual food , seduced from the true religion , and the precepts of God, and bolstered up with vain and presumptuous hopes. All his works

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are done to be seen of men, that he may glut himself with insatiable avarice; and to accomplish this, every thing is set to sale . He allows of open sins without ecclesiastical censure , and even the impenitent are not excommunicated. He does not rule or maintain his unity by the Sword of the Spirit, but by means of the SECULAR POWER the Horn in which the Eyes are set) using that to effect spiritual ends (ch. 13:12,15). He hates and persecutes , and searches after , and plunders , and destroys the members of Christ (ch. 13:7,15). These are Some of the principal of the works of Antichrist against the truth, but the whole are past numbering or recording. These are the most prominent features of that monstrous power.

"On the other hand, he makes use of an outward confession of the faith, and therein are verified the words of the apostle - 'they profess in words that they know God, but in works they deny him.' He covers his iniquity by pleading the length of his duration, and the multitude of his followers; concerning which it is said in the Apocalypse, that 'power is given him over every tribe, language, and nation; and all that dwell upon the earth should worship him' (ch. 13:7,8). He covers his iniquity by pleading the spiritual authority of the apostles , though the apostle expressly says, 'we can do nothing against the truth; and, 'there is no power given us for destruction'. He boasts of numerous miracles, even as the apostle foretold - 'whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all miracles and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness' (2 Thess. 2:9,10; Rev. 13:13,14), also. He has an outward show of holiness, consisting in prayers, fastings, watchings, and alms deeds; of which the apostle testified, when he said, 'Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.'

"Thus it is that Antichrist covers his lying wickedness as with a cloak or garment, that he may not be rejected as a pagan or infidel, and under which disguise he can go on practicing his villainies boldly like a harlot. But it is plain both from the Old and New Testaments, that Christians are bound by express command to separate themselves from Antichrist .

"In the New Testament we read that the Lord is come and hath suffered death, that he might gather together IN ONE the children of God (John 12); and in the book of Revelation, he warns by his voice, and charges his people to go out of Babylon, saying, 'Come out of her, my people, and be not partakers of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquity' (Rev. 18:4,5). The apostle Paul says the same 'Have no fellowship with unbelievers - come out from among them, and be ye separate' (2 Cor. 6:16).

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"From what has been said, we may learn wherein consists the wickedness and perverseness of Antichrist, and that God commands his people to separate from him, and join themselves to THE HOLY CITY, Jerusalem (Apoc. 11:2). And since it hath pleased God to make known these things to us by his servants, believing it to be his holy will according to the Scriptures, and admonished thereto by the command of the Lord, we do inwardly and outwardly depart from Antichrist. We hold communion and maintain unity one with another, freely and uprightly, having no other motive thereto but to please the Lord, and seek the salvation of our souls. Thus, as the Lord is pleased to enable us, and so far as our understandings are enlightened into the path of duty, we attach ourselves unto the truth of Christ, and his ecclesia, how mean soever she may appear in the eyes of men.

"We, therefore, have thought it good to make this declaration of our reasons for departing from Antichrist, as well as to make known what kind of fellowship we have, to the end that, if the Lord be pleased to impart the knowledge of the same truth to others, those that receive it may love it together with us . It is our wish also, that if others are not sufficiently enlightened they may receive assistance from this service, the Lord succeeding it by his blessing. While, on the other hand, if any have received more abundantly from him, and in a higher measure, we desire with all humility to be taught and better instructed, that so we may rectify whatever is amiss."

Such is a specimen of the testimony of the two prophet-witnesses, who, as lights, "stood before the god of the Earth," the Name of Blasphemy, the pretended Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Eyes of the Antichrist; and which "tormented them who dwelt upon the earth" (Apoc. 11:4,10). This testimony was delivered in the darkest period of the day of blasphemy, when men avowed their convictions in the face of ruin, captivity, torments, and death. But they were valiant for the truth; and though power was on the side of the oppressor, a power that roared from the "Mouth of a Lion," and made nations tremble, and kings upon their thrones; yet were they undaunted in its presence in their earnest contention for the faith once for all delivered to the Saints. The secret of their energy was "the power of the Deity," "the testimony of the anointed Jesus" which they held, "the word of the Deity which is living and powerful," understood and lovingly and heartily believed. Their enlightened testimony filled the clerical orders of Antichrist with madness; and caused them to roar forth blasphemies against them, with terrible threatenings and slaughters. But in all the onslaught of the enemy, the Name of Yahweh in which they were entrenched, was their strong tower. THE NAME OF YAHWEH, and the NAME OF BLASPHEMY, were the

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two great rival names of the situation. Between them there can be no peace or compromise. The Name of Blasphemy on the Seven Heads has learned this by grievous experience; and discovering that the strength of the Eternal Name in the great conflict resided in "THE WORD," he strove mightily to suppress it. But the greater his efforts in this direction, the more strenuous and determined were the witnesses to keep the Scriptures before the people. They learned the Bible by heart - Bib ha edis-cunt memoriter; and as we have seen by quotations in their declaration, they did not neglect to study the Apocalypse, by which they were enabled to discern the times in which they lived. This the contemporaries of Constantine were enabled to do; and a hundred years afterwards, the Donatists also, as evinced by the device of the Vandal coin; the Albigenses likewise of this twelfth century; and Peter Jurieu, who discerned in his own day, A.D. 1687, the death of the witnesses, and interpreted the fall of "the Tenth of the Great City" of France, a hundred years before it came to pass; and Bicheno, a century later, who discerned their resurrection in his own times; to say nothing of the author, about seventy years later still, lest he should seem to boast of things beyond his measure. But all these, and how many more who can tell, by the help of the Apocalypse were enabled to answer the question, "Watchman, what of the Night?" and to discern things in the Body Politic of Romano-Gothic society in their true relations to the Divine Name, which would otherwise have been inscrutable.

But this Name of Blasphemy was not only essentially and constitutionally a blasphemy, but it was an utterer of blasphemies also. To blaspheme required something more than "EYES, like the eyes of a man." These were necessary to constitute it an EPISCOPAL NAME; but that this Overseeing Name, or Power, might give utterance to its purely fleshly thinkings, it was indispensable that it be furnished with a MOUTH. Therefore it was, that Daniel in his vision, in considering the Little Horn that came up after and among the ten, saw that it had a Mouth as well as Eyes. He does not inform us what the mouth looked like; whether it were like the mouth of a man, a bear, a lamb, or other animal. John the apostle was appointed to supply this information in the chapter in hand. It is very certain, however, that the mouth of a lamb would have been a very unfit symbol to represent it by, even upon Daniel's showing; for he testifies, that it was "a Mouth speaking very great things against the Most High" (ch. 7:8,20,25); or, as John expresses it, "great things and blasphemies" (ver. 5). Between, the gentle, timid, voice of a lamb, and roaring blasphemies, there is no resemblance; but, on the contrary, from the nature of the thing spoken, we would expect that the organ of utterance would be symbolized by something ferocious and terrible; and

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because, likewise, all pertaining to the Fourth Beast "is dreadful and terrible."

The NAME OF BLASPHEMY, then, is the embodiment of the Eyes and Mouth of Daniel's Little Horn, in their episcopal relation to the ten horns. It is the LATIN SEE, without which there was no point of union between them. When it came to be enthroned, and they came to acknowledge its authority in all their kingdoms, it became their "HOLY FATHER" and they sons in his "holy keeping," of whom, the first of the ten that recognized "HIS HOLINESS," is surnamed "the Eldest Son of the Church."

But commentators and "recent editors," who have undertaken to mend the Greek text, are greatly puzzled to determine whether the reading should be onoma blasphemias, a Name of Blasphemy, or onomata blasphemias, Names of Blasphemy. Griesbach has adopted the latter reading; which, a note to the "Revised Version" says, "is received by all the recent editors except Bengel. Heinrichs also mentions it as the superior reading. But Ewald, Zullig, and De Wette, disapprove it, the last considering it as an accommodation to ch. 17:3; and Hengstenburg regards the question as one of difficult decision. "I recommend," says the Annotator, "the the marginal note of the English Version be retained: "or, names." In other words, he was at a loss to say which it should be, therefore, they might split the difference between, the margin and the text. Mr. Elliott bows reverently to the authority of the "recent editors," and speculates upon it accordingly. Lord also falls into the same line; and speaks of "the names of blasphemy on the heads of the Dragon!" This is certainly a newly found apocalyptic item not revealed to John; who affirms nothing about names of blasphemy on the heads of the Dragon. But, Mr. Lord falls into this error from the assumption, that the correct reading is names; and from the fact that the heads of the Dragon, and the heads of the Beast, are the same heads; and hence, the latter having names upon them, these names must have been on the Dragon likewise!

But, it is refreshing to find four discerning men in such a crowd of the kind-Bengel, Ewald, Zullig and De Wette. These affirm the truth. It ought to read name, not names; and doubtless, De Wette has given a true reason of the difficulty among their recencies, namely, "an accommodation to ch. 17:3." But this is not the principal reason. It is this. They could not see how One Name could rest upon Seven Heads. If it had said , and one and the same name upon each of the seven heads, they might have interpreted it of one and the same inscription upon each; and there would have been no trouble with the text; but simply as it now reads , with the understanding that "the heads are Seven Kings," how

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One Name of Blasphemy was to be on these, sent them all adrift in doubt and speculation.

But, the solution of the difficulty is easy and apparent when under-stood. The key to the matter is in the signification of the Seven Heads, which requires another sort of wisdom than that by which the "recent editors" are inspired, to discern. Said the angel to John, "Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The Seven Heads are Seven Mountains on which the Woman (or Name of Blasphemy) sitteth. And there are Seven Kings: five are fallen , and one is and the other is not yet come; and when he (the Seventh Head) cometh, he must continue a short space" - ch. 17:9,10. In other words, the seven heads of the Beast and the Dragon, which are the same , have a two-fold signification; they represented the Seven Ruling Headships of the Fourth Beast, which down to the fall of the seventh, has existed in the Seven-Hilled City, ROME, as the capital of the dominion. The Name of Blasphemy came to be enthroned tliere; not contemporarily with the Seven Ruling Headships, or Forms of Government; but after they had passed away; and when it had Rome to itself without the rival presence of the ancient Senate, or Roman emperors, as at the date of this writing Feb. 3, A.D. 1867. Hence, the Name of Blasphemy was not, as Mr. Lord intimates, an arrogation of the prerogatives of the Deity, assented to by these several pagan and catholic forms of Government, obtaining in Rome from the foundation of the city; but a distinct and independent head, or Form of Government, the Germano-Roman with its own audacious Eyes, and "exceeding dreadful" Mouth, with "iron teeth" (Dan. 7:19). It sat upon the seven mountains as the spiritual overseer of the Secular Powers of Europe, who "gave their power and strength to it," that it might rule "until the words of the Deity shall be fulfilled" (Apoc. 17:13,17); it became to them a bond of union the Eyes, Mouth and Brain of the Romano-Gothic Body Politic, symbolized by this Seven Headed and Ten-Horned Monster of the Sea.

11. The Body of the Beast

"And the Beast which I saw was like unto a Leopard, and his Feet were as of a Bear" - (Verse 2).

The Leopard and the Bear elements of the Ten-Horned Monster of the Sea, indicate its identity with two others than the fourth, of the four beasts of Daniel's vision. The second beast-dominion he saw ascend out of the Mediterranean Earth, symbolized by the Great Sea (ch. 8:3,17), was "like to a Bear", which was appointed to "devour much flesh"; and the third beast was "like to a Leopard"; and "dominion was given to it." The Bear in this vision answers to the "Breast and the Arms of Silver";

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and the Leopard to the "Belly and Thighs of Brass" - of the image-representation exhibited to Nebuchadnezzar, of WHAT SHALL BE IN THE LAST OF THE DAYS beacharith yomaiyah. In the interpretation he was told that the silver section of the image was a kingdom that would be inferior to the Babylonian, which was his; and that the brass kingdom, the third section thereof, should "bear rule over all the earth." This was equivalent to saying, that the Leopard is symbolical of a kingdom bearing rule over the whole earth.

Now history, that is Daniel himself, informs us, that the kingdom which arose after Nebuchadnezzar's was the Two-Armed, or Two-Horned, Silver bear, or ram, kingdom of the Medes and the Persians: and that the third kingdom, reckoning that of Babylon as the first, was the goat-kingdom of Grecia. The Medo-Persian empire comprehended one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, stretching from India to Ethiopia (Esther 1:1). These were distributed into "three ribs, "or presidencies, of which Daniel's jurisdiction was the first. The three ribs in the Mouth of the Bear are symbolical of these political divisions. Among the provinces of the Bear were Egypt, Armenia, Syria, and Asia Minor to the Bosphorus. These all came in due time to be annexed to the Dragon empire, or Daniel's Fourth Beast; so that the Bear became a constituent of the Dragon, and its four paws, armed with claws of brass, became the Sea-Monster's apocalyptic ' with which it is yet in our future, "the last of the days," to "break in pieces, and to stamp the residue" (Dan. 7:19).

But the Leopard had a more extensive dominion than the Bear. This Greek kingdom was to "bear rule over all the earth." It commenced its predicted career about B.C. 330, under its "first king," Alexander surnamed "the Great." It extended from Macedonia into what is now a part of British India and styled the Punjaub: but notwithstanding it exceeded the dominion of the Bear it fell far short of "bearing rule over all the earth" - the earth, as defined by the symbol of the Great Sea.

Now, Daniel was given to understand that the four beasts he saw rising out of the Mediterranean Earth, would all coexist at the coming of the Ancient of days (ch. 7:12): and that, at that extraordinary time of trouble, the fourth beast body politic shall be abolished; but that the Lion, the Bear and the Leopard shall remain, only without dominion, and that for "a season and a time; or, as John expresses it, for a thousand years This was equivalent to saying that the Bear and the Leopard, and, consequently, the Lion, national organizations, or bodies politic, should be extant at the coming of Christ "as a thief," in the Sixth Vial period. In order, therefore, to represent this truth, the

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Leopard, and the Bear, and the Lion, symbols are constituted elements of the Ten-Horned Sea Monster, which is to continue in political life till the advent, as appears from the testimony that "the ten horns shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them" (ch. 17:14).

In Daniel's four beasts, each succeeding beast absorbed the dominion of its predecessor; so that the Bear may be said to have devoured the Lion; and the Leopard to have swallowed the Bear; and the Ten-Horned Fourth Beast to have eaten up the Leopard; so that in the Fourth Beast would be contained the Lion, the Bear, and the Leopard, in addition to appendages peculiar to itself. This is shown by John in his Sea Monster, who shows the Leopard he had gorged in "his body," and the Bear he had devoured in "his feet".

But it is customary to style Daniel's Fourth Beast "the Roman Empire," by which is meant the dominion exercised by Rome and Constantinople, until the latter city came to be possessed by the Turks, A.D. 1453, when it fell, or passed away. It is true, it does symbolize said Roman Empire, but it also symbolizes a vast deal more. The Roman Empire, of which Gibbon wrote the decline and fall, has never yet embraced within its jurisdiction the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the Medo-Persian Bear, which it is necessary it should have done that its Leopard-Body might "bear rule over all the earth," and that it might stand upon its Bear-Feet, and with these feet "break in pieces and stamp THE RESIDUE." John's Sea Monster with the Bear-Feet and Leopard-Body, represents Daniel's Fourth Beast in its amplest development of the last of the days (*). It answers to Nebuchadnezzar's Image at the crisis of its demolition by THE STONE. When John's Beast of the Sea comes, in fact, to stand upon its four brazen-clawed Bear-Feet, its dominion will consist of the Russian Empire, Continental and Mediterranean Europe, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Togarmah, Egypt and Syria. When the throne of the Russian Autocrat is transferred to Constantinople, the Apocalyptic Bear-Feet, armed with Brazen or Greek Claws, will also be enthroned there, and be prepared for the work that remains of "stamping the residue". This residue that yet remains to be stamped, are the "many countries" to be "overthrown," inclusive of Turkey, Egypt and part of

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(*) The comment above is important in view of current and expected developments in line with the requirements of Bible prophecy. The Russian Gog with his Eurasian confederacy will extend his influence over the area of the Western Roman Empire, or the Catholic dominated Beast of the Sea; in occupying Constantinople, he will be identified as the latter-day military Dragon power of the Eastern Empire, and extending his domination over Persia, Afghainstan, Pakistan, Syria etc., he will constitute the King of the North. Exercising power over divided Europe, and extending his domination over the Middle East to the River In us (the eastern extremity of Alexander's Empire) he will fulfill the latter-day role required by the prophecies of the last days. Driving south through the "glorious land" to Egypt, he will aspire to occupy the remaining territories in a bid for world domination. This will bring him ultimately to Jerusalem- and to defeat at at the hands of Christ and the glorified saints. - Publishers.

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the Glorious Land. Edom, Moab and part of Ammon, will evade the stamping process. These three countries will be "the front" of the forces of "Sheba, and Dedan, and the Merchants of Tarshish and the Young Lions thereof" - the Anglo-Indian Leopard empire of the latter days (Ezek. 38:1-6,13; 11:40-44). The part which Britain has to enact in "the time of the end," when "the Eastern Question" is to be Scripturally resolved, clearly indicates that she is not one of the ten horns. She is not of their world, but the Oriental section of the Sea Monster's Leopard Body- a world peculiar to herself, and as distinct from them as Canada and the United States. In the approaching scramble for the effects of the expiring Sick Man of Ottomania, she will most likely secure for herself, or at least take possession of, Egypt and Syria. But Daniel shows that whatever power may primarily become seized of these countries, will not be able to prevent their being stamped by the Feet of the Bear. "The land of Egypt shall not escape" the power of the King of the North; "but he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt." From this conquest he will proceed into the Holy Land. The war between the belligerents will then be transferred to this country, upon which the Oriental Power must necessarily retire. The conflict waged will be furious; for the Northern Power, symbolized by John's Scarlet-colored Beast, will "go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall pitch the tents of his entrenched camp between the seas unto the mountain of the glory of the holy." This brings him to Jerusalem, which he besieges and captures (Zech. 14:2). Upon this the Oriental Leopard falls back upon Edom, Moab and Ammon, beyond the Jordan and the Dead Sea. At this crisis the face of Yahweh is flushed with fury, and he goes forth against the invader (Ezek. 38:18; Zech. 14:3). As the Stone-Power, he smites the Image upon the feet, and shatters it into fragments. The Bear, the Lion and Leopard, inclusive of the British section of the last, lose their dominion; but as Assyria and Egypt are annexed to Israel (Isa. 19:23-25) and the tide of war is rolled back from Syria, north and west, upon the countries of the Ten Hoins, and of the Two-Horned beasts, over which the Name of Blasphemy presides as their prophet, priest and king. This solution of the Eastern Question ushers in the solution of the Roman Question, neither of which can be finally disposed of until the Ancient of day's, that is, Jesus Christ, come; and he give authority and power to his brethren, the Saints, to execute the judgment written in ch. 13:10; which is, as David expressed it, to slay the beast (the Fourth Beast in Apocalyptic manifestation) , destroy his body in the burning flame, and take away the dominion of the Lion, the Bear and the Leopard (ch. 7:11,12). The slaying of the beast is the utter extermina-

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tion of the Greek and Latin Catholic governments by the power of the sword; and the taking away of the dominion of the Lion, the Bear, the Leopard, or that of the Asiatic Powers, is the binding of the Dragon, casting him into the abyss, shutting him up, and Setting a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more for "a season and a time," or "a thousand years."

From these premises, then, it will be seen that this Apocalyptic Sea-Monster is not exclusively the Romano-Gothic Ten-Horn constitution of Papal Mediterranean Europe, but symbolical likewise of the Byzantine, or Greek Empire, as indicated by the Leopard-Body and Bear-Feet; for, that the Bear is Greek as well as the Leopard, Daniel shows by testifying that the Fourth Beast "had Nails of Brass" (ch. 7:19); and in his prophecy brass is the symbol of the dominion of "the brazen-coated Greeks." Because, therefore, this Beast of the Sea symbolized the dominions of the whole eastern and western Mediterranean world, all the "kindreds, and tongues, and nations," styled Apocalyptically "the whole earth," in subjection to them, are said to have "wandered after the beast," and to have "worshipped" both the Dragon and the Beast-Vers. 3,4. The populations inhabiting Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Greece, "worshipped" the imperial power enthroned in Constantinople, and that only; while the populations of Italy, Africa, Spain, Gaul, "worshipped" the Constantinopolitan and the new Gothic powers as well. This two-fold worship of the subjects of the Franks, Burgundians, Lombards, Visigoths, Suevi, and so forth, may be familiarly illustrated by numerous modern instances. Thus, Egypt is a part of the Turkish empire, and at the same time a quasi independent kingdom under its own hereditary king, who acknowledges the suzerainty of the Sultan; so that the Egyptians may be said to worship the king, and also to worship the Sultan, and to say in their ignorance, "Who is like unto the Sultan? Who is able to make war with him?" The question is very appropriate with regard to the Beast, if not to the Sultan; for, as the Beast is the symbol of power bearing rule over all the Mediterranean Earth, where is the power able to make war with it? Men know of none , because they know not the purpose of Yahweh. But, in the tenth verse of this thirteenth chapter, He has in effect declared that there is a power able to make war with the Beast, and to bind and slay him; for as he has made war with the Saints and Witnesses, bound them in captive chains, and conquered and killed them, so he is to be bound and killed with the sword, when judgment shall be executed upon him, by the very victims of his "exceeding dreadful and terrible" tyranny, after they shall have been raised from among the dead, and strengthened for the war.

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12.The Mouth of the Beast

"2. And his Mouth as the Mouth of a Lion. 5. And there was given unto him (the Beast of the Sea) a Mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. 6. And he opened his Mouth in blasphemy concerning the Deity, to have blasphemed his Name, and his Tabernacle, and those who tabernacle in the heaven."

Every living, and many inanimate, things, have their mouth in a literal or figurative sense. In man, it is the hollow between the jaws, Shut or opened by the lips, which are, therefore styled "the doors of the mouth." In him, it is the outlet of that which defiles, or of wisdom, graciousness, and blessing. It is that which proceedeth out of the mouth by which the character of the inward man is in a great degree determined. A man whose mouth speaks the wisdom of the Deity, gracious words, and blessing, and whose conduct is in conformity with what he speaks, is one whose heart is right with the Deity, and from which no blasphemy can find utterance: "the heart of the wise teacheth his mouth," therefore, "the mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment" (Prov. 16:23; Psa. 37:30).

But the Mouth of the Beast evidently doth not belong to mouths of this class; for it "speaks blasphemies concerning the Deity." Hence, the heart of the Beast must be desperately wicked; for "out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh." The character of the inward Beast, therefore, or of that system of things spiritual and temporal, doctrinal, practical and political, hidden in the symbols before us, must be essentially "the Mystery of Iniquity in all the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish" (2 Thess. 2:7,10). The Mouth of the Beast is the mouth of the wicked in their politico-religious organization. It is a mouth which "speaketh vanity," and "poureth out evil things:" the words thereof "are smoother than butter, but war is in their heart; their words are softer than oil, yet are they drawn swords." With this Mouth "the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom Yahweh abhorreth: Through the pride of his countenance he will not seek, the Deity is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments, 0 Yahweh! are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved; for I shall never be in adversity. His Mouth is full of cursing, and deceit, and fraud; under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent; his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den; he lieth in wait to catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth and humbleth himself, that the

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poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: He hideth his face; he will never see it" (Psa. 10:3-11). If John had written this as descriptive of the Lion-Mouth of the Beast, nothing could have more accurately recorded what have been the facts developed in the many centuries of its wickedness and blasphemies. The words proceeding out of it have been "softer than oil" towards its wor-hippers; but they have been "drawn swords" against the poor saints and witnesses of the anointed Jesus. He has puffed at his enemies; for, though but feeble in arms, he has set the most powerful of his enemies at defiance; and by his spiritual thunders reduced them to the most abject submission. The Name of Blasphemy speaking by his Lion-Mouth, de-clares the eternity of his rule; and that he shall "see no sorrow" from which he shall not ultimately be delivered: "He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved; for I shall never be in adversity" (Apoc. 18:7); and, as for cursing, deceit, fraud, mischief and vanity, his mouth is indeed full; for in the atmosphere of these he lives, and moves, and has his being. The judgments of the Deity are indeed "out of his sight" far above him. He discerns them not. This is highly characteristic of him at the present time. Even his worshippers are hating him, and making him desolate and naked, as it has long since been predicted they would (Apoc. 17:16); yet so blind are his eyes with which he surveys the world, and so infatuate and unteachable his obdurate and beastly heart from his long surfeit and intoxication of blood (verse 6), that he can see nothing; so that, persisting in his obstinacy, the fate of the blind when they undertake to lead the blind, will come upon him in an hour when he thinks only of future glory, and he will suddenly "go into perdition," and there will be none to help.

When a man becomes a spokesman for another he is regarded as a mouth to him. This was the case with Aaron. He was appointed for a mouth to Moses, who was slow of speech, and of a slow tongue; and Moses was to be to him in the place of God (Exod. 4:16). Hence, Aaron was Moses' prophet, who spoke as he was moved by Moses. So of all in old time who spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit; they became mouths to Him who moved them to speak; and therefore, it is written, "the Deity spake to the fathers by the prophets." There were such mouths of the Deity in the ecclesia at Corinth. They were styled prophets, and their utterances, prophesyings; or, speaking unto men to "edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (1 Cor. 14:3). And so also in relation to the worshippers of the Beast. They needed A PROPHET to teach and build them up in their superstition, and to be for them a bond of union in all things pertaining to it. As they designated their superstition "the Holy Catholic Apostolic," they required a Prophet, who

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should be the Mouth of that system; and would expound and defend it against the Holy Scriptures, Deity Himself, and all who claimed to be His witnesses. The utterances of this Mouth would be his prophesyings; and by no means to be despised by those who should enjoy the favor of the Beast; or, of that Name of Blasphemy upon his heads. The requirements of the worshippers were provided for by the Dragon, who gave them "a Mouth speaking great things and blasphemies"; and to the Mouth himself, he "gave authority over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations;" so that "all that dwell upon the (Mediterranean) earth should worship him, whose names are not written, from the foundation of the world, in the book of the life of the Lamb slain." To these millions of worshippers, upon whom the Deity sent "a strong delusion that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" - the Mouth given became the spokesman of Anti-christendom - "the Mouth of the False Prophet," or Name of Blasphemy - (Apoc. 16:13; 19:30). He is styled a false prophet, because his utterances, or prophesyings, are mere fraud, deceit, and vanity; because the signs, and lying wonders wrought in the presence of the Beast-authorities by him, are an imposture, and his preaching, allocutions, decrees, and so forth, the falsehoods of a lying oracle, by which they are deceived who have received the mark of the beast, and who worship his image (Apoc. 19:20). His end is perdition by being "cast alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone."

A Name of Blasphemy with Eyes only, might look more stoutly and defiantly than its fellows; but, however full it might be of "great things and blasphemies," it could give no expression to them without a mouth. We have seen how Aaron was Moses' Mouth, or prophet; so, upon a like principle, the reigning Pope for the time being is the Mouth, or Prophet, of the Name of Blasphemy; and therefore, of "the broad church," which is the National Superstition of all the Horn-Kingdoms. The Eyes and the Mouth, then, of Daniel's Little Horn, though in his vision placed in that horn only, represent a sovereign order of ecclesiastical officials, the Papal Dynasty, which is Eyes and Mouth both to the Ten Horns and to the Beast of the earth. Daniel says nothing of any other mouth pertaining to his Fourth Beast than this mouth of the Little Horn upon his head. He speaks of his "great iron teeth," however; we must therefore, by the omission, no doubt designed, understand that these iron teeth belong to the Little Horn mouth. Iron is as much the symbol of the power of Rome, as brass is of that of Constantinople. If the teeth had been of brass, we must have looked to Constantinople for the Mouth; but the teeth being of iron, our attention is directed to Rome. The teeth being of iron, also connects the Mouth with the iron section of

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Nebuchadnezzar's image; and the iron band of the Babylonian Stump (Dan. 4:15). This metal symbolizes the fourth dominion, as appears from ch. 2:40: "the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise." First, the Lion of Babylon, or the golden section of the image; then, the Bear of Medo-Persia, or the silver; third, the Leopard of Grecia, or the brazen; and fourth, the Dragon of Rome, or the iron. These are the four general phases of "the kingdom of men," from the time of Nimrod to the future coming of the Ancient of Days to supersede it by "THE KINGDOM OF GOD~" The iron symbolizes the last: whether therefore it be a log, a band, a tooth, or a toe, if they be of iron, they are all related to the Latin section of the kingdom of men.

But, was the mouth, with its "great iron teeth," like the mouth of a man? No: the human element of the thing signified, had been sufficiently indicated by "the Eyes, like the eyes of a man." These represented a mystical man, the Antichrist. But, was he Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Latin, Turk, Jew, or infidel? This may be determined by the Mouth of the Monster of the Sea; for whatever the mouth is, such also is the man, or beast, that owns it. No; the mouth was not like the mouth of a man; "his Mouth," says the apostle, "was as the mouth of a Lion," and with "great iron teeth," according to Daniel. It was therefore not only a ROMAN MOUTH, but a BABYLONIAN MOUTH also: for the Lion is the symbol of the old Babylonian organization of the kingdom of men . Hence, his mouth was like the mouth of Daniel's first beast; his feet like his second's; and his body like that of his third. This symbolization connects Babylon with Rome. Had the teeth been silver and the mouth like that of a leopard, the Name of Blasphemy would have been Persian and Greek; but, as given by John and Daniel, it can only be Latin and Babylonian. The following remarks of Daubuz on the apocalyptic identity of Rome and Babylon are quite in point here:

"Babylon in the Revelation," he says, "is Rome, not only on account of Rome's being guilty of usurpation, tyranny, and idolatry, and of persecuting the church of God in the same manner as the old literal Babylon was, but also on the account of her being, by' a successive desolution of power, the successor of the pretended rights of Babylon. The literal Babylon was the beginner and supporter of tyranny and idolatry, first by Nimrod or Ninus, and afterwards by Nebuchadnezzar; and therefore in Isaiah 47:12, she is accused of magical enchantments from her youth or infancy; namely, from the very first origin of her being a city or nation.

"This city and the whole empire thereof was taken by the Persians

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under Cyrus. The Persians were subdued by the Macedonians, and the Macedonians by the Romans: so that Rome succeeded to the power of the old Babylon. And it was her way to adopt the worship of the false deities she had conquered: so that by her own acts she became the Heiress and Successor of all the Babylonian idolatry, and of all that was introduced into it, by the immediate successors of Babylon, and by consequence of all the idolatry of the earth.

"Rome Catholic, corrupted by dressing up the idolatry of Rome Pagan in another form, and forcing it upon the world, because the successor of the old literal Babylon in tyranny and idolatry, and may therefore be properly represented and called by the name of Babylon; it being the usual style of the prophets to give the name of the head, or first institution, to the successors, however different they may be in some circumstances; even as in Ezek. 37, the Messiah is called David, as being successor to David; and as the Christian church, though chiefly composed of Gentiles, is called, Gal. 6:16, by the name of Israel, as successively inheriting, in a spiritual sense, the promises made to the literal Israel. So Rachel, in Jer. 31:15, Matt. 2:18, is put for the town, or women inhabiting the town of Bethlehem, wherein was the sepulchre of the lit-

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Roman Catholicism identified with Babylonian mythology. Hislop's Two Babylons clearly demonstrates the links of Romanism with Paganism, and shows from the records of history and archaeology how the former superimposed the latter upon Apostolic Christianity. Pagan feasts and rites were given "Christian" names, and introduced into the worship of the church. The doctrines of Romanism exist in ancient Pagan religions; whereas the basic doctrines of the Scriptures do not. Basic to the teaching of Catholicism is the worship of the Mother and the Son. The following drawings, taken from Rislop's Two Babylons identifies the two systems.

GODDESS MOTHER AND SON. FROM BABYLON , GODDESS MOTHER AND FROM INDIA

GODDESS MOTHER AND SON FROM INDIA The infant Krishma (the black God) in the arms of the goddess Devaka

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eral Rachel, of which, consequently, those inhabitants were still in possession. And so the Persians and Moguls call the Ottoman Turks by the name of Roumi, i.e. Romans, because in possession of the country and capital enjoyed by the ancient Romans.

"Lastly, that Babylon is Rome is evident from the explanation given by the angel in Rev. 17:18, where it is expressly said to be that great city which ruleth over the kings of the earth: no other city but Rome being in the exercise of such power at the time when the vision was seen."

The lion and the teeth, then, demonstrate beyond all doubt, that the Beast's organ of utterance is Romano-Babylonian, having its seat, or throne, upon the Seven Reads, or Mountains. In other words, it is the Roman Government headed up in the Pope. This is the Name of Blasphemy, or blasphemous body-corporate, with its Eyes and Mouth, which has reigned over the Ten Horns for many ages. This sovereignty, like all others, had a beginning, as it will also have an end. It did not begin to reign as a Roman Power till all the Seven Heads of the Dragon-Beast had fulfilled their course; then that which hindered his manifestation would be totally and completely removed; for it is evident, that no Mouth like the Papal Government could co-exist in the same city with another sovereign power. Thus, if Rome were to become the capital of the kingdom of Italy, the Pope could only continue there as the Eyes and Mouth of the Horn-kingdoms without temporal sovereignty. Before these kingdoms were established, he was neither the Eyes nor Mouth of the Little Horn; but simply "HEAD OF ALL THE CHURCHES" of the Graeco-Latin , or Dragon empire. He had no imperial or royal authority; but only that sort of influence that attaches to the Chief Bishop of the capital of a dominion. In A.D. 554, and onward for many years, the Universal Latin Bishop was subject to the Exarchs of Ravenna, the Viceroys of the Emperors of Constantinople, in all things secular; while in spirituals he was acknowledged by his lord and master to be supreme. In after ages, however, he became greater than he who had created him; and when he opened his mouth in the roarings of his blasphemy he made all the beasts of the field to tremble. His heart was lifted up as the heart of Lucifer in his pride; and with a truly Babylonian Mouth, in the stoutness of his presumption, said, "I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of AlL: I will sit also upon the Mount of the congregation in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High" (Isa. 14:12-14). But there is a limit to human arrogance and blasphemy. The Romano-Babylonian Mouth of the Beast has long since passed the zenith of self-exaltation and presumption; and is now but the shadow of a name. The fate of the Babylonian

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Lucifer awaits him. He will be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the pit; and though once the Mouth that made the world to tremble, and did shake kingdoms, he will be cast out as an abomination, and reproach of all peoples; for his dominion is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.

13. The Development of the Romano-Babylonian Name of Blasphemy

When the fiftieth day after the crucifixion had fully come, the apostles were all with one accord in one place, NOT IN ROME, but in Jerusalem. In obedience to the Lord's command, they were tarrying in this city until they should be endued with power from on high to execute the mission entrusted to them. Nor had they long to wait; for about nine in the morning of that day, they were all visibly and audibly filled with the Holy Spirit, and proceeded to speak as they were moved by the Spirit.

This extraordinary inflation of the apostles with Spirit when noised abroad, caused a multitude of people to assemble to behold this marvelous exhibition of the supernatural. Among these were "STRANGERS OF ROME, Jews and proselytes," who had come from the Capital of the empire to celebrate the Passover, the Wave Offering of the Sheaf, and the Feast of First Fruits, according to the Mosaic Law. Being devout Jews and proselytes, they were zealous for the law, and earnestly intent upon all the sacrificial observances it prescribed. They were acquainted with Jews of Nazareth; and with the miracles, and wonders, and signs, with which the Deity had attested his claims to the Messiahship; and had witnessed also his ignominious execution by the wicked hands of his enemies. For anything they knew, he was still in death, and securely confined within its gates; so that, whatever they might have thought of him, while living, they had doubtless settled it in their minds, that, though a man of excellent deportment, and of gracious and benevolent disposition, he was self-deceived. Was he not dead? And could a dead man be the Christ of God for the redemption of his people?

With these convictions, these devout Roman strangers stood before PETER and the rest of the apostles. They saw upon their heads Spirit, blazing in cloven-tongues of flame, the symbol of many languages in which they were declaring the wonderful works of the Deity. Astonished at the sublime eloquence outfiowing from these illiterate Galilatan fishermen, they said one to another, "What meaneth this?" They had seen nothing like it in Rome, nor yet in Jerusalem, before; and there were none that could expound it, save the Eternal Spirit before whom they stood. Moved by this Divine Power, PETER standing up with

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the Eleven, replied to their inquiry, by saying, "Hearken ye unto my words." Why did not James, or John, "the beloved disciple," or some other apostle, rather than Peter, who, they afterwards learned, had thrice denied his Lord, stand up and invite them to hearken to his words? This inquiry would certainly be mooted before their return to Rome. They perceived that Peter was, on this Pentecostian occasion, the Mouth of the Apostolic Body; nor was he a Babylonian Mouth, nor a Roman Mouth, but the Mouth of Deity, in the sense of the Deity speaking by him. Why was this? To this question it would be replied, that the Spirit had given the Keys of the Kingdom of the Heavens to Peter according to a previous promise through Jesus Christ, who had said, "I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon the earth, shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon the earth, shall be loosed in the heavens" (Matt. 16:19). What they saw and heard was in fulfillment of this promise, and of what had been spoken by the prophet Joel. Their attention being gained by this, they were furthermore informed by Peter, the Holder of the Keys, that all that had recently been transacted in Jerusalem connected with the crucifixion, was "by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of the Deity." He charged them directly with the murder of Jesus, saying, "him ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." They had demanded his life, and imprecated the curse of his blood upon them and their children. But, continued Peter, the Deity hath delivered him from death, and placed him at the right hand of power in the heaven, there to remain until the time shall come for Deity to give him the throne of his father David; in proof of which, he shed forth the Spirit which they saw upon the heads of the apostles, and heard in all the languages of the empire.

The result of this discourse of the Spirit by the mouth of Peter, was the conviction, that the same Jesus they had crucified was alive again, and by the Deity made both Lord and Christ. These devout Jews and proselytes of Rome were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, What shall we do?" They perceived that they were involved in the greatest of crimes from which they knew not how they could be loosed. The import of their question was therefore, What must we do to be loosed from the consequences of our iniquity? Again it was Peter who took up the question put to all the apostles; for "Peter said unto them, Repent, and be immersed every one of you for the Name of Jesus Christ, epi to onomati, unto remission of sins," eis aphesin hamartion. This command of the Spirit was new doctrine in-deed to these Roman strangers from the Capital; but their conviction of its truth, "caused them to cease sacrificing and offering" (Dan. 9:27) ac-

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cording to the law; and gladly receiving Peter's word, to be immersed for the Name. They were now immersed believers of the things concerning the kingdom of the Deity and the Name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 8:12). Peter by the use of his Key had opened the door of the prison in which they were bound, and gave them liberty in loosing them from their sins: and what he had done upon earth was ratified in the heavens, according to the words of Jesus.

Having thus become CHRISTADELPHIANS, or Brethren of the Christ they had crucified and slain, they had placed themselves in such a position, that, on their arrival in Rome, they would be regarded as apostates from Judaism; and no longer worthy of fellowship in the Synagogue of the Jews. It can easily be conceived what an excitement would be created in the Jewish community of Rome. They would, of course, tell the story of what they had seen, heard, and done; but, from the temper of the Jews in those days, we may know that, if they had no other evidence than their own assertion, they would be accused of falsehood and blasphemy; and accounted as worthy of a like fate with the Nazarene. But, the Spirit in Jerusalem had provided for such an eventuality in Rome and elsewhere. He knew that "the Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven," after the feasts were over, would have to return to their several countries and friends; and he knew also, that such extraordinary facts and doctrines as he had prepared for mankind, required no less than the attestation of Deity in his cooperation with his witnesses. Hence, he not only moved Peter to specify the condition upon which believers of the Gospel of the Kingdom might be loosed from all past sins; but he moved him also to promise the baptized "the gift of the Holy Spirit." Filled sufficiently with this, they would be prepared for any emergency that might arise.

What, then, was necessary to equip these new converts for the work of introducing the gospel of Jesus Christ among the Jews of Rome? It was necessary that all things they had heard from the apostles should be brought to their remembrance; and that they should be guided into all the truth (John 14:8-14). This was as needful for them in Rome as for the apostles in Jerusalem. But more was required than this. It was necessary that what they affirmed as truth of Deity issuing from their mouth, should be acknowledged by Him as such; that their hearers might be-lieve for the work's sake. In this case, their faith would "stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of the Deity." In short, it was necessary, that they should have all "the diversities of gifts" constituting "the Manifestation of the Spirit;" such as the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith as it were, to remove mountains, gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of

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tongues, and the interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 12:4-10). Now, these gifts they would no doubt receive by the imposition of the hands of Peter, after the manner recorded of him, when the apostles sent him and John down to Samaria for a like purpose; who, when they arrived, "prayed for them that they might receive holy spirit: then laid they hands upon them and they received holy spirit" (Acts 8:15-17). In this way the gifts were imparted when apostolically and evangelistically bestowed.

Thus equipped, these "strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes," would be transformed into a company of "prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers;" or saints perfected for the work of the ministry, for the formation in Rome of the Body of Christ, and its edification; until it should attain to perfect manhood in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of the Deity - "to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that thenceforth it be no more composed of babes, tossed to-and-fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to de-ceive." All among these circumcised strangers from Rome, having the moral qualifications specified by Paul in his letters to Timothy and Titus, would be, doubtless, thus spiritually equipped through the instrumentality of Peter, who, with the rest of the apostles, would request them, as Brethren of Christ, to devote themselves with all earnestness to "speaking the truth in love" to the Brethren in Moses; not in Rome only, but in all Italy, as opportunity might serve: not forgetting, of course, this necessary principle of action, that they be faithful to the original elements of the doctrine delivered to them; and that they so build upon the foundation, that the converts they might make might "grow up into him in all things who is THE HEAD," and therefore both Eyes and Mouth of the Body; or, as Peter styles him, "the Chief Shepherd and Bishop (epis-copos) of their souls." "From whom the whole Body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working of the Spirit in the measure of every part (whether a prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher) maketh increase of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4:9-16). These instructions would be endorsed by all the apostles, among whom John would tell them, that he and the rest had declared unto them what they had seen and heard, that they might have fellowship with them; "and truly," said he, "our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ, in whom is no darkness at all;" so that, if they walked in the light, they would have "fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ would cleanse them from all sin" (1 John 1:3-7).

On their arrival in Rome, they would be, whether many or few

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would matter not, the Body of Christ in that city - the Holy Apostolic Ecciesia on the Seven Heads. They were a company of Christadelphians, Christou adelphoi, or Brethren of Christ, who believed into him through the word of Peter and the Eleven (John 17:20). This was the day of small things, which they did not despise. They had no temple, cathedral, or synagogue in which they could meet on their return, A.D. 33. Even seventeen years after they met in the house of Priscilla and Aquila, two Jews, who made tents for a living, Acts 18:2; Rom. 16:5. In this place, Paul mentions twenty-six by name, and alludes to others connected with them. Some of them, doubtless, were the original "strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes"; but there is nothing extant to distinguish them from the rest. When Paul wrote to the ecciesia in Rome, he speaks of Tryphena and Tryphosa "who labor in the Lord." These may have been two of them, but there is no certainty. Whatever their names may have been, matters not now; they are no doubt on record in the heavens. They were apostolically "in the Lord," and were prepared to state "the truth as it is in Jesus," and to illustrate it, and to prove it, infallibly, or without making mistakes. This infallibility resided not in a Pope or a single bishop. There was no Bishop or Pope of Rome at that early day besides Tiberius Catsar, who was the Pontifex Maximus of the whole empire. There were bishops of the ecclesia in Rome; for these prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers," newly arrived from Jerusalem, were the presbyters, or elders, and overseers, or episcopoi, of their wonderful, though little, community, whose mission it was, first, to separate a people for the name of Christ; and secondly, to subvert the superstition of the capital. These saints, as the Star-Angel of the Ecclesia in Rome (Apoc. 1:20) were infallible teachers and rulers, whose infallibility was not of themselves, but of Holy Spirit ministered to them by Peter and the Eleven. This guided them into all the truth, and brought all things to their remembrance; so that thus they acquired a mouth and wisdom from Christ, which all their adversaries were not able to gainsay or successfully to resist (Luke 21:15).

At this early date, A.D. 33, all that were in Rome called saints, were "the beloved of the Deity." It was not then necessary to go to Rome to be "canonized" by a pope. They had been made saints at Jerusalem by the word, which called them to that holiness without which no man can see the Lord (John 17:17; Rom. 1:7). These spiritually-endowed saints were the Mouth of the Deity; first, to the Jews; and some years afterwards, to the Gentiles, of Rome. For a few years, they preached the gospel to none but Jews; so that for that space, the ecclesia in that city was composed solely of the circumcised. It is not surprising, therefore, that the pagans should make no distinction between the

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Ecclesia and the Synagogue. They regarded them all as Jews; so that, when Claudius commanded all Jews to depart from Rome, Aquila and Priscilla, though Christians, had to leave. But, before the publication of this edict, Peter had opened the door of faith to Gentiles, as recorded in Acts 10 and 11. The news of this soon reached Rome, and the Mouth of Deity was opened there to the same effect. Pagans were invited to "the obedience of faith for His name," that they might become "the tabernacle of the Deity, and dwellers in the heaven," together with the saints already separated from the Synagogue. But for this extension of the Ecclesia, the edict of Claudius would have left none of the saints in Rome. It expelled all natural Jews, without regard to their belief; so that, in this crisis, the Ecclesia there would become in appearance entirely Gentile. But, when the edict became obsolete, the Jewish members would many of them return; nevertheless, the Jewish influence in the Ecclesia would predominate no more.

From this sketch of the origin of things in Rome, the reader will easily perceive how Peter, the apostle of the Circumcision, and the Two Keys, came in after times to occupy so prominent a position in the capital. When the strangers of Rome returned from Jerusalem, they would unquestionably speak more about Peter than the rest, because he was chief speaker. From this fact, he would acquire the title "Prince of the Apostles" and Holder of the Keys: and though there is no reliable evidence that he ever was in Rome (and, if he ever had been there, the account of it would hardly have been omitted from the Acts), the part he enacted was so conspicuous, that his relation to Rome in the introduction of the gospel there, would seem almost like his personal presence. In process of time, this would be affirmed, like many other imaginary things, to be a fact; and then, when popes came into fashion, they would seek to sanctify the imposition by styling Peter "the first pope!"

In the earliest years of the ecclesia in Rome, its faith was spoken of throughout all the empire. Its members presented their bodies a living sacrifice, and were not conformed to the world; but were transformed by the renewing of their mind; which was characterized by unanimity, a disregard of high things, and association with men of low estate. The Star-Angel that ruled them was neither "Bishop of Rome," "Universal Bishop," nor "Pope;" but a presbytery, or eldership, of inspired men of low degree in society, whose only ambition it was to be "glorified together with Jesus Christ." They would have rejected with indignation and contempt the idea of being united with the State, or any state, as "the Church by law established." Their mission was to convert sinners from the error of their way, not to form alliances with them; for they

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well knew that the friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15).

But this state of ecclesiastical affairs, so highly commendable, did not continue very long undisturbed by "unlearned questions and strifes of words," which do not edify. Peter's use of the SECOND KEY entrusted to him, and to him only, to the exclusion of all successors in Catsarea and elsewhere, aroused all the latent prejudices of the Jewish mind, whether identified with the Synagogue or the Ecclesia. The Jewish element of the Body of Christ soon found themselves in the minority; and that the uncircumcised were rejoicing in things which Peter said nothing about, when, by the use of the FIRST KEY, he opened the door of faith to them. Some of them were Judaistically disposed, while others who had been added from the Synagogue were but partially enlightened, and developed themselves as "false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily (or with a secret purpose) to spy out the liberty which the Gentile party had in Christ Jesus, that they might bring it into bondage." These false brethren stood up in all the ecclesias of Christ, and became the occasion of much trouble and anxiety to Paul, who was "preacher, apostle, and teacher of the Gentiles" (2 Tim. 1:11). Thus, Paul being especially the apostle of the uncircumcision, and Peter the apostle of the circumcision, in Corinth the Judaizers said they were of Cephas, or Peter; while their Opponents, who advocated liberty from Mosaic bondage, said they were of Paul. The same condition of things manifested itself in Rome. The false brethren there were zealous for Peter, in whom they boasted as the Prince of the Apostles and Holder of the Keys. Their dogma was, that "it was needful to circumcise the Gentile converts to Christ, and to command them to keep the law of Moses, or they would not be saved" (Acts 15:1,5): and, although this was contradicted by all the apostles as well as Paul, they continued to teach it; and with so much success, that the leaders of the faction and their disciples through-out Asia Minor, all turned away from Paul (2 Tim. 1:15); whom they did not hesitate to speak of evilly and with disrespect.

The false brethren in Rome were not behind their brethren in the provinces in zeal for the propagation of their traditions. By their fruits they were proved to be "grievous wolves, not sparing the flock; and speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them." Their party was in secret alliance with the Synagogue; and their purpose seems to have been to Judaize Christianity, and then to use it in this corrupt form to turn the idolators from Jupiter to Moses, and subordinately, to Christ. In this way they would draw disciples after them, and thus acquire importance and influence in the world, which they clearly perceived were not to be obtained by devotion to the unadulterated Word.

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The interests of Christ's flock they measured by their own selfishness, which was promoted by the assumption of clerical lordship over the multitude of them that believed. Paul alludes to these "grievous wolves," overlaid with wool, styled by Christ Jesus, "false prophets who come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves," in his letter to the saints in Rome, ch. 16:17, saying, "I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine you have learned; and AVOID THEM. For they that are such serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." They caused divisions and offences, which, when viewed in the light of the apostolic teaching, and that of the Star-Angel which presided over them, were clearly seen to be such.

Now, it was from this Judaizing Faction in the Ecclesia at Rome all those evils sprung, which afterwards attained maturity as "THE CHURCH OF ROME." The false brethren of this anti-apostolic faction were the out-ward expression of that "Mystery of Iniquity" which Paul said "doth already work." In the beginning, it worked cautiously until it gained sufficient hold to make it careless of appearances. It aimed at the establishment of a HIERARCHY, or Sacred Order of Rulers, whose authority should be supreme over all. This Order is styled by Paul "the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition." So long as primitive apostolic equality was maintained among the presbyters, or overseers, of the ecclesia, there was no scope for the exhibition of such a tendency. The apostles were not lords over the faith of their brethren in Christ, but helpers of their joy. All the ecclesias were classed into rulers and ruled; but the rulers were no less governed by the authority of Christ in all their administrations, than the ruled were in all their religious practices. They were subject one to another, and clothed with humility. But, when a zeal for the doctrines and commandments of men, and a striving for power and dominion over one another took the place of the simplicity which is in Christ, the Mystery of Iniquity began to crop out, first, in the separation of the elders into a distinct order; and afterwards, in one particular presbytery usurping supremacy over the rest.

Originally the distinction of clergy and laity did not exist. The professors of Christianity were all brethren in Christ; and their several ecclesias, the clergies, kleroi, or heritages, of the Deity. The elders, or the episcopal presbyters, were exhorted by Peter to "feed the flock of the Deity, episcopizing it willingly; but not as lording over the heritages." The ecclesial heritages, or clergies, composed the flock, which the elders were to episcopize, or oversee, not for their own sordid interests, but for the benefit of the flock itself.

But soon after the breaking up of the Mosaic Commonwealth by

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the Romans, A.D. 70, the Judaizers changed the relations of things. They argued, that now the Levitical Order was removed, the Elderships of the ecclesias should take its place; and as the tribe of Levi was Yahweh's clergy, lot, or heritage under the law, so the Elderships should now be regarded as his clergy under the gospel; not forgetting to put in a claim for Levi's tithes and other perquisites. Whatever might have been thought of the claim, and the argument to enforce it, matters not; the Judaizing Presbyters and Deacons became the "priest and Levites" of the growing apostasy; and soon after ripened into a Hierachy, or "Holy Order," called "The Clergy," in contradistinction to the multitude, whom they styled ho laos, the Laity, or common people.

Having successfully usurped the birthright of Christ's brethren, andimposed themselves upon the Deity as his charge, or lot, an element of "the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews, and are not, but the synagogue of the Satan" (Apoc. 2:9), they were prepared to push onwards for the Satan's throne. About the middle of the second century, a very important change occurred promotive of this unhallowed ambition. The innovation then taking place, was a marked distinction between the Bishop and the Elder; in consequence of which a third kind of office was created; so that, instead of Episcopal Elders, or bishops and deacons, we come to read in ecclesiastical authors of bishops, presbyters and deacons. In a collection of epistles attributed to Ignatius, this novel and unscriptural distinction frequently and officially obtrudes upon the reader. This novelty soon came to be generally admitted, and paved the way for pernicious results. The adoption of the idea laid the foundation for the dominion of a Clerical King, or Pontiff, with clerical officials; a kingdom which, having originated in the Mystery of Iniquity, could not possibly ultimate in any other manifestation than that which has filled the habitable with hypocrisy and crime for sixteen hundred years. The passage alluded to in Ignatius is in a letter from him to Polycarp: "Attend to the Bishop," says he, "that God may attend to you. I pledge my soul for theirs, who are subject to the Bishop, presbyters, and deacons. Let my part in God be with them." No man guided by the Spirit into all the truth could write in such a style as this. Again, in his epistle to the Ephesians, ch. 6, it is said, "the more silent a man finds the bishop, he ought to reverence him the more": on which Dr. Campbell remarks, that "one would be tempted to think this has originated with some opulent ecclesiastic, who was far too great a man for preaching; at least, we may say, it seems an oblique apology for those who have no objection to anything implied in a bishopric, except the discharge of its duties. No one whose notion of the duties of a bishop correspond with the prophet Isaiah's idea of a watchman, ch. 56:10, would have thought taciturnity a

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recommendation." The passage must have been an interpolation, or if Ignatius really wrote it, he must have been in league with the Judaizers. Surely he could not have been ignorant that Paul required a bishop to be "able by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convince the gainsayers; for there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision; whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake." A silent bishop would be of no use in such a diocese. To talk down vain talkers who had made such a progress as this, would require an amount of words that would effectually destroy the reputation of any bishop for a taciturn, and therefore worshipful official.

The writers in the interest of the Latin Name of Blasphemy have fabricated a list of what they style "Bishops of Rome." The first fifty-six they have named "Saints," in their sense of the word, which signifies one decreed to be holy by an official act of the pope! This sounds infinitely ridiculous in the ears of an enlightened believer, who knows that all true Christians, without distinction of class or order, are made saints by "the obedience of faith," independently of the acts and decrees of popes, bishops, presbyters, or councils. The memory of the faithful and humble presbyters who ruled the Ecclesia in Rome, is insulted and blasphemed by papal canonization. Though men of low degree, and despised by the wise and prudent of their day, they were men of whom Rome, the common sewer of nations, has never been worthy; but of all blasphemies ever uttered to their disparagement, that of being declared "saints," in the Romish sense of the word, is the greatest of all.

Of the said fifty-six, the catholic bishop Sylvester, who flourished in apostasy in the reign of Constantine, is reckoned the thirty-fourth saint from the apostle Peter, to whom they lyingly assign a reign of twenty-four years in Rome, as the first pope! The only reign of Peter in Rome was after the manner of his reign in America or Britain at this day, where his doctrine may be believed and obeyed. Where this reigns, Peter reigns; nay, more, Christ and the Father reign; for, said the Lord

Jesus to his apostles, "he that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth Him that sent me" (Luke 10:16). This saying constitutes the Father, Christ, and the Apostles, as one authority; and the only authority to which obedience should be rendered in spiritual affairs. Where this authority rules, everything works to the self-edification of the body in love. Had its members continued faithful to this supremacy, there would have been no scope for sovereign bishops and popes. But the Divine authority fell into disuse. It was no longer, what saith the Scripture? but, what saith

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the Bishop? And in later times, what saith the Bishop of Rome, or the Pope? An incredible number of volumes have been written to propagate and defend the old wife's fable of Peter's popeship, with Mark, Barnabas, and all others, as his subordinate clergy. Having planted him upon the Seven Heads, with these for his college of Cardinal Princes, they have, as a consequence, claimed Rome as the throne of spiritual dominion, and the Bishop there as the only true undoubted Christian Pontiff! And thus, by such a lying conceit, Peter, Mark, Barnabas, and their company, are, in effect, made the inception of the Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Hills!

Ecclesiastical writers refer to the third century as the time when the doctrine, order, and worship, instituted by the apostles, under went a memorable and manifest change. The theology of the Judaizers had, to a great extent, drawn off the attention of professors from "the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus," and fixed it on a Hierarchy, particularly in Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage, which, by this time, had become numerous, and ranked among their adherents many wealthy citizens. Professors of Christianity were now very numerous, and therefore, of no little consequence in the estimation of the government, which favored or repressed them as reasons of State dictated.

In this century, a system of ecclesiastical management was introduced, aptly styled by some, the Episcopal System of Church Law. It got rid of the trouble of consulting the laity, or common people, on the affairs of their respective ecclesias; it introduced sacerdotal or priestly authority; it set up as many principalities as there were bishoprics; it acknowledged the Bishop in Rome as the first in order, but nothing more; and to consummate the whole, it eventually deprived the so-call-ed laity of all right to be consulted about their own affairs. This state of things, when compared with that exhibited in the Acts of the Apostles, indicates a notable falling away; of which, the following quotation from Mosheim will give the reader some idea:

"The most respectable writers of that age," says he, "have put it out of the power of an historian to spread a veil over the enormities of ecclesiastical rulers. For, though several yet continued to exhibit to the world illustrious examples of primitive piety and christian virtue (these were the "few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments," and the "little strength" of Philadelphia that had "kept the word, and had not denied the name of Christ" -Author) yet many were sunk in luxury and voluptuousness; puffed up with vanity, arrogance, and ambition; possessed with a spirit of contention and discord, and addicted to many other vices that cast an undeserved reproach upon the holy religion of which they were the unworthy professors and ministers.

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And in many places the bishops assumed a princely authority, particularly those who had the greatest number of churches under their inspection, and who presided over the most opulent assemblies. They appropriated to their evangelical functions the splendid ensigns of temporal majesty. A throne, surrounded with ministers, exalted above his equals the servant of the meek and lowly Jesus; and sumptuous garments dazzled the eyes and minds of the multitude into an ignorant veneration for their arrogated authority. Presbyters followed their example, neglected their duties, and abandoned themselves to the indolence and delicacy of an effeminate and luxurious life. Deacons imitated their superiors, and the effects of a corrupt ambition were spread through every rank of the Sacred Order."

In treating of the progress of episcopal authority he remarks that "the prelates of the third century imperceptibly changed the language of exhortation into that of command, scattered the seeds of future usurpations, and supplied, by scripture allegories and declamatory rhetoric, their deficiency of force and of reason. They exalted the unity and power of the church, as it was represented in the episcopal office, of which every bishop enjoyed an equal and undivided portion. Princes and magistrates, it was often repeated, might boast an earthly claim to a transitory dominion; it was the episcopal authority alone which was derived from the Deity, and extended itself over this and over another world. The Bishops (it was said) were the Vicegerents of Christ, the successors of the Apostles, and the Mystic Substitutes of the High Priest of the Mosaic law. Their exclusive privilege of conferring the sacerdotal character, invaded the freedom both of clerical and popular elections; and if, in the administration of the church, they still consulted the judgment of the presbyters (or elders), or the inclination of the people, they most carefully inculcated the merit of such a voluntary condescension. The bishops acknowledged the supreme authority which resided in the assembly of their brethren (of the episcopal order); but in the government of his peculiar diocese, each of them exacted from his flock the same implicit obedience as if that favorite metaphor had been literally just, and as if the shepherd had been of a more exalted nature than that of his sheep. This obedience, however, was not imposed without some efforts on one side, and some resistance on the other. The democratical part of the constitution was, in many places, very warmly supported by the zealous or interested opposition of the inferior clergy. But their patriotism received the ignominious epithets of faction and schism; and the episcopal cause was indebted for its rapid progress to the labors of many active prelates who, like Cyprian of Carthage, could reconcile the arts of the most ambitious statesman with the christian virtues which seem

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adapted to the character of a saint and martyr.

"The same causes," he continues, "which at first had destroyed the equality of the presbyters, introduced among the bishops a preeminence of rank, and from thence a superiority of jurisdiction. As often as in the spring and autumn they met in provincial synod, the difference of personal merit and reputation was very sensibly felt among the members of the assembly, and the multitude was governed by the wisdom and eloquence of the few. But the order of public proceedings required a more regular and less invidious distinction; the office of perpetual presidents in the Councils of each province was conferred on the bishops of the principal city, and these aspiring prelates, who soon acquired the lofty titles of Metropolitans and Primates, secretly prepared themselves to usurp over their episcopal brethren the same authority which the bishops had so lately assumed above the college of presbyters. Nor was it long before an emulation of preeminence and power prevailed among the metropolitans themselves, each of them affecting to display, in the most pompous terms, the temporal honors and advantages of the city over which he presided; the numbers and opulence of the christians, who were subject to their pastoral care; saints and martyrs who had arisen among them, and the purity with which they had preserved the tradition of the faith, as it had been transmitted through a series of orthodox bishops from the apostle, or the apostolic disciple, to whom the foundation of their church was ascribed. From every cause, either of a civil or of an ecclesiastical nature, it was easy to foresee that ROME must enjoy the respect, and would soon claim the obedience, of the provinces. The society of the faithful bore a just proportion to the capital of the empire; and the Roman church was the greatest, the most numerous, and, in regard to the West, the most ancient of all the christian establishments, many of which had received their religion from the pious labors of her missionaries. Instead of one apostolic founder, the utmost boast of Antioch, of Ephesus, or of Corinth, the banks of the Tyber were supposed to have been honored with the preaching and martyrdom of the two most eminent among the apostles; and the Bishops of Rome very prudently claimed the inheritance of whatever prerogatives were attributed, either to the person, or to the office, of St. Peter. The bishops of Italy and of the provinces were disposed to allow them a primacy of order and association (such was their very accurate expression) in the christian aristocracy. But (in the third century) the power of a monarch was rejected with abhorrence, and the aspiring genius of Rome experienced, from the nations of Asia and Africa, a more vigorous resistance to her spiritual, than she had formerly done to her temporal, dominion. The patriotic Cyprian who ruled with the most absolute sway the church

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Picture of fifth century depiction of the pope not shown

When the Bishops of Rome rose to positions of primacy, the history of the papacy began. As Eureka states: "The bishops then claimed to be the vicegerets of Christ". The representation above from the fifth century depicts the Pope as "the vicar of the city of Rome" (see inscription at the top) - Publishers.

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of Carthage and the provincial synods, opposed with resolution and success the ambition of the Roman Bishop, artfully connected his own cause with that of the eastern bishops, and, like Hannibal, sought out new allies in the heart of Asia. If this Punic war was carried on without any effusion of blood, it was owing much less to the moderation than to the weakness of the contending prelates. Invectives and excommunications were their only weapons; and these, during the progress of the whole controversy, they hurled against each other with equal fury and devotion.

"From the imperious declamations of Cyprian, we should naturally conclude that the doctrines of excommunication and penance formed the most essential part of religion, and that it was much less dangerous for the disciples of Christ to neglect the observance of the moral duties, than to despise the censures and authority of their bishops. Sometimes we might imagine that we were listening to the voice of Moses, when he commanded the earth to open, and to swallow up, in consuming flames, the rebellious race which refused obedience to the priesthood of Aardn; and we should sometimes suppose that we heard a Roman Consul asserting the majesty of the republic, and declaring his inflexible resolution to enforce the rigor of the laws. 'If such irregularities are suffered with impunity (it is thus that the Bishop of Carthage chides the lenity of his colleague) if such irregularities are suffered, there is an end of episcopal vigor, an end of the sublime and divine power of governing the church, an end of christianity itself.' Cyprian had renounced those temporal honors which it is probable he would never have obtained; but the acquisition of such absolute command over the conscience and understanding of a congregation, however obscure or despised by the world, is more truly grateful to the pride of the human heart than the possession of the most despotic power, imposed by arms and conquest on a reluctant people.

"A perpetual stream of strangers and provincials flowed into the capacious bosom of Rome. Whatever was strange or odious whoever was guilty or suspected might hope, in the obscurity of that immense capital, to elude the vigilance of the law. In such a various conflux of nations, every teacher, either of truth or of falsehood, every founder, whether of a virtuous or criminal association, might easily multiply his disciples or accomplices. The christians of Rome, at the time of the persecution of Nero, A.D. 61, in which Paul suffered death, are represented by Tacitus as amounting to a very great multitude. The church in Rome was undoubtedly the first and most populous in the empire" - not first in order of beginning, but in that of influence; "and we are possessed of an authentic record which attests the state of religion in

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List of the first 26 "popes" or bishops of Rome not shown as written in Latin

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A list of the first twenty-six "popes" (or Bishops of Rome) preserved by the Church from the 8th century. Cornelius, referred to in Eureka, is No. XXII in the list - Publishers

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that city about the middle of the third century, and after a peace of thirty-eight years. The clergy at that time consisted of ONE BISHOP, (named CORNELIUS, and of the Babylonian Mouth Order,) forty-six presbyters, seven deacons, as many subdeacons, forty-two acolytes, and fifty readers, exorcists, and porters. The number of widows, of the infirm and of the poor, who were maintained by the oblations of the faithful, amounted to fifteen hundred. From reason, it may be estimated that the Christians in Rome were about fifty thousand. The populousness of that great capital will not surely have been less than a million of inhabit-ants, of whom christians might constitute at the most a twentieth part."

In the middle of the third century, this Cornelius figures as the Roman Mouth of that section of professors who now assumed to themselves the title of "the Holy Catholic Church." The spirit of the Lion fully possessed him; and he spoke with all the loftiness and inflation of his prototype in Babylon. A council was convened in Rome while he was in office, which decreed the propriety of excommunicating the founder of the Novatians, who could no longer tolerate the episcopal arrogance and corruption of the times. In writing to Fabius, bishop of Antioch, on the decrees of the council, he undertakes to delineate the character of Novatus, who, judged by an enemy, would appear a very disreputable person. The extracts given by Eusebius (himself also an enemy to Novatus) from the letters of Cornelius, show the latter to have been truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. He speaks of Novatus "aspiring to the episcopate" which he styles a "precipitate ambition," and a folly. He speaks of "the artifice and duplicity," "the periuries and falsehoods, the dissocial and savage character," "the devices and wickedness," of "that artful and malicious beast." The crime of Novatus consisted in maintaining that the Christian ecciesia was a society where virtue and innocence should reign; and whose members, from their entrance into it, were undefiled by any enormous crime. This most Scriptural position, consequently, caused him to regard every society which readmitted heinous offenders to communion, after the custom in Rome, as unworthy the title of a Christian ecclesia. This gave Cornelius and his adherents mortal offence, which was greatly'aggravated by the Novatians obliging such as came over to them from the Catholics to be reimmersed, as a necessary preparation for entering their society. By the maintaining of this impregnable position, the nominally Christian body in Rome and elsewhere was rent in twain. There was now a large minority who repudiated the system of things described in the above citations from Gibbon and Mosheim; and who, in so doing, renounced all allegiance to the episcopate of the Apocalyptic "Synagogue of the Satan." The Novatian minority regarded Cornelius as the prince of this synagogue in Rome,

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denied the Christianity of what he called "the Holy Ecelesia," and claimed that the true apostolic faith and discipline was with the Novatians or Puritans, and with them alone.

This being the issue between Cornelius and Novatus, and knowing, on credible testimony, the awful corruption of morals that prevailed, we are at no loss to perceive the bitterness and malignity that inspired the epithets of Cornelius. A man who was contending earnestly for purity would be careful, for the sake of consistency, if for no other reason, to avoid such offenses against morality as Cornelius accuses him of. "We have seen," says he to Fabius, "within a short time, an extraordinary conversion and change in Novatus. For this most illustrious man, and he who affirmed with the most dreadful oaths, that he never aspired to the Episcopate, has suddenly appeared a bishop, as thrown among us by some machine!" Novatus, doubtless, affirmed the truth, that he did not aspire to the Roman Episcopate, as constituted by the novel episcopal system of church law; but had no objection to act as bishop, presbyter, or elder, with others, upon a pure and Scriptural foundation. The means by which he was appointed such, the jealous Cornelius likens to "some machine" projecting him into their midst. The appearance of Novatus, claiming to be Bishop of the Only True Ecclesia in Rome, ordained an elder by three sympathizing elders from an Italian province, would create quite a sensation; especially when his presence there was hailed, and his ordination endorsed, by a large minority of the original community. We can imagine how Bishop Cornelius felt by supposing what would be the feeling of Pius IX, the present successor of Cornelius, if a second Novatus were now to appear in Rome, endorsed by nearly half the Catholics of St. Peter's alleged patrimony, as the only true successor of the apostle! Bishop Pius would no doubt be in a foaming rage, and open his lion-mouth in the most orthodox Babylonian style. He would defame and curse his rival in the fashion and phraseology peculiar to Roman Holiness, which claims universal and absolute authority over all. Cornelius though neither universal nor absolute, yet spoke as an episcopal lion's whelp who felt the spirit of future greatness moving within, and said, "this dogmatist, this pretended champion of ecclesiastical discipline, when he attempted to seize and usurp the episcopate not given him from above (whence Cornelius claimed to have received it) selected two desperate characters as his associates, to send them to some small, and that the smallest, parts of Italy, and from thence, by some fictitious plea, to impose upon three bishops there, men altogether ignorant and simple, affirming and declaring, that it was necessary for them to come to Rome in all haste, that all the dissension that had there arisen might be removed through their mediation in conjune-

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tion with the other bishops. When these men had come, being, as before observed, but simple and inexperienced in discerning the artifice and villany of the wicked, they were shut up with men of the same stamp with himself, and at the tenth hour, heated with wine and surfeiting, they forced them, by a kind of shadowy and empty imposition of hands, to confer the episcopate (pertaining to the ecciesia in Rome) upon him; which, though by no means suited to him, he claims by fraud and treachery. This was the roaring of the Lion-like Mouth, A.D. 251. The epithets sounded out against poor Novatus and his brethren, who were doing the best in their power to organize a Scriptural association, by which the original Apostolic faith and discipline introduced by the converted "Jews and proselytes" from Jerusalem, and strengthened after-wards by Paul's personal ministration for two whole years, might be maintained and perpetuated in Rome; and the Apostasy then so advanced there might be broken up, or restrained: the epithets which denounced this holy enterprise, and the unproved and reckless assertions accompanying them, are in themselves a justification of it. Cornelius claimed to be in possession of Holy Spirit; and therefore, when voted into office by his copresbyters, to have received "the episcopate from above;" all his sanguinary and blasphemous successors claim the same things; but his fruits and theirs clearly evince that the only spirit that has worked in them all is the spirit peculiar to "the children of disobedience." We know, by experience, how readily "fellows of the baser sort," pretending to great conscientiousness, and zeal for religion, busy themselves, for the promotion of their own wicked purposes, in defaming and bearing false witness against men whose lives are devoted to the propagation and defense of the truth. These were evidently the weapons of Cornelius wielded against the company of brethren convened in Rome. The wine and surfeiting story was most likely trumped up for the occasion. The author has been vilified, by so-called "elders," after the same fashion. The same sort of accusation was circulated against the Lord himself; so that we can endorse the truth and justice of an observation of Dr. Jortin, that "we should not trust too much to the representations which christians, after the apostolic age, have given of the heretics of their times. Proper abatements must be made for credulity, zeal, resentment, mistake and exaggeration."

It is easy to perceive how deeply Cornelius' episcopal pride was wounded, from the following words: "This asserter of the gospel then," says he, "did not know that there should be BUT ONE BISHOP in a catholic ecclesia - en katholike ecclesia. Novatius and Novatus both knew that, whatever there should be in a catholic church, there ought to be in a Scriptural ecclesia, more than one. If the original episcopal plurality had

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not been departed from, there would have been no place found for an Episcopal Monarch in Rome. Cornelius was such a king in embryo. The "shadowy and empty imposition of hands," which he attributes to Novatus, had made him such; and it is the same sort of imposition, by which all bishops according to "church law," are imposed upon credulous and deceived communities. Sixteen bishops ordained Cornelius, and three ordained Novatus; the whole nineteen claiming to possess the Spirit. Which was the bishop from above? Cornelius was ordained first. True; and Saul was ordained before David. Priority therefore, determines nothing. The anointing of David was the repudiation of Saul. And so it proved with reference to the Five Episcopal Bodies in Rome. The organization of the NEW ECCLESIA in the capital of the empire was, Providentially, the first step to the spuing of the Catholic Synagogue of the Satan out of the Spirit's Mouth (Apoc. 3:16); and to the leaving it upon the Seven Heads, "a wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked," carcass; then after to be galvanized by imperial power and authority into a political existence, the judicial termination of which is waiting at the door. It seems that Cornelius avenged his wounded dignity, in true papal fashion, upon the bishops who ordained Novatus; for he says, "one of these, not long after, returned to his church, mourning and confessing his error, with whom also we communed as a layman, as all the people present interceded for him, and we sent successors to the other bishops, ordaining them in the place where they were." The successors sent were probably to rule catholic churches formed by the divisions endorsing the corrupt practices and lay discipline of the Cornelian church in Rome. The following extract from a writer on ecclesiastical affairs will finish what we have to offer in regard to the development of the Name of Blasphemy previous to the reign of Constantine.

"Novatianus was an elder or presbyter in the church at Rome about the A.D. 251, at which time Cyprian flourished at Carthage. He was a man of extensive learning, and the author of several publications in defence of the doctrine of the Trinity and other subjects. His address is said to have been eloquent and insinuating, while his morals were irreproachable. He beheld with just indignation the depravity of the church in his day, and sighed over its abominations. Within the space of a few years, Christians had been caressed by one emperor, and persecuted by another. In the day of prosperity many persons rushed into the church who had never seriously counted the cost; and, like the stony-ground hearers in our Lord's parable of the sower, when persecution overtook them, they denied the faith, and reverted to idolatry. When the storm had subsided, they returned again to the church; and the bishops, who were much more concerned about the number and respectability of their con-

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gregations, than they were for the purity of communion and the free circulation of brotherly love among the members, encouraged all this, to the disgust of Novatian and all considerate persons. On the death of Fabian, who had sustained the character of bishop, one Cornelius, copresbyter with Novatian, who was a vehement partisan for taking in the multitude, was put in nomination for the bishopric. Novatianus opposed him, but ineffectually; and seeing no prospect of reformation in the church, but, on the contrary, a tide of immorality prevailing, he withdrew, and was joined by a number of the friends of reform. The consequence was, that Cornelius, irritated, it is said, by Cyprian, who was similarly situated, through the remonstrances of virtuous men at Carthage, and who was exasperated beyond measure with one of his elders, whose name was Novatus, and who had quitted Carthage and gone to Rome to espouse the cause of Novatianus, called a council, and got a sentence of excommunication against the latter. In a little time the friends of Novatianus formed themselves, or, at any rate, were formed into a church, which invested him with the pastoral office. The example was followed in various places, and Puritan churches were formed all over the empire, and flourished during the succeeding two hundred years. Afterwards, when penal laws (enacted by catholic emperors) obliged them to lurk in corners, and worship God in private, they became distinguished by various names, and a succession of them continued to the Lutheran reformation.

"It has been truly said," continues the same writer, "that it is next to impossible to avoid being misled in perusing histories of heretics. They are all written by interested ecclesiastics, who study to blacken the character of those whom they describe, in the most bitter terms that malice can invent. Novatianus is held up by these writers as the first ANTIPOPE, because he withdrew from the communion of a corrupt church. The stigma of Antipope is ridiculous; for, at that time, there was no pope in the true sense of the word; nor for jubilees of years after his day. They call Novatianus(*) the author of the heresy of Puritanism; whereas Puritanism, or the object for which the puritans, or CATHARI, as they were styled, contended, was a virtue, and not a heresy. In contend-

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(*) Novatianus was a member of the church of Rome who, during a period of persecution, maintained the view that any baptized believers who had sacrificed to idols under pressure should be excluded from communion. He opposed the elevation of Cornelius as Bishop of Rome on account of his known laxity on this point of discipline He and his followers were excommunicated by the hierarchy of the Church and later suffered martyrdom. After his death the Novatians spread rapidly over the empire; they called themselves Puntans (see Eureka), and rebaptized any converts from the Catholic view. The Cathari was another widespread group of a later age, that separated from the Catholic Church and set as their objective the attainment of purity. All such groups were opposed to the Catholic Church both in doctrine and practice. For that matter, their doctrines, as they are known today, were also opposed to those of the Truth. The adherents of the Truth kept separate from all these main parties - Publishers.

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ing for purity of fellowship they were sustained by the concurrent voice of prophets and apostles. Novatianus was by no means singular in that respect even in the age in which he lived. Tertullian had quitted the church fifty years before, for the very same reason; and Privatus, who was an old man in the time of Novatianus, had, with several more, repeatedly remonstrated against the departures which had taken place from apostolic institution, and as they could get no redress, had withdrawn, and formed separate congregations, or worshipped God in private. These ecclesiastical writers attribute to Novatian what they regard as the crime of originating innumerable congregations in every part of the Roman empire; and yet he had no other influence over them than what his example gave him. The real friends of Christ and his cause everywhere saw the same ground of complaint, and sighed for relief; and when the standard of return to first principles was once lifted up, thousands gathered themselves around it; they saw the propriety of a remedy for a crying evil, and applied it to their own relief. In truth, so far are the charges of heresy and schism brought against Novatian from being well founded, that his memory ought to be embalmed in the recollection of the faithful for his zealous adherence to the cause of truth and virtue."

In tracing the development of the Name of Blasphemy, we now advance to the era of Constantine. Sixty years after the death of Cornelius, who died in exile at Civita Vecchia, A.D. 252, "the Catholic and Apostolic Church, Mother of the Faithful," was invested with the sunshine of imperialism, and constituted the religion of the State. The bishop of the Anti-novatian association in Rome now became "the Bishop of Rome," and a spiritual prince of the empire. Before this change of fortune, he had but a bare precedency in respect of rank which had been tacitly yielded to him as bishop of the church in the metropolis of the empire. As to authority, Irenaeus, bishop in Lyons, on account of his personal character, was of ten times more authority even in the West than Victor, bishop in Rome; and Cyprian of Carthage, than Stephen of Rome, who excommunicated him. "But," says Dr. G. Campbell, "matters under-went a very great change after christianity had received the sanction of a legal establishment. Then, indeed, the difference between one see and another, both in riches and in power, soon became enormous. And this could not fail to produce, in the sentiments of mankind, the usual consequences. Such is the constant progress in all human politics whatever. In the most simple state of society, personal merit, of some kind or other, makes the only noticeable distinction between man and man. In politics purely republican, it is still (many years ago when these words were penned) the chief distinction. But the further ye recede from

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these, and the nearer ye approach the monarchical model, the more does this natural distinction give place to those artificial distinctions created by riches, office, and rank.

"When Rome was become immensely superior, both in splendor and in opulence, to every western See, she would with great facility, and as it were naturally, (if nothing very unusual or alarming was attempted,) dictate to the other Sees in the west; the people there having had, for several ages, very little of the disputatious dogmatizing humor of their brethren in the east. It no doubt contributed to the same effect, that Rome was the only See of very great note which concurred with several of them in language; Latin being the predominant tongue among the western churches, as Greek was among the eastern. It was natural for the former, therefore, to consider themselves as more closely connected with the Roman Patriarch than with the Constantinopolitan, or any of the other oriental patriarchs. A similar reason, when not counteracted by other causes, operated among the Greeks, to make them prefer a Grecian patriarch before a Latin one.

Sylvester(*) was the catholic saint, whom Constantine recognized as the Bishop of Rome and Patriarch of the West. The papists reckon him as the thirty-fourth pope. But, we know from history, that popes had not yet come into fashion. The spirit of a pope, however, wrought in him mightily; and when he opened his mouth, his utterances showed what he would do when power should be given to him by the Dragon. Take the following as an illustration: The Nicene Creed having been subscribed, Constantine, the Man-Child of Sin, who presided at the council, transmitted its canons and decrees to Sylvester, who, in the thirteenth council that had been held in Rome, at which were present two hundred and seventy-five bishops, ratified them in the following Babylonian style: 'We confirm with our mouth that which has been decreed at Nice, a city of Bithynia, by the three hundred and eighteen holy bishops, for the good of the catholic and apostolic church, Mother of the faithful. We anathematize all those who shall dare to contradict the decrees of the Great and Holy Council which was assembled at Nice (A. D. 325), in the presence of that most pious and venerable prince, the emperor Constantine.' And to this all the bishops answered, 'We consent to it.' Nebuchadnezzar himself could not have spoken more loftily and lion-like. He that dared to call in question their utterances was deemed unworthy of all blessings human and Divine; for, if Constantine be worthy of the belief, their voice was not the voice of men, but of 'the successors of the apostles, who had been established as priests and gods

* See the illustration commemorating this on p.111.

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upon earth' "-Vit. Const. 50.3.100.6.21.

This recognition of the Catholic clergy by the unbaptized and imperial president of their church, as "priests and gods upon earth, "was very flattering to their vanity and pride of life. They had instructed their imperial patron that this was their Scriptural relation to the sons of men. In their case, however, it was a mere assumption of Divine honors, and undeserved. In the days of the apostles, that which was spoken to Israel, might be truly applied to them, and to those who believed into Jesus through their word, saying, "I said, Ye are gods." The Lord Jesus explained in what sense this saying was applicable to Israel, but not to mankind at large. Thus, "if He (the Spirit) called them gods, unto whom the word of the Deity came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of the Deity?" The Jews considered this as "making himself equal with God" (John 5:18; 10:33-36). The gospel teaches, that a people to whom the Word of the Deity is sent, and who receive it, become Sons of God; and are, in this sense, gods. This Word was first sent to Israel, and then to the Gentiles. And who obeyed it in the love of it, became Sons of God by adoption through Jesus Christ. This is the Scriptural status of all true Christadelphians, or Brethren of Christ. This is a great honor, and an extraordinary manifestation of love on the part of the Father, the contemplation of which caused John to exclaim, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God;" and lest any should say, that this sonship pertained exclusively to a future state of existence, he adds concerning the faithful, "beloved, we are Now the Sons of God;" which was equivalent to saying, "we are now gods upon the earth;" and he continued, "it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him AS HE IS " (1 John 3:1-3).

But, though it be true that such men are "gods upon earth," and also "priests," it is a mere blasphemy in the mouth of the Man-Child of Sin, when applied to the corrupt and arrogant clergy of the Laodicean Apostasy. The gifts of the Spirit had been withdrawn; and State-Church Catholics were left to their own delusions. The Spirit had raised up a testimony against them, by which He "spued them out of his mouth," as "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" for He only recognizes them as "priests and gods upon earth," in the Scriptural sense, who, having believed the things concerning the kingdom of the Deity and the Name of Jesus Christ, have been immersed, and walk in purity, "even as He is pure;" a condition of things that could not possibly

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be affirmed of Constantine and the professional ecclesiastics whom he delighted to honor.

Such, however, was the blasphemous assumption of the Catholic clergy, both Greek and Latin. Though utterly unworthy, by ignorance of the truth, by perversion of Apostolic institutions, and impurity of life, they claimed to be "priests and gods upon earth." But, though nothing but the spued-out ejecta of the Spirit's mouth, they were, in a certain relation of things, "priests and gods upon earth." They were the "priests and gods upon earth" pertaining to the Laodicean Apostasy; and acknowledged by the Man-Child of Sin "in his estate." According to Gibbon's authorities, there were eighteen hundred of these gods upon the Roman earth; of whom one thousand were enthroned in the Greek, and eight hundred in the Latin provinces of the empire. Episcopal thrones were closely planted along the banks of the Nile, on the sea coast of Africa, in the proconsular Asia, and through the southern provinces of Italy. The episcopal gods of Gaul and Spain, of Thrace and Pontus, reigned over an ample territory, and delegated their rural suffragans to execute the subordinate duties of the pastoral office. A god's diocese might be spread over a province, or reduced to a village; but all the gods possessed an equal and indelible character; they all blasphemously claimed to derive the same powers and privileges from the Apostles, from the people, and from the laws. The whole body of these priests and gods of Antichrist, was exempted by Sin's imperial Man-Child, from all service, private or public, all municipal offices, and all personal taxes and contributions, which pressed upon the laity with intolerable weight; and the duties of their clerical profession, deemed holy by the strongly deluded, was accepted as a full discharge of their obligations to the republic.

The gods of the Catholic heaven were regularly assembled in the spring and autumn of each year; and these synods diffused the spirit of ecclesiastical discipline and regulation through the hundred and twenty provinces of the Roman world. The Archdeity, or metropolitan bishop, was empowered, by the laws, to summon the suifragan demons of his province; to revise their conduct, to vindicate their rights, to declare their faith, and to examine the merit of the candidates who were elected by the clergy and people to supply the vacancies of the episcopal college. The chief gods, or primates, of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Carthage, and afterwards of Constantinople, who exercised a more ample jurisdiction, convened the numerous assemblies of their dependent gods. But the convocation of great and extraordinary synods was the sole prerogative of the god who filled the imperial Dragon throne. Whenever the emergencies of the spiritual department of his estate required this

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decisive measure, the emperor dispatched a peremptory summons to the episcopal deities, or the deputies of each province, with an order for the use of post-horses and a competent allowance for the expenses of their journey. The Council of Nice was convened by this authority, A.D. 325. It was assembled by "the Mother's" imperial protector and proselyte, to extinguish, by their final sentence, the subtle disputes which had arisen in Egypt on the subject of the Trinity. Three hundred and eighteen gods obeyed the summons of their imperial creator whom Gibbon styles "their indulgent master." The inferior gods or demons, of every rank and denomination, have been computed at two thousand and forty-eight; the Greeks appeared in person: and the consent of the Latins was expressed by the legates of the Archdeity of Rome. The session, which lasted about two months, was frequently decorated by the presence of the imperial Man-Child, who claimed to be God of gods upon earth, as expressed in the title, BISHOP of bishops. Leaving his guards at the door, he seated himself (with the permission of the divine council) on a low stool in the middle of the hall, an eminent illustration of Satan's "darling sin," which is said to be

"Pride that apes humility."

"He listened with patience," says Gibbon, "and spoke with modesty; and while he influenced the debates, Constantine humbly professed that he was the minister, not the judge, of the successors of the apostles, who had been established as priests and as gods upon earth."

Of all these gods of the apostasy, those of Antioch, Alexandria, Carthage, Constantinople and Rome, were the chief. They were, however, not only the chief of many, but they were rival gods, whose principle it was rather to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. Lust of power and love of contention were the ruling characteristics of them all; at least such is the testimony of a contemporary of those turbulent times. "If I must speak the truth," says Gregory Nazianzen, "this is my resolution to avoid all councils of the bishops; for I have seen no good end answered by any synod whatever; for their love of contention and their lust of power are too great even for words to express."

In the reign of Constantine's son and successor, Rome had become a most seducing object of sacerdotal ambition. In the episcopal order, the Bishop of Rome was the first in rank among the gods, and distinguished by a sort of preeminence over all the others. He surpassed all his companion deities in the magnificence and splendor of the temple over which he presided, in the extent of his revenues and possessions, in the number and variety of his ministers, in his influence over the deluded people, and in his sumptuous and splendid manner of living. Ammiamus Marcellinus, a Roman historian, who lived in the reign of Con-

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stantius, referring to this subject, says: "It was no wonder to see those who were ambitious of human greatness contending with so much heat and animosity for that dignity; because, when they obtained it, they were sure to be enriched by the offerings of the matrons, of appearing abroad in great splendor, of being admired in their costly coaches, sumptuous in their feasts, outdoing sovereign princes in the expenses of their table." No wonder that Pretextatus, the pagan Prefect of the city, should say, "Make me Bishop of Rome, and I'll be a Christian, too!"

As a further illustration of the pass at which the Mystery of Iniquity had arrived in Rome, it may be added that Liberius, the bishop, died A.D. 366, and that a violent contest arose respecting his successor in the throne of blasphemy. The Catholics were divided into two factions, one of which elected Damasus to that dignity, while the other chose Ursicinus, a deacon. The party of Damasus prevailed, and obtained his ordination of the godship. The other party, enraged at its failure, set up separate meetings, and eventually had their favorite ordained also. This occasioned great disputes among the pious laity, as to which of them should possess the episcopal dignity; and to such an extremity was the dispute carried, that great numbers on either side were killed in the quarrel; no fewer than a hundred and thirty-seven persons having been put to death in the very "temple of the God" itself! "How much more rationally," remarks Ammianus, "would those pontiffs consult their true happiness, if, instead of alleging the greatness of the city as an excuse for their manners, they would imitate the exemplary life of some provincial bishops, whose temperance and sobriety, whose mean apparel and downcast looks, recommended their pure and modest virtue to the Deity, and his true worshippers." This lively picture drawn by Ammianus of the wealth and luxury of the gods in the fourth century, "becomes the more curious," says Gibbon, "as it represents the inter-mediate degree between the humble poverty of the apostolic fishermen and the royal state of a temporal prince, whose dominions extend from the confines of Naples to the banks of the Po."

Damasus was contemporary with "Theodosius the Great," who, on his advancement to the imperial office, evinced a fervid zeal for Trinitarianism. He addressed a letter to the divided Catholics of Con-stantinople, and told them that "it was his pleasure that all his subjects should be of the same profession as Damasus, Bishop of Rome, and Peter, bishop of Alexandria; that their church alone should be denominated 'Catholic' who worshipped the divine Trinity as equal in honor, and that those who were of another opinion should be deemed heretics, be regarded as infamous, and subject to other punishments. This was an imperial constitution of the Trinitarian gods of Rome and Alexandria as

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the standards of orthodoxy. This was an advance upon their rivals of Antioch, Carthage and Constantinople; still it was a divided glory which did not satisfy the ambition of the god upon earth residing in Rome

We are now, then, arrived at a great crisis in the development of the "Name of Blasphemy upon the Heads;" that is, at a period in which the second stage of its growth was nearly consummated a period which may be expressed by the epochal years A.D. 380-410. The beginning of this period is illustrated by the exaltation of Theodosius to the imperial office, and is marked by the sack of Rome by the tribes of Germany and Scythia, under the command of Alaric, who visited the sanguinary intolerance, blasphemy, corruption and crimes of the Catholics and their God in Rome, with the "hail and fire mingled with blood" of the First Wind-Trumpet. Theodosius was one of the most intolerant and perse-

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Emperor Theodosius the Great, dunng whose reign Christianity was proclaimed the official state religion of the Roman empire Theodosius reigned as Emperor from Constantinople between AD 379-95 He is termed "the Great" by Catholic historians as a tribute to his Orthodoxy He was an able general who won civil wars, and a devout Catholic who persecuted minority Christian sects and pagans. He opposed the Anans (who believed in One God, but failed to comprehend the all-important doctrine of God-manifestation) and vigorously advocated the Trinitarianism of the Nicene Creed. In May 381 he summoned an ecumenical council at Constantinople which endorsed the Nicene creed Publishers.

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cuting of the Catholic emperors of the Sixth Head of the Dragon. We have seen how he set up his will and pleasure as the rule of his subjects' faith and conscience. This is further illustrated by his expulsion of all from Constantinople who would not subscribe the Nicene confession of faith. In A.D. 383, he issued two edicts against "heretics;" the first, prohibiting them from holding any assemblies; and the second, forbidding them to meet in fields or villages. These edicts would be especially oppressive to "the Angel having the Seal of the living God," engaged in sealing His servants in their foreheads (Apoc. 7:2,3): and, as though this were not enough, he followed it up by a law in which he forbade heretics to worship, or to preach, to ordain bishops, or presbyters, commanding some to be banished and others rendered infamous and deprived of the common privileges of citizens. This intolerant and wicked oppressor is surnamed "the Great," and by scribes of the same superstition declared to be "very dear to the Catholic Church." It was not to be supposed, however, that the Lord Jesus at the right hand of Power, to whom his brethren and servants are infinitely dearer, would permit these oppressions to pass away unavenged. He, therefore, let loose the four winds against the "earth, the sea and the trees" of the empire, by which it was extinguished in its western third, and the "god upon earth," not yet be-come "the god of the earth" in Rome, was reduced almost to a nonentity.

The six days pillage and slaughter of the inhabitants of the Queen City, was a terrible but richly-deserved calamity, and, at the same time, a blow that prostrated her dignity and honor in the dust. A city which, with the strength of iron, had broken in pieces and subdued all things; and had boasted of her reign over the kings of the earth, was now trampled under foot of barbarians, and insolently compelled to become a sport, and to sue for peace. This was a great discouragement and check to the ambition of the Bishop of Rome. Hitherto, he had based his claim to the first rank among "all called god, or an object of worship," upon the greatness of the city in which he officiated. A canon of the Council of Chalcedon expressly declares this principle of primacy in voting equal privileges to the Bishop of R6me and the Bishop of Constantinople, because the last, then called New Rome, was also the Royal City. Leo, of Old Rome, however, indignantly rejected this coequality in primacy, he would be first. But the time had now arrived to pour out the Divine wrath upon her which had been accumulating against her for over eleven hundred and sixty years. Her imperial and metropolitan dignity was doomed to suffer a total eclipse; so that, when it had departed, it would be necessary for the man who had "become a god," to invent some new theory whereby his dignity might be prevented from taking its departure

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Coin of Alaric the Goth The Goths invaded Italy led by the courageous and skillful Alaric. They were eventually turned back after the sack of Rome by Stihcho famous general of eastern Rome - Publishers.

likewise. The proud and luxurious bishop was hurled into the lowest depths of misery. Had Ammianus Marcellinus beheld him after being spoiled by Alaric, he would have seen a blasphemer smitten of the God of heaven for his sins, and there would be nothing, at this crisis, Proetextatus would desire less than to be Bishop of Fallen Rome. The following extract from a letter of Pelagius, an eye-witness of the pillage, will give the reader some idea of the change of fortune that had come over the bishop since the days of Ammianus and Proetextatus, when princely magnificence and luxury were the rule of episcopal life: "This dismal calamity," says he, "but just over, and you yourself are a witness how Rome, that commanded the world, was astonished at the alarm of the Gothic trumpet, when that barbarous and victorious nation stormed her walls and made her way through the breach. Where were then the privileges of birth and the distinctions of quality? Were not all ranks and

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degrees leveled at that time, and promiscuously huddled together? Every house there was a scene of misery, and equally filled with grief and confusion. The slave and the man of quality were in the same circumstance, and everywhere the terror of death and slaughter were the same, unless we may say the fright made the greatest impression on those who had the greatest interest in living."

Thus, then, the glory of the city having departed, the glory of the bishop built upon it had departed also. A god located in a city of inferior rank, with no other prestige, could not expect to command the world. As the city faded into insignificance and contempt among barbarians, so would he unless he "changed his base," and commenced to operate upon their ignorance and credulity from a new position. In a hundred and thirty-six years from its sack by Alaric, Rome was to be left a dreary solitude, without man or beast within its walls for forty days and more. It was time, therefore, that some pretension should be set up that would so awe the world, that a Divine supremacy should be accorded to its bishop altogether independent of the former plea. The pretension that seemed to meet the urgency of the situation, was that of the Bishop of Rome being the lineal successor of the apostle Peter; and that by virtue of this successorship, he possessed the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and had Divinely intrusted to him the power of binding and loosing. The clergy were all assumed to be the successors of the apostles; but the Bishop of Rome claimed to be successor of "the Prince of Apostles," and that, therefore, he was the Prince-god of all clerical "gods upon earth."

But, upon what could this pretension be based so as to give it plausibility? It is true that Christ promised to give the keys to Peter, whom he pronounced "blessed;" it is also true that he fulfilled the promise; and furthermore, lt lS true that when Peter declared his conviction, in common with the rest of the apostles, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord said to him, that upon this rock He would build His ecclesia, against which the gates of the unseen should not prevail (Matt. 16:15-19). But, in all this there was not a word, no, not a hint, of any one else than Peter; much less of such an ignorant, corrupt, and de-graded blasphemer as the bishop of Rome. How, then, could what was promised and fulfilled to Peter, a Jewish fisherman of Galilee, be made applicable, even plausibly so, to a proud and luxurious man of fashion in Rome? This was a work and great labor to be done! A labor which only craft and falsehood, operating upon the grossest ignorance and superstition, could finish with success.

Paul testifies in Gal. 2:7,8, that the gospel of the circumcision was intrusted to Peter, the ministration of which constituted his apostleship

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of the circumcision. Hence, as "the strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes" received the gospel in Jerusalem from the Spirit through him, a relationship was established between him and them, which two hundred and~twenty years after came to be styled by Cyprian, "Petri cathedram, atque ecclesiam principalem, unde unitas sacerdotalis exorta est" - that is, the Chair of Peter, and the principal ecclesia whence priestly unity proceeds. But is it not ridiculous to style a little company of disciples of the Spirit in Rome, Peter's Chair, because they heard the truth from his mouth? The "strangers of Rome" were only a small portion of his audience on the day of Pentecost. Besides them, there were "devout Jews" from every nation under the Roman heaven. When they returned, they would plant ecclesias in their homes, every one of which upon the same principle would be a Chair of Peter! But, craft, which deceives the ignorant and the simple, has no use for reason. Assertion without proof is all that it requires. The crafty ecclesiastics of the apostasy affirmed it; and it suited the policy of the aspiring bishops of the imperial city to adopt it. If it were conceded that the Church in Rome was Peter's Chair, would not the man that occupied it as chief bishop of the church be Peter's successor; and if Peter's successor in office, must he not officially inherit all that is predicable of Peter? He would be "Vicar of the Blessed Peter" -Peter in every respect, save in personal identity.

This was the position assumed by "the Name of Blasphemy upon the Heads of the Beast;" and ultimately conceded by the Horns, which the judgments of the first four trumpets upon the Catholic West developed, when they gave in their adhesion to that Name; in evidence whereof the following gleanings of Mr. Elliott from divers sources will amply show:

He styles it, "the mighty fact" first privately spoken out by Boniface I., A.D. 419-22, to the Thessalian and Illyrian bishops. "The Blessed Peter," says he, "to whom the height of priesthood was conceded by the word of Jesus Christ;" "on whom, we read, was placed the foundation of the universal ecclesi a:" "on whom its government and supreme power rested:" "this, therefore, by ecclesias spread over the whole world, is established to be as the Head of its own members; from which whosoever cuts himself off, becomes exiled from the Christian religion."

After this the Legate of Celestine, the bishop of Rome, A.D. 431, in the Council of Ephesus before all Antichristendom, said, "It is a thing undoubted, that the holy and most blessed Peter, the Exarch and Head of the apostles, the pillar of the faith, the foundation of the catholic church, received the keys of the kingdom; and to him was given the power of binding and loosing sin; which Peter still lives and exercises judgment in his successors, even to this day and always." In the same

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style, bishop Leo's deputies, some twenty years later, in the Council of Chalcedon, proclaimed him "Head of All Churches;" and this evidently because, as the Council itself said, "Peter spoke in Leo!" On similar grounds the headship of the Antichristian Body and the world was claimed by Leo himself, in his letters and orations. In a sermon of St. Peter's day, he thus expressed himself before his Roman audience:

"There are those, 0 Rome, who advance thee to this glory as a holy nation, an elect people, a sacerdotal and royal city complete through the Holy Seat of the Blessed Peter, head of the World; thou hast a wider rule by the divine religion than by earthly domination." In these words he evidently applies 1 Pet 2:5, to the Roman See and people in communion with it. This is a specimen of the blasphemy of the Name, which perverts what the apostle says to the saints concerning their spiritual status, and applies it to the basest of mankind. Leo said that he, as Bishop of Rome, was officially "both the guardian of the catholic faith, and of the tradi-tions of the fathers."

Leo's immediate successor was Hilary. The spirit of Leo had passed with the office to him, so that what Leo had affirmed, he readily accepted as his rightful prerogative. In the estimation of these men, "whoever disputed the primacy and authority of the Roman See, as being that rock on which by Christ's own ordinance Christ's universal church was built, was none other than the Devil or Antichrist." Hence, the incense of the Tarragonese bishop's reference to him as officially the "Vicar of Peter; unto whom, forthwith from after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the keys of the kingdom belong, for the illumination of all," was an odor of a sweet smell. From A.D. 492 to 496, Gelasius figured as Bishop of Rome, which was then the throne of the Seventh Head, the Gothic Kings of Italy. But though subject to Theodoric, he strenuously asserted his Divine supremacy over all kings and emperors. In a letter to Faustus, he wrote: "Things divine are to be learned by the secular potentates (the Horns of the Beast) from bishops, above all from the Vicar of the Blessed Peter"; and in a letter to the emperor in Constantinople, whom he excommunicated, A.D. 494, he writes: "There are two authorities by which the world is governed, the Pontifical and the Royal; the sacerdotal order being that which has charge of the sacraments of life, and from which thou must seek the causal of thy salvation. Hence, in divine things, it becomes Kings to bow the neck to Priests; specially to the Head of Priests, whom Christ's own voice has set over the universal church." But, to be Vicar of Peter was to be only the Vicar of a Vicar. There was a step still higher on the ladder of episcopal ambition, which the Blasphemer of Rome was ready to mount when opportunity presented. Two consecutive councils at Rome, held A.D. 494 and 495, rec-

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-ognized and accepted his words as those of the VICAR OF CHRIST: "The Holy Roman Church," says he, "is preferred to other ecclesias by no synodical canons; but it obtains the primacy by the evangelical voice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, saying, Thou art Peter. The Roman Church is therefore the chief seat of the apostle Peter, not having spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing;" "having authority over the whole church for its general superintendence and government." This same Gelasius, as if determined indelibly to affix the character of blasphemy to the Name he represented, styles the apostle, "our Saviour the Blessed Peter," because of the words spoken to him, "whatsoever thou shalt bind, etc.; so that none living are excepted from the church's authority of the keys; but only the dead." But, in after times, not even the dead were excepted. At the close of the Council in A.D. 495, when Gelasius had finished, the assembled bishops shouted, six times repeated, "We see that thou art the VICAR OF CHRIST."

There was more in the significance of the words of those episcopal shouts than they intended. VICARIUM CHRISTI te videm us! was in effect saying, "We see that thou art ho Antichristos, the Antichrist!" Vicarius answers to the word anti, that is, instead, or supplies the place of another; hence, as a substantive, a deputy, a substitute, a vicegerent, locum tenens, vicar. "We see that thou art a substitute for Christ!" and a substitute for Peter! And that thou art above every thing called god or is worshipped! Anti- Christos is the Greek for Vicarius Christi. This "was blaspheming those who dwell in the heaven;" it was injuring greatly the reputation of the Father and the Son among men, for an ignorant and profane Gentile, who proclaimed in council the words noster Salvator Beatissimus Petrus, "our saviour the most blessed Peter," to announce himself as their substitute and all-powerful representative upon earth. A Vicar-Christ is Anti-Christ; and though they did not mean to make that application, yet in shouting what they did, they for once proclaimed the truth to the world from the Seven Hills.

This same Gelasius at the Council of A.D. 494, had authoritatively drawn up a list of the Scriptures to be received as Canonical and Divine. The first list is headed, "The Order of the Books of the Old Testament, which the Holy and Catholic Roman Church receives and venerates; digested by the Blessed Father Gelasius, with seventy bishops." This includes the Apocryphal Books of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Esdras, Judith, and 1 Maccabees. The second list gives the books of the New Testament as still received. In a fourth list the writings of "the Fathers;" as Cyprian, Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, &c: and ending, "the rest, which are composed by heretics or schismatics, the Catholic and Roman Church by no means receives." A list of about one hundred of the Apoc-

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ryphal writings, not to be received, is then subjoined; among which are the Opuscula of Tertullian and Lactantius, and of the Apocalyptic Commentators, Victorinus and Tychonius. All these, with their authors, the concluding clause consigns to eternal damnation: "with their authors and the admirers of the authors we declare to be damned to an indissoluble bond in eternity." Thus, like his predecessor Leo, he set himself up as the supreme arbiter and judge in all matters of faith!

At the opening of the sixth century, Symmachus was the official Antichrist and Antipeter. The Bishop of Rome was called PAPA, or En-glish, Pope. "He was declared," says Gibbon, "in a numerous synod to be pure from all sin, and exempt from all judgment." Nevertheless, this self-deceiver and liar, as John styles all such, 1 John 1:8, was a subject of Theodoric, King of Italy. Though he claimed an ample dominion in heaven and earth, he had not yet been able to exalt his Trinitarian Holiness above an Arian King. He was a turbulent and unruly subject, and made himself obnoxious to his royal master. Theodoric in consequence, summoned a council to meet at Rome, A.D. 501, to judge of certain charges against him. But, when convened, the Council demurred to entering on the matter, on the ground of incompetency; considering that the party accused was supreme above all ecclesiastical jurisdiction. And a little after, as the climax of blasphemy, another Roman Synod, with Symmachus himself presiding and consenting, in the most solemn manner, adopted a book written by Ennodius in defense of the resolutions of the former synod; in which it was asserted, "that the Pontiff is judge in the place of Deity, and can be judged by no mortal."

Assuredly there can be no mistake that we have before us an Order of Men, or a Name, answerable to Daniel's "god of guardians, exalting himself, and magnifying himself above every god, and speaking marvelous things against the God of Gods;" to Paul's Man of Sin, Son of Perdition, and Lawless One;" and John's "Name of Blasphemy, and Mouth like the mouth of a lion, speaking great things blasphemies." No person, or succession of persons, could be more like Lucifer of Babylon, more arrogant, more proud, more blasphemous, or more lawless. The reader will doubtless have perceived, that the falsehood lying at the bottom of all these blasphemous assumptions, is, that the clergy, as they style themselves, are the successors of the apostles and ambas-sadors of Jesus Christ; and that, consequently, all that is affirmed of the apostles, the true ambassadors of Christ, is truly affirmable also of them! Ignatius spoke of bishops as eis topon Theou, in the place of God; and Cyprian says, that every bishop within his own diocese, is a priest of God, and a judge appointed in the place of Christ. But there were professors of Christianity in the apostles' days, who, in effect, claimed the

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same things. The Spirit speaks of these as men "who say they are apostles (sent ones) and are not, but are liars (Apoc. 2:2); and Paul styles them, "False apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ - the ministers of Satan, transforming themselves as ministers of righteousness, after the example of their master." Whoever says he is a successor of the apostles, in so saying affirms that he is an apostle; which signifies "one called and sent of God as Aaron was." Hence, Jesus styled himself the Deity's apostle: and all who say that he called and sent them to preach the gospel affirm the same thing.

But where did the clergy, so-called, get their dogma of Apostolic succession from? The answer is, from tradition and Scripture falsely interpreted. So long as the Star-Angel Presbytery shone in an ecclesia, the Spirit shined in its midst. That ecclesia was the dioikesis, jurisdiction, or diocese, of the presbytery; which was in the stead of the apostles, who could not be everywhere at once. It was the gift of the Spirit that made the Star-Angel Eldership what it was. It was concerning this spiritually-endowed order in each ecclesia that Paul wrote in saying, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable to you." The Star-Angel consisted of many bishops in an ecclesia, not of one only. It was in the place of the Deity, as Moses was instead of God to Aaron. It was the Vicar of God, and the Vicar of Christ, in the particular ecclesia that rejoiced in its presence; and it was this, because of the Spirit being in the elders to guide them into all the truth. But the Star-Angels, which had power to abuse, as well as to use, the spiritual gifts, did not continue to be faithful stewards of the mystery of Christ; they fell away from the faith as apostolically delivered; and having become apostate, the Spirit was with-drawn, and nothing remained of the Star-Angels but presbyteries of vain and self-conceited ecclesiastics, each presbytery being ruled by an ignorant bishop, whose wisdom shone brightest when he spoke the least. But though "the Spirit had spued them out of his mouth," they claimed the same relation to God, to Christ, and to men - a claim, which being no longer endorsed by Deity, became mere arrogance, falsehood, and blasphemy. Thus, they claimed to be traditionally with-out the Spirit, what they were with it - apostles, ambassadors, and vicars, of Christ and of God.

But, evil men, when left to their own resources, always wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. They flourish in deception. Being sensual, not having the Spirit, as the clergy have ever been even to this day, when they appealed to Scripture in support of their impious pretensions, they wrested it to their own destruction. They refer to the

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words of Jesus to the eleven, which they ridiculously enough apply to themselves. He said to the apostles, say they, "Lo, lam with you alway, even to the end of the world." Now, they continue, this must refer to us, as well as to the apostles; for they did not live to the end of the world, which has not even yet come. It must, therefore, mean, "I will be with you, and your successors, to the end of time." But, some of these clergy are very learned, if not very wise and candid, men; and they know, that the English version of Matt. 28:20, is not a correct transcript of the original, idou ego meth' humon eimipasas tas humeras, heos tes sun teleias tou aiovos. This, they know, ought not to be rendered, "lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world;" but, "Behold, I am with you all the days, until the end of the age." There is nothing about "successors" in this. We are expressly told that Jesus Christ spoke these words to "the eleven disciples." The promise was to them, and it was strictly and literally fulfilled; for we are informed in Mark 16:20, that "they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them;" and he tells us also, how the Lord worked with them; it was by "confirming the word" they preached, "by the signs following thereupon" - epakolouthounton. In this way, he was with the eleven apostles, and also with the twelfth, Matthias, and with Paul, and their co-laborers, "all the days" of the Mosaic Dispensation, from the Day of Pentecost first after his resurrection, "till the end of the age," when it was abolished in the subversion of Judah's Commonwealth by the Roman power; a period of about thirty-seven years. But, as to the clergy, Apostolic successors, and ambassadors of Christ, as they style themselves, the application of the text to their Satanic Order, is a gross imposition upon the ignorance and credulity of their strongly-deluded worshippers. The Scripture, and the facts in their case, are against them. The Lord's promise was to co-work with eleven men preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and Name; he did not promise to co-work with an impious order of impostors, who are ignorant of its first principles, and therefore could not make an intelligible statement of that Gospel to save their lives. Christ Jesus never promised to confirm, or bear witness to the truth of any teaching or preaching, by signs, and wonders,' and divers miracles, and distributions of Holy Spirit (Heb. 2:4), other than the preaching of "The Word." It was the preaching of this alone that he confirmed and attested; not the blasphemous and contradictory foolishness enunciated by the ecclesiastical mountebanks, and martexts, of "the times of the Gentiles," among whom they have substituted their own traditions, which they style "divinity," for the Word, which they have nullified, and made contemptible thereby. The clergy do not preach the Word the apostles preached, and which it was the function of the apostleship to do. No men can there-

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The Pope's Tiara. The illustration depicts Gregory VII known also as Hildebrand wearing the tripled crowned tiara This bee hive shaped somewhat bulging head covering is decorated with three crowns hence its name which signifies triple crown It has no sacred character being solely the ensign of sovereign power and is never worn at liturgical functions when the pope always wears the mitre It is significant that Daniel in describing the emergence of Papal sovereign power which led to the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, described how that three horns were plucked up by the roots Dan. 7:8). Three kingdoms in Italy were given to to the pope by Pepin the predecessor of Charlemagne the exarchate of Ravenna, the Kingdom of the Lombards, and the State of Rome, hence the tripled crowns of the tiara - Publishers.

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fore be their successors in apostleship who do not preach the same things. Faithful men, who have learned the things Paul preached, and are also able to teach them to others, are the only Apostolic succession possible (2 Tim. 2:2). These faithful men, men full of faith, cannot be found in any of "the Names and Denominations," Apocalyptically styled "Abominations" (ch. 17:5), of the excluded and unmeasured Court of the Gentiles (ch. 11:2). They are only to be found in "the House of Deity;" which is not a clerical bazaar, or temple, dedicated to fictitious entities canonized by the Apostasy; but "the ecclesia of Deity;" which Paul says, "is the Pillar and base of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). This is neither the Catholic nor Protestant organizations; but a company of Scripturally-enlightened and obedient believers, who have accepted the Deity's invitation to His kingdom and glory; of which they are all, without distinction of class or order, both the heirs and heritage, or clergy, of the Lord (James 2:5; Rom. 8:17).

Apostolic succession, then, as contended for by all ranks, orders, and degrees of the Antichristian clergy, is a mere fiction of the carnal mind. The only succession coeval in its origin with the Apostolic age they can truthfully claim to be partakers of, is, as successors of those troublers in God's Israel, who, "by good words and fair speeches, deceived the hearts of the simple." As successors of Satan's apostles, they have built upon his foundation a superstructure which crowned itself with the TIARA upon the Seven Heads. This enormous blasphemy could not have been developed apart from the Satanic dogma of Apostolic succession, any more than the worship of Mary, as Queen of Heaven, and the Saints, as intercessors and mediators, could have been invented apart from the mythological dogma of the "immortal soul" in mortal flesh, separately existing after death. The one is as vain an imagination as the other. But vain and fallacious as it is, it has been a very profitable fiction to them all, from the Mouth of Blasphemy on the Seven Hills, to the most recent imitation thereof in the Mormon settlements of Utah.

In this section of the thirteenth chapter, I have traced the development of the Name to the reign of the Seventh Head in the time of Theodoric, the Arian King' of Italy, and his Trinitarian subject, Symmachus, the Bishop of Rome, who was now all ready to avail himself of anything that might present, whereby he could improve his fortune; and, instead of being a servant of heretical rulers, he could assume sovereignty for himself. But of this hereafter. I proceed now to consider the subject of the third verse of the chapter in hand.

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14. The Wounding of One of the Heads

"And I saw one of his heads as if it had been wounded unto death" - verse 3.

John saw one of the heads, which were common to the Dragon and the Beast, "as if it had been wounded unto death." This is as much as to say, that when he saw it lying prostrate, its death was only in appearance; it was not like the five heads that had preceded it. They were killed outright, never to recover sovereignty on the Seven Hills. But not so this Sixth Headship; for, though it seemed to be politically dead to all future sovereignty in Rome, where its supremacy no longer existed, yet the time would arrive when a like form of government would be located within its walls; and IMPERIAL HEADSHIP, as an Eighth Sovereignty, once more elevate "the Eternal City" to the command of the world - in the words of Leo III., to "a wider rule through divine religion, than by the power of earthly domination;" or more correctly, "through the working of the Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." The head had received a severe wound, but not a fatal one; for, says John, "the plague of its death was healed."

The apostle informs us that he saw "one of the heads" in this severely wounded condition; but he does not tell us which one of the seven it was. This he leaves us to find out for ourselves. Is the mystery, then, impenetrable? I think not. Let us see. In Ch. 17:10, the Revelator tells him, in speaking of the Seven Heads, "they are seven sovereign powers; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh he must continue a short space." One is; that is, at the time he was speaking to John in Patmos. The Heads being attached to the Seven Mounts upon which Rome sits, we have only to ascertain what form of Sovereign Power obtained there while John was residing in Patmos. This is well known to have been the Imperial; which is a sovereignty headed up in one or more emperors, uniting in themselves the supreme, civil, spiritual, and military authority of the state. As five sovereign powers had fallen, this must have been the sixth, and only the sixth, because "the other," or seventh, had not then as yet come.

Now, when the sovereign powers of a state fall, they are prostrated by wounding to death. This was the case in the fall, or removal of the five, especially the fifth, to make way for the sixth, which continued a long Space in Rome, or over five hundred years; the Imperial Senate residing on the Seven Hills, and the Imperial Court of the West in Ravenna, and the Imperial Court of the East in Constantinople. This

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Imperial Sixth Head ruled all the Thirds of the Roman habitable; but, at the end of these centuries, the imperial authority was to be suppressed in Rome, and over the Third Part attached to the jurisdiction of that city. This was to be effected by wounding as if to death. The blowing of the fourth wind-trumpet inflicted the wound by which it was prostrated; so that when John saw it, it had the appearance of a dead head. This death state of the head was a necessary condition for the development of its successor in sovereign power. So long as the sixth flourished in political life on the Seven Hills, a successor could not exist in Rome. The death of the Sixth was indispensable to the manifestation of the Seventh. And it may be noted here that there is nothing more said about the seventh head in this chapter than that the beast had seven heads. It does not seem to perform any important part in the prophecy; nevertheless, as a seventh potentate, coming in between the sixth and the eighth, its presence upon the arena was highly important to the preparation of the way of the full grown Man of Sin. In John's time, "the other," or the seventh, "had not yet come; and when he cometh he must continue a short space." This "short space" was a period of great events. In the course of it, and during the nine decades that ushered it in, the Ten-Horn Sovereignties established themselves upon the western imperial third of the Roman Orb; Rome's imperial dominion was abolished, and, in place thereof, a regal sovereignty was developed upon the seven mountains known in history as the GOTHIC KINGDOM OF ITALY. This was the Seventh Head, which was only to continue "a short space," or sixty years. This passing away of the Sixth Head from Old Rome at the time of its successor, the Seventh Head's inauguration, is thus symbolized in Apoc. 8:12, "and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part ofthem was darkened." The other two thirds were still unsmitten and left to shine in their proper spheres - two thirds of the sun, two thirds of the moon, and two thirds of the stars: that is, the imperial Sixth Head retained its position in Constantinople, from whence it continued to exercise rule and authority, in all matters, civil and ecclesiastical, over the other unsubdued two thirds of the Roman world.

Under the rule of the Gothic Arian Seventh Head, there was no scope for the development of the imperial tendencies of the Trinitarian Bishop of Rome. However, he might long for Universal Headship over all spiritual concerns of the Roman habitable, his subordination to an Arian kingship was an insuperable obstacle. So long as Arianism was king in Rome, he could not include Italy and that city in his universality. Hence, the policy of Symmachus and his successors would be to procure the ruin of the Seventh Head, and to prevent the return of the Sixth; so

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that Rome, being freed from the presence of both king and emperor, opportunity would be afforded for their own development into an Image of the Sixth Head upon the Seven Hills.

But of the wounding of the Imperial Sixth, and the establishment of the Regal Seventh, Heads, I need not treat in this place. It will be sufficient here to refer the reader to pages 71,75, Vol.3, for the historical exposition thereof, with this explanatory remark, that the obscuration of Rome's imperial "day and night" would not cease with the fall of the Seventh Head but with the inauguration of the Eighth Head, or Image of the Sixth upon the Seven Hills

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15. The Healing of the Deadly Wound

"And the plague of his death was healed" - Verse 3

"His deadly wound," as it reads in the English version, is he plege tou thanatou autou, in the original, which I have rendered, the plague of his death. The word plege, rendered wound, occurs fifteen times in the apocalypse . In five other places it is very properly rendered stripes; and sixth, Luke 10:30, it would have been better translated, laid on stripes, than "wounded" -plegas epithentes. The judgments of the fifth

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and sixth trumpets, in the aggregate, are styled "plagues" Ch. 9:20; and the judgments the two prophets were able to inflict, are also styled "plagues" (Ch. 11:6). The judgments of the Seven Vials are thrice termed the seven plagues in Ch. 15; and the hail-storm that descends out of the heaven upon men, under the last vial is called a plague in Ch. 16:21. The plague of death that afflicted the Sixth Head, was a smiting plague; for, as the result of it, the sun, moon, and stars of the Roman heaven are said to have been "smitten". Hence, also, in Ch. 13:13, it is referred to as he plege tes machairas, the plague of the sword. The war-like operations of Odoacer, king of the Heruli, against Romulus Angustulus; and those of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, against Odoacer, who, on the deposition of Augustulus, had become, by the title conferred upon him by Zeno, emperor of the Eastern Third, the Patrician Representative of the Sixth Head. These judgments by the sword, ultimating in the establishing of Theodoric in Rome as king of Italy, A.D. 493, made up the plague of the seeming death of the Sixth Head.

And, in this place, it will be right to state the reason why I have not reckoned the Heruli and the Ostrogoths as two of the ten horns. No barbarians, the throne of whose dominion was on the seven mountains, could be horns. Rome is the throne of the Heads, not of the Horns. Hence, there must be reckoned ten horns and one head contemporary with the continuance of the "short space" of Seventh Head Ascendancy in Rome. Neither can the Exarchate of Ravenna nor the Dukedom of Rome, as Sir Isaac Newton and others suppose, be horns; for the former was the representative of the Sixth Head in Italy, and the latter, together with the Exarchate, are defective in this material attribute, that they were destitute of diadems; all the horns have diadems, but they had none.

"It was healed," says John. The plague of the death by the sword was healed. To heal a death plague is to cause to live that which was smitten. This is the interpretation put upon the phrase in the fourteenth verse in the words, "the beast which had the plague of the sword, and did live." To heal is to institute a process of recovery. Healing is often a slow process, and always requires time; and the severer the injury to the constitution of the patient, the longer the time required for the recovery of health and strength. It is the same whether the patient be a sick man, or an enfeebled power. Time is demanded for a cure. It was so in the matter of restoring imperial dominion to Rome. There could, however, be no healing of "the plague of the sword," that IMPERIALISM might live and flourish again in the Seven-Hilled City, so long as the REGAL Seventh Head exercised sovereignty therein. While this reigned in conjunction with the Ten Horns, Rome's wounded imperialism was un-

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healed. The worship of "the peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues," or "many waters" of the Roman Habitable, upon which the woman sits, was an epluribus unum. It was no longer a worship, or political homage and allegiance, rendered to a Sole Emperor reigning in Constantinople; but it was a worship in which "they wondered after the beast in all the earth," or empire; so that "they worshipped the Dragon which yielded authority to the Beast;" for the Seventh Head belonged both to the Dragon and the Beast; and the Ten horns, as we have seen by their coinage, acknowledged the supremacy of the Emperor in Constantinople, whose Vice-Kings they claimed to be: while, at the same time, they recognized the Seventh Head as a legitimate sovereignty. The constitution of things was analogous to the United States system of powers, in which citizens owe a divided allegiance to their native state and to the general government - they worship the American Eagle, which gives authority to the State-Feathers of its wings and they worship the Feathers. This is well understood. There is, however, this difference in the similitude, that where as a Visigoth and a Frank, first worshipped their respective Horn-States; and secondly, the general government in Constantinople. Now, a Marylander or a Virginian first worships at Washington, and afterwards subordinately at Richmond or Annapolis. The comparison, however, is sufficiently close for illustration of the saying "they worshipped the Dragon which yielded authority to the Beast; and they worshipped the Beast, saying, Who is like to the Beast? Who is able to make war with him?" - Ver. 4. None. No beast-dominion can stand before him; for, as Daniel says of the SYSTEM OF Powers represented by the Dragon and the Beast, it is "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the brazen clawed feet of it" (Ch. 7:7,19). The history of Modern Europe amply shows the truth of the Beast's invincibility. It is the predominant dominion upon the earth; and rules the so-called civilized nations of Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia.

But oceans of blood have been shed in the past 1,335 years of its existence, in attaining to a dominion so extended. This sanguinary and all-conquering career commenced with war between the imperial and regal potentates of Rome and Constantinople, which, after twenty years' continuance with various fortune to the combatants, ultimated in the removal and final death of the Seventh Head, which marked the termination of the "short space" of its reign. As, then, the removal of the Seventh Head was an indispensable prerequisite to the healing, or causing imperialism to live again in Rome, I shall now proceed to an historical sketch of its suppression, and then return to the exhibition of the heal-

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ing of "the plague of the death," which had been inflicted upon its predecessor by the sword; which will afford scope, also, for accompanying the Name of Blasphemy in further development, until we find it seated imperially upon the seven heads.

16. The Rise and Decollation of the Seventh Head

The Roman Empire of the West was extinguished A.D. 476-479, by the conquering sword of the king of the Heruli, Odoacer. This ruler reigned in Rome about fourteen years, when he was succeeded by the renowned Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, the Arian king of Italy. This prince was born in the neighborhood of Vienna, and educated at Constantinople with care and tenderness. On his father's death he had succeeded to the hereditary throne of the Amali, who were subsidized as defenders of the frontier by the government of Constantinople. His people murmured at this arrangement, until he found it necessary to withdraw from the service of the emperor, and to lead them to some enterprise by which their fortunes would be improved. Having determined on this course he wrote to the emperor Zeno in the following words:

"Although your servant is maintained in affluence by your liberality, graciously listen to the wishes of my heart! Italy, the inheritance of your predecessors, and Rome itself, the Heart and Mistress of the world, now fluctuate under the violence of Odoacer, the Mercenary. Direct me, with my national troops, to march against the tyrant. If I fall, you will be relieved from an expensive and troublesome friend; if, with the divine permission, I succeed; I shall govern in your name, and to your glory, the Roman Senate, and the part of the republic delivered from slavery by my victorious arms." Theodoric's proposal was accepted by the Byzantine Court. He marched against the tyrant in the depth of a rigorous winter, and after many obscure and bloody battles, he descended from the Julian Alps and displayed his invincible banners on the confines of Italy. The conflict between Odoacer and Theodoric was severe; but at length the former capitulated, and, being removed by death, the royalty of Theodoric was proclaimed by the Ostrogoths, "with the tardy, reluctant, ambiguous consent of the Emperor of the East."

After this manner the Seventh Head was developed and established upon the Seven Hills; the Dragon tardily, reluctantly and ambiguously ceding to it "his power, and his throne, and extensive jurisdiction (ch. 13:2). Theodoric reigned thirty-three years, from A.D. 493 to A.D. 526. Among the barbarian Horns of the West the victory of Theodoric had spread a general alarm. But as soon as it appeared that he was satiated with conquest and desired peace, terror was changed into re-

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spect, and they submitted to a powerful mediation, which was uniformly employed for the best purposes of reconciling their quarrels and civilizing their manners. A wife, two daughters, a sister and a niece, united the family of Theodoric with the kings of the Franks, the Burgundians, the Visigoths, the Vandals and the Thuringians, and contributed to maintain the harmony, or at least the balance, of the great western Republic of the horns. He reduced, under a strong and regular government, the unprofitable countries of Rhcetia, Noricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia, from the source of the Danube and the territory of the Bavarians, to the kingdom erected by the Gepidae on the ruins of Sirmium. His greatness awakened the jealousy of Anastasius, the emperor of the east, who ravaged the sea-coast of Calabria and Apulia, but the activity and moderation of Theodoric were soon rewarded by a solid and honorable peace. He maintained with a powerful hand the balance of the Horn-Powers ol the west, till it was at length overthrown by the ambition of Clovis, king of the Franks, whose progress he checked in the midst of their victorious career. By the Visigoths he was revered as a national protector and guardian of their infant prince. Under this respectable character, the king of Italy restored the praetorian prefecture of the Gauls, reformed some abuses in the civil government of Spain, and accepted the annual tribute and apparent submission of its military governor. The sovereignty of the Seventh Head was established from Sicily to the Danube, and from Belgrade to the Atlantic ocean, and the Greeks themselves have acknowledged that Theodoric reigned over the fairesi portion of the western empire.

"From a tender regard to the expiring prejudices of Rome," says the historian, "the barbarian declined the name, the purple and the diadem of the emperors; but he assumed, under the hereditary title of king, the whole substance and plenitude of imperial prerogative. His addresses to the eastern throne were respectful and ambiguous; he celebrated in pompous style the harmony of The Two Republics, applauded his own government as the perfect similitude of a sole and undivided empire (or Head), and claimed above the kings of the earth (the Diademed Horns) the same pre-eminence which he modestly allowed to the person or rank of Anastasius." "They worshipped the Dragon, and they worshipped the Beast," which is further illustrated by Gibbon, who continues: "the alliance of the East and West was annually declared by the unanimous choice of two consuls; but it should seem that the Italian candidate, who was named by Theodoric, accepted a formal confirmation from the sovereign at Constantinople." The fifteen regions of Italy were governed according to the principles and even the forms of Roman jurisprudence. The civil administration, with its honors and emolu

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ments, was confined to the Italians, for whom were reserved the arts of peace, and the Goths were used for the service of war and public defense. These barbarians held their lands and benefices as a military stipend; at the sound of the trumpet they were prepared to march under the conduct of their provincial officers, and the whole extent of Italy was distributed into the several quarters of a well-regulated camp.

With the protection, Theodoric assumed the legal supremacy of the Catholic Church. He was not ignorant of the dignity and importance of the Bishop of Rome, to whom was now appropriated the name of POPE. When "the chair of St. Peter" was disputed by Symmachus and Lawrence, they appeared at his summons before the tribunal of an Arian king, and he confirmed the election of the one he most approved. At the end of his life, in a moment of jealousy and resentment, he prevented the choice of the Romans, by nominating a pope in the palace of Ravenna. This produced great excitement, which he controlled, and the last decree of the Senate was enacted to extinguish, if it were possible, "the scandalous venality of the papal elections."

The reign of Theodoric was mild, tolerant and promotive of the prosperity, security and happiness of the people. But his ungrateful subjects could never be cordially reconciled to the origin, the religion, or even the virtues of the Gothic conqueror; past calamities were forgotten, and the sense or suspicion of injuries was rendered still more exquisite by the present felicity of the times. The religious toleration which Theodoric had the glory of introducing into the Catholic world, was

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Gold coin issued in the name of Theodoric King of Ostrogoths. He

reigned from A.D. 493 to 526.

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painful and offensive to the Trinitarian zeal of the Italians. They dared not disturb the armed heresy of the Goths; therefore, they sought to vent their pious and cowardly rage by falling upon the rich and defenceless Jews. Their persons were insulted, their effects were pillaged, and their synagogues were burnt by the mad populace of Rome and Ravenna, inflamed by the most frivolous or extravagant pretences. A legal inquiry was instantly directed by the king; who, as the authors oi the tumult had escaped, condemned the whole community to repair the damage; and the obstinate bigots who refused their contributions, were whipped through the streets by the hand of the executioner. This simple act of justice exasperated the discontent of the Trinitarians, who applauded the merit and patience of these so-called "holy confessors;" and from three hundred pulpits deplored the persecution of the church. "At the close of a glorious life," says Gibbon, "the king of Italy discovered he had excited the hatred of a people whose happiness he had labored so assiduously to promote; and his mind was soured by indignation, jealousy and the bitterness of unrequited love." Thus were embittered the relations between the Gothic Head and the Trinitarian Italians, who were devoted to the traditions of the Council of Nice, whom Theodoric suspected of a secret and treasonable correspondence with the Byzantine representative of the Head smitten by the sword. The powers of this government were then in the hands of JUSTINIAN, who already meditated the extirpation of heresy, and the reconquest of Italy and Africa; in other words, the healing of the plague of the sword, with which imperialism had been smitten in these countries, as it were, to death. A rigorous law which was published at Constantinople to reduce the Arians by the dread of punishment within the pale of the Catholic orthodoxy, awakened the just resentment of Theodoric, who claimed for his distressed brethren of the East the same indulgence which he had so long granted to the Trinitarian Catholics of his dominions. At his stern command, the Bishop of Rome, with four illustrious senators, embarked on an embassy. The singular veneration shown to the Bishop. who was the first pope that had visited Constantinople, was punished by Theodoric as a crime; and a mandate was prepared in Italy to prohibit. after a stated day, the exercise of the Catholic worship. "by the bigot of his subjects and enemies," says Gibbon, "the most tolerant of prince was driven to the brink of persecution." The celebrated Boethius, "Roman senator, philosopher and minister of state, his father-in-law the patrician Symmachus, and Albinus, also a senator, were accused of treason for "hoping the liberty of Rome," and actually inviting the Emperor Justinian to deliver Italy from the Goths; in other words, to under take the healing of the wounded head that it might live. The suspicion~

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of Theodoric were probably not groundless, and could only be appeased by their blood. They were executed, and the treason charged assumed a terrible reality in succeeding reigns.

On the death of Theodoric, August30, A.D. 526, the throne of the Seventh Head was occupied by his grandson, Athalaric, aged ten years, with his mother Amalasuntha as guardian and regent of the kingdom of Italy. She ruled the country about eight years, during which a spirit of discord and disaffection prevailed, and the Goths supported with reluctance the indignity of a female reign. Her son Athalaric dying, she caused it to be announced to the Senate of Rome and the Emperor of Constantinople, that she and Theodatus, her cousin, had jointly ascended the throne of Italy. But this regal partnership was soon dissolved by Theodatus, by whose orders she was first imprisoned, and then strangled in the bath, A.D. 535.

The emperor Justinian, who had recently "plucked up by the roots" the Vandal Horn in Africa, beheld with joy the dissensions of the Goths in Italy, who were feebly and unworthily governed by Theodatus. He considered the opportunity as favorable for the healing of his wounded authority over Italy. He demanded therefore the abdication of the Gothic king, and the surrender of the ancient provinces of the empire. Though agreed to by the weakness and imbecility of Theodatus, its execution was prevented by his assassination, and the elevation of Vitiges to the throne. Justinian, however, was not to be thwarted in this way. He ordered BELISARIUS to invade Italy with the forces of the empire, and to wrest it from the Goths. The invasion was easy, but the expulsion of two hundred thousand warlike barbarians in arms, proved to be a work of great difficulty.

Having recovered Sicily, the general of Justinian landed his forces in Italy, A. D. 536. From the capture of Naples he proceeded against Rome, which had been left to a feeble garrison, and the fidelity of its citizens. "But", says Gibbon, "a momentary enthusiasm of religion and patriotism was kindled in their minds. They furiously exclaimed, that THE APOSTOLIC THRONE should no longer be profaned by the triumph or toleration of Arianism; that the tombs of the Caesars should no longer be trampled by the savages of the north; and, without reflecting, that Italy must sink into a province of Constantinople, they fondly hailed the restoration of the Roman emperor as a new era of freedom and prosperity. The deputies of the pope and clergy, of the Senate and people, invited the lieutenant of Justinian to accept their voluntary allegiance, and to enter the city whose gates would be thrown open for his reception." He readily accepted their allegiance, and made his entrance at the Asinarian gate, while the Gothic garrison departed without molestation

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along the Flaminian way; and the city after sixty years' servitude, was delivered from the yoke of the barbarians. The keys of Rome were sent to the throne of the emperor Justinian, to whom they were delivered by the Gothic commander of the garrison, who refused to accompany his troops in their retreat.

But Vitiges was not idle. During the winter season he collected an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men. With these forces he besieged Belisarius in Rome for more than a year. The city was greatly distressed. The general pitied the sufferings of the people, whose loyalty to the emperor had notably decayed, while their discontents proportionately increased. "Adversity," says Gibbon, "had awakened the Romans from the dreams of grandeur and freedom, and taught them the humiliating lesson, that it was of small moment to their real happiness, whether the name of their master was derived from the Gothic or the Latin language." Among the disaffected was Sylverius, the incumbent of the recently erected "Apostolic Throne." A letter subscribed by him was intercepted, which assured the king of the Goths, that the Asinarian gate, adjoining to the Lateran church, should be secretly opened to his troops. On this proof of treason, he was summoned to attend at the headquarters of Belisarius, and there to give an account of himself. The ecclesiastics who followed the pope, were detained in an anteroom, and he alone was admitted into the presence of the general. Belisarius was silent, but the voice of reproach and menace issued from the mouth of Antonina, his imperious wife. Being convicted of the treason, the pretended successor of St. Peter was despoiled of his pontifical ornaments, clad in the mean habit of a monk, and embarked without delay for a distant exile in the east, and was afterwards either slain or murdered upon a desolate island. At the emperor's command, the clergy of Rome proceeded to the choice of a new bishop; they therefore elected a deacon Vigilius, who had purchased the papal throne by a bribe of two hundred pounds of gold. From these circumstances the reader will perceive the relation in which the bishop of Rome stood to the imperial power in the first half of the sixth century. He was still subject to the civil authority though spiritual "Head of all the Churches" of the empire. The imperial authority was now in Rome again in power, or maintained by force of arms. Had this been permanent the pope would never have become a temporal sovereign; but would have lived and died the servant of the emperors. Hence, the removal of this pressure was necessary to the setting up of an imperial episcopal image upon the seven hills. The decollation of the Seventh Head, and the reduction of Rome to a subordinate rank among cities, would accomplish this; and therefore the calamities of the times as developed in this Gothic war.

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Succors arriving from Constantinople, Rome was delivered from the Goths, who raised the siege, and fell back upon Ravenna. This well fortified city was at length captured by Belisarius, who also obtained possession of Vitiges the Gothic king, whom he sent prisoner to Constantinople, A.D. 539. By these reverses they lost their king, an inconsiderable loss truly, their capital, their treasures, the provinces from Sicily to the Alps, and the military force of two hundred thousand barbarians magnificently equipped with horses and arms. Yet all was not lost. Totila the nephew of the captive king was chosen to succeed him; and, at the head of five thousand soldiers, generously undertook the restoration of the kingdom of Italy.

Having routed twenty thousand Romans near Faenza, he crossed the Po, and traversing the Apennine, laid siege to Naples, which he reduced; and then retracing his steps, laid siege to Rome, whose Senate and people he calmly exhorted to compare the tyranny of the Greeks with the blessings of the Gothic reign.

Totila was chaste and temperate; and none were deceived who depended on his faith or his clemency. By his virtues in contrast with the vices of the officials, who served the interests of imperialism, a new people, under the appellation of Goths, was insensibly formed in his camp. The situation of the imperialists had already become desperate; and the return of Belisarius to save the country he had subdued in the first war, was pressed with equal vehemence by his friends and enemies. He reluctantly accepted the painful task of supporting his own reputation, and retrieving the faults of his successors. The sea being open to the Romans, he entered the port of Ravenna. From thence he addressed both the Goths and Italians in the name of Justinian, his gracious master, who, he said, was inclined to pardon and reward. But not a man was tempted to desert the standard of the Gothic king. Belisarius soon discovered that he had been sent by Justinian to remain the idle and impotent spectator of the glory of the young barbarian Totila. This he by no means approved; and, in an epistle to the emperor, exhibited a lively picture of the crisis, which caused him great distress. "Most excellent prince," says he, "we are arrived in Italy, destitute of all the necessary im-plements of war, men, horses, arms, and money. In our late circuit through the villages of Thrace and Illyricum, we have collected with extreme difficulty, about four thousand recruits, naked, and unskilled in the use of weapons and the exercises of the camp. The soldiers already stationed in the province are discontented, fearful and dismayed; at the sound of an enemy, they dismiss their horses, and cast their arms on the ground. No taxes can be raised, since Italy is in the hands of the barbarians; the failure of payment has deprived us of the right of command, or

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even of admonition. Be assured, Dread Sir, that the greater part of your troops have already deserted to the Goths. If the war could be achieved by the presence of Belisarius alone, your wishes are satisfied; Belisarius is in the midst of Italy. But, if you desire to conquer, far other preparations are requisite: without a military force, the title of general is an empty name. It would be expedient to restore to my service my own veterans and domestic guards. Before I can take the field, I must receive an adequate supply of light and heavy armed troops; and it is only with ready money that you can procure the indispensable aid of a powerful body of the cavalry of the Huns."

In the meantime, the siege of Rome was closely pressed by Totila, A.D. 546. The inhabitants were gradually reduced to feed on dead horses, dogs, cats, and mice, and eagerly to snatch the grass, and even the nettles, which grew among the ruins of the city. The failure of Belisarius to throw supplies into the place, left Rome without protection to the mercy or indignation of Totila; by whose instrumentality the Deity was inflicting plagues upon the Trinitarian adherents of the Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Hills. The continuance of hostilities had embittered the national hatred; the Arian clergy were ignominiously driven from Rome; Pelagius, the archdeacon, returned without success from an embassy to the Gothic camp; and a Sicilian bishop, the envoy or nuncio of pope Vigilius, was deprived of both his hands for daring to utter falsehoods in the service of the Trinitanan church and state

At length on Dec.17 the Goths were treacherously admitted into

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A golden medallion of Justinian issued In 534 commemorating his military successes in the West that provided the means whereby he could extend assistance to the Bishop of Rome, proclaiming him to be head of all the churches

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the city. As soon as daylight had displayed the entire victory of the Goths, Totila devoutly visited the so-called tomb of St. Peter; but while he prayed at the altar, twenty-five soldiers and sixty citizens, were put to the sword in the vestibule of the temple. The archdeacon Pelagius stood before him with "the gospel" in his hand, and exclaimed, "0 Lord, be merciful to your servant." "Pelagius," said Totila, with an insulting smile, "your pride now condescends to become a suppliant." "I am a suppliant," he prudently replied, "God has now made us your subjects, and as your subjects we are entitled to your clemency." At his humble prayer the lives of the Romans were spared, and the passions of the hungry soldiers restrained. But they were rewarded with the freedom of pillage. The next day he pronounced two orations, to congratulate and admonish the victorious Goths, and to reproach the Senate, as the vilest of slaves, with their perjury, folly, and ingratitude. Yet he consented to forgive their revolt. Against the city he appeared inexorable; and the world was astonished at the fatal decree, that Rome should be changed into a pasture for cattle. The firm and temperate remonstrance of Belisarius suspended the execution; and Totila was at length persuaded to preserve Rome as the ornament of his kingdom. Having demolished one third of the walls in different parts, and stationed an army about fifteen miles from the city to observe the motions of Belisarius, he marched with the remainder of his forces into Lucania and Apulia. The Senators were dragged in his train, and afterwards confined in the fortress of Campania; the citizens with their wives and children, and the pope and his clergy of all ranks and degrees, were dispersed in exile; and during forty days and more Rome was abandoned to desolate and dreary solitude.

And here it would be well for the reader to pause, and reflect upon this chasm of forty days in the life of "THE Mistress OF THE WORLD" -"the Woman, that Great City," which in the apostles' day, and ecclesiastically in ours, "reigneth over the regal powers of the earth" (ch. 17:18). If the foundation of Rome be correctly stated at 753 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the "Eternal City," so called, became a vacant space twelve hundred and ninety-nine years after. This chasm of forty days is nearly the central epoch of the city's existence. Twelve hundred and sixty years afterwards, Totila was represented by Napoleon, crowned emperor and king of Italy by the Pope. Totila was not unlike his modern representative in some respects. He had but little respect for Rome or its bishop. He filled Rome with darkness, so that no political lights, civil or ecclesiastical, shone in it for forty days; so also, Napoleon, as the executive of the Fifth Vial, poured vengeance upon Rome; and filled the kingdom, of which it is the seat or throne, with darkness.

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When Totila consented not to reduce it to a pasture for cattle, but to leave it a vacant and standing monument of the wrath of heaven, he carried off the pope with him into captivity; and 1260 years after, Napoleon degraded the city to a subordinate rank, and transferred the pope from a throne to captivity at Fontainbleau. Thirteen hundred and twenty years (1320) have now elapsed since this notable forty days of solitude; and it is exceedingly probable that but few more years will elapse ere this renowned centre of crime, blasphemy, and everything unclean and hateful, finds itself submerged in the unfathomable depths of a solitude, whose silence will never again be broken by the trumpet, or its darkness dispelled by a glimmering of light (ch. 18:22,23).

After this forty days of solitude the city was reoccupied by Belisarius, who sent its keys (for there were then no "St. Peter's keys" to send) a second time to Justinian. But the imperialists were unable to hold it. In A.D. 549, the Goths laid siege to it again, and took it. Totila no longer desired to destroy the edifices of Rome, which he now respected as the throne of the Gothic kingdom; the Senate and people were now restored, and the means of subsistence were liberally provided. He reduced the cities of Rhegium and Tarentum; and annexed Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. At every step of his victories, he repeated to Justinian his desire of peace, applauded the concord of their predecessors, and offered to employ the Gothic arms in the service of the Dragon-empire.

But, Justinian, true to the character of "the king who" should "do according to his will" (Dan. 11:35), was deaf to the voice of peace; but he neglected, through indolence, the prosecution of the war. From this slumber he was aroused by Vigilius, "the Head of all the churches" of his estate, and the patrician Cethagus, who appeared before his throne, and adjured him in the name of the Deity and the people, to resume the conquest and deliverance of Italy. An army was assembled, and under the command of Narses, was ordered to march against the Goths. Totila, conscious that the clergy and people of Italy aspired to a second revolution, resolved to risk the Gothic kingdom on the chance of a day, in which the valiant would be animated by instant danger, and the disaffected might be awed by mutual ignorance. The decisive battle was fought at Taginas, about ninety-five miles from Rome, in July, A.D. 552. The Goths were defeated, and Totila was slain. Narses, having paid his devotions to "the blessed Virgin," his imaginary goddess, and peculiar patroness, whose inspiration he professed had revealed to him the day, and the word of battle, advanced towards Rome, which did not long delay his progress. The keys of the city were for the third time sent to Justinian, under whose reign it had been five times taken and reco-

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vered. "But the deliverance of Rome," says Gibbon, "was the last calamity of the Roman people." Three hundred youths of the noble' families, who were hostages in the hands of the Goths, were slain by Teias, the successor of Totila. "The fate of the Senate suggests an awful lesson of the vicissitude of human affairs. All the fortresses of Campani were stained with patrician blood. After a period of thirteen centuries the institution of Romulus expired; and if the nobles of Rome still assumed the title of senators, few subsequent traces can be discovered of public council, or constitutional order. Ascend six hundred years, an contemplate the kings of the earth soliciting an audience, as the slaves or freemen of the ROMAN SENATE!"

In the following March, A.D. 553, was fought the battle of the Draco, in which the new king was slain. While exchanging his buckle his uncovered side was pierced with a mortal dart. "He fell, and his head exalted upon a spear, proclaimed to the nations that the Gothic kingdom was no more."

Thus, after a reign of sixty years, the Seventh Head of the Drago and the Beast was destroyed from the Seven Hills. The Roman Senate and the Gothic kingdom became extinct together. Their place was filled by the Exarchs of Ravenna, who were the representatives in peace ant war of the Constantinopolitan Dragon. But, though this power, afte the agitation of a long tempest, had regained possession of Italy, the wounded Sixth Head was not yet "healed;" neither indeed could it be until Rome again became the throne of an imperial dominion. Instead of this, on the fall of the Seventh Head, whose "short space" had passed away with the death of Teias, the former Mistress of the World was de throned. The civil state of Italy was fixed, A.D. 554, by a pragmatic sanction of twenty-seven articles, which the emperor Justinian promulgated at the request of the pope, who was still a subject, ruled by the emperor's lieutenant resident in Ravenna. Justinian introduced his own jurisprudence into the schools and tribunals of the west; and ratified the acts of Theodoric and his immediate successors. Under the Exarchs of Ravenna, ROME was degraded to the second rank among the cities of the empire. The regulation of weights and measures was delegated to the pope and municipal senate. But, however benevolent their edicts, the power of rulers is most effectual to destroy; and twenty years of the Gothic war had consummated the distress and depopulation of Italy; so that "a strict interpretation of the evidence of Procopius," says Gibboi "would swell the loss of Italy above the total sum of her present inhabitants."

The Sixth and the Seventh Heads which hindered the manifestation of the Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Hills being taken out of the

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way, scope was now afforded for its development into the EIGHTH HEAD of the Beast. From the epoch of the settlement of Italy A. D. 554-559, and during the ensuing two hundred and forty years of Rome's eclipse, the greatest, or most influential subject in the degraded city, was the pope. There was no constitutional superior therein to over-awe or keep him down. In the times of the Seventh Head, which was Arian, he was in great trouble, and especially during the Gothic war. Indeed, he has always fallen upon troublous times when he has had for ruler or neighbor, an independent king of Italy. It is so at this day. A king of Italy naturally enough claims Rome for the capital of his kingdom which is incompatible with the sovereignty and independence of the Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Hills.

Having, then, put the reader in possession of so much of history as will enable him to identify the Seventh Head and having brought him down to the epoch of its decollation or destruction which was necessary for the subsequent "healing" of the wounded Sixth Head of Rome's imperialism; it behooves us to pause in our exposition, that we may bring up arrears in regard to the development of the Name of Blasphemy upon the heads. When this is sufficiently advanced we shall have brought the ecclesiastical into line with the civil; and be prepared to carry them on together until the healing process is completed in their expansion into the Eighth Head upon the Seven Hills, as symbolized in this thirteenth chapter by the Beast of the Earth with Two Horns like a lamb, and speaking as a Dragon.

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JUSTINIAN'S EMPIRE IN 565

The victories of Belisanus and Narses over the Goths of Italy and the Arians of North America extended the influence of Justinian in The West and enabled the "deadly wound" of the sixth head of the beast.to be healed" at the expense of the 7th or Gothic head (Rev. 13:3). Thus the Dragon throne in Constantinople gave "power unto the beast" (v.4).

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17. The Development of the Romano-Babylonian Name of Blaspheni

(Continued from page 228)

The Name of Blasphemy is the Eye and Mouth, or ecclesiastic element of the Eighth Head. As we have seen, this ecclesiastical constituent of the Beast was working upwards towards enthronization over all, anterior to the establishment of the Ten Gothic Horns upon the Roman Habitable. When the citizens and clergy of Rome were seize with a spirit of patriotism and superstitious zeal, A.D. 536, "they furously exclaimed," says Gibbon, "that THE APOSTOLIC THRONE should n longer be profaned by the triumph or toleration of Arianism." Belisarius was then at the gates, and the Gothic king in possession of the city. Hence, the people of that day evidently recognized two thrones contemporary existence within the walls - the Secular Throne of the king of Italy; and the Ecclesiastical Throne of the Archbishop and Patriarch of Rome. In Italy, the "Apostolic Throne" was overshadowed b the Secular; and as the Patriarch of Constantinople was in domestic slavery under the eye of his master, the Greek emperor, as he is at this day under the Sultan; so the Patriarch of Rome, occupying a distant an dangerous station amidst the Barbarians of the West, was the enthrone slave of his master, the king of Italy; who, while he professed great reverence for the throne of St. Peter, did not hesitate to chastise his pretended successor when convinced of disloyalty to the Gothic throne.

But as to this Apostolic throne. Whence its origin; by what authority was it established? John was informed that "the Dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and an extensive jurisdiction." This was the constitutional source of all the Bishop of Rome's preeminence. He obtained no honors, privileges, and immunities from the kings of the Seventh Head. He derived all he possessed from the emperors of the East and of the West; who were the great and powerful patrons by whom he was acknowledged as a god of gods upon earth.

His development, however, into an enthroned god was gradual and progressive. In the Canons of the Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 450, th Bishop of Rome is styled, "Beatissimus Papa urbis Rome, qui est capu omnium ecclesiarum," i.e. the most blessed Pope of Rome, who is "THE HEAD OF ALL CHURCHES." About five years before this the western emperor, Valentinian III., and the eastern emperor, Theodosius II., unitedly published an imperial edict, or law, in which the Bishop of Rome is styled, "DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSAL CHRISTENDOM." In this edict, the presumptuousness of resistance to the Holy See was sharply rebuked, the whole body of bishops bidden to do nothing without his approbation and the universal clergy to obey him as their ruler. "From this time

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A.D. 445) says Ranke, "the power of the Roman Bishops grew up under protection of the Roman Emperor himself." He was their especial patron, and predicted as such, as we have already seen in what is testified concerning the Dragon in the second verse of this chapter.

We come now to that remarkable epoch of four years, extending from A.D. 529 to 533. This belongs to the earliest years of Justinian, who began to reign in Constantinople, A.D. 527. The Catholics of Italy, then subject to the Arian kings of the Seventh Head, were greatly attached to him as "worshippers of the Dragon and the Beast," because as Gibbon says, "he trod the narrow path of inflexible and intolerant orthodoxy. After a schism of thirty-four years, he reconciled the proud and angry spirit of the Roman Pontiff, and spread among the Latins a favorable report of his pious respect for the Apostolic See. The thrones of the East were filled with (Trinitarian) Catholic bishops devoted to his interests, the clergy and monks were gained by his liberality, and the people were taught to pray for their sovereign as the hope and pillar of the true religion."

In this epoch of his reign, and by his care, the Roman Civil Jurisprudence was digested in what Gibbon styles," the immortal works of the Code, the Pandects, and the Institutes." These, "the public reason of the Romans, have been silently or studiously transfused into the domestic institutions of Europe; and the laws of Justinian still command the respect or obedience of independent nations." "The Code, Pandects, and Institutes were declared to be the legitimate system of civil jurisprudence; they alone were admitted in the tribunals, and they alone were taught in the academies of Rome, Constantinople, and Berytus. Justin-ian addressed to the Senate and provinces his Eternal Oracles; and his pride, under the mask of piety, ascribed the consummation of this great design to the support and inspiration of the Deity."

In the theological character drawn of him by Gibbon, he says, that he sympathized with his subjects in their superstitious reverence for living and departed saints: his Code, and more especially his Novels, confirm and enlarge the privileges of the clergy; and in every dispute between a monk and a layman he was inclined to pronounce that truth, and innocence, and justice were always on the side of the church. His fancy was amused by the hope or belief of personal inspiration; and that he had secured the patronage of the Virgin, and St. Michael the archangel. Among the titles of imperial greatness, the name of Pious was most pleasing to his ear; to promote the temporal and spiritual interest of the Catholic church was the serious business of his life; and the duty of father of his country was often sacrificed to that of defender of the Catholic faith. Justinian was a bigoted tyrant; and his reign a uniform

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yet various scene of persecution. He surpassed his indolent predecessors, both in the contrivance of his laws against heretics and the rigor of their execution. He assigned three months for the conversion or exile of all such; and if he still connived at their precarious stay, they were deprived, under his iron yoke, not only of the benefits of society, but of thc common birthright of men and religionists. The residue of pagans, Jews, and Samaritans were equally obnoxious to his theological ire. The last were exterminated with fire and sword; and the once fruitful province of Samaria was converted into a desolate and smoking wilderness. It has been computed that one hundred thousand Roman subjects were extirpated in this Samaritan war. "But in the creed of Justinian," says the historian, "the guilt of murder could not be applied to the slaughter of unbelievers: and he piously labored to establish with fire and sword the unity of the Catholic faith."

Such was Justinian, the diademed representative of the Dragon from A.D. 527 to A.D. 565; and of Daniel's Little Horn King, who worked according to his will; to whom the Patriarch of Rome was greatly indebted in the establishment of his self-exaltation "over all called god or sebasma" - an object of veneration. His "policy" was that of an ecclesiastical ruler of the class typified by Constantine the great." "Never prince," says Dupin, "did meddle so much with what concerns the affairs of the Church, nor make so many constitutions and laws upon the subject. He was persuaded that it was the duty of an emperor, and for the good of the State, to have a particular care of the church, to defend its faith, to regulate external discipline, and to employ the civil laws and the temporal power to preserve it in order and peace."

Although the Bishop of Rome had himself claimed supremacy over all other bishops of the Roman earth, including the Patriarch of Constantinople, this claim had not been imperially, or Dragonically, recognized, until the publication of a Decretal Epistle from Justinian to the Pope, dated March, A.D. 533. "It is hence evident," says Gothofred, the editor of the Justinian Code, cited by Cunninghame, "that they who suppose Phocas to have been the first who gave imperial recognition to the primacy of the Roman See over that of Constantinople are in error: Justinian having acknowledged it before."

"And the King (the Dragon-Power of the Apocalypse) shall do according to his own will. . . And in his estate (or empire) he shall honor the god of guardians (the Bishop of Rome): even a god whom his (pagan) fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver, and precious stones and things desired. Thus shall he do in the Bazaars of the Guardians (temples dedicated to fictitious saints and angels) with a foreign god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory" (Dan.

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11:36-39). The form of this acknowledgment is found in the aforesaid Decretal Epistle; from the Latin copy of which, as given in Elliot's Notes, I have translated the following extracts for the information of the English reader.

"Justinian the Victorious, the Pious, &c., always August, to John the Most Holy Archbishop of the Sacred City Rome, and Patriarch.

Rendering honor to the Apostolic Throne and to your Holiness... we hasten to bring to the knowledge of your Holiness all things which pertain to the state of the churches: because we have always a great desire to preserve the unity of your Apostolic Throne, and the state of the holy churches of God which hitherto obtains, and unchangeably continues, nothing to the contrary intervening. Therefore we have hastened both to subject and to unite to the Throne of your Holiness all the priests of the whole eastern region. . . For we neither suffer anything that pertains to the state of the churches, although what is agitated may be man-ifest and indubitable, that may not be known also to your Holiness, who is the Head of All the Holy Churches. For through all, as it is said, we hasten to increase the honor and authority of your throne."

After this follows a statement of certain heresies then existing in regard to the person of Christ; also of Justinian's own belief, and its orthodox agreement with the dogmas of the four preceding General Councils of Nice, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon, in conformity with the creed of the Roman See - "Accordingly," says he, "all priests, following the doctrine of your Apostolic Throne, so believe and confess and preach." The epistle then proceeds.

"Whence we have hastened to bring this to the knowledge of your Holiness by the Most Blessed Bishops HYPATIUS and DEMETRIUS, that the things be not concealed from your Holiness which are wickedly and judaically denied by some few monks according to the falsehood of Nestorius. We intreat therefore your paternal affection, as by your letters addressed to us and to the Most Holy Bishop of this Sacred City (of Constantine) and your brother Patriarch (and because he has written by the same (bishops), hastening in all things to follow the Apostolic Throne of your Blessedness) made manifest to us that your Holiness may acknowledge all who rightly confess the things aforesaid, and may condemn the falsehood of those who may dare judaically to deny the right faith. For so both the love of all increases more towards you, and the authority of your throne: and the unity of the holy churches which is to you will be maintained undisturbed: when through you all the most blessed bishops of those which pertain to you shall have learned the pure doctrine of your Holiness."

This letter was written to the Bishop of Rome then subject to the

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king of Italy, while Justinian was meditating the reconquest of the country. Three years after, Rome was besieged by Belisarius. The letter was exceedingly flattering to the Bishop's pride and ambition, in that he found himself authoritatively seated upon the Seven Hills as enthroned head over all ecclesiastical affairs of the Roman world. But the Seventh Head, which was Arian, did not coincide with Justinian in the acknowledgment of the Pope as the Head of all churches. The Arian Catholic churches repudiated his headship; they were therefore, being heretics, the natural enemies of Justinian and his Universal Bishop, whose policy could not be established until the Seventh Head was abolished, and the Arians suppressed. Hence, the invasion of Italy; the sympathy of the Trinitarians in Rome with the invader; and the persecution of heretics of every variety of belief; and the location of the Dragon's Viceroy in Ravenna, instead of Rome. The settlement of Italy by Justinian according to the Pragmatic Sanction, granted at the Pope's request, A.D. 554, by reducing Rome to the second rank, left the Apostolic Throne therein free from the overshadowing and blighting presence of a sovereign temporal authority; and thus "the Dragon gave to him his power and his throne and an extensive jurisdiction," saying in the 131st of the Novels, we ordain that the Most Holy Pope of the Elder Rome be the first of all priests" even in that Rome, which in the 9th of the Novels he styles, "the native country of the laws, the fountain of the priesthood."

The Seventh Head being destroyed, and the Bishop of Rome acknowledged by the Catholic Dragon of the East, as the Pontiff of the empire, the next desideratum was that he should be acknowledged by all the Horns of the West. This implied their conversion from paganism and Arianism to what Justinian styles "the right faith," and the "pure doctrine of his Holiness." These Horns belong to the times of Imperialism, which was worshipped by them in the Western Emperor while there was one, and afterwards in the Eastern. They were the Diademed Viceroys of Rome, and Constantinople, being Masters-General and Patricians of the empire - a political relation to Imperialism which legitimized their governments in the estimation of their Roman subjects, who greatly exceeded the number of their barbarian conquerers. The beginning and the ending of this political relationship, with but slight recognition of them in the long interval of 1335 years, are the subject of Apocalyptic symbolization. The beginning was the seed or elements of things in the period of politico-ecclesiastical organization; the ending, the ripe harvest and vintage (Apoc. 14) in the period of analysis or dissolution: so as that in some sort, the beginning was typical of the ending.

The rude-Horn Governments holding this relation to Imperialism, with the Lawyers and Clergy of their kingdoms practitioners and profes-

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Picture pg 289 0f

A Council of Constantinople during the reign of Justinian, as depicted on a fresco in the Vatican. The support of Justinian elevated the Bishop of Rome to the status of the head of all the Churches, and laid the foundations for the greatest influence of the Papacy. So the "deadly wound was healed" as predicted (Rev 13:3) and Trinitarianism triumphed over Arianisam (belief in one God)---Publishers

290 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

sors of Roman law and Roman Theology, easily accepted the legislation of Justinian in favor of the Pope and their own interests legal and ecclesiastical. A clergy the great majority of whom were Trinitarian, and Viceregal administrations, partly pagan and partly Arian, were the constitutional elements of the situation in the sixth century. The clergy of the kingdoms recognized and sympathized with the Pope and his patrons the Emperor of the East: and operated upon the barbarian kings and governments as imperial and papal missionaries for their conversion to "the right faith," and "the pure doctrine of his Holiness," in other words, to the Roman Catholic Trinitarian Superstition.

Here, then, in this beginning were the Little Horn of the East (Dan. 8:9,12,23-25), the Catholic Dragon of Constantinople; and the Papal Eyes and Mouth, occupying the so-called Apostolic Throne upon the Seven Mountains, the Name of Blasphemy; and the Gothic Horns. Of these, the Vandal Horn, which was Arian, and defiant both of the Pope and the Emperor, had been "plucked up by the roots" by the forces of Justinian under Belisarius. The horn of the Gepidae was transferred to the Chagan of the Avars, the representative for two hundred and thirty years of the modern kingdom of Hungary. These were hostile to the Apostolic Throne. The opposition of the rest was gradually overcome. Clovis(*) king of the Franks, on occasion of a victory, embraced the faith of Rome, A.D. 496; and so being the first, received the title, which has been handed down through more than thirteen centuries, to his successors the kings of France, of Eldest Son of the Church. In the sixth century the rest of the Horns gave in their adhesion to the Papal Faith. Recared was the first papal king of Spain. He reigned from A.D. 586 to A.D. 589. "The royal proselyte," says Gibbon, "immediately saluted and consulted Pope Gregory, surnamed the Great, a learned and holy prelate, whose reign was distinguished by the conversion of heretics and infidels. The ambassadors of Recared respectfully offered upon the threshold of the Vatican his rich presents of gold and gems; they accepted, as a lucrative exchange, the hairs of St. John the Baptist, a cross which enclosed a piece of the true wood, and a key that contained some particles of iron, which had been scraped from the chains of St. Peter."

The Lombard Horn was the last of the ten to renounce Arianism, for "the pure doctrine of his Holiness" of Rome. This occurred A.D. 600, through the instigation of Gregory the Great, who encouraged his

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(*) Clovis I, (see above), chief of the Franks (465~511) invoked the aid of Christianity during a battle near Cologne in 497, and, after his victory, he and his troops were baptized, at Reins so joining the Church of Rome. Conquests in the name of the Catholic Church followed his conversion and the shrewd Clovis became a powerful leader of the Frankish Kingdom, controlling most of Gaul, and laying the foundation of Catholicism in France Publishers.

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co-religionist, Theodelinda, the Queen of the Lombards, to propogate the Nicene faith among her victorious savages(*). "Her devout labors," says Gibbon, "still left room for the industry and success of future missionaries; and many cities of Italy were still disputed by hostile bishops. But the cause of Arianism was gradually suppressed by the weight of interest and example, and the controversy, which Egypt had derived from the Platonic school, was terminated, after a war of three hundred years, by the final conversion of the Lombards of Italy."

Thus was the Bishop of Rome developed into "the Mouth" of the great VICEREGAL REPUBLIC OF THE WEST; and after this manner was fulfilled the oracle, saying, "And there was given to him (the Beast of the Sea) a Mouth." It was a mouth like the mouth of the symbol of Babylon, "the mouth of a lion." When it spoke it roared forth thunderings and blasphemies, far more hideous than ever defiled the ears of pagan or Mohammedan - a Mouth that still gives utterance to "blasphemies against the Deity to blaspheme his Name and his Tabernacle, and them that dwelleth in the heaven."

But, notwithstanding Justinian's Decretal Epistle, and the professed desire of his servant, the Patriarch of Constantinople, "in all things to follow the Apostolic Throne" of Rome's Blessed One (!), the emperors and patriarchs, their immediate successors, did not partake of this desire. As the political stability and ecclesiastical organization of the West increased and progressed, the influence of the Oriental Catholic Power, enfeebled and almost extinguished by the victorious Persians and Avars, was greatly impaired; and had become in Italy little more than an ancient name, venerable chiefly for its antiquity and past renown. This emboldened the Pope in his schemes of absolute independence, and generated a spirit of rivalry and hostility between Rome and Constantinople. The patriarchs of Constantinople, who were scarcely less arrogant and ambitious than the popes, perceiving the advantages accruing from universal ecclesiastical supremacy, refused to acknowledge the Headship of "the Most Holy Archbishop of the Sacred City of Rome," and claimed it for themselves. These equal pretensions of the rival episcopal thrones of the East and West involved them in continual

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(*)The Nicene Creed. On account of the great debate that took place over the teaching of Arius (who taught the unity of God though denying the principles of God manifestation), Constantine called a general Council of the Church at Nicea, a city in Bithynia, close to Constantinople. About 300 bishops were present, but most of them were from the eastern part of the empire. Seven only came from the west. Arianism was denounced and a formula of Church faith adopted, incorporating principles of Trinitarianism. The doctrinal decisions of the Council were incorporated in a Statement of Faith known as the Nicene Creed. The date of the Council was 325. It is a landmark of Church history . Despite the proclamation of the Nicene Creed, Arianism flourished until the over-throw of the Gothic Kingdom in Italy during the time of Justinian. The additional power granted the popes by Justinian gradually saw the overthrow of Arianism, and the general adoption of Trinitananism in the churches of the west - Publishers.

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strifes, which were very considerably augmented by the course of John "the Faster(*)," who, in a council held in the sixth year of the reign of the Emperor Maurice, A.D. 588, assumed the title of UNIVERSAL BISROP, which was confirmed to him by the council. This assumption was equivalent to a claim of spiritual lordship over the pope and over all the Gothic Horns, as well as over the countries now embraced in the Ottoman empire. This had been decreed by Justinian to the Bishop of Rome fifty years before, and was now a part of the constitution of the empire, which a council had neither the power nor the right to reverse. This invasion of his rights, Pelagius II., then pope, vehemently opposed as an execrable, profane and diabolical procedure. Though Rome was no longer an imperial city, and "Mistress of the World," she was supposed to be the Throne of St. Peter, which Pelagius regarded as a better foundation for the seat of an universal bishopric than the enfeebled and tottering imperiality of Constantinople; but his invectives and arguments were equally despised, and his indignation was soon after quieted in death. He was succeeded in the A.D. 590, by Gregory the First, surnamed "the Great," a voluminous writer, and, though superstitious in the extreme, not entirely untalented. His works are still extant, and in great repute with the worshippers of the Beast. The following artful epistle, written by him to his imperial master, Maurice, at Constantinople, in consequence of John the Faster assuming the title of Universal Bishop, casts considerable light upon the history of the times, and may, therefore, with advantage to the reader be inserted here, illustrative also of the deceitful and lying utterances of the Babylonian Mouth.

"Our Most Religious Lord," says he, "whom the Deity hath placed over us, among other weighty cares belonging to the Empire, labors, according to the just rule of the sacred writings, to preserve peace and charity among the Clergy. He truly and piously considers that no man can well govern temporal matters, unless he manages with propriety things divine also; and the peace and tranquillity of the commonwealth depend upon the quiet of the universal church. For, Most Gracious Sovereign, what human power or strength would presume to lift up irreligious hands against your Most Christian Majesty, if the clergy, being at unity among themselves, would seriously pray to our Saviour Christ

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(*) John the Faster was the Patriarch (chief Bishop) of Constantinople during the period when Maurice (successor to Justinian), and afterwards, Phocas ruled from that city. He aspired to become Universal Bishop of all the churches, and was opposed by Gregory, Bishop of Rome, who likewise aspired to that honour. On the death of Maurice, Phocas, a brutal and vulgar centurion, who was prepared to stoop to any means to obtain power, seized the throne. Seeking the honour of being acclaimed Universal Bishop, Gregory, the Roman prelate, in pleading for his support, addressed to this criminal the most fulsome congratulations, inciuding the following statement: "Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad. and may all the people of the Empire exalt in your kindly deeds". As a result, Gregory received from Phocas the honour he craved, and the ambitions of the Papacy were brought a stage further - Publishers.

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to preserve you who have merited so highly from us? Or what nation is there so barbarous as to exercise such cruelty against the faithful, unless the lives of us who are called priests, but in truth are not such, were most wicked and depraved? But whilst we leave those things which more immediately concern us, and embrace those things for which we are wholly unfit, we excite the barbarians against us, and our offences sharpen the swords of our enemies, by which means the commonwealth is weakened. For what can we say for ourselves, if the people of God, over whom, however unworthily, we (the pope) are placed, be oppressed by the multitude of our offenses? - if our example destroy that which our preaching should build, and our actions, as it were, give the lie to our doctrine? Our bones are worn with fasting, but our minds are puffed up!" This is a hit at John the Faster. "Our bodies are covered with mean attire, but in our hearts we are quite elated! We lie groveling in the ashes, yet we aim at things exceedingly high! We are teachers of humility, but patterns of pride, hiding the teeth of wolves under a sheep's countenance! The end of all is to make a fair appearance before men, but God knoweth the truth!

"Therefore, our Most Pious Sovereign hath been prudently careful to place the church at unity, that he might the better compose the tumults of war and join their hearts together. This verily is my wish also, and for my own part I yield due obedience to your sovereign commands" - the pope still a subject, and without temporal power. "However, since it is not my cause, but the Deity's it is not myself only but the whole church that is troubled, because religious laws, venerable synods, and the very precepts of our Lord Jesus Christ are disobeyed by the invention of a proud and pompous speech" - alluding to John the Faster's title of Universal Bishop. "My desire is, that our most religious sovereign would lance this sore, and that he would bind with the cords of his imperial authority the party affected, in case he (John) makes any resistance. By restraining him the commonwealth will be eased; and by the paring away of such excrescences the empire is enlarged. Every man that has read the gospel knows that, even by the words of our Lord, the care of the whole church is committed to St. Peter, the apostle - the Prince of all the apostles." Then follows the quotation of John 21:15-17; and Matt. 16:18,19. "Behold! He hath the keys of the kingdom, and the power of binding and loosing is committed to him. The care and principality of the whole church is committed to him; and yet he is not called 'Universal Apostle' - though this holy man, John my fellow-priest, labors to be called 'Universal Bishop!' I am compelled to cry out" -from jealousy, envy and vexation, doubtless - "0 the corruption of times and manners! Behold the barbarians (the Gothic Horns) are be-

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come lords of all Europe; cities are destroyed, castles are beaten down, provinces depopulated, there is no husbandman to till the ground, idolators rage and domineer over christians; and yet, priests, who ought to lie weeping upon the pavement in sackcloth and ashes, covet names of vanity, and glory in new names and titles. Do I, Most Religious Sovereign, in this plead my own cause?" - doubtless nobody else's. "Do I vindicate a wrong done to myself, and not maintain the cause of Almighty God and of the church universal? Who is he who presumes to usurp this new name against both the law of the gospel and of the canons? I would to God there might be one called UNIVERSAL without doing injustice to others!"-that is, the Bishop of Rome. We know that many priests of the church of Constantinople have been not only heretics, but even the chief leaders of them. Out of that school proceeded Nestorius, who, thinking it impossible that God should be made man, believed that Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and man, was two persons, and went as far in infidelity as the Jews themselves. Thence came Macedonius, who denied the Holy Ghost, consubstantial to the Father and the Son, to be God. If, then, every one in that church assumed the name by which he makes himself the Head of all good men, the Catholic Church, which God forbid should ever be the case, must needs be over-thrown when he falls who is called UNIVERSAL. But, far from christians be this BLASPHEMOUS NAME, by which all honor is taken from all other priests, while it is foolishly arrogated by one. It was offered to the Bishop of Rome by the reverend council of Chalcedon, in honor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles; but none of them either assumed or consented to use it, lest, while this privilege should be given to one, all others should be deprived of that honor which is due unto them. Why should 'we refuse this title when it was offered, and another assume it without any offer at all? This man (John the Faster) contemning obedience to the Canons, should be humbled by the commands of our Most Pious Sovereign. He should be chastised who does an injury to the Holy Catholic Church; whose heart is puffed up, who seeks to please himself by a name of singularity, by which he would elevate himself above the emperor! We are all scandalized at this. Let the author of this scandal reform himself, and all differences in the church will cease. I am the servant of all priests, so long as they live like themselves; but if any shall set up his bristles (bristles belong to swine; so that by implication the Clergy are admitted by Gregory to be a swinish multitude) contrary to God Almighty and the Canons of the Fathers, I hope in God that he will never succeed in bringing my neck under his yoke - not even by force of arms. The things that have happened in this city in consequence of this new title, I have particularly declared to Sabinianus, the deacon, my agent.

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Let, therefore, my religious sovereigns (Maurice and Theodosius), think of me, their servant, whom they have always cherished and upheld more than others, as one who desired to yield them obedience, and yet am afraid to be found guilty of negligence in my duty at the last awful day of judgment. Let our most pious sovereign either vouchsafe to determine the affair, according to the petition of the aforesaid Sabinianus, the deacon, or cause the man, so often mentioned, to renounce his claim. In case he submits to your just sentence or your favorable admonitions, we will give thanks to Almighty God, and rejoice for the peace of the church procured by your clemency. But if he persist in this contention, we shall hold the saying to be most true. 'Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased.' And again it is written, 'Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.' In obedience to my sovereign, I have written to my brother priest both gently and humbly, urging him to desist from this vain glory. If he give ear unto me, he hath a brother devoted unto him; but, if he continue in his pride, I foresee what will befall him - he will make himself His enemy of whom it is written, 'God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble'."

This artful epistle, so replete with the finesse of the politician, and the envy of the priest, does not appear to have produced the desired effect. John the Faster, whose fasting had worn his bones and puffed up his mind, soon afterward vacated his "blasphemous name" by death; but this did not relieve Gregory of his distress; for Cynacus, who succeeded him as Patriarch of Constantinople, adopted the same superimperial and pompous title as his predecessor. Having had occasion to dispatch some agents to Rome, in the letter which he wrote to Gregory, he so much displeased him by assuming the title of "Universal Bishop," that the pope withheld from the agents somewhat of the courtesy to which they considered themselves entitled, and, of course, complaint was made to the emperor Maurice of the neglect which had been shown them. This caused the emperor to write to Gregory, advising him to treat them in future in a more friendly manner and not to insist so far on punctilios of style, as to create a scandal about a title and to fall out about a few syllables. To this Gregory replied, "that the innovation in the style did not consist much in the quantity and alphabet; but the bulk of the iniquity was weighty enough to sink and destroy all. And therefore I am bold to say," says this pontifical representative of infallibility, "that whoever adopts or affects the title of 'Universal Bishop,' has the pride and character of Antichrist, and is in some manner his forerunner in this haughty quality of elevating himself above the rest of his order. And indeed both the one and the other seem to split upon the same rock; for, as pride makes Antichrist strain his pretensions up to

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godhead, so whoever is ambitious to be called the only, or Universal Prelate, arrogates to himself a distinguished superiority, and rises, as it were, upon the ruins of the rest."

But, notwithstanding the good words and fair speeches of his former letter, Gregory's heart was full of venom and bitterness against Maurice and his family. Neither of these epistles caused the obnoxious title to be suppressed; and if Maurice had not been moved out of the way by a revolution, the "blasphemous name" would have adhered to Constantinople as the Apostolic Throne. But the heart of Gregory, the last of the "sainted popes," was made glad by the murder of Maurice, his wife and nine children, by a rebel and orthodox usurper named PHOCAS, who was peaceably acknowledged in the provinces of the east and west. Gibbon describes him as a monster, of diminutive and deformed person, grossly ignorant and steeped in lust, drunkenness and brutality. Such was the abandoned villain of the baser sort, who occupied the throne of the Catholic Dragon about eight years from A.D. 602 to A.D. 610. "As a subject and a christian," says Gibbon, "it was the duty of Gregory to acquiesce in the established government; but the joyful applause with which he salutes the fortune of the assassin has sullied, with indelible disgrace, the character of the saint. The successor of the apostles might have inculcated with decent firmness the guilt of blood and the necessity of repentance: he is content to celebrate the deliverance of the people and the fall of the oppressor; to rejoice that the piety and benignity of Phocas have been raised by Providence to the imperial throne; to pray that his hands may be strengthened against all his enemies; and to express a wish, perhaps a prophecy, that, after a long and triumphant reign, he may be transferred from a temporal to an everlasting kingdom." In his epistle to Phocas he says, "We are glad that the benignity of your piety hath arrived at the imperial dignity. Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth exult, and the people of the universal republic until now vehemently afflicted become hilarious on account of your benignant deeds." This base flattery, doubtless, predisposed the sanguinary tyrant to favor and promote the ambitious views of the pope, at the expense of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Such a biophthoros drakon, life-destroying Dragon, as he was styled, the worthy rival of the Caligulas and Domitians of the first age of the empire, was a very fit and proper patron to legislate the Bishop of Rome into the Universal Bishop of the world, the All-Overseeing Eye of the Apostasy.

"In A.D. 604, just before the death of Gregory," Dr. Barton says, "Phocas wrote to him, proposing an orthodox confession of faith, acknowledged the supremacy of the Roman See, was very liberal to the Roman churches, and allowed the Pantheon to be converted to christian

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purposes: all which must have been extremely gratifying to a pope in the seventh century." But Gregory did not long rejoice in "the benignity of Phocas' piety," being removed by death this year. He was succeeded by Boniface III, who had no scruple about adopting the proud and "blasphemous name." His election was confirmed by Phocas (an imperial privilege which was formally abandoned A.D. 684) whom he importuned to bestow upon him the exalted title of Universal Bishop, with the privilege also of transmitting it to all his successors. "The profligate emperor," says Jones, "to gratify the inordinate ambition of this court sycophant, deprived the bishop of Constantinople of the title which he had hitherto borne, and conferred it upon Boniface, at the same time declaring the Church of Rome to be Head of all other churches." Thus Phocas confirmed what Justinian had ordained seventy-five years before. Justinian had given the pope his power, throne and jurisdiction; Phocas confirmed the same with the original and additional gift of the imperial title, UNIVERSAL OVERSEER; by which he attained a rank ecclesiastically superior to the emperor; and at the prospect of which Gregory professed to be greatly scandalized.

The authorities for this are Paul the Deacon, who says of Phocas, "Being entreated by Pope Boniface, he ordained that the throne of the Roman and apostolic church be the Head of All Churches; because the Constantinopolitan church declared that it was first of all churches"; and Anastasius who in his Ecclesiastical History on the A.D. 606 observes, "This (Boniface) obtained from Phocas the Prince, that the Apostolic Throne of the Blessed Apostle Peter should be the Head of all churches; because the Constantinopolitan church declared that she her self was the first of all churches."

Gordon and Baronius make the date of the edict, A.D. 606; Muratori, A.D. 607.

In addition to Paul and Anastasius, Ado in his Chronikon, repeats their testimony, and adds, "Phocas, being entreated by Boniface the Roman Pontiff elsewhere, the rabble of idolatry in the old temple which was called the Pantheon being removed, ordered that it be dedicated a church of the Blessed Mary always a Virgin, and of All the Martyrs: that, where at one time the worship not of the Gods but of the Demons was performed, there continually the memory of all the saints might be preserved."

The "Annals of Italy" assign the decree of Phocas to the A.D. 607; upon which as a Note, Gieseler adds the following curious versified notice of Phocas' grant by Godfrey of Viterbo, in his Pantheon, about A.D. 1186.

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Tertius est Papa Bonifacius ille benignus

Qui petit a Phocamunus per secula dignum, Ut sedes Petri prima sit. Ille dedit

Prima prius fiterat Constantopolitana:

Est modo Romana, meliori dogmate clara.

The following version is Close enough to give the mere English reader the sense;

Pope Boniface the third is he benign

Who sought fit gift of Phocas for all time,

That Peter's Chair the first may be. He gave't

The First of rank Byzantine was before;

'Tis Roman now, more fam'd by doctrine pure.

This title, or name of spiritual power, was regarded by the popes as a splendid gift. It was, as Gregory the Seventh remarked, "unicum nomen in mundo, the only name in the world. There was no other name like it, distinguishing one son of pride from another. Father and Universal Bishop exalted the Bishop of Rome to the rank of "God of the earth," a title always coveted by those who filled the imperial office of the Seven Hills. Until the tide of successful villainy turned, the pope adored the Piety of the execrable monster; and a pillar was erected cal-ed "the Pillar of Phocas, " to commemorate his "innumerable benefits," conferred upon his Italian subjects; in other words, upon the Pope and his clergy. It was a Corinthian fluted column of Greek marble, standing upon a pyramid of seven steps. "In 1813, the Duchess of Devonshire having made an excavation around it, an inscription," says Elliott, 'was discovered on the base, stating that a gilt statue had been placed on the top of it to the emperor Phocas, by the then Exarch of Italy, in the A.D. 608." Dr. Burton in his book on Rome, gives the inscription at full. The date is thus defined. "Die Prima Mensis August. Indict. Und. ac Pietatis ejus Anno Quinto;" the 11th of the Indiction, and the 5th of the reign of Phocas. Now of that indiction the first was the year 598; the eleventh, the year 608: and as Phocas began his reign A.D. 602 or 603, its fifth year comes also to A.D. 608. The occasion of the honor is stated to be, "Pro innumerabilibus Pietatis ejus Beneficus, et pro Quiete procurata Italiae, ac conservata Libertate" - For the innumerable benefits of his Piety, and for the Repose procured for Italy, and Liberty preserved. Dr. Burton justly refers this to his concessions to the Pope. Thus the four years from A.D. 604 to A.D. 608, are notable in the history of Phocas' aggrandizement of the Papal See: and from A.D. 529 to A.D. 604, are seventy five years; and from A.D. 533 to A.D. 608, are also seventy five years:" or the difference between Daniel's 1335 of ch. 12:12, and "the time, times, and the dividing of a time," of his ch. 7:25, and 12:7.

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The Column of Phocas referred to in Eureka dominated the centre of the Roman Forum It was erected In A D 608 and was the last of the Columns to be there set up Phocas was a cruel and oppressive tyrant. His short reign terminated by a revolt under Heracluis who took Constantinople in AD 610 and put Phocas to death on the scaffold. From the criminal Phocas, Pope Boniface of Rome, successor to Gregory, secured the title of Universal Bishop - Publishers.

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Papists and Protestants seem to agree in assigning the constitutional beginning of the Papacy to this epoch of the reign of Phocas. Luther, in his Table Talk, says, 'the Pope and Turk both began almost at one time under the emperor Phocas." Osiander dated from the same, "a Foca Imperatore, qui Papatum, seu Primatum, publico edicto stabilivit" - by the emperor Phocas, who established the Papacy, or Primacy, by a public decree. And Bullinger, an early protestant, speaks of the Papacy having been established by Gregory I, and the Decree of Phocas. In fact, an imperial decree was indispensable to its establishment. The Bishops of Rome had made pretensions of a high and lofty character before the times of Justinian and Phocas; but their claims to supremacy, however approved by clerical adherents and canons, were of no account in a legal or constitutional point of view. Their pretensions to supremacy over all, only demonstrated the pride of their hearts, and the spirit of Antichrist therein, which, as Gregory truly said, would make him who was possessed of it "strain his pretensions up to Godhead". But an Italian or Roman subject of the empire, lay or clerical, might have strained to bursting after godhead, they could never have attained it without the

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sanction of an imperial edict which had the force of law. The reader will perceive this readily, aided by the illustrative supposition, that Pope Brigham Young of Utah, as respectable a pretender to godhead as Boniface the third, or any other blasphemer before or after him should proclaim himself Universal Overseer and Father of this consolidated despotism, the United States; his proclamation would only be the subject of ridicule and contempt with all the names and denominations of the day; but, if the factions in Congress, with the idea that in some way their interests would be promoted, were to pass a bill constituting said Brigham, Father of all men and Universal Overseer, with the approval of the President, the case would be wonderfully altered! The power and authority of Brigham would be enthroned in every family; he would be ex officio Judge of the Faith, and Head of all the churches of "The Union." This would be no matter of ridicule; but a subject of great fear and trembling to all not of his church; for all "the names and denominations" in relation to Mormonism being heretical, the bill or decree constituting him Pope and Universal Bishop, would place them all at his disposal. All this we can comprehend, feel, and appreciate; and would be thoroughly convinced that there was more in the name than "punctilio of style and a few syllables". If such a decree were promulgated in this country, it would convulse society from one end of it to the other. We should feel that our liberty had taken to itself wings and fled. This was the unrest and the apprehension of the Italians and citizens of Rome, when the emperor Maurice tacitly permitted the Byzantine Brigham, John the Faster, to proclaim himself, with the aid and consent of a council of Constantinople, Universal Bishop. The murder of Maurice by Phocas was therefore regarded as a joyful and auspicious event; especially when it was discovered, that he could be used in putting down Byzantine arrogance, and in transferring the "Blasphemous Name," as Gregory styled it, to the city of Rome. This gave repose to Italy, and restored liberty to the adherents of THE ANTICHRIST in Rome.

And who else, even upon Romish principles and upon Papal authority, could the Bishops of Rome from Boniface downwards be than the Antichrist Name? Gregory the First, whom Papists surname "the Great," the last Bishop of Rome they have decreed to be "a saint," and with them a great authority, says, as already quoted, "I am bold to say, that whoever adopts, or affects the title of 'Universal Bishop' has the pride and character of Antichrist, and is in some manner his forerunner in his haughty quality of elevating himself above the rest of his order." John the Faster adopted the title and held on to it, and Cynacus, his successor, also. They were therefore either the Antichrist, or his Forerunner; they could not have been the Antichrist however much like him; be-

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cause Paul, who styles him ho Anomos, the Lawless One, teaches that he will be in supremacy till the reappearance of Christ to destroy him; and their supremacy fell under the dagger of Phocas: they must, therefore, have been his Forerunner; and he who obtained the coveted title, Boniface the Third, the first Bishop of Rome who wore it, and their successor in it, and all of whose successors adopt it and glory in it, must be, according to Gregory, an incarnation of papal infallibility, the first of the order and name termed in Scripture, "THE ANTICHRIST." And doubtless Gregory was correct; and, like Caiaphas the High Priest, prophesied the truth without believing or knowing it. The Man-of-Sin Power, born of the Woman about two hundred and ninety five years previous, was now transferred by this Decree of Phocas from the successors of Constantine to the Universal Bishop upon the Seven Hills. This "Only Name in the World" was now the Eyes and Mouth of the Man of Sin. So long as Italy remained a province of the Greek empire it was politically allied with the Eastern Roman Horn of Dan. 8:9; but, as the power of this receded, that of the Universal Bishop advanced; until, Constantinople losing all dominion in Italy, the Bishop became the Eyes and Mouth of the Little Western Horn of Dan. 7:8; when, in its after-growth, it reached the fullness of the stature of the Man-of-Sin Power, as we shall hereafter see.

The Antichrist who in A.D. 312, was a babe of sin, was now, in A.D. 604-'8, a young man, and still in his growth. He was not yet of full age; nor would he be, until the Two Horned Beast should rise up out of the earth among the already existing ten horns. The development of this Lamb-Horned Beast and the Image of the Wounded Head, would consummate the healing of that head. We have not yet quite arrived at that point in the vision. I must therefore pause again in tracing the development of "the Name of Blasphemy upon the Heads," and proceed to consider the period allotted to the Mouth, during which it is Divinely permitted to "speak great things and blasphemies; and to open in blasphemy concerning the Deity (!,ros ton Theon) to blaspheme his Name and his Tabernacle, and the dwellers in the heaven."

18. The Forty and Two Months

"And authority was given unto him to practice forty and two months" - Verse 5.

The first question here is, What is the thing for which the personal pronoun "him" stands in the text? The answer is, It is the Beast; or that Politico-ecclesiastical constitution symbolized by the monster of the sea: as, "Who is like unto THE BEAST? Who is able to war with HIM? And there

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was given unto HIM a mouth, &c.; and authority was given unto HIM to practice forty and two months."

The next question is, By whom was the authority given to the Beast to practice for that period? The answer is, that it was given by Him who alone knew how long the practicing was to continue. That is to say, the authority was given by the Deity, Who ordains all things, and Who foreshowed the period in the text before us. "The powers that be are ordained of the Deity" (Rom. 13:1): "He hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of the habitation of all nations of men" (Acts 17:26). No nation can permanently extend its bounds, or perpetuate any system of government, beyond the limitation of His predetermined, and prearranged, times. The forty and two months are the Divinely authorized period of the Beast's practicing; at the end of which, the European Commonwealth which it symbolizes for that period, will pass into the phase predetermined for it in Apoc. 17.

The third question is, What is to be understood by the indefinite expression "to practice"? Authority was given unto the Beast of the Sea to practice -poiesai. In the seventh verse the word polemon is prefixed to poiesai; as, "It was given unto him to make war polemon poiesai, with the saints." Hence the fifth verse, I take it, is elliptical, and expounded by the seventh. But, was he to practice against the saints successfully or otherwise? The use of the word in Daniel when treating of the same subject, shows that "practise" implies prevailing and prospering in what it might undertake against them. Speaking of the Little Roman Horn that "waxed exceeding great" and "cast the truth to the ground," it is said, "it practiced and prospered;" and of the same power, it is said in another verse, "he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practice, and shall destroy the mighty ones and the people of the Holy Ones. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify in his heart, and by prosperity shall destroy many (Dan. 8:24,25, and 12). Now this shows, that the practicing of the power was mischievous and destructive; and that it prospered by policy, craft, and all belligerent operations; and, as the prophecy has more especial reference to "the people of the Holy Ones," who, in Daniel and John's revelations, are the most important community, for whose sake are all things (2 Cor. 4:15), the prosperous practicing is especially equivalent to the treading of the Holy City under foot of the Gentiles forty and two months (ch. 11:2): to the making war, overcoming, and killing of the two witnessing prophetic bodies, by which, as by two lamps standing before the deified Name of Blasphemy, the light of the truth and liberty was caused to shine (ch. 11:7,3,10,4); to the leading of the saints into captivity, and killing them with the sword (ch. 13:10); equivalent also,

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to the saints being given into the hand of the Little Episcopal Horn-power which prevails against them until the expiration of a time and times and a dividing of a time (Dan. 7:21,25). The fulfillment of these testimonies converges in the practicing of the Beast of the Sea, the Papal Body Politic, which the Deity, for the developing of his own wise purposes, authorized so to do, as indicated in the text. And as this practising of mischief of which the saints are the victims, is for forty and two months, it follows that the periods similarly indicated inch. 11:2 and ch. 13:5, are the same period; and consequently begin and end at the same epochs; that is, the forty and two months are the period of the prosperous and destructive practicing of the papalized ten horns, and of the down-treading of the Holy-City body politic by them: and as this practicing continues in all this period, we may accept the Common Version, power was given unto him to continue forty and two months," as correct by implication.

The fourth question is, What duration, or length of time, is signified by forty and two months? Is this period long or short? Is it forty-two months of days, or forty and two months of years? In other words, is it 1260 days or 1260 years? Is it a literal period, or is it symbolical of the real time? By what rule can the truth of the matter be ascertained? My answer is, that the truth is determined by the rule of facts, which are stubborn things. This rule, however, cannot be generally used. It is of no use to the blind who are unworthy to read the opened book, and to look upon it (ch. 5:3,4,5). It is a rule for the blessed who read, and under-stand the words of this apocalyptic prophecy (ch. 1:3). Such are not blind. They can see, or discern, the facts; for they are discernible by the light of the Spirit's testimony, which "is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this aeon hath blinded the minds of them who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the Image of the Deity, should shine into them" (2 Cor. 4:3,4).

The facts are predicable of two irreconcilably hostile parties, represented in the former section of this thirteenth chapter by the Beast of the Sea; or, the Ten Kingly Governments of Modern Europe subject to the spiritual authority of their Universal Bishop, of the one part; and by the Deity's Name, Tabernacle, Dwellers in the heavens, or saints, of the other part. Now one who cannot Scripturally define the Deity's Name, or distinguish a saint from a sinner, cannot define the facts developed in the history of the saints and witnesses, in their antagonism to popery in all the kingdoms of the Papacy, by which the period in question is deter-mined. Many of that exceedingly dark body, styled "the clergy," not knowing what a saint is, and who say that The Apocalypse is all in the future, declare that the forty and two months belong to the future

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likewise; and are to be understood of 1260 days, or three and a half literal years; in which a personal, or individual Antichrist will be manifested, and severely persecute the saints; by which they mean the pious of their several "names of blasphemy," of which the scarlet-colored beast is full; but which they term collectively "the Church of God!" Others of these professional leaders of the blind into the ditch, tell their unfortunate victims that The Apocalypse is all long ago fulfilled; and, consequently, that the forty and two months are buried in the oblivion of a remote antiquity! The real saints are ignored by both these parties of extremists. The conflict of the past twelve centuries between the Papal Powers of Western Europe and the Saints and Witnesses, they regard as simply a conflict between the Powers, and heretics and revolutionists inimical to law and order. The oceans of righteous blood shed by the Papal Powers, inspired by their Universal Bishop, go for nothing. What were they but the turbulent riffraff of society; were not the saints God's "hidden ones," the pious and orthodox professors of the ages, who passed current as good Catholics in churches and monasteries, but in their hearts silently repudiated the blasphemies of their church? These never imagined that the Universal Bishop was the Antichrist; and if he had been that substitute for Christ, would not they, as the saints, have known it? Against these "saints" of the church of Rome there was no warfare for forty and two months of days, or years; therefore, say these futurists, the period in question is in the future, and will be short.

But this is mere clerical ignorance and folly. The Deity has no saints in the Church of Rome, nor in the Protestant churches of Antichristendom. He has a people therein, even as he had among the idolators of Corinth (Acts 18:10), who become saints by believing the gospel of the kingdom and name, coming out from among the unclean, and being immersed into Jesus as the Christ. Such, cease to be Pagans, Catholics, and Protestants, and become "the sanctified in Christ Jesus;" the Brethren of Christ, the Seed of the Woman, "who keep the commandments of the Deity, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Now, it is a fact, that there was a separate and distinct community of such saints, who existed in all the twelve hundred and sixty years succeeding the Donatist trials in the reign of Constantine, which transpired in the epoch A.D. 312-316. It is also a fact, that during all that long period they were denounced as heretics, and persecuted as such, by the constituted authorities of the state; first, by the emperors for nearly three hundred years; and then by the Ten Horns, inspired by their Universal Bishop, to whose spiritual authority and Eyeship the last of them was converted, A.D. 600, and into whose hands the witnesses and saints

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were delivered by Justinian and Phocas; and who ceased not to make war upon them during many more centuries, until they silenced their testimony against Romish superstition and the Name of Blasphemy upon the seven hills. This was the Beast's practicing and prospering against the saints - the practicing of the Mouth and Horns for forty and two months. Not forty and two literal days or literal months only; for such a supposition would be contrary to historic facts; but for forty and two months of literal years, extending over twelve long and tedious centuries and sixty years beside.

This, then, is the literal time symbolized by forty and two months in ch. 11:2, and ch. 13:5. The periods indicated in these two texts are parallel. The beginning of the one is the beginning of the other; consequently, they both end together. These identical periods do not have, as some suppose, a double commencement and a double termination, each seventy-five years apart. They have only one common beginning, and one ending in common, the one with the other. For this period the Holy City was to be trodden down; and for the same period, the Horns and the Mouth, and the Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Hills, were to continue, or practise with one mind; and to agree, and give their power and authority, or kingdom, unto the Beast, until the words of the Deity shall be fulfilled (ch. 17:13,17). But, at the end of this forty and two months' period, or 1260 years, a change is to come over the spirit of their dream, and they are to hate what for that number of years they have been in love with: for, speaking of the Horns in relation to Rome's sovereignty, the Spirit said to John, "These (Horns) shall hate the Harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire" (ch. 17:16). This hostility of the governments (*,) which have been the willing instruments of the Universal Bishop for nearly thirteen centuries, indicates a change in their relations to Rome; and, consequently, a new political combination of the Powers of our Modern World. This is indicated by the Scarlet-colored Beast of chapter seventeen - "the peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues,"

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Because there is little hostility shown to the Papacy by European Powers today, readers may fail to comprehend the important point made by the Author of Eureka. In 1848, Karl Marx published his Manifrsto of the Communist Party. The booklet had widespread influence through Europe and the world. It stimulated a revolutionary spirit of Liberalism, Communism and anti-Papalism that swept the Continent, as mentioned in Elpis Israel:

"The hopes of the democracy throughout Europe were inflamed; and 'the earth' began to tremble until in 1848 every throne was shaken to its foundation. The events of this wonderful year are too recent to require to be chronicled in this place. It will be enough to say that the democracy broke loose, and commenced a movement (i.e. Communism- Publishers), which, though it has been restrained to prevent its progressing too rapidly, cannot be suppressed until the little horn, or two-horned beast and his prophet, be destroyed to the end, and the dominion of the ten-horned beast be taken away. The events of February 1848 have originated the 'great earthquake' of the seventh vial." (p.373).

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ecclesiastically subject to Rome, under the EIGHTH HEAD in the eve of the crisis of its destruction by the sword and "the burning flame."

This 1260 is a very remarkable prophetic cipher. It is founded on the number of the generations from the birth of Abraham to that of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:17); though the generations of the cipher do not average so many years each as those of the post-Abrahamic. These generations averaged fifty years and a fraction each; but the generations, or months, of the cipher, not more than thirty years each; but in the number forty and two they agree. Thus 30 x 42 = 1260, or three years and a half of years.

This cipher is variously stated in prophecy. In Dan. 8:25 and 12:7; and in Apoc. 12:14, it is written "a time, and times, and the dividing of, or half, a time;" in Apoc. 12:6; 11:3, it is written, "a thousand two hundred and sixty days;" and inch. 11:2 and ch. 13:5, it is written forty and two months. The aforesaid times in Daniel, together with his 1335, which is 75 years more than 1260; and the forty and two months of Apoc. 11:2 and 13:5, all terminate at the same crisis (*); at that, namely, of "the time of the dead." But the "thousand two hundred and threescore days" of sackcloth witnessing (ch. 11:3) and of woman feeding (ch. 12:6,14) do not end at that time; their ending being in the epoch of A.D. 1572-'6, marked by the Papal Massacre of Bartholomew's Day, which was 1260 years after the Donatist Trials, or flight of the woman towards the wilderness; the ending of their testimony in the presence of the god of the Roman earth; and the beginning of the first war by which the Ten Horns crushed them in all their kingdoms, A.D. 1685. For three lunar days and a half, which are equal to three months and a half of years, that is, to 105 years; for this period the witnesses lay politically defunct in the Great City; but, after the end of it, in the epoch A.D. 1789-'93, they rose again to political life, and ascended to power. This was 1260 years from the

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(*)That observation is true to the present. for the spirit of Socialism and Communism then Stimulated are developing the antagonism that will erupt in Armageddon. Meanwhile, as a result of the agitation generated in 1848, the revolutionary Garibaldi, in 1860 onwards, united Italy, and terminated the temporal power of the Papacy in 1870; all of which is illustrative of the hostility to which Eureka refers, and which is predicted in Rev. 17:15. But at the epoch of its judgment at the hands of Messiah, the Papacy is depicted in triumph as riding the ten-horned beast of Europe (Rev. 17:3). Today the hostility of the last century towards the political influence of the Papacy has largely disappeared, and it is rapidly growing in international influence and power. This commenced by the signing of the concordat by Mussolini in favour of the Papacy in 1929. By this means the Vatican became a Papal State, and the Pope was given political independence (taken from the Papacy in 1870). With the Vatican an independent State. the Pope was represented in politics as head of a political power as well as an ecclesiastical system, since then papal influence in international politics has dramatically increased - Publishers

t It was the Author's intense "love of the Lord's appearing" that caused him to thus compute these time periods. Circumstances have revealed his conclusions to be incorrect. See comment Vol. 2p. 10 - Publishers.

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notable epoch of the Dragon-Emperor Justinian's acknowledgment of the Bishop of Rome as the Head of all the churches of the empire; and of the promulgation of a system of law adapted to the circumstances of the times, created by the establishment of Catholicism upon the ruin of paganism; and adopted by all the Horns as the public reason of their courts of law; an epoch of four years from A.D. 529 to A.D. 533, from which, I doubt not, are to be reckoned the 1335 and 1290 of Dan. 12:11,12; the latter being thirty, and the former seventy-five, years in excess of the forty and two months; the epochal termination of the 1290 being A.D. 1819-'23; and that of the 1335, A.D. 1864-'68.

The only question, then, that remains under this head is, Admitting that the forty and two months are 1260 years, when did this long period begin? The answer is, that it commences at the epoch when the Dragon Power of Constantinople, then in possession of Rome and Italy, gave to the Roman Patriarch, as the Greatest Pontiff of the East and West, the ecclesiastical power the emperors had hitherto themselves exercised after the example of Constantine, and his throne of the Seven Hills; and an universal jurisdiction, as it is written in the second verse of this chapter, saying, "and the Dragon ceded to him his power, and his throne, and extensive jurisdiction." This important transfer of supreme spiritual authority was legally executed by Phocas, when he proclaimed Boniface the Third the Universal Bishop, with the right of transmitting the title, and the jurisdiction it represents, to his successors, "per secula," for ages. It is by virtue of this decree of Phocas that Pius IX. and all his predecessors are constitutionally "PONTIFEX MAXIMUS" of Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sardinia, Lombardy, Venetia, Hungary, and Bavaria - modern names representative of the original Ten Horns converted to the Nicene Trinitarianism of the Bishop of Rome. When he exalted the Pope to this lofty position, in which he was above all possible episcopal rivalry and confirmed Justinian's acknowledgment of him, as "Head of all the churches," and consequently Judge of the Faith; in so doing, he gave the saints into the hand, or power, of the Universal Bishop, or Eyes and Mouth of Daniel's Little Horn (ch. 7:25):

for all reputed "heretics" were turned over to him as their judge. All who were not Trinitarian Catholics were heretics with Justinian, Phocas, and the Bishop of Rome. They recognized none as saints who did not belong to their "Holy Apostolic Catholic Church." They were as ignorant in this matter as "the clergy" of our own day. Had ten thousand saints been arrayed before them with "the Father's Name written in their foreheads" (ch. 14:1), they would have condemned them all for pestilent and contumacious heretics, with whom no faith should be kept, and who ought not to be permitted to live. The truth relatively to the

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spiritual and temporal powers that be, styled by Paul, "the spirituals of wickedness in the heavenlies," has always been heretical and pestilent; because, in the mouth of the saints, it testifies against them and their traditions. It was to be expected, therefore, that, when the pope's claims of being Christ's substitute on earth, and arbiter of all doctrinal affairs, should be legally established, the saints would find themselves in the hand of a roaring lion ready to devour. He now claimed to be the constitutional and lawful shepherd and bishop of their souls; but the saints disputed this blasphemous pretension, and refused to accept him in any such capacity. They denounced him as the Antichrist, and lawless usurper of the titles and honors which belong to Christ alone, and declared that they would die rather than be numbered among his flock, or submit to his usurpation. Thus, the issue was formed between them: and there was but one alternative for them, submission or death. Hence, the power of the Universal Bishop was more "dreadful and terrible" than that of the Saracen Apollyon, who offered all catholic idolators, conversion, tribute, or the sword. But, tribute would not redeem the life of a saint; the ravening lion of the Seven Hills must have absolute and abject submission to his pontifical supremacy, or he would mercilessly drink their blood, and destroy all that belonged to them with fire and sword.

Such was the practical import of the phrase in Dan. 7:25, "the saints shall be given into his hand." It mattered not what country of the Horns the saints might reside in, the Lion-Mouth upon the Seven Hills, with his chasm' odonton, his gaping jaws of iron teeth (Dan. 7:7,19) could seize and devour them on the spot; for the catholic priests and secular orders of the states, the hyenas of his kingdom, were jealous in executing his ferocious mandates, to revel with him in the blood of the slain. Thus, the Catholic Woman became "drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the Witnesses of Jesus" (ch. 17:6).

Now, the legal beginning of this murderous administration of irresponsible ecclesiastical power, was made, as the reader may see, the beginning of the forty and two months. "The saints shall be given into his hand during (ad) a time, and times, and the dividing of time." Hence, they must have been given into his power at the beginning of the period specified, or they could not have been subject to him during the period. The delivering of the saints into his hand at the first must be taken as the starting point in the calculation. There is no clue in Daniel to the epoch of this delivery. John, however, in showing whence the Eyes and the Mouth of the Beast derived their power, and the use they would make of it against the saints with the historical description of the Dragon's grant, enables us to Say, with considerable assurance, that the forty and two months began in the epoch of A.D. 604-608. In all the subsequent 1260

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years, the Papal Powers have practised prosperously against the Saints and Witnesses for the supremacy of Jesus against that of the Universal Bishop, unicum nomen in mundo. They have trodden them under foot, made successful war upon them, and killed them in all the streets of the Great City - the Witnesses for 1260 years after the Justinian epoch; the Saints for 1260 years after the Phocean epoch. This is the testimony of authentic history, and cannot be gainsaid by any one intelligent therein, who knows what saints and witnesses for Jesus are. Of course, this Phocean quadrenmal epoch being accepted as the time when the saints were given by the Dragon into the power of the Little Horn, Eyes and Mouth, "the time, and times, and half a time," or forty and two months, must now be in the quadrennial epoch of termination, which is from A.D. 1864 to A.D. 1868*. We who have lived in this epoch have witnessed great events, indicating a breaking up of the politico-ecclesiastical constitution of the Papal Kosmos, or Order of Things. Naples, Sardinia, Lombardy, Venetia, and the Italian Duchies, are merged in the Kingdom of Italy; the military element of the Little Horn, Austria, has been excluded from the Holy Land of the Romish Satan; and the Universal Bishop of the Horn Governments is smitten with the paralysis of death. Every thing in the Western Third of the Roman Earth is in a transition state. Nothing is settled, neither can be. The present lull is only preparatory to the tripartite division of the Great City under the Seventh and Last Vial; when the Beast under the Eighth Head, in the last stage of its existence, will be prepared for perdition at the hand of "the King of kings and Lord of lords" - the kings and lords, who are "the called, and chosen, and faithful," who follow him whithersoever he goes, in all his judicial enterprises of war and conquest - Apoc. 17:14; 14:4.

19. Speaking Great Things and Blaspheniies

"And a mouth was given to him speaking great things and blasphemies" - verse 5.

The Mouth given to the Beast of the Sea was like a lion's mouth; and he delighted to compare himself thereto. His official utterances, or the things affirmed of him, by those who created and worshipped him, far transcended the utterances of the proud and impious rulers of the old Babylonian Lion. The last of these, styled by Isaiah, "Lucifer, son of the morning," the Belshatzar of history, said, "I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of AlL. . . ; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High" - ch. 14:13,14; and on the eve of his being brought down to Sheol, he lifted himself up

* See opposite.

* See overleaf.

310 EXPOSITION OFTHE APOCALYPSE.

Map pg 310 not shown

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Prior to the dates here given. Italy was divided into a number of small States (including the Papal States) Duchics and Kingdoms. In 1860, Garibaldi, the revolutionary "with his thousand redshirts", overran Sicily arid crossed to the mainland. King France II of Naples fled before him, and meeting King Victor Emmanuel, Garibaldi rode with him in triumph through liberated Naples. Garibaldi's military successes enabled him to unite most of Italy. For a time Rome. guarded by French troops, escaped, and Venice was retained by Austria.In 1866, however, Garibaldi acquircd Venice. In 1870, the Franco-Russian war, demanded the recall of French troops in Rome and the city was occupied by Garibaldi, and proclaimed the capital of Italy. The pope retired into seclusion at the Vatican, stripped of all political power. His temporal status destroyed, the Vatican became his "prison" in which he remained as head of the Catholic Ecclesiastical empire. In 1929, however, Mussolini signed a concordat with the Papacy, and the Vatican again became an independent State within a State. This restored temporal power to the Papacy, and paved the way for the system to be politically recognized in the international sphere. Since then popes have traveled widely in arousing support for their system. The present pope is using the freedom thus gained to great advantage in extending the political influence of the Church. This will lead to the development required by Rev. 17:3 Publishers.

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against the Lord of heaven, and praised the images of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know (Dan. 5:23). These were the speakings of the Mouth of the old Lion of Babylion; but proud and impious as they were, they fell short of the "great things and blasphemies" which roared from the throat, or by the sanction, of the Universal Bishop of the Ten-Horned Monster of the Sea. This Babylonian Mouth, which has come down to us from the darkest ages of the clerical apostasy, when it opens its iron-teethed jaws, can give expression to nothing but great things of vanity and falsehood, and things defamatory of the Deity and the Saints. "He opened his mouth unto blasphemy concerning the Deity, to blaspheme his Name, and his Tabernacle, and the dwellers in the heaven." Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter taught, was the only name given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). This name was the Father, whom no man hath seen, nor can see, by His power manifested in the flesh, crucified, and afterwards justified or perfected. This crucified and glorified Name, in the very nature of things, can have no substitute or vicar. The substitute or vicar of such a Name, must be all in reality that is affirmed of the Origi-nal, who must be set aside necessarily to make room for the Vicar. For a man to be a genuine Vicar of Christ, he must be what Jesus was as the Father's Vicar, or Mediator: sin must have been condemned in his flesh, and he himself a character "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." Compare this necessity with what the popes really are, who affirm that they are the Only Name in the World, unicum nomen in mundo, and the enormity of their blasphemy of the Deity's Name will readily be seen.

"Great things" are affirmed of the Mouth, which it sanctions ex officio. A celebrated monk of the time of Hildebrand puts these lying words into the mouth of Jesus Christ, as addressing the pope, and given in the original Latin text by Elliott. "I have delivered into thy hands the keys of my whole universal church, and have placed thee over it as VICAR for me; and, if these be few things, I have also delivered to thee the kingdoms. Yea, the king (or emperor) being removed from the midst, I have granted to thee the right of the whole vacant Roman empire." The orator of the tenth Session of the fifth Lateran Council thus speaks of Constantine's removal of his imperial throne to Byzantium, afterwards named Constantinople: "Constantine, breathed upon by divine grace from above, fully ceded the sceptre of the empire of the world and city to the true and proper Lord - to the Deity, and to the man in his own Roman seat, Sylvester, the Pontifex Maximus, in the primeval and natural right of Christ, the eternal priest; and he sought another throne by Apostolical concession, and erected it in Byzantium under the obedience of the Apostolic throne." It is true that the Dragon

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granted the Mouth his throne in old Rome, but it was not at the time alleged; the orator, doubtless, referred to "the Decretals of Constantine (*)," proved to have been forged by the popes.

In the reported Decree of Pius the First, he says, "The people may not accuse a bishop; bishops are to be judged by the Deity, who has chosen them as EYES to himself." Speaking of the Episcopacy in general, Boniface I., styles it "the watchtower of Episcopacy;" and the Greek emperor, in writing to the Roman Synod, A.D. 681, says, "we show that the priests are the Eyes of the Church." So Boniface I. speaks of the pope under the name of Peter, saying, "The most blessed apostle Peter looks upon thee as HIS OWN EYES, in what way soever thou shalt use the office of Chief Ruler. Neither can it not be most suitable for thee, who art constituted perpetual Shepherd of the Lord's sheep." Also, Innocent IV., A.D. 1245, in his sentence against the Emperor Frederick, says, "We ought to perceive, in regard to the height of apostolic dignity, that it is for THE EYE of most intimate considering of the faults of all christians." Hence, the Universal Bishop is well represented by the "Eyes like the eyes of a man," in Daniel's Little Horn.

The symbol of a Lion's Mouth speaking great things is eulogistically ascribed by Pope Nicolas I., in the ninth century, to Pope Leo, styled "the Great," the earliest founder of the temporal dominion of the Universal Bishop. He says, "save only the imitator namely of that Lion of whom it is written, 'the Lion of the Tribe of Judah hath conquered,' divinely exalted, opening the mouth, makes the whole world, and also the emperors themselves to tremble; as well it calls the mind to piety, it might entirely overthrow the catholic religion." And so Hincmar, speaking of the same Leo, says, "Leo the Great by the greatest roaring from the city Roma, being the capital namely of the globe, thunders loudly through the whole world." In the words of Shakespeare's King John:

"Here's a large mouth indeed,

That spits forth death and mountains, rocks and seas."

In the time of Charlemagne; A.D. 799, a Roman council enacted precisely the same part as that convened by Theodoric. The Pope having been accused, the Council declined to hear his accusers; declaring that he who was judge of all men, was above being judged by any other than himself; and on his coming in, and asserting his innocence, he was considered as acquitted. Thus Urban II., A.D. 1090, "that the divine right of judging concerning every church is of the pope alone; and that he himself is subject to the judgment of none." Afterwards in the Canon

§ See illustration page 111.

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Law, collected and published in the eleventh century, it was said: "It is certain that the Supreme Pontiff was called God by the pious prince Constantine; it is manifest that Deity cannot be judged by men." Daubuz who quotes this, styles the Canon Law and Decretals the Pope's Oracle; "the Decretal Epistles are enumerated with the canonical scriptures." They are the true expression of the papal mind.

This claim that he was irresponsible to any laws, human or Divine, by which he identified himself with the anomos or Lawless One of Paul, continued to be urged in the fifteenth century. So A.D. 1463, on Paul II dismissing Platina from office after his election, and Platina's threatening to bring the case before the judges of the Rota. Paul fiercely replied, "Thou wilt call us to account before the judges! As if thou wert ignorant that all laws are placed in the coffer of our breast! I am Supreme Pontiff; and I can at the pleasure of my soul both rescind and approve the acts of others." And again the Roman Council, A.D. 877, declared that "Christ himself willed that the pope be the head of us all, in his stead upon earth."

No one upon earth called a god, or worshipful individual, could plead exemption from subjection to the power of the keys in the hand of the Universal Bishop. Thus, Gregory the Seventh on excommunicating the emperor Henry IV., said, "I cannot find, that when the Lord confided to Peter the power of the keys, he made any exception in favor of kings." One of his dictates was "that all princes shall kiss the feet of the Pope alone." Raynald relates an exemplification which occurred A. D. 1515. The arrangement made by Paris, bishop of Pisaurum, Master of Ceremonies to the Pope, who was present on the occasion, was that the French king should kneel thrice on approaching the enthroned Pope; and first kiss his feet, ere he kissed his hand and face.

Among the "great things" of this Mouth is the dogma that all kingdoms are held of the pope. In support of this, Ducange, from Glaber Rodulphus, A.D. 900, quotes the popes "optimum decretum" following: "No prince shall impudently desire to bear the sceptre of the Roman Empire, or be called Emperor, or wish to be, except he whom by probity of manners the Pope of the Roman See shall convey as fit for the Republic, and to him he will commit the imperial badge." It has been said, says Elliott, that pope Constantine, A.D. 708, was the first pope that claimed the right of confirming temporal princes in their kingdoms (*). His successors claimed o make kings and depose them. An au-

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(*) Pope Constantine (708-15), was also the last Pope to visit Constantinople seeking the support of the Emperor for political endorsement of his Status. The Emperor reigning in Constantinople at the time was Justinian II (A.D. 669-711). Justiman was murdered shortly after the Papal visit, and as the power of the Eastern Empire declined, the popes looked more to the west, and ultimately to Pepin and Charlemagne through whose influence the Holy Roman Empire came into existence from A.D. 800 onwards - Publishers.

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theistic account of the deposition of the race of Clovis by Pope Zachary in the eighth century, affords an instance of this: also, at a subsequent period, the disposal of the emperorship of the Two-Horned Beast of the Earth, as a fief of St. Peter, by Gregory VII; who deposed Henry, emperor of Germany, and conferred the diadem on Roduiphus in the words:

Petra dedit Petro, Petrus diadema Rodulpho.

In this, Gregory styles the apostle, Petra; and the pope, Petrus: the plain English of which is, Peter gave the German Empire to the Pope; and the Pope gave its crown to Roduiphus; though the apostle did not know that such an empire would ever exist! But, no lying blasphemy is too absurd to issue forth from the Draco-Lion Mouth of the Beast. In A.D. 1303, we have another illustration of this sort of blasphemy in the case of Boniface, who, in his confirmation of Albrecht in the Emperorship, declared that it was by Papal authority, as Christ's Vicar, or personal and official substitute, that the Imperial Diadem had been transferred from the Greek Empire to Charlemagne and his successors, at the crisis, namely, when the healing of the Sixth Head was commenced. "And the Germans attend here," said Boniface, "because, just as the empire was transferred from others to themselves, so Christ's Vicar, the successor of Peter, has the power of transferring the empire from the Germans to any others soever, if he will; and this without injury of right" - a declaration humbly submitted to and confessed by Albrecht.

France was declared by Gregory VII.,to be tributary to Rome; and England, as also Spain, Saxony, etc., and Naples. The subjection of John of England, and after his deposition, the redonation to him by Innocent III., of the kingdom as a Papal fief; also his disposal of the German Emperorship in the case of Philip and Otho, are notorious. And Daubuz states from the letters of Pius II., that he proposed to the Turkish Sultan to give him a legal title to the Greek empire he already possessed by right of conquest, if he would assist him against his rebellious children.

There was no blasphemy too gross for papal acceptance. Whatever of this kind was offered to them, they accepted as their due. They claimed sovereignty over the land and sea, known or undiscovered; and the claim was recognized by the Horn Governments. This was exemplified in the Papal grants of the Indies to Spain and Portugal. After the conquest of the latter in the Far East, the king of Portugal sent an embassy to Rome, which arrived there and had an audience of Pope Leo, on March 25, 1514, and acknowledged his right to them. The oration, which was highly commended by the pope himself, is given in full by Roscoe, and quoted by Elliott in these words: "Listen to the orator of

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the embassy. For a moment he hesitates, as overcome by a sense of the majesty of him he is addressing." "Fear and trembling," he exclaims, "have come over me, and a horrible darkness overwhelmed me." Then, reassured by the Pope's serene aspect towards him - "that divine countenance, which shining," he says, "as the sun, had dispersed the mists of his mind" - he proceeds to the objects of his mission: narrates the eastern conquests of the Portuguese arms; addresses the pope as the Supreme Lord of all; and speaks of these conquests as the incipient fulfillment of God's sure promises. "Thou shalt rule from sea to sea, and from the Tyber River to the world's end;" "the kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring gifts to thee; yea, all princes shall worship thee, all nations shall serve thee;" and under thy auspices, "there shall be one fold and one Shepherd." That is, he explains the promised universal latter-day subjection of the world to Christ, as meant of its subjection to the Pope and the Portuguese discoveries and victories over the heathen, as signs that that consummation was at hand. And he concludes by a solemn act of adoration to the Pope, as his king's Lord and Master: "Thee, as the true Vicar of Christ and God, the Ruler of the whole Christian Republic, we recognize, confess, profess obedience to, and adore: in thy name adoring Christ, whose representative thou art." A letter from the king of Portugal accompanied this oration, and was addressed, "To Our Father and Lord Leo X."

On the ground, then, that the uttermost parts of the earth were given to the Pope for a possession, as Christ's Vicar, the king of Portugal prayed the pope to confer on the crown of Portugal a right to all countries inhabited by infidels the Portuguese might hereafter discover; the promise being added that he would spread the Catholic religion in them, establish the authority of the Pope, and so augment the flock of the Universal Bishop. This was too good an Opportunity to be lost of grandly exercising his alleged prerogative of giving nations and countries to whom he pleased. A bull was forthwith issued granting to the Portuguese all they might discover from Cape Non to India.

In A.D. 1493, after the discovery of America by Columbus, a like application was made by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to Pope Alexander VI; the same pleas and promises accompanying it of extending the dominion of the Pope. The Bull which decreed the grant, enacted that all westward of an imaginary line passing from pole to pole, and one hundred leagues west of the Azores, should belong to the Spaniards, all eastward to the Portuguese. In the judgment of the Horn-Governments, these pontifical grants were regarded as constituting an unimpeachable title, and a guarantee against interference and attack. Under Elizabeth of England, however, the validity of the grant was not admit-

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ted. For on the Spanish ambassador's reclamation against Drake, A.D. 1580, for having navigated seas which were in the dominion of Spain, the British Queen replied, that "the English did not recognize in any manner the property which the king of Spain attributed to himself, nor the pretended gift of a Pope, who had no right to dispose of countries and seas which did not belong to him."

Even in our own days, and in the time of his deep temporary humiliation under the first Napoleon, who had filled his kingdom with darkness (ch. 16:10) the same "extensive jurisdiction" was asserted. "Let them learn," said Pius VII., in his excommunication of that potentate, June 10, 1809, "that they are subjected by the laws of Jesus Christ to our throne, and to our commandment." This was truly a "great thing," and in keeping with the arrogance of Celestin III., A.D. 1191, who kicked the secular diadem from the head of Henry VI., in token of his right to assign kingdoms to whom he pleased, and to take them away. The fact is thus described by Roger of Hoveden. "But the Lord Pope sat in the political chair holding the golden imperial crown between his feet; and the emperor bowing his head received the crown, and the empress in the same manner, from the feet of the Lord Pope. But the Lord Pope instantly struck with his foot the emperor's crown, and cast it upon the ground; signifying that he had the power of deposing him from the empire, if he were undeserving of it. The Cardinals, however, lifted up the crown and placed it on the emperor's head." "He hath set me," said another pope, "even as prince over all nations, to root out, and to pull down, to destroy and to build." Indeed, there is no end to "the great things and blasphemies" to which this Papal Mouth of the Gentile Beast has given, and continues to give utterance: for as Cardinal Bellarmine says (writing under the sanction of the pope) expressly, "that every title which is in scripture given to Christ, appertains also to the Pope;" and to guard against misapprehension, he gives a copious enumeration of them. This is truly "blasphemy against the Deity, manifested in the Flesh," and called Christ; the effect of which is to blaspheme his name, and his Tabernacle, and them who tabernacle, camp, tent, or dwell in the heaven; that is to say, Jesus Christ and his brethren the saints. But to notice, or reproduce here, all the blasphemies and great swelling words of this mouth, which, all toothless as it has become, have issued from it, would be to write all the past and current history of the Papacy. Under this section head I have presented the reader with specimens whereby he may be able to identify among "the powers that be "that particular power symbolized by the Mouth and the Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Heads. This is enough for exposition. I shall therefore pass on from the further consideration of "the great things and blas-

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phemies" of him who in his latest manifestation as Pius IX. styles himself in his address to Mortara, "the Father of all the faithful," to the brief exposition of

20. The Name and Tabernacle of Deity, and Those who Dwell

in the Heaven

After what I have written concerning THE NAME in Vol.1 pp.98-114; 275-383; 368-372 and 395-400, I need say very little about it in this section.

In this chapter 13, we have two Names which are antagonistic - the blaspheming name, "whose number is six hundred three score and six", the number indicative of The Man of Sin-power; and the Name he blasphemes, which is written upon the foreheads of the 144,000-ch. 14:1. In ch. 13:6, it represents Christ and his Brethren, who, in antagonism to the Papal Blasphemer, constitute the Name of Deity. The phrases "his name," "his tabernacle," and "them that dwell in the heaven," are all synonymous with the phrase in the seventh verse, "the saints," of whom Christ is "the Head." The Deity dwells in them, and therefore they are his temple, habitation, or tabernacle; as Paul writes to the saints in Corinth, "Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their Deity, and they shall be my people" (2 Cor. 7:16). They are the tabernacle "built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, the foundation cornerstone being Jesus Christ himself: in whom all the building fitly framed together increaseth for a Holy Name in the Lord: in whom ye are builded together for an habitation of the Deity in Spirit" (Eph. 2:20-22).

But Christ and the Saints are not only the Name and Tabernacle of the Deity, but they are also, "those who dwell in the heaven." The phrase "in the heaven" is Apocalyptically equivalent to "in the heavenlies in Christ" -en tois epouraniois en Christo (Eph. 1:3). Paul tells the saints in Ephesus, that he with them were "blessed with all spiritual blessings" in these heavenlies; in which they and Christ, though the latter is at the Right Hand of the Divine Majesty, and they in Ephesus and elsewhere, were regarded as sitting together (Eph. 1:20; 2:6). A heavenly is a constituted supernal state. It may be Divinely constituted, or constituted by human authority. We have these two kinds of heaven-ies in Paul's letter to the saints in Ephesus. Inch. 6:12, he alludes to the heavenlies constituted by human authority. The Common Version styles them "High Places;" but Paul used the same word to indicate them as that rendered "heavenly places" in ch. 1:3,20; 2:6. There is no reason why the translation should not be uniform after the manner of

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the original. I see that in the Italian Version this uniformity has been observed. In this, in all the places of the epistle where Paul uses en tois epouraniois, the phrase is represented by ne' luoghi celesti, in places celestial. The French Version is also uniform, rendering it dans les heux celestes. The German is less uniform than the English; and in ch. 6:12, excludes the things mentioned there from heaven altogether, and puts them unter dem Himmel, under the heaven.

It is, however, to be remembered that Paul so expresses himself as not to be misunderstood by the enlightened. He defines the heavenlies in which they "sit together with Christ" as being "in Christ;" but he omits the phrase "in Christ" when he speaks of the heavenlies in which "the spirituals of wickedness" are found. Hence, the two kinds of supernal states are characterized by being "in Christ" or not in Christ; which is equivalent to being out of Christ - outside, or not included in the things, of which the manifestation of Deity in the Flesh is the great and glorious centre.

But the Heavenlies in Christ are not luoghi, heux, or places, but STATES, the foundation of which is laid in Jesus Christ - Deity manifested in the Flesh. "The Man Christ Jesus" is a real man. When on earth he was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and sinless," as to character; yet imperfect as to his material nature. He is now perfect - a perfect man "justijfled by spirit," and therefore incorruptible and immortal - a perfect character or moral nature, developed by Divine power, or spirit, into a perfect material nature. But Christ is also an allegorical man, as Hagar and Sarah were two allegorical women; the former representing the Mosaic Covenant; the latter, the New, or Abrahamic, Covenant. From the days of Moses until the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 34, the whole twelve tribes were constitutionally in their mother Hagar, or the Jerusalem system then in existence, and in bondage with her children. But on that celebrated day a new system was initiatorily developed, the Sarah Covenant, styled "the Jerusalem above the Mother of us all." Isaac was Sarah's son, and allegorically slain, and allegorically raised. The saints are all in Isaac; for "in Isaac shall thy seed be called." This seed is Christ; not Jesus only; but that great multitude also which no man can number. This "One Body" of people headed up in Deity is the allegorical or figurative Christ. They are the children of the promise as Isaac was; the free-born sons of Sarah the free woman. This is their state, without regard to the place or country of earth or heaven, where they might be supposed to be. But, if there had been no literal or personal Christ, there could have been no such Christ-State for Jews and Gentiles. Jesus of Nazareth was allegorically "a number which no man could number." He himself taught this, saying, "he that abideth in me, and I in

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him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:" and, "Father, I pray for them who shall believe into me (eis eme) through the apostles' word: that they all may be one in us" (John 10:5; 17:20,21). Though few compared with the whole race of man, it is a great company absolutely - a people taken out from all the generations and the nations for the Divine Name. "He shall increase," said John the Immerser; "but I must decrease." Jesus increased, or grew, into a Divine and "chosen generation;" while John has dwindled down into a mere Baptist Denomination, which is either ignorant of, or opposed to "the truth as it is in Jesus."

The heavenlies in Christ are two states answering to the two places of the tabernacle of Moses. One of these states is not yet manifested on earth; the other is. Hence, one may be said to be visible, and the other invisible; yet the saints, not sinners, who are quickened with him, and raised with him, sit together in both with him, and He with them. Now the solution of this mystery turns wholly upon the meaning of the phrase "in him." What is it then, to be in him? It is to be where Paul places the saints in Thessalonica, namely, en Theo patri, kai Kuno Iesou Christo, in Deity the Father, and the Lord Jesus Anointed. The saints are all in this manifestation of Deity. Being in Jesus and the Father, they must be, in a certain sense, where Jesus and the Father are. Alluding to this fact, Paul says in Heb. 12:23, "We are come to the Deity the Judge of all, and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant", and so forth. But Paul says that Jesus is at the Father's own Right Hand. True; but he also says, that "being justified by faith, we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." In other words, we have admission to the Father in heaven by faith; and when a person is permitted access to a place, and avails himself of the permission, he is in some sense certainly there; and when there in this certain sense, he is "dwelling in the heaven" in the presence of "the Judge of all."

Now the two places of the Mosaic tabernacle were the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, which were divided the one from the other by the Vail. Even so it is with "the holies, the true tabernacle which the Lord pitches, and not man (Heb. 8:2). There are the Holy Heavenly State and the Most Holy Heavenly State, divided by the Flesh. The Holy must be entered before the Most Holy can be reached; and to pass corporeally from one into the other, the individual must put on incorruptibility and become immortal; for, so long as he is in mortal flesh he is outside, or rather, an element of the Vail which must be rent; though by faith and constitution in Christ, he is within it.

How, then, does a sinner come to "dwell in the heaven?" By being "transformed in the renewing of his mind" "by knowledge" (Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:10); that he may discern and do "that good and acceptable and

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Perfect will of the Deity." In other words, by believing the gospel of the Kingdom and Name; and being immersed into and upon that Name. In so doing, he enters into the Holy Heavenly State. By faith in "the truth as it is in Jesus," and obedience, he puts on Christ, and is therefore, "in Him;" and being in him, he is constitutionally holy or a saint; and sitting together with him in the Most Holy, not personally, or corporeally rather; but by faith. This is his present adoption through Jesus Christ, by which he becomes a son of Deity, of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, and a brother of Christ himself (Gal. 3:26-29); and a "dweller in the heaven."

But there are heavenlies beyond the pale of the Christ-Body. These are Supernal States in which Paul locates principalities, powers, world-rulers of the darkness of the times of the Gentiles, which he styles "this aeon," and the spirituals of the wickedness enthroned throughout the earth. These heavenlies are constituted providentially or instrumentally by human authority and power after "the course of this world;" and are the tabernacle of "the Prince of the power of the Air, the Spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). This Prince-power and Spirit of the Air is Sin's Flesh; whose spirit pervades all sublunary human constitutions, styled "thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers,'' which Paul specifies as ''things in the heaven" or "the Air'' (Col. 1:16). In such an unclean heaven as this, are found the Ten-Horned, and Two-Horned, Beasts, the Name of Blasphemy, the Lion-Mouth, and the Image of the Beast, or False Prophet, the God of the Earth - all things of power, in short, emanating from falsehood and superstition. The dwellers in this Air, or Heaven, are not the Saints. In their days of Apocalyptic prophecy the two witnessing prophets had power to shut this heaven that there should be no rain from it; and as often as they willed during 1260 years, to turn the popular waters into blood, and to smite the earth with all war-plagues (ch. 11:6). The dwellers in this Aerial are the civil and ecclesiastical orders of society; such as, emperors, kings, diplomatists, nobles spiritual and racial, legislators, magistrates, priests, clergymen, parsons, and all of that class, styled by the apostle "spirituals of the wickedness" which reigns in "the Court of the Gentiles without the temple." Between this heaven and "the Heavenlies in Christ" there is implacable and uncompromising hostility. No peace can be permanently established in the earth till one or other of these heavens be suppressed or subjugated: and who can doubt which of these heavens shall be shaken, be rolled up as a scroll, and be made to pass away with the great tumult of war? The heavenlies, or high places, of this world are decreed to Yahweh and his Anointed Body; who, by the thunders and lightnings issuing from the throne newly set in the heaven, shall take the dominion under the whole heaven, and possess it

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during the Olahm and beyond (ch. 11:15; 4:1-5; Dan. 7:18,22,27). This is the fiat of Eternal Wisdom and Power. The Seventh Vial, the last blast of the Seventh Trumpet, is to pour out its fury upon the Air, the secular and spiritual constitution of which will thereby be thoroughly and radically changed. The things now in the Air will be transferred to "them who dwell in the heaven" in Christ; who, having passed through the Vail of the Flesh which divides the Heavenlies, in the putting on of immortality, will be manifested as the Most Holy Heavenly in Christ; and the Air, filled with their glory, will become the New Heavens, in which righteousness will dwell forever. The Air will then no longer be malarious with the pestiferousness of secular and spiritual demagogues, who "with good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." The Prince of the Power of the Air will then be the Spirit that works in the children of obedience - the truth incarnated gloriously in Jesus and his Brethren; who, in the highest sense, will be those who dwell in the heaven.

It was against the Saints, who, in the times of the Gentiles, constitute the Name, the Tabernacle, and them who dwelt in the Heaven in Christ, that the Ten-Horned Beast opens his Leo-Babylonian Mouth in blasphemy; and makes war, till the end of the Forty and Two Months of Years. In blaspheming Jesus and his Brethren, he blasphemes the Deity, on the principle laid down by Christ, that what is done to, for, or against, his brethren, is done to, for, or against him. The Lion-Mouth of the Apocalyptic Babylon spoke evil of them in words of the most acrid bitterness. He denounced them as heretics, accursed, the children of the Devil, the spawn of hell - not a blasphemous epithet was there that the pope and his agents did not heap upon them. The prophetic writings, though set aside for the purposes of truth and edification, were resorted to for names of infamy by which to make them odious to those who worship the beast and his image; and the evil symbols and appellations therein employed by the Spirit to prefigure the Apostasy and its "spirituals of the wickedness," this Mouth of Blasphemy applied to the Saints. In this it blasphemed the Deity himself. This principle is well illustrated in Ezek. 35, where a statement made by Edom concerning Israel and their country is styled blasphemy against the mountains of Israel, because it was false. Edom said, as he also says to this day, "these two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it, though Yahweh were there." Now, He had promised the land to Jacob, and to him he will give it for an everlasting inheritance. Hence, every saying subversive of this purpose is blasphemy against the country, and blasphemy and boasting against the Eternal Spirit: for, if Edom's purpose of possession could possibly be established, the Deity's veracity

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would be destroyed, and his character for faithfulness overthrown. "Thus," in making false statements concerning the destiny of Israel, Judah, and their country, 0 Edom, saith Yahweh, "with your mouth ye have boasted against Me, and have multiplied your words against Me; I have heard: so that when the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate." By Edom is here represented what John symbolizes by the Beast and his Image, etc. Hence, to blaspheme or speak evil and injuriously of God's people, and promises, is regarded by Him as blasphemy against Himself.

21. War with the Saints

"And it was given to him to make war with the Saints, and to

vanquish them" - Verse 7

This Beast that vanquishes the saints is the same that in ch. 11:7, is referred to as destined to make war against the Two Witnesses. There is, however, this difference of result observable in the Beast's war upon the Saints "who dwell in the heaven;" and his war against the Witnessing Prophets who had power to shut his heaven, that it should not rain in their days of the prophecy - he vanquishes the Saints, but does not "kill them;" but in regard to the Two Prophets, he both vanquishes and kills them. The reason is this: he could not kill the Saints as a body politic, exercising power and authority in the Court of the Gentiles; because, not being politicians and political partisans, they never possessed them: it is therefore stated simply, that they were vanquished or overcome by the war. Hence, we find nothing about the saints rising from death until "the time of the dead" when Christ appears. But, in the case of the Two Witnesses, or politico-ecclesiastical communities opposed to the Horns and their Lion Mouth, they were politically killed, and lay dead and unburied in the platea of the Great City three lunar days and a half of years, and afterwards became the subject of a political resurrection and ascension into the heaven of the Beast. The Saints who dwell in the heaven in Christ have never been there yet. A better resurrection and ascension than that of the Two Witnesses is in reserve for them. The reader is re-erred to my eleventh chapter for particulars about the Beast's war upon the Witnesses. The Saints of the Holy City shared in much of their affliction, and are still trodden under foot; and will continue so to be, until the synchronous termination of the Forty Two months and 1335 years. After what I have written in that chapter of Vol.3, it is unnecessary here to repeat the story of the war. The Saints were killed by thousands in the war because they would not worship the Beast's Image. This was the fate of multitudes who did not dwell in the heaven; for the slaughter by

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the Beasts was often indiscriminate, on the principle that "the Lord would know his own;" for even Catholics dwelling in witnessing communities were not exempted from massacre and flame. History is copious in the narration of the sanguinary persecutions and crusades raised against them by the Pope, who promised forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation to volunteers in his wars with the saints and witnesses, all of whom he blasphemed as "emanating from the pit of the abyss." These volunteers responded to his incentives with enthusiasm; and in reporting the execution of their mission, would say, "we have spared neither age nor sex; we have smitten every one with the edge of the sword." Besides being subject to massacre, they were at all times by the canon law deprived of all civil privileges; and it was declared "homicidas non esse qui excommunicatos trucidant," that they who butcher the excommunicated are not murderers.

22. The Patience and F'aith of the Saints

"Here is the patience and the faith of the Saints" - Verse 10

When we read in the seventh verse, that exousia, authority, rule, dominion or jurisdiction, was given to the Beast," and consequently to his Lion Mouth, over every tribe, and tongue and nation, we know that the Beast represents the system of government existing in the outcast and unmeasured Court of the Gentiles (ch. 11:2): that is, over the tribes, tongues, and nations, of those countries, in which the Holy Polity in Christ, the Saints, and the Earth, or Witnesses, helping them, have contended for 1260 years against the Papacy.

The Saints, or true believers, have always known, though sinners, and sceptical professors, their kin, have not, that although their conflict with the secular and ecclesiastical rulers of the world would be proximately disastrous; yet, that finally they would themselves be the victors, and the personal avengers of the atrocious cruelties they had endured. They have always known what the Beast is that is politically "worshipped by all that dwell upon the (Romish) earth;" and by which they have in ages past been vanquished: and being of that class that hath ears, they have heard "what the Spirit saith to the ecclesias." They have understood what the destiny of "the Powers that be," which have led them into captivity and killed them by the sword, is decreed by the Eternal Spirit to be. They know that this Beast, with all its appendages of heads, horns, mouth, feet, and Name of Blasphemy, aggregately symbolizing the governments of the nations, are themselves to be led captive, or taken violent possession of; and to be destroyed by the judicial two-edged sword in the hands of the Saints. They knew that the honor ol

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executing vengeance upon the nations, and punishments upon the people; of binding their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; and of executing the judgment written, when the Ancient of Days should come, was, in the wisdom and justice of the Deity, assigned to them (Psa. 149:6-9; Dan. 7:22). By this knowledge, they were energized to endure for the time-being the atrocious cruelty inflicted upon them by the great iron teeth of the Lion-Mouth. They endured in hope of this honor, and waited for it in faith. It was their patience and their faith that the time would come, after the lapse of the forty two months, when they would slay Daniel's Fourth Beast, give his body politic to the burning flame, and deprive the other three Beasts of their dominion, which they would possess 1000 years (Dan. 7:11,12; Apoc. 20:4). This has never been "the patience and the faith" of the worshippers of the Beast "who dwell upon the earth." These, who constitute "the Names and Denominations of Christendom," do not believe that the power leading "heretics," so-called, into captivity, or, in the language of the Inquisition, "immuring" them, shall itself be "immured" in the binding of its kings and nobles with chains: nor that such a power having killed "heretics" by the million with the sword, shall in like manner be by them destroyed. They of whose names there has been no record (hou gegraptai) from the foundation of the world, in the book of the slain Lamb's life have no ear to hear such doctrines as this. The waiting for and belief of these things is a characteristic of the true believers, "who dwell in the heaven," though". pilgrims and sojourners upon the earth, and trodden under foot of the Gentiles; for where their treasure is, there is their heart, or affections, also.

This tenth verse of ch. 13 is parallel with ch. 14:8-12. That is, the mission of the Second and Third Angels outlined in this passage is executive of the judgment written against the Beast in ch. 13:10 - ei tis, if any, etc., rendered "he that killeth, etc.; the outline shows that the "any" refers to Babylon, the great city, and the worshippers of the Beast and his Image; and that these are to be "tormented with fire and brimstone," or "destroyed in war" (ch. 11:18) "in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb." The saints are waiting for this. It is the patience of those "who keep the commandments of the Deity and the faith of Jesus;" for so it is written inch. 14:12, to which the reader is referred. Because the Great City, or "Christendom," has shed the blood of the saints and witnesses of Jesus, blood is to be given it to drink until it shall fall to rise no more. As "a great hail out of the heavens," the saints are to descend upon Babylon, and to "reward her even as she rewarded them, and to double to her according to her works" (Ch. 16:21; 18:6). They are to execute this judgment

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strengthened by Omnipotence co-working with them (ch. 14:13); in the time of the end, after they shall have been raised from the dead, and been commissioned (ch. 18:20).

When this patience and faith is satisfied, the saints, living and raised, will no longer be in a waiting position. They will rejoice in victory, and "sing the song of Moses, the servant of the Deity, and the song of the Lamb" (ch. 15:3). There will then be no systems of government such as now exist. The Ten-horned Beast, the Two-horned Beast, the Image of the Beast, the Scarlet-colored Beast, and the drunken Harlot he carries, will all have been destroyed as "the destroyers of the earth." Not a trace of them will be left; for they are all to be carried away as the wind sweeps off the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. No place on the earth will be found for them; for the Power that smites them will be-come as a great Mountain filling the whole earth (Dan. 2:35,44). "Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Here are they who keep the commandments of the Deity and the faith of Jesus;" all others are simply "the worshippers of the beast and his image," the mark of whose name is in their foreheads sealing them to death.

23. Names Written from the Foundation of the World

In the English Version, the eighth verse reads, "and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the Beast) whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." This is generally taken to mean that "the Lamb was slain from the foundation the world" - slain in the typical sacrifices of the Mosaic law. However this may be, the phrase "from the foundation of the world" in this place does not refer to the slaying of the Lamb, but to the writing of certain names in the Book of Life. This is evident from the parallel passage in ch. 17:8, "and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world." This is expository of the former on this point. The Book of Life is essentially that of the Lamb slain; for there is no book registering names for eternal life, that has not been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. The slain Lamb's Book of Life is the Book of the Abrahamic Covenant, dedicated with the blood of Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant; and in this Book their names are not written who are ignorant of the promises, and, therefore, faithless of the Gospel preached to Abraham, and afterwards in the name of Jesus Christ. These worshippers and wonderers are "alienated from the life of the Deity through the ignorance that is in them" (Eph. 4:18). The slain Lamb's Book of Life, whose first page was written at the foundation of

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the world in the days of Moses, promises the incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance reserved in the heavens to those, and to such only, "who are kept by the power of Deity (the gospel of the kingdom Rom. 1:16) through faith, for the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:4,5); or "at the appearing (the apocalypse) of Jesus Christ-ver. 7. The promise is in thee, Abraham, and in thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed;" and "all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it, and to thy Seed,for ever" (Gen. 12:3,7; 13:15). This is a promise of eternal life and of an eternal inheritance to Abraham and his Seed; for they must be made incorruptible and immortal to enable them to possess a country "for ever." Nor can any sane person be in doubt as to what country is promised to Abraham and his Seed for ever; for it is plainly and expressly stated to be the land Abraham saw with his eyes when he was seventy-five years old - the land lying between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, at present a province of the Draco-Ottoman empire.

Now, Moses and Paul teach that the Seed connected with the father of the faithful in the promise, was to be manifested in the line of Isaac; and that the said Seed was to be the personal and mystical Christ; or the One Body, whose head is Jesus and the Father; in other words, Jesus Christ. "To Abraham and to the Christ," says Paul, "were the promises made, and confirmed 430 years before the Mosaic law was given." He then states that when "the faith came;" that is, when the truth was manifested through the slaying of the Lamb of the Deity, men and women became the children of Deity by obedience to it; for the faith was made known to all nations for obedience of faith (Rom. 16:26; 1:5). Believers became children of the Deity by this obedience; for, he says, "Ye are all children of Deity in Christ Jesus through the faith. " But, if they were not in Christ, though they might be believers, they were not His children; but mere worshippers of the Beast in the times of the Beast. Those believers only are "in Christ Jesus" who have entered into that heavenly state "through the faith;" or through the way pointed out in the one faith. This way is indicated in the words of Paul, who tells the believer of the truth by what process he may become a son of Deity; how he may get into Christ, and by consequence, be Christ's brother; and, therefore, a son of Abraham in the highest sense; an heir of the Deity, a joint-heir with Christ; and thereby entitled to the eternal life and inheritance promised to Abraham 430 years "before the foundation of the world". His words are, "As many as have been immersed into Christ have put on Christ; and if ye be Christ's, then are ye the Seed of Abraham, and Heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:26-29; Rom. 8:17).

This is the Covenant of life in Christ confirmed by his blood, and

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styled Apocalyptically, "the Book of the life of the Lamb slain." Every one who can prove Scripturally that he is in Christ, and, therefore of Abraham's Seed, thereby demonstrates that his name has been written in that book from the foundation of the world. For, "known unto the Deity are all his works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:13). If any one be a son of Deity he is one of "his works;" for says Paul to the sons of Deity in Ephesus, "we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works" (ch. 2:10). Then every one of his children was known to Him by name when he laid the foundation of the aion and kosmos (both rendered world in the English Version) in the Abrahamic Covenant. To deny it, would be to say that the Deity did not know all his works from the beginning. But he did know them; and, therefore, it is said in the verse before us of the dwellers on the earth in contrast with the dwellers in the heaven, of "whom there has not been written from the foundation of the world the names in the book of the life of the Lamb that had been slain." The sentence resting upon these is "Depart from me, ye cursed that work iniquity; I never knew you" (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:41). Such are the wonderers after the Beast of all clerical orders, and names, and denominations of blasphemy, of which his body politic is full (Apo 17:3). Thus, "whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life is cast into the Lake of Fire, in which the Beast and False-Prophet powers are to be destroyed by the all-conquering saints (ch. 19:20; 20:15; Matt. 25:41).

II. THE BEAST OF THE EARTH (The Two-Horned Beast)

"And I saw another beast ascending out of the earth, and he had Two Horns like to a Lamb, and he spake as being a Dragon" (Apoc. 13:11).

John saw this while standing on "the sand of the sea." Would he see the Ten Horn dominions ascending out of the sea, and not see a more remarkable dominion than any of them rising up in the midst of them? He says, "I saw another beast;" so that while he was seeing and standing, he saw two dominions, or systems of government, the one arising from among the peoples inhabiting the countries of the west washed by the Mediterranean, the other from among those of MIDDLE EUROPE, which he styles "the earth."

"The Earth" is an extensive inland portion of the globe, not included in the Roman empire when the Apocalypse was communicated to John in Patmost. In modern times, it is represented by the territory of

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the Austrian, Prusso-German, and Russian empires. Out of a portion of this region John saw the Two-Horned Beast arise; so that when it had arisen and established itself, there were contemporary with it Seven independent Horns, and its own Two Horns in the midst of the original ten.

Between what John saw, and what Daniel beheld while considering the Horns of the Fourth Beast (ch. 7:3,24), there is a remarkable identity. They both saw the rising up of the same dominion, concerning which each of them recorded particulars not specially noticed by the other.

Daniel's and John's ten horns represent the same European Powers. Now Daniel says that 'while he was considering these horns, there came up among them another Little Horn;" which is equivalent to the information derived from John, and while he stood looking at the Ten-horned Beast, he saw "another beast coming up out of the earth." The most notable diversity here between John and Daniel is, that what Daniel styles a Little Horn, John terms a Beast with Two Horns, and speaking as being a Dragon. This diversity is instructive. A horn represents a Dynasty, or succession of potentates. This appears from the two horns of the Ram in Dan. 8, representing the Dynasty of the Medes, and the Dynasty of the Persians; and for two years, both of them contemporary on the same beast. John's description of the dominion shows that the Beast of the Earth has Two Contemporary Dynasties, both of which are Dragonic, or Imperial. But Daniel shows the same things, only in a different way. For, that his Little Horn is imperial, a dominion ruled by emperors, he affirms in saying, that the power should subdue three of the ten horns that had existence before it. It was to rule over three conquered kingdoms besides its own: and that it was to be a double-headed imperiality; or, a dominion under two contemporary successions of potentates, he represents by the Little Horn, for one succession of secular emperors; and by the Eyes and Mouth for the other succession of pontifical emperors, styled Popes. This constitution of things makes it "diverse from the ten horns" There were no independent Eyes and Mouth for each of them. If there had been a pair of Eyes and a Mouth for each horn there would have been a Pope for each kingdom: or ten contemporary popes, as well as ten contemporary kings. But this would have been confusion worse confounded than it was. On the contrary, one pope or Papal Dynasty, was deemed sufficient for the whole ecclesiastical requirements of the worshippers of the Beast, both of the earth and sea. One pope, one emperor, seven independent, and three vassal kingdoms, south and west of the Rhine and Danube, represented by John's two Beasts, is the politico-ecclesiastical and Apocalyptical

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The Power of the Papacy In Italy. The above map depicts the Papal States on the eve of the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire in A D 800 Gibbon records that in 758 Pepin gave to the Pope the "States of the Church "-three kingdoms in Italy: The Exarchate of Ravenna, the Kingdom of the Lombards and the State of Rome. These were confirmed by Charlemagne, and were represented by the triple crown worn by the Pope (see p~ 265). These Papal States remained until 1870 when they were taken over by Garibaldi, and the Papacy was stripped of its temporal power, the Pope becoming a prisoner in the Vatican' It was restored by the concordat signed with Mussolini in 1929 at which time the Vatican became an independent state, and the Italian Government agreed to compensate the Papacy for the loss of independence in 1870! In the conquests of Charlemagne, by which the Papal power was extended in the west, three of the horns were "plucked up by the roots" - which Eureka identifies with the "horns of the vandals, Lombards, and the Huns, fulfilling the requirements of Dan. 7:8. Bible prophecy has been remarkably vindicated in world events-Publisher'.

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constitution of Modern Europe, from A.D. 800 to A.D. 1793. Revolutions have often seriously disturbed this constitutional order. There have been rival contemporary popes and emperors, and more and fewer kings. At present, everything is subjected to this revolutionary disturbance. But, we have in this place more particularly to do with what John saw while he stood on the sand of the sea, viewing the rising up of this new imperial dominion of the west, which Daniel intimates was not only to arise among the ten horns," but "after them."

This is highly important information, and guards us against the error of searching for the Two-Horn Dominion before the appearance of the Ten Gothic kingdoms, or during the time of their appearing. Nor may we search for it while the Seventh Head occupied Rome. That sovereignty had to pass away before an Imperial Eighth could occupy the Seven Hills. This brings us to the time of the settlement of Italy by Justinian's Pragmatic Sanction (*), A.D. 554. But taking our stand upon this settlement, and surveying the western world we can discern nothing answerable to Daniel's Little Horn with Eyes and Mouth, and John's Beast of the Earth. We can see Rome reduced in rank among cities, and deprived of all sovereignty: the dominion of Constantinople established in part of Italy; and the Bishop of Rome still devoid of temporal authority, and subject to the Viceroy of the Great Emperor or Dragon, called the Exarch of Ravenna. Two hundred and forty years, however, after this settlement, a great revolution had been developed in the European Body Politic. The Constantinopolitan sovereignty and Exarch were no longer found in Italy; three of the Ten-Horn kingdoms had been subdued by a new power; the Bishop of Rome was exalted into a pontifical potentate with temporal jurisdiction over the so-called Patrimony of St. Peter, or "States of the Church;" and Rome was raised from her degradation and eclipse to imperial sovereignty; and, as Gibbon testifies, was afterwards "revered by the Latins as the Metropolis of the World, and THE THRONE OF THE POPE AND EMPEROR who from the Eternal City derived their title, their honors, and the right or exercise of temporal dominion".

This New Dominion of the Two Dynasties styled "the Pope and Emperor", is John's Two-Horned Beast of the Earth; and Daniel's Little Horn with Eyes like eyes of a man, and a Mouth speaking very great

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(*) A pragmatic Sanction is an imperial edict conferring powers or establishing the right of succession. Justinian's Pragmatic Sanction of 13 Aug. 554 promulgated the code of Laws that he had collated for the government of the realms of his Empire. It gave certain rights to the bishops and notables of the provinces of Italy, even in the appointment of provincial governors. It canceled out controls that had been established under the Gothic Arian rule of Italy, and considerably strengthened the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in the west. In this way ''the dragon'' (in Constantinople) "gave power unto the beast" (Rev. 13:3-4), providing it with "a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies" (the Papacy) - Publishers.

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things, whose look was more stout than any of the Ten. Its rise must be looked for after the Emperor of the East had lost his sovereignty in Italy. The Constantinopolitan Exarchate of Ravenna was conquered by the Lombards , A.D. 752, which gave the preponderance in Italy to them; and placed the Bishop of Rome very much at their mercy. It was between this date and A.D. 799 that the Two-Horned Beast arose. This interval was the period in which the Bishop of Rome passed from under the sovereignty of the Emperor of the East into an alliance with the New Imperial Dominion of the West, known in history as "the Holy Roman Empire" of Middle Europe.

24. The Ascending of the Beast out of the Earth

The originating and establishing, which constitute the ascending, rising, or coming up of a dominion, are a work of power, conflict, conquest, and of time. The commencement of such a work is preceded by what is now commonly styled a situation; or concurrence of circumstances and agents, which, when a certain impetus is imparted to them impels them in a certain course to results, neither contemplated nor capable of being controlled. This obtains in regard to the ascending of the Two-Horned Beast out of the earth. The circumstances of the time, the questions agitated, and the ambitions of the leading spirits of the day, acting and reacting upon one another, was the situation which originated and ultimately developed the dominion symbolized by Daniel and John respectively.

The Eighth Century had its Roman Question as well as this so called "Enlightened Nineteenth;" and Italy, then as now. was the arena of superstition, papal intrigue, political ambitions and war. Part of it, afterwards absurdly termed "St. Peter's Patrimony," was included in the Exarchate of Ravenna, which belonged to the Eastern Roman Dragon of Constantinople, whose emperor Leo Isauricus, was sovereign of Rome, and therefore master of the Bishop of Rome; but by the decree of Phocas, A.D. 607, or 608, the chief of all the bishops, and Head of all the churches of the Apostasy, which was territorially coextensive with the dominions symbolized by John's Beast of the Earth and Sea. The rest of Italy was occupied by the kingdom of Lombardy, and the rising Republic of Venice. The Bishop of Rome was as little able to protect himself then against these potentates, as he is now against Victor Emmanuel and the Red Republicans; nor was the Emperor of the East able to protect him, if he had been willing, more efficiently than the Austrian of A.D. 1866. He was in a very uncomfortable position, being liable to a change of masters at very short notice; neither of whom were at all congenial to his mind as the Infallible Judge of heretics, and their, to him,

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perverse abominations. A united Italy, and Rome for its capital, was the cry of the Lombards, or Langebards, (Long Beards) and their warlike kings. These Bearded Revolutionists wanted Rome, but the Eastern emperors did not want to part with it. It was a city of the Dragon dominion, and they intended to keep it; and' to preserve it, or rather deliver it from idolatry and the worship of demonials - ta daimonia kai eidola (ch. 9:20) if they could. They had recovered possession of it when they conquered the Seventh Head therein enthroned; and they had no idea of allowing an Eighth Head to establish itself upon the Seven Hills; much less would they consent, that the Lombard Horn should make it the capital of its dominion. The Bishop of Rome also was opposed to the Long Beards (and he has never liked to see Long Beards about him since, remembering the trouble they gave him in the eighth century; hence, at this day he forbids "his children" to wear beards, inasmuch also as it is the symbol of revolution, and a desire for the possession of Rome to the prejudice of his interests,) as he preferred subjection to a master afar off in Constantinople, than to a prying and troublesome supervisor at hand. He had been in this case under the Gothic kings, when they ruled as the Seventh Head in Rome. But it was by no means to his liking. He would prefer independence of all governments; but as the time had not quite come for that, he would rather be subject to Constantinople, than to the Lombards at the door.

Thus far in this exposition we have seen that Italy, the Heaven of the gods of the Roman system, experienced a variety of fortunes after it lost its ancient masters, and before it fell, as we shall see, into the hands of the founder of the Two-Horned Episcopal dominion. In the sounding of the fourth wind-trumpet it was entirely subdued by the Herulian Goths, who came from the extremity of the Black Sea. They held it for a short time, and were succeeded by the Ostrogoths, or Seventh Head. These acknowledged the Wounded Imperial Head, restricted to the Eastern and Illyrian Thirds, and still reigning in Constantinople, as their superior in rank, but not in jurisdiction. The Seventh Head was at last subdued by Belisarius and Narses, the generals of Justinian, the reigning emperor of the Wounded Sixth Head, who having "plucked up by the roots" the Vandal Horn of the Sea Monster, had the pleasure of uniting Italy and Africa once more to the Eastern Roman, or Greek empire; but not of so healing the Gothic sword-wound as to restore the city Rome to its former imperial rank among the cities of the empire. This pleasure was reserved, as we shall see, for a great conqueror, the influence of whose victories is felt in the constitution of Europe to this day. The Western Empire, which took its rise as a separate State on the death of Theodosius, A. D. 395' was wholly subverted by Odoacer, the king of

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the Heruli; and Rome, its capital, was now in the middle of the eighth century, a second-rate city, the residence of a mere duke, and an ambitious and turbulent prelate, called the Universal Bishop, and subject to the authority of the Eastern emperor's viceroy, styled the Exarch, whose seat of government was in Ravenna, near the Adriatic, and 117 miles distant from Rome.

Soon after the subversion of the Seventh Ostrogothic Head, a great part of Italy was seized by Alboin, king of the Lombards, who made Pavia the seat of government. Autharis, a successor, embraced the catholic superstition about A.D. 586, in its Arian form, which was highly offensive to the Universal Bishop; who could have no more fellowship with him, than Pius IX. with Victor Emmanuel, the modern king of Lombardy, who lies under the Papal ban of excommunication for coveting his neighbor's goods. Liberty of conscience, so odious to the papal mind, was allowed under all the Lombard kings; and Rotharis was so moderate and indulgent, that during his reign, most cities of Italy had two bishops, one Trinitarian, and the other Arian. But king Grimoald, about A.D. 668, influenced by the bishop of Bergamo, renounced the tenets of Arius. His successors followed his example; so that Arianism was in a short time forsaken by the Lombard nation. Grimoald was succeeded by Luitprand, whose great qualities were in some measure obscured by his unbounded ambition. Not satisfied with the extensive dominions left him by his predecessors, like Victor Emmanuel, he formed the design of making himself sole master of Italy, which, of course, necessitated the conquest of the Exarchate, and the expulsion of the imperial authority from the country.

This project was favored A.D. 726, by the edict of Leo. Isauricus, then emperor of Constantinople, where theological disputes had long mingled with affairs of State. He zealously prohibited the worship of images; ordering all the statues to be broken in pieces, and the paintings in the Trinitarian Bazaars of Guardian Saints, whose worship also was forbidden, to be pulled down and, burnt. The populace, whose devotion extended no further than such objects, and the monks and secular priests interested in supporting the mummery, were so highly provoked at this innovation, that they publicly revolted in many places; and in Italy swore to live and die in defence of their idols. In these times of extreme ignorance and barbarism the dispute about image and picture worship was a very grave and vital question with both Trinitarians and Arians; the solution of which led to very important and mighty results. In view of these, I have thought it would be in place to present the reader, in a condensed form and as a distinct section, what history supplies upon this subject.

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25. The Image-Worship Question

Nothing, perhaps, can more strikingly illustrate the difference between the Christians we read of in the New Testament, and those who professed to be "orthodox christians" of the flock of the one Shepherd, styled the Universal Bishop, than the fierce disputes of the eighth and ninth centuries, concerning the worship of images. For these symbols of dead men and women, whose factitious immortalities are supposed to be in a heaven "beyond the realms of time and space," Apostolic Christians had no respect. They had renounced image-worship when they became Christians; and, as his little children, were earnestly exhorted by the disciple beloved of Jesus, among the last words he addressed to them, to "keep themselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).

The use of pictures in churches preceded that of images, the first notice of which is in the censure of the council of Illiberis, three hundred years after the birth of Jesus. The first introduction of a worship of stocks and bones was in the veneration of the cross, and of relics. The "immortal souls" of saints and martyrs, whose intercession was implored, were supposed to be seated at the right hand of God; and their worshippers imagined that they showered gracious, and often super-natural favors around their tombs, whose disgusting contents they touched and kissed as memorials of their merits and sufferings. From such memorials the transition was easy to delineations of the deceased by painting or sculpture. At first, the experiment of paying them religious honors was made with caution and scruple. Gradually, however, the honors of the original were transferred to the copy; and he who began by worshipping three gods devoutly prayed before the image of a dead person; and the pagan rites of genuflexion, luminaries and incense, became part of the ritual of the Greek and Roman superstition in which was firmly established the use and worship of images before the end of the sixth century. The style and sentiments of a Byzantine hymn will show the gross idolatry of this worship. "How can we with mortal eyes contemplate this image, whose celestial splendor the host of the heaven presumes not to behold? He who dwells in heaven condescends this day to visit us by his venerable image: He who is seated on the cherubim, visits us this day by a picture which the Father has delineated with his immaculate hand, which he has formed in an ineffable manner, and which we sanctify by adoring it with fear and love." These images of Christ were styled acheiropoietoi, made without hand; and were circulated in the camps and cities of the eastern empire, as objects of worship, and instruments of miracles.

- But, in the beginning of the eighth century, in the full magnitude of the abuse, an apprehension was awakened among the Greeks, that the

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Incessant charge of the Jews and Mohammedans that they were idolaters might possibly be true. The murmurs of many simple and rational people arose against the superstition. They appealed to the evidence of texts, of facts, and of the primitive times, and secretly desired the reformation of the church.

Of this party was Leo the Third, who, from the mountains of Isauria, ascended the throne of the East. He is styled the Iconoclast, or Image-breaker. Though inspired with hatred of images, in the outset of an unsettled reign, during ten years of toil and danger, he submitted to the meanness of hypocrisy, bowed before the idols he despised, and satisfied the Universal Bishop, the special patron of the idols, with the annual profession of his orthodoxy and zeal. In the reformation he attempted, his first steps were moderate and cautious; but resistance and invective, and the urgency of his friends, provoked him to more active measures. The existence and use of religious pictures were proscribed; the churches of Constantinople and the provinces were cleansed from idolatry; the images of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints were demolished; the sect of the Iconoclasts was supported by the zeal and despotism of six emperors; and the East and West were involved in a noisy conflict of one hundred and twenty years.

It was, however, with reluctance that the patient east was brought to abjure its sacred images; they were fondly cherished, and vigorously defended by the more violent zeal of the Italians, stimulated to sanguinary resistance by the pretended Vicar of Christ. "It is agreed," says Gibbon, "that in the eighth century, the dominion of the popes was founded on rebellion, and that the rebellion was produced and justified by the heresy of the Iconoclasts." This is equivalent to saying, that the dominion of the popes and their clergy was founded on idolatry and their zeal for its support. This is true, and upon this basis the pope stands before the world as the "Pontifex Maximus" of Roman Idolatry, in which character he is the striking counterpart or "Image" of the pagan imperial pontiffs of the Sixth Head of the Beast.

Two original epistles from Gregory II., founder of the papal -monarchy, to the emperor Leo Isauricus are still extant. "During ten pure and fortunate years," says he, "we have tasted the annual comfort of your royal letters, subscribed in purple ink with your own hand, the sacred pledges of your attachment to the orthodox creed of our fathers. how deplorable the change! How tremendous the scandal! You now accuse the catholics of idolatry; and by the accusation you betray your own impiety and ignorance. To this ignorance we are compelled to adapt the grossness of our style and arguments; the first elements of holy letters are sufficient for your confusion; and were you to enter a grammar

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school, and avow yourself the enemy of our worship, the simple and pious children would be provoked to cast their horn-books at your head." After this not very complimentary salutation, the episcopal apologist of Catholic idolatry attempts the usual distinction between the idols of the pagans and the idols of the Catholics. The former, he affirms, were the fanciful representations of phantoms or demons, at the time when the true God had not manifested his person in any visible likeness. The latter, he says, are the genuine forms of Christ, his mother, and his saints, who had approved, by a crowd of miracles, (styled by Paul "all power, and signs, and lying wonders") the innocence and merit of this relative worship, which he lyingly asserted had been in perpetual use from the Apostolic age. To the impudent and humane Leo, more guilty than a heretic, he recommends peace, silence, and implicit obedience to his spiritual guides of Constantinople and Rome. He defines the limits of civil and ecclesiastical powers. To the civil he appropriates the body; to the ecclesiastical, the "immortal soul;" the sword of justice is in the hands of the magistrate: the more formidable weapon of excommunication is entrusted to the clergy; and in the exercise of their Divine commission, a zealous son will not spare his offending father: the Successor of St. Peter may lawfully chastise the kings of the earth!

"You assault us, 0 Tyrant," he continues, "with a carnal and military hand: unarmed and naked, we can only implore the Christ, the prince of the heavenly host, that he will send unto you a devil, for the destruction of your body and the salvation of your soul. You declare, with foolish arrogance, I will despatch my orders to Rome; I will break in pieces the image of St. Peter; and Gregory, like his predecessor, Martin, shall be transported in chains, and in exile, to the foot of the imperial throne. Would to God that I might be permitted to tread in the footsteps of the holy Martin; but may the fate of Constans serve as a warning to the persecutors of the church. After his just condemnation by the bishops of Sicily, the tyrant was cut off in the fullness of his sins by a domestic servant: the saint is still adored by the nations of Scythia, among whom he ended his banishment and his life. But it is our duty to live for the edification and support of the faithful people; nor are we reduced to risk our safety on the event of a combat. Incapable as you are of defending your Roman subjects, the maritime situation of the city may perhaps expose it to your depredation; but we can remove to the distance of four and twenty stadia, to the first fortress of the Lombards, and then - you may pursue the winds. Are you ignorant that the popes are the bond of union, the mediators of peace, between the East and the West? The eyes of the nations are fixed on our humility, whom all the

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kingdoms of the west hold as a God upon earth, whose image, St. Peter, you threaten to destroy. The remote and interior kingdoms of the west present their homage to Christ and His Vicegerent; and we now prepare to visit one of their most powerful monarchs, who desires to receive from our hands the sacrament of baptism. The Barbarians (the Ten Horns) have submitted to the yoke of the gospel, while you alone are deaf to the voice of the shepherd. The pious barbarians are kindled into rage; they thirst to avenge the persecution of the East. Abandon your rash and fatal enterprise; reflect, tremble, and repent. If you persist we are innocent of the blood that will be spent in the contest: may it fall on your own head."

The character of Leo, says an ecclesiastical writer, has been so blackened by catholic partisans, that it is difficult to form a just estimate of it; but when we consider that he not only condemned the worshipping of images, but also rejected relics, and protested against the intercession of saints, we cannot doubt of his possessing considerable strength of mind, while it may help us to account for much of the obloquy that was cast upon him.

The first assault of Leo against the idols of Constantinople had been witnessed by a crowd of strangers from Italy and the West, who related with grief and indignation the iconoclasm of the emperor. But on the reception of his proscriptive edict, they trembled for their domestic deities - "the demonials and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood" (Apoc. 9:20). The edict abolished the images of Christ and the virgin, of the angels, martyrs, and saints, from all the churches of Italy; and a strong alternative was presented to the Roman High Priest of the New Idolatry, namely, the imperial favor as the price of his compliance, or degradation and exile, as the penalty of his disobedience. Gregory did not hesitate which to accept. Without depending on prayers or miracles, he' boldly armed against his imperial master, and by pastoral letters, excited the Italians to resistance. At the signal given, Ravenna, Venice, and the cities of the exarchate and Pentapolis, which adhered to the cause of idol-worship, unfurled the banner of rebellion. They swore, as fools only would swear, to live and die in defense of the Bishop of Rome and the demonials; and even the Lombards were ambitious to share in the war, not so much in the interest of the pope and his idols, as for the sake of expelling the Dragon Power from Italy, that the entire country might be theirs. The statues of Leo were destroyed, and the tributes of Italy withheld; magistrates and governors were elected, and the creation of an orthodox emperor was proposed. Gregory II. and his successor of the same name, were condemned at Constantinople as the authors of the revolt, and every attempt was made, either by fraud or

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force, to seize their persons and assassinate them. But these attempts did not succeed. The Greeks were thwarted and massacred; and at Ravenna, the Exarch himself was slain. To punish this flagitious treason, and to restore his dominion in Italy, the Dragon cast out of his mouth water as a flood; in other words, the imperial government of Constantinople sent a fleet and army into the Adriatic to depopulate and lay waste the country. But the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood. In a hard-fought day the idolators prevailed. The imperialists retreated to their galleys, but the populous sea coast poured forth a multitude of boats; and the slaughter is said to have been so great that the waters of the Po were deeply infected, so that during six years the people abstained from eating the fish of that river. But, in the midst of these broils, while defending idolatry and promoting the rebellion with all his influence, Gregory II. was stopped short in his roaring blasphemies. "He was extremely insolent," says an impartial writer, "though he died with the character of a saint."

He was succeeded in the Roman Bishoprick, A.D. 731, by Gregory III., who entered with great spirit and energy into the measures of his predecessors. The following epistle addressed by him to the emperor, on his elevation, is an amusing illustration of his arrogance and blasphemy.

"Because you are unlearned and ignorant," says he, "we are obliged to wnte to you rude discourses, but full of sense and the word of God. We conjure you to quit your pride, and hear us with humility. You say that we adore stones, and walls, and boards. It is not so, my Lord; but these symbols make us recollect the persons whose names they bear, and exalt our grovelling minds. We do not look upon them as gods; but if it be the things of Jesus, we say, 'Lord help us.' If it be the image of his mother, we say, 'Pray to your Son to save us.' If it be of a martyr, we say, 'St. Stephen, pray for us.' We might, as having the power of St. Peter, pronounce punishment against you; but, as you have pronounced the curse upon yourself, let it stick to you. You write to us to assemble a general council, of which there is no need. Do you cease to persecute images, and all will be quiet; we fear not your threats."

"No sooner," says Gibbon, "had they confirmed their own safety, the worship of images, and the freedom of Rome and Italy, than the popes appear to have relaxed in their severity, and to have spared the relics of the Byzantine dominion. Their moderate counsels delayed and prevented the election of a new emperor, and they exhorted the Italians not to separate from the body of the Roman Monarchy. The Exarch was permitted to reside within the walls of Ravenna, a captive rather than a master; and till the imperial coronation of Charlemagne, the govern-

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Ment of Rome and Italy was exercised in the name of the successors of Constantine.

Rome and her territory were now reduced to narrow limits, extending from Viterbo to Terracina, and from Narni to the mouth of the Tyber. Nominally subject to Constantinople, still they were really without any other protection than they who were slaves by habit could create for themselves. They had become free by an accident, the effect of the grossest superstition; so that when the excitement was allayed, their liberty was the object of their amazement and terror; and they were devoid of knowledge, or virtue, to build the fabric of a commonwealth. Their scanty remnant, as at this day, the offspring of slaves and strangers, was despicable in the eyes of the victorious barbarians; who, as often as they expressed their most bitter contempt of a foe, called him a Roman; "and in this name," says the bishop Luitprand, "we include whatever is base, whatever is cowardly, whatever is perfidious, the extremes of avarice and luxury, and every vice that can prostitute the dignity of human nature." It must be remembered that the popes were the Eyes and Mouth of this Name - the unicum nomen in mundo; so that Luitprand's definition of it is true of that Name of Blasphemy on the Seven Hills; by whose authority in their now transition state from the dominion of the Little Horn of the East, to that of the Little Horn of the West, their foreign and domestic counsels were moderated. His alms, his preachings, his correspondence with the kings and bishops of the west his recent services in the interest of idolatry, and so forth, accustomed the idol worshippers of Rome to consider him as the first magistrate or Prince of the city. The pretended humility of the popes was not offended by the title of Lord; and coins of the date A.D. 772 are extant bearing the face and inscription of the popes, who now commenced a career of temporal ambition which was insatiable; and demanded exaltation "above every thing called god, or is worshipped."

Having thus by rebellion freed themselves from all but a nominal subjection to the Constantinopolitan Dragon, the great object of these ambitious blasphemers was now to preserve themselves in their feebleness from falling a prey to the Lombards, who longed for a united Italy with Rome for their capital. The love of arms and rapine was congenial to them; and they were irresistibly tempted by the disorders of Italy, the nakedness of Rome, and the unwarlike profession of her new chief, to embrace the present opportunity of effecting what would have been, if successful, the healing of the Seventh Head of the Beast. This, however, was not the Providential indication to be fulfilled. It was the Imperial Head, not the Regal, that was to be healed, or reestablished as an Eighth head upon the Seven Hills. But the Lombards did not know this;

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and in the confident hope of success, marched to the conquest of Spoleto and Rome. The storm, however, evaporated without effect; but alarmed the country with a vexatious alternative of hostility and truce, which caused a feeling of insecurity for life and property on every side. Hence, a Protector of the Roman People against the Lombards was the great desideratum of the time.

The Lombards were now masters of the Exarchate, and as ambition is only increased by accession of dominion, they began to lay claim to the Roman Dukedom, and to Rome itself. In order to enforce his demand, Astolphus marched an army towards the city, reducing many places in its vicinity, and threatening to put the inhabitants to the sword, if they refused to acknowledge him as their sovereign. The Romans hesitated, complained, used prayers and entreaties, and offered presents, but all in vain. Stephen III., then pope, alarmed at the severity of his message, sought to appease him by a solemn embassy; but all was useless, for the one desire of Astolphus was to govern Rome. Time, however, was gained by negotiations, till the friendship of an ally and avenger beyond the Alps was secured.

This ally appeared on the arena in the person of Pepin, son of Charles Martel, who governed the French monarchy with the humble title of Mayor or Duke; but who by his signal victory over the Saracens, had saved his country, and perhaps Europe, from the Mohammedan yoke. Zachary. predecessor of Stephen, and successor to Gregory III., an aspiring and crafty politician, had attached Pepin to his interests by resolving a case of conscience in his favor. He desired to know whether a prince incapable of governing, or a minister invested with royal authority, and who supported it with dignity, ought to have the title of king? Zachary decided in favor of minister Pepin; and the French clergy supported his pretensions, because he had restored to them the lands of which his father had robbed them. The pope's decision silenced all scruples. Pepin threw his master, Childeric III., into a monastery; and caused himself to be crowned king with all orthodox solemnity at Soissons by Boniface the bishop of Mentz, the famous apostle of Rome's idolatry to the Germans.

Stephen, made sensible that nothing but force could avail against Astolphus, resolved to crave the protection of Pepin; who, mindful of his obligations to Zachary, readily promised him assistance. A treaty was concluded between them at the expense of the Constantinopolitan Dragon, and the Lombard Horn of the Beast. On his visit to Paris, Stephen reanointed Pepin with the unction of papal holiness, declaring him and his son Charles, known afterwards as Charlemagne, Protector of the Romans; in return for which honors, Pepin promised to make a

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donation of the Exarchate and Pentapolis to the Romish Church.

Pepin's presence in Italy, at the head of a French army, caused Astolphus to sue for peace, and he obtained it, on condition that he should deliver up to the pope, not to the emperor, all the places he had taken. He consented; but when Pepin had returned, he resumed his former position, and laid siege to Rome.

In this extremity, Stephen again had recourse to his protector the king of France; but apprehensive of fatiguing the zeal of his transalpine allies, enforced his complaint and request by an eloquent letter in the name and person of St. Peter himself. This blasphemous forgery is too remarkable to be here omitted. It runs thus: "Peter, called an apostle by Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, etc. As through me the whole catholic, apostolic, and Roman church, the Mother of all other churches, is founded on a rock: and to the end that Stephen, Bishop of the beloved church of Rome, and that virtue and power may be granted

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Picture of coins not shown

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An early coin of Pepin father of Charlemagne who laid the foundation of the

Carlingian dynasty of the Franks The penny has no more than the kings name

Pipi(nus) and an RP representing Rex Pipinus or King Pepin Publishers

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by our Lord to rescue the church of God out of the hands of its persecutors: To you most excellent princes, Pepin, Charles, and Carloman, and to all the holy bishops and abbots, priests and monks, as also to dukes, counts, and people, I, Peter the apostle, conjure you, and the Virgin Mary, who will be obliged to you, gives you notice and commands you, as do all the thrones, dominations, etc. If you will not fight for me, I declare you by the Holy Trinity, and by my apostleship, that you shall have no share in heaven." Whether Pepin believed this forgery or not, he obeyed the summons, and delivered Rome from its peril a second time.

Meanwhile, Constantine Copronymus, who had succeeded Leo Isauricus, informed of the treaty between the king of France and the Pope, by which the latter was to be put into the possession of the Exarchate and Pentapolis, remonstrated by his ambassadors against that ag-

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reement, offering to pay the expenses of the war. But Pepin replied, that the Exarchate belonged to the Lombards, who had acquired it from the East by arms, as the Romans had originally done; that the right of the Lombards was now in him, so that he could dispose of that territory as he thought proper. He had bestowed it, he said, on St. Peter, that the Catholic faith might be preserved in its purity, free from the damnable heresies of the image-breaking Greeks; and all the money in the world, he added, should never make him revoke that gift, which he was determined to maintain to the church with the last drop of his blood.

Before Pepin returned to France he renewed his donation(*) to what he called St. Peter, yielding to the Catholic church represented by the Popes the Exarchate Romagna and Marca d'Ancona, with twenty-one cities therein, to be held by them for ever; the kings of France retaining the superiority as Protectors of the Romans. Thus was the sceptre of temporal dominion added to the keys, the sovereignty to the priesthood, which was enriched by the spoils of the Lombard kings and the Roman emperors. It was a novelty among the Horns, and the beginning of the Two-Horned Beast of the Earth, and the Image of the wounded head, or of the Imperial Sixth.

After this double chastisement, the Lombards languished about twenty years in languor and decay. "On either side," says Gibbon, "their expiring monarchy was pressed by the zeal and prudence of Pope Adrian I., the genius, the fortune, and greatness of Charlemagne the son of Pepin; these heroes of the church and state were united in public and domestic friendship, and while they trampled on the prostrate, they varnished their proceedings with the fairest colors of equity and moderation." A quarrel between Adrian and Desiderius, the last of the Lombard kings, caused the latter to ravage the Patrimony of St. Peter, and to threaten Rome itself. In order to avert the pressing danger, Adrian sent privately to Charlemagne, not only imploring his aid, but inviting him to the conquest of Italy. Having a pique of his own to avenge, he accepted the invitation with great satisfaction. Being determined to pluck up the Lombard kingdom by the roots, he passed the Alps by an unexpected route, with an overwhelming force, and falling suddenly upon the enemy, struck them with such terror that they fled in the utmost confusion. He besieged Desiderius in his capital with great vigor. While the siege was progressing under the conduct of his uncle, he visited Rome for the celebration of Easter. The pope received his deliverer in the most pompous manner, the magistrates and judges walking before him with their banners, and the clergy, always ready to flatter and

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(*)A 'Donation" in this context is a political grant conferring authority. See illustration p. 111

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fawn upon the world's heroes, and to blaspheme those who dwell in the heaven, repeating, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!" After Charlemagne had gratified his curiosity, and confirmed his father's donation to St. Peter, he returned to the camp before Pavia, which, after a blockade of two years, was surrendered by Desiderius with the sceptre of the kingdom. Thus ended the power of the Lombards A.D. 774, after it had continued two hundred and six years. The Vandalic Horn had been annexed to Italy by Belisarius, and Italy now became the property of Charlemagne; so that the Horn of the Vandals, and the Horn of the Lombards, both included in Italy, were two of the three horns Daniel predicted would fall before the Little Horn, with Eyes and Mouth, and be "plucked up by the roots." The third will appear in the sequel.

The question, however, concerning images, was still far from settlement, either at Rome or Constantinople, but continued to agitate the Laodicean Apostasy for many years. During the reign of Constantine Copronymus, a synod was held at Constantinople to determine the controversy. It decreed, that "every image of whatsoever materials made and formed by the artist, should be cast out of the christian churches (as they styled their temples) as a strange and abominable thing," adding an "anathema upon all who should make images or pictures, or representations of God, or of Christ, or of the Virgin Mary, or of any of the saints," condemning it as "a vain and diabolical invention" deposing all bishops, and subjecting the monks and laity who should set up any of them, in public or private, to all the penalties of the imperial constitution. Paul I., then Roman Pontiff, sent his legate to Constantinople, to admonish the emperor to restore his beloved idols to their temples; threatening him with excommunication in case of refusal. But the Dragon chief treated his message with the contempt it richly deserved.

On Paul's decease, A.D. 768, the Lion-Mouth of the Beast was represented for one year by a bishop named Constantine, who condemned the worship of idols, for which he was tumultuously deposed, and Stephen IV., a furious defender of them, substituted in his place. He forthwith assembled a council in the Lateran, where they abrogated all Constantine's decrees, deposed all the bishops he had ordained, annulled all his baptisms and chrisms, and as some historians relate, after having beat him and used him with great indignity, made a fire in the church and burned him to death. After this cruel disposition of this papal specimen of "holiness" and "infallibility," they annulled all the decrees of the Dragon's council, ordered the restoration of the idols, and cursed that execrable and pernicious synod, giving the absurd and blasphemous reason for the use of images - "that if it was lawful for emperors, and

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those who had deserved well of their country, to have their images erected, but not lawful to set up those of God, the condition of the immortal God would be worse than that of man."

The fortunes of the demonials and idols were at length revived in the East. As soon as Irene reigned in her own name and that of her son Constantine Porphyrogenetus, she undertook the ruin of the Iconoclasts. The first step of her future persecution was a general edict for liberty of conscience; after which she convened a general council at Nice, A.D. 787, at which the legates of the Roman Pontiff Adrian, attended, and her domestic slave the Patriarch of Constantinople, who presided. This counsel of three hundred and fifty bishops unanimously pronounced, that the worship of images is agreeable to Scripture and reason, to the fathers and councils of the church. The acts of this council are still extant; "a curious monument," says Gibbon, of "superstition and ignorance, of falsehood and folly." An illustration of the judgment of these bishops on the comparative merit of image-worship and morality, may be found in the reply of one to a certain monk, that "rather than abstain from adoring Christ and his mother in their holy images, it would be better to enter every brothel, and visit every prostitute, in the city."

During the five succeeding reigns the contest was maintained with unabated rage and various success between the idolators and the breakers of idols. At length the enthusiasm of the times ran strongly against the Iconoclasts; and the emperors who stemmed the torrent were exasperated and punished by the public hatred. The final victory of the idols was achieved by Theodora, A.D. 842(*). Her measures were bold and decisive. She ordered her Iconoclast Patriarch a whipping of two hundred lashes in commutation of the loss of his eyes; the bishops trembled, the monks shouted, and the demonials and idols of all metals and woods were triumphant. Rome and Italy were jubilant; while the Latins of Germany, France, England and Spain, lagged behind in the race of superstition. They admitted the idols into their spiritual bazaars, not as objects of worship, but as memorials of faith and history. Nevertheless, idolatry advanced with silent and insensible progress; but, as Gibbon re-

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(*) The term iconoclast signifies a breaker of images. It was applied to those who opposed the Roman Catholic worship of images; a controversy between the churches of Rome and Constantinople that resulted in the Great Schism. This led to the establishment of the Greek Catholic Church with its headquarters in Constantinople independent of the Roman Catholic Church. Theodora, the wife of Justinian, was prominent in this controversy. She was a very able woman who ruled jointly with her husband, and exerted a powerful influence over his reign. She gave her wholehearted support to Image worship; hence her opposition to the "Iconoclast Patriarch" of Constantinople, i.e. the Bishop of the Church of Constantinople who led the opposition to the use of Images in churches, such as was advocated by Roman Catholicism: It is significant that The Apocalypse clearly foreshadowed this church controversy by referring to the worship of images in the Apostate church (see Rev. 9:20) - Publishers.

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marks, "a large atonement is made for their hesitation and delay, by the gross idolatry of the ages which precede the reformation, and of the countries both of Europe and America, which are still immersed in the gloom of superstition."

26. The Further development of the Beast of the Earth

"In the twenty-six years," says Gibbon, "that elapsed between the conquest of Lombardy and his imperial coronation, Rome, which had been delivered by the sword, was subject, as his own, to the sceptre of CHARLEMAGNE. The people swore allegiance to his person and family; in his name money was coined, and justice was administered; and the election of the popes was examined and confirmed by his authority. Except an original and self-inherent claim of sovereignty, there was not any prerogative remaining which the title of emperor could add to the Patrician of Rome."

By the gift conferred upon the pretended Vicar of Christ by Pepin for the remission of his sins and the salvation of his soul, the world beheld for the first time a bishop invested with the prerogatives of a temporal prince: with the choice of magistrates, the exercise of justice, the imposition of taxes, and the wealth of the palace of Ravenna. In the plucking up the Lombard Horn by the roots, the inhabitants of the duchy of Spoleto sought a refuge from the storm, shaved their heads after the Roman fashion, declared themselves the servants and subjects of St. Peter, and completed by this voluntary surrender, the circle of the ECCLESIASTICAL STATE, or Patrimony of Saint Peter, as it existed previous to the first French Revolution. "That mysterious circle," says Gibbon, "was enlarged to an infinite extent by the verbal or written donation of Charlemagne, who, in the first transports of his victory, despoiled himself and the Greek emperor of the cities and islands which had formerly been annexed to the Exarchate. But in the cooler moments of absence and reflection, he viewed, with an eye of jealousy and envy, the recent greatness of his ecclesiastical ally. The execution of his own and his father's promises was respectfully eluded: the king of the Franks and the Lombards asserted the inalienable rights of the empire; and in his life and death, Ravenna, as well as Rome, was numbered in the list of his metropolitan cities. The sovereignty of the Exarchate melted away in the hands of the popes: they found in the Archbishops of Ravenna a dangerous and domestic rival: the nobles and people disdained the yoke of a priest: and in the disorders of the times, they could only retain the memory of an ancient claim, which, in a more prosperous age, they have revived and realized." It was realized when "the Image of the Beast" was created by the Beast of the Earth in after ages.

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Charlemagne (742 814) was King of the Franks (French) (768 814) and Holy Roman Emperor (800 814) The eldest son of Pepin, he inherited Neustria, the NW half of the Frankish kingdom in 768 and annexed the remainder on his brother Carloman 's death in 771 Responding to Lombard threats against the papacy, he led two armies into Italy and took the Lombard throne in 773 He undertook a long (772-804) and brutal conquest of Saxony, which he forcibly converted to Christianity. In 788 he annexed Bavaria, and defeated the Avars of the middle Danube (791-96, 804). He was crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III in 800, thus reviving the concept of the Roman Empire, and completing the West's split with the Byzantine Empire. A large, physically impressive man, he was the most powerful ruler in early medieval Europe. He was politically ambitious and able, and recognizing the importance of education, sponsored schools throughout his realm. However, he regarded his lands as private property and willed them to his sons. Therefore, after his death, his Empire fragmented. France became separated from Central Europe, and the Holy Roman Empire was centered in Germany - Publishers.

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It was after the Nicene synod, and under the reign of Irene, that the Roman Pontiffs of the Latin Idolatry consummated the separation of Rome and Italy from the Dragon of the East, by the translation of the empire to the less orthodox Charlemagne. The popes were compelled to choose between the rival nations, which had been alienated from each other by the question concerning the demonials and idols for so many years. In that schism of the Apostasy the Romans had tasted of freedom, and the popes of sovereignty. The Greek Dragon had restored the idols, but he had not restored the Calabrian estates and the Illyrian diocese, which the Iconoclasts had torn away from the so-called successors of St. Peter. This embezzlement of Peter's goods, pope Adrian regarded as practical heresy to be punished with excommunication unless speedily repented of. The Greek emperors took a different view of the subject, and were more disposed to demand the restoration of the Exarchate, and the return of the pope from treason and rebellion to the alegiance of his rightful sovereign. But the popes had gone too far to recede; and besides Charlemagne was now the real owner of the Exarchate of Rome, and his right and power the pope was unable to alienate or abolish. Charlemagne was the Patrician of Rome, and Protector of the Romans, and consequently the Master and Protector of the pope who was too feeble to circumvent his policy had he been so disposed. His interests, therefore, attached him to Charlemagne: and it was only by reviving the western empire that they could pay their obligations to him, or secure their establishment. "By this decisive measure," says Gibbon, "they would finally eradicate the claims of the Greeks; from the debasement of a provincial town the majesty of Rome would be restored: the Latin christians would be united under a supreme head in their ancient metropolis; and the conquerors of the west would receive their crown from the successors of St. Peter. The Roman church would acquire a zealous and respectable advocate; and under the shadow of the Carlovingian power, the Bishop might exercise with honor and safety, the government of the city."

But Adrian did not live to witness the execution of the projects he had formed for the exaltation of the Roman church and the French monarchy. This rising up of a grand dominion was to be consummated by his successor, Leo III., who immediately sent to Charlemagne the standard of Rome, begging him to send some person to receive the oath of fidelity from the Romans; a most flattering instance of submission, as well as a proof that the sovereignty of Rome at that time belonged to the kings of France. Three years after, two nephews of the late pope attacked him in the street, dispersed the unarmed multitude, wounded htm in several places, and dragged him half dead into the church of St.

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Mark. He made his escape by the assistance of friends, who sent him under an escort to Charlemagne. He received him with all possible marks of respect, sent him back with a numerous retinue of guards and attendants, and went soon after to Italy in person to do him justice.

On the arrival of the French monarch at Rome, he spent six days in private conference with the Pope; after which he convoked the bishops and nobles, to examine the accusation brought against the pontiff. "The apostolic see," exclaimed the bishops, "cannot be judged by man." Leo, however, spoke to the accusation: he said the king came to know the cause, and no proof appearing against him, he purged himself by oath.

A more extraordinary scene soon followed this trial of the pope. On the festival of Christmas, A. D. 799, as the king assisted at mass in St. Peter's temple, in the midst of the ecclesiastical ceremonies, and while he was on his knees before the altar, the Roman Pontiff advanced and put an imperial crown upon his head. As soon as the people perceived it, they cried, "Long life and victory to Charles the most pious Augustus, crowned by the hand of God! Long life to the great and pacific Emperor of the Romans!" The head and body of Charlemagne were consecrated by the royal unction. During the acclamations, Leo conducted him to a magnificent throne, prepared for the purpose, and as soon as he was seated, after the example of the Caesars, he was saluted or adored by the pontiff, declaring that, instead of the title of Patrician, he should hence-forth style him EMPEROR and Augustus. Leo then presented him with the imperial mantle, with which being invested, Charles returned amid the acclamations of the populace to his palace.

The pope had unquestionably no right to proclaim an emperor, but Charles the Great was worthy of the imperial ensigns; and though in a certain sense a successor to Augustus, he is justly considered as the founder of the NEW EMPIRE of the West, from the establishment of which Europe dates a new era. That dominion was not unworthy of its title; for its founder reigned at the same time in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and HUNGARY - the last of the three horns plucked up by the roots before him; the Horns of the Vandals, the Lombards, and the Huns. After a bloody conflict of eight years the relics of the nation submitted, and the rapine of the Huns, for two hundred and fifty years, enriched the victors or decorated the temples of France and Italy. After the plucking up of the Hungarian Horn, the New Dominion was bounded by the conflux of the Danube with the Teyss and the Save, with the unprofitable provinces of Istria, Liburnia and Dalmatia. The rest of the Ten Horns, which had degenerated into petty sovereignties, revered the power of Charlemagne, implored the honor and support of his alliance, and styled him their common parent, the sole and supreme em-

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peror of the West. Two-thirds of the western empire of Rome were subject to him; while the other third was still possessed by the Dragon of Constantinople, in conflict with the Saracens, whose mission was to torment, but not to kill, the body politic of the east, during two periods of five months of years each (Apoc. 9:5,10).

It is worthy of note here, that in treating of the enemies with which Charlemagne had to contend, the historian expresses his surprise that he should prefer attacking the poverty of the North to the riches of the South. "It was an effect of his moderation," says Gibbon, "that he left the maritime cities under the real or nominal sovereignty of the Greeks

The three and thirty campaigns laboriously consumed in the woods and morasses of Germany, would have sufficed to assert the amplitude of his title by the expulsion of the Greeks from Italy and the Saracens from Spain. The weakness of the Greeks would have ensured an easy victory, and the holy crusade against the Saracens would have been prompted by glory and revenge, and loudly justified by religion and policy." But the historian did not know, or at least recognize the truth, that Charlemagne and the Saracens were the sword of Yahweh appointed to work out His purpose, which He had revealed to his servants through the apostle John. He did not intend Charlemagne and the Saracens to destroy one another. He gave the Saracens a mission against the demonial and idol worshippers of the East and South, and when they exceeded it, he caused the grandfather of Charlemagne, named Charles Martel, to give them a signal overthrow at Chalons, A.D. 732. He treated the first Napoleon in the same way at Moscow. Charlemagne's mission was precisely that which excited Gibbon's surprise. He was not employed by the Eternal Spirit against the maritime dominions. Hence, what Gibbon styles "his moderation." The Providential work before him was an operation in which the Romans with all their skill and power could never succeed. His work was the subjugation of Germany. This is why he laboriously consumed thirty-three campaigns in the woods and morasses of Germany. These constituted "the Earth" out of which the Two-Horned Dominion was to ascend - the Middle Europe of our time. This was to be the arena of the Little Horn among the Ten. Besides founding a dominion over the population of these woods and forests, he was to pluck up by the roots three of the Ten Horns. This enlarged his mission to the work of annexing Italy and Hungary to his Mitteleuropische Reich, or Middle European Kingdom, as the Germans style it. By the annexation of Italy, he also annexed the Roman Church with its Universal Bishop; and in so doing he inserted a pair of Eyes and a Mouth into his Horn, of which he regarded himself as the ruling brain.

Here, then, was an imperial ecclesiastical dominion, consisting of

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Charlemagne became king of the Franks in 768 AD. He was a skilled warrior, and extended his influence over the neighboring states. He was appealed to by the Pope to defend Rome from the Lombards. He decisively defeated them, and forced them to submit to his rule. On the eve of the year 800 he was crowned Emperor of what was then termed the Holy Roman Empire. His vast kingdom, with its many provinces, included most of the countries in Europe. Significantly, his eastern borders roughly followed the line taken by the Iron Curtain of today. On the death of Charlemagne, his empire was divided up among his sons, and mutual hostility was manifested by them. This led to the Treaty of Verdun in 843 after which France, Germany and Italy emerged as the most powerful European nations. France remained independent, and the Holy Roman Empire was identified with Germanic rule Publishers.

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the episcopal orders and lay nobility under a secular chief, as the ruling power. This imperial constitution of the Beast of the Earth was predicted by John in the words, elalei hos drakon, he spake as being a Dragon. The reader is well aware that a dragon is the symbol, both in Heraldry and the Apocalypse, of the dominion of an emperor, not of a simple king. This new power was an emperorship among neighboring kingdoms; and the large admixture of the clerical orders with the lay nobles, over whom they preponderated in the administration of state affairs, constituted it an EPISCOPAL POWER. Charlemagne seems to have fore-seen that the claims of the clergy, though inactive against himself, would be urged in after times, and at length overshadow his throne. He determined, therefore, to assert the independent right of monarchy and conquest. Hence, the year before his death, A.D. 813, he summoned a parliament at Aix-la-Chapelle, where he asked every one present whether they would be pleased that he should give his son Louis, afterwards styled "the Pious," the title of Emperor, and they assenting made him his colleague in the empire. At this coronation he commanded Louis to take the crown from the altar, and with his own hands, without intervention of pope or bishop, to place it on his head, as a gift which he held from his father from God, and from the nation.

Charles the Great died A.D. 814, aged 72 years, having reigned forty-eight years, and as an emperor fourteen. His sceptre was transmitted from father to son in a lineal descent of four generations, and the ambition of the popes was reduced to the empty honor of crowning and anointing these hereditary princes who were already invested with their power and dominions.

27. Two Horns Like A Lamb's

A horn is a dynastic symbol - a symbol of power. A dominion having two horns is a sovereignty dominated by a plurality of dynastic or ruling orders, which, in their speaking or ruling, "as a dragon," are imperial. But these two imperial dynastic orders are not compared to the horns of an antelope or a buffalo; if to the former, it would have indicated something analogous to swiftness; or to the latter, to endurance and strength; but they are likened to a lamb. Every one knows the characteristics of a lamb - meek, patient, inoffensive, and unresisting under the knife of the slayer. It is the Apocalyptic symbol of Deity sacri-

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ficially manifested in the flesh, through which the lamb-like characteristics were displayed. But it is not in this sense that we find the lamb's horns illustrative of the character of the Beast of the Earth; for the prophecy itself shows that its ruling characteristics are the very reverse of inoffensiveness and meekness; for it causes all who do not obey its mandates to be killed.

But a lamb being symbolical of "the Shepherd and Bishop of souls," comes also to represent things ecclesiastical. The true believers, or the saints, are all in the Lamb, because they are "in Christ," and constitute "his body the Ecclesia." They are, in other words, invested or clothed with the lambskin, and the horns of an animal are appendages of its skin. Hence, "horns like a lamb" would fitly symbolize a body ecclesiastical claiming to be Christian; and such a claimant might pass for Christian, if things were not affirmed of it incompatible with the principles of Christ. A truly Christian body would not set up an Image of the wounded sixth head of the beast to be worshipped upon the pain of death. This the Beast of the Earth was to do; and since he arose, has done. We are, therefore, under the necessity of concluding that whatever ecclesiastical domination may be represented by the sheep's clothing, "pallium," or state mantle, it is not a real sheep dominion, but a counterfeit one - the Dominion of the Romish Dragon in Sheep's clothing.

Such was the dominion of which Charlemagne was the founder in the eighth, and beginning of the ninth, centuries. These were the age of the Romish Bishops, as the eleventh and twelfth centuries were of the Popes. The Carlovingians and the Bishops were the Beast of the Earth in its primary phase. The position assumed by Charlemagne was military, civil and ecclesiastical. He was head of the church and head of the state. "The sovereign," says Hallam, "who maintained with the greatest vigor his ecclesiastical supremacy was Charlemagne. Most of the capitularies of his reign relate to the discipline of the church. Some of his regulations are such as men of high-church principles would, even in modern times, deem infringements of spiritual independence." He enacted of his own will that "no legend of doubtful authority should be read in the churches, but only the canonical books, and that no saint should be honored whom the whole church did not acknowledge. These were not passed in a synod of bishops, but enjoined by the sole authority of the emperor, who seems to have arrogated a legislative power over the church which he did not possess in temporal affairs. Many of his other laws relating to the ecclesiastical constitution, are enacted in a general council of the lay nobility as well as of the prelates, and are so blended with those of a secular nature, that the two orders may appear

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to have equally consented to the whole. But whatever share we may imagine the laity in general to have had in such matters, Charlemagne himself did not consider even theological decisions as beyond his province; and in more than one instance, manifested a determination not to surrender his own judgment, even in questions of that nature, to any ecclesiastical authority.

picture of Mosaic not shown

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This mosaic now in the Lateran is attributed to Leo III who laid the basis of the Holy Roman Empire or two-horned beast of the earth (Rev 13 11) when he crowned Charlemagne on December 25,799. It depicts Peter (seated) extending the Ecclesiastical Pontificate authority to Leo (lefi) and the Political power to Charlemagne (right) - Publishers.

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"This part of Charlemagne's conduct is duly to be taken into the account, before we censure his vast extension of ecclesiastical privileges. Nothing was more remote from his character than the bigotry of those weak princes who have suffered the clergy to reign under their names. He acted upon a systematic plan of government, conceived by his own comprehensive genius, but requiring too continual an application of similar talents for durable execution. It was the error of a superior mind, zealous for religion and learning, to believe that men (the clergy) dedicated to the functions of the one, and possessing what remained of the other, might, through strict rules of discipline, enforced by the constant vigilance of the sovereign, become fit instruments to reform and civilize a barbarous empire. It was the error of a magnanimous spirit to judge too favorably of human nature, and to presume that great trusts would be fulfilled, and great benefits remembered.

"It is highly probable, indeed, that an ambitious hierarchy did not endure without reluctance this imperial supremacy of Charlemagne, though it was not expedient for them to resist a prince so formidable, and from whom they had so much to expect. But their dissatisfaction at a scheme of government incompatible with their own objects of perfect independence, produced a violent recoil under Louis the Debonair (Charlemagne's son and successor) who attempted to act the Censor of ecclesiastical abuses with as much earnestness as his father, though with very inferior qualifications for so delicate an undertaking. The bishops (the Romish Wolves in sheep's clothing) accordingly, were among the chief instigators of those numerous revolts of his children which harrassed this emperor. They set upon one occasion, the first example of a usurpation which was to become very dangerous to society, the deposition of sovereigns by ecclesiastical authority. Louis, a prisoner in the hands of his enemies, had been intimidated enough to undergo a public penance; and the Bishops pretended that, according to a canon of the church, he was incapable of returning after to a secular life, or preserving the character of sovereignty. Circumstances enabled him to retain the empire, in defiance of this sentence; but the church (the two horns like a lamb) had tasted the pleasures of trampling upon crowned heads, and was eager to repeat the experiment. Under the disjointed and feeble administration of his posterity in their several kingdoms the Bishops availed themselves of more than one opportunity to exalt their temporal power. Those weak Carlovingian princes, in their mutual animosities, encouraged the pretensions of a common enemy. Thus, Charles the Bald, and Louis of Bavaria, having driven their brother Lothaire from his dominions, held an assembly of some bishops, who adjudged him unworthy to reign, and after exacting a promise from the two allied

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brothers to govern better than he had done, permitted and commanded them to divide his territories. After concurring in this unprecedented encroachment, Charles the Bald had little right to complain when, some years afterwards, an assembly of bishops declared himself to have forfeited his crown, released his subjects from their allegiance, and transferred his kingdom to Louis of Bavaria. But, in truth, he did not pretend to deny the principle which he had contributed to maintain. Even in his own behalf he did not appeal to the rights of sovereigns, and of the nation they represented. 'No one,' said this degenerate grandson of Charlemagne, 'ought to have degraded me from the throne to which I was consecrated, until, at least, I have been heard and judged by the Bishops, through whose ministry I was consecrated, who are called the Thrones of God in which God sitteth, and by whom he dispenses his judgments; to whose paternal chastisement I was willing to submit, and do still submit myself'."

These are very remarkable passages, and throw considerable light upon the episcopal and ecclesiastical character of the new dominion of the earth. "It seemed," says Hallam, "as if Europe was about to pass under as absolute a domination of the hierarchy, as had been exercised by the priesthood of ancient Egypt, or the Druids of Gaul." Such was the appearance of things which did not belie the reality; so that the appearance, the reality, and the Apocalyptic representation thereof are found to be in harmony. What could more fitly symbolize a dominion in which the episcopal orders were the controlling element than a Beast with two horns like a Lamb, and speaking as a Dragon? The sheep's clothing was a mantle of the imperiality, and strikingly significant when we come to know the customs peculiar to the Romish, or Latin church. Dr. Keith quotes from "Rome in the XIXth Century," the following:

"There is a peculiar sort of blessing given to two lambs on Jan.21, at the church of St. Agnes without the walls; from the sainted fleeces of which are manufactured, I believe, by the hands of nuns, two holy mantles called pallj, which the pope presents to the Archbishops as his principal shepherds." This was a literal investiture with sheep's clothing, which was completed in the Mitre with its two horns, originally springing up right and left over each ear.

In one of his notes, Mr. Elliott informs the reader, that the Jesuit, Joseph Acosta, after approvingly stating the common patristic idea that the second Beast symbolized "a multitude of Antichrist's preachers on whom are the horns of a lamb, because through hypocrisy they pretend that they are saints," proceeds to express his opinion that probably some eminent church dignitary, supporting Antichrist, might very possibly be specially intended; because of two Lamb's horns being the symbol of the

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episcopal dignity: "quendam acerrimum Antichristi defensorem; eum merito non regem, aut militem, sed virum in ecciesia insignem, quod duo agni cornua episcopalis dignitatis insigne sinL

Another Jesuit named Lacunza in considering the beast of the earth's Lamb-like horns, seems to have recognized their identity with the priesthood to which he belonged. "Our priesthood it is," he exclaims, "and nothing else, which is here signified under the metaphor of a beast with two horns like those of a lamb."

Elliott also quotes from a work styled "The Church of our Fathers" in which the author in his chapter on the Mitre, observes how at the opening of the eleventh century, shortly after the Pope's complete subordination of the Western Clergy to himself, the first sproutings, as it were, of the two horns began to show themselves: and how the mitre then in England "arose into two short points, not raised before and behind as now, but right and left over each ear." He illustrates from figures on the font in Winchester Cathedral, as given in the Vetusta Monumenta. Bonanni remarks that the Greek Bishops do not use the mitre. It is a Latin distinctive.

Thus, the Spirit foreseeing that the Latin Episcopacy of the Western division of the Apostasy would symbolize its ecclesiastical dignity by a two-horned mitre and the fleeces of lamb, adopted them for the Apocalyptic symbol of a dominion to arise in the midst of Europe, the most striking characteristic of which would be its hierarchial and episcopal, so-called "Holy Roman," constitution. In other words, the two episcopal Lamb's horns are to the Beast of the Earth what the "Eyes like the eyes of a man" are to Daniel's Little Horn. The eyes and the Lamb's horns represent the same constituent of the dominion - the ecclesiastical orders of abbots, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and popes; a hierarchy of "Holy Orders" so-called which still support and over-shadow the secular thrones of the Latin world.

Charles the Fat was the last emperor of Charlemagne's family. From his abdication to the establishment of Otho the First may be deemed a vacancy of seventy four years. His father Henry the Fowler, by birth a Saxon, was elected, by the suffrage of the nation, to save and institute the kingdom of Germany. Its limits were enlarged on every side by his son, the first and greatest of the Othos. In the north, he propagated the two-horned superstition by the sword, and subjected the Slavic nations of the Elbe and Oder to its authority. He planted German colonies in the marshes of Brandenburg and Sleswig; and the king of Denmark, and the dukes of Poland and Bohemia confessed themselves his tributary vassals. At the head of a victorious army, he passed the

Alps, subdued the kingdom of Italy, delivered the Pope, and finally

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fixed the crown of the Two-Horned Romish Episcopal Dragon in the name and nation of Germany. "From that memorable era" (A.D. 962) says Gibbon, "two maxims of public jurisprudence were introduced by force and ratified by time; first, that the prince, who was elected in the German diet, acquired at that instant, the subject kingdoms of Italy and Rome: Second; But that he might not legally assume the titles of emperor and Augustus, till he had received the crown from the hands of the Roman Pontiff"(*)

The popes had not yet reached the height of their ambition. The secular constituent of the Beast was still the imperial master of the popes. This will appear from the established order of their election from A.D. 800 to A.D. 1060. On the death of a pope, the seven cardinal-bishops of Ostia, Porto, Velitra, Tusculum, Praeneste, Tibur, and the Sabines, the suburban dioceses of the Roman province, recommended a successor to the suffrage of the college of cardinals, and their choice was ratified or rejected by the applause or clamor of the Roman people. But the election was imperfect; nor could the pontiff be legally consecrated till the emperor, the Advocate of the Church, had graciously signified his approbation and consent. The imperial commission examined, on the spot, the form and freedom of the proceedings; nor was it till after a previous scrutiny into the qualification of the candidates, that he accepted an oath of fidelity, and confirmed the donations which had successively enriched the patrimony of St. Peter. In the frequent schisms, the rival claims were submitted to the sentence of the emperor; and in a synod of bishops he judged, condemned, and punished, the crimes of a guilty pontiff. Otho the First imposed a treaty on the senate and people, who engaged to prefer the candidate most acceptable to his majesty: his successors anticipated or prevented their choice; and bestowed the Roman benefice, as they bestowed the bishoprics of Cologne or Bamberg, on the chancellors or preceptors.

It is unnecessary to adduce any further historical illustration of this two-horned dominion of the earth. Enough has been cited for its identification. The history of the Holy Roman or German empire is the history of the Beast of the earth with two horns like a Lamb, and speaking as a Dragon. I shall therefore conclude this section in the words of Gibbon, that in the fourteenth century "the hereditary monarchs of Europe (the Ten Horns) confessed the preeminence of the German Caesar's rank and dignity; he was the first of the christian (catholic) princes, the temporal head of the great Republic of the West; to his person the title

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(*) Hitler called the Empire he established the Third Reich. The First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire; the Second Reich was the Germany power according to the constitution of Bismark in 1870; the Third Reich was NAZI Germany - Publishers.

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of majesty was long appropriated; and he disputed with the Pope the sublime prerogative of creating kings and assembling councils. The oracle of the civil law, the learned Bartolus, was a pensioner of Charles IV; and his school resounded with the doctrine, that the Roman emperor was the rightful sovereign of the earth from the rising to the setting sun. The contrary opinion was condemned, not as an error, but as a heresy, since even the gospel had pronounced, 'And there went forth a decree, that all the world should be taxed'."

28. The Episcopal Beast Causeth the Earth

To Worship The First Beast

"And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in its presence; and causeth that the earth and the dwellers therein worship the first beast, the plague of whose death was healed" - Verse 12.

It is evident, from the last clause of this verse, that "the first beast" referred to in that clause is not the whole of the Ten Horns, nor all the Seven Heads, but only one particular head. We are authorized to say this, because "the plague" is, in the third verse, affirmed of "one of the heads" of the Beast of the Sea - of only one of them. This is the special import of the phrase in this clause; but in the first clause of the text, "the first beast" must be understood in a more general sense. The Episcopal Power "exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in its presence" -enopion. Though the secular authority of the emperors of the Holy Roman dominion, on the accession of the Saxon line, did not extend over France, which is one of the ten horns, the episcopal authority of the dominion was dominant in all the countries of Europe. It may therefore be truly said, that the Episcopal Beast of the Earth exercised all the auhority of the first beast's horns "in its presence." This "presence" is illustrated by Daniel's Little Horn standing contemporaneously in the midst of the Ten Horns; and besides occupying its own German territory, also standing upon that of the Vandals, Lombards, and Huns. From these considerations, it is regarded in the prophecy as the chief authority among the powers of the imperial republic of the west. In fact, this thirteenth chapter is a symbolical exposition of the constitution of Modern Europe in its civil and ecclesiastical relations. It does not undertake to exhibit it in all the phases it has assumed in the course of over a thousand years; but only an heraldic representation sufficiently striking for a ready recognition by those servants of the Deity who have made them-selves acquainted with the things that have been, and those which do exist. The recognition of the "Holy Apostolic" Caesars by the hereditary monarchs of Europe, as the supreme majesty of their political system, as

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testified in the concluding words of the previous section, constituted their order "the Sun" of the European firmament. The reader will please bear this in mind, for it was upon this Sun that the Fourth Angel poured out his vial; and in so doing scorched men with fire (Apoc. 16:8,9).

Now, this Imperio-Episcopal, or Little Horn, power "causeth that the earth and the dwellers therein worship the first beast, the plague of whose death was healed." In other words, causeth that the tribes, and tongues, and nations referred to in the seventh verse, worship, or do homage to, the Sixth Head, or form of government, common to the Dragon and Beast of the Sea. The phase "the First Beast" is evidently elliptical; and stands for "the Sixth Head of the First Beast;" for this was the only head of the Seven that was healed, or restored to sovereignty in Rome.

The reestablishment of Imperialism upon the Seven Mountains, signalized by the coronation of Charlemagne, Emperor of the Romans, by the hand of the Chief Bishop of the New Empire, was the healing of the Sixth Head so grievously wounded by the Gothic sword. Rome was no longer in the rank to which she had been reduced by Justinian's 'Pragmatic Sanction" of A.D. 554. This ordinance placed her among the cities of the second rank in the Graeco-Roman, or Byzantine, empire; but by her becoming the capital of the Holy Romano-Francic, and afterwards Romano-Germanic, dominion, she was restored to the imperial, or dragonic, sovereignty; and the plague of her death was healed.

This was a great revolution in the fortunes of the so-called "Eternal City." By the restoration of Western Imperialism, an Eighth Form of Government, styled in Apoc .17.8, "the beast that was, and is not, yet is," was established upon the Seven Mountains. In the seventeenth chapter, the two-horned episcopal element of the Beast of the Earth is replaced by the Great Harlot Mother of the Churches of the Gentiles; while the secular element is expanded into the Scarlet-colored Beast, symbolical of Ezekiel's Magogian confederacy of powers, which is the last phase of Daniel's Fourth Beast - the Eighth Head in its final manifestation, which, John says, "is of the Seven, and goeth into perdition" - a confederacy in which the European imperiality and royalties combine against Christ, and the Saints in the war of the great day of God Almighty (Apoc. 17:14; 16:14; 19:19-21).

But the development of the Sixth Head of the Beast into the Eighth, was not only the healing of the plague of death, but it signalized the termination of the third part of the day, and the third part of the night, during which the third of the sun, moon, and stars of the Roman Firmament, Heaven, or Aerial, were to be darkened, or eclipsed, by the judgment of the Fourth Wind-Trumpet (Apoc. 8:12). This period of two

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hundred and forty years having elapsed, Charlemagne, the Sovereign of Rome and Italy, was no longer content with the substance of imperial authority, and the title of PATRICIAN OF ROME inherited from Pepin, which only represented the service and alliance of the Frank monarchs as Protectors of the Roman Pontiff and his church: he was ambitious of shining in the splendor of imperiality, as the coequal in the Roman Air of the Constantinopolitan emperors. This honor, however, he was providentially restrained from till the 240 years were expired; but after this, as have already seen, on Dec.25, 799, he added to his title ofPatri-cian, that of Augustus, and Emperor of the Romans. Thus the eclipse of the third of Rome's day ended, the plague of the first Beast's death was healed, and all of whom there hath not been written the names in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, were caused to wonder or adore (ch. 17:8).

29. Fire Descending from the Heaven

-Verse 13

The wonder-worker is the Beast of the Earth, or New Power; hence the semeia wrought must have been such "wonders" as military and ecclesiastical human powers have the ability and are known to work. In other words, they were wonderful, or remarkable, events, brought to pass by fraud and battle, "in the presence of the men" of the tribes, tongues, and nations of the European "Wilderness" (ch. 17:3). The thirty-three campaigns of Charlemagne in the woods and forests of Germany, in which he subjugated the pagan aborigines of that country, and imposed upon them the superstition of the Roman Priesthood, were among the wonders whereby fire was caused to descend upon them out of the heaven. The wars of Otho the First, by which the limits of his kingdom, which his father, Henry the Fowler, had transferred from the French to the Germans, were enlarged on every side; and by which the Ten-Horned Superstition was propagated northward, and forced upon the Sciavonian nations of the Elbe and Oder; the marches of Brandenburg and Sleswig, Poland and Bohemia - were also "great wonders, causing fire to descend out of the heaven," in which the Two-Horned Beast of the Earth was enthroned. The "fire" which descended was the consuming wrath of the Little Horn, ministered by this military apostle of the Dragon-speaking Beast of the Earth, Otho the First. "Fire," says Daubuz, "with such adjuncts as betoken that it is not put for light, denotes destruction, or torment, great sickness, war and its dismal effects;

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and is thus used in Isa. 42.25, 66.15, Ezek .22.20 22, Zech .13.9. So Persecution is represented by fire, 1 Peter 1:7; 4:12; 1 Cor. 3:13,15. So in the Andromache of Euripides, ver. 147, dia puros, through fire, signifies through murder. And thus Sophocles calls the mischief done by the Sphinx to Thebes, 'a foreign flame of mischief'." Fire from heaven signifies the commination of persons in authority - their denunciations of vengeance and punishment, as well as their wrath and fury in actual manifestation.

Fire proceeded out of the mouth of the Deity's two prophets, symbolized by the two olive trees and two candlesticks (Apoc. 11:5). The reader will note the different sources of the Beast's fire, and the fire of the Two Witnesses. The fire of the Beast comes from "the heaven" in which the Beast reigns; but the fire of the Two Prophets proceeds out of their mouth. They devoured their enemies with this fire; in other words, they killed them. Their enemies are Apocalyptically symbolized by the Beast of the Sea and the Beast of the Earth, and the Image of the Sixth Head of the Beast, which is the False Prophet that worketh wonders in the presence of the Ten Horns, by which he deceiveth them that had received the mark of the Beast, and them that worshipped his Image (ch. 19:20). These made war upon all the inhabitants of the European Wilderness who did not worship them, whether they were Slavic pagans, the Two Witnesses, or the Saints. The Slavonians and the Witnesses fought the fire of the Beast's heaven with the fire of their own power, though in the end they had to succumb; the fire of their mouth was extinguished by the prevailing of the Beast against them.

But the fire of the Two Horned Beast's heaven, which the authorities of that aerial were able to cause to flame forth with scorching and destructive effect, did not consist solely in war and its calamities. Had the Beast consisted solely and simply of a secular military power, its fire would have been restricted to its warlike operations; but it did not. It is also an ecclesiastical power; therefore its fire must be more or less of an episcopal character. Ecclesiastical fire is the flashing and forked lightnings of episcopal wrath, thundered against kings, nations, and peoples obnoxious to its displeasure. This fire used to be consuming and terrible, and was ministered by the Two Horns like a Lamb, or the Romish Episcopacy, whose judicial fire is its anathemas, or curses, and excommunications, executed by the secular authorities in all the Horn-Kingdoms of the European Commonwealth. These are sometimes called "the Thunders of the Vatican," whence they rolled forth, echoing through the heaven by the cooperation of the clergy. These lightnings and thunderbolts, as the Romanists themselves style them, were hurled by Pope Innocent, the Roman Jupiter Tonans, in the Council at Lyons

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against the emperor Frederick, A.D. 1245, to the great terror of the bystanders. "These words," says the record, "uttered in the midst of the Council struck the hearers with terror as might the flashing thunder-bolts. When, with candles lighted and flung down, the Lord Pope and his assistant prelates flashed their lightning fire terribly against the emperor Frederick, now no longer to be called emperor, his procurators and friends burst into bitter wailing, and struck the thigh or breast. 'That day,' said one of them, 'that day of wrath, of calamity, and of woe!"' The flinging down of lighted candles from an elevated position by the excommunicators, a mimic representation of fire from heaven, was the usual accompaniment of the solemn and great excommunication pronounced annually at the feast Cwna Domini by the Pope in person, his Cardinals and his Priesthood, against all heretics from the elevated Vestibule of the Lateran Temple at Rome; and was directed to be practised by the Romish Bishops elsewhere also on certain solemn occasions.

In the nineteenth century and in Protestant countries we have no experience of the effects of this ecclesiastical fire from heaven. It is now as harmless as the faintest sheet lightning. Even in Italy the papal bolts are ineffective and despised. Not so, however, in centuries past. The estate or person of the excommunicated might be attached by the magistrate; and marks of abhorrence and ignominy attended these penalties. They were to be shunned, like men infected with leprosy, by their friends, their families, and servants. Two attendants only remained with Robert, king of France, who on account of an irregular marriage, was put to this ban by Gregory V., and a Roman Council, A.D. 997. The Beautes de 1' Histoire de France, p.104, thus describes the result: "Excommunication was at this epoch a terrible weapon in the hands of the sovereign Pontiff. Every one fled with horror from him who had been struck by it. The lords broke off all commerce with the king. There hardly remained any attendants with him to serve him. And these threw all the fragments of his table into the fire rather than eat them." The mere intercourse with a proscribed person incurred the "lesser excommunication," or privation of the sacraments, and required penitence and absolution. In some places, a bier was set before the door of an excommunicated individual, and stones thrown at his windows. Every where the excommunicated were debarred of a regular burial. Their carcasses were supposed to be incapable of corruption, which was thought a privilege unfit for those who had died in so irregular a manner.

But as excommunication, which descended from the heaven only upon one and perhaps an obdurate sinner, was not always efficacious, the Lamb-Horned constituent of the Beast had recourse to a more scorching and comprehensive punishment. For the offense of a noble-

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man, the ecclesiastical power put a county, for that of a prince, his entire kingdom, under an interdict, or suspension of religious offices. No stretch of tyranny was more fiery than this. During an interdict, the Saints' Bazaars, in which the clergy "who have the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" trade their wares, were closed, the bells silent, the dead unburied, no rite but those of sprinkling and extreme unction performed. This fiery wrath descended upon those who had neither partaken of, nor could have prevented the offense, which was often but a private dispute, in which the pride of a pope or bishop had been wounded.

This fire issuing from the Beast's heaven and descending episcopally "in the presence of the men," or "of the beast," ver. 14, was the motive power of the machinery worked by the clergy, the lever by which they moved. "From the moment," says Hallam, "that these interdicts and excommunication’s had been tried, (and they originated subsequently to the ascent of the Beast out of the earth,) the powers of the earth might be said to have existed only by sufferance." The party scathed by this episcopal lightning had no remedy but submission. He who disregards such a sentence, says Beaumanoir, renders his good cause bad. "One is rather surprised," continues Hallam, "at the instances of failure, than of success, in the employment of these spiritual weapons against sovereigns, or the laity in general. It was perhaps a fortunate circumstance for Europe, that they were not introduced, upon a large scale, during the darkest ages of superstition. In the eighth or ninth centuries they would probably have met with a more implicit obedience. But after Gregory the Seventh (the notorious Hildebrand, elected pope A.D. 1073) as the spirit of ecclesiastical usurpation grew more violent, there grew up by slow degrees an opposite feeling in the laity, which ripened into an alienation of sentiment from the church, and a conviction of that sacred truth, which superstition and sophistry have endeavored to eradicate from the heart of man, that no tyrannical government can be founded on a divine commission." I shall close this section with the remark, that Hallam's so-called "sacred truth," is in direct Opposition to Paul's declaration in Rom. 13:1, that "there is no power but from Deity; and that existing powers have been put under Deity." The tyrannical governments of "the Earth" and "the Sea," are ordained of Him as his sword, to punish with war and other tormenting oppressions, the evil doers of the Apostasy for their abominations, and blasphemies uttered against Him "to blaspheme his name, his tabernacle, and the dwellers in the heaven;" until the time shall come to give judgment to the saints, whose mission it will then be "to execute vengeance upon the nations and punishment upon the people; to bind their kings

364 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron: to execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all the Saints" (Psa. 149:7-9). This will be "fire descending from the Deity out of heaven, and devouring them," at whatever epoch it may flame.

30. The Image of the Beast

"And he deceives the dwellers upon the earth through the wonders which it was given to him to have worked in the presence of the beast; saying to the dwellers upon the earth, to have an Image made to the beast that hath the plague of the sword, and lives. 15. And it was given to him to give spirit to the Image of the beast; that the Image of the Beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be put to death."

On account of the difficulties and ill success of commentators in the exposition of the Image of the Beast here spoken of, Vitringa has said, "est in hac parte prophetiae quod interpres cruciat" - it is in this part of the prophecy that the interpreter is tormented. It would be no profit to the reader to specify their failures, for they are legion. The Image of the Beast has not only tormented them, but they have sadly tormented the Image, until it has been reduced to no Image at all. The commentators have commented upon one another, satisfactorily proving each other wrong; but when asked, what is the true solution of the mystery, they give no sign; so that we have to conclude, that what Doddridge confesses of himself is applicable to them all, saying, "what the Image of the Beast is, distinct from the Beast itself, I confess I know not."

But before we approach the Image these words of the text demand attention in passing, "and he deceives the dwellers upon the earth through the wonders which it was given him to work in the presence of the beast, etc." The word rendered "deceives" is plana, which also signifies, to lead astray, cause to wander; metaphorically, to mislead, deceive, cause to err. Understanding from the previous section what the semeia, wonders, or miracles, were by which the wonder-working Beast was enabled to cause fire to descend from the heaven, we may thence determine the nature of the deception practised. The dwellers upon the earth were "deceived" in being led astray by clerical fraud, and episcopal and military violence; which is characterized by Paul as "the working of the Satan with all power and signs, and lying wonders, and with all the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish" (2 Thess. 2:9). The Beast of the Sea, or Sixth and Seventh Head, Ten Horns, and Mouth; that is, so much of it as is contemporary with Apocalyptic times: the Beast of the Earth, or Little Horn and Eyes of Daniel's vision, and

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the Image of the Beast - are all symbolical of "the Satan;" and were all manifested after the same kind of "working," which Paul subdivides into all kinds of dunamis, and semeja, and lying terata, which cover the whole ground of military, civil, and ecclesiastical violence, oppression, and fraud.

He deceives through his wonder-working in the presence of the Beast. To what result does he deceive the dwellers upon the earth, or inhabitants of the territory of the Holy Germano-Roman dominion? To the making of an Image of the Beast that had the plague of the sword, and lives. In other words, in the metaphorical deception, or deceiving operation, there is a conflict of powers resulting in the development and compulsory establishment of the Image of the Beast.

But, who is the instrumental deceiver and wonder-worker causing the development and establishment of the Image? The Beast of the Earth. True. But the Beast of the Earth is an aggregate of powers almost coordinate; such as the episcopal or ecclesiastical, and the secular imperial. Which of these orders in the state was the wonder-working deceiver? Exclusively neither. The wonder-working consisted in the bitter and sanguinary conflicts between the Crown and Mitre, the two-horned symbol of the Romish Hierarchy; the result of which was the triumph of the Mitre over the Imperial Crown; by which the Hierarchy became in-dependent of the secular order of the dominion. This Sovereign and Imperial Hierarchy, capitalized by the Dynasty of the Popes, and known commonly as the Papacy, is the Image of the Beast.

This wonder-working of the Lamb-Horned Beast is said to be transacted "in the presence of the beast." This phrase is equivalent to that in the thirteenth verse, "in the presence of the men" - enopion ton an-thropon: "the beast" in the one phrase being symbolical of "the men" in the other. Here is one Beast wonder-working in the presence of another Beast. Did not Daniel's Little Horn work its wonders in the midst of the Ten Horns when, coming up after them and among them, it plucked up three of them by the roots, and incorporated their peoples and annexed their territory to its Own? After the same manner the Hierarchial and Imperial Orders of the Lamb-Horned, or Mitred Beast, waged their intestine conflicts in the presence of the Ten Horns of the Beast of the Sea. In 1866, we had an example in point when Prussia, Austria, and Italy, countries of the Lamb-Horned Beast, were wonder-working in internecine war, in the presence of the rest of the European Powers who stood as spectators of the strife.

The wonder-working deceit was to develop an eikon, an image or likeness. Not an original, but a resemblance to something that

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had previously existed. As the prophecy is a symbolical revelation of powers to be developed in the Court of the Gentiles during the 1260 years of the subjection, or down-treading of the saints, the image to be developed was the likeness of some previously existing power. It was to be an image the counterpart "to the Beast that hath (ho echei in the present tense) the plague of the sword, and lives." What beast is this? I have shown that the Sixth Head of the Beast of the Sea was that which had been smitten with a deadly plague by the Gothic Sword; I have also shown that when Charlemagne founded the Imperial Lamb-Horned dominion, that the Sixth Form or Head, was healed, or came to life again in the West; and the New Empire became the Eighth Form of Government, or Head, upon the Seven Mountains. This being consummated, it became "the Beast that lives." The Image was to be a likeness of this living Eighth Head; in fact, a coordinate dynasty in the Holy Germano-Roman Habitable; an independent ecclesiastical imperial dynasty - an imperium in impeno, occupying the relative position to the Lamb-Horned Beast, that the Blasphemous Mouth does to Daniel's Little Horn.

The wonder-working deceiving power directed the deceived to have an Image made to the Beast that lives. The English Version of this text is what may be styled a free translation, and reads "And deceiveth them that dwell upon the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell upon the earth that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." But the rendering I have given at the head of this section, is more literal. The word legon is rendered saying. The power of deception, or ability to deceive, the dwellers upon the earth is acquired, dia ta sumeia ha edothe auto poiesai, through the wonders which it was given him to have worked; hence what he said to the deceived or misdirected being the "saying" of a power, would be equivalent to an authoritative mandate, which it had the ability to enforce. The command of the power in the ascendant was poiesai eikona to theno, to have made an Image to the Beast; or, more conformable to our idiom, to have an Image made to the Beast. The English Version "did live," as the rendering of ezese, implies that the Beast, to whose likeness the Image was to be conformed, did live once; but was not in existence in the epoch of the creation of the image. The original word is indefinite. It leaves the time of the living undefined. The living of the Beast is affirmed in the announcement of its death plague having been healed; and the absence in the premises of any intimation of subsequent death. Hence, the indefinite present and lives, kai ezese is the best rendering of the word in the text they were directed to make an image to the Lamb-Horned Beast

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then, at the time of the creation of the Image, in. hale and vigorous existence.

But the Image was not to be a mere form of government; it was to be both living and powerful. To this end, it was given to the thaumaturgic deceiver, douvai pneuma te eikovi tou therion, to give spirit to the Image of the Beast; so that it might perform all the functions of a potent and formidable despotism. This is implied in the words, "that the Image of the Beast might both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast that they should be put to death." This was a terrible inspiration - a speaking Image murderously hostile towards all men, of all ranks and degrees, who would not bow down obediently to its sovereign behest. Such an imperiality was "a Mouth speaking very great things against the Most High" - (Dan. 7:8,25); a Lion-Mouth, speaking great things and blasphemies against God to blaspheme his Name and his Tabernacle, and the dwellers in the heaven Apoc. 13:2,5,6; or, in the words of the eleventh verse, elale hos drakon, it spake as a Dragon; in other words, as being itself a Dragon, or imperial. This Dragonic Image was the arrogant, blaspheming, and ferocious speaking constituent, or Mouth, of the Lamb-Horn Beast of the Earth; and the great enemy that "made war against the Two Prophets, and the Saints, and overcame them" (ch. 11:7; 13:7,15). Whosoever did not receive and would not submit to its oracular utterances were anathematized by it, and scathed with its fire from the heaven, or were excommunicated and penally destroyed as Heretics beyond the protection of law, the killing of whom was declared to be no murder. This Dragon-speaking Image decreed their extermination, and pronounced curses against all who should protect or harbor them while alive, or when dead give them any other than the burial of a dog. It decreed also the subordination of the secular powers to the spiritual, for the purpose of their extermination; and against them excited crusades, with the usual promise of remission of sins to the wretches who should bear its mark. Thus, pursuing its victims unto blood, which it drank in copious draughts unto lascivious intoxication (Apoc. 17:5,6), it illustrated the oracle in the text, that "as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."

31. The Image of the Beast Historically Identified

The reader will remember what has already been stated concerning the relative position of the ecclesiastical and secular powers of the Lamb-Horned Dominion, as established by Otho the First, A.D. 962. It may, however, be as well to remark again in this place, that, when Otho

EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. 369

fixed the imperial crown in the name and nation of Germany, he established the two following maxims of public jurisprudence;

1. That the prince, who was elected in the German diet, acquired, from that instant, the subject kingdoms of Italy and Rome.

2. But that he might not legally assume the titles of emperor and Augustus, till he had received the crown from the hands of the Roman Pontiff.

By the first maxim the election of the emperor by the secular electors of the empire made him the lord of the pope; who had no more power to withhold the crown and titles from the emperor elect, than the archbishop of Canterbury, whose function it is to crown the king of England, could withhold the crown and titles from the inheritor of the British throne. In the time of Otho, the Archbishop and Patriarch of Rome was to the Germano-Roman emperor, what the archbishop of Canterbury is to the king of England, namely, at once both chief sub-ect, and chief bishop, of the respective beasts, or dominions. The bishop of Rome was elected by the college of cardinals, with the ratifying approval of the Roman people; but he could not be legally consecrated until the emperor had graciously signified his approbation and consent. This being the ecclesiastical and civil constitution of the Lamb-Horned Beast, it is plainly to be perceived, that there was nothing in the body politic answerable to the Image of the Beast that lives.

The years preceding the time of Hildebrand were a period of long and disgraceful servitude for the so-called "Apostolic See." In reference to this Gibbon says, "the Roman Pontiffs of the ninth and tenth centuries, were insulted, imprisoned, and murdered, by their tyrants; and such was their indigence after the loss and usurpation of the ecclesiastical patrimonies, that they could neither support the state of a prince, nor exercise the charity of a priest." In the course of this long series of scandal, there were two sister-prostitutes named Marozia and Theodora, whose influence was founded on their wealth and beauty, and their political and amorous intrigues. Their influence was sovereign, and the most devoted of their paramours were rewarded with the Roman Mitre, to which the Tiara had not yet been added. The bastard son, the grandson, and the great grandson of Marozia "a rare genealogy" of papal holiness, were seated in the chair of St. Peter, and it was at the age of nineteen that her grandson, John XII, became the Head of the Latin Church. Drunkenness, murder, discords, and gaming dishonored his profession, and disgraced the man. His simony was undisguised; and his blasphemous invocation of Jupiter and Venus, the consummation of his impiety. He lived in public adultery with the matrons of Rome; the Lateran palace was turned into a school of prostitution; and his rapes of

370 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

virgins and widows deterred the female pilgrims from visiting the alleged tomb of St. Peter, lest, in so doing, they should be violated by his pretended successor. Charges were at length urged against him in a Roman synod in the presence of Otho the Great, who degraded him A.D. 967; an evident proof that the Image of the Beast was still a power in the undeveloped future, and had the design of Otho the third been carried into effect, A.D. 998, of abandoning the ruder countries of the North, to erect his throne in Italy, and to revive the institutions of the Roman monarchy, the Image of the Beast would have appeared in the likeness of the secular imperiality of Augustulus, A. D. 479; instead of in the likeness of that of the Lamb-Horned dominion, founded by Charlemagne and Otho the First.

But though the utmost licentiousness reigned in "the Eternal City," where six popes were deposed, two murdered, and one mutilated, the temporal power of the clergy generally was cherished and exalted by the superstition or policy of the Saxon dynasty, which blindly depended on their moderation, and fidelity to the imperial crown. The bishoprics of Germany were made equal in extent and privilege, superior in wealth and population, to the most ample states of the military order. This was an important stride towards the troublesome development of the wonder-working deceiver. As long as the emperors retained the prerogative

of bestowing on every vacancy these ecclesiastical and secular benefices, their cause was maintained by the gratitude or ambition of their friends and favorites. The personal and local conflicts of the popes in the tenth century, left them no leisure, if they had possessed the capacity, to perfect the great system of temporal supremacy which was to deprive the emperors of their prerogatives pertaining to the ecclesiastical affairs of the empire. In this age, they looked rather to a vile profit from the sale of episcopal confirmations, or of exemptions to monasteries.

The vices of the popes and their clergy were less dangerous to the secular imperialism of the Beast, than their virtues, whatever they might be. All writers concur in stigmatizing the dissoluteness and indecency that prevailed among the clergy. The bishops were obtruded upon their sees, as the supreme pontiffs were upon that of Rome, by force or corruption. A child of five years old was made archbishop of Rheims; and the see of Narbonne was purchased for another at the age of ten. By this relaxation of morals the Lamb-Horned Hierarchy began to lose its hold upon the prejudices of mankind. This favored the success of "Heresy" so-called; and the increase of secular authority and power in the nomination and investiture of spiritual fiefs. This power was exercised with the grossest rapacity. If the ancient canons against simony had been en-

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forced, the church would almost have been cleared of its ministers. Affairs continued to wax worse and worse in the eleventh century, until reform was indispensable to avert the impending ruin of the dominion.

The German emperors of the House of Saxony conferred bishoprics in general by direct nomination; while the popes were nominated for suffrage by the seven cardinal-bishops of the Roman province, and their election by the college confirmed by the emperor. But in A.D. 1047, an explicit right of nomination was conceded to Henry III, as the only means of rescuing the Roman church from the disgrace and deprav-ty into which it had fallen. He appointed two or three popes of a very superior character to the illegitimate progeny of Marozia. This high imperial prerogative, however, was precluded from the possibility of its exercise, by the infancy of his son and successor, Henry IV, and by the factions of that minority. Pope Nicolas II, published a decree in A.D. 1059, which restored the right of nomination and election to the Cardinals of Rome; but leaving the confirmation of the pope elect to Henry, "now king and hereafter to become emperor," and to such of his successors as should personally obtain that privilege. This decree is the foundation of that celebrated mode of election in a conclave of cardinals, which has ever since determined the Headship of the Speaking Image of the Beast. It was intended, not only to exclude the franchise of the citizens of Rome, who by their rabble-violence had forfeited their primitive right, but as far as possible to prepare the way for an absolute emancipation of the papacy from the control of the secular imperial chief of the Beast of the Earth; reserving only a precarious and personal concession to the emperors, instead of their ancient legal prerogative of confirmation.

"The real author of this decree," says Hallam, "and of all other vigorous measures adopted by the popes of that age, whether for the assertion of their independence, or the restoration of discipline, was Hildebrand, archdeacon of the church of Rome, by far the most conspicuous person of the eleventh century. Acquiring by his extraordinary qualities an unbounded ascendancy over the Italian clergy, they regarded him as their chosen leader, and the hope of their common cause. He had been empowered singly to nominate a pope on the part of the Romans, after the death of Leo IX, and compelled Henry III. to acquiesce in his choice of Victor II. No man could proceed more fearlessly towards his object than Hildebrand, nor with less attention to conscientious impediments. Though the decree of Nicolas II, his own work, had expressly reserved the right of confirmation of the young king of Germany (Henry IV), yet, on the death of this pope, Hildebrand procured the election and consecration of Alexander II without waiting for any authority. During this

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pontificate he was considered as something greater than the pope, who acted entirely by his counsels. On Alexander's decease, Hildebrand, long since the real head of the church, was raised with enthusiasm to its chief dignity, and assumed the name of Gregory VII.

His plans, however, not being sufficiently mature to throw off the secular yoke of the Beast altogether, though he acted as pope from the day of his election, he declined to receive consecration until he had obtained the consent of the king of Germany. But this moderation was not of long continuance. The situation of Germany speedily afforded scope for the ambitious display of the wonder-working deceiving power. Henry IV., through a very bad education, was arbitrary and dissolute; the Saxons were engaged in a desperate rebellion, and secret disaffection had spread among the princes to an extent of which the pope was much better aware than the king. He began the contest between the Church and the Empire, the Mitre and the Crown, the Lamb-Horned Eyes of the Dragon-Horn, or in plain terms, between the spiritual and temporal orders of the Holy Germano-Roman dominion, by excommunicating some of Henry's ministers on pretense of simony, and made it a ground of remonstrance that they were not instantly dismissed. His next step was to publish a new decree against lay investitures. The abolition of these was a favorite object of Gregory, and formed an essential part of his general scheme for emancipating the spiritual, and subjugating the temporal power. The ring and crosier, it was asserted by the papal advocates, were the emblems of that power which no monarch could bestow; but even if a less offensive symbol were adopted in investitures, the dignity of the Romish Hierarchy was lowered, and its "purity" (!) contaminated, when its highest ministers were compelled to solicit the patronage or the approbation of laymen.

But interest in the question of investitures was suspended by other more extraordinary and important dissensions between the Church and the Empire. The pope, after tampering some time with the disaffected party in Germany, summoned Henry IV. to appear at Rome, and vindicate himself from the charges alleged by his subjects. Such an outrage naturally exasperated a young and passionate monarch. Assembling a number of bishops and other vassals at Worms, he procured a sentence that Gregory should no longer be obeyed as lawful pope. But the time was passed for those high prerogatives of former emperors. After A.D. 1073, the relations of dependence between Church and State were now about to be reversed; in other words, the time had come to erect the Romish Hierarchy, under its chief bishop, into a supreme independent imperial monarchy, after the model of the secular, but superior to it: or

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as it is Apocalyptically expressed, "to have an Image made of the beast that lives."

Gregory had no sooner received accounts of the proceedings at Worms, than he not only excommunicated Henry, but sentenced him to the loss of the kingdoms of Germany and Italy, releasing his subjects from their allegiance, and forbidding them to obey him as sovereign. This was another act initiatory of what might have seemed to be a romantic project of making himself the lord of "Christendom," by not only dissolving the jurisdiction which kings and emperors had hitherto exercised over the various orders of the clergy, but also by subjecting to the papal authority all temporal princes, and rendering their dominions tributary to the See of Rome. This Gregory VII. undertook with great audacity. He proposed to "cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive the mark" of supreme papal authority, in which he and his successors, "through the wonders which" their party "had power to work in the presence of the beast," were successful. Solomon, king of Hungary, dethroned by his brother Geysa, had fled to the emperor of Germany for protection, and renewed the homage of Hungary to the Secular Imperiality of the Lamb-Horned Beast. Gregory, who favored Geysa, exclaimed against this act of submission; and said in a letter to Solomon, "You ought to know that the kingdom of Hungary belongs to the Roman Church; and learn that you will incur the indignation of the Holy See (the Eyes of the Little Horn) if you do not acknowledge that you hold your dominions of the pope, and not of the emperor!"

This presumptuous declaration, and the neglect it met with, brought the quarrel between the Secular Horn, or empire, and the Lamb-Horned Eyes, or church, to a crisis. In his circular letters he repeatedly asserts, that "bishops are superior to kings, and made to judge them," expressions alike artful and presumptuous, and calculated for bringing in all the churchmen of the world to his standard. Gregory's purpose is said to have been to engage in the bonds of fidelity and allegiance to the so-called Vicar of Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords, all the monarchs of the earth, and to establish at Rome an annual assembly of bishops, by whom the contests that might arise between kingdoms and sovereign states were to be decided; the rights and pretences of princes to be examined; and the fate of nations and empires to be determined.

The haughty pontiff knew well what consequences would follow the flaming thunderbolts of the heaven. The German bishops came over to his party forthwith, and drew along with them many of the nobles; the brand of civil war still lay smouldering, and a bull properly directed was

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sufficient to set it in a blaze: and those very princes and bishops who had assisted in deposing Gregory, gave up their emperor to be tried by the pope, whom they solicited to come to Augsburg for that purpose.

Henry suddenly finding himself almost insulated in the midst of his dominions, had recourse, through panic, to a miserable expedient. He crossed the Alps at Tyrol, accompanied only by a few domestics, with the avowed determination of submitting and seeking absolution of Gregory, his tyrannical oppressor, who was then at Canossa, on the Apennines, a fortress belonging to his faithful adherent the Countess Matilda. It was in the unusually severe winter of A. D. 1077. At the gates of this place he presented himself as a humble penitent. He alone was admitted into the outer court of the castle, where, being stripped of his robes, and wrapped in a woolen shirt and with naked feet and fasting, he was obliged to remain for three days in the month of January, while Gregory, shut up with his devout and affectionate Matilda, refused to admit him to his presence to kiss his feet. Matilda's attachment to Gregory and hatred of the Germans were so great, that she made over all her estates to the Image of the Beast in process of creation: "and this donation," says the historian, "is the true cause of all the wars which since that period have raged between the emperors and the popes. She possessed, in her own right, a great part of Tuscany, Mantua, Parma, Reggio, Placentia, Ferrara, Modena, Verona, and almost the whole of what is now called the Patrimony of St. Peter, from Viterbo to Orvieto; together with part of Umbria, Spoleto, and the March of Ancona."

On the fourth day the emperor was permitted to throw himself at the feet of the pope, who condescended to grant him absolution, after he had sworn obedience to the pontiff in all things, and promised to appear at Augsburg on a certain day to learn the pope's decision whether or not he should be restored to his kingdom, until which time he also promised not to assume the imperial insignia.

Thus while Henry got nothing but disgrace, his abject humiliation elated Gregory with great exultation, who now regarded himself, and not altogether without reason, as the lord and master of all the crowned heads of "the Earth" and "the Sea," called "Christendom;" so that, in several of his letters, he said, it was his duty "to pull down the pride of kings."

This extraordinary accommodation exceedingly disgusted the provinces of Italy. Their indignation at Gregory's arrogance, happily for Henry, overbalanced their detestation of his meanness. All Lombardy took up arms against the pope, while the pope was raising all Germany against the emperor. The Germans chose Rodolph, duke of Swabia, who was crowned at Mentz. Gregory affected to be displeased that he

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was crowned without his order; and declared he would acknowledge as emperor and king of Germany him of the two rivals who should be most submissive to the Holy See. But as Henry would not submit, he sent a golden crown to Rodolph with the inscription upon it,

Petra dedit Petro, Petrus, diadema Rodolpho;

importing that it was given by virtue of the right to confer crowns from the apostle Peter! The donation was accompanied by an anathema against Henry prophetic of the aspirations of the rising Image-power. The anathema concludes with an apostrophe to St. Peter and St. Paul, saying, "Make all men sensible, that, as you can bind and loose every thing in heaven, you can also upon earth take from, or give to, every one according to his deserts, empires, kingdoms, principalities let the kings and princes of the age then instantly feel your power, that they may not dare to despise the orders of your church; let your justice be so speedily executed upon Henry, that nobody may doubt but that he falls by your means and not by chance."

But Gregory's success in his immediate designs was not answerable to his intrepidity. Henry both subdued the German rebellion and carried on the war with so much vigor in Italy, that he was crowned in Rome by the archbishop of Ravenna, whom he had caused to be elected pope by the name of Clement III., instead of Gregory, who had taken refuge in the castle of St. Angelo, whence he defied, and again excommunicated the conqueror. In the meanwhile the castle was besieged, but the emperor being called off into Lombardy, Roger Guiscard, his Norman ally, effected his release and gave him asylum at Salerno, where he soon after died. His mantle, however, descended upon his successors, especially Urban II., and Paschal II., who strenuously persevered in the great contest for Ecclesiastical Independence, or the full development of the Image of the Beast.

Henry V. steadily refused to part with the right of investiture and the secular or lay constituent of the Lamb-Horned Dragon was still committed in open hostility with the Papal Hierarchy of "the Earth" for fifteen years of his reign. But Henry V. being stronger in the support of his German vassals than his father, Henry IV. had been, none of the popes with whom he was engaged had the boldness to repeat the measures of Gregory VII. At length, A.D. 1122, each party grown weary of this ruinous contention, a Concordat, or treaty of agreement, was arranged between the emperor and the pope, Calixtus II., which put an end by compromise to the question of ecclesiastical investitures. By this compact the emperor resigned for ever to the rising Image-Power the investiture of the bishops of the dominion by the ring and crosier, and recognized the liberty of elections. But in return, it was agreed that elections

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should be made in his presence, or that of his officers; and that the new bishop should receive his temporalities from the emperor by the sceptre. By this concordat the imperial order preserved its feudal sovereignty over the estates of the Episcopal Hierarchy, which possessed nearly half the lands in Europe, in defiance of the language which had recently been held by the pontificals. In the terms of this compromise the success of the emperor and the pope seemed pretty equally balanced; but from subsequent effects it is apparent to which party the intrinsic advantages of victory belonged: the events which followed, or "the wonders it was given him to work, in the presence of the beast," after the settlement of this great and sanguinary controversy about investitures, evinced beyond all dispute, that the See of Rome had conquered; or in other words, that the creation of the Image, or likeness to the Constantinian Sixth Head of the Beast, revived in the dominion founded by Charlemagne, was completed in the establishment of the absolute monarchy of papal Rome. Gregory VII, is universally regarded as the founder of this unlimited imperiality. "He may be called," says Hallam, "the common enemy of all sovereigns, whose dignity as well as independence mortified his infatuated pride." He conveniently exhibited St. Peter as a great feudal suzerain, or legitimate lord of all the countries and kingdoms of the earth. The gross and universal superstition of the Latin world admitted that the fullness of Christ's lordship in heaven and earth had been by Christ himself transferred to Peter, and therefore to the incarnate demons, the popes, who blasphemously style themselves the Vicars of Christ, and successors of that apostle. Admitting this monstrous and illogical falsehood, it was not difficult for such "dwellers upon the earth" to assent to the ambitious claims of the Roman Pontiff. The liberties of the national churches of the diademed horns of the Beast of the Sea, were as completely destroyed by papal arrogance, as those of the churches of the Lamb-Horned dominion, whose emperors had sustained the principal brunt of the war. By a papal constitution inspired by Hildebrand, no bishop in the Latin church was permitted to "buy and sell," or exercise his functions, until he had received the confirmation of the Roman See; "a provision," says Hallam, "of vast importance, through which, beyond perhaps any other means, Rome has sustained, and still sustains, her temporal influence, as well as her ecclesiastical supremacy." The National Churches now found themselves subject to an undisguised and irresistible despotism, whose favorite policy it became to harass all prelates with citations to Rome. Gregory VII. obliged the metropolitans to attend in person for the pallium, or holy lambskin, in which the wolves of that Episcopal order are officially clothed; and bishops were summoned even from England and the

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northern kingdoms to receive the commands of their spiritual monarch, the Papal Mouth of the Dragon-Image.

From the time of Gregory VII., no pontiff of the Image-monarchy thought of awaiting the confirmation of the emperor of Germany, as in earlier ages, before he was installed in "the throne of St. Peter." On the contrary, it was claimed that the emperor himself was to be confirmed by the pope. When Frederick Barb arossa came to receive the imperial crown at Rome, he omitted to hold the stirrup of Adrian IV., who, in his turn, refused to give him the usual kiss of peace; nor was the contest ended but by the emperor's acquiescence, who was content to follow the precedents of his predecessors. This same Adrian in a letter reminded Frederick that he had conferred upon him the imperial crown, and was willing to bestow, if possible, greater benefits. This letter excited a great ferment among the German princes, in a congress of whom it was delivered. "From whom, then," one of the papal legates, or ambassadors, rashly inquired, "does the emperor hold his crown, except from the pope?" This so irritated a prince of Wittelsbach, that he was with difficulty prevented from cleaving the priest's head with his saber. It was Adrian IV. who bestowed the kingdom of Ireland upon Henry II., King of England; and in the grant declared that all islands were the exclusive property of St. Peter, which was only an indirect assertion, that they all belonged to the Image of the Beast, of which the popes are the absolute, omnipotent, and oracular chiefs.

But the epoch when the arrogant and usurping spirit of the Papal Image of the Beast was most strikingly displayed was the pontificate of Innocent III. In each of the three leading objects pursued by Rome, namely, independent sovereignty, supremacy over the Latin church, and control over the princes of the earth, it was the fortune of this pontiff to conquer. This is the testimony of history. He completed the iconic, or image, fabric, founded by Gregory VII., and promoted steadily by his successors. He realized that fond hope of so many of his predecessors, a dominion over Rome and the central parts of Italy the territory of the Image of the Beast; given to the Roman See by the countess Matilda, and yielded after long dispute by the emperor Otho IV. on his coronation at Rome by Innocent III., who bore the keys from A. D. 1198 to A.D. 1216. "This," says Hallam, "is the proper era of that temporal sovereignty which the Bishops of Rome possess over their own city, though still prevented by various causes, for nearly three centuries, from becoming unquestioned and unlimited."

The maxims of Gregory VII. were now matured by more than a hundred years, and the right of trampling upon the necks of kings had

378 EXPOSITION OFTHE APOCALYPSE.

been received, at least among ecclesiastics, as an inherent attribute of the Image of the Beast; or the system of power based upon forgery, murder, and wonderful deceit, commonly styled THE PAPACY. "As the sun and the moon are placed in the firmament," said Innocent III. ,"the greater as the light of the day, and the lesser of the night; thus are there two powers in the church; the pontifical, which as having the charge of souls, is the greater; and the royal, which is the less, and to which the bodies of men only are intrusted." Intoxicated with these ideas which he succeeded in establishing, he deemed no quarrels of princes beyond the sphere of his jurisdiction. His foremost gratification was the display of unbounded power. His letters, especially to ecclesiastics, are full of unprovoked rudeness. As impetuous as Gregory VII., he is unwilling to owe anything to favor; he seems to anticipate denial, heats himself into anger as he proceeds, and where he commences with solicitation, seldom concludes without a menace. With such a temper and with such advantages, he was formidable beyond all his predecessors, and well qualified for the time "to speak" as the official incumbent of the Image-Mouth which "spake as a dragon;" and caused on every side the lightning of the Roman Heaven to thunder over the heads of princes. He claimed the right to confirm the election of the emperors of the Lamb-Horned dominion; and in a decretal epistle, declares the pope's authority to examine, confirm, anoint, crown, and consecrate the emperor elect, provided he shall be worthy; or to reject him if rendered unfit by great crimes, such as sacrilege, heresy, perjury, or persecution of the Roman church; in default of election, to supply the vacancy; or, in the event of equal suffrages, to bestow the empire upon any person at his discretion.

"The noonday of Papal dominion," says Hallam, "extends from the pontificate of Innocent III., inclusively to that of Boniface VIII., or, in other words, through the thirteenth century. Rome inspired during this age all the terror of her ancient name. She was once more the mistress of the world, and kings were her vassals." Such was the Image of the Imperial Head of the Ten-Horned Beast healed of its death-plague by Charlemagne, created by "the false Prophet," or Roman Hierarchial constituent of the healed head, "that wrought the wonders in the presence of the Beast of the Earth, with which he deceived them who received the mark of the beast, and them who worshipped his image" (Apoc. 19:20). This Image-Monarchy is styled "the Kingdom of the Beast" inch. 16:10; and was obnoxious to the vial-wrath of the fifth angel, by which it was filled with darkness. The judgments of this vial and those who have thus far transpired under the sixth, had reduced the image to very limited territorial and temporal dimensions. They are so inconsiderable that the

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Image may be said to be in the article of death; for beyond the very narrow limits of the little territory yet remaining to the pope, the papal government, however loud and fiercely it may roar, can no longer "cause as many as will not worship the image of the beast to be put to death;" nor can it cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark upon their right hand, or upon their foreheads; nor can it prevent men buying and selling any sort of spiritual or temporal merchandize they please. This is the condition of the Image in the latter half of the nineteenth century, which may be styled the dying hour of the life imparted to it by the wonder-working Pseudoprophet of the Lamb-Horned Beast. But while the Temporal Image is at death's door, there is considerable vitality in the Pseudoprophet, or Roman Hierarchy, itself. This has been evinced in the concourse of bishops at Rome under pretense of celebrating the martyrdom of Peter in that city of fraud and abomination; or, as it is termed by the Spirit in ch. 18:2, "the habitation of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Of this Pseudoprophetic power, Pius IX, is officially, in 1867, the distressed and wailing mouth. How different his utterances from those of Gregory VII and Innocent III! When they roared princes and nations trembled; when he tries to roar, his roar becomes a wail of "heart-rending griefs," and they laugh, having no longer any fear of papal interdicts and curses; and continue their "machinations the most implacable" for the subversion of the authority of what he styles "the Apostolic See." But the Pseudoprophet Hierarchy, with all the vitality that lingers in its constitution, will never be able to galvanize the old shattered image into its ancient vigor. If it continue to exist in dilapidation, it is only tolerated until "the Hour of Judgment" be fully come to execute the sentence written concerning the Beast and its wonder-working deceiver that created the Image, saying, "These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (ch. 19:20; 20:10).

Thus, in conclusion of this section, we have seen that after a conflict of more than four hundred years from Charlemagne to Innocent III., the ecclesiastics of all the hierarchies of Europe were united in one vast organization with the Bishop of Rome as their supreme legislative and judicial head, and a single ecclesiastical government established over the whole Roman church after the model of that of the Woman's Man-Child of Sin, developed in the person and power of Constantine the Great. This development of the Man-Child into the fullness of the age and stature of THE MAN or Image of the Beast, is denominated by Romanists themselves a monarchy. "All catholic doctors agree in this," says Bellarmine, "that the ecclesiastical government committed to men by God is a monarchy." "If the monarchical is the best form of govern-

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ment," says another, "as we have shown, and it is certain that the church of God instituted by Christ its head, who is supremely wise, ought to be governed in the best manner, who can deny that its rule ought to be monarchial?"

Accordingly, the canonists, or skilled interpreters and practitioners of ecclesiastical law, are accustomed to style the Bishop of Rome a king. "The pope," say they, "may be called a king. He is the Prince of princes, and Lord of lords. He is, as it were, a God on earth. He is above right, superior to law, superior to the canons. He can do all things against right and without right. He is greater than all the saints except Peter. Some say he is greater than an apostle, and not bound by the commands either of Peter or Paul. His sentence prevails against the judgment of the whole world. His sole will is instead of reason in the bestowment of ecclesiastical offices. He does not commit simony in selling benefices. He may deprive any one of his office without any cause. He is able to free from obligation in matters of positive right, without any cause, and they who are so released are safe in respect to God. He can take away a possession from one church and give it to another, even without a cause; and no one can say unto him, Why doest thou so? He is not bound by treaties. The Pope and Christ make one consistory. He can make justice of injustice. He can change the substance of things, and make a thing out of nothing. He can change squares into circles" - Febronji de Statu Ecci. libi. c. ix. p. 527.

Such was the ICONIC MAN in the noonday of his existence, the number of whose name is 666. Is not this the Antichrist? Could any power arise in the world more deserving of the name? Is not this Image-power, Anomos, THE LAWLESS ONE, whose coming Paul predicted would be "after the working of the Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish?" It can be no other than "the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called god, or Sebasma, an object of veneration; so that he in the temple of the god sits as a god, publicly exhibiting himself that he is a god." And yet in view of all the record extant concerning this ICONIC MA~ OF SIN, there are protesters who affirm that the papal dynasty is not the Antichrist, and that his revelation is still in the future! Can blindness be more complete than that which cannot see the Lawless One in him whose worshippers declare to be superior to law and above right? If the Antichrist have not been in full manifestation before the world for the past six hundred years, there need be no apprehension of his future advent. But, as we have seen elsewhere, Antichrist and vicar of Christ, or Vice-Christ, are synonymous expressions; so that in this vainglorious title of the papal

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power it stands confessed as Antichrist, the Image Man of Sin, for the worship or reprobation of mankind.

32. The Utterances of the Speaking Image

"And it was given to it to give spirit to the Image of the Beast, that the Image of the Beast might both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast, that they should be put to death" - Verse 15.

To have power to speak, and to cause to put to death; or to decree and to enforce its decrees, was the result of spirit, pneuma, being imparted to the Image. A monarch, or pontiff king, who made laws and issued decrees, but could not enforce them, or cause them to be executed, would be an image without spirit That which is necessary to a monarchy for the execution of its laws and ordinances is its spirit or power; and when a king can no longer cause his will to be respected; when he decrees and threatens, and his utterances are laughed at or despised, he is a vox etpraetera nihl, a mere voice, his spirit has departed; and he ceases to be a power in the world of powers, which respect nothing which cannot itself be respected.

Such is the present condition of what remains of the Sixth, or Imperial Head of the Beast. It can order all Heretics to be roasted and exterminated, who defiantly refuse to abandon their heresy, and to worship or honor and obey it. But in none of its "catholic provinces" can its episcopal officials execute its commands. Neither they, nor the secular authorities, dare venture upon the experiment; because, like the rulers of old, " they fear the people. "All it dare attempt now is the canonization of murderers, who used to roast Jews, burn heretics, and try to exterminate protestants. This has been ostentatiously done in Rome by Pius IX. and his bishops in 1867. Their transformation of these bloodhounds of the Papacy into Romish Saint-Protectors, or Mahuzzim, demonstrates what the Image of the Beast would do even now, if its spirit or power to do or practise, had not departed; and shows that the mind of the Romish Hierarchy is to-day as hateful, stagnant and unclean as ever. But happily for mankind in the fairest countries of the earth, they can only typify their disposition towards robbery and murder by canonizing thieves and sanguinary wretches of a former age. By thus gnashing their teeth at the living, they give expression to their "heart-rending griefs" that they can no longer " cause as many as will not worship the Image of the Beast to be put to death."

But in the days of Innocent III., the great things and blasphemies spoken of by the Image, or Iconic Lion-Mouth, were something more

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than sound and fury signifying nothing harmful. They were terrific roarings that made all the beasts of the Roman wilderness to tremble. Lucius III. and Innocent III., by formal decrees, required heretics to be seized, condemned, and delivered by the bishops to the civil magistrates, to be capitally punished, and enjoined the princes and magistrates to execute on them the sentences denounced by the canon and civil laws. "Supported," says the Iconic Mouth, "by the presence and energy of our beloved son Frederick, the illustrious Emperor of the Romans, by the council of our brethren, other patriarchs, archbishops also, and numerous princes, who have assembled from different parts of the world, we rise by this decree against all heretics, and by apostolical authority condemn every sect, by whatever name it is designated

"In the first place, therefore, we subject the Cathari, the Paterini, the Poor Men of Lyons, the Passagini, and the Arnaldists (Witnesses clothed in sackcloth - ch. 11:3), to a perpetual anathema; and as some claim authority to preach ("buy and sell" without money or price, the Divine mission of the Saints - ch 13:7), although the apostle saith, 'How can they preach except they be sent?' all who venture to preach, either publicly or privately, without authority from the Apostolic See, or the bishop of the place, and all who dare to think and teach otherwise in respect to the sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, or baptism, or the remission of sins, or matrimony, or the other sacraments of the church than the Holy Roman Church preaches and practices; and generally, all whom the Roman Church, or individual bishops in their dioceses, or the clergy themselves, when the seat is vacant, with the concurrence, if necessary, of the neighboring bishops, shall judge to be heretics, shall be bound with the same bond of perpetual anathema. All their harborers, and defenders, and all who yield them any patronage or favor, we consign to the same sentence.

"And as it sometimes happens that the severity of ecclesiastical discipline is condemned by those who do not understand its virtue, we ordain that clergymen who are clearly convicted of the aforesaid errors, shall be divested of the prerogatives of their order, deprived of their benefices, and delivered to the secular power to be appropriately punished, unless, immediately on the detection of their error, they voluntarily return to the Catholic faith, and consent publicly, at the will of the bishop of the diocese, to abjure their heresy, and make a proper satisfaction. But a layman, who is infected with that pest, unless abjuring the heresy and making satisfaction, he instantly flies to the orthodox faith, is to be left to the will of the secular power to suffer a vengeance in correspondence with his crime. They, moreover, who shall be found marked by the mere suspicion of the church, unless they demonstrate

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their innocence in a manner suited to the nature of the suspicion, and to their rank, shall be subjected to the same sentence. But they who, after having abjured their error, or cleared themselves in a trial by their bishop, shall be convicted of relapsing to the heresy they have abjured, we order to be left to the severest sentence without further hearing, and their goods appropriated to the churches which they served, according to the canons.

"We add, moreover, by the advice of the bishops, and the suggestion of the emperor and his princes, that each archbishop and bishop shall himself, or by his archdeacon, or other honest and suitable persons, once or twice a year, go through the parish in which it is reported that Heretics reside, and compel three or more men there of good reputation, or the whole population if it seem expedient, to swear that should any one know persons who are heretics, or any who hold secret assemblies, or differ in life or manners from the usage of the faithful, he will endeavor to point them out to the bishop or archdeacon. And the bishop or archdeacon shall call the accused before him, and unless they clear themselves to his satisfaction, or should they, after having cleared themselves, relapse to their former heresy, they are to be punished according to his judgment

"If from a superstitious objection to oaths, any of them should refuse to swear, they are on that account to be adjudged heretics, and smitten with the punishment which has been mentioned.

"We enact, moreover, that counts, barons, prefects, and consuls of cities and other places, at the admonition of the archbishops and bishops, promise under oath, that whenever they shall be required by them, they will boldly and efficiently aid the church against heretics and their accomplices, and study in good faith, according to their duty and power, to execute in the cases of which we have spoken, the ecclesiastical in the same manner as the imperial laws. And should they refuse to observe their oath, they shall be divested of their offices which they enjoy and become ineligible to others. They shall, moreover, be excommunicated, and their lands put under an interdict of the church. A city that excites resistance to these decrees, or neglects at the admonition of the bishop to punish those who resist, shall be deprived of the commerce of other cities, and divested of its episcopal rank.

"All favorers also of heretics, as condemned to perpetual infamy, we order to be debarred from the office of advocates, from giving testimony, and from all civil employments."

Similar canons were enacted A.D. 1215, by the fourth Lateran council under Innocent III., the most famous general council of the middle ages, at which over 1000 bishops and abbots attended, and ambas-

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sadors also from most of the kingdoms, in which the Lion Mouth decrees, that should a civil lord, on being required and admonished by the church, neglect to clear his territory of this heretical nuisance, let them be bound by the metropolitan and other bishops of the province with the bond of excommunication; and should he refuse to make satisfaction within a year, let it be signified to the supreme pontiff, that he may declare his vassals to be freed from allegiance to him, expose his land to be seized by Catholics, who, exterminating the Heretics, may possess it without opposition, and preserve it in the purity of the faith

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Catholic ascendancy has witnessed many years of religious warfare during which the Church has persecuted those who have dared to oppose its pretensions. The above medals were struck in France, 1685. The one of the left has the caption: Heresies Extinguished. The one on the right has the caption: Religious victorious: and beneath the Temple of Calvin over-thrown.

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"Catholics who assume the sign of the cross ('the Mark of the Beast') shall gird themselves to the extermination of the Heretics, shall enjoy the indulgence, and be fortified by the sacred privilege, which are conceded to those who go to the relief of the Holy Land."

These enactments were incorporated in the decretals of Gregory IX., and became the law of the Image-State. Thus the Latin Hierarchy decreed the ruin and sanguinary extermination of all who dissented from its superstition, and refused to pay it the honor and obedience it required.

In the epoch of the full manifestation of this ferocious power the Two Witnesses, styled in the above decrees "heretics," had become by their influence and doctrine very formidable antagonists to the pope and his derby. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the provinces of Languedoc, Province, Catalonia, and all the surrounding countries, comprising the whole of the South of France, with the Pyrenees and a

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part of Spain, were peopled with an industrious and intelligent race of men, addicted to commerce and the arts, but generally fostering religious views exceedingly hostile to "the great things and blasphemies" of the Leo-Dragonic Mouth of the Image, or Imperio-Babylonish Hierarchy of Rome. They were styled Albigenses from the province of Albi, in the south of France, in which they flourished in considerable numbers. In the whole of this southern district, they not only dissented, but bore a lively testimony against Romish superstition and idolatry, and the vicious lives of the clergy. The author of the Belgian Chronicle, from Caesarius, A.D. 1208, says: "The error of the Albigenses prevailed to that degree, that it had infected as much as a thousand cities; and if it had not been repressed by the swords of the faithful, I think that it would have corrupted the whole of Europe."

David Hume, though regarding them as enthusiasts, bears witness to their moral excellence. "Pope Innocent III.," says he, "published a crusade against the Albigenses, a species of enthusiasts in the south of France, whom he denominated Heretics, because like all other enthusiasts, they neglected the rites of the church, and opposed the power and influence of the clergy. And these sectaries, though the most innocent and inoffensive of mankind, were exterminated with all the circumstances of extreme violence and barbarity."

Ebrard of Bethune, who wrote A.D. 1212, says, "they call themselves Vallenses, because they 'abide in the Valley of Tears,"' alluding to their situation as witnessing in sackcloth, in the Valleys of Piedmont. Their opinions are thus recited from an old manuscript by the Centuriators of Magdeburg:

"In articles of faith, the authority of the holy scripture is the highest, and for that reason it is the rule of judging: so that whatsoever agreeth not with the word of God, is deservedly to be rejected and avoided.

"The decrees of fathers and councils are so far to be approved, as they agree with the word of God.

"The reading and knowledge of the holy scriptures is free and necessary for all men, the laity as well as the clergy; yea, and the writings of the apostles and prophets are to be read rather than the comments of men.

"The sacraments of the Church of Christ are two, baptism and the supper of the Lord.

"The receiving in both kinds for priests and people was instituted by Christ.

"Masses are impious; and it is insanity to say masses for the dead.

"Purgatory is an invention of men; for they who believe, come into

386 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

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The Vale of Tears. It was in the waldensian Valleys, chiefly of Savoy and Piedmont, depicted above, that the anti-Catholic protesting communities mainly took refuge. Their opposition was maintained despite the most savage of persecutions by adherents of the Roman Catholic Church: persecutions by adherents of the Roman Catholic Church: persecutions that continued for several centuries - Publishers.

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eternal life; and they who believe not, into eternal condemnation -(credentes enim, invitam ~ternam venire - come, not go, as generally translated - Author).

"The invocating and worshipping of dead saints is idolatry.

"The Church of Rome is the Babylonian Harlot.

"We must not obey the Pope and the Bishops; because they are the wolves of the Church of Christ.

"The pope hath not the primacy over all the churches of Christ, neither hath he the power of both swords.

"That is the Ecciesia of Christ which heareth the sincere word of Christ, and useth the sacraments instituted by him, in what place soever it exist.

"Vows of celibacy are inventions of men, and occasions of sodomy.

"So many orders are so many characters of the Beast.

"Monkery is a stinking carcass.

"So many superstitious dedications of temples, commemorations

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of the dead, benedictions of animals, pilgrimages, so many forced fastings, so many superfluous festivals, those perpetual bellowings of unlearned men, and the observations of the other ceremonies, manifestly hindering the teaching and learning of the word, are diabolical inventions.

"The marriage of priests is lawful and necessary."

The following testimonies concerning the holders of the foregoing truths, the Romanists will allow to be unexceptionable. They are the testimonies of Reinerius and Thuanus. Reinerius flourished about A.D. 1254; and his testimony is the more remarkable as he was a Dominican, and Inquisitor-General. "Among all the sects," says he, "which still are or have been, there is not any more pernicious to the Church than that of the Leonists. And this for three reasons. The first is because it is older; for some say that it hath endured from the time of Pope Sylvester; others from the time of the apostles (doubtless, 'the Saints' of ch. 13:7). The second reason, because it is more general; for there is scarce any country wherein the sect is not. The third, because when all other sects beget horror in the hearers by the outrageousness of their blasphemies against God ('the Earth that helps the Woman' in her hostility to Rome) this of the Leonists hath a great show of piety; because they live justly before men, and believe all things rightly concerning God, and all the articles which are contained in the creed; only they blaspheme the church of Rome and the clergy, whom the multitude of the laity is easy to believe."

The candid and impartial historian, Thuanus, says, "Peter Waldo, a wealthy citizen of Lyons, about the year of Christ, 1170, gave name to the Waldenses. He, leaving his house and goods, devoted himself wholly to the profession of the gospel, and took care to have the writings of the prophets and apostles translated into the vulgar tongue. When now in a little time he had many followers about him, he sent them forth as his disciples into all parts to propagate the gospel. Their fixed opinions were said to be these: that the Church of Rome, because she hath renounced the true faith of Christ, is the Babylonian Harlot (Babylonicam meretricem esse) and that Barren Tree which Christ himself hath cursed, and commanded to be rooted up; therefore we must by no means obey the pope, and the bishops who cherish his errors; that the monastic life is the sink of the church, and a hellish institution; its vows are vain, and subservient only to the filthy love of boys: the orders of the presbytery are the marks of the great beast which is commemorated in the Apocalypse; the fire of purgatory, the sacrifice of the mass, the feast of the dedications of temples, the worship of saints, and propitiations for the dead, are inventions of Satan. To these, the principal and certain

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heads of their doctrine others are affixed concerning marriage, the resurrection, the state of the soul after death, and concerning meats."

From these testimonies it will be easy for the reader to discern the issue formed in the thirteenth century between the Lamb-Horned Beast and his Image, of the one part, and the Two Witnesses and the Saints of the Holy City, of the other. The spread of "Heresy" so alarmed the Ecclesiastical Power, that it determined to "cause all both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark" in token of their subjection, or be exterminated by fire and sword. Hence these decrees already cited. To carry these into effect, the first crusade was proclaimed of papal idolators against what they called Heretics, and the murderous Inquisition was first erected, the one to subdue their bodies, the other to enslave their minds. "It is enough to make the blood run cold," says one, whose episcopal succession from the apostles had come to him through those mendacious and sanguinary thieves and robbers, the popes, "to read of the horrid murders and devastation of this time, how many of these poor innocent Christians were sacrificed to the blind fury and malice of their enemies. It is computed, that in France alone were slain a million. The consequences of these atrocious barbarities are thus narrated by Thuanus, himself a Romanist. "Against the Waldenses," saith he, "when exquisite punishment availed little, and the evil was exasperated by the remedy which had been unseasonably applied, and their number increased daily, at length complete armies were raised; and a war of no less weight (ch. 11:7, and 13:7) than what our people had before waged against the Saracens, was decreed against them: the event of which was, that they were rather slain, put to flight, spoiled everywhere of their goods and dignities, and dispersed here and there, than that, convinced of their error, they repented. So that they who at first had defended themselves by arms (ch. 11:5,6) at last overcome by arms (ch. 11:7) fled into Province and the neighboring Alps of the French territory, and found a shelter for their life and doctrine in those places. Part withdrew into Calabria, and continued there a long while, even to the pontificate of Pius IV. Part passed into Germany, and fixed their abode among the Bohemians, and in Poland and Livonia. Others turning to the west, obtained refuge in Britain." In short, for the details are too copious to be narrated here, the Iconic Man-Power at length succeeded in its work of carnage and death. It overcame and put to death all opposition to its authority. By the cooperation of the imperial and regal horns of Egyptian and Sodomite Europe, styled "the secular arm," it trampled the saints of the Holy City under its impious and lawless feet; and prostrated the two sackcloth witnessing prophets in political death. But their anastasis in 1789-'92, when, exactly 1,260 years

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from Justinian's decree imparting spiritual supremacy to the pope, they again stood upon their feet (estesan epi tous podas auton) was the death knell of the terrific Image throughout the world. Since that reign of terror the ICONIC MAN became incurably sick. The facies Hippocratica pervades his senile and idiotic countenance; and like his brother of Constantinople is tottering on the verge of an abyss; into which when he falls, he will receive a measure, heaped up and shaken down, even "double" at the hands of his innocent and unoffending victims, such as in the day of his power, he meted out to them (ch. 13:10; 17:14; 18:6,20; 15:2). "Here is the patience of the Saints" this is what all true and genuine saints believe and are waiting for; and such are they who keep the commandments of the Deity, and the faith of Jesus (ch. 13:10; 14:12).

33. The Sign of the Beast

"And he caused all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the enslaved, that a sign should be given to them upon their right hand, and upon their foreheads" Verse 16

There was no class of European society unsubjected to the authority of the Lamb-Horned, or episcopal constituent of the Beast of the Earth; hence, what Ecclesiastical Power did with the concurrence of "the Secular Arm," the Beast is said to do. "He causes" is therefore to be understood of the Lamb-Horned Beast, or Daniel's Little Horn with Eyes and Mouth. No general imposition of a charagma, impressed sign, stamp, or mark, was enjoined upon Europeans by the authority of any of the Ten Horns. Their subjects received it; but it was in obedience to the decrees of a foreign ecclesiastical power. This charagma was a characteristic sign; so that wherever it was observed, it would be known that the bearer was claimed by the Beast as his vassal. The charagma is styled in ch. 19:20, to charagma tou theriou, the beast's sign or mark; because it was characteristically employed by the Latin Hierarchy before the Image was set up as an independent monarchy.

At the time the Apocalypse was given, and long both before and after, it was a common practice for slaves, soldiers, and devotees, to bear the imprint of those who claimed, or were supposed to claim, absolute control over them. The impression was generally on the forehead or the hand, in token of servitude. Speaking of the custom for slaves, an old author says, "literarum notis inuri," branded with marks of letters; so that the slaves was styled "literatus," or "lettered." Ambrose says, "charactere domini inscribuntur servuli," "slaves are inscribed with the

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mark of the master;" and Petronius notes the "forehead" as the place of the sign. Soldiers were marked in "the hand" by the name of the emperor. In Lev. 19:28, the Israelites were forbidden to imprint any marks upon themselves; for it was an idolatrous practice: and continued to the present time by the Hindoos, who mark themselves on the forehead with the "charagma," or characteristic emblem, of the god they are devoted to.

Now, the spirit, in allusion to this ancient custom and practice, predicted, that the Beast of the Earth would distinguish itself by a certain character, sign, or mark, as the symbol of its faith and power which it would impose, under the severest pains and penalties upon all recusants, upon every soul without exception under its dominion. What the characteristic symbol would be is not revealed. It was to be a sign of its own selection; and for the universal adoption of which, it was to be terrifically zealous. Commentators have thought that this emblematic mark consists of the three Greek letters, (XEC) of the last verse of his chapter, which stands for 666; and that the phrase, in verse 17, "the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name," is equivalent to the intimation, that the mark, name, and number, are all the same. I have no objection to the idea, that the triliteral sign (XEC) is a representative number symbolical of "the name of the beast," and of the numerals contained in the name; but I do object to the notion, that this triliteral is emblematic of "the sign" imposed by the legislative enactments of the Beast upon all its subjects without exception. The sign of the Beast is not apocalyptically signified; but is simply styled to charagma, the sign or mark, and is left to history and public notoriety for its identification.

The "charagma," then, is to be considered as something apart, and distinct from the name and number of the name of the Beast. History and public notoriety show, that all the worshippers of the Clerical Hierarchy are impressed with a Sign emblematic of their spiritual profession and operation, as soldiers to their emperor, slaves to their master, and devotees to their god. The fulfillment of this stands out palpably in the ecclesiastical institutions of the west. Boniface VIII., who ascended the throne of the Pontifical Image, A.D. 1294, declared in the decree "Unam Sanctam," that "it is essential to the salvation of every human being that he be 'subject' to the Roman Pontiff;" and prefixing thereto the words, "whosoever obeys not as the scripture declares, let him die the death." In accordance with this, both the secular priests and those of the monastic orders, took on themselves the vow of obedience, and received the Romish Sign upon their hands, in public token thereof. This is evident from the "Pontificale Romanum" p.49, (A.D. 1627) on the Ordination of Priests. "Tum Pontifex cum oleo catechumenorum inun-

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git unicuique ambas manus, simul junctas, in formam crucis;" that is, then the Bishop anoints both the hands of each of the catechumens, joined together "in the form of a cross:" and before handing them the cup and paten, or plate, "Producit manu dextra signum crucis super manus illius quem ordinat;" that is, he makes with the right hand "the sign of the cross upon the hand" of him whom he ordains. The soldiers of the papacy enrolled for the murder and extermination of "Heretics," were to wear upon their vesture the Papal Cross, from which sign they acquired the name of "crusaders." In the words of the fourth Lateran Council, "crucis assumpto charactere," the mark of the cross being assumed, the Pontiff-king, through his anointed priests, imposed the sign of his order upon all other classes of his subjects. All these without exception were compelled to receive it through episcopal confirmation and the clerical ordinance of infant sprinkling, or "rhantism," which the

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The Crusaders fought on behalf of the Catholic Church and displayed the "mark of the beast" in the form of a cross. The above Crusaders represent the Orders of the Hospitallers, the Teutonics, and the Templars. The armies of these Orders were answerable only to the Pope - Publishers.

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worshippers of the beast, absurdly enough, term "baptism!" - in which ordinances of the Apostasy, the sign of the cross is impressed upon the "forehead." This was to be the "charagma" imposed according to Canon 9, Sess. 7, of the Council of Trent, entitled "De Charactere;" that is, "Concerning the Mark;" which states the doctrine thus: "Si quis dixerit in tribus Sacramentis, baptismo, scilicet, confirmatione, et or-dine, non imprimi 'characterem' in anima, hoc est signum quoddam spirituale et indelebile unde ea iterari non possunt, anathema sit:" that is, if any one shall speak against the three sacraments, to wit, baptism, confirmation, and ordination, that the "Mark" should not be impressed upon a soul (this is a certain spiritual and indelible sign, whence they cannot be repeated) let him be accursed." "Character," in ecclesiastical Latin, is the equivalent of "charagma" in the text. On this Canon, Chemnitz, in his Ex. Dec. Conc. Trid., observes, "And perhaps God permits that they should contend so perniciously in defending the opinion of 'the mark' in confirmation and orders (he ought to have added 'in baptismo') that it may be manifested among whom that mark may be, and is found, of which much may be said." "Their chrism," says Junius, "by which in the sacrament of confirmation (as they call it,) they make servile unto themselves the persons and doings of men, 'signing them in their foreheads and hands:' and as for the sign left by Christ, and of the holy sacrament of baptism, 'they make it void.' For whom Christ joined to himself by 'baptism,' this Beast maketh challenge unto them by her greasy chrism; which he doubteth not to prefer before baptism both in authority and efficacy."

Besides the reception of the charagma from the clergy, there was to be a repetition of the Sign of the Cross by the people themselves, as appears from Bellarmine's "Dottrina Christiana Breve," in which a master asks his disciple, "In che consiste principalmente la Fede di Christo?" that is, In what principally consists the faith of Christ? To which he is made to reply, "In due misteri principali, che sono rinchiuisi nel Segno della Santa Crotce;" that is, In two principal mysteries, which are included in the Sign of the Holy Cross," adding, "Il segno della Santa Croce Si fa mettendo primo lamano destra al capo, dicendo, in nome del Padre; poi sotto al petto, dicendo, e del Fighuolo: finalmente alla spada sinistra ed alla destra, dicendo e dallo Spirito Santo;" that is, The Sign of the Holy Cross is made by putting first, the right hand to the head, saying, "In the name of the Father;" then under the heart, saying, "and of the Son;" finally on the left shoulder, and on the right, saying, "and of the Holy Spirit." In this way the devotees of the superstition were to sign themselves with the Beast's Sign in token of their bondage to him. These slaves of sin have great confidence in the efficacy of this sign as a defense

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against all sorts of invisible demoniacal influences. The sign of the cross, with the hand dipped in "holy water," is a great terror to the Devil, who is said to hate it exceedingly! They call it "the Sign of the Holy Cross;" as if that which brought the curse of the law upon Jesus for hanging upon it, could be holy. It would be as reasonable to say Holy Gallows, on which murderers are hanged, as Holy Cross. There is nothing holy pertaining to the Beast. Hence, its sign is like itself accursed, and significant of the perdition that awaits all who glory in it.

But the Ecclesiastical Power was not satisfied with imposing its "sign" and "character" upon its willing devotees, as a spiritual and indelible impression imparting holiness to the crossed; it used the mark as a token of disgrace to heretics who had renounced their convictions to save their lives. It obliged them to wear upon their breasts two crosses of a different color from their clothes, to quit places suspected of heresy, and to establish themselves in cities zealous for their Romish idolatry, where the eyes of all would be fixed upon them by the cruciferous costume they were condemned to wear.

The Sign of the Cross is the universal character of the Apostasy, both in its Romish and Protestant manifestations. It is erected upon their temples, or spiritual bazaars, and upon the flags of Protestant and Papal nations, as well as upon the hands and foreheads of individuals. The Papists impress the sign on these with water and "greasy chrism" in rhantism, confirmation, and orders, as already shown; while Protestants, or anti-papal rebels, still retaining the character, less frequently parade the sign in the practice of their superstition. They pertinaciously hold on to their institutions of the sign, rhantism, confirmation, and orders; though they do not sketch the character, charagma or mark, upon the hands or forehead in the observance of each. Millions of them think that, if the Sign received from their Roman Mother is impressed on the forehead rhantismally, it need not be repeated in confirmation or ordination; because none are admitted to these Papistical ordinances who have not been previously signed with the Sign of the Cross in what they call "baptism," but which is no baptism at all. The correctness of this statement may be verified by reference to the Mass Book of the "Harlots" of Britain and the United States, styled "The Book of Common Prayer." Thus, when the priest pours, or sprinkles, water upon the upturned face of an infant, he falsely affirms that he baptizes it in the name of the Father, etc., and then proceeds to say, "We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do Sign him with the Sign of the Cross." In the book authorized by the Protestant Episcopal Harlot of America, is a marginal appendix to this, saying, "Here the minister shall make a Cross upon the child's forehead. "I do not know if the Maternal

394 EXPOSITION OFTHE APOCALYPSE.

Harlot of England, "as by law established," would permit the sign of the cross to be omitted in rhantism on any consideration; if she would not, then we are bound to admit, that her American Daughter is more accommodating than she: or as politicians would say, "more liberal;" for she has inserted a note to the effect that, "if those who present the infant shall desire the Sign of the Cross to be omitted, although the Church knows no worthy cause of scruple concerning the same, yet, in that case, the minister may omit that part." The omission then of the betokening charagma does not impair the supposed efficacy of the sprinkling or pouring. The sprinkling and Signing of the Cross are two actions pertaining to one and the same ecclesiastical ordinance. The old Roman Mother will not permit either action to be omitted. Her disobedient grand-daughter in America thinks the sign might in some cases be dispensed with, seeing that the thing signified may be obtained by the sprinkling alone. She thinks it, however, safer to hold on to the sanctifying use of both actions; she therefore orders this "charagma" of the Beast be observed.

But, certain of the Babylonian Harlot's progeny, born after her British Daughter, and styled apocalyptically, "Names of Blasphemy and the Abominations of the Earth;" but, historically and currently, "Protestant Dissenters" do not see why the Sign of the Cross may not be permanently omitted in rhantism, as their Episcopalian relations have dispensed with it in Confirmation and Ordination without their supposed virtue being impaired. Hence, therefore, the more to spite their Babylonian Mother, they have suppressed the cross-signing, and retain the sprinkling "as its equivalent." This, however, does not alter their spiritual relations to the Beast; for though they omit a constituent of the outward sign, they pertinaciously adhere to the "sign-ordinance" invented for them, and delivered to them by their acknowledged mother, the Babylonian Harlot; of whose golden wine cup they have imbibed copious and intoxicating draughts. The Nonconformist Sign-ordinance is the Romish "baptism," undecorated by the movement of the operator's finger crosswise upon the forehead. Dissenting "sorcery" contents itself with applying "holy water" to the forehead of an unconscious babe in the form of drops, and leaving them to assume what shape, or charagma, regenerating, sanctifying or dedicating, grace, may give them! It is the "grace" in aqueous suspension that produces the magical effects attributed to the rhantismal ordinance of the beast by his worshippers. Some of them style it "sub venient, "(§) others "prevenient," and perhaps others again may regard it as postvenient, and some not

(§) See footnote next page.

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venient at all. Upon this matter they are not agreed. They are all, however pretty well agreed that the "grace" is what they call "Holy Ghost," or an invisible regenerating and sanctifying afflation from the object of their adoration, which they say is "without body or parts," dwelling beyond the bounds of space!" This spiritual essence, it is pretended, "sanctifies the water to the mystical washing away of sin;" that is, makes the water holy; so that, in whatever form applied to the new born Hin-doo, Mohammedan, Greek, Latin, Protestant, or Jewish, babe, the grace in aqueous solution, or suspension, "spiritually," or mystically, "regenerates" it; so that it is "born again, and made an heir of everlasting salvation," and "released from sin!" This is the theory of "subvenient grace," as taught by the Romish and Protestant Episcopal Churches of England and America, to which also Episcopal Methodism claims relation as mother and sister; and which all rhantist names and denominations recognize as Christians, though not of such an advanced type as themselves. In 1848, or thereabouts, an heretical opposition to this theory was started within the pale of the English Harlot by a Mr. Gorham. He was shocked at the conclusion to which this theory led. Christ said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God;" which was equivalent to saying, he cannot be saved. The idea that water in any form was essential to salvation was intolerable to this episcopal priest. He had no objection to admit that "grace" was essential; but he could not brook the notion that it was conveyed to a babe only through the sanctified water. But, if not, why make the water holy by the infusion of "grace"? He contended that the "mystical washing" or "spiritual regeneration," ensued through the "grace" operating or coming upon the babe before the water in the drops and sign of the cross were impressed upon the forehead. Hence, the term prevenient, a coming before. The ridiculous issue between subvenient and prevenient grace greatly agitated the whole Protestant kingdom. Though the courts and council of the nation were appealed to, no-thing could be determined in solution of the difficulty. If grace came before, it might also come after, the use of water; so that "saved by grace," in the mouth of the Beast's worshippers, might supersede the Beast's rhantism, miscalled by them "baptism," altogether. And at this conclu-(§)

(§)Prevenient and subvenient are theological terms. The former claitns that "grace" can precede repentance by predisposing the heart to seek God; the latter defines it as following repentance. The efficacy of Infant Baptism or rhantism (sprinkling) depends upon the doctrine of prevenient grace, that is, grace that precedes repentance, for it is obvious that the baby so sprinkled is ignorant of the significance of what is done. fn the middle of last century, great prominence was given to this doctrine, as well as related ones, such as the effect of Baptism, the present possession of Holy spirit power by an effluence from heaven, and so forth. These and other doctrines are discussed in the book Clerical Theology Unscriptural by J. Thomas reproduced in the book Contending For The Faith obtainable from Logos Publications - Publishers

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sion the Quakers have long since arrived. They make no use of water in any form; but pretend that they have been mystically washed and regenerated by grace, styled by them "the light within!" "If the light within you be darkness," said Christ, "how great is that darkness?" This great darkness is common to them and all baby-sprinklers; for the operation of their traditions is to leave them all without grace and salvation in verity and truth.

Well might Junius say, "as for the sign left by Christ and of the holy sacrament of baptism, they make it void." In order that the uninitiated may know what the Beast's Hierarchy means by the word "sacrament" and the connection therewith of "sign," or "charagma," I will quote from the catechism of the American Episcopal Harlot. In this it is asked, "What meanest thou by this word 'sacrament?' Answer; I mean 'an outward and visible sign' of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us; ordained by Christ himself; as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof. Question; How many parts are there in a sacrament? Answer; Two; 'the outward visible sign,' and the inward spiritual grace. Question; What is the outward visible sign or form in Baptism? Answer; Water; wherein the person is baptized, In the name of the Father," and so forth. This is the dogma of the Babylonian Mother, also from whom her harlot progeny receive it. The Mother and her Protestant Daughters are not all of one mind exactly concerning "the outward sign." They all agree that the proper subject to be "charagmatized" is an unconscious babe, Hindoo, Mohammedan, Greek, Latin, Protestant, or Jew. In other words, that intelligence, belief, and repentance are unnecessary for the subject of the Sign of the Beast, or the outward part of what the Beast's Hierarchy styles "baptism." They all agree that the outward sign, or "charagma," is to be made "visible" by the use of water; and that the water is to be "rhantized," or sprinkled, on the forehead; but they do not all agree that the spiritual wizard who performs the legerdemain should figure a cross with his dripping finger. Many of them say, that the Holy Water sprinkled is "sign" or "form" enough without the cross-figuration. In this opinion they differ from their Babylonian Mother who with tridentine indignation, pronounces them to be "accursed;" which no doubt they are. As already quoted, "if any one shall say," said she, "that in baptism the character (or sign of the cross) should not be impressed upon a soul, let him be accursed." This little difference excepted, they furthermore agree in the general, that this rhantismal ordinance of the Beast was "ordained by Christ himself." A greater lie was never uttered by the children of the Devil (John 8:44). The Babylonian Mother herself denies this. The late Archbishop Hughes, in his controversy with Breckenridge, the Presbyterian, in

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1833, I think it was, candidly confessed, that Infant Rhantism was not taught in the New Testament, as Protestants stupidly and ignorantly affirm; but was decreed by the authority of the Latin Church, from which all baby-sprinklers have received it. This is true. It is emphatically the Beast's outward and visible sign; which, as Junius saith, "has made void the sign left by Christ."

If what the Beast's hierarchy teaches those that wonder after it as "the inward and spiritual grace" conveyed to the sprinkled baby be true, there can be no use for "the sign left by Christ." The clergy teach that the babe in the work performed, in opere operato, receives the "Holy Ghost;" by which it is washed, sanctified, regenerated, released from sin, made a living member of Christ's holy church, and an heir of everlasting salvation in the kingdom of heaven! Is not that parsonic aqueous manipulation of a baby's forehead a wonderful piece of sorcery or conjuration? Are not the spiritual performances of those clerical jugglers well styled "sorceries" in Apoc. 9:21; 18:23, and they themselves "sorcerers" in ch. 22:15? Yea, verily; they are those without the city "who love and invent a lie." In view of this "inward and spiritual grace" thus magically acquired by a babe, what possible use can there be in "the Sign left by Christ?" It can do no more for believing adults of the most Scriptural intelligence and Abrahamic disposition, than the Sign of the Beast is said to do for its worshippers. Even supposing a babe were a proper subject of baptism (the reader, not drunk with Babylonian Wine, will excuse the supposition by way of argument) the "reverend" sorcerers ignore both faith and repentance. It will not do to say that these are in the god-parents or sponsors, who answer for the babe. The doctrine of Christ knows nothing of such substitutional representatives in baptism. The "one faith," the "one hope" and the "one baptism," are a personal affair; no one can believe, or hope, or be baptized, for another; for "without faith it is impossible to please God; for he that cometh to God (and they say, "he, "the babe, "coming to thy holy Baptism;" and, therefore, in baptism, to God) must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him." A babe cannot do this, and, therefore, no operation of which a babe is the passive automaton can be anything but disgusting and blasphemous before God. Besides, it is notorious that under the shadow of the archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth, god-fathers and sponsors are often hired from the neighboring cabstand at a shilling a head, to make "baptismal vows" for baby candidates they never expect or wish to see again, after returning to their cab from the clerical bazaar! These profane Jehus, as "sureties," undertake that the babe shall "renounce the Devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful

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desires of the flesh; so that he shall not follow, nor be led by them!" But this blasphemous farce is not played only by these sons of the whip; it is substantially played off by all orders and degrees of the Beast's worshippers. All the royal family, nobility, gentry and clergy of England, have, by proxy in rhantism and personally in confirmation, vowed to do the same things. Yet all the world knows that their vows are unheeded and unperformed; for what else are these orders than the embodied "pomp and glory of the world" reveling in "the sinful desires of the flesh" by which they are led! They are the blind misleaders of the blind; for like priests, parson and minister, or by whatever name the public sorcerer may be known, who administers or performs the rhantismal conjura-ion, so are the people led. By proxy they promise to "constantly believe God's holy word, and obediently to keep his commandments," while they are as ignorant of what He requires them to believe and do, as if He had never spoken since He placed man upon the earth. The effect of all this upon papist, protestant and dissenter, is the inwrought supposition that they are baptized members of Christ's church, and heirs of everlasting life! This is what Paul terms a strong delusion and believing a lie (2 Thess. 2:11). They have substituted "the Sign of the Beast" for "the Sign of Christ" - or Rhantism of Babes for the Baptism of Adults, enlightened by "the truth as it is in Jesus;" so that the whole rhantized world is unbaptized and "alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" (Eph.4:18).

There is one remarkable absurdity not to be pretermitted in this exposition of the Sign of Beast. Its "reverend" sorcerers say that the water they use is sanctified by the Holy Ghost to the mystical washing away of sin, and that the babe, sprinkled on the forehead with this sanctified water, is released from sin, and sanctified with the Holy Ghost! Now, the question is, what sin is this ghostly sanctified babe released from? The apostle saith "sin is the transgression of law;" what law has a babe transgressed who is without speech and without volition? Every one not drunk or insane knows that a babe is not an actual transgressor; and, therefore, has no sins to be released from. But, as they refer to the fact, that "all men are conceived and born in sin," it is to be inferred that this is the sin to be released from - "original sin," as causing the flesh to be what it is. There is no other sort of sin a babe can be released from. To be released from sin is to be released from subjection to it, and from the penalty thereby incurred. Does such a release result from the subjection of a babe to the "outward visible sign?" Is it released from sin's flesh and its "emotions?" If so, how does it come to be sick or to die? The punishment of sin is death, a sentence passed upon all the descendants of

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Adam, eph' hopantes hemarton, in whom all sinned-Rom 5:12. Upon this federal principle, the babe sinned in Adam, and, therefore, falls sick and dies, although it has committed no sins. What a monstrous absurdity in the face of these stubborn facts, to say that sanctified water (supposing it were really sanctified) or the essence of holiness supposed to be in it, releases a babe from the only sin that can be imputed to it, seeing that it is released from none of the evils that sin entails! If the inward spiritual grace said to be contained in the outward visible sign released the babe from sin, it would be freed from "all the ills that flesh is heir to," and live forever. In such an event the Sign of the Beast would be a wonderful institution; but as it accomplishes nothing claimed for it by the "reverend divines" who practice it, there is no other conclusion that can be arrived at than that it is a sign characteristic only of those who obey and worship the Beast, "of whom there has not been written the names in the book of life of the Lamb from the foundation of the world"-ch. 13:8; 17:8.

But, before closing this section it will be proper to make a brief statement of the sign left by Christ and made void by the Sign of the Beast. For the information, then, of sincere and candid inquirers after the truth, it may be remarked that the

SIGN LEFT BY CHRIST

is the "One Baptism." It is the institution to which all must subject themselves as evidential of their obedience to the faith; for as Rhantism is the Sign of obedience to the Beast, so Baptism is the Sign of obedience to Christ.

Its constituents are a proper subject, sufficient water. and the action indicated in the word. A proper subject is one who has been "taught of God" (John 6:44,45). God's teaching finds access to a man's mind by the study of the Scriptures, which are sufficient for instruction in righteousness, and the development of a man of God (2 Tim. 3:16). A man thus taught believes "the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12); and, in acquiring this faith, finds himself possessed of an enlightened mind, a love for the truth he believes, and a disposition such as Abraham possessed; in other words, he is a subject of a "faith that works by love," and "purifies the heart" (Gal. 4:6; Acts 15:9). Such an one as this, having the "one faith" and the "one hope" is the only proper subject of the "one baptism."

Baptism being the institution that affords scope for the obedience of faith, and obedience to the faith, can only be Scripturally and rightly observed by a true believer - a believer of "the truth as it is in Jesus." The religious use of water is of no efficacy to any other kind of subject. No invention can supply the lack of an intelligent belief of the gospel of

400 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

the kingdom in the person to be baptized. He must be “dead to sin,” that he may be “baptized into Christ’s death,” who “died for sin once;” for it is only the dead, in this sense, who are released or freed from sin (Rom.

6:1,3,10,7).

The quantity of water is not sufficient if the subject cannot be buried therein. In whatever place there are persons “ordained for eternal life,” sufficient water will always be found. The quantity required is indicated by the word immersion, which is the English synonym for the Greek word baptisma. “We are buried with Christ,” says Paul, “through the baptism into the death” of Christ. The action of baptism is, therefore, a burial in water as a sign of burial with Christ; which signified burial no one can be the subject of who does not believe “the things of the name of Jesus Christ.” The phrase used by Christ in his conversation with Nicodemus, indicates the quantity of water, and the action inseparable from baptism — “Except a man be born of water and spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” To be born of anything is to emerge from that thing in which the subject of birth had been previously concealed. Hence, no one can be “born of water” unless he had been covered with, or put out of sight, in water. The action of baptism is, therefore, clearly a burying in water, or immersion, and an emergence from it. This is a sign based upon the burial of Christ crucified for our of-fences, and his resurrection for our justification (Rom. 4:25); and signifies that the subject, having Christ in him by faith (Eph. 3:17), is crucified, dead, buried and risen together with him, to walk in newness of life.

Such is the sign left by Christ for the mystical washing away of sins. If there were no literal or actual washing, as in the Sign of the Beast, there could be no mystical washing away. In the Beast’s sign there is no faith in the subject, no literal washing, and, consequently, no basis for a mystical or emblematical washing. The absence of faith in the subject is substituted by the bungling conceit of putting “holy ghost” in the water, and apply it homeopathically for an emblematic washing, where there is no sign-washing at all! Look now, gentle reader, upon this picture, then upon that. Contrast the Sign of the Beast with the Sign left by Christ, and you will easily perceive that the one is a mere invention of the drunken Sorceress of Babylon, authoritatively delivered to, and reverently received by, the worshippers of the Beast; while the other has the Scriptural impress of Christ’s image and superscription evincing its Divine authority; and has been recognized by the faithful in all the ages and generations since it was delivered, as the only true sign, betokening “the Father’s name written in the foreheads of the redeemed” (Apoc.

14:1,3,4)

pg 401

34. Buy or Sell

“And (causes) that no one be able to buy or sell, save he that hath the sign, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name —(verse 17).

In commenting upon this, bishop Newton remarks, “If any dissent from the stated and authorized forms, they are condemned and executed as heretics; and in consequence of that they are no longer suffered ‘to buy or sell;’ they are interdicted from traffic and commerce, and all the benefits of civil society. So Roger Hoveden relates of William the Conqueror, that he was so dutiful to the pope that ‘he would not permit any one in his power to ‘buy or sell’ anything, whom he found disobedient to the Apostolic Throne.’ So the canon of the council of Lateran under the pope Alexander III., made against the Waldenses and Albigenses, enjoins, upon pain of anathema, that ‘no man presume to entertain or cherish them in his house or land, or exercise traffic with them.’ The synod of Tours in France, under the same pope, orders under the like intermination, that ‘no man should presume to receive or assist them, no, not so much as to hold any communion with them in ‘selling or buying,’ that being deprived of the comfort of humanity, they may be compelled to repent of the error of their way.’ Pope Martin V., in his bull set out after the council of Constance, commands in like manner, that ‘they permit not the heretics to have houses in their districts, or enter into contracts, or carry on commerce, or enjoy the comforts of humanity with Christians.’ ‘In this request,’ as Mede observes, ‘the False Prophet ‘spake as a dragon’.” For the Dragon Diocletian published a like edict, that no one should sell or administer anything to the Christians, unless they had first burnt incense to the gods, as Bede also rehear-seth in the hymn of Justin Martyr:

Non illis emendi quidquam

Aut vendendi copia:

Nec ipsam haurire aquam

Dabatur licentia,

Antequam thurificarent

Detestandis idolis.

That is, ‘they had not the power of buying or selling anything, nor were they allowed the liberty of drawing water itself, before they had offered incense to detestable idols.’ Popish excommunication’s are therefore, like heathen persecutions; and how large a share the corrupted clergy, and especially the monks of former, and the Jesuits of latter times, have had in framing and enforcing such cruel interdicts, and in reducing all

402 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

orders and degrees toso servile a state of subjection, no man of the least reading can want to be informed.”

Now, this is all true and satisfactory as far as it goes; but it does not bring out all the truth contained in the prohibition of the text. The Scriptural use of the phrase “buy or sell” is not restricted to dealing in dry goods, groceries, and other kinds of secular daily traffic among the people. Spiritual wares are merchandise as well as silks, linen, tea and sugar. The Spirit deals in the choicest kinds of merchandise, which He offers to the public upon the most advantageous terms. His business advertisement is conceived in the most liberal spirit, and runs thus: “Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” He then proceeds to expostulate with people for wasting their means in buying mere sawdust of dishonest bakers, who sell it to them for bread. “Wherefore,” saith he, “do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye good (bread), and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me:

hear, and your soul shall live; and I will cut off to you the covenant of the hidden period (or future age), the sure mercies of David” (Isa. 55:1-3). In this advertisement, the article offered for sale is the truth — the good things covenanted to David; concerning which He saith to men, “Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Prov. 23:23): that is, buy these four things; but when you have acquired them, see that you do not part with them for any consideration.

The truth, then, is the spiritual merchandise to be bought and sold without money or price. The Spirit and His agents, “faithful men who are able to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:2), are the sellers, and those who seek to understand it, are the buyers. The commodities they offer for sale, under the Divine commission contained in Apoc. 22:17, are tried gold, white raiment and eye-salve, with many gifts thrown in to induce purchase. The Apocalyptic advertisement is found in ch. 3:18, thus: “I counsel thee,” saith the Spirit and the Bride, “to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.” All this is valuable merchandise that has been freely offered to them who dwell upon the habitable now occupied by the Dragon, the two Beasts, and the Image of the Sixth Head of the Beast.

I say, it has been liberally offered for sale in these dominions, and extensively purchased; but it is not so now. A rival establishment has been opened, professedly to sell the same goods; but instead of selling

EXPOSITION OF ThE APOCALYPSE. 403

“wines on the lees well refined” (Isa. 25:6); that “cheereth Elohim and men” (Judges 9:13); they introduced a poisonous and intoxicating substitute, which stole away the brains of all who purchased it. This noxious compound, which causes ramollissement du cerveau, or softening of the brain, and rottenness of the bones, is Apocalyptically styled, Babylonian wine of fornication (ch. 17:2-5). Under the influence of this “imported liquor,” they refused the cheering and strengthening, but not intoxicating, wines of the Spirit; and gave all their custom to the False Prophet, whose “Mouth” speaks from the Seven Hills, and who distinguishes himself with the skin and horns of a lamb. This principal of the rival establishment, who enriches himself “with all deceivableness,” knowing that his success in business depended upon the continued intoxication and infatuation of his customers, secured for himself, by good words and fair speeches, which deceive the hearts of the simple, an exclusive license to sell spiritual merchandise. The original firm, however, protested against the fraud, and would not submit to the exclusion; but continued to sell the true and genuine bread, wine, and precious things, to the few who wished to buy. But, in process of time, the fraudulent traders had so thoroughly established themselves, and so perverted the tastes of the people, “both rich and poor, small and great, free and enslaved,” that nothing genuine was in demand. Their monopoly was sustained by the corrupt governments of the world; by which they were authorized to maintain it by any measures they deemed most effectual. They were not slow to avail themselves of this permit. They accordingly decreed, that “no one should buy or sell, save he that had the sign” of their establishment. He alone was “ordained” to sell the merchandise of the Lamb-Horned Prophet; and the worshippers of the Beast, who, by christening, were known as recognized customers, were alone permitted to buy of the ordained, or appointed, agents, what they were taught to esteem as “dainty and goodly things” (ch. 18:14). In other words, it was decreed, that no one should preach and administer ordinances unless licensed or ordained so to do, by the recognized spiritual authority; which saith, “as some claim authority to preach,” or sell dainty and goodly things by auction, “all who ventures to do, either publicly or privately, without authority from the Apostolic Throne, or Bishop of the place, shall be bound with the bond of a perpetual curse.”

Preaching and administering ordinances constitute the Apocalyptic selling of the text. Hence to sell canonically is “to perform every act of sacerdotal function among the people” who buy. No one has power to do this among the rhantized, or “christened” worshippers of the False Prophet ecclesiastical power, save he who is “canonically ordered to dispense the word of God and his holy sacraments, within the rails of the

406 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

thing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, than to believe the gospel of the kingdom and be immersed into that name. “Miserable sinners,” nor any other kind of sinners, can do anything else according to the will of Christ. They can only defile and blaspheme; God does not hear sinners (John 9:31), and their most sanctimonious demonstrations are to Him mere “abominations of the earth” (Apoc. 17:5): but “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Pet. 3:12; Prov. 15:8,9,26,29): and who are greater evil-doers than the clergy of all orders and degrees, who, in the name of the Lord, filch from their customers their hard earnings for that which is not bread, and their labor for that which satisfieth not? No evil can be greater in his sight than to sell lies, and to palm them off upon ignorant buyers as the truth of God. Their dainties and goodliest things exposed for sale in their bazaars, dedicated to Mahuzzim, or Guardian Saints Protectors, which they term churches, and houses of God, are mere trash and trumpery; and the crisis rapidly approaches, when “these merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more” (Apoc. 18:11).

35. The Name of the Beast and Number of His Name

“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath the understanding compute the number of the beast; for it is a man’s number, and the number of it is, x~c, or Six Hundred and Sixty Six.”

Upon the Seven Heads of the Beast of the Sea is “A NAME OF BLASPHEMY” (ch. 13:1). “This is the Name of the Beast” enthroned upon the Seven Hills, which is the topographic signification of the Seven Heads (ch. 17:9). This name belongs to the Beast and is represented by a man’s number; and a man’s number is significant of the man’s name to which the number belongs. In other words, the name is indicative of the Man himself — the Image of the Sixth Head of the Beast, adored by the Pseudoprophet Hierarchy, by which he was created — quem creant adorant.

The name to be ascertained, then, is the Name of “the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, who opposeth and exalts himself over every one called a god, or sebasma, worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of the god as a god, publicly showing himself that he is a god.” This Man of Sin is not a single person; but an order of men, ruling imperiously, and imperially, in Rome — the Man-Image set up for worship there. All things have their names, and this Man-Image is no exception to the rule. What then is his Name? — the name of the power represented by the

EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. 407

Image? It is evidently not literally revealed, or we should be able to read it plainly in the prophecy. It is like every thing else in this wonderful book. It is revealed in an enigma.

An enigma is a dark saying in which a known thing is obscurely expressed. Wise men in all ages have found satisfaction in presenting some of their choicest ideas in the form of enigma. This was characteristic of the teaching of Solomon, and of Jesus, who was wiser than he. The teaching of the Spirit has also been distinguished from the beginning by the presentation of “wisdom” in this form, which is characteristic of the Apocalypse throughout. How easy it would have been for the Spirit to have told the servants of the Deity plainly the Name of the Man of Sin. But no: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings to search out a matter:” He has therefore chosen to adapt himself to the genius of the Greek tongue in which He spoke, and to the customs prevalent in society when the Apocalypse was signified to John.

The particular custom in the premises was that of indicating the names of sevasmata, or objects of veneration, reverence, or worship, such as gods, emperors, masters, and so forth, by the numbers of their names; that is by the numerical values of the letters constituting the name, enigmatically represented by the sum total expressed in the ordinary way. This statement will be unintelligible to a mere English reader, seeing that the letters of the English alphabet of which our names are composed are destitute of numerical values. We represent numbers by Arabic figures, not by letters; while these were the common numerical signs of the Greek. Thus, a man’s name, or a god’s name, written in Greek, would not only indicate the man, or the god, but would represent a sum total when added up, which, when specified in letters, would not be the name itself, but the symbolic number, or enigma, of the name. Thus, the mystics of Egypt spoke of “the messenger of the gods,” or Thouth, under the number 1218 because the Greek letters composing the name Thouth, computed according to their numerical value, when added up made that total. The following example will make the matter plain, and easy to understand:

Name of the God Numerical Value of each Letter.

Th—0 . . . . . . . 9

8oo

U—Li . . . . . . 400 The Number of

9 the god’s Name.

øwv—Oa,fl,n~or . . . ……………………… 1218

408 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE.

In this instance, the enigma would be to give the number of the god, c~, /3, ,ij and to require from this total, his name.

Now, in the text before us the Number of the Man’s Name is given as X~ This is the total, and expressed in our figures is equal to 666. In this case the riddle is, the sum total, or Number of the Name, being given, what is the Name of the Man of Sin; or of the Beast’s Name of Blasphemy upon the Seven Heads, or Hills?

There need be no doubt about the correctness of xE~’ 666; for Ireneus, who became overseer of the ecclesia in Lyons about 70 years after John received the Apocalypse, testifies to its correctness in the most positive manner; and also says, that the number of the name is according to the cipher of the Greeks through whose letters it is expressed; that is, it is a name in a Greek form, and as such the enigma must be explained.

What then is the solution of the riddle? Ireneus was of opinion that Latinos, was the name. He says, that “the name Latinos contains the number of 666; and it is very likely, because the last kingdom is so called, for they are Latins who now reign; but in this we will not glory.” From this it is evident, that he regarded the subject of the name as a royalty, not a person — the Latin Kingdom. Ireneus living so near the time when the Apocalypse was given, may have received the name through his friend Polycarp from John himself. Ireneus used to attend the expositions of Polycarp, whom he styles “that blessed apostolical presbyter.” He says, “Polycarp related to us his converse with John, and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord;” and in respect to what he told his hearers, Ireneus says, “I wrote them not on paper, but on my heart; and ever since, through the grace of God, I retain a genuine remembrance of them.” It is hardly probable that Polycarp, a member and presbyter of the ecclesia in Smyrna, would converse with John, and not seek to learn from him the probable solution of this enigma of the name of the Antichrist. If John told him Lateinos, it is easy to see how Ireneus came by it. Hippolytus, a brother member and successor to Ireneus in Lyons, urges the probability of the same name Lateinos in his writing concerning the Antichrist, more distinctly and decidedly than he. “The plague of the first beast,” says he, “was healed, and he shall cause the Image to speak, that is, to be powerful: and it is manifest to all, that the rulers are now Latins, Lateinoi: transmuted therefore into the name of one man, it becomes Lateinos.” Hence, Hippolytus plainly regarded Lateinos as the name of the speaking Image made powerful by the Lateinoi, or Latins; which image he regards as “one man,” and that man the Antichrist of whom he was treating.

But an objection has been raised to this name, that the orthography

EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. 409

of the Greek word is Latinos, not Lateinos; giving the number 661, X~d,, not 666, x~s~ But this is an objection of no weight; for both Ireneus and Hippolytus spell the word with the diphthong ei, pronounced i long in Latin words; in which the long i at length superseded the ei, as it used to be written in the oldest Latin authors, as appears from the sentence quoted by commentators from Ennius — “Quam primum cascei populei tenuere Lateinei” — At first the ancient people were Latins. It is of no consequence what “fathers” after Ireneus and Hippolytus thought of the word and of other solutions deemed admissible by the worshippers of the Beast. We are better able to judge correctly than they. The two writers upon the subject nearest to John raised no question about the spelling of the word; but adopted Lateinos, in word and orthography, as the least objectionable that could be supposed; and yet more worthy of acceptance by us by its appropriateness to what we have traced out as the Image of the Sixth Latin Head of the Beast, and the Man of Sin. All speculations based upon the Hebrew (though the Jews used their letters for numerals as well as the Greeks) in the solution of the enigma are excluded, because the text is Greek, not Hebrew. If the Hebrew had had anything to do with the solution there would doubtless have been an intimation to that effect, saying, “the number of his name, which in the Hebrew tongue is ~ and in the Greek tongue he hath his number x~c,” after the formula in ch. 9:11. But in the absence of such intimation we need not trouble ourselves about the Hebrew names suggested by commentators whose display of “ripe scholarship,” has embarrassed, without throwing a ray of light upon the subject.

At the time when the Apocalypse was given, the Sixth or Imperial form of government obtained in Rome. This was established by Augustus Caesar, whose native tongue was Latin. All the affairs of state were conducted in Latin; so that, until this language was superseded legislatively and executively by the Greek, it might truly be said in the words of Ireneus, “Latini sunti qui nunc regnant” — the Latins are they who now reign. But in process of time, the supreme power passed from those of the Latin tongue to those whose vernacular was the Greek. Had Irenaeus lived in the days of Justinian, he would have said, “Grieci sunt qui nunc Romanis imperant” — the Greeks are they who now rule over the Romans. The question would not have been of race, but of language. Was the Antichrist, or Man of Sin, to be a Greek or a Latin? Or, was the Image, endowed with the faculty of speech by the Pseudoprophet constituent of the Beast, to speak in Latin or Greek? In other words, was the Image-Man to legislate and promulgate his decrees and blasphemies in the Latin or Greek, as the language of the state? If the language of the Image-monarchy were Greek, then Lateinos could not be the name of

Name of the Power

He—’E

i—A

fl—v

Hellën ‘EAAi₂v

123

the Iconic-power. Its name would then be Hellen, and its enigmatical number pKV, or 123. Thus,

Numerical Value of Letters

or ~KY~ Number of the Name.

It is evident, then, that the Man of Sin was not to be a Greek Power. Now, we have seen in the course of this exposition, that the Latin Imperial Executive became extinct, when the Western Roman Empire was superseded by the Seventh Head and the Ten Gothic Horns, A.D. 493. Three hundred and six years after, AD. 799, it was revived by Charlemagne, when the Latin language, which by decree of Pope Vitalian, A.D. 666, was made the religious tongue, began again to assert its supremacy in the state. Vitalian’s was an early move towards the ecclesiastical development of the Latinity of the Name. The Centuriator Bale says, “Vitalian sent monk-orators into England about A.D. 666, which from Christ’s birth is the number of the beast, that they might confirm waverers in receiving the papistic faith, and that they might sign their own faithful with the mark of Antichrist. He commanded Latin hours, Latin songs, Latin idolatrous and devotional ceremonies, and other frivolous trumpery, rites, &c., all to be performed in the temples in the Latin tongue, according to the Greek word Lateinos, which by numeral letters fulfills the predicted number of the Beast.”

About four hundred years after Charlemagne, the Latin had become fully established as the language of the Pontifical kingdom and empire of the Man of Sin; or Image of the Imperial Latin Head, revived in the Beast of the Earth. When the empire of the Caesars came to assume the form of Eastern and Western Limbs, as symbolized in

Printed for

AN EXPOSITION

VOLUME 4

"BLESSED he that knows accurately, and they who give heed to the words of the prophecy, and narrowly observe the things which have been written in it; for the time is near." - APOC. 1:3.

PREFACE

CONTENTS

CHAPTER Xll

24. The Ascending of the Two-Horned Beast out of the Earth 331

1 THE FIRST GENERAL DIVISION OF THE SEVEN SEALED SCROLL

Vol.1 pp.428,449; Vol.2 pp.87, 89, 276

APOCALYPSE 12

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

1. "The Time of the End"

2. The End, Though Last In Development, Last Revealed.

3. A Great Sign in the Heaven.

"And a Great Sign appeared in the Heaven; a Woman who had been invested with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and upon her head a wreath of Twelve Stars."

4. The Sun-Invested Woman

This ch. 12:1 is the second place in the general prophecy where a figurative woman is introduced. The first place in which the Spirit speaks specifically of one is ch. 2:20. In his epistle to the Star-Angel

The woman was pregnant, and therefore, if she lived through the period of her painful gestation, her time would certainly come to bring forth. It is therefore written of her, "she cries being in pangs and straining to bring forth."

"And there appeared another sign in the heaven, and behold a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. And his tail draws the third of the stars of the heaven, and he cast them into the earth" - Verses 3,4.

"And his Tail draws the third of the stars of the heaven."

"The Great Dragon, the old Serpent, surnamed the Diabolos and the Satan, who misleads the whole habitable."

This crocodile, or dragon, is said to be at once ho kaloumenos Diabolos, kai ho Satanas ho planon ten oikoumenen olen; - "surnamed the Diabolos, and the Satan who deceives the whole habitable."

"And the Dragon stood before the Woman about to bring forth, that when she may have brought forth, he might devour her offspring" - verse 4.

"And she brought forth a male child, who is about to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre" - verse 5

"And I heard a great voice saying in the heaven. Now is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our Deity, and the authority of His Anointed; for the prosecutor of our brethren who accused them in the presence of our Deity, day and night, has been cast down.

22. The Ruling of the Woman's Son

"Who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre" - v.5.

"And the Woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place of the Deity, that they may sustain her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days" - Verse 6

"The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place that had been prepared of the Deity - verse 6: And to the woman were given the two wings of the Great Eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place" - verse 14.

"She hath a place which has been prepared of the Deity, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days" - verse 6.

"And the Serpent cast out of his mouth after the Woman water as a flood, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

28. Other Remnants of the Woman's Seed

29. The Earth Again Runs to the Woman's Help

I. BEAST OF THE SEA

2. The Prophetic Stand-Point of the Vision

3. The Sand of the Sea

4. The Sea

5. The Bottomless Pit

6. The Beast

7. The Seven Heads of the Beast

8. The Ten Diademed Horns of the Beast

9. The Ten Diadems

10. The Name of Blasphemy

11. The Body of the Beast

12.The Mouth of the Beast

13. The Development of the Romano-Babylonian Name of Blasphemy

14. The Wounding of One of the Heads

15. The Healing of the Deadly Wound

16. The Rise and Decollation of the Seventh Head

17. The Development of the Romano-Babylonian Name of Blaspheni

18. The Forty and Two Months

19. Speaking Great Things and Blaspheniies

20. The Name and Tabernacle of Deity, and Those who Dwell

21. War with the Saints

22. The Patience and F'aith of the Saints

23. Names Written from the Foundation of the World

24. The Ascending of the Beast out of the Earth

25. The Image-Worship Question

26. The Further development of the Beast of the Earth

27. Two Horns Like A Lamb's

28. The Episcopal Beast Causeth the Earth

29. Fire Descending from the Heaven

30. The Image of the Beast

31. The Image of the Beast Historically Identified

32. The Utterances of the Speaking Image

33. The Sign of the Beast

34. Buy or Sell

35. The Name of the Beast and Number of His Name

Name of the Power