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Title: Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John

Author: Isaac Newton

Release date: October 15, 2005 [eBook #16878]
                Most recently updated: December 12, 2020

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Greg Alethoup, Robert Shimmin, Keith Edkins
        and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
        https://www.pgdp.net


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OBSERVATIONS UPON THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL, AND THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN ***




Produced by Greg Alethoup, Robert Shimmin, Keith Edkins
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net





OBSERVATIONS
UPON THE
PROPHECIES
OF
_DANIEL_,
AND THE
APOCALYPSE
OF
St. _JOHN_.

       *       *       *       *       *

In Two PARTS.

       *       *       *       *       *

By Sir _ISAAC NEWTON_.

       *       *       *       *       *

_LONDON,_

Printed by J. DARBY and T. BROWNE in _Bartholomew-Close._

And Sold by J. ROBERTS in _Warwick-lane_, J. TONSON in the
_Strand_, W. INNYS and R. MANBY at the West End of St.
_Paul's Church-Yard_, J. OSBORN and T. LONGMAN in _Pater-Noster-Row_,
J. NOON near _Mercers Chapel_ in _Cheapside_,
T. HATCHETT at the _Royal Exchange_, S. HARDING in St.
_Martin's lane_, J. STAGG in _Westminster-Hall_, J. PARKER in
_Pall-mall_, and J. BRINDLEY in _New Bond-Street_.

M.DCC.XXXIII.

       *       *       *       *       *

To the Right Honourable

_P E T E R_

Lord _K I N G_,

Baron of _Ockham_, Lord High Chancellor of _Great-Britain._

My Lord,

_I shall make no Apology for addressing the following Sheets to Your
Lordship, who lived in a long Intercourse of Friendship with the Author;
and, like him, amidst occupations of a different nature, made Religion your
voluntary Study; and in all your Enquiries and Actions, have shewn the same
inflexible Adherence to Truth and Virtue._

_I shall always reckon it one of the Advantages of my Relation to Sir
_Isaac Newton_, that it affords me an opportunity of making this publick
acknowledgment of the unfeigned Respect of_,

  My Lord,
      Your Lordship's
          most obedient, and
              most humble Servant,
                  Benj. Smith.

       *       *       *       *       *

CONTENTS.

PART I.

Observations upon the Prophecies of _Daniel_.

CHAP. I. Introduction concerning, the Compilers of the Books of the Old
Testament.

CHAP. II. Of the Prophetic Language.

CHAP. III. Of the vision of the Image composed of four Metals.

CHAP. IV. Of the vision of the four Beasts.

CHAP. V. Of the Kingdoms represented by the feet of the Image composed of
iron and clay.

CHAP. VI. Of the ten Kingdoms represented by the ten horns of the fourth
Beast.

CHAP. VII. Of the eleventh horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast.

CHAP. VIII. Of the power of the eleventh horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast,
to change times and laws.

CHAP. IX. Of the Kingdoms represented in _Daniel_ by the Ram and He-Goat.

CHAP. X. Of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks.

CHAP. XI. Of the Times of the Birth and Passion of Christ.

CHAP. XII. Of the Prophecy of the Scripture of Truth.

CHAP. XIII. Of the King who did according to his will, and magnified
himself above every God, and honoured _Mahuzzims_, and regarded not the
desire of women.

CHAP. XIV. Of the _Mahuzzims_, honoured by the King who doth according to
his will.

PART II.

Observations upon the _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_.

CHAP. I. Introduction, concerning the time when the _Apocalypse_ was
written.

CHAP. II. Of the relation which the _Apocalypse_ of _John_ hath to the Book
of the Law of _Moses_, and to the worship of God in the Temple.

CHAP. III. Of the relation which the Prophecy of _John_ hath to those of
_Daniel_; and of the Subject of the Prophecy.

       *       *       *       *       *

PART I.

       *       *       *       *       *

OBSERVATIONS
UPON THE
PROPHECIES
OF
_DANIEL._

       *       *       *       *       *

OBSERVATIONS

UPON THE

Prophecies of _DANIEL_

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. I.

_Introduction concerning the Compilers of the books of the Old Testament._

When _Manasses_ [1] set up a carved image in the house of the Lord, and
built altars in the two courts of the house, to all the host of Heaven, and
us'd inchantments and witchcraft, and familiar spirits, and for his great
wickedness was invaded by the army of _Asserhadon_ King of _Assyria_, and
carried captive to _Babylon_; the book of the Law was lost till the
eighteenth year of his grandson _Josiah_. Then [2] _Hilkiah_ the High
Priest, upon repairing the Temple, found it there: and the King lamented
that their fathers had not done after the words of the book, and commanded
that it should be read to the people, and caused the people to renew the
holy covenant with God. This is the book of the Law now extant.

When [3] _Shishak_ came out of _Egypt_ and spoil'd the temple, and brought
_Judah_ into subjection to the monarchy of _Egypt_, (which was in the fifth
year of _Rehoboam_) the _Jews_ continued under great troubles for about
twenty years; being _without the true God, and without a teaching Priest,
and without Law: and in those times there was no peace to him that went
out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the
inhabitants of the countries, and nation was destroyed of nation, and city
of city, for God did vex them with all adversity_. But [4] when _Shishak_
was dead, and _Egypt_ fell into troubles, _Judah_ had quiet ten years; and
in that time _Asa_ built fenced cities in _Judah_, and got up an army of
580000 men, with which, in the 15th year of his reign, he met and overcame
_Zerah_ the _Ethiopian_, who had conquered _Egypt_ and _Lybia_, and
_Troglodytica_, and came out with an army of 1000000 _Lybians_ and
_Ethiopians_, to recover the countries conquered by _Sesac_. And after this
victory [5] _Asa_ dethroned his mother for idolatry, and he renewed the
Altar, and brought new vessels of gold and silver into the Temple; and he
and the people entered into a new covenant to seek the Lord God of their
fathers, upon pain of death to those who worshiped other Gods; and his son
_Jehosaphat_ took away the high places, and in the third year of his reign
sent some of his Princes, and of the Priests and Levites, to teach in the
cities of _Judah_: and they had the book of the Law with them, and went
about throughout all the cities of _Judah_, and taught the people. This is
that book of the Law which was afterwards lost in the reign of _Manasses_,
and found again in the reign of _Josiah_, and therefore it was written
before the third year of _Jehosaphat_.

The same book of the Law was preserved and handed down to posterity by the
_Samaritans_, and therefore was received by the ten Tribes before their
captivity. For [6] when the ten Tribes were captivated, a Priest or the
captivity was sent back to _Bethel_, by order of the King of _Assyria_, to
instruct the new inhabitants of _Samaria_, in _the manner of the God of the
land_; and the _Samaritans_ had the _Pentateuch_ from this Priest, as
containing the law or _manner of the God of the land_, which he was to
teach them. For [7] they persevered in the religion which he taught them,
joining with it the worship of their own Gods; and by persevering in what
they had been taught, they preserved this book of their Law in the original
character of the _Hebrews_, while the two Tribes, after their return from
_Babylon_, changed the character to that of the _Chaldees_, which they had
learned at _Babylon_.

And since the _Pentateuch_ was received as the book of the Law, both by the
two Tribes and by the ten Tribes, it follows that they received it before
they became divided into two Kingdoms. For after the division, they
received not laws from one another, but continued at variance. _Judah_
could not reclaim _Israel_ from the sin of _Jeroboam_, and _Israel_ could
not bring _Judah_ to it. The _Pentateuch_ therefore was the book of the Law
in the days of _David_ and _Solomon_. The affairs of the Tabernacle and
Temple were ordered by _David_ and _Solomon_, according to the Law of this
book; and _David_ in the 78th Psalm, admonishing the people to give ear to
the Law of God, means the Law of this book. For in describing how their
forefathers kept it not, he quotes many historical things out of the books
of _Exodus_ and _Numbers_.

The race of the Kings of _Edom_, before there reigned any King over
_Israel_, is set down in the book of [8] _Genesis_; and therefore that book
was not written entirely in the form now extant, before the reign of
_Saul_. The writer set down the race of those Kings till his own time, and
therefore wrote before _David_ conquered _Edom_. The _Pentateuch_ is
composed of the Law and the history of God's people together; and the
history hath been collected from several books, such as were the history of
the Creation composed by _Moses_, _Gen_. ii. 4. the book of the generations
of _Adam_, _Gen._ v. i. and the book of the wars of the Lord, _Num._ xxi.
14. This book of wars contained what was done at the Red-sea, and in the
journeying of _Israel_ thro' the Wilderness, and therefore was begun by
_Moses_. And _Joshua_ might carry it on to the conquest of _Canaan_. For
_Joshua_ wrote some things in the book of the Law of God, _Josh._ xxiv. 26
and therefore might write his own wars in the book of wars, those being the
principal wars of God. These were publick books, and therefore not written
without the authority of _Moses_ and _Joshua_. And _Samuel_ had leisure in
the reign of _Saul_, to put them into the form of the books of _Moses_ and
_Joshua_ now extant, inserting into the book of _Genesis_, the race of the
Kings of _Edom_, until there reigned a King in _Israel_.

The book of the _Judges_ is a continued history of the _Judges_ down to the
death of _Sampson_, and therefore was compiled after his death, out of the
Acts of the _Judges_. Several things in this book are said to be done _when
there was no King in _Israel__, _Judg._ xvii. 6. xviii. 1. xix. 1. xxi. 25.
and therefore this book was written after the beginning of the reign of
_Saul_. When it was written, the _Jebusites_ dwelt in _Jerusalem_, _Jud._
i. 21 and therefore it was written before the eighth year of _David_, 2
_Sam._ v. 8. and 1 _Chron._ xi. 6. The books of _Moses_, _Joshua_, and
_Judges_, contain one continued history, down from the Creation to the
death of _Sampson_. Where the _Pentateuch_ ends, the book of _Joshua_
begins; and where the book of _Joshua_ ends, the book of _Judges_ begins.
Therefore all these books have been composed out of the writings of
_Moses_, _Joshua_, and other records, by one and the same hand, after the
beginning of the reign of _Saul_, and before the eighth year of _David_.
And _Samuel_ was a sacred writer, 1 _Sam._ x. 25. acquainted with the
history of _Moses_ and the _Judges_, 1 _Sam._ xii. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. and
had leisure in the reign of _Saul_, and sufficient authority to compose
these books. He was a Prophet, and judged _Israel_ all the days of his
life, and was in the greatest esteem with the people; and the Law by which
he was to judge the people was not to be published by less authority than
his own, the Law-maker being not inferior to the judge. And the book of
_Jasher_, which is quoted in the book of _Joshua_, _Josh._ x. 13. was in
being at the death of _Saul_, 2 _Sam._ i. 18.

At the dedication of the Temple of _Solomon_, when the Ark was brought into
the most holy place, there was nothing in it but the two tables, 1 _Kings_
viii. 9. and therefore when the _Philistines_ took the Ark, they took out
of it the book of the Law, and the golden pot of Manna, and _Aaron_'s Rod.
And this and other losses in the desolation of _Israel_, by the conquering
_Philistines_, might give occasion to _Samuel_, after some respite from
those enemies, to recollect the scattered writings of _Moses_ and _Joshua_,
and the records of the Patriarchs and Judges, and compose them in the form
now extant.

The book of _Ruth_ is a history of things done in the days of the _Judges_,
and may be looked upon as an addition to the book of the _Judges_, written
by the same author, and at the same time. For it was written after the
birth of _David_, _Ruth_ iv. 17, 22. and not long after, because the
history of _Boaz_ and _Ruth_, the great grandfather and great grandmother
of _David_, and that of their contemporaries, could not well be remembered
above two or three generations. And since this book derives the genealogy
of _David_ from _Boaz_ and _Ruth_, and omits _David_'s elder brothers and
his sons; it was written in honour of _David_, after he was anointed King
by _Samuel_, and before he had children in _Hebron_, and by consequence in
the reign of _Saul_. It proceeds not to the history of _David_, and
therefore seems to have been written presently after he was anointed. They
judge well therefore who ascribe to _Samuel_ the books of _Joshua_,
_Judges_, and _Ruth_.

_Samuel_ is also reputed the author of the first book of _Samuel_, till the
time of his death. The two books of _Samuel_ cite no authors, and therefore
seem to be originals. They begin with his genealogy, birth and education,
and might be written partly in his lifetime by himself or his disciples the
Prophets at _Naioth_ in _Ramah_, 1 _Sam._ xix. 18, 19, 20. and partly after
his death by the same disciples.

The books of the _Kings_ cite other authors, as the book of the Acts of
_Solomon_, the book of the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Israel_, and the
book of the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Judah_. The books of the
_Chronicles_ cite the book of _Samuel_ the Seer, the book of _Nathan_ the
Prophet, and the book of _Gad_ the Seer, for the Acts of _David_; the book
of _Nathan_ the Prophet, the Prophecy of _Ahijah_ the _Shilonite_, and the
visions of _Iddo_ the Seer, for the Acts of _Solomon_; the book of
_Shemajah_ the Prophet, and the book of _Iddo_ the Seer concerning
genealogies, for the Acts of _Rehoboam_ and _Abijah_; the book of the Kings
of _Judah_ and _Israel_ for the Acts of _Asa_, _Joash_, _Amaziah_,
_Jotham_, _Ahaz_, _Hezekiah_, _Manasseh_, and _Josiah_; the book of
_Hanani_ the Seer, for the Acts of _Jehosaphat_; and the visions of
_Isaiah_ for the Acts of _Uzziah_ and _Hezekiah_. These books were
therefore collected out of the historical writings of the antient Seers and
Prophets. And because the books of the _Kings_ and _Chronicles_ quote one
another, they were written at one and the same time. And this time was
after the return from the _Babylonian_ captivity, because they bring down
the history of _Judah_, and the genealogies of the Kings of _Judah_, and of
the High Priests, to that captivity. The book of _Ezra_ was originally a
part of the book of the _Chronicles_, and has been divided from it. For it
begins with the two last verses of the books of _Chronicles_, and the first
book of _Esdras_ begins with the two last chapters thereof. _Ezra_ was
therefore the compiler of the books of _Kings_ and _Chronicles_, and
brought down the history to his own time. He was a ready Scribe in the Law
of God; and for assisting him in this work _Nehemias_ founded a library,
and _gathered together the Acts of the Kings and the Prophets, and of
_David_, and the Epistles of the Kings, concerning the holy gifts_, 2
_Maccab._ ii. 13. By the Acts of _David_ I understand here the two books of
_Samuel_, or at least the second book. Out of the Acts of the _Kings_,
written from time to time by the Prophets, he compos'd the books of the
Kings of _Judah_ and _Israel_, the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Judah_,
and the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Israel_. And in doing this he joined
those Acts together, in due order of time, copying the very words of the
authors, as is manifest from hence, that the books of the _Kings_ and
_Chronicles_ frequently agree with one another in words for many sentences
together. Where they agree in sense, there they agree in words also.

So the Prophecies of _Isaiah_, written at several times, he has collected
into one body. And the like he did for those of _Jeremiah_, and the rest of
the Prophets, down to the days of the second Temple. The book of _Jonah_ is
the history of _Jonah_ written by another hand. The book of _Daniel_ is a
collection of papers written at several times. The six last chapters
contain Prophecies written at several times by _Daniel_ himself: the six
first are a collection of historical papers written by others. The fourth
chapter is a decree of _Nebuchadnezzar_. The first chapter was written
after _Daniel_'s death: for the author saith, that _Daniel_ continued to
the first year of _Cyrus_; that is, to his first year over the _Persians_
and _Medes_, and third year over _Babylon_. And, for the same reason, the
fifth and sixth chapters were also written after his death. For they end
with these words: _So this _Daniel_ prospered in the reign of _Darius_ and
in the reign of _Cyrus_ the_ Persian. Yet these words might be added by the
collector of the papers, whom I take to be _Ezra_.

The Psalms composed by _Moses_, _David_, and others, seem to have been also
collected by _Ezra_ into one volume. I reckon him the collector, because in
this collection I meet with Psalms as late as the _Babylonian_ captivity,
but with none later.

After these things _Antiochus Epiphanes_ spoiled the Temple, commanded the
_Jews_ to forsake the Law upon pain of death, and caused the sacred books
to be burnt wherever they could be found: and in these troubles the book of
the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Israel_ was entirely lost. But upon
recovering from this oppression, _Judas Maccabæus_ gathered together all
those writings that were to be met with, 2 _Maccab._ ii. 14. and in
reducing them into order, part of the Prophecies of _Isaiah_, or some other
Prophet, have been added to the end of the Prophecies of _Zechariah_; and
the book of _Ezra_ has been separated from the book of _Chronicles_, and
set together in two different orders; in one order in the book of _Ezra_,
received into the Canon, and in another order in the first book of
_Esdras_.

After the _Roman_ captivity, the _Jews_ for preserving their traditions,
put them in writing in their _Talmud_, and for preserving their scriptures,
agreed upon an Edition, and pointed it, and counted the letters of every
sort in every book: and by preserving only this Edition, the antienter
various lections, except what can be discovered by means of the
_Septuagint_ Version, are now lost; and such marginal notes, or other
corruptions, as by the errors of the transcribers, before this Edition was
made, had crept into the text, are now scarce to be corrected.

The _Jews_ before the _Roman_ captivity, distinguished the sacred books
into the Law, the Prophets, and the _Hagiographa_, or holy writings; and
read only the Law and the Prophets in their Synagogues. And Christ and his
Apostles laid the stress of religion upon the Law and the Prophets, _Matt._
vii. 12. xxii. 4. _Luke_ xvi. 16, 29, 31. xxiv. 44. _Acts_ xxiv. 14. xxvi.
22. _Rom._ iii. 21. By the _Hagiographa_ they meant the historical books
called _Joshua_, _Judges_, _Ruth_, _Samuel_, _Kings_, _Chronicles_, _Ezra_,
_Nehemiah_, and _Esther_, the book of _Job_, the _Psalms_, the books of
_Solomon_, and the _Lamentations_. The Samaritans read only the
_Pentateuch_: and when _Jehosaphat_ sent men to teach in the cities, they
had with them only the book of the Law; for the Prophecies now extant were
not then written. And upon the return from the _Babylonian_ captivity,
_Ezra_ read only the book of the Law to the people, from morning to noon on
the first day of the seventh month; and from day to day in the feast of
Tabernacles: for he had not yet collected the writings of the Prophets into
the volume now extant; but instituted the reading of them after the
collection was made. By reading the Law and the Prophets in the Synagogues,
those books have been kept freer from corruption than the _Hagiographa_.

In the infancy of the nation of _Israel_, when God had given them a Law,
and made a covenant with them to be their God if they would keep his
commandments, he sent Prophets to reclaim them, as often as they revolted
to the worship of other Gods: and upon their returning to him, they
sometimes renewed the covenant which they had broken. These Prophets he
continued to send, till the days of _Ezra_: but after their Prophecies were
read in the Synagogues, those Prophecies were thought sufficient. For if
the people would not hear _Moses_ and the old Prophets, they would hear no
new ones, no not _tho they should rise from the dead_. At length when a new
truth was to be preached to the _Gentiles_, namely, _that Jesus was the
Christ_, God sent new Prophets and Teachers: but after their writings were
also received and read in the Synagogues of the Christians, Prophecy ceased
a second time. We have _Moses_, the Prophets, and Apostles, and the words
of Christ himself; and if we will not hear them, we shall be more
inexcusable than the _Jews._ For the Prophets and Apostles have foretold,
that as _Israel_ often revolted and brake the covenant, and upon repentance
renewed it; so there should be a falling away among the Christians, soon
after the days of the Apostles; and that in the latter days God would
destroy the impenitent revolters, and make a new covenant with his people.
And the giving ear to the Prophets is a fundamental character of the true
Church. For God has so ordered the Prophecies, that in the latter days _the
wise may understand, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the
wicked shall understand_, Dan. xii. 9, 10. The authority of Emperors,
Kings, and Princes, is human. The authority of Councils, Synods, Bishops,
and Presbyters, is human. The authority of the Prophets is divine, and
comprehends the sum of religion, reckoning _Moses_ and the Apostles among
the Prophets; and _if an Angel from Heaven preach any other gospel_, than
what they have delivered, _let him be accursed_. Their writings contain the
covenant between God and his people, with instructions for keeping this
covenant; instances of God's judgments upon them that break it: and
predictions of things to come. While the people of God keep the covenant,
they continue to be his people: when they break it they cease to be his
people or church, and become _the Synagogue of Satan, who say they are
_Jews_ and are not._ And no power on earth is authorized to alter this
covenant.

The predictions of things to come relate to the state of the Church in all
ages: and amongst the old Prophets, _Daniel_ is most distinct in order of
time, and easiest to be understood: and therefore in those things which
relate to the last times, he must be made the key to the rest.

Notes to Chap. I.

[1] 2 Chron. xxxiii. 5, 6, 7.

[2] 2 Chron. xxxiv.

[3] 2 Chron. xii. 2, 3, 4, 8, 9. & xv. 3, 5, 6.

[4] 2 Chron. xiv. 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12.

[5] 2 Chron. xv. 3, 12, 13, 16, 18.

[6] 2 Kings xvii. 27, 28, 32, 33.

[7] 2 Kings xvii. 34, 41.

[8] Gen. xxxvi. 31.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. II.

_Of the Prophetic Language._

For understanding the Prophecies, we are, in the first place, to acquaint
our-selves with the figurative language of the Prophets. This language is
taken from the analogy between the world natural, and an empire or kingdom
considered as a world politic.

Accordingly, the whole world natural consisting of heaven and earth,
signifies the whole world politic, consisting of thrones and people, or so
much of it as is considered in the Prophecy: and the things in that world
signify the analogous things in this. For the heavens, and the things
therein, signify thrones and dignities, and those who enjoy them; and the
earth, with the things thereon, the inferior people; and the lowest parts
of the earth, called _Hades_ or Hell, the lowest or most miserable part of
them. Whence ascending towards heaven, and descending to the earth, are put
for rising and falling in power and honour: rising out of the earth, or
waters, and falling into them, for the rising up to any dignity or
dominion, out of the inferior state of the people, or falling down from the
same into that inferior state; descending into the lower parts of the
earth, for descending to a very low and unhappy estate; speaking with a
faint voice out of the dust, for being in a weak and low condition; moving
from one place to another, for translation from one office, dignity, or
dominion, to another; great earthquakes, and the shaking of heaven and
earth, for the shaking of kingdoms, so as to distract or overthrow them;
the creating a new heaven and earth, and the passing away of an old one, or
the beginning and end of the world, for the rise and ruin of the body
politic signified thereby.

In the heavens, the Sun and Moon are, by interpreters of dreams, put for
the persons of Kings and Queens; but in sacred Prophecy, which regards not
single persons, the Sun is put for the whole species and race of Kings, in
the kingdom or kingdoms of the world politic, shining with regal power and
glory; the Moon for the body of the common people, considered as the King's
wife; the Stars for subordinate Princes and great men, or for Bishops and
Rulers of the people of God, when the Sun is Christ; light for the glory,
truth, and knowledge, wherewith great and good men shine and illuminate
others; darkness for obscurity of condition, and for error, blindness and
ignorance; darkning, smiting, or setting of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, for
the ceasing of a kingdom, or for the desolation thereof, proportional to
the darkness; darkning the Sun, turning the Moon into blood, and falling of
the Stars, for the same; new Moons, for the return of a dispersed people
into a body politic or ecclesiastic.

Fire and meteors refer to both heaven and earth, and signify as follows;
burning any thing with fire, is put for the consuming thereof by war; a
conflagration of the earth, or turning a country into a lake of fire, for
the consumption of a kingdom by war; the being in a furnace, for the being
in slavery under another nation; the ascending up of the smoke of any
burning thing for ever and ever, for the continuation of a conquered people
under the misery of perpetual subjection and slavery; the scorching heat of
the sun, for vexatious wars, persecutions and troubles inflicted by the
King; riding on the clouds, for reigning over much people; covering the sun
with a cloud, or with smoke, for oppression of the King by the armies of an
enemy; tempestuous winds, or the motion of clouds, for wars; thunder, or
the voice of a cloud, for the voice of a multitude; a storm of thunder,
lightning, hail, and overflowing rain, for a tempest of war descending from
the heavens and clouds politic, on the heads of their enemies; rain, if not
immoderate, and dew, and living water, for the graces and doctrines of the
Spirit; and the defect of rain, for spiritual barrenness.

In the earth, the dry land and congregated waters, as a sea, a river, a
flood, are put for the people of several regions, nations, and dominions;
embittering of waters, for great affliction of the people by war and
persecution; turning things into blood, for the mystical death of bodies
politic, that is, for their dissolution; the overflowing of a sea or river,
for the invasion of the earth politic, by the people of the waters; drying
up of waters, for the conquest of their regions by the earth; fountains of
waters for cities, the permanent heads of rivers politic; mountains and
islands, for the cities of the earth and sea politic, with the territories
and dominions belonging to those cities; dens and rocks of mountains, for
the temples of cities; the hiding of men in those dens and rocks, for the
shutting up of Idols in their temples; houses and ships, for families,
assemblies, and towns, in the earth and sea politic; and a navy of ships of
war, for an army of that kingdom that is signified by the sea.

Animals also and vegetables are put for the people of several regions and
conditions; and particularly, trees, herbs, and land animals, for the
people of the earth politic: flags, reeds, and fishes, for those of the
waters politic; birds and insects, for those of the politic heaven and
earth; a forest for a kingdom; and a wilderness for a desolate and thin
people.

If the world politic, considered in prophecy, consists of many kingdoms,
they are represented by as many parts of the world natural; as the noblest
by the celestial frame, and then the Moon and Clouds are put for the common
people; the less noble, by the earth, sea, and rivers, and by the animals
or vegetables, or buildings therein; and then the greater and more powerful
animals and taller trees, are put for Kings, Princes, and Nobles. And
because the whole kingdom is the body politic of the King, therefore the
Sun, or a Tree, or a Beast, or Bird, or a Man, whereby the King is
represented, is put in a large signification for the whole kingdom; and
several animals, as a Lion, a Bear, a Leopard, a Goat, according to their
qualities, are put for several kingdoms and bodies politic; and sacrificing
of beasts, for slaughtering and conquering of kingdoms; and friendship
between beasts, for peace between kingdoms. Yet sometimes vegetables and
animals are, by certain epithets or circumstances, extended to other
significations; as a Tree, when called the _tree of life_ or _of
knowledge_; and a Beast, when called _the old serpent_, or worshipped.

When a Beast or Man is put for a kingdom, his parts and qualities are put
for the analogous parts and qualities of the kingdom; as the head of a
Beast, for the great men who precede and govern; the tail for the inferior
people, who follow and are governed; the heads, if more than one, for the
number of capital parts, or dynasties, or dominions in the kingdom, whether
collateral or successive, with respect to the civil government; the horns
on any head, for the number of kingdoms in that head, with respect to
military power; seeing for understanding, and the eyes for men of
understanding and policy, and in matters of religion for [Greek:
Episkopoi], Bishops; speaking, for making laws; the mouth, for a law-giver,
whether civil or sacred; the loudness of the voice, for might and power;
the faintness thereof, for weakness; eating and drinking, for acquiring
what is signified by the things eaten and drank; the hairs of a beast, or
man, and the feathers of a bird, for people; the wings, for the number of
kingdoms represented by the beast; the arm of a man, for his power, or for
any people wherein his strength and power consists; his feet, for the
lowest of the people, or for the latter end of the kingdom; the feet,
nails, and teeth of beasts of prey, for armies and squadrons of armies; the
bones, for strength, and for fortified places; the flesh, for riches and
possessions; and the days of their acting, for years; and when a tree is
put for a kingdom, its branches, leaves and fruit, signify as do the wings,
feathers, and food of a bird or beast.

When a man is taken in a mystical sense, his qualities are often signified
by his actions, and by the circumstances of things about him. So a Ruler is
signified by his riding on a beast; a Warrior and Conqueror, by his having
a sword and bow; a potent man, by his gigantic stature; a Judge, by weights
and measures; a sentence of absolution, or condemnation, by a white or a
black stone; a new dignity, by a new name; moral or civil qualifications,
by garments; honour and glory, by splendid apparel; royal dignity, by
purple or scarlet, or by a crown; righteousness, by white and clean robes;
wickedness, by spotted and filthy garments; affliction, mourning, and
humiliation, by clothing in sackcloth; dishonour, shame, and want of good
works, by nakedness; error and misery, by drinking a cup of his or her wine
that causeth it; propagating any religion for gain, by exercising traffick
and merchandize with that people whose religion it is; worshipping or
serving the false Gods of any nation, by committing adultery with their
princes, or by worshipping them; a Council of a kingdom, by its image;
idolatry, by blasphemy; overthrow in war, by a wound of man or beast; a
durable plague of war, by a sore and pain; the affliction or persecution
which a people suffers in labouring to bring forth a new kingdom, by the
pain of a woman in labour to bring forth a man-child; the dissolution of a
body politic or ecclesiastic, by the death of a man or beast; and the
revival of a dissolved dominion, by the resurrection of the dead.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. III.

_Of the vision of the Image composed of four Metals._

The Prophecies of _Daniel_ are all of them related to one another, as if
they were but several parts of one general Prophecy, given at several
times. The first is the easiest to be understood, and every following
Prophecy adds something new to the former. The first was given in a dream
to _Nebuchadnezzar_, King of _Babylon_, in the second year of his reign;
but the King forgetting his dream, it was given again to _Daniel_ in a
dream, and by him revealed to the King. And thereby, _Daniel_ presently
became famous for wisdom, and revealing of secrets: insomuch that _Ezekiel_
his contemporary, in the nineteenth year of _Nebuchadnezzar_, spake thus of
him to the King of _Tyre_: _Behold_, saith he, _thou art wiser than
_Daniel_, there is no secret that they can hide from thee_, Ezek. xxviii.
3. And the same _Ezekiel_, in another place, joins _Daniel_ with _Noah_ and
_Job_, as most high in the favour of God, _Ezek._ xiv. 14, 16, 18, 20. And
in the last year of _Belshazzar_, the Queen-mother said of him to the King:
_Behold there is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy
gods; and in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom,
like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king
_Nebuchadnezzar_ thy father, the king, I say, thy father made master of the
magicians, astrologers, _Chaldeans_ and soothsayers: forasmuch as an
excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams,
and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the
same _Daniel_, whom the king named _Belteshazzar__, Dan. v. 11, 12.
_Daniel_ was in the greatest credit amongst the _Jews_, till the reign of
the _Roman_ Emperor _Hadrian_: and to reject his Prophecies, is to reject
the Christian religion. For this religion is founded upon his Prophecy
concerning the _Messiah_.

Now in this vision of the Image composed of four Metals, the foundation of
all _Daniel_'s Prophecies is laid. It represents a body of four great
nations, which should reign over the earth successively, viz. the people of
_Babylonia_, the _Persians_, the _Greeks_, and the _Romans_. And by a stone
cut out without hands, which fell upon the feet of the Image, and brake all
the four Metals to pieces, and _became a great mountain, and filled the
whole earth_; it further represents that a new kingdom should arise, after
the four, and conquer all those nations, and grow very great, and last to
the end of all ages.

The head of the Image was of gold, and signifies the nations of
_Babylonia_, who reigned first, as _Daniel_ himself interprets. _Thou art
this head of gold_, saith he to _Nebuchadnezzar_. These nations reigned
till _Cyrus_ conquered _Babylon_, and within a few months after that
conquest revolted to the _Persians_, and set them up above the _Medes_. The
breast and arms of the Image were of silver, and represent the _Persians_
who reigned next. The belly and thighs of the Image were of brass, and
represent the _Greeks_, who, under the dominion of _Alexander_ the great,
conquered the _Persians_, and reigned next after them. The legs were of
iron, and represent the _Romans_ who reigned next after the _Greeks_, and
began to conquer them in the eighth year of _Antiochus Epiphanes_. For in
that year they conquered _Perseus_ King of _Macedon_, the fundamental
kingdom of the _Greeks_; and from thence forward grew into a mighty empire,
and reigned with great power till the days of _Theodosius_ the great. Then
by the incursion of many northern nations, they brake into many smaller
kingdoms, which are represented by the feet and toes of the Image, composed
part of iron, and part of clay. For then, saith _Daniel_, [1] _the kingdom
shall be divided, and there shall be in it of the strength of iron, but
they shall not cleave one to another._

_And in the days of these Kings_, saith _Daniel_, _shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people; but it shall break in pieces, and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that
the stone was cut out of the mountains without hands, and that it brake in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold._

Notes to Chap. III.

[1] Chap. ii. 41, &c.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. IV.

_Of the vision of the four Beasts._

In the next vision, which is of the four Beasts, the Prophecy of the four
Empires is repeated, with several new additions; such as are the two wings
of the Lion, the three ribs in the mouth of the Bear, the four wings and
four heads of the Leopard, the eleven horns of the fourth Beast, and the
son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven, to the Antient of Days sitting
in judgment.

The first Beast was like a lion, and had eagle's wings, to denote the
kingdoms of _Babylonia_ and _Media_, which overthrew the _Assyrian_ Empire,
and divided it between them, and thereby became considerable, and grew into
great Empires. In the former Prophecy, the Empire of _Babylonia_ was
represented by the head of gold; in this both Empires are represented
together by the two wings of the lion. _And I beheld,_ saith [1] _Daniel_,
_till the wings thereof were pluckt, and it was lifted up from the earth,
and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to
it_; that is, till it was humbled and subdued, and made to know its human
state.

The second Beast was like a bear, and represents the Empire which reigned
next after the _Babylonians_, that is, the Empire of the _Persians_. _Thy
kingdom is divided_, or broken, saith _Daniel_ to the last King of
_Babylon_, _and given to the _Medes_ and _Persians__, _Dan._ v. 28. This
Beast _raised itself up on one side_; the _Persians_ being under the
_Medes_ at the fall of _Babylon_, but presently rising up above them. [2]
_And it had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it_, to
signify the kingdoms of _Sardes_, _Babylon_, and _Egypt_, which were
conquered by it, but did not belong to its proper body. And it devoured
much flesh, the riches of those three kingdoms.

The third Beast was the kingdom which succeeded the _Persian_; and this was
the empire of the _Greeks_, _Dan._ viii. 6, 7, 20, 21. It was _like a
Leopard_, to signify its fierceness; and had four heads and four wings, to
signify that it should become divided into four kingdoms, _Dan._ viii 22.
for it continued in a monarchical form during the reign of _Alexander_ the
great, and his brother _Aridæus_, and young sons _Alexander_ and
_Hercules_; and then brake into four kingdoms, by the governors of
provinces putting crowns on their own heads, and by mutual consent reigning
over their provinces. _Cassander_ reigned over _Macedon_, _Greece_, and
_Epirus_; _Lysimachus_ over _Thrace_ and _Bithynia_; _Ptolemy_ over
_Egypt_, _Lybia_, _Arabia_, _Coelosyria_, and _Palestine_; and _Seleucus_
over _Syria_.

The fourth Beast was the empire which succeeded that of the _Greeks_, and
this was the _Roman_. This beast was exceeding dreadful and terrible, and
had great iron teeth, and devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the
residue with its feet; and such was the _Roman_ empire. It was larger,
stronger, and more formidable and lasting than any of the former. It
conquered the kingdom of _Macedon_, with _Illyricum_ and _Epirus_, in the
eighth year of _Antiochus Epiphanes_, _Anno Nabonass._. 580; and inherited
that of _Pergamus_, _Anno Nabonass._ 615; and conquered that of _Syria_,
_Anno Nabonass._ 679, and that of _Egypt_, _Anno Nabonass._ 718. And by
these and other conquests it became greater and more terrible than any of
the three former Beasts. This Empire continued in its greatness till the
reign of _Theodosius_ the great; and then brake into ten kingdoms,
represented by the ten horns of this Beast; and continued in a broken form,
till the Antient of days sat in a throne like fiery flame, and _the
judgment was set, and the books were opened, and the Beast was slain and
his body destroyed, and given to the burning flames; and one like the son
of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Antient of days_
[3], and received dominion over all nations, and judgment was given to the
saints of the most high, and the time came that they possessed the kingdom.

_I beheld,_ saith [4] _Daniel_, _till the Beast was slain, and his body
destroyed, and given to the burning flames. As concerning the rest of the
Beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged
for a season and a time_. And therefore all the four Beasts are still
alive, tho the dominion of the three first be taken away. The nations of
_Chaldea_ and _Assyria_ are still the first Beast. Those of _Media_ and
_Persia_ are still the second Beast. Those of _Macedon_, _Greece_ and
_Thrace_, _Asia_ minor, _Syria_ and _Egypt_, are still the third. And those
of _Europe_, on this side _Greece_, are still the fourth. Seeing therefore
the body of the third Beast is confined to the nations on this side the
river _Euphrates_, and the body of the fourth Beast is confined to the
nations on this side _Greece_; we are to look for all the four heads of the
third Beast, among the nations on this side of the river _Euphrates_; and
for all the eleven horns of the fourth Beast, among the nations on this
side of _Greece_. And therefore, at the breaking of the _Greek_ empire into
four kingdoms of the _Greeks_, we include no part of the _Chaldeans_,
_Medes_ and _Persians_ in those kingdoms, because they belonged to the
bodies of the two first Beasts. Nor do we reckon the _Greek_ empire seated
at _Constantinople_, among the horns of the fourth Beast, because it
belonged to the body of the third.

Notes to Chap. IV.

[1] Chap. vii. 4.

[2] Chap. vii. 5.

[3] Chap. vii. 13.

[4] Chap. vii. 11, 12.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. V.

_Of the Kingdoms represented by the feet of the Image composed of iron and
clay._

_Dacia_ was a large country bounded on the south by the _Danube_, on the
east by the _Euxine_ sea, on the north by the river _Neister_ and the
mountain _Crapac_, and on the west by the river _Tibesis_, or _Teys_, which
runs southward into the _Danube_ a little above _Belgrade_. It comprehended
the countries now called _Transylvania_, _Moldavia_, and _Wallachia_, and
the eastern part of the upper _Hungary_. Its antient inhabitants were
called _Getæ_ by the _Greeks_, _Daci_ by the _Latins_, and _Goths_ by
themselves. _Alexander_ the great attacked them, and _Trajan_ conquered
them, and reduced their country into a Province of the _Roman_ Empire: and
thereby the propagation of the Gospel among them was much promoted. They
were composed of several _Gothic_ nations, called _Ostrogoths_,
_Visigoths_, _Vandals_, _Gepides_, _Lombards_, _Burgundians_, _Alans_, &c.
who all agreed in their manners, and spake the same language, as
_Procopius_ represents. While they lived under the _Romans_, the _Goths_ or
_Ostrogoths_ were seated in the eastern parts of _Dacia_, the _Vandals_ in
the western part upon the river _Teys_, where the rivers _Maresh_ and
_Keresh_ run into it. The _Visigoths_ were between them. The _Gepides_,
according to _Jornandes_, were upon the _Vistula_. The _Burgundians_, a
_Vandalic_ nation, were between the _Vistula_ and the southern fountain of
the _Boristhenes_, at some distance from the mountain _Crapac_ northwards,
where _Ptolemy_ places them, by the names of _Phrugundiones_ and
_Burgiones_.[1] The _Alans_, another _Gothic_ nation, were between the
northern fountain of the _Boristhenes_ and the mouth of the river _Tanais_,
where _Ptolemy_ placeth the mountain _Alanus_, and western side of the
_Palus Mæotis_.

These nations continued under the dominion of the _Romans_ till the second
year of the Emperor _Philip_, and then for want of their military pay began
to revolt; the _Ostrogoths_ setting up a kingdom, which, under their Kings
_Ostrogotha_, _Cniva_, _Araric_, _Geperic_, and _Hermanaric_, increased
till the year of Christ 376; and then by an incursion of the _Huns_ from
beyond the _Tanais_, and the death of _Hermanaric_, brake into several
smaller kingdoms. _Hunnimund_, the son of _Hermanaric_, became King over
the _Ostrogoths_; _Fridigern_ over the _Visigoths_; _Winithar_, or
_Vinithar_, over a part of the _Goths_ called _Gruthungi_ by _Ammian_,
_Gothunni_ by _Claudian_, and _Sarmatæ_ and _Scythians_ by others:
_Athanaric_ reign'd over another part of the _Goths_ in _Dacia_, called
_Thervingi_; _Box_ over the _Antes_ in _Sarmatia_; and the _Gepides_ had
also their King. The _Vandals_ fled over the _Danube_ from _Geberic_ in the
latter end of the reign of _Constantine_ the great, and had seats granted
them in _Pannonia_ by that Emperor, where they lived quietly forty years,
viz. till the year 377, when several _Gothic_ nations flying from the
_Hunns_ came over the _Danube_, and had seats granted them in _Mæsia_ and
_Thrace_ by the _Greek_ Emperor _Valens_. But the next year they revolted,
called in some _Goths_, _Alans_ and _Hunns_, from beyond the _Danube_, and
routed the _Roman_ army, slew the Emperor _Valens_, and spread themselves
into _Greece_ and _Pannonia_ as far as the _Alps_. In the years 379 and 380
they were checkt by the arms of the Emperors _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_,
and made a submissive peace; the _Visigoths_ and _Thervingi_ returned to
their seats in _Mæsia_ and _Thrace_, the _Hunns_ retired over the _Danube_,
and the _Alans_ and _Gruthingi_ obtained seats in _Pannonia_.

About the year 373, or 374, the _Burgundians_ rose from their seats upon
the _Vistula_, with an army of eighty thousand men to invade _Gallia_; and
being opposed, seated themselves upon the northern side of the _Rhine_ over
against _Mentz_. In the year 358, a body of the _Salian Franks_, with their
King, coming from the river _Sala_, were received into the Empire by the
Emperor _Julian_, and seated in _Gallia_ between _Brabant_ and the _Rhine_:
and their King _Mellobaudes_ was made _Comes domesticorum_, by the Emperor
_Gratian_. _Richomer_, another noble _Salian Frank_, was made _Comes
domesticorum_, and _Magister utriusque Militiæ_, by _Theodosius_; and A.C.
384, was Consul with _Clearchus_. He was a great favourite of _Theodosius_,
and accompanied him in his wars against _Eugenius_, but died in the
expedition, and left a son called _Theudomir_, who afterwards became King
of the _Salian Franks_ in _Brabant_. In the time of this war some _Franks_
from beyond the _Rhine_ invaded _Gallia_ under the conduct of _Genobald_,
_Marcomir_ and _Suno_, but were repulsed by _Stilico_; and _Marcomir_ being
slain, was succeeded in _Germany_ by his son _Pharamond_.

While these nations remained quiet within the Empire, subject to the
_Romans_, many others continued so beyond the _Danube_ till the death of
the Emperor _Theodosius_, and then rose up in arms. For _Paulus Diaconus_
in his _Historia Miscell._ _lib._ xiv. speaking of the times next after the
death of this Emperor, tells us: _Eodem tempore erant Gothi & aliæ gentes
maximæ trans Danubium habitantes: ex quibus rationabiliores quatuor sunt,
Gothi scilicet, Huisogothi, Gepides & Vandali; & nomen tantum & nihil aliud
mutantes. Isti sub Arcadia & Honorio Danubium transeuntes, locati sunt in
terra Romanorum: & Gepides quidem, ex quibus postea divisi sunt Longobardi
& Avares, villas, quæ sunt circa Singidonum & Sirmium, habitavere:_ and
_Procopius_ in the beginning of his _Historia Vandalica_ writes to the same
purpose. Hitherto the _Western Empire_ continued entire, but now brake into
many kingdoms.

_Theodosius_ died A.C. 395; and then the _Visigoths_, under the conduct of
_Alaric_ the successor of _Fridigern_, rose from their seats in _Thrace_
and wasted _Macedon_, _Thessaly_, _Achaia_, _Peloponnesus_, and _Epirus_,
with fire and sword for five years together; when turning westward, they
invaded _Dalmatia_, _Illyricum_ and _Pannonia_; and from thence went into
_Italy_ A.C. 402; and the next year were so beaten at _Pollentia_ and
_Verona_, by _Stilico_ the commander of the forces of the _Western Empire_,
that _Claudian_ calls the remainder of the forces of _Alaric_, _tanta ex
gente reliquias breves_, and _Prudentius_, _Gentem deletam_. Thereupon
_Alaric_ made peace with the Emperor, being so far humbled, that _Orosius_
saith, he did, _pro pace optima & quibuscunque sedibus suppliciter &
simpliciter orare_. This peace was ratified by mutual hostages; _Ætius_ was
sent hostage to _Alaric_; and _Alaric_ continued a free Prince in the seats
now granted to him.

When _Alaric_ took up arms, the nations beyond the _Danube_ began to be in
motion; and the next winter, between A.C. 395 and 396, a great body of
_Hunns_, _Alans_, _Ostrogoths_, _Gepides_, and other northern nations, came
over the frozen _Danube_, being invited by _Rufinus_: when their brethren,
who had obtained seats within the Empire, took up arms also. _Jerome_ calls
this great multitude, _Hunns_, _Alans_, _Vandals_, _Goths_, _Sarmatians_,
_Quades_, and _Marcomans_; and saith, that they invaded all places between
_Constantinople_ and the _Julian Alps_, wasting _Scythia_, _Thrace_,
_Macedon_, _Dardania_, _Dacia_, _Thessaly_, _Achaia_, _Epirus_, _Dalmatia_,
and all _Pannonia_. The _Suevians_ also invaded _Rhætia_: for when _Alaric_
ravaged _Pannonia_, the _Romans_ were defending _Rhætia_; which gave
_Alaric_ an opportunity of invading _Italy_, as _Claudian_ thus mentions.

  _Non nisi perfidiâ nacti penetrabile tempus,_
  _Irrupere Getæ, nostras dum Rhætia vires_
  _Occupat, atque alio desudant Marte cohortes_.

And when _Alaric_ went from those parts into _Italy_, some other barbarous
nations invaded _Noricum_ and _Vindelicia_, as the same Poet _Claudian_
thus writes:

      ----_Jam foedera gentes_
  _Exuerant, Latiique auditâ clade feroces_
  _Vendelicos saltus & Norica rura tenebant._

This was in the years 402 and 403. And among these nations I reckon the
_Suevians_, _Quades_, and _Marcomans_; for they were all in arms at this
time. The _Quades_ and _Marcomans_ were _Suevian_ nations; and they and the
_Suevians_ came originally from _Bohemia_, and the river _Suevus_ or
_Sprake_ in _Lusatia_; and were now united under one common King called
_Ermeric_, who soon after led them into _Gallia_. The _Vandals_ and _Alans_
might also about this time extend themselves into _Noricum_. _Uldin_ also
with a great body of _Hunns_ passed the _Danube_ about the time of
_Chrysostom_'s banishment, that is, A.C. 404, and wasted _Thrace_ and
_Mæsia_. _Radagaisus_, King of the _Gruthunni_ and succesor of _Winithar_,
inviting over more barbarians from beyond the _Danube_, invaded _Italy_
with an army of above two hundred thousand _Goths_; and within a year or
two, A.C. 405 or 406., was overcome by _Stilico_, and perished with his
army. In this war _Stilico_ was assisted with a great body of _Hunns_ and
_Ostrogoths_, under the conduct of _Uldin_ and _Sarus_, who were hired by
the Emperor _Honorius_. In all this confusion it was necessary for the
_Lombards_ in _Pannonia_ to arm themselves in their own defence, and assert
their liberty, the _Romans_ being no longer able to protect them.

And now _Stilico_ purposing to make himself Emperor, procured a military
prefecture for _Alaric_, and sent him into the _East_ in the service of
_Honorius_ the _Western_ Emperor, committing some _Roman_ troops to his
conduct to strengthen his army of _Goths_, and promising to follow soon
after with his own army. His pretence was to recover some regions of
_Illyricum_, which the _Eastern_ Emperor was accused to detain injuriously
from the _Western_; but his secret design was to make himself Emperor, by
the assistance of the _Vandals_ and their allies: for he himself was a
_Vandal_. For facilitating this design, he invited a great body of the
barbarous nations to invade the _Western Empire_, while he and _Alaric_
invaded the _Eastern_. And these nations under their several Kings, the
_Vandals_ under _Godegisilus_, the _Alans_ in two bodies, the one under
_Goar_, the other under _Resplendial_, and the _Suevians_, _Quades_, and
_Marcomans_, under _Ermeric_, marched thro' _Rhætia_ to the side of the
_Rhine_, leaving their seats in _Pannonia_ to the _Hunns_ and _Ostrogoths_,
and joined the _Burgundians_ under _Gundicar_, and ruffled the _Franks_ in
their further march. On the last of _December_ A.C. 406, they passed the
_Rhine_ at _Ments_, and spread themselves into _Germania prima_ and the
adjacent regions; and amongst other actions the _Vandals_ took _Triers_.
Then they advanced into _Belgium_, and began to waste that country.
Whereupon the _Salian Franks_ in _Brabant_ took up arms, and under the
conduct of _Theudomir_, the son of _Ricimer_, or _Richomer_,
abovementioned, made so stout a resistance, that they slew almost twenty
thousand of the _Vandals_, with their King _Godegesilus_, in battel; the
rest escaping only by a party of _Resplendial_'s _Alans_ which came timely
to their assistance.

Then the _British_ soldiers, alarm'd by the rumour of these things,
revolted, and set up Tyrants there; first _Marcus_, whom they slew
presently; then _Gratian_, whom they slew within four months; and lastly
_Constantine_, under whom they invaded _Gallia_ A.C. 408, being favoured by
_Goar_ and _Gundicar_. And _Constantine_ having possessed a good part of
_Gallia_, created his son _Constans Cæsar_, and sent him into _Spain_ to
order his affairs there, A.C. 409.

In the mean time _Resplendial_, seeing the aforesaid disaster of the
_Vandals_, and that _Goar_ was gone over to the _Romans_, led his army from
the _Rhine_; and, together with the _Suevians_ and residue of the
_Vandals_, went towards _Spain_; the _Franks_ in the mean time prosecuting
their victory so far as to retake _Triers_, which after they had plundered
they left to the _Romans_. The _Barbarians_ were at first stopt by the
_Pyrenean_ mountains, which made them spread themselves into _Aquitain_:
but the next year they had the passage betrayed by some soldiers of
_Constans_; and entring _Spain_ 4 Kal. _Octob._ A.C. 409, they conquered
every one what he could; and at length, A.C. 411, divided their conquests
by lot; the _Vandals_ obtained _Boetica_, and part of _Gallæcia_; the
_Suevians_ the rest of _Gallæcia_; and the _Alans_ _Lusitania_ and the
_Carthaginian_ Province: the Emperor for the sake of peace confirming them
in those seats by grant A.C. 413.

The _Roman Franks_ abovementioned, having made _Theudomir_ their King,
began strait after their conquest of the _Vandals_ to invade their
neighbours also. The first they set upon were the _Gauls_ of _Brabant_[2]:
but meeting with notable resistance, they desired their alliance: and so
those _Gauls_ fell off from the _Romans_, and made an intimate league with
the _Franks_ to be as one people, marrying with one another, and conforming
to one another's manners, till they became one without distinction. Thus by
the access of these _Gauls_, and of the foreign _Franks_ also, who
afterwards came over the _Rhine_, the _Salian_ kingdom soon grew very great
and powerful.

_Stilico_'s expedition against the _Greek_ Emperor was stopt by the order
of _Honorius_; and then _Alaric_ came out of _Epirus_ into _Noricum_, and
requested a sum of money for his service. The Senate were inclined to deny
him, but by _Stilico_'s mediation granted it. But after some time _Stilico_
being accused of a traiterous conspiracy with _Alaric_, and slain 10 Kal.
_Sept._ A.C. 408; _Alaric_ was thereby disappointed of his money, and
reputed an enemy to the Empire; he then broke strait into _Italy_ with the
army he brought out of _Epirus_, and sent to his brother _Adolphus_ to
follow him with what forces he had in _Pannonia_, which were not great, but
yet not to be despised. Thereupon _Honorius_ fearing to be shut up in
_Rome_, retired to _Ravenna_ in _October_ A.C. 408. And from that time
_Ravenna_ continued to be the seat of the _Western_ Emperors. In those days
the _Hunns_ also invaded _Pannonia_; and seizing the deserted seats of the
_Vandals_, _Alans_, and _Goths_, founded a new kingdom there. _Alaric_
advancing to _Rome_ besieged it, and 9 Kal. _Sept._ A.C. 410 took it: and
afterwards attempting to pass into _Africa_, was shipwrackt. After which
_Honorius_ made peace with him, and got up an army to send against the
Tyrant _Constantine_.

At the same time _Gerontius_, one of _Constantine_'s captains, revolted
from him, and set up _Maximus_ Emperor in _Spain_. Whereupon _Constantine_
sent _Edobec_, another of his captains, to draw to his assistance, the
_Barbarians_ under _Goar_ and _Gundicar_ in _Gallia_, and supplies of
_Franks_ and _Alemans_ from beyond the _Rhine_; and committed the custody
of _Vienne_ in _Gallia Narbonensis_ to his son _Constans_. _Gerontius_
advancing, first slew _Constans_ at _Vienne_, and then began to besiege
_Constantine_ at _Arles_. But _Honorius_ at the same time sending
_Constantius_ with an army on the same errand, _Gerontius_ fled, and
_Constantius_ continued the siege, strengthned by the access of the
greatest part of the soldiers of _Gerontius_. After four months siege,
_Edobec_ having procured succours, the _Barbarian_ Kings at _Ments_, _Goar_
and _Gundicar_, constitute _Jovinus_ Emperor, and together with him set
forward to relieve _Arles_. At their approach _Constantius_ retired. They
pursued, and he beat them by surprize; but not prosecuting his victory, the
_Barbarians_ soon recovered themselves; yet not so as to hinder the fall of
the tyrants _Constantine_, _Jovinus_ and _Maximus_. _Britain_ could not be
recovered to the Empire, but remained ever after a distinct kingdom.

The next year, A.C. 412, the _Visigoths_ being beaten in _Italy_, had
_Aquitain_ granted them to retire into: and they invaded it with much
violence, causing the _Alans_ and _Burgundians_ to retreat, who were then
depopulating of it. At the same time the _Burgundians_ were brought to
peace; and the Emperor granted them for inheritance a region upon the
_Rhine_ which they had invaded: and the same, I presume, he did with the
_Alans_. But the _Franks_ not long after retaking and burning _Triers_,
_Castinus_, A.C. 415, was sent against them with an army, who routed them
and slew _Theudomir_ their King This was the second taking of _Triers_ by
the _Franks_. It was therefore taken four times, once by the _Vandals_ and
thrice by the _Franks_. _Theudomir_ was succeeded by _Pharamond_, the
Prince or King of the _Salian Franks_ in _Germany_. From thence he brought
new forces, reigned over the whole, and had seats granted to his people
within the Empire near the _Rhine_.

And now the _Barbarians_ were all quieted, and settled in several kingdoms
within the Empire, not only by conquest, but also by the grants of the
Emperor _Honorius_. For _Rutilius_ in his _Itinerary_, written in Autumn,
_Anno Urbis_ 1169, that is, according to _Varro_'s computation then in use,
A.C. 416, thus laments the wasted fields:

  _Illa quidem longis nimium deformia bellis_;

And then adds,

  _Jam tempus laceris post longa incendia fundis_
    _Vel pastorales ædificare casas._

And a little after,

  _Æternum tibi Rhenus aret._

And _Orosius_ in the end of his history, which was finished A.C. 417,
represents now a general pacification of the barbarous nations by the words
_comprimere_, _coangustare_, _addicere gentes immanissimas_; terming them
_imperio addictas_, because they had obtained seats in the Empire by league
and compact; and _coangustatas_, because they did no longer invade all
regions at pleasure, but by the same compact remained quiet in the seats
then granted them. And these are the kingdoms, of which the feet of the
Image were henceforward composed, and which are represented by iron and
clay intermixed, which did not stick one to another, and were of different
strength.

Notes to Chap. V.

[1] Procop. l. 1. de Bello Vandalico.

[2] Galli Arborici: _whence the region was named _Arboricbant_, and by
contraction _Brabant__.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. VI.

_Of the ten Kingdoms represented by the ten horns of the fourth Beast._

Now by the wars above described the _Western_ Empire of the _Romans_, about
the time that _Rome_ was besieged and taken by the _Goths_, became broken
into the following ten kingdoms.

  1. The kingdom of the _Vandals_ and _Alans_ in _Spain_ and _Africa_.
  2. The kingdom of the _Suevians_ in _Spain_.
  3. The kingdom of the _Visigoths_.
  4. The kingdom of the _Alans_ in _Gallia_.
  5. The kingdom of the _Burgundians_.
  6. The kingdom of the _Franks_.
  7. The kingdom of the _Britains_.
  8. The kingdom of the _Hunns_.
  9. The kingdom of the _Lombards_.
  10. The kingdom of _Ravenna_.

Seven of these kingdoms are thus mentioned by _Sigonius_. 1_Honorio
regnante_, _in Pannoniam_ 2_Hunni_, _in Hispaniam_ 3_Vandali_, 4_Alani_,
5_Suevi_ & 6_Gothi_, _in Galliam_ 4_Alani_ 7_Burgundiones_ & 6_Gothi_,
_certis sedibus permissis, accepti_. Add the _Franks_, _Britains_, and
_Lombards_, and you have the ten: for these arose about the same time with
the seven. But let us view them severally.

1. The Kings of the _Vandals_ were, A.C. 407 _Godegesilus_, 407 _Gunderic_,
426 _Geiseric_, 477 _Hunneric_, 484 _Gundemund_, 496 _Thrasamund_, 513
_Geiseric_, 530 _Gelimer_. _Godegesilus_ led them into _Gallia_ A.C. 406,
_Gunderic_ into _Spain_ A.C. 409, _Geiseric_ into _Africa_ A.C. 427; and
_Gelimer_ was conquered by _Belisarius_ A.C. 533. Their kingdom lasted in
_Gallia_, _Spain_ and _Africa_ together 126 years; and in _Africa_ they
were very potent. The _Alans_ had only two Kings of their own in _Spain_,
_Resplendial_, and _Ataces_, _Utacus_ or _Othacar_. Under _Resplendial_
they went into _France_ A.C. 407, and into _Spain_ A.C. 409. _Ataces_ was
slain with almost all his army by _Vallia_ King of the _Visigoths_ A.C.
419. And then the remainder of these _Alans_ subjected themselves to
_Gunderic_ King of the _Vandals_ in _Boetica_, and went afterwards with
them into _Africa_, as I learn out of _Procopius_. Whence the Kings of the
_Vandals_ styled themselves Kings of the _Vandals_ and _Alans_; as may be
seen in the Edict of _Hunneric_ recited by _Victor_ in his _Vandalic_
persecution. In conjunction with the _Chatti_, these _Alans_ gave the name
of _Cathalaunia_, or _Catth-Alania_, to the Province which is still so
called. These _Alans_ had also _Gepides_ among them; and therefore the
_Gepides_ came into _Pannonia_ before the _Alans_ left it. There they
became subject to the _Hunns_ till the death of _Attila_ A.C. 454, and at
length were conquered by the _Ostrogoths_.

2. The Kings of the _Suevians_ were, A.C. 407 _Ermeric_, 458 _Rechila_, 448
_Rechiarius_, 458 _Maldra_, 460 _Frumarius_, 463 _Regismund_. And after
some other Kings who are unknown, reigned A.C. 558 _Theudomir_, 568 _Miro_,
582 _Euboricus_, and 583 _Andeca_. This kingdom, after it had been once
seated in _Spain_, remained always in _Gallæcia_ and _Lusitania_. _Ermeric_
after the fall of the _Alan_ kingdom, enlarged it into all _Gallæcia_,
forcing the _Vandals_ to retire into _Boetica_ and the _Carthaginian_
Province. This kingdom lasted 177 years according to _Isidorus_, and then
was subdued by _Leovigildus_ King of the _Visigoths_, and made a Province
of his kingdom A.C. 585.

3. The Kings of the _Visigoths_ were, A.C. 400 _Alaric_, 410 _Athaulphus_,
415 _Sergeric_ and _Vallia_, 419 _Theoderic_, 451 _Thorismund_, 452
_Theoderic_, 465 _Euric_, 482 _Alaric_, 505 _Gensalaric_, 526 _Amalaric_,
531 _Theudius_, 548 _Theudisclus_, &c. I date this kingdom from the time
that _Alaric_ left _Thrace_ and _Greece_ to invade the _Western Empire_. In
the end of the reign of _Athaulphus_ the _Goths_ were humbled by the
_Romans_, and attempted to pass out of _France_ into _Spain_. _Sergeric_
reigned but a few days. In the beginning of _Vallia_'s reign they assaulted
the _Romans_ afresh, but were again repulsed, and then made peace on this
condition, that they should on the behalf of the Empire invade the
_Barbarian_ kingdoms in _Spain_: and this they did, together with the
_Romans_, in the years 417 and 418, overthrowing the _Alans_ and part of
the _Vandals_. Then they received _Aquitain_ of the Emperor by a full
donation, leaving their conquests in _Spain_ to the Emperor: and thereby
the seats of the conquered _Alans_ came into the hands of the _Romans_. In
the year 455, _Theoderic_, assisted by the _Burgundians_, invaded _Spain_,
which was then almost all subject to the _Suevians_, and took a part of it
from them. A.C. 506, the _Goths_ were driven out of _Gallia_ by the
_Franks_. A.C. 585, they conquered the _Suevian_ kingdom, and became Lords
of all _Spain_. A.C. 713, the _Saracens_ invaded them, but in time they
recovered their dominions, and have reigned in _Spain_ ever since.

4. The Kings of the _Alans_ in _Gallia_ were _Goar_, _Sambida_, _Eocharic_,
_Sangibanus_, _Beurgus_, &c. Under _Goar_ they invaded _Gallia_ A.C. 407,
and had seats given them near the _Rhine_, A.C. 412. Under _Sambida_, whom
_Bucher_ makes the successor, if not the son of _Goar_, they had the
territories of _Valence_ given them by _Ætius_ the Emperor's General, A.C.
440. Under _Eocharic_ they conquered a region of the rebelling _Galli
Arborici_, given them also by _Ætius_. This region was from them named
_Alenconium, quasi Alanorum conventus_. Under _Sangibanus_ they were
invaded, and their regal city _Orleans_ was besieged by _Attila_ King of
the _Hunns_, with a vast army of 500000 men. _Ætius_ and the _Barbarian_
Kings of _Gallia_ came to raise the siege, and beat the _Hunns_ in a very
memorable battle, A.C. 451, _in campis Catalaunicis_, so called from these
_Alans_ mixt with the _Chatti_. The region is now called _Campania_ or
_Champagne_. In that battle were slain on both sides 162000 men. A year or
two after, _Attila_ returned with an immense army to conquer this kingdom,
but was again beaten by them and the _Visigoths_ together in a battle of
three days continuance, with a slaughter almost as great as the former.
Under _Beurgus_, or _Biorgor_, they infested _Gallia_ round about, till the
reign of _Maximus_ the Emperor; and then they passed the _Alps_ in winter,
and came into _Liguria_, but were there beaten, and _Beurgus_ slain, by
_Ricimer_ commander of the Emperor's forces, A.C. 464. Afterwards they were
again beaten, by the joint force of _Odoacer_ King of _Italy_ and
_Childeric_ King of the _Franks_, about the year 480, and again by
_Theudobert_ King of the _Austrian Franks_ about the year 511.

5. The Kings of the _Burgundians_ were, A.C. 407 _Gundicar_, 436 _Gundioc_,
467 _Bilimer_, 473 _Gundobaldus_ with his brothers, 510 _Sigismund_, 517
_Godomarus_. Under _Gundicar_ they invaded _Gallia_ A.C. 407, and had seats
given them by the Emperor near the _Rhine_ in _Gallia Belgica_, A.C. 412.
They had _Saxons_ among them, and were now so potent, that _Orosius_ A.C.
417 wrote of them: '_Burgundionum esse prævalidam manum, Galliæ hodieque
testes sunt, in quibus præsumpta possessione consistunt_. About the year
435 they received great overthrows by _Ætius_, and soon after by the
_Hunns_: but five years after had _Savoy_ granted them to be shared with
the inhabitants; and from that time became again a potent kingdom, being
bounded by the river _Rhodanus_, but afterwards extending much further into
the heart of _Gallia_. _Gundobald_ conquered the regions about the rivers
_Araris_ and _Rhodanus_, with the territories of _Marseilles_; and invading
_Italy_ in the time of the Emperor _Glycerius_, conquered all his brethren.
_Godomarus_ made _Orleans_ his royal seat: whence the kingdom was called
_Regnum Aurelianorum_. He was conquered by _Clotharius_ and _Childebert_,
Kings of the _Franks_, A.C. 526. From thenceforward this kingdom was
sometimes united to the kingdom of the _Franks_, and sometimes divided from
it, till the reign of _Charles_ the great, who made his son _Carolottus_
King of _Burgundy_. From that time, for about 300 years together, it
enjoyed its proper Kings; and was then broken into the Dukedom of
_Burgundy_, County of _Burgundy_, and County of _Savoy_; and afterwards
those were broken into other lesser Counties.

6. The Kings of the _Franks_ were, A.C. 407 _Theudomir_, 417 _Pharamond_,
428 _Clodio_, 448 _Merovæus_, 456 _Childeric_, 482 _Clodovæus_, &c.
_Windeline_ and _Bucher_, two of the most diligent searchers into the
originals of this kingdom, make it begin the same year with the _Barbarian_
invasions of _Gallia_, that is, A.C. 407. Of the first Kings there is in
_Labbe's Bibliotheca M.S._ this record.

_Historica quædam excerpta ex veteri stemmate genealogico Regum Franciæ_.

_Genobaldus, Marcomerus, Suno, Theodemeris. Isti duces vel reguli
extiterunt à principio gentis Francorum diversis temporibus. Sed incertum
relinquunt historici quali sibi procreations lineâ successerunt_.

_Pharamundus: sub hoc rege suo primo Franci legibus se subdunt, quas
primores eorum tulerunt Wisogastus, Atrogastus, Salegastus_.

_Chlochilo. Iste, transito Rheno, Romanos in Carbonaria sylva devicit,
Camaracum cepit & obtinuit, annis 20 regnavit. Sub hoc rege Franci usque
Summam progressi sunt_.

_Merovechus. Sub hoc rege Franci Trevirim destruunt, Metim succendunt,
usque Aurelianum perveniunt_.

Now for _Genobaldus_, _Marcomer_ and _Suno_, they were captains of the
_Transrhenane Franks_ in the reign of _Theodosius_, and concern us not. We
are to begin with _Theudomir_ the first King of the rebelling _Salii_,
called _Didio_ by _Ivo Carnotensis_, and _Thiedo_ and _Theudemerus_ by
_Rhenanus_. His face is extant in a coin of gold found with this
inscription, THEUDEMIR REX, published by _Petavius_, and still or lately
extant, as _Windeline_ testifies: which shews that he was a King, and that
in _Gallia_; seeing that rude _Germany_ understood not then the coining of
money, nor used either _Latin_ words or letters. He was the son of
_Ricimer_, or _Richomer_, the favourite of the Emperor _Theodosius_; and so
being a _Roman Frank_, and of the _Salian_ royal blood, they therefore upon
the rebellion made him King. The whole time of his reign you have stated in
_Excerptis Gregorii Turonensis è Fredigario_, _cap._ 5, 6, 7, 8. where the
making him King, the tyranny of _Jovinus_, the slaughter of the associates
of _Jovinus_, the second taking of _Triers_ by the _Franks_, and their war
with _Castinus_, in which this King was slain, are as a series of
successive things thus set down in order. _Extinctis Ducibus in Francis,
denuo Reges creantur ex eadem stirpe qua prius fuerant. Eodem tempore
Jovinus ornatus regios assumpsit. Constantinus fugam versus Italiam
dirigit; missis a Jovino Principe percussoribus super Mentio flumine,
capite truncatur. Multi nobilium jussu Jovini apud Avernis capti, & a
ducibus Honorii crudeliter interempti sunt. Trevirorum civitas, factione
unius ex senatoribus nomine Lucii, à Francis captà & incensa est.--Castinus
Domesticorum Comes expeditionem accipit contra Francos_, &c. Then returning
to speak of _Theudomir_, he adds: _Franci electum à se regem, sicut prius
fuerat, crinitum inquirentes diligenter ex genere Priami, Frigi &
Francionis, super se crearunt nomine Theudemerum filium Richemeris, qui in
hoc prælio quod supra memini, à Romanis interfectus est_; that is, in the
battle with _Castinus_'s army. Of his death _Gregory Turonensis_ makes this
further mention: _In consularibus legimus Theodemerem regem Francorum
filium Ricimeris quondam, & Ascilam matrem ejus, gladio interfectos_.

Upon this victory of the _Romans_, the _Franks_ and rebelling _Gauls_, who
in the time of _Theudomir_ were at war with one another, united to
strengthen themselves, as _Ordericus Vitalis_[1] thus mentions. _Cum Galli
prius contra Romanos rebellâssent, Franci iis sociati sunt, & pariter
juncti, Ferramundum Sunonis ducis filium, sibi regem præfecerunt_.
_Prosper_ sets down the time; _Anno 25 Honorii, Pharamundus regnat in
Francia_. This, _Bucher_ well observes, refers to the end of the year 416,
or the beginning of the next year, dating the years of _Honorius_ from the
death of _Valentinian_; and argues well, that at this time _Pharamond_ was
not only King by the constitution of the _Franks_, but crowned also by the
consent of _Honorius_, and had a part of _Gallia_ assigned him by covenant.
And this might be the cause that _Roman_ writers reckoned him the first
King: which some not understanding, have reputed him the founder of this
kingdom by an army of the _Transrhenane Franks_. He might come with such an
army, but he succeeded _Theudomir_ by right of blood and consent of the
people. For the above cited passage of _Fredigarius_, _Extinctis Ducibus,
in Francis denuo Reges creantur ex eadem stirpe quâ prius fuerant_, implies
that the kingdom continued to this new elected family during the reign of
more Kings than one. If you date the years of _Honorius_ from the death of
his father, the reign of _Pharamond_ might begin two years later than is
assigned by _Bucher_. The _Salique_ laws made in his reign, which are yet
extant, shew by their name that it was the kingdom of the _Salii_ over
which he reigned; and, by the pecuniary mulcts in them, that the place
where he reigned abounded much with money, and consequently was within the
Empire; rude _Germany_ knowing not the use of money, till they mixed with
the _Romans_. In the Preface also to the _Salique_ laws, written and
prefixed to them soon after the conversion of the _Franks_ to the Christian
religion, that is, in the end of the reign of _Merovæus_, or soon after,
the original of this kingdom is thus described: _Hæc enim gens, quæ fortis
dum esset & robore valida, Romanorum jugum durissimum de suis cervicibus
excussit pugnando_, &c. This kingdom therefore was erected, not by invasion
but by rebellion, as was described above. _Prosper_ in registering their
Kings in order, tells us: _Pharamundus regnat in Francia; Clodio regnat in
Francia; Merovæus regnat in Francia_: and who can imagine but that in all
these places he meant one and the same _Francia_? And yet 'tis certain that
the _Francia_ of _Merovæus_ was in _Gallia_.

Yet the father of _Pharamond_, being king of a body of _Franks_ in
_Germany_ in the reign of the Emperor _Theodosius_, as above, _Pharamond_
might reign over the same _Franks_ in _Germany_ before he succeeded
_Theudomir_ in the kingdom of the _Salians_ within the Empire, and even
before _Theudomir_ began his reign; suppose in the first year of
_Honorius_, or when those _Franks_ being repulsed by _Stilico_, lost their
Kings _Marcomir_ and _Suno_, one of which was the father of _Pharamond_:
and the _Roman Franks_, after the death of _Theudomir_, might invite
_Pharamond_ with his people from beyond the _Rhine_. But we are not to
regard the reign of _Pharamond_ in _Germany_: we are to date this kingdom
from its rise within the Empire, and to look upon it as strengthened by the
access of other _Franks_ coming from beyond the _Rhine_, whether in the
reign of this King or in that of his successor _Clodio_. For in the last
year of _Pharamond_'s reign, _Ætius_ took from him a part of his possession
in _Gallia_: but his successor _Clodio_, whom _Fredigarius_ represents as
the son of _Theudomir_, and some call _Clogio_, _Cloio_, and _Claudius_,
inviting from beyond the _Rhine_ a great body of _Franks_, recovered all,
and carried on their conquests as far as the river _Soame_. Then those
_Franks_ dividing conquests with him, erected certain new kingdoms at
_Cologn_ and _Cambray_, and some other cities: all which were afterwards
conquered by _Clodovæus_, who also drove the _Goths_ out of _Gallia_, and
fix'd his seat at _Paris_, where it has continued ever since. And this was
the original of the present kingdom of _France_.

7. The Kings of _Britain_ were, A.C. 407 or 408, _Marcus_, _Gratian_, and
_Constantine_ successively; A.C. 425 _Vortigern_, 466 _Aurelius Ambrosius_,
498 _Uther Pendraco_, 508 _Arthur_, 542 _Constantinus_, 545 _Aurelius
Cunanus_, 578 _Vortiporeus_, 581 _Malgo_, 586 _Careticus_, 613 _Cadwan_,
635 _Cadwalin_, 676 _Cadwallader_. The three first were _Roman_ Tyrants,
who revolted from the Empire. _Orosius_, _Prosper_ and _Zosimus_ connect
their revolt with the irruptions of the _Barbarians_ into _Gallia_, as
consequent thereunto. _Prosper_, with whom _Zosimus_ agrees, puts it in the
year which began the day after that irruption. The just time I thus
collect: _Marcus_ reigned not many days, _Gratian_ four months, and
_Constantine_ three years. He was slain the year after the taking of
_Rome_, that is A.C. 411, 14 Kal. _Octob._ Whence the revolt was in Spring
A.C. 408. _Sozomen_ joins _Constantine_'s expedition into _Gallia_ with
_Arcadius_'s death, or the times a little after; and _Arcadius_ died A.C.
408 _May_ the 1st. Now tho the reign of these Tyrants was but short, yet
they gave a beginning to the kingdom of _Britain_, and so may be reckoned
the three first Kings, especially since the posterity of _Constantine_,
viz. his sons _Aurelius Ambrosius_, and _Uther Pendraco_, and his grandson
_Arthur_, reigned afterwards. For from the time of the revolt of these
Tyrants _Britain_ continued a distict kingdom absolved from subjection to
the Empire, the Emperor not being able to spare soldiers to be sent thither
to receive and keep the Island, and therefore neglecting it; as we learn by
unquestionable records. For _Prosper_ tells us; _A.C._ 410, _Variane Cos.
Hac tempestate præ valetudine Romanorum, vires funditùs attenuatæ
Britanniæ_. And _Sigebert_, conjoining this with the siege of _Rome_,
saith: _Britannorum vires attenuatæ, & substrahunt se à Romanorum
dominatione_. And _Zosimus_ _lib._ 6. _The _Transrhenane Barbarians_
invading all places, reduced the inhabitants of the island of _Britain_,
and also certain _Celtic_ nations to that pass, that they fell off from the
_Roman_ Empire; and being no longer obedient to the _Roman_ laws_, [Greek:
kat' heauton biateuein], _they lived in separate bodies after their own
pleasure. The _Britons_ therefore taking up arms, and hazarding themselves
for their own safety, freed their cities from the imminent _Barbarians_. In
like manner all _Brabant_ and some other Provinces of the _Gauls_ imitating
the _Britons_, freed themselves also, ejecting the _Roman_ Presidents, and
forming themselves into a sort of commonwealth according to their own
pleasure. This rebellion of _Britain_ and the _Celtic_ nations happened
when _Constantine_ usurped the kingdom_. So also _Procopius_, _lib._ 1.
_Vandal._ speaking of the same _Constantine_, saith: Constantine _being
overcome in battle, was slain with his children:_ [Greek: Bretannian men
toi Rômaioi anasôsasthai ouketi echon; all' ousa hypo tyrannous ap' autou
emene.] _Yet the _Romans_ could not recover _Britain_ any more, but from
that time it remained under Tyrants_. And _Beda_, l. 1. _c._ 11. _Fracta
est Roma à Gothis anno 1164 suæ conditionis; ex quo tempore Romani in
Britannia regnare cessaverunt_. And _Ethelwaldus_: _A tempore Romæ à Gothis
expugnatæ, cessavit imperium Romanorum à Britannia insula, & ab aliis; quas
sub jugo servitutis tenebant, multis terris_. And _Theodoret_, _serm._ 9.
_de curand. Græc. affect_. about the year 424, reckons the _Britons_ among
the nations which were not then in subjection to the _Roman_ Empire. Thus
_Sigonius_: _ad annum 411, Imperium Romanorum post excessum Constantini in
Britannia nullum fuit_.

Between the death of _Constantine_ and the reign of _Vortigern_ was an
interregnum of about 14 years, in which the _Britons_ had wars with the
_Picts_ and _Scots_, and twice obtained the assistance of a _Roman_ Legion,
who drove out the enemy, but told them positively at their departure that
they would come no more. Of _Vortigern_'s beginning to reign there is this
record in an old Chronicle in _Nennius_, quoted by _Camden_ and others:
_Guortigernus tenuit imperium in Britannia, Theodosio & Valentiniano Coss._
[viz. A.C. 425.] _& in quarto anno regni sui Saxones ad Britanniam
venerunt, Felice & Tauro Coss._ [viz. A.C. 428.] This coming of the
_Saxons_, _Sigebert_ refers to the 4th year of _Valentinian_, which falls
in with the year 428 assigned by this Chronicle: and two years after, the
_Saxons_ together with the _Picts_ were beaten by the _Britons_. Afterwards
in the reign of _Martian_ the Emperor, that is, between the years 450 and
456, the _Saxons_ under _Hengist_ were called in by the _Britons_, but six
years after revolted from them, made war upon them with various success,
and by degrees succeeded them. Yet the _Britons_ continued a flourishing
kingdom till the reign of _Careticus_; and the war between the two nations
continued till the pontificate of _Sergius_ A.C. 688.[2]

8. The Kings of the _Hunns_ were, A.C. 406 _Octar_ and _Rugila_, 433
_Bleda_ and _Attila_. _Octar_ and _Rugila_ were the brothers of _Munzuc_
King of the _Hunns_ in _Gothia_ beyond the _Danube_; and _Bleda_ and
_Attila_ were his sons, and _Munzuc_ was the son of _Balamir_. The two
first, as _Jornandes_ tells us, were Kings of the _Hunns_, but not of them
all; and had the two last for their successors. I date the reign of the
_Hunns_ in _Pannonia_ from the time that the _Vandals_ and _Alans_
relinquished _Pannonia_ to them, A.C. 407. _Sigonius_ from the time that
the _Visigoths_ relinquished _Pannonia_ A. C. 408. _Constat_, saith he,
_quod Gothis ex Illyrico profectis, Hunni successerunt, atque imprimis
Pannoniam tenuerunt. Neque enim Honorius viribus ad resistendum in tantis
difficultatibus destitutus, prorsus eos prohibere potuit, sed meliore
consilio, animo ad pacem converso, foedus cum eis, datis acceptisque
obsidibus fecit; ex quibus qui dati sunt, Ætius, qui etiam Alarico tributus
fuerat, præcipue memoratur_. How _Ætius_ was hostage to the _Goths_ and
_Hunns_ is related by _Frigeridus_, who when he had mentioned that
_Theodosius_ Emperor of the _East_ had sent grievous commands to _John_,
who after the death of _Honorius_ had usurped the crown of the _Western
Empire_, he subjoins: _Iis permotus Johannes, Ætium id tempus curam palatii
gerentem cum ingenti auri pondere ad Chunnos transmisit, notos sibi
obsidiatûs sui tempore & familiari amicitiâ devinctos_--And a little
after: _Ætius tribus annis Alarici obses, dehinc Chunnorum, postea
Carpilionis gener ex Comite domesticorum & Joannis curopalatæ._ Now
_Bucher_ shews that _Ætius_ was hostage to _Alaric_ till the year 410, when
_Alaric_ died, and to the _Hunns_ between the years 411 and 415, and
son-in-law to _Carpilio_ about the year 417 or 418, and _Curopalates_ to
_John_ about the end of the year 423. Whence 'tis probable that he became
hostage to the _Hunns_ about the year 412 or 413, when _Honorius_ made
leagues with almost all the barbarous nations, and granted them seats: but
I had rather say with _Sigonius_, that _Ætius_ became hostage to _Alaric_
A.C. 403. It is further manifest out of _Prosper_, that the _Hunns_ were in
quiet possession of _Pannonia_ in the year 432. For in the first book of
_Eusebius_'s Chronicle _Prosper_ writes: _Anno decimo post obitum Honorii,
cum ad Chunnorum gentem cui tunc Rugila præerat, post prælium cum Bonifacio
se Ætius contulisset, impetrato auxilio ad Romanorum solum regreditur._ And
in the second book: _Ætio & Valerio Coss. Ætius depositâ potestate profugus
ad Hunnos in Pannonia pervenit, quorum amicitiâ auxilioque usus, pacem
principum interpellatæ potestatis obtinuit._ Hereby it appears that at this
time _Rugila_, or as _Maximus_ calls him, _Rechilla_, reigned over the
_Hunns_ in _Pannonia_; and that _Pannonia_ was not now so much as accounted
within the soil of the Empire, being formerly granted away to the _Hunns_;
and that these were the very same body of _Hunns_ with which _Ætius_ had,
in the time of his being an hostage, contracted friendship: by virtue of
which, as he sollicited them before to the aid of _John_ the Tyrant A.C.
424, so now he procured their intercession for himself with the Emperor.
_Octar_ died A.C. 430; for _Socrates_ tells us, that about that time the
_Burgundians_ having been newly vext by the _Hunns_, upon intelligence of
_Octar_'s death, seeing them without a leader, set upon them suddenly with
so much vigour, that 3000 _Burgundians_ slew 10000 _Hunns_. Of _Rugila_'s
being now King in _Pannonia_ you have heard already. He died A.C. 433, and
was succeeded by _Bleda_, as _Prosper_ and _Maximus_ inform us. This
_Bleda_ with his brother _Attila_ were before this time Kings of the
_Hunns_ beyond the _Danube_, their father _Munzuc_'s kingdom being divided
between them; and now they united the kingdom _Pannonia_ to their own.
Whence _Paulus Diaconus_ saith, they did _regnum intra Pannoniam Daciamque
gerere_. In the year 441, they began to invade the Empire afresh, adding to
the _Pannonian_ forces new and great armies from _Scythia_. But this war
was presently composed, and then _Attila_, seeing _Bleda_ inclined to
peace, slew him, A.C. 444, inherited his dominions, and invaded the Empire
again. At length, after various great wars with the _Romans_, _Attila_
perished A.C. 454; and his sons quarrelling about his dominions, gave
occasion to the _Gepides_, _Ostrogoths_ and other nations who were their
subjects, to rebel and make war upon them. The same year the _Ostrogoths_
had seats granted them in _Pannonia_ by the Emperors _Marcian_ and
_Valentinian_; and with the _Romans_ ejected the _Hunns_ out of _Pannonia_,
soon after the death of _Attila_, as all historians agree. This ejection
was in the reign of _Avitus_, as is mentioned in the _Chronicum Boiorum_,
and in _Sidonius, Carm. 7 in Avitum_, which speaks thus of that Emperor.

  ----_Cujus solum amissas post sæcula multa_
  _Pannonias revocavit iter, jam credere promptum est._
  _Quid faciet bellis._

The Poet means, that by the coming of _Avitus_ the _Hunns_ yielded more
easily to the _Goths_. This was written by _Sidonius_ in the beginning of
the reign of _Avitus_: and his reign began in the end of the year 455, and
lasted not one full year.

_Jornandes_ tells us: _Duodecimo anno regni Valiæ, quando & Hunni post pene
quinquaginta annos invasa Pannonia, à Romanis & Gothis expulsi sunt._ And
_Marcellinus_: _Hierio & Ardaburio Coss. Pannoniæ, quæ per quinquaginta
annos ab Hunnis retinebantur, à Romanis receptæ sunt_: whence it should
seem that the _Hunns_ invaded and held _Pannonia_ from the year 378 or 379
to the year 427, and then were driven out of it. But this is a plain
mistake: for it is certain that the Emperor _Theodosius_ left the Empire
entire; and we have shewed out of _Prosper_, that the _Hunns_ were in quiet
possession of _Pannonia_ in the year 432. The _Visigoths_ in those days had
nothing to do with _Pannonia_, and the _Ostrogoths_ continued subject to
the _Hunns_ till the death of _Attila_, A.C. 454; and _Valia_ King of the
_Visigoths_ did not reign twelve years. He began his reign in the end of
the year 415, reigned three years, and was slain A.C. 419, as _Idacius_,
_Isidorus_, and the _Spanish_ manuscript Chronicles seen by _Grotius_
testify. And _Olympiodorus_, who carries his history only to the year 425,
sets down therein the death of _Valia_ King of the _Visigoths_, and
conjoins it with that of _Constantius_ which happened A.C. 420. Wherefore
the _Valia_ of _Jornandes_, who reigned at the least twelve years, is some
other King. And I suspect that this name hath been put by mistake for
_Valamir_ King of the _Ostrogoths_: for the action recorded was of the
_Romans_ and _Ostrogoths_ driving the _Hunns_ out of _Pannonia_ after the
death of _Attila_; and it is not likely that the historian would refer the
history of the _Ostrogoths_ to the years of the _Visigothic_ Kings. This
action happened in the end of the year 455, which I take to be the twelfth
year of _Valamir_ in _Pannonia_, and which was almost fifty years after the
year 406, in which the _Hunns_ succeeded the _Vandals_ and _Alans_ in
_Pannonia_. Upon the ceasing of the line of _Hunnimund_ the son of
_Hermaneric_, the _Ostrogoths_ lived without Kings of their own nation
about forty years together, being subject to the _Hunns_. And when _Alaric_
began to make war upon the _Romans_, which was in the year 444, he made
_Valamir_, with his brothers _Theodomir_ and _Videmir_ the grandsons of
_Vinethar_, captains or kings of these _Ostrogoths_ under him. In the
twelfth year of _Valamir_'s reign dated from thence, the _Hunns_ were
driven out of _Pannonia_.

Yet the _Hunns_ were not so ejected, but that they had further contests
with the _Romans_, till the head of _Denfix_ the son of _Attila_, was
carried to _Constantinople_, A.C. 469, in the Consulship of _Zeno_ and
_Marcian_, as _Marcellinus_ relates. Nor were they yet totally ejected the
Empire: for besides their reliques in _Pannonia_, _Sigonius_ tells us, that
when the Emperors _Marcian_ and _Valentinian_ granted _Pannonia_ to the
_Goths_, which was in the year 454, they granted part of _Illyricum_ to
some of the _Hunns_ and _Sarmatians_. And in the year 526, when the
_Lombards_ removing into _Pannonia_ made war there with the _Gepides_, the
_Avares_, a part of the _Hunns_, who had taken the name of _Avares_ from
one of their Kings, assisted the _Lombards_ in that war; and the _Lombards_
afterwards, when they went into _Italy_, left their seats in _Pannonia_ to
the _Avares_ in recompence of their friendship. From that time the _Hunns_
grew again very powerful; their Kings, whom they called _Chagan_, troubling
the Empire much in the reigns of the Emperors _Mauritius_, _Phocas_, and
_Heraclius_: and this is the original of the present kingdom of _Hungary_,
which from these _Avares_ and other _Hunns_ mixed together, took the name
of _Hun-Avaria_, and by contraction _Hungary_.

9. The _Lombards_, before they came over the _Danube_, were commanded by
two captains, _Ibor_ and _Ayon_: after whose death they had Kings,
_Agilmund_, _Lamisso_, _Lechu_, _Hildehoc_, _Gudehoc_, _Classo_, _Tato_,
_Wacho_, _Walter_, _Audoin_, _Alboin_, _Cleophis_, &c. _Agilmund_ was the
son of _Ayon_, who became their King, according to _Prosper_, in the
Consulship of _Honorius_ and _Theodosius_ A.C. 389, reigned thirty three
years, according to _Paulus Warnefridus_, and was slain in battle by the
_Bulgarians_. _Prosper_ places his death in the Consulship of _Marinianus_
and _Asclepiodorus_, A.C. 413. _Lamisso_ routed the _Bulgarians_, and
reigned three years, and _Lechu_ almost forty. _Gudehoc_ was contemporary
to _Odoacer_ King of the _Heruli_ in _Italy_, and led his people from
_Pannonia_ into _Rugia_, a country on the north side of _Noricum_ next
beyond the _Danube_; from whence _Odoacer_ then carried his people into
_Italy_. _Tato_ overthrew the kingdom of the _Heruli_ beyond the _Danube_.
_Wacho_ conquered the _Suevians_, a kingdom then bounded on the east by
_Bavaria_, on the west by _France_, and on the south by the _Burgundians_.
_Audoin_ returned into _Pannonia_ A.C. 526, and there overcame the
_Gepides_. _Alboin_ A.C. 551 overthrew the kingdom of the _Gepides_, and
slew their King _Chunnimund_: A.C. 563 he assisted the _Greek_ Emperor
against _Totila_ King of the _Ostrogoths_ in _Italy_; and A.C. 568 led his
people out of _Pannonia_ into _Lombardy_, where they reigned till the year
774.

According to _Paulus Diaconus_, the _Lombards_ with many other _Gothic_
nations came into the Empire from beyond the _Danube_ in the reign of
_Arcadius_ and _Honorius_, that is, between the years 395 and 408. But they
might come in a little earlier: for we are told that the _Lombards_, under
their captains _Ibor_ and _Ayon_, beat the _Vandals_ in battle; and
_Prosper_ placeth this victory in the Consulship of _Ausonius_ and
_Olybrius_, that is, A.C. 379. Before this war the _Vandals_ had remained
quiet forty years in the seats granted them in _Pannonia_ by _Constantine_
the great. And therefore if these were the same _Vandals_, this war must
have been in _Pannonia_; and might be occasioned by the coming of the
_Lombards_ over the _Danube_ into _Pannonia_, a year or two before the
battle; and so have put an end to that quiet which had lasted forty years.
After _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_ had quieted the _Barbarians_, they might
either retire over the _Danube_, or continue quiet under the _Romans_ till
the death of _Theodosius_; and then either invade the Empire anew, or throw
off all subjection to it. By their wars, first with the _Vandals_, and then
with the _Bulgarians_, a _Scythian_ nation so called from the river _Volga_
whence they came; it appears that even in those days they were a kingdom
not contemptible.

10. These nine kingdoms being rent away, we are next to consider the
residue of the _Western Empire_. While this Empire continued entire, it was
the Beast itself: but the residue thereof is only a part of it. Now if this
part be considered as a horn, the reign of this horn may be dated from the
translation of the imperial seat from _Rome_ to _Ravenna_, which was in
_October_ A.C. 408. For then the Emperor _Honorius_, fearing that _Alaric_
would besiege him in _Rome_, if he staid there, retired to _Millain_, and
thence to _Ravenna_: and the ensuing siege and sacking of _Rome_ confirmed
his residence there, so that he and his successors ever after made it their
home. Accordingly _Macchiavel_ in his _Florentine_ history writes, that
_Valentinian_ having left _Rome_, translated the seat of the Empire to
_Ravenna_.

_Rhætia_ belonged to the _Western_ Emperors, so long as that Empire stood;
and then it descended, with _Italy_ and the _Roman_ Senate, to _Odoacer_
King of the _Heruli_ in _Italy_, and after him to _Theoderic_ King of the
_Ostrogoths_ and his successors, by the grant of the _Greek_ Emperors. Upon
the death of _Valentinian_ the second, the _Alemans_ and _Suevians_ invaded
_Rhætia_ A.C. 455. But I do not find they erected any settled kingdom
there: for in the year 457, while they were yet depopulating _Rhætia_, they
were attacked and beaten by _Burto_ Master of the horse to the Emperor
_Majoranus_; and I hear nothing more of their invading _Rhætia_.
_Clodovæus_ King of _France_, in or about the year 496, conquered a kingdom
of the _Alemans_, and slew their last King _Ermeric_. But this kingdom was
seated in _Germany_, and only bordered upon _Rhætia_: for its people fled
from _Clodovæus_ into the neighbouring kingdom of the _Ostrogoths_ under
_Theoderic_, who received them as friends, and wrote a friendly letter to
_Clodovæus_ in their behalf: and by this means they became inhabitants of
_Rhætia_, as subjects under the dominion of the _Ostrogoths_.

When the _Greek_ Emperor conquered the _Ostrogoths_, he succeeded them in
the kingdom of _Ravenna_, not only by right of conquest but also by right
of inheritance, the _Roman_ Senate still going along with this kingdom.
Therefore we may reckon that this kingdom continued in the Exarchate of
_Ravenna_ and Senate of _Rome_: for the remainder of the _Western Empire_
went along with the Senate of _Rome_, by reason of the right which this
Senate still retained, and at length exerted, of chusing a new _Western_
Emperor.

I have now enumerated the ten kingdoms, into which the _Western Empire_
became divided at its first breaking, that is, at the time of _Rome_'s
being besieged and taken by the _Goths_. Some of these kingdoms at length
fell, and new ones arose: but whatever was their number afterwards, they
are still called the _Ten Kings_ from their first number.

Notes to Chap. VI.

[1] Apud Bucherum, l. 14. c. 9. n. 8.

[2] Rolevinc's Antiqua Saxon. l. 1. c. 6.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. VII.

_Of the eleventh horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast._

[1]_Now Daniel, considered the horns, and behold there came up among them
another horn, before whom there were three of the first horns pluckt up by
the roots; and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a
mouth speaking great things,_--and [2] his _look was more stout than his
fellows,--and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against
them_: and one who stood by, and made _Daniel_ know the interpretation of
these things, told him, that [3] _the ten horns were ten kings that should
arise, and another should arise after them, and be diverse from the first,
and he should subdue three kings,_ [4] _and speak great words against the
most High, and wear out the saints, and think to change times and laws: and
that they should be given into his hands until a time and times and half a
time_. Kings are put for kingdoms, as above; and therefore the little horn
is a little kingdom. It was a horn of the fourth Beast, and rooted up three
of his first horns; and therefore we are to look for it among the nations
of the _Latin_ Empire, after the rise of the ten horns. But it was a
kingdom of a different kind from the other ten kingdoms, having a life or
soul peculiar to itself, with eyes and a mouth. By its eyes it was a Seer;
and by its mouth speaking great things and changing times and laws, it was
a Prophet as well as a King. And such a Seer, a Prophet and a King, is the
Church of _Rome_.

A Seer, [Greek: Episkopos], is a Bishop in the literal sense of the word;
and this Church claims the universal Bishoprick.

With his mouth he gives laws to kings and nations as an Oracle; and
pretends to Infallibility, and that his dictates are binding to the whole
world; which is to be a Prophet in the highest degree.

In the eighth century, by rooting up and subduing the Exarchate of
_Ravenna_, the kingdom of the _Lombards_, and the Senate and Dukedom of
_Rome_, he acquired _Peter_'s Patrimony out of their dominions; and thereby
rose up as a temporal Prince or King, or horn of the fourth Beast.

In a small book printed at _Paris_ A.C. 1689, entitled, _An historical
dissertation upon some coins of _Charles_ the great, _Ludovicus Pius_,
_Lotharius_, and their successors stamped at _Rome__, it is recorded, that
in the days of Pope _Leo_ X, there was remaining in the _Vatican_, and till
those days exposed to public view, an inscription in honour of _Pipin_ the
father of _Charles_ the great, in these words: _Pipinum pium, primum fuisse
qui amplificandæ Ecclesiæ Romanæ viam aperuerit, Exarchatu Ravennate, &
plurimis aliis oblatis_; "That _Pipin_ the pious was the first who opened a
way to the grandeur of the Church of _Rome_, conferring upon her the
Exarchate of _Ravenna_ and many other oblations." In and before the reign
of the Emperors _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_, the Bishop of _Rome_ lived
splendidly; but this was by the oblations of the _Roman_ Ladies, as
_Ammianus_ describes. After those reigns _Italy_ was invaded by foreign
nations, and did not get rid of her troubles before the fall of the kingdom
of _Lombardy_. It was certainly by the victory of the see of _Rome_ over
the _Greek_ Emperor, the King of _Lombardy_, and the Senate of _Rome_, that
she acquired _Peter_'s Patrimony, and rose up to her greatness. The
donation of _Constantine_ the Great is a fiction, and so is the donation of
the _Alpes Cottiæ_ to the Pope by _Aripert_ King of the _Lombards_: for the
_Alpes Cottiæ_ were a part of the Exarchate, and in the days of _Aripert_
belonged to the _Greek_ Emperor.

The invocation of the dead, and veneration of their images, being gradually
introduced in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th centuries, the _Greek_ Emperor
_Philippicus_ declared against the latter, A.C. 711 or 712. And [5] the
Emperor _Leo Isaurus_, to put a stop to it, called a meeting of Counsellors
and Bishops in his Palace, A.C. 726; and by their advice put out an Edict
against that worship, and wrote to Pope _Gregory_ II. that a general
Council might be called. But the Pope thereupon called a Council at _Rome_,
confirmed the worship of Images, excommunicated the _Greek_ Emperor,
absolved the people from their allegiance, and forbad them to pay tribute,
or otherwise be obedient to him. Then the people of _Rome_, _Campania_,
_Ravenna_ and _Pentapolis_, with the cities under them, revolted and laid
violent hands upon their magistrates, killing the Exarch _Paul_ at
_Ravenna_, and laying aside _Peter_ Duke of _Rome_ who was become blind:
and when _Exhileratus_ Duke of _Campania_ incited the people against the
Pope, the _Romans_ invaded _Campania_, and slew him with his son _Hadrian_.
Then a new Exarch, _Eutychius_, coming to _Naples_, sent some secretly to
take away the lives of the Pope and the Nobles of _Rome_: but the plot
being discovered, the _Romans_ revolted absolutely from the _Greek_
Emperor, and took an oath to preserve the life of the Pope, to defend his
state, and be obedient to his authority in all things. Thus _Rome_ with its
Duchy, including part of _Tuscany_ and part of _Campania_, revolted in the
year 726, and became a free state under the government of the Senate of
this city. The authority of the Senate in civil affairs was henceforward
absolute, the authority of the Pope extending hitherto no farther than to
the affairs of the Church only.

At that time [6] the _Lombards_ also being zealous for the worship of
images, and pretending to favour the cause of the Pope, invaded the cities
of the Exarchate: and at length, viz. A.C. 752, took _Ravenna_, and put an
end to the Exarchate. And this was the first of the three kingdoms which
fell before the little horn.

In the year 751 [7] Pope _Zechary_ deposed _Childeric_, a slothful and
useless King of _France_, and the last of the race of _Merovæus_; and
absolving his subjects from their oath of allegiance, gave the kingdom to
_Pipin_ the major of the Palace; and thereby made a new and potent friend.
His successor [8] Pope _Stephen_ III, knowing better how to deal with the
_Greek_ Emperor than with the _Lombards_, went the next year to the King of
the _Lombards_, to persuade him to return the Exarchate to the Emperor. But
this not succeeding, he went into _France_, and persuaded _Pipin_ to take
the Exarchate and _Pentapolis_ from the _Lombards_, and give it to St.
_Peter_. Accordingly _Pipin_ A.C. 754 came with an army into _Italy_, and
made _Aistulphus_ King of the _Lombards_ promise the surrender: but the
next year _Aistulphus_, on the contrary, to revenge himself on the Pope,
besieged the city of _Rome_. Whereupon the Pope sent letters to _Pipin_,
wherein he told him that if he came not speedily against the _Lombards_,
_pro data sibi potentia, alienandum fore à regno Dei & vita æterna_, he
should be excommunicated. _Pipin_ therefore, fearing a revolt of his
subjects, and being indebted to the Church of _Rome_, came speedily with an
army into _Italy_, raised the siege, besieged the _Lombards_ in _Pavia_,
and forced them to surrender the Exarchate and region of _Pentapolis_ to
the Pope for a perpetual possession. Thus the Pope became Lord of
_Ravenna_, and the Exarchate, some few cities excepted; and the keys were
sent to _Rome_, and laid upon the confession of St. _Peter_, that is, upon
his tomb at the high Altar, _in signum veri perpetuique dominii, sed
pietate Regis gratuita_, as the inscription of a coin of _Pipin_ hath it.
This was in the year of Christ 755. And henceforward the Popes being
temporal Princes, left off in their Epistles and Bulls to note the years of
the _Greek_ Emperors, as they had hitherto done.

After this [9] the _Lombards_ invading the Pope's countries, Pope _Adrian_
sent to _Charles_ the great, the son and successor of _Pipin_, to come to
his assistance. Accordingly _Charles_ entered _Italy_ with an army, invaded
the _Lombards_, overthrew their kingdom, became master of their countries,
and restored to the Pope, not only what they had taken from him, but also
the rest of the Exarchate which they had promised _Pipin_ to surrender to
him, but had hitherto detained; and also gave him some cities of the
_Lombards_, and was in return himself made _Patricius_ by the _Romans_, and
had the authority of confirming the elections of the Popes conferred upon
him. These things were done in the years 773 and 774. This kingdom of the
_Lombards_ was the second kingdom which fell before the little horn. But
_Rome_, which was to be the seat of his kingdom, was not yet his own.

In the year 796, [10] _Leo_ III being made Pope, notified his election to
_Charles_ the great by his Legates, sending to him for a present, the
golden keys of the Confession of _Peter_, and the Banner of the city of
_Rome_: the first as an acknowledgment of the Pope's holding the cities of
the Exarchate and _Lombardy_ by the grant of _Charles_; the other as a
signification that _Charles_ should come and subdue the Senate and people
of _Rome_, as he had done the Exarchate and the kingdom of the _Lombards_.
For the Pope at the same time desired _Charles_ to send some of his Princes
to _Rome_, who might subject the _Roman_ people to him, and bind them by
oath _in fide & subjectione_, in fealty and subjection, as his words are
recited by _Sigonius_. An anonymous Poet, publish'd by _Boeclerus_ at
_Strasburg_, expresseth it thus:

  _Admonuitque piis precibus, qui mittere vellet_
  _Ex propriis aliquos primoribus, ac sibi plebem_
  _Subdere Romanam, servandaque foedera cogens_
  _Hanc fidei sacramentis promittere magnis_.

Hence arose a misunderstanding between the Pope and the city: and the
_Romans_ about two or three years after, by assistance of some of the
Clergy, raised such tumults against him, as gave occasion to a new state of
things in all the _West_. For two of the Clergy accused him of crimes, and
the _Romans_ with an armed force, seized him, stript him of his sacerdotal
habit, and imprisoned him in a monastery. But by assistance of his friends
he made his escape, and fled into _Germany_ to _Charles_ the great, to whom
he complained of the _Romans_ for acting against him out of a design to
throw off all authority of the Church, and to recover their antient
freedom. In his absence his accusers with their forces ravaged the
possessions of the Church, and sent the accusations to _Charles_; who
before the end of the year sent the Pope back to _Rome_ with a large
retinue. The Nobles and Bishops of _France_ who accompanied him, examined
the chief of his accusers at _Rome_, and sent them into _France_ in
custody. This was in the year 799. The next year _Charles_ himself went to
_Rome_, and upon a day appointed presided in a Council of _Italian_ and
_French_ Bishops to hear both parties. But when the Pope's adversaries
expected to be heard, the Council declared [11] that he who was the supreme
judge of all men, was above being judged by any other than himself:
whereupon he made a solemn declaration of his innocence before all the
people, and by doing so was looked upon as acquitted.

Soon after, upon _Christmas_-day, the people of _Rome_, who had hitherto
elected their Bishop, and reckoned that they and their Senate inherited the
rights of the antient Senate and people of _Rome_, voted _Charles_ their
Emperor, and subjected themselves to him in such manner as the old _Roman_
Empire and their Senate were subjected to the old _Roman_ Emperors. The
Pope crowned him, and anointed him with holy oil, and worshipped him on his
knees after the manner of adoring the old _Roman_ Emperors; as the
aforesaid Poet thus relates:

  _Post laudes igitur dictas & summus eundem_
  _Præsul adoravit, sicut mos debitus olim_
  _Principibus fuit antiquis_.

The Emperor, on the other hand, took the following oath to the Pope: _In
nomine Christi spondeo atque polliceor, Ego Carolus Imperator coram Deo &
beato Petro Apostolo, me protectorem ac defensorem fore hujus sanctæ Romanæ
Ecclesiæ in omnibus utilitatibus, quatenùs divino fultus fuero adjutorio,
prout sciero poteroque_. The Emperor was also made Consul of _Rome_, and
his son _Pipin_ crowned King of _Italy_: and henceforward the Emperor
stiled himself: _Carolus serenissimus, Augustus, à Deo coronatus, magnus,
pacificus, Romæ gubernans imperium_, or _Imperator Romanorum_; and was
prayed for in the Churches of _Rome_. His image was henceforward put upon
the coins of _Rome_: while the enemies of the Pope, to the number of three
hundred _Romans_ and two or three of the Clergy, were sentenced to death.
The three hundred _Romans_ were beheaded in one day in the _Lateran_
fields: but the Clergymen at the intercession of the Pope were pardoned,
and banished into _France_. And thus the title of _Roman_ Emperor, which
had hitherto been in the _Greek_ Emperors, was by this act transferred in
the _West_ to the Kings of _France_.

After these things [12] _Charles_ gave the City and Duchy of _Rome_ to the
Pope, subordinately to himself as Emperor of the _Romans_; spent the winter
in ordering the affairs of _Rome_, and those of the Apostolic see, and of
all _Italy_, both civil and ecclesiastical, and in making new laws for
them; and returned the next summer into _France_: leaving the city under
its Senate, and both under the Pope and himself. But hearing that his new
laws were not observed by the judges in dictating the law, nor by the
people in hearing it; and that the great men took servants from free men,
and from the Churches and Monasteries, to labour in their vineyards,
fields, pastures and houses, and continued to exact cattle and wine of
them, and to oppress those that served the Churches: he wrote to his son
_Pipin_ to remedy these abuses, to take care of the Church, and see his
laws executed.

Now the Senate and people and principality of _Rome_ I take to be the third
King the little horn overcame, and even the chief of the three. For this
people elected the Pope and the Emperor; and now, by electing the Emperor
and making him Consul, was acknowledged to retain the authority of the old
_Roman_ Senate and people. This city was the Metropolis of the old _Roman_
Empire, represented in _Daniel_ by the fourth Beast; and by subduing the
Senate and people and Duchy, it became the Metropolis of the little horn of
that Beast, and completed _Peter_'s Patrimony, which was the kingdom of
that horn. Besides, this victory was attended with greater consequences
than those over the other two Kings. For it set up the _Western Empire_,
which continues to this day. It set up the Pope above the judicature of the
_Roman_ Senate, and above that of a Council of _Italian_ and _French_
Bishops, and even above all human judicature; and gave him the supremacy
over the _Western_ Churches and their Councils in a high degree. It gave
him _a look more stout than his fellows_; so that when this new religion
began to be established in the minds of men, he grappled not only with
Kings, but even with the _Western_ Emperor himself. It is observable also,
that the custom of kissing the Pope's feet, an honour superior to that of
Kings and Emperors, began about this time. There are some instances of it
in the ninth century: _Platina_ tells us, that the feet of Pope _Leo_ IV
were kissed, according to antient custom, by all who came to him: and some
say that _Leo_ III began this custom, pretending that his hand was infected
by the kiss of a woman. The Popes began also about this time to canonize
saints, and to grant indulgences and pardons: and some represent that _Leo_
III was the first author of all these things. It is further observable,
that _Charles_ the great, between the years 775 and 796, conquered all
_Germany_ from the _Rhine_ and _Danube_ northward to the _Baltic_ sea, and
eastward to the river _Teis_; extending his conquests also into _Spain_ as
far as the river _Ebro_: and by these conquests he laid the foundation of
the new Empire; and at the same time propagated the _Roman_ Catholic
religion into all his conquests, obliging the _Saxons_ and _Hunns_ who were
heathens, to receive the _Roman_ faith, and distributing his northern
conquests into Bishopricks, granting tithes to the Clergy and _Peter-pence_
to the Pope: by all which the Church of _Rome_ was highly enlarged,
enriched, exalted, and established.

In the forementioned _dissertation upon some coins of _Charles_ the great,
_Ludovicus Pius_, _Lotharius_, and their successors, stamped at _Rome__,
there is a draught of a piece of _Mosaic_ work which Pope _Leo_ III. caused
to be made in his Palace near the Church of _John Lateran_, in memory of
his sending the standard or banner of the city of _Rome_ curiously wrought,
to _Charles_ the great; and which still remained there at the publishing of
the said book. In the _Mosaic_ work there appeared _Peter_ with three keys
in his lap, reaching the _Pallium_ to the Pope with his right hand, and the
banner of the city to _Charles_ the great with his left. By the Pope was
this inscription, SCISSIMUS D.N. LEO PP; by the King this, D.N. CARVLO
REGI; and under the feet of _Peter_ this, BEATE PETRE, DONA VITAM LEONI PP,
ET BICTORIAM CARVLO REGI DONA. This Monument gives the title of King to
_Charles_, and therefore was erected before he was Emperor. It was erected
when _Peter_ was reaching the _Pallium_ to the Pope, and the Pope was
sending the banner of the city to _Charles_, that is, A.C. 796. The words
above, _Sanctissimus Dominus noster Leo Papa Domino nostro Carolo Regi_,
relate to the message; and the words below, _Beate Petre, dona vitam Leoni
Papæ & victoriam Carolo regi dona_, are a prayer that in this undertaking
God would preserve the life of the Pope, and give victory to the King over
the _Romans_. The three keys in the lap of _Peter_ signify the keys of the
three parts of his Patrimony, that of _Rome_ with its Duchy, which the Pope
claimed and was conquering, those of _Ravenna_ with the Exarchate, and of
the territories taken from the _Lombards_; both which he had newly
conquered. These were the three dominions, whose keys were in the lap of
St. _Peter_, and whose Crowns are now worn by the Pope, and by the conquest
of which he became the little horn of the fourth Beast. By _Peter_'s giving
the _Pallium_ to the Pope with his right hand, and the banner of the city
to the King with his left, and by naming the Pope before the King in the
inscription, may be understood that the Pope was then reckoned superior in
dignity to the Kings of the earth.

After the death of _Charles_ the great, his son and successor _Ludovicus
Pius_, at the request of the Pope, [13] confirmed the donations of his
grandfather and father to the see of _Rome_. And in the confirmation he
names first _Rome_ with its Duchy extending into _Tuscany_ and _Campania_;
then the Exarchate of _Ravenna_, with _Pentapolis_; and in the third place,
the territories taken from the _Lombards_. These are his three conquests,
and he was to hold them of the Emperor for the use of the Church _sub
integritate_, entirely, without the Emperor's medling therewith, or with
the jurisdiction or power of the Pope therein, unless called thereto in
certain cases. This ratification the Emperor _Ludovicus_ made under an
oath: and as the King of the _Ostrogoths_, for acknowledging that he held
his kingdom of _Italy_ of the _Greek_ Emperor, stamped the effigies of the
Emperor on one side of his coins and his own on the reverse; so the Pope
made the like acknowledgment to the _Western_ Emperor. For the Pope began
now to coin money, and the coins of _Rome_ are henceforward found with the
heads of the Emperors, _Charles_, _Ludovicus Pius_, _Lotharius_, and their
successors, on the one side, and the Pope's inscription on the reverse, for
many years.

Notes to Chap. VII.

[1] Chap. vii. 8.

[2] Ver. 20, 21.

[3] Ver. 24.

[4] Ver. 25.

[5] Sigonius de Regno Italiæ, ad Ann. 726.

[6] Sigonius ib. ad Ann. 726, 752.

[7] Sigon. ib. Ann. 750.

[8] Sigon. ib. Ann. 753, 754, 755.

[9] Sigon. ib. Ann. 773.

[10] Sigon. de Regno Ital. ad Ann. 796.

[11] Vide Anastasium.

[12] Sigon. de Regno Ital.

[13] Confirmationem recitat Sigonius, lib. 4. de Regno Italiæ, ad An. 817.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. VIII.

_Of the power of the eleventh horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, to change
times and laws_.

In the reign of the _Greek_ Emperor _Justinian_, and again in the reign of
_Phocas_, the Bishop of _Rome_ obtained some dominion over the _Greek_
Churches, but of no long continuance. His standing dominion was only over
the nations of the _Western Empire_, represented by _Daniel_'s fourth
Beast. And this jurisdiction was set up by the following Edict of the
Emperors _Gratian_ and _Valentinian.--[1] Volumus ut quicunque judicio
Damasi, quod ille cum Concilio quinque vel septem habuerit Episcoporum, vel
eorum qui Catholici sunt judicio vel Concilio condemnatus fuerit, si juste
voluerit Ecclesiam retentare, ut qui ad sacerdotale judicium per
contumeliam non ivisset: ut ab illustribus viris Præfectis Prætorio Galliæ
atque Italiæ, authoritate adhibitâ, ad Episcopale judicium remittatur, sive
à Consularibus vel Vicariis, ut ad Urbem Romam sub prosecutione perveniat.
Aut si in longinquioribus partibus alicujus ferocitas talis emerserit,
omnis ejus causæ edictio ad Metropolitæ in eadem Provincia Episcopi
deduceretur examen. Vel si ipse Metropolitanus est, Romam necessariò, vel
ad eos quos Romanus Episcopus judices dederit, sine delatione
contendat.----Quod si vel Metropolitani Episcopi vel cujuscunque sacerdotis
iniquitas est suspecta, aut gratia; ad Romanum Episcopum, vel ad Concilium
quindecim finitimorum Episcoporum accersitum liceat provocare; modo ne post
examen habitum, quod definitum fuerit, integretur_. This Edict wanting the
name of both _Valens_ and _Theodosius_ in the Title, was made in the time
between their reigns, that is, in the end of the year 378, or the beginning
of 379. It was directed to the _Præfecti Prætorio Italiæ & Galliæ_, and
therefore was general. For the _Præfectus Prætorio Italiæ_ governed
_Italy_, _Illyricum occidentale_ and _Africa_; and the _Præfectus Prætorio
Galliæ_ governed _Gallia_, _Spain_, and _Britain_.

The granting of this jurisdiction to the Pope gave several Bishops occasion
to write to him for his resolutions upon doubtful cases, whereupon he
answered by decretal Epistles; and henceforward he gave laws to the
_Western_ Churches by such Epistles. _Himerius_ Bishop of _Tarraco_, the
head city of a province in _Spain_, writing to Pope _Damasus_ for his
direction about certain Ecclesiastical matters, and the Letter not arriving
at _Rome_ till after the death of _Damasus_, A.C. 384; his successor
_Siricius_ answered the same with a legislative authority, telling him of
one thing: _Cum hoc fieri--missa ad Provincias à venerandæ memoriæ
prædecessore meo Liberio generalia decreta, prohibeant_. Of another:
_Noverint se ab omni ecclesiastico honore, quo indignè usi sunt, Apostolicæ
Sedis auctoritate, dejectos_. Of another: _Scituri posthac omnium
Provinciarum summi Antistites, quod si ultrò ad sacros ordines quenquam de
talibus esse assumendum, & de suo & de aliorum statu, quos contra Canones &
interdicta nostra provexerint, congruam ab Apostolica Sede promendam esse
sententiam_. And the Epistle he concludes thus: _Explicuimus, ut arbitror,
frater charissime, universa quæ digesta sunt in querelam; & ad singulas
causas, de quibus ad Romanam Ecclesiam, utpote ad caput tui corporis,
retulisti; sufficientia, quantum opinor, responsa reddidimus. Nunc
fraternitatis tuæ animum ad servandos canones, & tenenda decretalia
constituta, magis ac magis incitamus: ad hæc quæ ad tua consulta
rescripsimus in omnium Coepiscoporum perferri facias notionem; & non solum
corum, qui in tua sunt dioecesi constituti, sed etiam ad universos
Carthaginenses ac Boeticos, Lusitanos atque [2] Gallicos, vel eos qui
vicinis tibi collimitant hinc inde Provinciis, hæc quæ a nobis sunt salubri
ordinatione disposita, sub literarum tuarum prosecutione mittantur. Et
quanquam statuta sedis Apostolicæ vel Canonum venerabilia definita, nulli
Sacerdotum Domini ignorare sit liberum: utilius tamen, atque pro
antiquitate sacerdotii tui, dilectioni tuæ esse admodùm poterit gloriosum,
si ea quæ ad te speciali nomine generaliter scripta sunt, per unanimitatis
tuæ sollicitudinem in universorum fratrum nostrorum notitiam perferantur;
quatenus & quæ à nobis non inconsultè sed providè sub nimia cautela &
deliberatione sunt salubriter constituta, intemerata permaneant, & omnibus
in posterum excusationibus aditus, qui jam nulli apud nos patere poterit,
obstruatur. Dat. 3 Id. Febr. Arcadio & Bautone viris clarissimis
Consulibus_, A.C. 385. Pope _Liberius_ in the reign of _Jovian_ or
_Valentinian_ I. sent general Decrees to the Provinces, ordering that the
_Arians_ should not be rebaptized: and this he did in favour of the Council
of _Alexandria_, that nothing more should be required of them than to
renounce their opinions. Pope _Damasus_ is said to have decreed in a
_Roman_ Council, that _Tithes_ and _Tenths_ should be paid upon pain of an
_Anathema_; and that _Glory be to the Father_, &c. should be said or sung
at the end of the _Psalms_. But the first decretal Epistle now extant is
this of _Siricius_ to _Himerius_; by which the Pope made _Himerius_ his
Vicar over all _Spain_ for promulging his Decrees, and seeing them
observed. The Bishop of _Sevill_ was also the Pope's Vicar sometimes; for
_Simplicius_ wrote thus to _Zeno_ Bishop of that place: _Talibus idcirco
gloriantes indiciis, congruum duximus vicariâ Sedis nostræ te auctoritate
fulciri: cujus vigore munitus, Apostolicæ institutionis Decreta, vel
sanctorum terminos Patrum, nullatenus transcendi permittas_. And Pope
_Hormisda_ [3] made the Bishop of _Sevill_ his Vicar over _Boetica_ and
_Lusitania_, and the Bishop of _Tarraco_ his Vicar over all the rest of
_Spain_, as appears by his Epistles to them.

Pope _Innocent_ the first, in his decretal Epistle to _Victricius_ Bishop
of _Rouen_ in _France_, A.C. 404, in pursuance of the Edict of _Gratian_,
made this Decree: _Si quæ autem causæ vel contentiones inter Clericos tam
superioris ordinis quam etiam inferioris fuerint exortæ; ut secundum
Synodum Nicenam congregatis ejusdem Provinciæ Episcopis jurgium terminetur:
nec alicui liceat, [4] Romanæ Ecclesiæ, cujus in omnibus causis debet
reverentia custodiri, relictis his sacerdotibus, qui in eadem Provincia Dei
Ecclesiam nutu Divino gubernant, ad alias convolare Provincias. Quod siquis
fortè præsumpserit; & ab officio Clericatûs summotus, & injuriarum reus
judicetur. Si autem majores causæ in medium fuerint devolutæ, ad Sedem
Apostolicam sicut Synodus statuit, & beata consuetudo exigit, post judicium
Episcopale referantur_. By these Letters it seems to me that _Gallia_ was
now subject to the Pope, and had been so for some time, and that the Bishop
of _Rouen_ was then his Vicar or one of them: for the Pope directs him to
refer the greater causes to the See of _Rome_, according to custom. But the
Bishop of _Arles_ soon after became the Pope's Vicar over all _Gallia_: for
Pope _Zosimus_, A.C. 417, ordaining that none should have access to him
without the credentials of his Vicars, conferred upon _Patroclus_ the
Bishop of _Arles_ this authority over all _Gallia_, by the following
Decree.

_Zosimus universis Episcopis per Gallias & septem
Provincias constitutis_.

_Placuit Apostolicæ Sedi, ut siquis ex qualibet Galliarum parte sub
quolibet ecclesiastico gradu ad nos Romæ venire contendit, vel aliò
terrarum ire disponit, non aliter proficiscatur nisi Metropolitani Episcopi
Formatas acceperit, quibus sacerdotium suum vel locum ecclesiasticum quem
habet, scriptorum ejus adstipulatione perdoceat: quod ex gratia statuimus
quia plures episcopi sive presbyteri sive ecclesiastici simulantes, quia
nullum documentum Formatarum extat per quod valeant confutari, in nomen
venerationis irrepunt, & indebitam reverentiam promerentur. Quisquis
igitur, fratres charissimi, prætermissà supradicti Formatâ sive episcopus,
sive presbyter, sive diaconus, aut deinceps inferiori gradu sit, ad nos
venerit: sciat se omnino suscipi non posse. Quam auctoritatem ubique nos
misisse manifestum est, ut cunctis regionibus innotescat id quod statuimus
omnimodis esse servandum. Siquis autem hæc salubriter constituta temerare
tentaverit sponte suâ, se a nostra noverit communione discretum. Hoc autem
privilegium Formatarum sancto Patroclo fratri & coepiscopo nostro,
meritorum ejus speciali contemplatione, concessimus_. And that the Bishop
of _Arles_ was sometimes the Pope's Vicar over all _France_, is affirmed
also by all the Bishops of the Diocess of _Arles_ in their Letter to Pope
_Leo_ I. _Cui id etiam honoris dignitatisque collatum est_, say they, _ut
non tantum has Provincias potestate propriâ gubernaret; verum etiam omnes
Gallias sibi Apostolicæ Sedis vice mandatas, sub omni ecclesiastica regula
contineret_. And Pope _Pelagius_ I. A.C. 556, in his Epistle to _Sapaudus_
Bishop of _Arles_: _Majorum nostrorum, operante Dei misericordiâ, cupientes
inhærere vestigiis & eorum actus divino examine in omnibus imitari:
Charitati tuæ per universam Galliam, sanctæ Sedis Apostolicæ, cui divinâ
gratiâ præsidemus, vices injungimus_.

By the influence of the same imperial Edict, not only _Spain_ and _Gallia_,
but also _Illyricum_ became subject to the Pope. _Damasus_ made
_Ascholius_, or _Acholius_, Bishop of _Thessalonica_ the Metropolis of
_Oriental Illyricum_, his Vicar for hearing of causes; and in the year 382,
_Acholius_ being summoned by Pope _Damasus_, came to a Council at _Rome_.
Pope _Siricius_ the successor of _Damasus_, decreed that no Bishop should
be ordained in _Illyricum_ without the consent of _Anysius_ the successor
of _Acholius_. And the following Popes gave _Rufus_ the successor of
_Anysius_, a power of calling Provincial Councils: for in the Collections
of _Holstenius_ there is an account of a Council of _Rome_ convened under
Pope _Boniface_ II. in which were produced Letters of _Damasus_,
_Syricius_, _Innocent_ I. _Boniface_ I. and _Cælestine_ Bishops of _Rome_,
to _Ascholius_, _Anysius_ and _Rufus_, Bishops of _Thessalonica_: in which
Letters they commend to them the hearing of causes in _Illyricum_, granted
by the Lord and the holy Canons to the Apostolic See thro'out that
Province. And Pope _Siricius_ saith in his Epistle to _Anysius_: _Etiam
dudum, frater charissime, per Candidianum Episcopum, qui nos præcessit ad
Dominum, hujusmodi literas dederamus, ut nulla licentia esset, sine
consensu tuo in Illyrico Episcopos ordinare præsumere, quæ utrum ad te
pervenerint scire non potui. Multa enim gesta sunt per contentionem ab
Episcopis in ordinationibus faciendis, quod tua melius caritas novit_. And
a little after: _Ad omnem enim hujusmodi audaciam comprimendam vigilare
debet instantia tua, Spiritu in te Sancto fervente: ut vel ipse, si potes,
vel quos judicaveris Episcopos idoneos, cum literis dirigas, dato consensu
qui possit, in ejus locum qui defunctus vel depositus fuerit, Catholicum
Episcopum vitâ & moribus probatum, secundum Nicænæ Synodi statuta vel
Ecclesiæ Romanæ, Clericum de Clero meritum ordinare_. And Pope _Innocent_
I. saith in his Epistle to _Anysius_: _Cui_ [Anysio] _etiam anteriores
tanti ac tales viri prædecessores mei Episcopi, id est, sanctæ memoriæ
Damasus, Siricius, atque supra memoratus vir ita detulerunt; ut omnia quæ
in omnibus illis partibus gererentur, Sanctitati tuæ, quæ plena justitiæ
est, traderent cognoscenda_. And in his Epistle to _Rufus_ the successor of
_Anysius_: _Ita longis intervallis disterminatis à me ecclesiis discat
consulendum; ut prudentiæ gravitatique tuæ committendam curam causasque,
siquæ exoriantur, per Achaiæ, Thessaliæ, Epiri veteris, Epiri novæ, &
Cretæ, Daciæ mediterraneæ, Daciæ ripensis, Moesiæ, Dardaniæ, & Prævali
ecclesias, Christo Domino annuente, censeam. Verè enim ejus sacratissimis
monitis lectissimæ sinceritatis tuæ providentiæ & virtuti hanc injungimus
sollicitudinem: non primitùs hæc statuentes, sed Præcessores nostros
Apostolicos imitati, qui beatissimis Acholio & Anysio injungi pro meritis
ista voluerunt_. And _Boniface_ I. in his decretal Epistle to _Rufus_ and
the rest of the Bishops in _Illyricum_: _Nullus, ut frequenter dixi,
alicujus ordinationem citra ejus_ [Episcopi Thessalonicensis] _conscientiam
celebrare præsumat: cui, ut supra dictum est, vice nostrâ cuncta
committimus_. And Pope _Cælestine_, in his decretal Epistle to the Bishops
thro'out _Illyricum_, saith: _Vicem nostram per vestram Provinciam
noveritis_ [Rufo] _esse commissam, ita ut ad eum, fratres carissimi,
quicquid de causis agitur, referatur. Sine ejus consilio nullus ordinetur.
Nullus usurpet, eodem inconscio, commissam illi Provinciam; colligere nisi
cum ejus voluntate Episcopus non præsumat_. And in the cause of
_Perigenes_, in the title of his Epistle, he thus enumerates the Provinces
under this Bishop: _Rufo & cæteris Episcopis per Macedoniam, Achaiam,
Thessaliam, Epirum veterem, Epirum novam, Prævalin, & Daciam constitutis_.
And Pope _Xistus_ in a decretal Epistle to the same Bishops: _Illyricanæ
omnes Ecclesiæ, ut à decessoribus nostris recepimus, & nos quoque fecimus,
ad curam nunc pertinent Thessalonicensis Antistitis, ut suâ sollicitudine,
siquæ inter fratres nascantur, ut assolent, actiones distinguat atque
definiat; & ad eum, quicquid à singulis sacerdotibus agitur, referatur. Sit
Concilium, quotiens causæ fuerint, quotiens ille pro necessitatum
emergentium ratione decreverit_. And Pope _Leo_ I. in his decretal Epistle
to _Anastasius_ Bishop of _Thessalonica_: _Singulis autem Metropolitanis
sicut potestas ista committitur, ut in suis Provinciis jus habeant
ordinandi; ita eos Metropolitanos à te volumus ordinari; maturo tamen &
decocto judicio_.

_Occidental Illyricum_ comprehended _Pannonia prima_ and _secunda_,
_Savia_, _Dalmatia_, _Noricum mediterraneum_, and _Noricum ripense_; and
its Metropolis was _Sirmium_, till _Attila_ destroyed this city. Afterwards
_Laureacum_ became the Metropolis of _Noricum_ and both _Pannonias_, and
_Salona_ the Metropolis of _Dalmatia_. Now [5] the Bishops of _Laureacum_
and _Salona_ received the _Pallium_ from the Pope: and _Zosimus_, in his
decretal Epistle to _Hesychius_ Bishop of _Salona_, directed him to
denounce the Apostolic decrees as well to the Bishops of his own, as to
those of the neighbouring Provinces. The subjection of these Provinces to
the See of _Rome_ seems to have begun in _Anemius_, who was ordained Bishop
of _Sirmium_ by _Ambrose_ Bishop of _Millain_, and who in the Council of
_Aquileia_ under Pope _Damasus_, A.C. 381, declared his sentence in these
words: _Caput Illyrici non nisi civitas Sirmiensis: Ego igitur illius
civitatis Episcopus sum. Eum qui non confitetur filium Dei æternum, &
coeternum patri, qui est sempiternus, anathema dico_. The next year
_Anemius_ and _Ambrose_, with _Valerian_ Bishop of _Aquileia_, _Acholias_
Bishop of _Thessalonica,_ and many others, went to the Council of _Rome_,
which met for overruling the _Greek_ Church by majority of votes, and
exalting the authority of the Apostolic See, as was attempted before in the
Council of _Sardica_.

_Aquileia_ was the second city of the _Western Empire_, and by some called
the second _Rome_. It was the Metropolis of _Istria_, _Forum Julium_, and
_Venetia_; and its subjection to the See of _Rome_ is manifest by the
decretal Epistle of _Leo_ I. directed to _Nicetas_ Bishop of this city; for
the Pope begins his Epistle thus: _Regressus ad nos filius meus Adeodatus
Diaconus Sedis nostræ, dilectionem tuam poposcisse memorat, ut de his à
nobis authoritatem Apostolicæ Sedis acciperes, quæ quidem magnam
difficultatem dijudicationis videntur afferre_. Then he sets down an answer
to the questions proposed by _Nicetas_, and concludes thus: _Hanc autem
Epistolam nostram, quam ad consultationem tuæ fraternitatis emisimus, ad
omnes fratres & comprovinciales tuos Episcopos facies pervenire, ut in
omnium observantia, data profit authoritas. Data 1-2 Kal. Apr. Majorano
Aug. Cos._ A.C. 458. _Gregory_ the great A.C. 591, [6] cited _Severus_
Bishop of _Aquileia_ to appear before him in judgment in a Council at
_Rome_.

The Bishops of _Aquileia_ and _Millain_ created one another, and therefore
were of equal authority, and alike subject to the See of _Rome_. Pope
_Pelagius_ about the year 557, testified this in the following words: [7]
_Mos antiquus fuit_, saith he, _ut quia pro longinquitate vel difficultate
itineris, ab Apostolico illis onerosum fuerit ordinari, ipsi se invicem
Mediolanensis & Aquileiensis ordinare Episcopos debuissent_. These words
imply that the ordination of these two Bishops belonged to the See of
_Rome_. When _Laurentius_ Bishop of _Millain_ had excommunicated _Magnus_,
one of his Presbyters, and was dead, [8] _Gregory_ the great absolved
_Magnus_, and sent the _Pallium_ to the new elected Bishop _Constantius_;
whom the next year [9] he reprehended of partiality in judging
_Fortunatus_, and commanded him to send _Fortunatus_ to _Rome_ to be judged
there: four years after [10] he appointed the Bishops of _Millain_ and
_Ravenna_ to hear the cause of one _Maximus_; and two years after, viz.
A.C. 601, when _Constantius_ was dead, and the people of _Millain_ had
elected _Deusdedit_ his successor, and the _Lombards_ had elected another,
[11] _Gregory_ wrote to the Notary, Clergy, and People of _Millain_, that
by the authority of his Letters _Deusdedit_ should be ordained, and that he
whom the _Lombards_ had ordained was an unworthy successor of _Ambrose_:
whence I gather, that the Church of _Millain_ had continued in this state
of subordination to the See of _Rome_ ever since the days of _Ambrose_; for
_Ambrose_ himself acknowledged the authority of that See. _Ecclesia
Romana_, [12] saith he, _hanc consuetudinem non habet, cujus typum in
omnibus sequimur, & formam_. And a little after: _In omnibus cupio sequi
Ecclesiam Romanam_. And in his Commentary upon 1 _Tim_. iii. _Cum totus
mundus Dei sit, tamen domus ejus Ecclesia dicitur, cujus hodie rector est
Damasus_. In his Oration on the death of his brother _Satyrus_, he relates
how his brother coming to a certain city of _Sardinia_, _advocavit
Episcopum loci, percontatusque est ex eo utrum cum Episcopis Catholicis hoc
est cum Romana Ecclesia conveniret?_ And in conjunction with the Synod of
_Aquileia_ A.C. 381, in a synodical Epistle to the Emperor _Gratian_, he
saith: _Totius orbis Romani caput Romanam Ecclesiam, atque illam
sacrosanctam Apostolorum fidem, ne turbari sineret, obsecranda fuit
clementia vestra; inde enim in omnes venerandæ communionis jura dimanant_.
The Churches therefore of _Aquileia_ and _Millain_ were subject to the See
of _Rome_ from the days of the Emperor _Gratian_. _Auxentius_ the
predecessor of _Ambrose_ was not subject to the see of _Rome_, and
consequently the subjection of the Church of _Millain_ began in _Ambrose_.
This Diocese of _Millain_ contained _Liguria_ with _Insubria_, the _Alpes
Cottiæ_ and _Rhætia_; and was divided from the Diocese of _Aquileia_ by the
river _Addua_. In the year 844, the Bishop of _Millain_ broke off from the
See of _Rome_, and continued in this separation about 200 years, as is thus
related by [13] _Sigonius_: _Eodem anno Angilbertus Mediolanensis
Archiepiscopus ab Ecclesia Romana parum comperta de causa descivit,
tantumque exemplo in posterum valuit, ut non nisi post ducentos annos
Ecclesia Mediolanensis ad Romanæ obedientiam auctoritatemque redierit_.

The Bishop of _Ravenna_, the Metropolis of _Flaminia_ and _Æmilia_, was
also subject to the Pope: for _Zosimus_, A.C. 417, excommunicated some of
the Presbyters of that Church, and wrote a commonitory Epistle about them
to the Clergy of that Church as a branch of the _Roman_ Church: _In sua_,
saith he, _hoc est, in Ecclesia nostra Romana_. When those of _Ravenna_,
having elected a new Bishop, gave notice thereof to Pope _Sixtus_, the Pope
set him aside, and [14] ordained _Peter Chrysologus_ in his room.
_Chrysologus_ in his Epistle to _Eutyches_, extant in the Acts of the
Council of _Chalcedon_, wrote thus: _Nos pro studio pacis & fidei, extra
consensum Romanæ civitatis Episcopi, causas fidei audire non possumus_.
Pope _Leo_ I. being consulted by _Leo_ Bishop of _Ravenna_ about some
questions, answered him by a decretal Epistle A.C. 451. And Pope _Gregory_
the great, [15] reprehending _John_ Bishop of _Ravenna_ about the use of
the _Pallium_, tells him of a Precept of one of his Predecessors, Pope
_John_, commanding that all the Privileges formerly granted to the Bishop
and Church of _Ravenna_ should be kept: to this _John_ returned a
submissive answer; and after his death Pope _Gregory_ ordered a visitation
of the Church of _Ravenna_, confirmed the privileges heretofore granted
them, and sent his _Pallium_, as of antient custom, to their new Bishop
_Marinian_. Yet this Church revolted sometimes from the Church of _Rome_,
but returned again to its obedience.

The rest of _Italy_, with the Islands adjacent, containing the
_suburbicarian_ regions, or ten Provinces under the temporal Vicar of
_Rome, viz._ 1_Campania_, 2_Tuscia_ and _Umbria_, 3_Picenum suburbicarium_,
4_Sicily_, 5_Apulia_ and _Calabria_, 6_Brutii_ and _Lucania_, 7_Samnium_,
8_Sardinia_, 9_Corsica_, and 10_Valeria_, constituted the proper Province
of the Bishop of _Rome_. For the Council of _Nice_ in their fifth Canon
ordained that Councils should be held every spring and autumn in every
Province; and according to this Canon, the Bishops of this Province met at
_Rome_ every half year. In this sense Pope _Leo_ I. applied this Canon to
_Rome_, in a decretal Epistle to the Bishops of _Sicily_, written _Alippio
& Ardabure Coss_. A.C. 447. _Quia saluberrime_, saith he, _à sanctis
patribus constitutum est, binos in annis singulis Episcoporum debere esse
conventus, terni semper ex vobis ad diem tertium Kalendarum Octobrium Romam
æterno concilio sociandi occurrant. Et indissimulanter à vobis hæc
consuetudo servetur, quoniam adjuvante Dei gratiâ, faciliùs poterit
provideri, ut in Ecclesiis Christi nulla scandala, nulli nascantur errores;
cum coram Apostolo Petro semper in communione tractatum fuerit, ut omnia
Canonum Decreta apud omnes Domini sacerdotes inviolata permaneant_. The
Province of _Rome_ therefore comprehended _Sicily_, with so much of _Italy_
and the neighbouring Islands as sent Bishops to the annual Councils of
_Rome_; but extended not into the Provinces of _Ravenna_, _Aquileia_,
_Millain_, _Arles_, &c. those Provinces having Councils of their own. The
Bishops in every Province of the _Roman_ Empire were convened in Council by
the Metropolitan or Bishop of the head city of the Province, and this
Bishop presided in that Council: but the Bishop of _Rome_ did not only
preside in his own Council of the Bishops of the _suburbicarian_ regions,
but also gave Orders to the Metropolitans of all the other Provinces in the
_Western Empire_, as their universal governor; as may be further perceived
by the following instances.

Pope _Zosimus_ A.C. 417, cited _Proculus_ Bishop of _Marseilles_ to appear
before a Council at _Rome_ for illegitimate Ordinations; and condemned him,
as he mentions in several of his Epistles. Pope _Boniface_ I. A.C. 419,
upon a complaint of the Clergy of _Valentia_ against _Maximus_ a Bishop,
summoned the Bishops of all _Gallia_ and the seven Provinces to convene in
a Council against him; and saith in his Epistle, that his Predecessors had
done the like. Pope _Leo_ I. called a general Council of all the Provinces
of _Spain_ to meet in _Gallæcia_ against the _Manichees_ and
_Priscillianists_, as he says in his decretal Epistle to _Turribius_ a
_Spanish_ Bishop. And in one of his decretal Epistles to _Nicetas_ Bishop
of _Aquileia_, he commands him to call a Council of the Bishops of that
Province against the _Pelagians_, which might ratify all the Synodal
Decrees which had been already ratified by the See of _Rome_ against this
heresy. And in his decretal Epistle to _Anastasius_ Bishop of
_Thessalonica_, he ordained that Bishop should hold two Provincial Councils
every year, and refer the harder causes to the See of _Rome_: and if upon
any extraordinary occasion it should be necessary to call a Council, he
should not be troublesom to the Bishops under him, but content himself with
two Bishops out of every Province, and not detain them above fifteen days.
In the same Epistle he describes the form of Church-Government then set up,
to consist in a subordination of all the Churches to the See of _Rome_: _De
qua forma_, saith he, _Episcoporum quoque est orta distinctio, & magna
dispositione provisum est ne omnes sibi omnia vindicarent, sed essent in
singulis Provinciis singuli quorum inter fratres haberetur prima sententia,
& rursus quidam in majoribus urbibus constituti sollicitudinem sumerent
ampliorem, per quos ad unam Petri Sedem universalis Ecclesiæ cura
conflueret, & nihil usque à suo capite dissideret. Qui ergo scit se
quibusdam esse præpositum, non moleste ferat aliquem sibi esse præpositum;
sed obedientiam quam exigit etiam ipse dependat; et sicut non vult gravis
oneris sarcinam ferre, ita non audeat aliis importabile pondus imponere_.
These words sufficiently shew the monarchical form of government then set
up in the Churches of the _Western Empire_ under the Bishop of _Rome_, by
means of the imperial Decree of _Gratian_, and the appeals and decretal
Epistles grounded thereupon.

The same Pope _Leo_, having in a Council at _Rome_ passed sentence upon
_Hilary_ Bishop of _Arles_, for what he had done by a Provincial Council in
_Gallia_, took occasion from thence to procure the following Edict from the
_Western_ Emperor _Valentinian_ III. for the more absolute establishing the
authority of his See over all the Churches of the _Western Empire_.

_Impp. Theodosius & Valentinianus AA. Aetio
Viro illustri, Comiti & Magistro utriusque
militiæ & Patricio._

_Certum est & nobis & imperio nostro unicum esse præsidium in supernæ
Divinitatis favore, ad quem promerendum præcipue Christiana fides &
veneranda nobis religio suffragatur. Cum igitur Sedis Apostolicæ Primatum
sancti Petri meritum, qui princeps est Episcopalis coronæ & Romanæ dignitas
civitatis, sacræ etiam Synodi firmavit auctoritas: ne quid præter
auctoritatem Sedis istius illicitum præsumptio attemperare nitatur: tunc
enim demum Ecclesiarum pax ubique servabitur, si Rectorem suum agnoscat
Universitas. Hæc cum hactenus inviolabiliter suerint custodita, Hilarius
Arelatensis, sicut venerabilis viri Leonis Romani Papæ fideli relatione
comperimus, contumaci ausu illicita quædam præsumenda tentavit, & ideo
Transalpinas Ecclesias abominabilis tumultus invasit, quod recens maximè
testatur exemplum. Hilarius enim qui Episcopus Arelatensis vocatur,
Ecclesiæ Romanæ urbis inconsulto Pontifice indebitas sibi ordinationes
Episcoporum solâ temeritate usurpans invasit. Nam alios incompetenter
removit; indecenter alios, invitis & repugnantibus civibus, ordinavit. Qui
quidem, quoniam non facile ab his qui non elegerant, recipiebantur, manum
sibi contrahebat armatam, & claustra murorum in hostilem morem vel
obsidione cingebat, vel aggressione reserabat, & ad sedem quietis pacem
prædicaturus per bella ducebat: His talibus contra Imperii majestatem, &
contra reverentiam Apostolicæ Sedis admissis, per ordinem religiosi viri
Urbis Papæ cognitione discussis, certa in eum, ex his quos malè
ordinaverat, lata sententia est. Erat quidem ipsa sententia per Gallias
etiam sine Imperiali Sanctione valitura: quid enim Pontificis auctoritate
non liceret? Sed nostram quoque præceptionem hæc ratio provocavit. Nec
ulterius vel Hilario, quem adhuc Episcopum nuncupare sola mansueta Præsulis
permittit humanitas, nec cuiquam alteri ecclesiasticis rebus arma miscere,
aut præceptis Romani Antistitis liceat obviare: ausibus enim talibus fides
& reverentia nostri violatur Imperii. Nec hoc solum, quod est maximi
criminis, submovemus: verum ne levis saltem inter Ecclesias turba nascatur,
vel in aliquo minui religionis disciplina videatur, hoc perenni sanctione
discernimus; nequid tam Episcopis Gallicanis quam aliarum Provinciarum
contra consuetudinem veterem liceat, sine viri venerabilis Papæ Urbis
æternæ auctoritate, tentare. Sed illis omnibusque pro lege sit, quicquid
sanxit vel sanxerit Apostolicæ Sedis auctoritas: ita ut quisquis
Episcoporum ad judicium Romani Antistitis evocatus venire neglexerit, per
Moderatorem ejusdem Provinciæ adesse cogatur, per omnia servatis quæ Divi
parentes nostri Romanæ Ecclesiæ detulerunt, Aetî pater carissime Augusti.
Unde illustris & præclara magnificentia tua præsentis Edictalis Legis
auctoritate faciet quæ sunt superius statuta servari, decem librarum auri
multa protinus exigenda ab unoquoque Judice qui passus fuerit præcepta
nostra violari. Divinitas te servet per multos annos, parens carissime.
Dat. _viii._ Id. Jun. Romæ, Valentiniano A. _vi._ Consule_, A.C. 445. By
this Edict the Emperor _Valentinian_ enjoined an absolute obedience to the
will of the Bishop of _Rome_ thro'out all the Churches of his Empire; and
declares, that for the Bishops to attempt any thing without the Pope's
authority is contrary to antient custom, and that the Bishops summoned to
appear before his judicature must be carried thither by the Governor of the
Province; and he ascribes these privileges of the See of _Rome_ to the
concessions of his dead Ancestors, that is, to the Edict of _Gratian_ and
_Valentinian_ II. as above: by which reckoning this dominion of the Church
of _Rome_ was now of 66 years standing: and if in all this time it had not
been sufficiently established, this new Edict was enough to settle it
beyond all question thro'out the _Western Empire_.

Hence all the Bishops of the Province of _Arles_ in their Letter to Pope
_Leo_, A.C. 450, petitioning for a restitution of the privileges of their
Metropolitan, say: _Per beatum Petrum Apostolorum principem, sacrosancta
Ecclesia Romana tenebat supra omnes totius mundi Ecclesias principatum_.
And _Ceratius_, _Salonius_ and _Veranus_, three Bishops of _Gallia_, say,
in their Epistle to the same Pope: _Magna præterea & ineffabili quadam nos
peculiares tui gratulatione succrescimus, quod illa specialis doctrinæ
vestræ pagina ita per omnium Ecclesiarum conventicula celebratur, ut vere
consona omnium sententia declaretur; merito illic principatum Sedis
Apostolicæ constitutum, unde adhuc Apostolici spiritus oracula reserentur_.
And _Leo_ himself, in [16] his Epistle to the metropolitan Bishops thro'out
_Illyricum_: _Quia per omnes Ecclesias cura nostra distenditur, exigente
hoc à nobis Domino, qui Apostolicæ dignitatis beatissimo Apostolo Petro
primatum, fidei sui remuneratione commisit, universalem Ecclesiam in
fundamenti ipsius soliditate constituens_.

While this Ecclesiastical Dominion was rising up, the northern barbarous
nations invaded the _Western Empire_, and founded several kingdoms therein,
of different religions from the Church of _Rome_. But these kingdoms by
degrees embraced the _Roman_ faith, and at the same time submitted to the
Pope's authority. The _Franks_ in _Gaul_ submitted in the end of the fifth
Century, the _Goths_ in _Spain_ in the end of the sixth; and the _Lombards_
in _Italy_ were conquered by _Charles_ the great A.C. 774. Between the
years 775 and 794, the same _Charles_ extended the Pope's authority over
all _Germany_ and _Hungary_ as far as the river _Theysse_ and the _Baltic_
sea; he then set him above all human judicature, and at the same time
assisted him in subduing the City and Duchy of _Rome_. By the conversion of
the ten kingdoms to the _Roman_ religion, the Pope only enlarged his
spiritual dominion, but did not yet rise up as a horn of the Beast. It was
his temporal dominion which made him one of the horns: and this dominion he
acquired in the latter half of the eighth century, by subduing three of the
former horns as above. And now being arrived at a temporal dominion, and a
power above all human judicature, he reigned [17] _with a look more stout
than his fellows_, and [18] _times and laws were_ henceforward _given into
his hands, for a time times and half a time_, or three times and an half;
that is, for 1260 solar years, reckoning a time for a Calendar year of 360
days, and a day for a solar year. After which [19] _the judgment is to sit,
and they shall take away his dominion_, not at once, but by degrees, _to
consume, and to destroy it unto the end. [20] And the kingdom and dominion,
and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall_, by degrees, _be
given unto the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him_.

Notes to Chap. VIII.

[1] _See the Annals of _Baronius__, Anno 381. Sect. 6.

[2] Populos Galliciæ.

[3] Hormisd. Epist. 24. 26.

[4] _The words, _sine auctoritate_, seem wanting._

[5] Vide Caroli a S. Paulo Geographiam sacram, p. 72, 73.

[6] Greg. M. lib. 1. Indic. 9. Epist. 16.

[7] Apud Gratianum de Mediolanensi & Aquileiensi Episcopis.

[8] Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 26. & lib. 4. Epist. 1.

[9] Greg. lib. 5. Epist. 4.

[10] Greg. lib. 9. Epist. 10 & 67.

[11] Greg. lib. 11. Epist. 3, 4.

[12] Ambros l. 3. de sacramentis, c. 1.

[13] Sigonius de Regno Italiæ, lib. 5.

[14] _See _Baronius__, Anno 433. Sect. 24.

[15] Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 56, 57. & lib. 5. Epist. 25, 26, 56.

[16] Epist. 25. apud Holstenium.

[17] Dan. vii. 20.

[18] Ver. 25.

[19] Ver. 26.

[20] Ver. 27.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. IX.

_Of the kingdoms represented in _Daniel_ by the Ram and He-Goat_.

The second and third Empires, represented by the Bear and Leopard, are
again represented by the Ram and He-Goat; but with this difference, that
the Ram represents the kingdoms of the _Medes_ and _Persians_ from the
beginning of the four Empires, and the Goat represents the kingdom of the
_Greeks_ to the end of them. By this means, under the type of the Ram and
He-Goat, the times of all the four Empires are again described: _I lifted
up mine eyes_, saith [1] _Daniel_, _and saw_, _and behold there stood
before the river_ [Ulai] _a Ram which had two horns, and the two horns were
high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.--And
the Ram having two horns, are the kings of _Media_ and _Persia__: not two
persons but two kingdoms, the kingdoms of _Media_ and _Persia_; and the
kingdom of _Persia_ was the higher horn and came up last. The kingdom of
_Persia_ rose up, when _Cyrus_ having newly conquered _Babylon_, revolted
from _Darius_ King of the _Medes_, and beat him at _Pasargadæ_, and set up
the _Persians_ above the _Medes_. This was the horn which came up last. And
the horn which came up first was the kingdom of the _Medes_, from the time
that _Cyaxares_ and _Nebuchadnezzar_ overthrew _Nineveh_, and shared the
Empire of the _Assyrians_ between them. The Empires of _Media_ and
_Babylon_ were contemporary, and rose up together by the fall of the
_Assyrian_ Empire; and the Prophecy of the four Beasts begins with one of
them, and that of the Ram and He-Goat with the other. As the Ram represents
the kingdom of _Media_ and _Persia_ from the beginning of the four Empires;
so the He-Goat represents the Empire of the _Greeks_ to the end of those
Monarchies. In the reign of his great horn, and of the four horns which
succeeded it, he represents this Empire during the reign of the Leopard:
and in the reign of his little horn, which stood up in the latter time of
the kingdom of the four, and after their fall became mighty but not by his
own power, he represents it during the reign of the fourth Beast.

_The rough Goat_, saith _Daniel, is the King of_ Grecia, that is, the
kingdom; _and the great horn between his eyes is the first King_: not the
first Monarch, but the first kingdom, that which lasted during the reign of
_Alexander_ the great, and his brother _Aridæus_ and two young sons,
_Alexander_ and _Hercules_. [2] _Now that_ [horn] _being broken off,
whereas four_ [horns] _stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of
the nation_ [of the _Greeks_], _but not in his_ [the first horn's] _power_.
The four horns are therefore four kingdoms; and by consequence, the first
great horn which they succeeded is the first great kingdom of the _Greeks_,
that which was founded by _Alexander_ the great, _An. Nabonass._ 414, and
lasted till the death of his son _Hercules_, _An. Nabonass._ 441. And the
four are those of _Cassander_, _Lysimachus_, _Antigonus_, and _Ptolemy_, as
above.

[3] _And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are
come to the full, a King_ [or new kingdom] _of fierce countenance, and
understanding dark sentences, shall stand up: and his power shall be
mighty, but not by his own power_. This King was the last horn of the Goat,
the little horn which came up out of one of the four horns, and waxed
exceeding great. The latter time of their kingdom was when the _Romans_
began to conquer them, that is, when they conquered _Perseus_ King of
_Macedonia_, the fundamental kingdom of the _Greeks_. And at that time the
transgressors came to the full: for then the High-priesthood was exposed to
sale, the Vessels of the Temple were sold to pay for the purchase; and the
High-priest, with some of the _Jews_, procured a licence from _Antiochus
Epiphanes_ to do after the ordinances of the heathen, and set up a school
at _Jerusalem_ for teaching those ordinances. Then _Antiochus_ took
_Jerusalem_ with an armed force, slew 4000 _Jews_, took as many prisoners
and sold them, spoiled the Temple, interdicted the worship, commanded the
Law of _Moses_ to be burnt, and set up the worship of the heathen Gods in
all _Judea_. In the very same year, _An. Nabonass._ 580, the _Romans_
conquered _Macedonia_, the chief of the four horns. Hitherto the Goat was
mighty by its own power, but henceforward began to be under the _Romans_.
_Daniel_ distinguishes the times, by describing very particularly the
actions of the Kings of the north and south, those two of the four horns
which bordered upon _Judea_, until the _Romans_ conquered _Macedonia_; and
thenceforward only touching upon the main revolutions which happened within
the compass of the nations represented by the Goat. In this latter period
of time the little horn was to stand up and grow mighty, but not by his own
power.

The three first of _Daniel_'s Beasts had their dominions taken away, each
of them at the rise of the next Beast; but their lives were prolonged, and
they are all of them still alive. The third Beast, or Leopard, reigned in
his four heads, till the rise of the fourth Beast, or Empire of the
_Latins_; and his life was prolonged under their power. This Leopard
reigning in his four heads, signifies the same thing with the He-Goat
reigning in his four horns: and therefore the He-Goat reigned in his four
horns till the rise of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, or Empire of the _Latins_:
then its dominion was taken away by the _Latins_, but its life was
prolonged under their power. The _Latins_ are not comprehended among the
nations represented by the He-Goat in this Prophecy: their power over the
_Greeks_ is only named in it, to distinguish the times in which the He-Goat
was mighty by his own power, from the times in which he was mighty but not
by his own power. He was mighty by his own power till his dominion was
taken away by the _Latins_; after that, his life was prolonged under their
dominion, and this prolonging of his life was in the days of his last horn:
for in the days of this horn the Goat became mighty, but not by his own
power.

Now because this horn was a horn of the Goat, we are to look for it among
the nations which composed the body of the Goat. Among those nations he was
to rise up and grow mighty: he grew mighty [4] _towards the south, and
towards the east, and towards the pleasant land_; and therefore he was to
rise up in the north-west parts of those nations, and extend his dominion
towards _Egypt_, _Syria_ and _Judea_. In the latter time of the kingdom of
the four horns, it was to rise up out of one of them and subdue the rest,
but not by its own power. It was to be assisted by a foreign power, a power
superior to itself, the power which took away the dominion of the third
Beast, the power of the fourth Beast. And such a little horn was the
kingdom of _Macedonia_, from the time that it became subject to the
_Romans_. This kingdom, by the victory of the _Romans_ over _Persius_ King
of _Macedonia_, _Anno Nabonass._ 580, ceased to be one of the four horns of
the Goat, and became a dominion of a new sort: not a horn of the fourth
Beast, for _Macedonia_ belonged to the body of the third; but a horn of the
third Beast of a new sort, a horn of the Goat which grew mighty but not by
his own power, a horn which rose up and grew potent under a foreign power,
the power of the _Romans_.

The _Romans_, by the legacy of _Attalus_ the last King of _Pergamus_, _An.
Nabonass._ 615, inherited that kingdom, including all _Asia Minor_ on this
side mount _Taurus_. _An. Nabonass._ 684 and 685 they conquered _Armenia_,
_Syria_ and _Judea_; _An. Nabonass._ 718, they subdued _Egypt_. And by
these conquests the little horn [5] _waxed exceeding great towards the
south, and towards the east, and towards the pleasant land. And it waxed
great even to the host of heaven; and cast down some of the host and of the
stars to the ground, and stamped upon them_, that is, upon the people and
great men of the _Jews_. [6] _Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince
of the Host_, the _Messiah_, the Prince of the _Jews_, whom he put to
death, _An. Nabonass._ 780. _And by him the daily sacrifice was taken away,
and the place of his sanctuary was cast down_, viz. in the wars which the
armies of the _Eastern_ nations under the conduct of the _Romans_ made
against _Judea_, when _Nero_ and _Vespasian_ were Emperors, _An. Nabonass._
816, 817, 818. [7] _And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice
by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and
it practised and prospered_. This transgression is in the next words called
_the transgression of desolation_; and in _Dan._ xi. 31. _the abomination
which maketh desolate_; and in _Matth._ xxiv. 15. _the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by _Daniel_ the prophet, standing in the holy place_.
It may relate chiefly to the worship of _Jupiter Olympius_ in his Temple
built by the Emperor _Hadrian_, in the place of the Temple of the _Jews_,
and to the revolt of the _Jews_ under _Barchochab_ occasioned thereby, and
to the desolation of _Judea_ which followed thereupon; all the _Jews_,
being thenceforward banished _Judea_ upon pain of death. _Then I heard_,
saith [8] _Daniel, one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that
certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the
daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto
two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed._
_Daniel_'s days are years; and these years may perhaps be reckoned either
from the destruction of the Temple by the _Romans_ in the reign of
_Vespasian_, or from the pollution of the Sanctuary by the worship of
_Jupiter Olympius_, or from the desolation of _Judea_ made in the end of
the _Jewish_ war by the banishment of all the _Jews_ out of their own
country, or from some other period which time will discover. Henceforward
the last horn of the Goat continued mighty under the _Romans_, till the
reign of _Constantine_ the great and his sons: and then by the division of
the _Roman_ Empire between the _Greek_ and _Latin_ Emperors, it separated
from the _Latins_, and became the _Greek_ Empire alone, but yet under the
dominion of a _Roman_ family; and at present it is mighty under the
dominion of the _Turks_.

This last horn is by some taken for _Antiochus Epiphanes_, but not very
judiciously. A horn of a Beast is never taken for a single person: it
always signifies a new kingdom, and the kingdom of _Antiochus_ was an old
one. _Antiochus_ reigned over one of the four horns, and the little horn
was a fifth under its proper kings. This horn was at first a little one,
and waxed exceeding great, but so did not _Antiochus_. It is described
great above all the former horns, and so was not _Antiochus_. His kingdom
on the contrary was weak, and tributary to the _Romans_, and he did not
enlarge it. The horn was a _King of fierce countenance, and destroyed
wonderfully, and prospered and practised_; that is, he prospered in his
practises against the holy people: but _Antiochus_ was frighted out of
_Egypt_ by a mere message of the _Romans_, and afterwards routed and
baffled by the _Jews_. The horn was mighty by another's power, _Antiochus_
acted by his own. The horn stood up against the Prince of the Host of
heaven, the Prince of Princes; and this is the character not of _Antiochus_
but of _Antichrist_. The horn cast down the Sanctuary to the ground, and so
did not _Antiochus_; he left it standing. The Sanctuary and Host were
trampled under foot 2300 days; and in _Daniel_'s Prophecies days are put
for years: but the profanation of the Temple in the reign of _Antiochus_
did not last so many natural days. These were to last till the time of the
end, till the last end of the indignation against the _Jews_; and this
indignation is not yet at an end. They were to last till the Sanctuary
which had been cast down should be cleansed, and the Sanctuary is not yet
cleansed.

This Prophecy of the Ram and He-Goat is repeated in the last Prophecy of
_Daniel_. There the Angel tells _Daniel_, that [9] _he stood up to
strengthen _Darius_ the _Mede_, and that there should stand up yet three
kings in _Persia__, [_Cyrus_, _Cambyses_, and _Darius Hystaspis_] _and the
fourth_ [_Xerxes_] _should be far richer than they all; and by his wealth
thro' his riches he should stir up all against the realm of _Grecia__. This
relates to the Ram, whose two horns were the kingdoms of _Media_ and
_Persia_. Then he goes on to describe the horns of the Goat by the [10]
_standing up of a mighty king, which should rule with great dominion, and
do according to his will_; and by the breaking of his kingdom into four
smaller kingdoms, and not descending to his own posterity. Then he
describes the actions of two of those kingdoms which bordered on _Judea_,
_viz_. _Egypt_ and _Syria_, calling them the Kings of the _South_ and
_North_, that is, in respect of _Judea_; and he carries on the description
till the latter end of the kingdoms of the four, and till the reign of
_Antiochus Epiphanes_, when transgressors were come to the full. In the
eighth year of _Antiochus_, the year in which he profaned the Temple and
set up the heathen Gods in all _Judea_, and the _Romans_ conquered the
kingdom of _Macedon_; the prophetic Angel leaves off describing the affairs
of the kings of the _South_ and _North_, and begins to describe those of
the _Greeks_ under the dominion of the _Romans_, in these words: [11] _And
after him Arms_ [the _Romans_] _shall stand up, and they shall pollute the
sanctuary of strength_. As [Hebrew: MMLK] signifies _after the king_, Dan.
xi. 8; so here [Hebrew: MMNW] may signify _after him_: and so [Hebrew:
MN-H'CHT] may signify _after one of them_, Dan. viii. 9. Arms are every
where in these Prophecies of _Daniel_ put for the military power of a
kingdom, and they stand up when they conquer and grow powerful. The
_Romans_ conquered _Illyricum_, _Epirus_ and _Macedonia_, in the year of
_Nabonassar_ 580; and thirty five years after, by the last will and
testament of _Attalus_ the last King of _Pergamus_, they inherited that
rich and flourishing kingdom, that is, all _Asia_ on this side mount
_Taurus_: and sixty nine years after, they conquered the kingdom of
_Syria_, and reduced it into a Province: and thirty four years after they
did the like to _Egypt_. By all these steps the _Roman_ arms stood up over
the _Greeks_. And after 95 years more, by making war upon the _Jews, they
polluted the sanctuary of strength, and took away the daily sacrifice,
and_, in its room soon after, _placed the abomination which made_ the Land
_desolate_: for this abomination was placed after the days of Christ,
_Matth._ xxiv. 15. In the 16th year of the Emperor _Hadrian_, A. C. 132,
they placed this abomination by building a Temple to _Jupiter Capitolinus_,
where the Temple of God in _Jerusalem_ had stood. Thereupon the _Jews_
under the conduct of _Barchochab_ rose up in arms against the _Romans_, and
in that war had 50 cities demolished, 985 of their best towns destroyed,
and 580000 men slain by the sword: and in the end of the war, A.C. 136,
they were all banished _Judea_ upon pain or death; and that time the land
hath remained desolate of its old inhabitants.

Now that the prophetic Angel passes in this manner from the four kingdoms
of the _Greeks_ to the _Romans_ reigning over the _Greeks_, is confirmed
from hence, that in the next place he describes the affairs of the
_Christians_ unto the time of the end, in these words: [12] _And they that
understand among the people shall instruct many, yet they shall fall by the
sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil many days. Now when they
shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help_, _viz_. in the reign of
_Constantine_ the great; _but many shall cleave to them with dissimulation.
And some of them of understanding there shall fall to try them, and to
purge_ them from the dissemblers; _and to make them white even to the time
of the end_. And a little after, the time of the end is said to be _a time,
times, and half a time_: which is the duration of the reign of the last
horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, and of the _Woman_ and her _Beast_ in the
_Apocalyps_.

Notes to Chap. IX.

[1] Chap. viii. 3.

[2] Ver. 22.

[3] Ver. 23.

[4] Chap. viii. 9.

[5] Chap. viii. 9, 10.

[6] Ver. 11.

[7] Ver. 12.

[8] Ver. 13, 14.

[9] Dan. xi. 1, 2.

[10] Ver. 3.

[11] Dan xi. 31.

[12] Chap. xi. 33, &c.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. X.

_Of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks._

The Vision of the Image composed of four Metals was given first to
_Nebuchadnezzar_, and then to _Daniel_ in a dream: and _Daniel_ began then
to be celebrated for revealing of secrets, _Ezek._ xxviii. 3. The Vision of
the four Beasts, and of _the Son of man_ coming in the clouds of heaven,
was also given to _Daniel_ in a dream. That of the Ram and the He-Goat
appeared to him in the day time, when he was by the bank of the river
_Ulay_; and was explained to him by the prophetic Angel _Gabriel_. It
concerns the _Prince of the host_, and the _Prince of Princes_: and now in
the first year of _Darius_ the _Mede_ over _Babylon_, the same prophetic
Angel appears to _Daniel_ again, and explains to him what is meant by the
_Son of man_, by the _Prince of the host_, and the _Prince of Princes_. The
Prophecy of the _Son of man_ coming in the clouds of heaven relates to the
second coming of _Christ_; that of the _Prince of the host_ relates to his
first coming: and this Prophecy of the _Messiah_, in explaining them,
relates to both comings, and assigns the times thereof.

This Prophecy, like all the rest of _Daniel_'s, consists of two parts, an
introductory Prophecy and an explanation thereof; the whole I thus
translate and interpret.

[1] '_Seventy weeks are [2] cut out upon thy people, and upon thy holy
city, to finish transgression, and [3] to make an end of sins, to expiate
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, to consummate the
Vision and [4] the Prophet, and to anoint the most Holy_.

'_Know also and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to
cause to return and to build _Jerusalem_, unto [5] the Anointed the Prince,
shall be seven weeks_.

'_Yet threescore and two weeks shall [6] it return, and the street be built
and the wall; but in troublesome times: and after the threescore and two
weeks, the Anointed shall be cut off, and [6] it shall not be his; but the
people of a Prince to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary: and
the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war,
desolations are determined_.

'_Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in half a
week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease: and upon a wing of
abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and
that which is determined be poured upon the desolate_.'

_Seventy weeks are cut out upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to
finish transgression_, &c. Here, by putting a week for seven years, are
reckoned 490 years from the time that the dispersed _Jews_ should be
re-incorporated into [7] a people and a holy city, until the death and
resurrection of _Christ_; whereby _transgression should be finished, and
sins ended, iniquity be expiated, and everlasting righteousness brought in,
and this Vision be accomplished, and the Prophet consummated_, that Prophet
whom the _Jews_ expected; and whereby _the most Holy_ should be _anointed_,
he who is therefore in the next words called the _Anointed_, that is, the
_Messiah_, or the _Christ_. For by joining the accomplishment of the vision
with the expiation of sins, the 490 years are ended with the death of
_Christ_. Now the dispersed _Jews_ became a people and city when they first
returned into a polity or body politick; and this was in the seventh year
of _Artaxerxes Longimanus_, when _Ezra_ returned with a body of _Jews_ from
captivity, and revived the _Jewish_ worship; and by the King's commission
created Magistrates in all the land, to judge and govern the people
according to the laws of God and the King, _Ezra_ vii. 25. There were but
two returns from captivity, _Zerubbabel_'s and _Ezra_'s; in _Zerubbabel_'s
they had only commission to build the Temple, in _Ezra_'s they first became
a polity or city by a government of their own. Now the years of this
_Artaxerxes_ began about two or three months after the summer solstice, and
his seventh year fell in with the third year of the eightieth _Olympiad_;
and the latter part thereof, wherein _Ezra_ went up to _Jerusalem_, was in
the year of the _Julian Period_ 4257. Count the time from thence to the
death of _Christ_, and you will find it just 490 years. If you count in
_Judaic_ years commencing in autumn, and date the reckoning from the first
autumn after _Ezra_'s coming to _Jerusalem_, when he put the King's decree
in execution; the death of _Christ_ will fall on the year of the _Julian
Period_ 4747, _Anno Domini_ 34; and the weeks will be _Judaic_ weeks,
ending with sabbatical years; and this I take to be the truth: but if you
had rather place the death of _Christ_ in the year before, as is commonly
done, you may take the year of _Ezra_'s journey into the reckoning.

_Know also and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to
cause to return and to build _Jerusalem_, unto the Anointed the Prince,
shall be seven weeks_. The former part of the Prophecy related to the first
coming of _Christ_, being dated to his coming as a Prophet; this being
dated to his coming to be Prince or King, seems to relate to his second
coming. There, the Prophet was consummate, and the most holy anointed:
here, he that was anointed comes to be Prince and to reign. For _Daniel_'s
Prophecies reach to the end of the world; and there is scarce a Prophecy in
the Old Testament concerning _Christ_, which doth not in something or other
relate to his second coming. If divers of the antients, as [8] _Irenæus_,
[9] _Julius Africanus_, _Hippolytus_ the martyr, and _Apollinaris_ Bishop
of _Laodicea_, applied the half week to the times of _Antichrist_; why may
not we, by the same liberty of interpretation, apply the seven weeks to the
time when _Antichrist_ shall be destroyed by the brightness of _Christ_'s
coming?

The _Israelites_ in the days of the antient Prophets, when the ten Tribes
were led into captivity, expected a double return; and that at the first
the _Jews_ should build a new Temple inferior to _Solomon_'s, until the
time of that age should be fulfilled; and afterwards they should return
from all places of their captivity, and build _Jerusalem_ and the Temple
gloriously, _Tobit_ xiv. 4, 5, 6: and to express the glory and excellence
of this city, it is figuratively said to be built of precious stones,
_Tobit_ xiii. 16, 17, 18. _Isa._ liv. 11, 12. _Rev._ xi. and called the
_New Jerusalem_, the _Heavenly Jerusalem_, the _Holy City_, the _Lamb's
Wife_, the _City of the Great King_, the _City into which the Kings of the
earth do bring their glory and honour_. _Now_ while such a return from
captivity was the expectation of _Israel_, even before the times of
_Daniel_, I know not why _Daniel_ should omit it in his Prophecy. This part
of the Prophecy being therefore not yet fulfilled, I shall not attempt a
particular interpretation of it, but content myself with observing, that as
the _seventy_ and the _sixty two weeks_ were _Jewish_ weeks, ending with
sabbatical years; so the _seven weeks_ are the compass of a _Jubilee_, and
begin and end with actions proper for a _Jubilee_, and of the highest
nature for which a _Jubilee_ can be kept: and that since _the commandment
to return and to build _Jerusalem__, precedes the _Messiah the Prince_ 49
years; it may perhaps come forth not from the _Jews_ themselves, but from
some other kingdom friendly to them, and precede their return from
captivity, and give occasion to it; and lastly, that this rebuilding of
_Jerusalem_ and the waste places of _Judah_ is predicted in _Micah_ vii.
11. _Amos_ ix. 11, 14. _Ezek._ xxxvi. 33, 35, 36, 38. _Isa._ liv. 3, 11,
12. lv. 12. lxi. 4. lxv. 18, 21,22. and _Tobit_ xiv. 5. and that the return
from captivity and coming of the _Messiah_ and his kingdom are described in
_Daniel_ vii. _Rev._ xix. _Acts_ i. _Mat._ xxiv. _Joel_ iii. _Ezek._ xxxvi.
xxxvii. _Isa._ lx. lxii. lxiii. lxv. and lxvi. and many other places of
scripture. The manner I know not. Let time be the Interpreter.

_Yet threescore and two weeks shall it return, and the street be built and
the wall, but in troublesome times: and after the threescore and two weeks
the _Messiah_ shall be cut off, and it shall not be his; but the people of
a Prince to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary_, &c. Having
foretold both comings of _Christ_, and dated the last from their returning
and building _Jerusalem_; to prevent the applying that to the building
_Jerusalem_ by _Nehemiah_, he distinguishes this from that, by saying that
from this period to the _Anointed_ shall be, not seven weeks, but
threescore and two weeks, and this not in prosperous but in troublesome
times; and at the end of these Weeks the _Messiah_ shall not be the Prince
of the _Jews_, but be cut off; and _Jerusalem_ not be his, but the city and
sanctuary be destroyed. Now _Nehemiah_ came to _Jerusalem_ in the 20th year
of this same _Artaxerxes_, while _Ezra_ still continued there, _Nehem._
xii. 36, and found the city lying waste, and the houses and wall unbuilt,
_Nehem._ ii. 17. vii. 4, and finished the wall the 25th day of the month
_Elul_, _Nehem._ vi. 15, in the 28th year of the King, that is, in
_September_ in the year of the _Julian Period_ 4278. Count now from this
year threescore and two weeks of years, that is 434 years, and the
reckoning will end in _September_ in the year of the _Julian Period_ 4712
which is the year in which _Christ_ was born, according to _Clemens
Alexandrinus_, _Irenæus_, _Eusebius_, _Epiphanius_, _Jerome_, _Orosius_,
_Cassiodorus_, and other antients; and this was the general opinion, till
_Dionysius Exiguus_ invented the vulgar account, in which _Christ_'s birth
is placed two years later. If with some you reckon that _Christ_ was born
three or four years before the vulgar account, yet his birth will fall in
the latter part of the last week, which is enough. How after these weeks
_Christ_ was cut off and the city and sanctuary destroyed by the _Romans_,
is well known.

_Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week._ He kept it,
notwithstanding his death, till the rejection of the _Jews_, and calling of
_Cornelius_ and the _Gentiles_ in the seventh year after his passion.

_And in half a week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease_;
that is, by the war of the _Romans_ upon the _Jews_: which war, after some
commotions, began in the 13th year of _Nero_, A.D. 67, in the spring, when
_Vespasian_ with an army invaded them; and ended in the second year of
_Vespasian_, A.D. 70, in autumn, _Sept._ 7, when _Titus_ took the city,
having burnt the Temple 27 days before: so that it lasted three years and
an half.

_And upon a wing of abominations he shall cause desolation, even until the
consummation, and that which is determined be poured upon the desolate._
The Prophets, in representing kingdoms by Beasts and Birds, put their wings
stretcht out over any country for their armies sent out to invade and rule
over that country. Hence a wing of abominations is an army of false Gods:
for an abomination is often put in scripture for a false God; as where
_Chemosh_ is called [10] the abomination of _Moab_, and _Molech_ the
abomination of _Ammon_. The meaning therefore is, that the people of a
Prince to come shall destroy the sanctuary, and abolish the daily worship
of the true God, and overspread the land with an army of false gods; and by
setting up their dominion and worship, cause desolation to the _Jews_,
until the times of the _Gentiles_ be fulfilled. For _Christ_ tells us, that
the abomination of desolation spoken of by _Daniel_ was to be set up in the
times of the _Roman Empire_, _Matth._ xxiv. 15.

Thus have we in this short Prophecy, a prediction of all the main periods
relating to the coming of the _Messiah_; the time of his birth, that of his
death, that of the rejection of the _Jews_, the duration of the _Jewish_
war whereby he caused the city and sanctuary to be destroyed, and the time
of his second coming: and so the interpretation here given is more full and
complete and adequate to the design, than if we should restrain it to his
first coming only, as Interpreters usually do. We avoid also the doing
violence to the language of _Daniel_, by taking the _seven weeks_ and
_sixty two weeks_ for one number. Had that been _Daniel_'s meaning, he
would have said _sixty and nine weeks_, and not _seven weeks_ and _sixty
two weeks_, a way of numbring used by no nation. In our way the years are
_Jewish Luni-solar years_, [11] as they ought to be; and the _seventy weeks
of years_ are _Jewish weeks_ ending with _sabbatical years_, which is very
remarkable. For they end either with the year of the birth of _Christ_, two
years before the vulgar account, or with the year of his death, or with the
seventh year after it: all which are _sabbatical years_. Others either
count by Lunar years, or by weeks not _Judaic_: and, which is worst, they
ground their interpretations on erroneous Chronology, excepting the opinion
of _Funccius_ about the _seventy weeks_, which is the same with ours. For
they place _Ezra_ and _Nehemiah_ in the reign of _Artaxerxes Mnemon_, and
the building of the Temple in the reign of _Darius Nothus_, and date the
weeks of _Daniel_ from those two reigns.

The grounds of the Chronology here followed, I will now set down as briefly
as I can.

The _Peloponnesian_ war began in spring _An._ 1 _Olymp._ 87, as _Diodorus_,
_Eusebius_, and all other authors agree. It began two months before
_Pythodorus_ ceased to be _Archon_, _Thucyd._ l. 2. that is, in _April_,
two months before the end of the _Olympic_ year. Now the years of this war
are most certainly determined by the 50 years distance of its first year
from the transit of _Xerxes_ inclusively, _Thucyd._ l. 2. or 48 years
exclusively, _Eratosth. apud Clem. Alex._ by the 69 years distance of its
end, or 27th year, from the beginning of _Alexander_'s reign in _Greece_;
by the acting of the _Olympic_ games in its 4th and 12th years, _Thucyd._
l. 5; and by three eclipses of the sun, and one of the moon, mentioned by
_Thucydides_ and _Xenophon_. Now _Thucydides_, an unquestionable witness,
tells us, that the news of the death of _Artaxerxes Longimanus_ was brought
to _Ephesus_, and from thence by some _Athenians_ to _Athens_, in the 7th
year of this _Peloponnesian_ war, when the winter half year was running;
and therefore he died _An._ 4 _Olymp._ 88, in the end of _An. J.P._ 4289,
suppose a month or two before midwinter; for so long the news would be in
coming. Now _Artaxerxes Longimanus_ reigned 40 years, by the consent of
_Diodorus_, _Eusebius_, _Jerome_, _Sulpitius_; or 41, according to _Ptol.
in can. Clem. Alexand._ l. 1. _Strom. Chron. Alexandr_. _Abulpharagius_,
_Nicephorus_, including therein the reign of his successors _Xerxes_ and
_Sogdian_, as _Abulpharagius_ informs us. After _Artaxerxes_ reigned his
son _Xerxes_ two months, and _Sogdian_ seven months; but their reign is not
reckoned apart in summing up the years of the Kings, but is included in the
40 or 41 years reign of _Artaxerxes_: omit these nine months, and the
precise reign of _Artaxerxes_ will be thirty nine years and three months.
And therefore since his reign ended in the beginning of winter _An. J.P._
4289, it began between midsummer and autumn, _An. J.P._ 4250.

The same thing I gather also thus. _Cambyses_ began his reign in spring
_An. J.P._ 4185, and reigned eight years, including the five months of
_Smerdes_; and then _Darius Hystaspis_ began in spring _An. J.P._ 4193, and
reigned thirty six years, by the unanimous consent of all Chronologers. The
reigns of these two Kings are determined by three eclipses of the moon
observed at _Babylon_, and recorded by _Ptolemy_; so that it cannot be
disputed. One was in the seventh year of _Cambyses_, _An. J.P._ 4191,
_Jul._ 16, at 11 at night; another in the 20th year of _Darius_, _An. J.P._
4212, _Nov._ 19, at 11h. 45' at night; a third in the 31st year of
_Darius_, _An. J.P._ 4223, _Apr._ 25, at 11h. 30 at night. By these
eclipses, and the Prophecies of _Haggai_ and _Zechary_ compared together,
it is manifest that his years began after the 24th day of the 11th _Jewish_
month, and before the 25th day of _April_, and by consequence about
_March_. _Xerxes_ therefore began in spring _An. J.P._ 4229: for _Darius_
died in the fifth year after the battle at _Marathon_, as _Herodotus_,
_lib._ 7, and _Plutarch_ mention; and that battle was in _October_ _An.
J.P._ 4224, ten years before the battle at _Salamis_. _Xerxes_ therefore
began within less than a year after _October_ _An. J.P._ 4228, suppose in
the spring following: for he spent his first five years, and something
more, in preparations for his expedition against the _Greeks_; and this
expedition was in the time of the _Olympic_ games, _An._ 1 _Olymp._ 75,
_Calliade Athenis Archonte_, 28 years after the _Regifuge_, and Consulship
of the first Consul _Junius Brutus_, _Anno Urbis conditæ_ 273, _Fabio &
Furio Coss._ The passage of _Xerxes_'s army over the _Hellespont_ began in
the end of the fourth year of the 74th _Olympiad_, that is, in _June_ _An.
J.P._ 4234, and took up one month: and in autumn, three months after, on
the full moon, the 16th day of the month _Munychion_, was the battle at
_Salamis_, and a little after that an eclipse of the sun, which by the
calculation fell on _Octob._ 2. His sixth year therefore began a little
before _June_, suppose in spring _An. J.P._ 4234, and his first year
consequently in spring _An. J.P._ 4229, as above. Now he reigned almost
twenty one years, by the consent of all writers. Add the 7 months of
_Artabanus_, and the sum will be 21 years and about four or five months,
which end between midsummer and autumn _An. J.P._ 4250. At this time
therefore began the reign of his successor _Artaxerxes_, as was to be
proved.

The same thing is also confirmed by _Julius Africanus_, who informs us out
of former writers, that the 20th year of this _Artaxerxes_ was the 115th
year from the beginning of the reign of _Cyrus_ in _Persia,_ and fell in
with _An._ 4 _Olymp._ 83. It began therefore with the _Olympic_ year, soon
after the summer Solstice, _An. J.P._ 4269. Subduct nineteen years, and his
first year will begin at the same time of the year _An. J.P._ 4250, as
above.

His 7th year therefore began after midsummer _An. J.P._ 4256; and the
Journey of _Ezra_ to _Jerusalem_ in the spring following fell on the
beginning of _An. J.P._ 4257, as above.

Notes to Chap. X.

[1] Chap. ix. 24, 25, 26, 27.

[2] _Cut upon_. A phrase in _Hebrew_, taken from the practise of numbring
by cutting notches.

[3] Heb. _to seal_, i.e. to finish or consummate: a metaphor taken from
sealing what is finished. So the _Jews_ compute, _ad obsignatum Misna, ad
obsignatum Talmud_, that is, _ad absolutum_.

[4] Heb. _the Prophet_, not the Prophecy.

[5] Heb. _the Messiah_, that is, in _Greek_, _the Christ_; in _English_,
_the Anointed_. I use the _English_ word, that the relation of this clause
to the former may appear.

[6] _Jerusalem_.

[7] See _Isa._ xxiii. 13.

[8] Iren. l. 5. Hær. c. 25.

[9] Apud Hieron. in h. l.

[10] 1 Kings xi. 7.

[11] The antient solar years of the eastern nations consisted of 12 months,
and every month of 30 days: and hence came the division of a circle into
360 degrees. This year seems to be used by _Moses_ in his history of the
Flood, and by _John_ in the _Apocalypse_, where a time, times and half a
time, 42 months and 1260 days, are put equipollent. But in reckoning by
many of these years together, an account is to be kept of the odd days
which were added to the end of these years. For the _Egyptians_ added five
days to the end of this year; and so did the _Chaldeans_ long before the
times of _Daniel_, as appears by the _Æra_, of _Nabonassar_: and the
_Persian_ Magi used the same year of 365 days, till the Empire of the
_Arabians_. The antient _Greeks_ also used the same solar year of 12 equal
months, or 360 days; but every other year added an intercalary month,
consisting of 10 and 11 days alternately.

The year of the _Jews_, even from their coming out of _Egypt_, was
Luni-solar. It was solar, for the harvest always followed the Passover, and
the fruits of the land were always gathered before the feast of
Tabernacles, _Levit._ xxiii. But the months were lunar, for the people were
commanded by _Moses_ in the beginning of every month to blow with trumpets,
and offer burnt offerings with their drink offerings, _Num._ x. 10. xxviii.
11, 14. and this solemnity was kept on the new moons, _Psal._ lxxxi. 3,4,5.
1 _Chron._ xxiii. 31. These months were called by _Moses_ the first,
second, third, fourth month, _&c._ and the first month was also called
_Abib_, the second _Zif_, the seventh _Ethanim_, the eighth _Bull_, _Exod._
xiii. 4. 1 _Kings_ vi. 37, 38. viii. 2. But in the _Babylonian_ captivity
the _Jews_ used the names of the _Chaldean_ months, and by those names
understood the months of their own year; so that the _Jewish_ months then
lost their old names, and are now called by those of the _Chaldeans_.

The _Jews_ began their civil year from the autumnal Equinox, and their
sacred year from the vernal: and the first day of the first month was on
the visible new moon, which was nearest the Equinox.

Whether _Daniel_ used the _Chaldaick_ or _Jewish_ year, is not very
material; the difference being but six hours in a year, and 4 months in 480
years. But I take his months to be _Jewish_: first, because _Daniel_ was a
_Jew_, and the _Jews_ even by the names of the _Chaldean_ months understood
the months of their own year: secondly, because this Prophecy is grounded
on _Jeremiah_'s concerning the 70 years captivity, and therefore must be
understood of the same sort of years with the seventy; and those are
_Jewish_, since that Prophecy was given in _Judea_ before the captivity:
and lastly, because _Daniel_ reckons by weeks of years, which is a way of
reckoning peculiar to the _Jewish_ years. For as their days ran by sevens,
and the last day of every seven was a sabbath; so their years ran by
sevens, and the last year of every seven was a sabbatical year, and seven
such weeks of years made a _Jubilee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. XI.

_Of the Times of the Birth and Passion of _Christ__.

The times of the Birth and Passion of _Christ_, with such like niceties,
being not material to religion, were little regarded by the _Christians_ of
the first age. They who began first to celebrate them, placed them in the
cardinal periods of the year; as the annunciation of the Virgin _Mary_, on
the 25th of _March_, which when _Julius Cæsar_ corrected the Calendar was
the vernal Equinox; the feast of _John_ Baptist on the 24th of _June_,
which was the summer Solstice; the feast of St. _Michael_ on _Sept._ 29,
which was the autumnal Equinox; and the birth of _Christ_ on the winter
Solstice, _Decemb._ 25, with the feasts of St. _Stephen_, St. _John_ and
the _Innocents_, as near it as they could place them. And because the
Solstice in time removed from the 25th of _December_ to the 24th, the 23d,
the 22d, and so on backwards, hence some in the following centuries placed
the birth of _Christ_ on _Decemb._ 23, and at length on _Decemb._ 20: and
for the same reason they seem to have set the feast of St. _Thomas_ on
_Decemb._ 21, and that of St. _Matthew_ on _Sept._ 21. So also at the
entrance of the Sun into all the signs in the _Julian_ Calendar, they
placed the days of other Saints; as the conversion of _Paul_ on _Jan._ 25,
when the Sun entred [Aquarius]; St. _Matthias_ on _Feb._ 25, when he entred
[Pisces]; St. _Mark_ on _Apr._ 25, when he entred [Taurus]; _Corpus
Christi_ on _May_ 26, when he entred [Gemini]; St. _James_ on _July_ 25,
when he entred [Cancer]; St. _Bartholomew_ on _Aug._ 24, when he entred
[Virgo]; _Simon_ and _Jude_ on _Octob._ 28, when he entred [Scorpio]: and
if there were any other remarkable days in the _Julian_ Calendar, they
placed the Saints upon them, as St. _Barnabas_ on _June_ 11, where _Ovid_
seems to place the feast of _Vesta_ and _Fortuna_, and the goddess
_Matuta_; and St. _Philip_ and _James_ on the first of _May_, a day
dedicated both to the _Bona Dea_, or _Magna Mater_, and to the goddess
_Flora_, and still celebrated with her rites. All which shews that these
days were fixed in the first _Christian_ Calendars by Mathematicians at
pleasure, without any ground in tradition; and that the _Christians_
afterwards took up with what they found in the Calendars.

Neither was there any certain tradition about the years of _Christ_. For
the _Christians_ who first began to enquire into these things, as _Clemens
Alexandrinus_, _Origen_, _Tertullian_, _Julius Africanus_, _Lactantius_,
_Jerome_, St. _Austin_, _Sulpicius Severus_, _Prosper_, and as many as
place the death of _Christ_ in the 15th or 16th year of _Tiberius_, make
_Christ_ to have preached but one year, or at most but two. At length
_Eusebius_ discovered four successive Passovers in the Gospel of _John_,
and thereupon set on foot an opinion that he preacht three years and an
half; and so died in the 19th year of _Tiberius_. Others afterwards,
finding the opinion that he died in the Equinox _Mar._ 25, more consonant
to the times of the _Jewish_ Passover, in the 17th and 20th years, have
placed his death in one of those two years. Neither is there any greater
certainty in the opinions about the time of his birth. The first
_Christians_ placed his baptism near the beginning of the 15th year of
_Tiberius_; and thence reckoning thirty years backwards, placed his birth
in the 43d _Julian_ year, the 42d of _Augustus_ and 28th of the _Actiac_
victory. This was the opinion which obtained in the first ages, till
_Dionysius Exiguus_, placing the baptism of _Christ_ in the 16th year of
_Tiberius_, and misinterpreting the text of _Luke_, iii. 23. as if _Jesus_
was only beginning to be 30 years old when he was baptized, invented the
vulgar account, in which his birth is placed two years later than before.
As therefore relating to these things there is no tradition worth
considering; let us lay aside all and examine what prejudices can be
gathered from records of good account.

The fifteenth year of _Tiberius_ began _Aug._ 28, _An. J.P._ 4727. So soon
as the winter was over, and the weather became warm enough, we may reckon
that _John_ began to baptize; and that before next winter his fame went
abroad, and all the people came to his baptism, and _Jesus_ among the rest.
Whence the first Passover after his baptism mentioned _John_ ii. 13. was in
the 16th year of _Tiberius_. After this feast _Jesus_ came into the land of
_Judea_, and staid there baptizing, whilst _John_ was baptizing in _Ænon_,
_John_ iii. 22, 23. But when he heard that _John_ was cast into prison, he
departed into _Galilee_, _Mat._ iii. 12. being afraid, because the
Pharisees had heard that he baptized more disciples than _John_, _John_ iv.
1. and in his journey he passed thro' _Samaria_ four months before the
harvest, _John_ iv. 35. that is, about the time of the winter Solstice. For
their harvest was between _Easter_ and _Whitsunday_, and began about a
month after the vernal Equinox. _Say not ye_, saith he, _there are yet four
months, and then cometh harvest? Behold I say unto you, lift up your eyes,
and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest_; meaning,
that the people in the fields were ready for the Gospel, as his next words
shew[1]. _John_ therefore was imprisoned about _November_, in the 17th year
of _Tiberius_; and _Christ_ thereupon went from _Judea_ to _Cana_ of
_Galilee_ in _December_, and was received there of the _Galileans_, who had
seen all he did at _Jerusalem_ at the Passover: and when a Nobleman of
_Capernaum_ heard he was returned into _Galilee_, and went to him and
desired him to come and cure his son, he went not thither yet, but only
said, _Go thy way, thy son liveth; and the Nobleman returned and found it
so, and believed, he and his house_, John iv. This is the beginning of his
miracles in _Galilee_; and thus far _John_ is full and distinct in relating
the actions of his first year, omitted by the other Evangelists. The rest
of his history is from this time related more fully by the other
Evangelists than by _John_; for what they relate he omits.

From this time therefore _Jesus_ taught in the Synagogues of _Galilee_ on
the sabbath-days, being glorified of all: and coming to his own city
_Nazareth_, and preaching in their Synagogue, they were offended, and
thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which
the city was built to cast him headlong; but he passing thro' the midst of
them, went his way, and came and dwelt at _Capernaum_, _Luke_ iv. And by
this time we may reckon the second Passover was either past or at hand.

All this time _Matthew_ passeth over in few words, and here begins to
relate the preaching and miracles of _Christ_. _When _Jesus__, saith he,
_had heard that _John_ was cast into prison, he departed into _Galilee_;
and leaving _Nazareth_, he came and dwelt at _Capernaum_, and from that
time began to preach and say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand_, Matth. iv. 12. Afterwards he called his disciples _Peter_, _Andrew_,
_James_ and _John_; and then _went about all_ Galilee, _teaching in the
Synagogues,--and healing all manner of sickness:--and his fame went
thro'out all _Syria_; and they brought unto him all sick people,--and there
followed him great multitudes of people from _Galilee_, and from
_Decapolis_, and from _Jerusalem_, and from _Judea_, and from beyond
_Jordan__, Matth, iv. 18, 25. All this was done before the sermon in the
mount: and therefore we may certainly reckon that the second Passover was
past before the preaching of that sermon. The multitudes that followed him
from _Jerusalem_ and _Judea_, shew that he had lately been there at the
feast. The sermon in the mount was made when great multitudes came to him
from all places, and followed him in the open fields; which is an argument
of the summer-season: and in this sermon he pointed at the lilies of the
field then in the flower before the eyes of his auditors. _Consider_, saith
he, _the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they
spin; and yet _Solomon_ in all his glory was not arayed like one of these.
Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is and to
morrow is cast into the oven_, &c. _Matth._ vi. 28. So therefore the grass
of the field was now in the flower, and by consequence the month of _March_
with the Passover was past.

Let us see therefore how the rest of the feasts follow in order in
_Matthew_'s Gospel: for he was an eye-witness of what he relates, and so
tells all things in due order of time, which _Mark_ and _Luke_ do not.

Some time after the sermon in the mount, when the time came that he should
be received, that is, when the time of a feast came that he should be
received by the _Jews_, he set his face to go to _Jerusalem_: and as he
went with his disciples in the way, when the _Samaritans_ in his passage
thro' _Samaria_ had denied him lodgings, and a certain Scribe said unto
him, _Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest_, Jesus _said
unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but
the Son of man hath not where to lay his head_, Matth. viii. 19. Luke ix.
51, 57. The Scribe told _Christ_ he would bear him company in his journey,
and _Christ_ replied that he wanted a lodging. Now this feast I take to be
the feast of Tabernacles, because soon after I find _Christ_ and his
Apostles on the sea of _Tiberias_ in a storm so great, that the ship was
covered with water and in danger of sinking, till _Christ rebuked the winds
and the sea_, Matth. viii. 23. For this storm shews that winter was now
come on.

After this _Christ_ did many miracles, and _went about all the cities and
villages of _Galilee_, teaching in their Synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness, and every disease among
the people_, Matth. ix. he then sent forth the twelve to do the like,
_Matth._ x. and at length when he had received a message from _John_, and
answered it, he said to the multitudes, _From the days of _John_ the
Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence_; and upbraided
the cities, _Chorazin_, _Bethsaida_, and _Capernaum_, wherein most of his
mighty works were done, because they repented not, _Matth._ xi. Which
several passages shew, that from the imprisonment of _John_ till now there
had been a considerable length of time: the winter was now past, and the
next Passover was at hand; for immediately after this, _Matthew_, in chap.
xii. subjoins, that _Jesus went on the sabbath-day thro' the corn, and his
disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to
eat,--rubbing them_, saith _Luke_, _in their hands_: the corn therefore was
not only in the ear, but ripe; and consequently the Passover, in which the
first-fruits were always offered before the harvest, was now come or past.
_Luke_ calls this sabbath [Greek: deuteroprôton], the second prime sabbath,
that is, the second of the two great feasts of the Passover. As we call
_Easter_ day high _Easter_, and its _octave_ low _Easter_ or _Lowsunday_:
so _Luke_ calls the feast on the seventh day of the unlevened bread, the
second of the two prime sabbaths.

In one of the sabbaths following he went into a Synagogue, and healed a man
with a withered hand, _Matth._ xii. 9. _Luke_ vi. 6. And when the Pharisees
took counsel to destroy him, _he withdrew himself from thence, and great
multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, and charged them that they
should not make him known_, Matth. xii. 14. Afterwards being in a ship, and
the multitude standing on the shore, he spake to them three parables
together, taken from the seeds-men sowing the fields, _Matth._ xiii. by
which we may know that it was now seed-time, and by consequence that the
feast of Tabernacles was past. After this he went _into his own country,
and taught them in their Synagogue_, but _did not many mighty works there
because of their unbelief_. Then the twelve having been abroad a year,
returned, and told _Jesus_ all that they had done: and at the same time
_Herod_ beheaded _John_ in prison, and his disciples came and told _Jesus_;
and when _Jesus_ heard it, he took the twelve and departed thence privately
by ship into a desert place belonging to _Bethsaida_: and the people when
they knew it, followed him on foot out of the cities, the winter being now
past; and he healed their sick, and in the desert fed them to the number of
five thousand men, besides women and children, with only five loaves and
two fishes, _Matth._ xiv. _Luke_ ix. at the doing of which miracle the
Passover of the _Jews_ was nigh, _John_ vi. 4. But _Jesus_ went not up to
this feast; but _after these things walked in _Galilee_, because the
_Jews__ at the Passover before had taken counsel to destroy him, and still
_sought to kill him_, John vii. i. Henceforward therefore he is found first
in the coast of _Tyre_ and _Sidon_, then by the sea of _Galilee_,
afterwards in the coast of _Cæsarea Philippi_; and lastly at _Capernaum_,
_Matth._ xv. 21, 29. xvi. 13. xvii. 34.

Afterwards when the feast of Tabernacles was at hand, his brethren
upbraided him for walking secretly, and urged him to go up to the feast.
But he went not till they were gone, and then went up privately, _John_
vii. 2. and when the _Jews_ sought to stone him, he escaped, _John_ viii.
59. After this he was at the feast of the Dedication in winter, _John_ x.
22. and when they sought again to take him, he fled beyond _Jordan_, _John_
x. 39, 40. _Matth_. xix. 1. where he stayed till the death of _Lazarus_,
and then came to _Bethany_ near _Jerusalem_, and raised him, _John_ xi. 7,
18. whereupon the _Jews_ took counsel from that time to kill him: and
_therefore_ he _walked no more openly among the _Jews_, but went thence
into a country near to the wilderness, into a city called _Ephraim_; and
there continued with his disciples_ till the last Passover, in which the
_Jews_ put him to death, _John_ xi. 53, 54.

Thus have we, in the Gospels of _Matthew_ and _John_ compared together, the
history of _Christ_'s actions in continual order during five Passovers.
_John_ is more distinct in the beginning and end; _Matthew_ in the middle:
what either omits, the other supplies. The first Passover was between the
baptism of _Christ_ and the imprisonment of _John, John_ ii. 13. the second
within four months after the imprisonment of _John_, and _Christ_'s
beginning to preach in _Galilee_, _John_ iv. 35. and therefore it was
either that feast to which _Jesus_ went up, when the Scribe desired to
follow him, _Matth._ viii. 19. _Luke_ ix. 51, 57. or the feast before it.
The third was the next feast after it, when the corn was eared and ripe,
_Matth_, xii. 1. _Luke_ vi. 1. The fourth was that which was nigh at hand
when _Christ_ wrought the miracle of the five loaves, _Matth_. xiv. 15.
_John_ vi. 4, 5. and the fifth was that in which _Christ_ suffered,
_Matth._ xx. 17. _John_ xii. 1.

Between the first and second Passover _John_ and _Christ_ baptized
together, till the imprisonment of _John_, which was four months before the
second. Then _Christ_ began to preach, and call his disciples; and after he
had instructed them a year, lent them to preach in the cities of the
_Jews_: at the same time _John_ hearing of the fame of _Christ_, sent to
him to know who he was. At the third, the chief Priests began to consult
about the death of _Christ_. A little before the fourth, the twelve after
they had preached a year in all the cities, returned to _Christ_; and at
the same time _Herod_ beheaded _John_ in prison, after he had been in
prison two years and a quarter: and thereupon _Christ_ fled into the desart
for fear of _Herod_. The fourth _Christ_ went not up to _Jerusalem_ for
fear of the _Jews_, who at the Passover before had consulted his death, and
because his time was not yet come. Thenceforward therefore till the feast
of Tabernacles he walked in _Galilee_, and that secretly for fear of
_Herod_: and after the feast of Tabernacles he returned no more into
_Galilee_, but sometimes was at _Jerusalem_, and sometimes retired beyond
_Jordan_, or to the city _Ephraim_ by the wilderness, till the Passover in
which he was betrayed, apprehended, and crucified.

_John_ therefore baptized two summers, and _Christ_ preached three. The
first summer _John_ preached to make himself known, in order to give
testimony to _Christ_. Then, after _Christ_ came to his baptism and was
made known to him, he baptized another summer, to make _Christ_ known by
his testimony; and _Christ_ also baptized the same summer, to make himself
the more known: and by reason of _John_'s testimony there came more to
_Christ_'s baptism than to _John_'s. The winter following _John_ was
imprisoned; and now his course being at an end, _Christ_ entered upon his
proper office of preaching in the cities. In the beginning of his preaching
he completed the number of the twelve Apostles, and instructed them all the
first year in order to send them abroad. Before the end of this year, his
fame by his preaching and miracles was so far spread abroad, that the
_Jews_ at the Passover following consulted how to kill him. In the second
year of his preaching, it being no longer safe for him to converse openly
in _Judea_, he sent the twelve to preach in all their cities: and in the
end of the year they returned to him, and told him all they had done. All
the last year the twelve continued with him to be instructed more
perfectly, in order to their preaching to all nations after his death. And
upon the news of _John_'s death, being afraid of _Herod_ as well as of the
_Jews_, he walked this year more secretly than before; frequenting desarts,
and spending the last half of the year in _Judea_, without the dominions of
_Herod_.

Thus have we in the Gospels of _Matthew_ and _John_ all things told in due
order, from the beginning of _John_'s preaching to the death of _Christ_,
and the years distinguished from one another by such essential characters
that they cannot be mistaken. The second Passover is distinguished from the
first, by the interposition of _John_'s imprisonment. The third is
distinguished from the second, by a double character: first, by the
interposition of the feast to which _Christ_ went up, _Mat._ viii. 19.
_Luke_ ix. 57. and secondly, by the distance of time from the beginning of
_Christ_'s preaching: for the second was in the beginning of his preaching,
and the third so long after, that before it came _Christ_ said, _from the
days of _John_ the Baptist until now_, &c. and upbraided the cities of
_Galilee_ for their not repenting at his preaching, and mighty works done
in all that time. The fourth is distinguished from the third, by the
mission of the twelve from _Christ_ to preach in the cities of _Judea_ in
all the interval. The fifth is distinguished from all the former by the
twelve's being returned from preaching, and continuing with _Christ_ during
all the interval, between the fourth and fifth, and by the passion and
other infallible characters.

Now since the first summer of _John_'s baptizing fell in the fifteenth year
of the Emperor _Tiberius_, and by consequence the first of these five
Passovers in his sixteenth year; the last of them, in which _Jesus_
suffered, will fall on the twentieth year of the same Emperor; and by
consequence in the Consulship of _Fabius_ and _Vitellius_, in the 79th
_Julian_ year, and year of _Christ_ 34, which was the sabbatical year of
the _Jews_. And that it did so, I further confirm by these arguments.

I take it for granted that the passion was on friday the 14th day of the
month _Nisan_, the great feast of the Passover on saturday the 15th day of
_Nisan_, and the resurrection on the day following. Now the 14th day of
_Nisan_ always fell on the full moon next after the vernal Equinox; and the
month began at the new moon before, not at the true conjunction, but at the
first appearance of the new moon: for the _Jews_ referred all the time of
the silent moon, as they phrased it, that is, of the moon's disappearing,
to the old moon; and because the first appearance might usually be about 18
hours after the true conjunction, they therefore began their month from the
sixth hour at evening, that is, at sun set, next after the eighteenth hour
from the conjunction. And this rule they called [Hebrew: YH] _Jah_,
designing by the letters [Hebrew: Y] and [Hebrew: H] the number 18.

I know that _Epiphanius_ tells us, if some interpret his words rightly,
that the _Jews_ used a vicious cycle, and thereby anticipated the legal new
moons by two days. But this surely he spake not as a witness, for he
neither understood _Astronomy_ nor _Rabbinical_ learning, but as arguing
from his erroneous hypothesis about the time of the passion. For the _Jews_
did not anticipate, but postpone their months: they thought it lawful to
begin their months a day later than the first appearance of the new moon,
because the new moon continued for more days than one; but not a day
sooner, lest they should celebrate the new moon before there was any. And
the _Jews_ still keep a tradition in their books, that the _Sanhedrim_ used
diligently to define the new moons by sight: sending witnesses into
mountainous places, and examining them about the moon's appearing, and
translating the new moon from the day they had agreed on to the day before,
as often as witnesses came from distant regions, who had seen it a day
sooner than it was seen at _Jerusalem_. Accordingly _Josephus_, one of the
_Jewish_ Priests who ministred in the temple, tells us [2] that the
Passover was kept _on the 14th day of_ Nisan, [Greek: kata selênên]
_according to the moon, when the sun was in _Aries__. This is confirmed
also by two instances, recorded by him, which totally overthrow the
hypothesis of the _Jews_ using a vicious cycle. For that year in which
_Jerusalem_ was taken and destroyed, he saith, the Passover was on the 14th
day of the month _Xanticus_, which according to _Josephus_ is our _April_;
and that five years before, it fell on the 8th day of the same month. Which
two instances agree with the course of the moon.

Computing therefore the new moons of the first month according to the
course of the moon and the rule _Jah_, and thence counting 14 days, I find
that the 14th day of this month in the year of _Christ_ 31, fell on tuesday
_March_ 27; in the year 32, on sunday _Apr._ 13; in the year 33, on friday
_Apr._ 3; in the year 34, on wednesday _March_ 24, or rather, for avoiding
the Equinox which fell on the same day, and for having a fitter time for
harvest, on thursday _Apr._ 22. also in the year 35, on tuesday _Apr._ 12.
and in the year 36, on saturday _March_ 31.

But because the 15th and 21st days of _Nisan_, and a day or two of
_Pentecost_, and the 10th, 15th, and 22d of _Tisri_, were always sabbatical
days or days of rest, and it was inconvenient on two sabbaths together to
be prohibited burying their dead and making ready fresh meat, for in that
hot region their meat would be apt in two days to corrupt: to avoid these
and such like inconveniences, the _Jews_ postponed their months a day, as
often as the first day of the month _Tisri_, or, which is all one, the
third of the month _Nisan_, was sunday, wednesday or friday: and this rule
they called [Hebrew: 'DW] _Adu_, by the letters [Hebrew: W , D , ']
signifying the numbers 1, 4, 6; that is, the 1st, 4th, and 6th days of the
week; which days we call sunday, wednesday and friday. Postponing therefore
by this rule the months found above; the 14th day of the month _Nisan_ will
fall in the year of _Christ_ 31, on wednesday _March_ 28; in the year 32,
on monday _Apr._ 14; in the year 33, on friday _Apr._ 3; in the year 34, on
friday _Apr._ 23; in the year 35, on wednesday _Apr._ 13, and in the year
36, on saturday _March_ 31.

By this computation therefore the year 32 is absolutely excluded, because
the Passion cannot fall on friday without making it five days after the
full moon, or two days before it; whereas it ought to be upon the day of
the full moon, or the next day. For the same reason the years 31 and 35 are
excluded, because in them the Passion cannot fall on friday, without making
it three days after the full moon, or four days before it: errors so
enormous, that they would be very conspicuous in the heavens to every
vulgar eye. The year 36 is contended for by few or none, and both this and
the year 35 may be thus excluded.

_Tiberius_ in the beginning of his reign made _Valerius Gratus_ President
of _Judea_; and after 11 years, substituted _Pontius Pilate_, who governed
10 years. Then _Vitellius_, newly made President of _Syria_, deprived him
of his honour, substituting _Marcellus_, and at length sent him to _Rome_:
but, by reason of delays, _Tiberius_ died before _Pilate_ got thither. In
the mean time _Vitellius_, after he had deposed _Pilate_, came to
_Jerusalem_ in the time of the Passover, to visit that Province as well as
others in the beginning of his office; and in the place of _Caiaphas_, then
High Priest, created _Jonathas_ the son of _Ananus_, or _Annas_ as he is
called in scripture. Afterwards, when _Vitellius_ was returned to
_Antioch_, he received letters from _Tiberius_, to make peace with
_Artabanus_ king of the _Parthians_. At the same time the _Alans_, by the
sollicitation of _Tiberius_, invaded the kingdom of _Artabanus_; and his
subjects also, by the procurement of _Vitellius_, soon after rebelled: for
_Tiberius_ thought that _Artabanus_, thus pressed with difficulties, would
more readily accept the conditions of peace. _Artabanus_ therefore
straightway gathering a greater army, opprest the rebels; and then meeting
_Vitellius_ at _Euphrates_, made a league with the _Romans_. After this
_Tiberius_ commanded _Vitellius_ to make war upon _Aretas_ King of
_Arabia_. He therefore leading his army against _Aretas_, went together
with _Herod_ to _Jerusalem_, to sacrifice at the publick feast which was
then to be celebrated. Where being received honourably, he stayed three
days, and in the mean while translated the high Priesthood from _Jonathas_
to his brother _Theophilus_: and the fourth day, receiving letters of the
death of _Tiberius_, made the people swear allegiance to _Caius_ the new
Emperor; and recalling his army, sent them into quarters. All this is
related by _Josephus_ _Antiq._ _lib._ 18. _c._ 6, 7. Now _Tiberius_ reigned
22 years and 7 months, and died _March_ 16, in the beginning of the year of
_Christ_ 37; and the feast of the Passover fell on _April_ 20 following,
that is, 35 days after the death of _Tiberius_: so that there were about 36
or 38 days, for the news of his death to come from _Rome_ to _Vitellius_ at
_Jerusalem_; which being a convenient time for that message, confirms that
the feast which _Vitellius_ and _Herod_ now went up to was the Passover.
For had it been the Pentecost, as is usually supposed, _Vitellius_ would
have continued three months ignorant of the Emperor's death: which is not
to be supposed. However, the things done between this feast and the
Passover which _Vitellius_ was at before, namely, the stirring up a
sedition in _Parthia_, the quieting that sedition, the making a league
after that with the _Parthians_, the sending news of that league to _Rome_,
the receiving new orders from thence to go against the _Arabians_, and the
putting those orders in execution; required much more time than the fifty
days between the Passover and Pentecost of the same year: and therefore the
Passover which _Vitellius_ first went up to, was in the year before.
Therefore _Pilate_ was deposed before the Passover A.C. 36, and by
consequence the passion of _Christ_ was before that Passover: for he
suffered not under _Vitellius_, nor under _Vitellius_ and _Pilate_
together, but under _Pilate_ alone.

Now it is observable that the high Priesthood was at this time become an
annual office, and the Passover was the time of making a new high Priest.
For _Gratus_ the predecessor of _Pilate_, saith _Josephus_, made _Ismael_
high Priest after _Ananus_; and a while after, suppose a year, deposed him,
and substituted _Eleazar_, and a year after _Simon_, and after another year
_Caiaphas_; and then gave way to _Pilate_. So _Vitellius_ at one Passover
made _Jonathas_ successor to _Caiaphas_, and at the next _Theophilus_ to
_Jonathas_. Hence _Luke_ tells us, that in the 15th year of _Tiberius_,
_Annas_ and _Caiaphas_ were high Priests, that is, _Annas_ till the
Passover, and _Caiaphas_ afterwards. Accordingly _John_ speaks of the high
Priesthood as an annual office: for he tells us again and again, in the
last year of _Christ_'s preaching, that _Caiaphas_ was high Priest for that
year, _John_ xi. 49, 51. xviii. 13. And the next year _Luke_ tells you,
that _Annas_ was high Priest, _Acts_ iv. 6. _Theophilus_ was therefore made
high Priest in the first year of _Caius_, _Jonathas_ in the 22d year of
_Tiberius_, and _Caiaphas_ in the 21st year of the same Emperor: and
therefore, allotting a year to each, the Passion, when _Annas_ succeeded
_Caiaphas_, could not be later than the 20th year of _Tiberius_, A.C. 34.

Thus there remain only the years 33 and 34 to be considered; and the year
33 I exclude by this argument. In the Passover two years before the
Passion, when _Christ_ went thro' the corn, and his disciples pluckt the
ears, and rubbed them with their hands to eat; this ripeness of the corn
shews that the Passover then fell late: and so did the Passover A.C. 32,
_April 14_, but the Passover A.C. 31, _March 28th_, fell very early. It was
not therefore two years after the year 31, but two years after 32 that
_Christ_ suffered.

Thus all the characters of the Passion agree to the year 34; and that is
the only year to which they all agree.

Notes to Chap. XI.

[1] I observe, that _Christ_ and his forerunner _John_ in their parabolical
discourses were wont to allude to things present. The old Prophets, when
they would describe things emphatically, did not only draw parables from
things which offered themselves, as from the rent of a garment, 1 _Sam._
xv. from the sabbatic year, _Isa._ xxxvii. from the vessels of a Potter,
_Jer._ xviii, &c. but also when such fit objects were wanting, they
supplied them by their own actions, as by rending a garment, 1 _Kings_ xi.
by shooting, 2 _Kings_ xiii. by making bare their body, _Isa._ xx. by
imposing significant names to their sons, _Isa._ viii. _Hos._ i. by hiding
a girdle in the bank of _Euphrates_, _Jer._ xiii. by breaking a potter's
vessel, _Jer._ xix. by putting on fetters and yokes, _Jer._ xxvii. by
binding a book to a stone, and casting them both into _Euphrates_, _Jer._
li. by besieging a painted city, _Ezek._ iv. by dividing hair into three
parts, _Ezek._ v. by making a chain, _Ezek._ vii. by carrying out houshold
stuff like a captive and trembling, _Ezek._ xii, &c. By such kind of types
the Prophets loved to speak. And _Christ_ being endued with a nobler
prophetic spirit than the rest, excelled also in this kind of speaking, yet
so as not to speak by his own actions, that was less grave and decent, but
to turn into parables such things as offered themselves. On occasion of the
harvest approaching, he admonishes his disciples once and again of the
spiritual harvest, _John_ iv. 35. _Matth._ ix. 37. Seeing the lilies of the
field, he admonishes his disciples about gay clothing, _Matth._ vi. 28. In
allusion to the present season of fruits, he admonishes his disciples about
knowing men by their fruits, _Matth._ vii. 16. In the time of the Passover,
when trees put forth leaves, he bids his disciples _learn a parable from
the fig tree: when its branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye
know that summer is nigh_, &c. _Matth._ xxiv. 32. _Luke_ xxi. 29. The same
day, alluding both to the season of the year and to his passion, which was
to be two days after, he formed a parable of the time of fruits
approaching, and the murdering of the heir, _Matth._ xxi. 33. Alluding at
the same time, both to the money-changers whom he had newly driven out of
the Temple, and to his passion at hand; he made a parable of a Noble-man
going into a far country to receive a kingdom and return, and delivering
his goods to his servants, and at his return condemning the slothful
servant because he put not his money to the exchangers, _Matth._ xxv. 14.
_Luke_ xix. 12. Being near the Temple where sheep were kept in folds to be
sold for the sacrifices, he spake many things parabolically of sheep, of
the shepherd, and of the door of the sheepfold; and discovers that he
alluded to the sheepfolds which were to be hired in the market-place, by
speaking of such folds as a thief could not enter by the door, nor the
shepherd himself open, but a porter opened to the shepherd, _John_ x. 1, 3.
Being in the mount of _Olives_, _Matth._ xxxvi. 30. _John_ xiv. 31. a place
so fertile that it could not want vines, he spake many things mystically of
the Husbandman, and of the vine and its branches, _John_ xv. Meeting a
blind man, he admonished of spiritual blindness, _John_ ix. 39. At the
sight of little children, he described once and again the innocence of the
elect, _Matth._ xviii. 2. xix. 13. Knowing that _Lazarus_ was dead and
should be raised again, he discoursed of the resurrection and life eternal,
_John_ xi. 25, 26. Hearing of the slaughter of some whom _Pilate_ had
slain, he admonished of eternal death, _Luke_ xiii. 1. To his fishermen he
spake of fishers of men, _Matth._ iv. 10. and composed another parable
about fishes. _Matth._ xiii. 47. Being by the Temple, he spake of the
Temple of his body, _John_ ii. 19. At supper he spake a parable about the
mystical supper to come in the kingdom of heaven, _Luke_ xiv. On occasion
of temporal food, he admonished his disciples of spiritual food, and of
eating his flesh and drinking his blood mystically, _John_ vi. 27, 53. When
his disciples wanted bread, he bad them beware of the leven of the
Pharisees, _Matth._ xvi. 6. Being desired to eat, he answered that he had
other meat, _John_ iv. 31. In the great day of the feast of Tabernacles,
when the _Jews_, as their custom was, brought a great quantity of waters
from the river _Shiloah_ into the Temple, _Christ_ stood and cried, saying,
_If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth in me,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water_, John vii. 37. The next
day, in allusion to the servants who by reason of the sabbatical year were
newly set free, he said, _If ye continue in my word, the truth shall make
you free_. Which the _Jews_ understanding literally with respect to the
present manumission of servants, answered, _We be _Abraham_'s seed, and
were never in bondage to any man: how sayeth thou, ye shall be made free?_
John viii. They assert their freedom by a double argument: first, because
they were the seed of _Abraham_, and therefore newly made free, had they
been ever in bondage; and then, because they never were in bondage. In the
last Passover, when _Herod_ led his army thro' _Judea_ against _Aretas_
King of _Arabia_, because _Aretas_ was aggressor and the stronger in
military forces, as appeared by the event; _Christ_ alluding to that state
of things, composed the parable of a weaker King leading his army against a
stronger who made war upon him, _Luke_ xiv. 31. And I doubt not but divers
other parables were formed upon other occasions, the history of which we
have not.

[2] Joseph. Antiq. lib. 3. c. 10.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. XII.

_Of the Prophecy of the Scripture of Truth._

The kingdoms represented by the second and third Beasts, or the Bear and
Leopard, are again described by _Daniel_ in his last Prophecy written in
the third year of _Cyrus_ over _Babylon_, the year in which he conquered
_Persia_. For this Prophecy is a commentary upon the Vision of the Ram and
He-Goat.

_Behold_, saith [1] he, _there shall stand up yet three kings in _Persia__,
[_Cyrus_, _Cambyses_, and _Darius Hystaspes_] _and the fourth_ [_Xerxes_]
_shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength thro' his riches he
shall stir up all against the realm of _Grecia_. And a mighty king_
[_Alexander_ the great] _shall stand up, that shall rule with great
dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his
kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided towards the four winds of
heaven; and not to his posterity_ [but after their death,] _nor according
to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be pluckt up, even
for others besides those_. _Alexander_ the great having conquered all the
_Persian_ Empire, and some part of _India_, died at _Babylon_ a month
before the summer Solstice, in the year of _Nabonassar_ 425: and his
captains gave the monarchy to his bastard brother _Philip Aridæus_, a man
disturbed in his understanding; and made _Perdiccas_ administrator of the
kingdom. _Perdiccas_ with their consent made _Meleager_ commander of the
army, _Seleucus_ master of the horse, _Craterus_ treasurer of the kingdom,
_Antipater_ governor of _Macedon_ and _Greece_, _Ptolemy_ governor of
_Egypt_; _Antigonus_ governor of _Pamphylia_, _Lycia_, _Lycaonia_, and
_Phrygia major_; _Lysimachus_ governor of _Thrace_, and other captains
governors of other Provinces; as many as had been so before in the days of
_Alexander_ the great. The _Babylonians_ began now to count by a new _Æra_,
which they called the _Æra_ of _Philip_, using the years of _Nabonassar_,
and reckoning the 425th year of _Nabonassar_ to be the first year of
_Philip_. _Roxana_ the wife of _Alexander_ being left big with child, and
about three or four months after brought to bed of a son, they called him
_Alexander_, saluted him King, and joined him with _Philip_, whom they had
before placed in the throne. _Philip_ reigned three years under the
administratorship of _Perdiccas_, two years more under the
administratorship of _Antipater_, and above a year more under that of
_Polyperchon_; in all six years and four months; and then was slain with
his Queen _Eurydice_ in _September_ by the command of _Olympias_ the mother
of _Alexander_ the great. The _Greeks_ being disgusted at the cruelties of
_Olympias_, revolted to _Cassander_ the son and successor of _Antipater_.
_Cassander_ affecting the dominion of _Greece_, slew _Olympias_; and soon
after shut up the young king _Alexander_, with his mother _Roxana_, in the
castle of _Amphipolis_, under the charge of _Glaucias_, _An. Nabonass._
432. The next year _Ptolemy_, _Cassander_ and _Lysimachus_, by means of
_Seleucus_, form'd a league against _Antigonus_; and after certain wars
made peace with him, _An. Nabonass._ 438, upon these conditions: that
_Cassander_ should command the forces of _Europe_ till _Alexander_ the son
of _Roxana_ came to age; and that _Lysimachus_ should govern _Thrace_,
_Ptolemy_ _Egypt_ and _Lybia_, and _Antigonus_ all _Asia_. _Seleucus_ had
possest himself of _Mesopotamia_, _Babylonia_, _Sustana_ and _Media_, the
year before. About three years after _Alexander_'s death he was made
governor of _Babylon_ by _Antipater_; then was expelled by _Antigonus_; but
now he recovered and enlarged his government over a great part of the
_East_: which gave occasion to a new _Æra_, called _Æra Seleucidarum_. Not
long after the peace made with _Antigonus_, _Diodorus_ saith the same
_Olympic_ year; _Cassander_, seeing that _Alexander_ the son of _Roxana_
grew up, and that it was discoursed thro'out _Macedonia_ that it was fit he
should be set at liberty, and take upon him the government of his father's
kingdom, commanded _Glaucias_ the governor of the castle to kill _Roxana_
and the young king _Alexander_ her son, and conceal their deaths. Then
_Polyperchon_ set up _Hercules_, the son of _Alexander_ the great by
_Barsinè_, to be king; and soon after, at the sollicitation of _Cassander_,
caused him to be slain. Soon after that, upon a great victory at sea got by
_Demetrius_ the son of _Antigonus_ over _Ptolemy_, _Antigonus_ took upon
himself the title of king, and gave the same title to his son. This was
_An. Nabonass._ 441. After his example, _Seleucus_, _Cassander_,
_Lysimachus_ and _Ptolemy_, took upon themselves the title and dignity of
kings, having abstained from this honour while there remained any of
_Alexander_'s race to inherit the crown. Thus the monarchy of the _Greeks_
for want of an heir was broken into several kingdoms; four of which, seated
_to the four winds of heaven_, were very eminent. For _Ptolemy_ reigned
over _Egypt_, _Lybia_ and _Ethiopia_; _Antigonus_ over _Syria_ and the
lesser _Asia_; _Lysimachus_ over _Thrace_; and _Cassander_ over _Macedon_,
_Greece_ and _Epirus_, as above.

_Seleucus_ at this time reigned over the nations which were beyond
_Euphrates_, and belonged to the bodies of the two first Beasts; but after
six years he conquered _Antigonus_, and thereby became possest of one of
the four kingdoms. For _Cassander_ being afraid of the power of
_Antigonus_, combined with _Lysimachus_, _Ptolemy_ and _Seleucus_, against
him: and while _Lysimachus_ invaded the parts of _Asia_ next the
_Hellespont_, _Ptolemy_ subdued _Phoenicia_ and _Coelosyria_, with the
sea-coasts of _Asia_.

_Seleucus_ came down with a powerful army into _Cappadocia_, and joining
the confederate forces, fought _Antigonus_ in _Phrygia_ and flew him, and
seized his kingdom, _An. Nabonass._ 447. After which _Seleucus_ built
_Antioch_, _Seleucia_, _Laodicea_, _Apamea_, _Berrhæa_, _Edessa_, and other
cities in _Syria_ and _Asia_; and in them granted the _Jews_ equal
privileges with the _Greeks_.

_Demetrius_ the son of _Antigonus_ retained but a small part of his
father's dominions, and at length lost _Cyprus_ to _Ptolemy_; but
afterwards killing _Alexander_, the son and successor of _Cassander_ king
of _Macedon_, he seized his kingdom, _An. Nabonass._ 454. Sometime after,
preparing a very great army to recover his father's dominions in _Asia_;
_Seleucus_, _Ptolemy_, _Lysimachus_ and _Pyrrhus_ king of _Epirus_,
combined against him; and _Pyrrhus_ invading _Macedon_, corrupted the army
of _Demetrius_, put him to flight, seized his kingdom, and shared it with
_Lysimachus_. After seven months, _Lysimachus_ beating _Pyrrhus_, took
_Macedon_ from him, and held it five years and a half, uniting the kingdoms
of _Macedon_ and _Thrace_. _Lysimachus_ in his wars with _Antigonus_ and
_Demetrius_, had taken from them _Caria_, _Lydia_, and _Phrygia_; and had a
treasury in _Pergamus_, a castle on the top of a conical hill in _Phrygia_,
by the river _Caicus_, the custody of which he had committed to one
_Philetærus_, who was at first faithful to him, but in the last year of his
reign revolted. For _Lysimachus_, having at the instigation of his wife
_Arsinoe_, slain first his own son _Agathocles_, and then several that
lamented him; the wife of _Agathocles_ fled with her children and brothers,
and some others of their friends, and sollicited _Seleucus_ to make war
upon _Lysimachus_; whereupon _Philetærus_ also, who grieved at the death of
_Agathocles_, and was accused thereof by _Arsinoe_, took up arms, and sided
with _Seleucus_. On this occasion _Seleucus_ and _Lysimachus_ met and
fought in _Phrygia_; and _Lysimachus_ being slain in the battel, lost his
kingdom to _Seleucus_, _An. Nabonass._ 465. Thus the Empire of the
_Greeks_, which at first brake into four kingdoms, became now reduced into
two notable ones, henceforward called by _Daniel_ the kings of the _South_
and _North_. For _Ptolemy_ now reigned over _Egypt_, _Lybia_, _Ethiopia_,
_Arabia_, _Phoenicia_, _Coelosyria_, and _Cyprus_; and _Seleucus_, having
united three of the four kingdoms, had a dominion scarce inferior to that
of the _Persian_ Empire, conquered by _Alexander_ the great. All which is
thus represented by _Daniel_:[2] _And the king of the_ South [_Ptolemy_]
_shall be strong, and one of his Princes_ [_Seleucus_, one of _Alexander_'s
Princes] _shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall
be a great dominion_.

After _Seleucus_ had reigned seven months over _Macedon_, _Greece_,
_Thrace_, _Asia_, _Syria_, _Babylonia_, _Media_, and all the _East_ as far
as _India_; _Ptolemy Ceraunus_, the younger brother of _Ptolemy
Philadelphus_ king of _Egypt_, slew him treacherously, and seized his
dominions in _Europe_: while _Antiochus Soter_, the son of _Seleucus_,
succeeded his father in _Asia_, _Syria_, and most of the _East_; and after
nineteen or twenty years was succeeded by his son _Antiochus Theos_; who
having a lasting war with _Ptolemy Philadelphus_, at length composed the
same by marrying _Berenice_ the daughter of _Philadelphus_: but after a
reign of fifteen years, his first wife _Laodice_ poisoned him, and set her
son _Seleucus Callinicus_ upon the throne. _Callinicus_ in the beginning of
his reign, by the impulse of his mother _Laodice_, besieged _Berenice_ in
_Daphne_ near _Antioch_, and slew her with her young son and many of her
women. Whereupon _Ptolemy Euergetes_, the son and successor of
_Philadelphus_, made war upon _Callinicus_; took from him _Phoenicia_,
_Syria_, _Cilicia_, _Mesopotamia_, _Babylonia_, _Sustana_, and some other
regions; and carried back into _Egypt_ 40000 talents of silver, and 2500
images of the Gods, amongst which were the Gods of _Egypt_ carried away by
_Cambyses_. _Antiochus Hierax_ at first assisted his brother _Callinicus_,
but afterwards contended with him for _Asia_. In the mean time _Eumenes_
governor of _Pergamus_ beat _Antiochus_, and took from them both all _Asia_
westward of mount _Taurus_. This was in the fifth year of _Callinicus_, who
after an inglorious reign of 20 years was succeeded by his son _Seleucus
Ceraunus_; and _Euergetes_ after four years more, _An. Nabonass._ 527, was
succeeded by his son _Ptolemy Philopator_. All which is thus signified by
_Daniel_:[3] _And in the end of years they_ [the kings of the _South_ and
_North_] _shall join themselves together: for the king's daughter of the_
South [_Berenice_] _shall come to the king of the _North_ to make an
agreement, but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall she
stand, nor her seed, but she shall be delivered up, and he_ [_Callinicus_]
_that brought her, and he whom she brought forth, and they that strengthned
her in_ [those] _times_, [or defended her in the siege of _Daphne_.] _But
out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his seat_ [her brother
_Euergetes_] _who shall come with an army, and shall enter into the
fortress_ [or fenced cities] _of the king of the _North_, and shall act
against them and prevail: and shall carry captives into _Egypt_, their Gods
with their Princes and precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall
continue some years after the king of the_ North.

_Seleucus Ceraunus_, inheriting the remains of his father's kingdom, and
thinking to recover the rest, raised a great army against the governor of
_Pergamus_, now King thereof, but died in the third year of his reign. His
brother and successor, _Antiochus Magnus_, carrying on the war, took from
the King of _Pergamus_ almost all the lesser _Asia_, recovering also the
Provinces of _Media_, _Persia_ and _Babylonia_, from the governors who had
revolted: and in the fifth year of his reign invading _Coelosyria_, he with
little opposition possest himself of a good part thereof; and the next year
returning to invade the rest of _Coelosyria_ and _Phoenicia_, beat the army
of _Ptolemy Philopator_ near _Berytus_; he then invaded _Palestine_ and the
neighbouring parts of _Arabia_, and the third year returned with an army of
78000: but _Ptolemy_ coming out of _Egypt_ with an army of 75000, fought
and routed him at _Raphia_ near _Gaza_, between _Palestine_ and _Egypt_;
and recovered all _Phoenicia_ and _Coelosyria_, _Ann. Nabonass._ 532. Being
puffed up with this victory, and living in all manner of luxury, the
_Egyptians_ revolted, and had wars with him, but were overcome; and in the
broils sixty thousand _Egyptian Jews_ were slain. All which is thus
described by _Daniel_: [4] _But his sons_ [_Seleucus Ceraunus_, and
_Antiochus Magnus_, the sons of _Callinicus_] _shall be stirred up, and
shall gather a great army; and he_ [_Antiochus Magnus_] _shall come
effectually and overflow, and pass thro' and return, and_ [again the next
year] _be stirred up_ [marching even] _to his fortress_, [the frontier
towns of _Egypt_;] _and the King of the _South_ shall be moved with choler,
and come forth_ [the third year] _and fight with him, even with the King of
the _North_; and he_ [the King of the _North_] _shall lead forth a great
multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand. And the
multitude being taken away, his heart shall be lifted up, and he shall cast
down many ten thousands; but he shall not be strengthned by it: for the
king of the _North_ shall return_, &c.

About twelve years after the battle between _Philopator_ and _Antiochus_,
_Philopator_ died; and left his kingdom to his young son _Ptolemy
Epiphanes_, a child of five years old. Thereupon _Antiochus Magnus_
confederated with _Philip_ king of _Macedon_, that they should each invade
the dominions of _Epiphanes_ which lay next to them. Hence arose a various
war between _Antiochus_ and _Epiphanes_, each of them seizing _Phoenicia_
and _Coelosyria_ by turns; whereby those countries were much afflicted by
both parties. First _Antiochus_ seized them; then one _Scopas_ being sent
with the army of _Egypt_, recovered them from _Antiochus_: the next year,
_An. Nabonass._ 550, _Antiochus_ fought and routed _Scopas_ near the
fountains of _Jordan_, besieged him in _Sidon_, took the city, and
recovered _Syria_ and _Phoenicia_ from _Egypt_, the _Jews_ coming over to
him voluntarily. But about three years after, preparing for a war against
the _Romans_, he came to _Raphia_ on the borders of _Egypt_; made peace
with _Epiphanes_, and gave him his daughter _Cleopatra_: next autumn he
passed the _Hellespont_ to invade the cities of _Greece_ under the _Roman_
protection, and took some of them; but was beaten by the _Romans_ the
summer following, and forced to return back with his army into _Asia_.
Before the end of the year the fleet of _Antiochus_ was beaten by the fleet
of the _Romans_ near _Phocæa_: and at the same time _Epiphanes_ and
_Cleopatra_ sent an embassy to _Rome_ to congratulate the _Romans_ on their
success against their father _Antiochus_, and to exhort them to prosecute
the war against him into _Asia_. The _Romans_ beat _Antiochus_ again at sea
near _Ephesus_, past their army over the _Hellespont_, and obtain'd a great
victory over him by land, took from him all _Asia_ westward of mount
_Taurus_, gave it to the King of _Pergamus_ who assisted them in the war;
and imposed a large tribute upon _Antiochus_. Thus the King of _Pergamus_,
by the power of the _Romans_, recovered what _Antiochus_ had taken from
him; and _Antiochus_ retiring into the remainder of his kingdom, was slain
two years after by the _Persians_, as he was robbing the Temple of _Jupiter
Belus_ in _Elymais_, to raise money for the _Romans_. All which is thus
described by _Daniel_. [5] _For the King of the_ North [_Antiochus_] _shall
return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and shall
certainly come, after certain years, with a great army and with much
riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the King of
the_ South, [particularly the _Macedonians_;] _also the robbers of thy
people_ [the _Samaritans_, &c.] _shall exalt themselves to establish the
vision, but they shall fall. So the King of the _North_ shall come, and
cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities; and the arms of the
_South_ shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there
he any strength to withstand. But he that cometh against him shall do
according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall
stand in the glorious land, which shall fail in his hand. He shall also set
his face to go with the strength_ [or army] _of all his kingdom, and make
an agreement with him_ [at _Raphia_;] _and he shall give him the daughter
of women corrupting her; but she shall not stand his side, neither be for
him. After this he shall turn his face unto the Isles, and shall take many:
but a Prince for his own behalf_ [the _Romans_] _shall cause the reproach
offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn
upon him. Then he shall turn his face towards the fort of his own land: but
he shall stumble and fall, and not be found._

_Seleucus Philopator_ succeeded his father _Antiochus_, _Anno Nabonass._
561, and reigned twelve years, but did nothing memorable, being sluggish,
and intent upon raising money for the _Romans_ to whom he was tributary. He
was slain by _Heliodorus_, whom he had sent to rob the Temple of
_Jerusalem_. _Daniel_ thus describes his reign. [6] _Then shall stand up in
his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom, but within few
days be shall be destroyed, neither in anger nor in battle._

A little before the death of _Philopator_, his son _Demetrius_ was sent
hostage to _Rome_, in the place of _Antiochus Epiphanes_, the brother of
_Philopator_; and _Antiochus_ was at _Athens_ in his way home from _Rome_,
when _Philopator_ died: whereupon _Heliodorus_ the treasurer of the
kingdom, stept into the throne. But _Antiochus_ so managed his affairs,
that the _Romans_ kept _Demetrius_ at _Rome_; and their ally the King of
_Pergamus_ expelled _Heliodorus_, and placed _Antiochus_ in the throne,
while _Demetrius_ the right heir remained an hostage at _Rome_. _Antiochus_
being thus made King by the friendship of the King of _Pergamus_ reigned
powerfully over _Syria_ and the neighbouring nations: but carried himself
much below his dignity, stealing privately out of his palace, rambling up
and down the city in disguise with one or two of his companions; conversing
and drinking with people of the lowest rank, foreigners and strangers;
frequenting the meetings of dissolute persons to feast and revel; clothing
himself like the _Roman_ candidates and officers, acting their parts like a
mimick, and in publick festivals jesting and dancing with servants and
light people, exposing himself by all manner of ridiculous gestures. This
conduct made some take him for a madman, and call him _Antiochus_ [Greek:
Epimenês]. In the first year of his reign he deposed _Onias_ the
high-Priest, and sold the high-Priesthood to _Jason_ the younger brother of
_Onias_: for _Jason_ had promised to give him 440 talents of silver for
that office, and 15 more for a licence to erect a place of exercise for the
training up of youth in the fashions of the heathen; which licence was
granted by the King, and put in execution by _Jason_. Then the King sending
one _Apollonius_ into _Egypt_ to the coronation of _Ptolemy Philometor_,
the young son of _Philometor_ and _Cleopatra_, and knowing _Philometor_ not
to be well affected to his affairs in _Phoenicia_, provided for his own
safety in those parts; and for that end came to _Joppa_ and _Jerusalem_,
where he was honourably received; from thence he went in like manner with
his little army to the cities of _Phoenicia_, to establish himself against
_Egypt_, by courting the people, and distributing extraordinary favours
amongst them. All which is thus represented by _Daniel_. [7] _And in his_
[_Philometor_'s] _estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they_ [the
_Syrians_ who set up _Heliodorus_] _shall not give the honour of the
kingdom. Yet he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by
flatteries_ [made principally to the King of _Pergamus_;] _and the arms_
[which in favour of _Heliodorus_ oppose him] _shall be overflowed with a
food from before him, and be broken; yea also_ [_Onias_ the high-Priest]
_the Prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him,_ [the King
of _Egypt_, by sending _Apollonius_ to his coronation] _he shall work
deceitfully_ [against the King of _Egypt_,] _for he shall come up and shall
become strong_ [in _Phoenicia _] _with a small people. And he shall enter
into the quiet and plentiful cities of the Province_ [of _Phoenicia_;]
_and_ [to ingratiate himself with the _Jews_ of _Phoenicia_ and _Egypt_,
and with their friends] _he shall do that which his fathers have not done,
nor his fathers fathers: he shall scatter among them the prey and the
spoil, and the riches_ [exacted from other places;] _and shall forecast his
devices against the strong holds_ [of _Egypt_] _even for a time._

These things were done in the first year of his reign, _An. Nabonass._ 573.
And thenceforward he forecast his devices against the strong holds of
_Egypt_, until the sixth year. For three years after, that is in the fourth
year of his reign, _Menelaus_ bought the high-Priesthood from _Jason_, but
not paying the price was sent for by the King; and the King, before he
could hear the cause, went into _Cilicia_ to appease a sedition there, and
left _Andronicus_ his deputy at _Antioch_; in the mean time the brother of
_Menelaus_, to make up the money, conveyed several vessels out of the
Temple, selling some of them at _Tyre_, and sending others to _Andronicus_.
When _Menelaus_ was reproved for this by _Onias_, he caused _Onias_ to be
slain by _Andronicus_: for which fact the King at his return from _Cilicia_
caused _Andronicus_ to be put to death. Then _Antiochus_ prepared his
second expedition against _Egypt_, which he performed in the sixth year of
his reign, _An. Nabonass._ 578: for upon the death of _Cleopatra_, the
governors of her son the young King of _Egypt_ claimed _Phoenicia_ and
_Coelosyria_ from him as her dowry; and to recover those countries raised a
great army. _Antiochus_ considering that his father had not quitted the
possession of those countries[8], denied they were her dowry; and with
another great army met and fought the _Egyptians_ on the borders of
_Egypt_, between _Pelusium_ and the mountain _Casius_. He there beat them,
and might have destroyed their whole army, but that he rode up and down,
commanding his soldiers not to kill them, but to take them alive: by which
humanity he gained _Pelusium_, and soon after all _Egypt_; entring it with
a vast multitude of foot and chariots, elephants and horsemen, and a great
navy. Then seizing the cities of _Egypt_ as a friend, he marched to
_Memphis_, laid the whole blame of the war upon _Eulæus_ the King's
governor, entred into outward friendship with the young King, and took upon
him to order the affairs of the kingdom. While _Aniochus_ was thus
employ'd, a report being spread in _Phoenicia_ that he was dead, _Jason_ to
recover the high-Priesthood assaulted _Jerusalem_ with above a thousand
men, and took the city: hereupon the King thinking _Judea_ had revolted,
came out of _Egypt_ in a furious manner, re-took the city, slew forty
thousand of the people, made as many prisoners, and sold them to raise
money; went into the Temple, spoiled it of its treasures, ornaments,
utensils, and vessels of gold and silver, amounting to 1800 talents; and
carried all away to _Antioch_. This was done in the year of _Nabonassar_
578, and is thus described by _Daniel_. [9] _And he shall stir up his
power, and his courage against the King of the _South_ with a great army;
and the King of the _South_ shall be stirrd up to battle with a very great
and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they_, even _Antiochus_ and
his friends, _shall forecast devices against him_, as is represented above;
_yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat, shall_ betray and _destroy
him, and his army shall be overthrown, and many shall fall down slain. And
both these Kings hearts shall be to do mischief; and they_, being now made
friends, _shall speak lyes at one table_, against the _Jews_ and against
the holy covenant; _but it shall not prosper: for yet the end_, in which
the setting up of the abomination of desolation is to prosper, _shall be at
the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches,
and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall act_,
against it by spoiling the Temple, _and return into his own land_.

The _Egyptians_ of _Alexandria_ seeing _Philometor_ first educated in
luxury by the Eunuch _Eulæus_, and now in the hands of _Antiochus_, gave
the kingdom to _Euergetes_, the younger brother of _Philometor_. Whereupon
_Antiochus_ pretending to restore _Philometor_, made war upon _Euergetes_;
beat him at sea, and besieged him and his sister _Cleopatra_ in
_Alexandria_: while the besieged Princes sent to _Rome_ to implore the
assistance of the Senate. _Antiochus_ finding himself unable to take the
city that year, returned into _Syria_, leaving _Philometor_ at _Memphis_ to
govern _Egypt_ in his absence. But _Philometor_ made friendship with his
brother that winter; and _Antiochus_, returning the next spring _An.
Nabonass._ 580, to besiege both the brothers in _Alexandria_, was met in
the way by the _Roman_ Ambassadors, _Popilius Læna_, _C. Decimius_, and _C.
Hostilius_: he offered them his hand to kiss, but _Popilius_ delivering to
him the tables wherein the message of the Senate was written, bad him read
those first. When he had read them, he replied he would consider with his
friends what was fit to be done; but _Popilius_ drawing a circle about him,
bad him answer before he went out of it: _Antiochus_, astonished at this
blunt and unusual imperiousness, made answer he would do what the _Romans_
demanded; and then _Popilius_ gave the King his hand to kiss, and he
returned out of _Egypt_. The same year, _An. Nabonass._ 580, his captains
by his order spoiled and slaughtered the _Jews_, profaned the Temple, set
up the worship of the heathen Gods in all _Judea_, and began to persecute
and make war upon those who would not worship them: which actions are thus
described by _Daniel_. [10] _At the time appointed he shall come_ again
_towards the _South_, but the latter shall not be as the former. For the
ships of _Chittim_ shall come_, with an embassy from _Rome_, _against him.
Therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the
holy covenant. So shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence
with them that forsake the holy covenant._

In the same year that _Antiochus_ by the command of the _Romans_ retired
out of _Egypt_, and set up the worship of the _Greeks_ in _Judea_; the
_Romans_ conquered the kingdom of _Macedon_, the fundamental kingdom of the
Empire of the _Greeks_, and reduced it into a _Roman_ Province; and thereby
began to put an end to the reign of _Daniel_'s third Beast. This is thus
exprest by _Daniel_. _And after him Arms_, that is the _Romans_, _shall
stand up_. As [Hebrew: MMLK] signifies _after the King_, Dan. xi. 8; so
[Hebrew: MMNW] may signify _after him_. _Arms_ are every where in this
Prophecy of _Daniel_ put for the military power of a kingdom: and they
stand up when they conquer and grow powerful. Hitherto _Daniel_ described
the actions of the Kings of the _North_ and _South_; but upon the conquest
of _Macedon_ by the _Romans_, he left off describing the actions of the
_Greeks_, and began to describe those of the _Romans_ in _Greece_. They
conquered _Macedon_, _Illyricum_ and _Epirus_, in the year of _Nabonassar_
580. 35 years after, by the last will and testament of _Attalus_ the last
King of _Pergamus_, they inherited that rich and flourishing kingdom, that
is, all _Asia_ westward of mount _Taurus_; 69 years after they conquered
the kingdom of _Syria_, and reduced it into a Province, and 34 years after
they did the like to _Egypt_. By all these steps the _Roman_ Arms stood up
over the _Greeks_: and after 95 years more, by making war upon the _Jews_,
_they polluted the sanctuary of strength, and took away the daily
sacrifice, and then placed the abomination of desolation_. For this
abomination was placed after the days of _Christ_, _Math._ xxiv. 15. In the
16th year of the Emperor _Adrian_, A.C. 132, they placed this abomination
by building a Temple to _Jupiter Capitolinus_, where the Temple of God in
_Jerusalem_ had stood. Thereupon the _Jews_ under the conduct of
_Barchochab_ rose up in arms against the _Romans_, and in the war had 50
cities demolished, 985 of their best towns destroyed, and 580000 men slain
by the sword; and in the end of the war, A.C. 136, were banished _Judea_
upon pain of death, and thenceforward the land remained desolate of its old
inhabitants.

In the beginning of the _Jewish_ war in _Nero_'s reign, the Apostles fled
out of _Judea_ with their flocks; some beyond _Jordan_ to _Pella_ and other
places, some into _Egypt_, _Syria_, _Mesopotamia_, _Asia minor_, and
elsewhere. _Peter_ and _John_ came into _Asia_, and _Peter_ went thence by
_Corinth_ to _Rome_; but _John_ staying in _Asia_, was banished by the
_Romans_ into _Patmos_, as the head of a party of the _Jews_, whose nation
was in war with the _Romans_. By this dispersion of the _Christian Jews_,
the _Christian_ religion, which was already propagated westward as far as
_Rome_, spred fast into all the _Roman_ Empire, and suffered many
persecutions under it till the days of _Constantine_ the great and his
sons: all which is thus described by _Daniel_. [11] _And such as do
wickedly against the covenant, shall he_, who places the abomination,
_cause to dissemble_, and worship the heathen Gods; _but the people_ among
them _who do know their God, shall be strong and act. And they that
understand among the people, shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by
the sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when
they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help, viz._ in the
reign of _Constantine_ the great; _and_ at that time by reason of their
prosperity, _many shall_ come over to them from among the heathen, and
_cleave to them with dissimulation. But of those of understanding there
shall_ still _fall to try_ God's people _by them and to purge_ them from
the dissemblers, _and to make them white even to the time of the end:
because it is yet for a time appointed._

Hitherto the _Roman_ Empire continued entire; and under this dominion, the
little horn of the He-Goat continued _mighty, but not by his own power_.
But now, by the building of _Constantinople_, and endowing it with a Senate
and other like privileges with _Rome_; and by the division of the _Roman_
Empire into the two Empires of the _Greeks_ and _Latins_, headed by those
two cities; a new scene of things commences, in which which [12] _a King_,
the Empire of the _Greeks_, _doth according to his will, and_, by setting
his own laws above the laws of God, _exalts and magnifies himself above
every God, and speaks marvellous things against the God of Gods, and shall
prosper till the indignation be accomplished.--Neither shall he regard the
God of his fathers, nor the_ lawful _desire of women_ in matrimony, _nor
any God, but shall magnify himself above all. And in his seat he shall
honour _Mahuzzims__, that is, strong guardians, the souls of the dead;
_even with a God whom his fathers knew not shall he honour them_, in their
Temples, _with gold and silver, and with precious stones and valuable
things_. All which relates to the overspreading of the _Greek_ Empire with
Monks and Nuns, who placed holiness in abstinence from marriage; and to the
invocation of saints and veneration of their reliques, and such like
superstitions, which these men introduced in the fourth and fifth
centuries. [13] _And at the time of the end the King of the_ South, or the
Empire of the _Saracens_, _shall push at him_; _and the King of the_ North,
or Empire of the _Turks_, _shall come against him like a whirlwind, with
chariots and with horsemen, and with many ships_; _and be shall enter into
the countries_ of the _Greeks_, _and shall overflow and pass over. He shall
enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown;
but these shall escape out of his hand, even _Edom_ and _Moab_, and the
chief of the children_ Ammon: that is, those to whom his Caravans pay
tribute. _He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries, and the
land of _Egypt_ shall not escape_; _but he shall have power over the
treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of _Egypt_;
and the _Lybians_ and _Ethiopians_ shall be at his steps_. All these
nations compose the Empire of the _Turks_, and therefore this Empire is
here to be understood by the King of the _North_. They compose also the
body of the He-Goat; and therefore the Goat still reigns in his last horn,
but not by his own power.

Notes to Chap. XII.

[1] Chap. xi. 2, 3, 4.

[2] Chap. xi. 5.

[3] Chap. xi. 6, 7, 8.

[4] Chap. xi. 10, &c.

[5] Chap. xi. 13-19.

[6] Chap. xi. 20.

[7] Chap. xi. 21, &c.

[8] 2 Maccab. iii. 5, 8. & iv. 4.

[9] Chap. xi. 25, &c.

[10] Chap. xi. 29, 30.

[11] Chap. xi. 32, &c.

[12] Chap. xi. 36, &c.

[13] Chap. xi. 40, &c.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. XIII.

_Of the King who did according to his will, and magnified himself above
every God, and honoured _Mahuzzims_, and regarded not the desire of women_.

In the first ages of the Christian religion the Christians of every city
were governed by a Council of Presbyters, and the President of the Council
was the Bishop of the city. The Bishop and Presbyters of one city meddled
not with the affairs of another city, except by admonitory letters or
messages. Nor did the Bishops of several cities meet together in Council
before the time of the Emperor _Commodus_: for they could not meet together
without the leave of the _Roman_ governors of the Provinces. But in the
days of that Emperor they began to meet in Provincial Councils, by the
leave of the governors; first in _Asia_, in opposition to the
_Cataphrygian_ Heresy, and soon after in other places and upon other
occasions. The Bishop of the chief city, or Metropolis of the _Roman_
Province, was usually made President of the Council; and hence came the
authority of Metropolitan Bishops above that of other Bishops within the
same Province. Hence also it was that the Bishop of _Rome_ in _Cyprian_'s
days called himself the Bishop of Bishops. As soon as the Empire became
Christian, the _Roman_ Emperors began to call general Councils out of all
the Provinces of the Empire; and by prescribing to them what points they
should consider, and influencing them by their interest and power, they set
up what party they pleased. Hereby the _Greek_ Empire, upon the division of
the _Roman_ Empire into the _Greek_ and _Latin_ Empires, became _the King
who_, in matters of religion, _did according to his will_; _and_, in
legislature, _exalted and magnified himself above every God_: and at
length, by the seventh general Council, established the worship of the
images and souls of dead men, here called _Mahuzzims_.

The same King placed holiness in abstinence from marriage. _Eusebius_ in
his Ecclesiastical history [1] tells us, that _Musanus_ wrote a tract
against those who fell away to the heresy of the _Encratites_, which was
then newly risen, and had introduced pernicious errors; and that _Tatian_,
the disciple of _Justin_, was the author thereof; and that _Irenæus_ in his
first book against heresies teaches this, writing of _Tatian_ and his
heresy in these words: _A Saturnino & Marcione profecti qui vocantur
Continentes, docuerunt non contrahendum esse matrimonium; reprobantes
scilicet primitivum illud opificium Dei, & tacitè accusantes Deum qui
masculum & fæminam condidit ad procreationem generis humani. Induxerunt
etiam abstinentiam ab esu eorum quæ animalia appellant, ingratos se
exhibentes ergo eum qui universa creavit Deum. Negant etiam primi hominis
salutem. Atque hoc nuper apud illos excogitatum est, Tatiano quodam omnium
primo hujus impietatis auctore: qui Justini auditor, quamdiu cum illo
versatus est, nihil ejusmodi protulit. Post martyrium autem illius, ab
Ecclesia se abrumpens, doctoris arrogantia elatus ac tumidus, tanquam
præstantior cæteris, novam quandam formam doctrinæ conflavit: Æonas
invisibiles commentus perinde ac Valentinus: asserens quoque cum Saturnino
& Marcione, matrimonium nihil aliud esse quam corruptionem ac stuprum: nova
præterea argumenta ad subvertendam Adami salutem excogitans. Hæc Irenæus de
Hæresi quæ tunc viguit Encratitarum._ Thus far _Eusebius_. But altho the
followers of _Tatian_ were at first condemned as hereticks by the name of
_Encratites_, or _Continentes_; their principles could not be yet quite
exploded: for _Montanus_ refined upon them, and made only second marriages
unlawful; he also introduced frequent fastings, and annual, fasting days,
the keeping of _Lent_, and feeding upon dried meats. The _Apostolici_,
about the middle of the third century, condemned marriage, and were a
branch of the disciples of _Tatian_. The _Hierocitæ_ in _Egypt_, in the
latter end of the third century, also condemned marriage. _Paul_ the
_Eremite_ fled into the wilderness from the persecution of _Decius_, and
lived there a solitary life till the reign of _Constantine_ the great, but
made no disciples. _Antony_ did the like in the persecution of
_Dioclesian_, or a little before, and made disciples; and many others soon
followed his example.

Hitherto the principles of the _Encratites_ had been rejected by the
Churches; but now being refined by the Monks, and imposed not upon all men,
but only upon those who would voluntarily undertake a monastic life, they
began to be admired, and to overflow first the _Greek_ Church, and then the
_Latin_ also, like a torrent. _Eusebius_ tells us, [2] that _Constantine_
the great had those men in the highest veneration, who dedicated themselves
wholly to the divine philosophy; and that he almost venerated the most holy
company of Virgins perpetually devoted to God; being certain that the God
to whom he had consecrated himself did dwell in their minds. In his time
and that of his sons, this profession of a single life was propagated in
_Egypt_ by _Antony_, and in _Syria_ by _Hilarion_; and spred so fast, that
soon after the time of _Julian_ the Apostate a third part of the
_Egyptians_ were got into the desarts of _Egypt_. They lived first singly
in cells, then associated into _coenobia_ or convents; and at length came
into towns, and filled the Churches with Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons.
_Athanasius_ in his younger days poured water upon the hands of his master
_Antony_; and finding the Monks faithful to him, made many of them Bishops
and Presbyters in _Egypt_: and these Bishops erected new Monasteries, out
of which they chose Presbyters of their own cities, and sent Bishops to
others. The like was done in _Syria_, the superstition being quickly
propagated thither out of _Egypt_ by _Hilarion_ a disciple of _Antony_.
_Spiridion_ and _Epiphanius_ of _Cyprus_, _James_ of _Nisibis_, _Cyril_ of
_Jerusalem_, _Eustathius_ of _Sebastia_ in _Armenia_, _Eusebius_ of
_Emisa_, _Titus_ of _Bostra_, _Basilius_ of _Ancyra_, _Acacius_ of
_Cæsarea_ in _Palestine_, _Elpidius_ of _Laodicea_, _Melitius_ and
_Flavian_ of _Antioch_, _Theodorus_ of _Tyre_, _Protogenes_ of _Carrhæ_,
_Acacius_ of _Berrhæa_, _Theodotus_ of _Hierapolis_, _Eusebius_ of
_Chalcedon_, _Amphilochius_ of _Iconium_, _Gregory Nazianzen_, _Gregory
Nyssen_, and _John Chrysostom_ of _Constantinople_, were both Bishops and
Monks in the fourth century. _Eustathius_, _Gregory Nazianzen_, _Gregory
Nyssen_, _Basil_, &c. had Monasteries of Clergymen in their cities, out of
which Bishops were sent to other cities; who in like manner erected
Monasteries there, till the Churches were supplied with Bishops out of
these Monasteries. Hence _Jerome_, in a Letter written about the year 385,
[3] saith of the Clergy: _Quasi & ipsi aliud sint quam Monachi, & non
quicquid in Monachos dicitur redundet in Clericos qui patres sunt
Monachorum. Detrimentum pecoris pastoris ignominia est_. And in his book
against _Vigilantius_: _Quid facient Orientis Ecclesiæ? Quæ aut Virgines
Clericos accipiunt, aut Continentes, aut si uxores habuerint mariti esse
desistunt_. Not long after even the Emperors commanded the Churches to
chuse Clergymen out of the Monasteries by this Law.

_Impp. Arcad & Honor. AA. Cæsario PF. P._

[4] _Si quos forte Episcopi deesse sibi Clericos arbitrantur, ex monachorum
numero rectius ordinabunt: non obnoxios publicis privatisque rationibus cum
invidia teneant, sed habeant jam probatos. Dat. _vii._ Kal. Aug. Honorio A.
_iv._ & Eutychianio Coss._ A.C. 598. The _Greek_ Empire being now in the
hands of these _Encratites_, and having them in great admiration, _Daniel_
makes it a characteristick of the King who doth according to his will, that
_he should not regard the desire of Women._

Thus the Sect of the _Encratites_, set on foot by the _Gnosticks_, and
propagated by _Tatian_ and _Montanus_ near the end of the second century;
which was condemned by the Churches of that and the third century, and
refined upon by their followers; overspread the _Eastern_ Churches in the
fourth century, and before the end of it began to overspread the _Western_.
Henceforward the Christian Churches having a form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof, came into the hands of the _Encratites_: and the
Heathens, who in the fourth century came over in great numbers to the
Christians, embraced more readily this sort of Christianity, as having a
greater affinity with their old superstitions, than that of the sincere
Christians; who by the lamps of the seven Churches of _Asia_, and not by
the lamps of the Monasteries, had illuminated the Church Catholic during
the three first centuries.

The _Cataphrygians_ brought in also several other superstitions: such as
were the doctrine of Ghosts, and of their punishment in Purgatory, with
prayers and oblations for mitigating that punishment, as _Tertullian_
teaches in his books _De Anima_ and _De Monogamia_. They used also the sign
of the cross as a charm. So _Tertullian_ in his book _de Corona militis_:
_Ad omnem progressum atque promotum, ad omnem aditum & exitum, ad vestitum,
ad calceatum, ad lavacra, ad mensas, ad lamina, ad cubilia, ad sedilia,
quacunque nos conversatio exercet, frontem crucis signaculo terimus_. All
these superstitions the Apostle refers to, where he saith: _Now the Spirit
speaketh expresly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils_, the
_Dæmons_ and Ghosts worshipped by the heathens, _speaking lyes in
hypocrisy_, about their apparitions, the miracles done by them, their
reliques, and the sign of the cross, _having consciences seared with a hot
iron_; _forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats_, &c. 1
Tim. iv. 1,2,3. From the _Cataphrygians_ these principles and practices
were propagated down to posterity. _For the mystery of iniquity_ did
_already work_ in the _Apostles_ days in the _Gnosticks_, continued to work
very strongly in their offspring the _Tatianists_ and _Cataphrygians_, and
was to work _till that man of sin_ should _be revealed_; _whose coming is
after the working of Satan, with all power and signs, and lying wonders,
and all deceivableness of unrighteousness_; coloured over with a form of
_Christian_ godliness, but without the power thereof, 2 _Thess_. ii. 7-10.

For tho some stop was put to the _Cataphrygian_ Christianity, by Provincial
Councils, till the fourth century; yet the _Roman_ Emperors then turning
_Christians_, and great multitudes of heathens coming over in outward
profession, these found the _Cataphrygian_ Christianity more suitable to
their old principles, of placing religion in outward forms and ceremonies,
holy-days, and doctrines of Ghosts, than the religion of the sincere
_Christians_: wherefore they readily sided with the _Cataphrygian
Christians_, and established that Christianity before the end of the fourth
century. By this means those of understanding, after they had been
persecuted by the heathen Emperors in the three first centuries, and _were
holpen with a little help_, by the conversion of _Constantine_ the great
and his sons to the _Christian_ religion, fell under new persecutions, _to
purge them_ from the dissemblers, _and to make them white, even to the time
of the end_.

Notes to Chap. XIII.

[1] Lib. 4. c. 28, 29.

[2] In vita Constantini, l. 4. c. 28.

[3] Epist. 10.

[4] L. 32. de Episcopis.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. XIV.

_Of the _Mahuzzims_, honoured by the King who doth according to his will_.

In scripture we are told of some _trusting in God_ and others _trusting in
idols_, and that _God is our refuge, our strength, our defense_. In this
sense God is _the rock of his people_, and false Gods are called _the rock
of those that trust in them_, Deut. xxxii. 4, 15, 18, 30, 31, 37. In the
same sense the Gods of _the King_ who _shall do according to his will_ are
called _Mahuzzims_, munitions, fortresses, protectors, guardians, or
defenders. _In his estate_, saith [1] _Daniel_, _shall he honour
_Mahuzzims_; even with a God whom his fathers knew not, shall he honour
them with gold and silver, and with precious stones, and things of value.
Thus shall he do in the most strong holds_ or temples;--_and he shall cause
them to rule over many, and divide the land_ among them _for a possession_.
Now this came to pass by degrees in the following manner.

_Gregory Nyssen_ [2] tells us, that after the persecution of the Emperor
_Decius_, _Gregory_ Bishop of _Neocæsarea_ in _Pontus_, _instituted among
all people, as an addition or corollary of devotion towards God, that
festival days and assemblies should be celebrated to them who had contended
for the faith_, that is, to the _Martyrs_. And he adds this reason for the
institution: _When he observed_, saith _Nyssen_, _that the simple and
unskilful multitude, by reason of corporeal delights, remained in the error
of idols; that the principal thing might be corrected among them, namely,
that instead of their vain worship they might turn their eyes upon God; he
permitted that at the memories of the holy Martyrs they might make merry
and delight themselves, and be dissolved into joy_. The heathens were
delighted with the festivals of their Gods, and unwilling to part with
those delights; and therefore _Gregory_, to facilitate their conversion,
instituted annual festivals to the _Saints_ and _Martyrs_. Hence it came to
pass, that for exploding the festivals of the heathens, the principal
festivals of the _Christians_ succeeded in their room: as the keeping of
_Christmas_ with ivy and feasting, and playing and sports, in the room of
the _Bacchanalia_ and _Saturnalia_; the celebrating of _May-day_ with
flowers, in the room of the _Floralia_; and the keeping of festivals to the
Virgin _Mary_, _John_ the Baptist, and divers of the Apostles, in the room
of the solemnities at the entrance of the Sun into the signs of the
_Zodiac_ in the old _Julian_ Calendar. In the same persecution of _Decius_,
_Cyprian_ ordered the passions of the Martyrs in _Africa_ to be registred,
in order to celebrate their memories annually with oblations and
sacrifices: and _Felix_ Bishop of _Rome_, a little after, as _Platina_
relates, _Martyrum gloria consulens, constituit at quotannis sacrificia
eorum nomine celebrarentur_; "consulting the glory of the Martyrs, ordained
that sacrifices should be celebrated annually in their name." By the
pleasures of these festivals the _Christians_ increased much in number, and
decreased as much in virtue, until they were _purged and made white_ by the
persecution of _Dioclesian_. This was the first step made in the
_Christian_ religion towards the veneration of the Martyrs: and tho it did
not yet amount to an unlawful worship; yet it disposed the _Christians_
towards such a further veneration of the dead, as in a short time ended in
the invocation of Saints.

The next step was the affecting to pray at the sepulchres of the Martyrs:
which practice began in _Dioclesian_'s persecution. The Council of
_Eliberis_ in _Spain_, celebrated in the third or fourth year of
_Dioclesian_'s persecution, A.C. 305, hath these Canons. Can. 34. _Cereos
per diem placuit in Coemeterio non incendi: inquietandi enim spiritus
sanctorum non sunt. Qui hæc non observârint, arceantur ab Ecclesiæ
communione._ Can. 35. _Placuit prohiberi ne fæminæ in Coemeterio
pervigilent, eò quod sæpe sub obtentu orationis latentèr scelera
committant._ Presently after that persecution, suppose about the year 314,
the Council of _Laodicea_ in _Phrygia_, which then met for restoring the
lapsed discipline of the Church, has the following Canons. Can. 9. _Those
of the Church are not allowed to go into the _Coemeteries_ or _Martyries_,
as they are called, of hereticks, for the sake of prayer or recovery of
health: but such as go, if they be of the faithful, shall be excommunicated
for a time_. Can. 34. _A _Christian_ must not leave the Martyrs of
_Christ_, and go to false Martyrs_, that is, to the Martyrs of the
hereticks; _for these are alien from God: and therefore let those be
anathema who go to them_. Can. 51. _The birth-days of the Martyrs shall not
be celebrated in _Lent_, but their commemoration shall be made on the
Sabbath-days and Lords days_. The Council of _Paphlagonia_, celebrated in
the year 324, made this Canon: _If any man being arrogant, abominates the
congregations of the Martyrs, or the Liturgies performed therein, or the
memories of the Martyrs, let him be anathema_. By all which it is manifest
that the _Christians_ in the time of _Dioclesian_'s persecution used to
pray in the _Coemeteries_ or burying-places of the dead; for avoiding the
danger of the persecution, and for want of Churches, which were all thrown
down: and after the persecution was over, continued that practice in honour
of the Martyrs, till new Churches could be built: and by use affected it as
advantageous to devotion, and for recovering the health of those that were
sick. It also appears that in these burying-places they commemorated the
Martyrs yearly upon days dedicated to them, and accounted all these
practices pious and religious, and anathematized those men as arrogant who
opposed them, or prayed in the _Martyries_ of the hereticks. They also
lighted torches to the Martyrs in the day-time, as the heathens did to
their Gods; which custom, before the end of the fourth century, prevailed
much in the _West_. They sprinkled the worshipers of the Martyrs with
holy-water, as the heathens did the worshipers of their Gods; and went in
pilgrimage to see _Jerusalem_ and other holy places, as if those places
conferred sanctity on the visiters. From the custom of praying in the
_Coemeteries_ and _Martyries_, came the custom of translating the bodies of
the Saints and Martyrs into such Churches as were new built: the Emperor
_Constantius_ began this practice about the year 359, causing the bodies of
_Andrew_ the Apostle, _Luke_ and _Timothy_, to be translated into a new
Church at _Constantinople_: and before this act of _Constantius_, the
_Egyptians_ kept the bodies of their Martyrs and Saints unburied upon beds
in their private houses, and told stories of their souls appearing after
death and ascending up to heaven, as _Athanasius_ relates in the life of
_Antony_. All which gave occasion to the Emperor _Julian_, as _Cyril_
relates, to accuse the _Christians_ in this manner: _Your adding to that
antient dead man, Jesus, many new dead men, who can sufficiently abominate?
You have filled all places with sepulchres and monuments, altho you are no
where bidden to prostrate yourselves to sepulchres, and to respect them
officiously._ And a little after: _Since _Jesus_ said that sepulchres are
full of filthiness, how do you invoke God upon them_? and in another place
he saith, that if _Christians_ had adhered to the precepts of the
_Hebrews_, _they would have worshiped one God instead of many, and not a
man, or rather not many unhappy men_: And that they _adored the wood of the
cross, making its images on their foreheads, and before their houses_.

After the sepulchres of Saints and Martyrs were thus converted into places
of worship like the heathen temples, and the Churches into sepulchres, and
a certain sort of sanctity attributed to the dead bodies of the Saints and
Martyrs buried in them, and annual festivals were kept to them, with
sacrifices offered to God in their name; the next step towards the
invocation of Saints, was the attributing to their dead bodies, bones and
other reliques, a power of working miracles, by means of the separate
souls, who were supposed to know what we do or say, and to be able to do us
good or hurt, and to work those miracles. This was the very notion the
heathens had of the separate souls of their antient Kings and Heroes, whom
they worshiped under the names of _Saturn_, _Rhea_, _Jupiter_, _Juno_,
_Mars_, _Venus_, _Bacchus_, _Ceres_, _Osiris_, _Isis_, _Apollo_, _Diana_,
and the rest of their Gods. For these Gods being male and female, husband
and wife, son and daughter, brother and sister, are thereby discovered to
be antient men and women. Now as the first step towards the invocation of
Saints was set on foot by the persecution of _Decius_, and the second by
the persecution of _Dioclesian_; so this third seems to have been owing to
the proceedings of _Constantius_ and _Julian_ the Apostate. When _Julian_
began to restore the worship of the heathen Gods, and to vilify the Saints
and Martyrs; the _Christians_ of _Syria_ and _Egypt_ seem to have made a
great noise about the miracles done by the reliques of the _Christian_
Saints and Martyrs, in opposition to the powers attributed by _Julian_ and
the heathens to their Idols. For _Sozomen_ and _Ruffinus_ tell us, that
when he opened the heathen Temples, and consulted the Oracle of _Apollo
Daphnæus_ in the suburbs of _Antioch_, and pressed by many sacrifices for
an answer; the Oracle at length told him that the bones of the Martyr
_Babylas_ which were buried there hinder'd him from speaking. By which
answer we may understand, that some _Christian_ was got into the place
where the heathen Priests used to speak thro' a pipe in delivering their
Oracles: and before this, _Hilary_ in his book against _Constantius_,
written in the last year of that Emperor, makes the following mention of
what was then doing in the _East_ where he was. _Sine martyrio persequeris.
Plus crudelitati vestræ _Nero_, _Deci_, _Maximiane_, debemus. Diabolum enim
per vos vicimus. Sanctus ubique beatorum martyrum sanguis exceptus est, dum
in his Dæmones mugiunt, dum ægritudines depelluntur, dum miraculorum opera
cernuntur, elevari sine laqueis corpora, & dispensis pede fæminis vestes
non defluere in faciem, uri sine ignibus spiritus, confiteri sine
interrogantis incremento fidei_. And _Gregory Nazianzen_, in his first
Oration against the Emperor _Julian_ then reigning, writes thus: _Martyres
non extimuisti quibus præclari honores & festa constituta, à quibus Dæmones
propelluntur & morbi curantur; quorum sunt apparitiones & prædictiones;
quorum vel sola corpora idem possunt quod animæ sanctæ, sive manibus
contrectentur, sive honorentur: quorum vel solæ sanguinis guttæ atque
exigua passionis signa idem possunt quod corpora. Hæc non colis sed
contemnis & aspernaris_. These things made the heathens in the reign of the
same Emperor demolish the sepulchre of _John_ the Baptist in _Phoenicia_,
and burn his bones; when several _Christians_ mixing themselves with the
heathens, gathered up some of his remains, which were sent to _Athanasius_,
who hid them in the wall of a Church; foreseeing by a prophetic spirit, as
_Ruffinus_ tells us, that they might be profitable to future generations.

The cry of these miracles being once set on foot, continued for many years,
and encreased and grew more general. _Chrysostom_, in his second Oration on
St. _Babylas_, twenty years after the silencing of the Oracle of _Apollo
Daphnæus_ as above, viz. A.C. 382, saith of the miracles done by the Saints
and their reliques [3]: _Nulla est nostri hujus Orbis seu regio, seu gens,
seu urbs, ubi nova & inopinata miracula hæc non decantentur; quæ quidem si
figmenta fuissent, prorsus in tantam hominum admirationem non venissent_.
And a little after: _Abunde orationi nostræ fidem faciunt quæ quotidiana à
martyribus miracula eduntur, magna affatim ad illa hominum multitudine
affluente_. And in his 66th Homily, describing how the Devils were
tormented and cast out by the bones of the Martyrs, he adds: _Ob eam causam
multi plerumque Reges peregrè profecti sunt, ut hoc spectaculo fruerentur.
Siquidem sanctorum martyrum templa futuri judicii vestigia & signa
exhibent, dum nimirum Dæmones flagris cæduntur, hominesque torquentur &
liberantur. Vide quæ sanctorum vitâ functorum vis sit?_ And _Jerom_ in his
Epitaph on _Paula_, thus [4] mentions the same things. _Paula vidit
Samariam: ibi siti sunt Elisæus & Abdias prophetæ, & Joannes Baptista, ubi
multis intremuit consternata miraculis. Nam cernebat variis dæmones rugire
cruciatibus, & ante sepulchra sanctorum ululare, homines more luporum
vocibus latrare canum, fremere leonum, sibilare serpentum, mugire taurorum,
alios rotare caput & post tergum terram vertice tangere, suspensisque pede
fæminis vestes non defluere in faciem_. This was about the year 384: and
_Chrysostom_ in his Oration on the _Egyptian_ Martyrs, seems to make
_Egypt_ the ringleader in these matters, saying [5]: _Benedictus Deus
quandoquidem ex Ægypto prodeunt martyres, ex Ægypto illa cum Deo pugnante
ac insanissima, & unde impia ora, unde linguæ blasphemæ; ex Ægypto martyres
habentur; non in Ægypto tantum, nec in finitima vicinaque regione, sed
_UBIQUE TERRARUM_. Et quemadmodum in annonæ summa ubertate, cum viderunt
urbium incolæ majorem quam usus habitatorum postulat esse proventum, ad
peregrinas etiam urbes transmittunt: cum & suam comitatem & liberalitatem
ostendant, tum ut præter horum abundantiam cum facilitate res quibus
indigent rursus ab illis sibi comparent: sic & Ægyptii, quod attinet ad
religionis athletas, fecerunt. Cum apud se multam eorum Dei benignitate
copiam cernerent, nequaquam ingens Dei munus sua civitate concluserunt, sed
in _OMNES TERRÆ PARTES_ bonorum thesauros effuderunt: cum ut suum in
fratres amorem ostenderent, tum ut communem omnium dominum honore
afficerent, ac civitati suæ gloriam apud omnes compararent, totiusque
terrarum _ORBIS_ esse _METROPOLIN_ declararent.--Sanctorum enim illorum
corpora quovis adamantino & inexpugnabili muro tutiùs nobis urbem
communiunt, & tanquam excelsi quidam scopuli undique prominentes, non horum
qui sub sensus cadunt & oculis cernuntur hostium impetus propulsant tantùm,
sed etiam invisibilium dæmonum insidias, omnesque diaboli fraudes
subvertunt ac dissipant.--Neque vero tantùm adversus hominum insidias aut
adversus fallacias dæmonum utilis nobis est hæc possessio, sed si nobis
communis dominus ob peccatorum multitudinem irascatur, his objectis
corporibus continuo poterimus eum propitium reddere civitati_. This Oration
was written at _Antioch_, while _Alexandria_ was yet the Metropolis of the
_East_, that is, before the year 381, in which _Constantinople_ became the
Metropolis: and it was a work of some years for the _Egyptians_ to have
distributed the miracle-working reliques of their Martyrs over all the
world, as they had done before that year. _Egypt_ abounded most with the
reliques of Saints and Martyrs, the _Egyptians_ keeping them embalmed upon
beds even in their private houses; and _Alexandria_ was eminent above all
other cities for dispersing them, so as on that account to acquire glory
with all men, and manifest herself to be the _Metropolis_ of the world.
_Antioch_ followed the example of _Egypt_, in dispersing the reliques of
the forty Martyrs: and the examples of _Egypt_ and _Syria_ were soon
followed by the rest of the world.

The reliques of the forty Martyrs at _Antioch_ were distributed among the
Churches before the year 373; for _Athanasius_ who died in that year, wrote
an Oration upon them. This Oration is not yet published, but _Gerard
Vossius_ saw it in MS. in the Library of Cardinal _Ascanius_ in _Italy_, as
he says in his commentary upon the Oration of _Ephræm Syrus_ on the same
forty Martyrs. Now since the Monks of _Alexandria_ sent the reliques of the
Martyrs of _Egypt_ into all parts of the earth, and thereby acquired glory
to their city, and declared her in these matters the Metropolis of the
whole world, as we have observed out of _Chrysostom_; it may be concluded,
that before _Alexandria_ received the forty Martyrs from _Antioch_, she
began to send out the reliques of her own Martyrs into all parts, setting
the first example to other cities. This practice therefore began in _Egypt_
some years before the death of _Athanasius_. It began when the
miracle-working bones of _John_ the Baptist were carried into _Egypt_, and
hid in the wall of a Church, _that they might be profitable to future
generations_. It was restrained in the reign of _Julian_ the Apostate: and
then it spred from _Egypt_ into all the Empire, _Alexandria_ being the
Metropolis of the whole world, according to _Chrysostom_, for propagating
this sort of devotion, and _Antioch_ and other cities soon following her
example.

In propagating these superstitions, the ring-leaders were the Monks, and
_Antony_ was at the head of them: for in the end of the life of _Antony_,
_Athanasius_ relates that these were his dying words to his disciples who
then attended him. _Do you take care_, said _Antony_, _to adhere to
_Christ_ in the first place, and then to the Saints, that after death they
may receive you as friends and acquaintance into the everlasting
tabernacles, Think upon these things, perceive these things; and if you
have any regard to me, remember me as a father_. This being delivered in
charge to the Monks by _Antony_ at his death, A.C. 356, could not but
inflame their whole body with devotion towards the Saints, as the ready way
to be received, by them into the eternal Tabernacles after death. Hence
came that noise about the miracles, done by the reliques of the Saints in
the time of _Constantius_: hence came the dispersion of the miracle-working
reliques into all the Empire; _Alexandria_ setting the example, and being
renowned, for it above all other cities. Hence it came to pass in the days
of _Julian_, A.C. 362, that _Athanasius_ by a prophetic spirit, as
_Ruffinus_ tells us, hid the bones of _John_ the Baptist from the Heathens,
not in the ground to be forgotten, but in the hollow wall of a Church
before proper witnesses, that they might _be profitable to future
generations_. Hence also came the invocation of the Saints for doing such
miracles, and for assisting men in their devotions, and mediating with God.
For _Athanasius_, even from his youth, looked upon the dead Saints and
Martyrs as mediators of our prayers: in his Epistle to _Marcellinus_,
written in the days of _Constantine_ the great, he saith that the words of
the _Psalms_ are not to be transposed or any wise changed, but to be
recited and sung without any artifice, as they are written, _that the holy
men who delivered them, knowing them to be their own words, may pray with
us; or rather, that the Holy Ghost who spake in the holy men, seeing his
own words with which he inspired them, may join_ with them _in assisting
us_.

Whilst _Egypt_ abounded with Monks above any other country, the veneration
of the Saints began sooner, and spred faster there than in other places.
_Palladius_ going into _Egypt_ in the year 388 to visit the Monasteries,
and the sepulchres of _Apollonius_ and other Martyrs of _Thebais_ who had
suffered under _Maximinus_, saith of them: _Iis omnibus Christiani fecerunt
ædem unam, ubi nunc multæ virtutes peraguntur. Tanta autem fuit viri
gratia, ut de iis quæ esset precatus statim exaudiretur, eum sic honorante
servatore: quem etiam nos in martyrio precati vidimus, cum iis qui cum ipso
fuerunt martyrio affecti; & Deum adorantes, eorum corpora salutavimus._
_Eunapius_ also, a heathen, yet a competent witness of what was done in his
own times, relating how the soldiers delivered the temples of _Egypt_ into
the hands of the Monks, which was done in the year 389, rails thus in an
impious manner at the Martyrs, as succeeding in the room of the old Gods of
_Egypt_. _Illi ipsi, _milites_, Monachos Canobi quoque collocârunt, ut pro
Diis qui animo cernuntur, servos & quidem flagitiosos divinis honoribus
percolerent, hominum mentibus ad cultum ceremoniasque obligatis. Ii namque
condita & salita eorum capita, qui ob scelerum multitudinem à judicibus
extremo judicio fuerant affecti, pro Divis ostentabant; iis genua
submittebant, eos in Deorum numerum receptabant, ad illorum sepulchra
pulvere sordibusque conspurcati. Martyres igitur vocabantur, & ministri
quidem & legati arbitrique precum apud Deos; cum fuerint servilia infida &
flagris pessimè subacta, quæ cicatrices scelerum ac nequitiæ vestigia
corporibus circumferunt; ejusmodi tamen Deos fert tellus_. By these
instances we may understand the invocation of Saints was now of some
standing in _Egypt_, and that it was already generally received and
practised there by the common people.

Thus _Basil_ a Monk, who was made Bishop of _Cæsarea_ in the year 369, and
died in the year 378, in his Oration on the Martyr _Mamas_, saith: _Be ye
mindful of the Martyr; as many of you as have enjoyed him in your dreams,
as many as in this place have been assisted by him in prayer, as many of
you as upon invoking him by name have had him present in your works, as
many as he has reduced into the way from wandering, as many as he has
restored to health, as, many as have had their dead children restored by
him to life, as many as have had their lives prolonged by him_: and a
little after, he thus expresses the universality of this superstition in
the regions of _Cappadocia_ and _Bithynia_: _At the memory of the Martyr_,
saith he, _the whole region is moved; at his festival the whole city is
transported with joy. Nor do the kindred of the rich turn aside to the
sepulchres of their ancestors, but all go to the place of devotion._ Again,
in the end of the Homily he prays, that _God would preserve the Church,
thus fortified with the great towers of the Martyrs_: and in his Oration on
the forty Martyrs; _These are they_, saith he, _who obtaining our country,
like certain towers afford us safety against our enemies. Neither are they
shut up in one place only, but being distributed are sent into many
regions, and adorn many countries.--You have often endeavoured, you have
often laboured to find one who might pray for you: here are forty, emitting
one voice of prayer.--He that is in affliction flies to these, he that
rejoices has recourse to these: the first, that he may be freed from evil,
the last that he may continue in happiness. Here a woman praying for her
children is heard; she obtains a safe return for her husband from abroad,
and health for him in his sickness.--O ye common keepers of mankind, the
best companions of our cares, suffragans and coadjutors of our prayers,
most powerful embassadors to God_, &c. By all which it is manifest, that
before the year 378, the Orations and Sermons upon the Saints went much
beyond the bounds of mere oratorical flourishes, and that the common people
in the _East_ were already generally corrupted by the Monks with
Saint-worship.

_Gregory Nazianzen_ a Monk, in his sixth Oration written A.C. 373, when he
was newly made Bishop of _Sasima_, saith: _Let us purify ourselves to the
Martyrs, or rather to the God of the Martyrs_: and a little after he calls
the Martyrs _mediators of obtaining an ascension or divinity_. The same
year, in the end of his Oration upon _Athanasius_ then newly dead, he thus
invokes him: _Do thou look down upon us propitiously, and govern this
people, as perfect adorers of the perfect Trinity, which in the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, is contemplated and worshiped: if there shall be
peace, preserve me, and feed my flock with me; but if war, bring me home,
place me by thyself, and by those that are like thee; however great my
request._ And in the end of the funeral Oration upon _Basil_, written A.C.
378, he thus addresses him: _But thou, O divine and sacred Head, look down
upon us from heaven; and by thy prayers either take away that thorn of the
flesh which is given us by God for exercise, or obtain that we may bear it
with courage, and direct all our life to that which is most fitting for us.
When we depart this life, receive us there in your Tabernacles, that living
together and beholding the holy and blessed Trinity more purely and
perfectly, whereof we have now but an imperfect view, we may there come to
the end of our desires, and receive this reward of the wars which we have
waged or suffered_: and in his Oration upon _Cyprian_, not the Bishop of
_Carthage_, but a _Greek_, he invokes him after the same manner; and tells
us also how a pious Virgin named _Justina_, was protected by invoking the
Virgin _Mary_, and how miracles were done by the ashes of _Cyprian_.

_Gregory Nyssen_, another eminent Monk and Bishop, in the life of _Ephræm
Syrus_, tells how a certain man returning from a far country, was in great
danger, by reason all the ways were intercepted by the armies of barbarous
nations; but upon invoking _Ephræm_ by name, and saying, _Holy _Ephræm_
assist me_, he escaped the danger, neglected the fear of death, and beyond
his hope got safe home. In the end of this Oration _Gregory_ calls upon
_Ephræm_ after the following manner: _But thou, O Ephræm, assisting now at
the divine altar, and sacrificing to the Prince of life, and to the most
holy Trinity, together with the Angels; remember us all, and obtain for us
pardon of our sins, that we may enjoy the eternal happiness of the kingdom
of heaven._ The same _Gregory_, in his Oration on the Martyr _Theodorus_
written A.C. 381, thus describes the power of that Martyr, and the practice
of the people. _This Martyr_, saith he, _the last year quieted the
barbarous tempest, and put a stop to the horrid war of the fierce and cruel
_Scythians_.--If any one is permitted to carry away the dust with which the
tomb is covered, wherein the body of the Martyr rests; the dust is accepted
as a gift, and gathered to be laid up as a thing of great price. For to
touch the reliques themselves, if any such prosperous fortune shall at any
time happen; how great a favour that is, and not to be obtained without the
most earnest prayers, they know well who have obtained it. For as a living
and florid body, they who behold it embrace it, applying to it the eyes,
mouth, ears, and all the organs of sense; and then with affection pouring
tears upon the Martyr, as if he was whole and appeared to them: they offer
prayers with supplication, that he would intercede for them as an advocate,
praying to him as an Officer attending upon God, and invoking him as
receiving gifts whenever he will._ At length _Gregory_ concludes the
Oration with this prayer: _O Theodorus, we want many blessings; intercede
and beseech for thy country before the common King and Lord: for the
country of the Martyr is the place of his passion, and they are his
citizens, brethren and kindred, who have him, defend, adorn and honour him.
We fear afflictions, we expect dangers: the wicked _Scythians_ are not far
off, ready to make war against us. As a soldier fight for us, as a Martyr
use liberty of speech for thy fellow-servants. Pray for peace, that these
publick meetings may not cease, that the furious and wicked barbarian may
not rage against the temples and altars, that the profane and impious may
not trample upon the holy things. We acknowledge it a benefit received from
thee, that we are preserved safe and entire, we pray for freedom from
danger in time to come: and if there shall be need of greater intercession
and deprecation, call together the choir of thy brethren the Martyrs, and
in conjunction with them all intercede for us. Let the prayers of many just
ones attone for the sins of the multitudes and the people; exhort _Peter_,
excite _Paul_, and also _John_ the divine and beloved disciple, that they
may be sollicitous for the Churches which they have erected, for which they
have been in chains, for which they have undergone dangers and deaths; that
the worship of idols may not lift up its head against us, that heresies may
not spring up like thorns in the vineyard, that tares grown up may not
choak the wheat, that no rock void of the fatness of true dew may be
against us, and render the fruitful power of the word void of a root; but
by the power of the prayers of thyself and thy companions, O admirable man
and eminent among the Martyrs, the commonwealth of _Christians_ may become
a field of corn_. The same _Gregory Nyssen_, in his sermon upon the death
of _Meletius_ Bishop of _Antioch_, preached at _Constantinople_ the same
year, A.C. 381, before the Bishops of all the _East_ assembled in the
second general Council, spake thus of _Meletius_. _The Bridegroom_, saith
he, _is not taken from us: he stands in the midst of us, tho we do not see
him: he is a Priest in the most inward places, and face to face intercedes
before God for us and the sins of the people_. This was no oratorical
flourish, but _Gregory_'s real opinion, as may be understood by what we
have cited out of him concerning _Ephræm_ and _Theodorus_: and as _Gregory_
preached this before the Council of _Constantinople_, you may thence know,
saith [6] _Baronius_, that he professed what the whole Council, and
therewith the whole Church of those parts believed, namely, that the Saints
in heaven offer prayers for us before God.

_Ephræm Syrus_, another eminent Monk, who was contemporary with _Basil_,
and died the same year; in the end of his Encomium or Oration upon _Basil_
then newly dead, invokes him after this manner: _Intercede for me, a very
miserable man; and recal me by thy intercessions, O father; thou who art
strong, pray for me who am weak; thou who art diligent, for me who am
negligent; thou who art chearful, for me who am heavy; thou who art wise,
for me who am foolish. Thou who hast treasured up a treasure of all
virtues, be a guide to me who am empty of every good work_. In the
beginning of his Encomium upon the forty Martyrs, written at the same time,
he thus invokes them: _Help me therefore, O ye Saints, with your
intercession; and O ye beloved, with your holy prayers, that _Christ_ by
his grace may direct my tongue to speak_, &c. and afterwards mentioning the
mother of one of these forty Martyrs, he concludes the Oration with this
prayer: _I entreat thee, O holy, faithful, and blessed woman, pray for me
to the Saints, saying; Intercede ye that triumph in _Christ_, for the most
little and miserable _Ephræm_, that he may find mercy, and by the grace of
_Christ_ may be saved_. Again, in his second Sermon or Oration on the
praises of the holy Martyrs of _Christ_, he thus addresses them: _We
entreat you most holy Martyrs, to intercede with the Lord for us miserable
sinners, beset with the filthiness of negligence, that he would infuse his
divine grace into us_: and afterwards, near the end of the same discourse;
_Now ye most holy men and glorious Martyrs of God, help me a miserable
sinner with your prayers, that in that dreadful hour I may obtain mercy,
when the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest. I am to day become
to you, most holy Martyrs of _Christ_, as it were an unprofitable and
unskilful cup-bearer: for I have delivered to the sons and brothers of your
faith, a cup of the excellent wine of your warfare, with the excellent
table of your victory, replenished with all sorts of dainties. I have
endeavoured, with the whole affection and desire of my mind, to recreate
your fathers and brothers, kindred and relations, who daily frequent the
table. For behold they sing, and with exultation and jubilee glorify God,
who has crown'd your virtues, by setting on your most sacred heads
incorruptible and celestial crowns; they with excessive joy stand about the
sacred reliques of your martyrdoms, wishing for a blessing, and desiring to
bear away holy medicines both for the body and the mind. As good disciples
and faithful ministers of our benign Lord and Saviour, bestow therefore a
blessing on them all: and on me also, tho weak and feeble, who having
received strength by your merits and intercessions, have with the whole
devotion of my mind, sung a hymn to your praise and glory before your holy
reliques. Wherefore I beseech you stand before the throne of the divine
Majesty for me _Ephræm_, a vile and miserable sinner, that by your prayers
I may deserve to obtain salvation, and with you enjoy eternal felicity by
the grace and benignity and mercy of our Lord and Saviour _Jesus Christ_,
to whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be praise, honour and glory for ever
and ever_. Amen.

By what has been cited out of _Basil_, the two _Gregories_ and _Ephræm_, we
may understand that Saint-worship was established among the Monks and their
admirers in _Egypt_, _Phoenicia_, _Syria_ and _Cappadocia_, before the year
378, this being the year in which _Basil_ and _Ephræm_ died. _Chrysostom_
was not much later; he preached at _Antioch_ almost all the time of
_Theodosius_ the great, and in his Sermons are many exhortations to this
sort of superstition, as may be seen in the end of his Orations on S.
_Julia_, on St. _Pelagia_, on the Martyr _Ignatius_, on the _Egyptian_
Martyrs, on Fate and Providence, on the Martyrs in general, on St.
_Berenice_ and St. _Prosdoce_, on _Juventinus_ and _Maximus_, on the name
of _Coemetery_, &c. Thus in his Sermon on _Berenice_ and _Prosdoce_:
_Perhaps_, saith he, _you are inflamed with no small love towards these
Martyrs; therefore with this ardour let us fall down before their reliques,
let us embrace their coffins. For the coffins of the Martyrs have great
virtue, even as the bones of the Martyrs have great power. Nor let us only
on the day of this festival, but also on other days apply to them, invoke
them, and beseech them to be our patrons: for they have great power and
efficacy, not only whilst alive, but also after death; and much more after
death than before. For now they bear the marks or brands of _Christ_; and
when they shew these marks, they can obtain all things of the King. Seeing
therefore they abound with such efficacy, and have so much friendship with
him; we also, when by continual attendance and perpetual visitation of them
we have insinuated ourselves into their familiarity, may by their
assistance obtain the mercy of God_.

_Constantinople_ was free from these superstitions till _Gregory Nazianzen_
came thither A.D. 379; but in a few years it was also inflamed with it.
_Ruffinus_ [7] tells us, that when the Emperor _Theodosius_ was setting out
against the tyrant _Eugenius_, which was in the year 394, he went about
with the Priests and people to all the places of prayer; lay prostrate in
haircloth before the shrines of the Martyrs and Apostles, and pray'd for
assistance by the intercession of the Saints. _Sozomen_ [8] adds, that when
the Emperor was marched seven miles from _Constantinople_ against
_Eugenius_, he went into a Church which he had built to _John_ the Baptist,
_and invoked the Baptist for his assistance. Chrysostom_ [9] says: _He that
is clothed in purple, approaches to embrace these sepulchres; and laying
aside his dignity, stands supplicating the Saints to intercede for him with
God: and he who goes crowned with a diadem, offers his prayers to the
tent-maker and the fisher-man as his Protestors._ And in [10] another
place: _The cities run together to the sepulchres of the Martyrs, and the
people are inflamed with the love of them_.

This practice of sending reliques from place to place for working miracles,
and thereby inflaming the devotion of the nations towards the dead Saints
and their reliques, and setting up the religion of invoking their souls,
lasted only till the middle of the reign of the Emperor _Theodosius_ the
great; for he then prohibited it by the following Edict. _Humatum corpus,
nemo ad alterum locum transferat; nemo Martyrem distrahat, nemo mercetur:
Habeant verò in potestate, si quolibet in loco sanctorum est aliquis
conditus, pro ejus veneratione, quod _Martyrium_ vocandum sit, addant quod
voluerint fabricarum. Dat. _iv._ Kal. Mart. Constantinopoli, Honorio nob.
puero & Euodio Coss._ A.C. 386. After this they filled the fields and
high-ways with altars erected to Martyrs, which they pretended to discover
by dreams and revelations: and this occasioned the making the fourteenth
Canon of the fifth Council of _Carthage_, A.C. 398. _Item placuit, ut
altaria, quæ passim per agros aut vias, tanquam memoriæ Martyrum
constituuntur, in quibus nullum corpus aut reliquiæ Martyrum conditæ
probantur, ab Episcopis, qui illis locis præsunt, si fieri potest,
evertantur. Si autem hoc propter tumultus populares non sinitur, plebes
tamen admoneantur, ne illa loca frequentent, ut qui rectè sapiunt, nullâ
ibi superstitione devincti teneantur. Et omnino nulla memoria Martyrum
probabiliter acceptetur, nisi aut ibi corpus aut aliquæ certæ reliquiæ
sint, aut ubi origo alicujus habitationis, vel possessionis, vel passionis
fidelissima origine traditur. Nam quæ per somnia, & per inanes quasi
revelationes quorumlibet hominum ubique constituuntur altaria, omnimodè
reprobentur._ These altars were for invoking the Saints or Martyrs buried
or pretended to be buried under them. First they filled the Churches in all
places with the reliques or pretended reliques of the Martyrs, for invoking
them in the Churches; and then they filled the fields and high-ways with
altars, for invoking them every where: and this new religion was set up by
the Monks in all the _Greek_ Empire before the expedition of the Emperor
_Theodosius_ against _Eugenius_, and I think before his above-mentioned
Edict, A.C. 386.

The same religion of worshiping _Mahuzzims_ quickly spred into the _Western
Empire_ also: but _Daniel_ in this Prophecy describes chiefly the things
done among the nations comprehended in the body of his third Beast.

Notes to Chap. XIV.

[1] Chap. xi. 38, 39

[2] Orat. de vita Greg. Thaumaturg. T. 3. p. 574.

[3] Vide Hom. 47. in. S. Julian.

[4] Epist. 27. ad Eustochium.

[5] Edit. Frontonis Ducæi, Tom. 1.

[6] Ad. an. 381, Sect. 41.

[7] Hist. Eccl. l. 2. c. 23.

[8] L. 4. c. 24.

[9] Hom. 66. ad. populum, circa finem. & Hom. 8, 27. in Matth. Hom. 42, 43.
in Gen. Hom. 1. in 1 Thess.

[10] Exposit. in Psal. 114. sub finem.

       *       *       *       *       *

_The end of the first Part._

       *       *       *       *       *

PART II.

       *       *       *       *       *

OBSERVATIONS
UPON THE
APOCALYPSE
OF
St. _JOHN_.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. I.

_Introduction, concerning the time when the _Apocalypse_ was written_.

_Irenæus_ introduced an opinion that the _Apocalypse_ was written in the
time of _Domitian_; but then he also postponed the writing of some others
of the sacred books, and was to place the _Apocalypse_ after them: he might
perhaps have heard from his master _Polycarp_ that he had received this
book from _John_ about the time of _Domitian_'s death; or indeed _John_
might himself at that time have made a new publication of it, from whence
_Irenæus_ might imagine it was then but newly written. _Eusebius_ in his
_Chronicle_ and _Ecclesiastical History_ follows _Irenoeus_; but afterwards
[1] in his _Evangelical Demonstrations_, he conjoins the banishment of
_John_ into _Patmos_, with the deaths of _Peter_ and _Paul_: and so do [2]
_Tertullian_ and _Pseudo-Prochorus_, as well as the first author, whoever
he was, of that very antient fable, that _John_ was put by _Nero_ into a
vessel of hot oil, and coming out unhurt, was banished by him into
_Patmos._ Tho this story be no more than a fiction yet was it founded on a
tradition of the first churches, that _John_ was banished into _Patmos_ in
the days of _Nero_. _Epiphanius_ represents the _Gospel of John_ as written
in the time of _Domitian_, and the _Apocalypse_ even before that of _Nero_.
[3] _Arethas_ in the beginning of his Commentary quotes the opinion of
_Irenæus_ from _Eusebius_, but follows it not: for he afterwards affirms
the _Apocalypse_ was written before the destruction of _Jerusalem_, and
that former commentators had expounded the sixth seal of that destruction.

With the opinion of the first Commentators agrees the tradition of the
Churches of _Syria_, preserved to this day in the title of the _Syriac_
Version of the _Apocalypse_, which title is this: _The Revelation which was
made to _John_ the Evangelist by God in the Island _Patmos_, into which he
was banished by _Nero_ the _Cæsar__. The fame is confirmed by a story told
by [4] _Eusebius_ out of _Clemens Alexandrinus_, and other antient authors,
concerning a youth, whom _John_ some time after his return from _Patmos_
committed to the care of the Bishop of a certain city. The Bishop educated,
instructed, and at length baptized him; but then remitting of his care, the
young man thereupon got into ill company, and began by degrees first to
revel and grow vitious, then to abuse and spoil those he met in the night;
and at last grew so desperate, that his companions turning a band of
high-way men, made him their Captain: and, saith [5] _Chrysostom_, he
continued their Captain a long time. At length _John_ returning to that
city, and hearing what was done, rode to the thief; and, when he out of
reverence to his old master fled, _John_ rode after him, recalled him, and
restored him to the Church. This is a story of many years, and requires
that _John_ should have returned from _Patmos_ rather at the death of
_Nero_ than at that of _Domitian_; because between the death of _Domitian_
and that of _John_ there were but two years and an half; and _John_ in his
old age was [6] so infirm as to be carried to Church, dying above 90 years
old, and therefore could not be then suppos'd able to ride after the thief.

This opinion is further supported by the allusions in the _Apocalypse_ to
the Temple and Altar, and holy City, as then standing; and to the
_Gentiles_, who were soon after to tread under foot the holy City and
outward Court. 'Tis confirmed also by the style of the _Apocalypse_ itself,
which is fuller of _Hebraisms_ than his Gospel. For thence it may be
gathered, that it was written when _John_ was newly come out of _Judea_,
where he had been used to the _Syriac_ tongue; and that he did not write
his Gospel, till by long converse with the _Asiatick_ Greeks he had left
off most of the _Hebraisms_. It is confirmed also by the many false
_Apocalypses_, as those of _Peter_, _Paul_, _Thomas_, _Stephen_, _Elias_
and _Cerinthus_, written in imitation of the true one. For as the many
false Gospels, false Acts, and false Epistles were occasioned by true ones;
and the writing many false _Apocalypses_, and ascribing them to Apostles
and Prophets, argues that there was a true Apostolic one in great request
with the first _Christians_: so this true one may well be suppos'd to have
been written early, that there may be room in the Apostolic age for the
writing of so many false ones afterwards, and fathering them upon _Peter_,
_Paul_, _Thomas_ and others, who were dead before _John_. _Caius_, who was
contemporary with _Tertullian_, [7] tells us that _Cerinthus_ wrote his
Revelations as a great Apostle, and pretended the visions were shewn him by
Angels, asserting a _millennium_ of carnal pleasures at _Jerusalem_ after
the resurrection; so that his _Apocalypse_ was plainly written in imitation
of _John_'s: and yet he lived so early, that [8] he resisted the Apostles
at _Jerusalem_ in or before the first year of _Claudius_, that is, 26 years
before the death of _Nero_, and [9] died before _John_.

These reasons may suffice for determining the time; and yet there is one
more, which to considering men may seem a good reason, to others not. I'll
propound it, and leave it to every man's judgment. The _Apocalypse_ seems
to be alluded to in the Epistles of _Peter_ and that to the _Hebrews_ and
therefore to have been written before them. Such allusions in the Epistle
to the _Hebrews_, I take to be the discourses concerning the High-Priest in
the heavenly Tabernacle, who is both Priest and King, as was _Melchisedec_;
and those concerning the _word of God_, with the _sharp two-edged sword_,
the [Greek: sabbatismos], or _millennial_ rest, the _earth whose end is to
be burned_, suppose by the lake of fire, _the judgment and fiery
indignation which shall devour the adversaries_, the _heavenly City which
hath foundations whose builder and maker is God_, the _cloud of witnesses,
mount _Sion_, heavenly _Jerusalem_, general assembly, spirits of just men
made perfect_, viz. by the resurrection, and _the shaking of heaven and
earth, and removing them, that the new heaven, new earth and new kingdom
which cannot be shaken, may remain_. In the first of _Peter_ occur these:
[10] _The Revelation of Jesus Christ_, twice or thrice repeated; [11] the
_blood of _Christ_ as of a Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the
world_; [12] the _spiritual building_ in heaven, 1 Pet. ii. 5. _an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for us, who are kept unto the salvation, ready to be revealed in
the last time_, 1 Pet. i. 4, 5. [13] the _royal Priesthood_, [14] the _holy
Priesthood_, [15] the _judgment beginning at the house of God_, and [16]
_the Church at _Babylon__. These are indeed obscurer allusions; but the
second Epistle, from the 19th verse of the first Chapter to the end, seems
to be a continued Commentary upon the _Apocalypse_. There, in writing to
the _Churches in _Asia__, to whom _John_ was commanded to send this
Prophecy, he tells them, they _have a more sure word of Prophecy_, to be
heeded by them, _as a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
dawn, and the day-star arise in their hearts_, that is, until they begin to
understand it: for _no Prophecy_, saith he, _of the scripture is of any
private interpretation; the Prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man, but holy men of God spake, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Daniel_ [17] himself professes that he understood not his own _Prophecies_;
and therefore the Churches were not to expect the interpretation from their
Prophet _John_, but to study the Prophecies themselves. This is the
substance of what _Peter_ says in the first chapter; and then in the second
he proceeds to describe, out of this _sure word of Prophecy_, how there
should arise in the Church _false Prophets_, or _false teachers_, expressed
collectively in the _Apocalypse_ by the name of the false Prophet; who
should _bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought
them_, which is the character of _Antichrist_: _And many_, saith he, _shall
follow their lusts_ [18]; they that dwell on the earth [19] shall be
deceived by the false Prophet, and be made drunk with the wine of the
Whore's fornication, _by reason of whom the way of truth shall be
blasphemed_; for [20] the Beast is full of blasphemy: _and thro'
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandize of you_; for
these are the Merchants of the Earth, who trade with the great Whore, and
their merchandize [21] is all things of price, with the bodies and souls of
men: _whose judgment--lingreth not, and their damnation [22] slumbreth
not_, but shall surely come upon them at the last day suddenly, as the
flood upon _the old world_, and fire and brimstone upon _Sodom_ and
_Gomorrha_, when the just shall be delivered [23] like _Lot_; for _the Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the
unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished_, in the lake of fire; _but
chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness_, [24]
being made drunk with the wine of the Whore's fornication; who _despise
dominion, and are not afraid to blaspheme glories_; for the beast opened
his mouth against God [25] to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and
them that dwell in heaven. _These, as natural brute beasts_, the ten-horned
beast and two-horned beast, or false Prophet, _made to be taken and
destroyed_, in the lake of fire, _blaspheme the things they understand
not_:--they count it pleasure to riot in the day-time--sporting themselves
with their own deceivings, while they feast [26] with you, _having eyes
full of an [27] Adulteress_: for the kingdoms of the beast live deliciously
with the great Whore, and the nations are made drunk with the wine of her
fornication. They _are gone astray, following the way of _Balaam_, the son
of _Beor_, who loved the wages of unrighteousness_, the false Prophet [28]
who taught _Balak_ to cast a stumbling-block before the children of
_Israel_. _These are_, not fountains of living water, but _wells without
water_; not such clouds of Saints as the two witnesses ascend in, but
_clouds that are carried with a tempest_, &c. Thus does the author of this
Epistle spend all the second Chapter in describing the qualities of the
_Apocalyptic_ Beasts and false Prophet: and then in the third he goes on to
describe their destruction more fully, and the future kingdom. He saith,
that because the coming of _Christ_ should be long deferred, they should
scoff, saying, _where is the promise of his coming_? Then he describes the
sudden coming of the day of the Lord upon them, _as a thief in the night_,
which is the _Apocalyptic_ phrase; and the _millennium_, or _thousand
years_, which _are with God but as a day_; the _passing away of the old
heavens_ and earth, by a conflagration in the lake of fire, and our
_looking for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness_.

Seeing therefore _Peter_ and _John_ were Apostles of the circumcision, it
seems to me that they staid with their Churches in _Judea_ and _Syria_ till
the _Romans_ made war upon their nation, that is, till the twelfth year of
_Nero_; that they then followed the main body of their flying Churches into
_Asia_, and that _Peter_ went thence by _Corinth_ to _Rome_; that the
_Roman_ Empire looked upon those Churches as enemies, because _Jews_ by
birth; and therefore to prevent insurrections, secured their leaders, and
banished _John_ into _Patmos_. It seems also probable to me that the
_Apocalypse_ was there composed, and that soon after the Epistle to the
_Hebrews_ and those of _Peter_ were written to these Churches, with
reference to this Prophecy as what they were particularly concerned in. For
it appears by these Epistles, that they were written in times of general
affliction and tribulation under the heathens, and by consequence when the
Empire made war upon the _Jews_; for till then the heathens were at peace
with the _Christian Jews_, as well as with the rest. The Epistle to the
_Hebrews_, since it mentions _Timothy_ as related to those _Hebrews_, must
be written to them after their flight into _Asia_, where _Timothy_ was
Bishop; and by consequence after the war began, the _Hebrews_ in _Judea_
being strangers to _Timothy_. _Peter_ seems also to call _Rome_ _Babylon_,
as well with respect to the war made upon _Judea_, and the approaching
captivity, like that under old _Babylon_, as with respect to that name in
the _Apocalypse_: and in writing _to the strangers scattered thro'out
_Pontus_, _Galatia_, _Cappadocia_, _Asia_ and _Bithynia__, he seems to
intimate that they were the strangers newly scattered by the _Roman_ wars;
for those were the only strangers there belonging to his care.

This account of things agrees best with history when duly rectified. For
[29] _Justin_ and [30] _Irenæus_ say, that _Simon Magus_ came to _Rome_ in
the reign of _Claudius_, and exercised juggling tricks there.
_Pseudo-Clemens_ adds, that he endeavoured there to fly, but broke his neck
thro' the prayers of _Peter_. Whence [31] _Eusebius_, or rather his
interpolator _Jerom_, has recorded, that _Peter_ came to _Rome_ in the
second year of _Claudius_: but [32] _Cyril_ Bishop of _Jerusalem_,
_Philastrius_, _Sulpitius_, _Prosper_, _Maximus Taurinensis_, and
_Hegesippus junior_, place this victory of _Peter_ in the time of _Nero_.
Indeed the antienter tradition was, that _Peter_ came to _Rome_ in the days
of this Emperor, as may be seen in [33] _Lactantius_. _Chrysostom_ [34]
tells us, that the Apostles continued long in _Judea_, and that then being
driven out by the _Jews_ they went to the _Gentiles_. This dispersion was
in the first year of the _Jewish_ war, when the _Jews_, as _Josephus_ tells
us, began to be tumultuous and violent in all places. For all agree that
the Apostles were dispersed into several regions at once; and _Origen_ has
set down the time, [35] telling us that in the beginning of the _Judaic_
war, the Apostles and disciples of our Lord were scattered into all
nations; _Thomas_ into _Parthia_, _Andrew_ into _Scythia_, _John_ into
_Asia_, and _Peter_ first into _Asia_, where he preacht to the dispersion,
and thence into _Italy_. [36] _Dionysius Corinthius_ saith, that _Peter_
went from _Asia_ by _Corinth_ to _Rome_, and all antiquity agrees that
_Peter_ and _Paul_ were martyred there in the end of _Nero_'s reign. _Mark_
went with _Timothy_ to _Rome_, 2 _Tim._ iv. 11. _Colos._ iv. 10. _Sylvanus_
was _Paul_'s assistant; and by the companions of _Peter_, mentioned in his
first Epistle, we may know that he wrote from _Rome_; and the Antients
generally agree, that in this Epistle he understood _Rome_ by _Babylon_.
His second Epistle was writ to the same dispersed strangers with the first,
2 _Pet._ iii. 1. and therein he saith, that _Paul_ had writ of the same
things to them, and also in his other Epistles, _ver._ 15, 16. Now as there
is no Epistle of _Paul_ to these strangers besides that to the _Hebrews_,
so in this Epistle, chap. x. 11, 12. we find at large all those things
which _Peter_ had been speaking of, and here refers to; particularly the
_passing away of the old heavens and earth_, and _establishing an
inheritance immoveable_, with an exhortation to grace, because _God_, to
the wicked, _is a consuming fire_, Heb. xii. 25, 26, 28, 29.

Having determined the time of writing the _Apocalyse_, I need not say much
about the truth of it, since it was in such request with the first ages,
that many endeavoured to imitate it, by feigning _Apocalypses_ under the
Apostles names; and the Apostles themselves, as I have just now shewed,
studied it, and used its phrases; by which means the style of the Epistle
to the _Hebrews_ became more mystical than that of _Paul_'s other Epistles,
and the style of _John_'s Gospel more figurative and majestical than that
of the other Gospels. I do not apprehend that _Christ_ was called the word
of God in any book of the New Testament written before the _Apocalypse_;
and therefore am of opinion, the language was taken from this Prophecy, as
were also many other phrases in this Gospel, such as those of _Christ_'s
being _the light which enlightens the world, the lamb of God which taketh
away the sins of the world, the bridegroom, he that testifieth, he that
came down from heaven, the Son of God_, &c. _Justin Martyr_, who within
thirty years after _John_'s death became a _Christian_, writes expresly
that _a certain man among the _Christians_ whose name was _John_, one of
the twelve Apostles of _Christ_, in the Revelation which was shewed him,
prophesied that those who believed in _Christ_ should live a thousand years
at _Jerusalem__. And a few lines before he saith: _But I, and as many as
are _Christians_, in all things right in their opinions, believe both that
there shall be a resurrection of the flesh, and a thousand years life at
_Jerusalem_ built, adorned and enlarged_. Which is as much as to say, that
all true _Christians_ in that early age received this Prophecy: for in all
ages, as many as believed the thousand years, received the _Apocalypse_ as
the foundation of their opinion: and I do not know one instance to the
contrary. _Papias_ Bishop of _Hierapolis_, a man of the Apostolic age, and
one of _John_'s own disciples, did not only teach the doctrine of the
thousand years, but also [37] asserted the _Apocalypse_ as written by
divine inspiration. _Melito_, who flourished next after _Justin_, [38]
wrote a commentary upon this Prophecy; and he, being Bishop of _Sardis_ one
of the seven Churches, could neither be ignorant of their tradition about
it, nor impose upon them. _Irenæus_, who was contemporary with _Melito_,
wrote much upon it, and said, that _the number 666 was in all the antient
and approved copies; and that he had it also confirmed to him by those who
had seen _John_ face to face_, meaning no doubt his master _Polycarp_ for
one. At the same time [39] _Theophilus_ Bishop of _Antioch_ asserted it,
and so did _Tertullian_, _Clemens Alexandrinus_, and _Origen_ soon after;
and their contemporary _Hippolytus_ the Martyr, Metropolitan of the
_Arabians_, [40] wrote a commentary upon it. All these were antient men,
flourishing within a hundred and twenty years after _John_'s death, and of
greatest note in the Churches of those times. Soon after did _Victorinus
Pictaviensis_ write another commentary upon it; and he lived in the time of
_Dioclesian_. This may surely suffice to shew how the _Apocalypse_ was
received and studied in the first ages: and I do not indeed find any other
book of the New Testament so strongly attested, or commented upon so early
as this. The Prophecy said: _Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear
the words of this Prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein._
This animated the first _Christians_ to study it so much, till the
difficulty made them remit, and comment more upon the other books of the
New Testament. This was the state of the _Apocalypse_, till the thousand
years being misunderstood, brought a prejudice against it: and _Dionysius_
of _Alexandria_, noting how it abounded with barbarisms, that is with
_Hebraisms_, promoted that prejudice so far, as to cause many _Greeks_ in
the fourth century to doubt of the book. But whilst the _Latins_, and a
great part of the _Greeks_, always retained the _Apocalypse_, and the rest
doubted only out of prejudice, it makes nothing against its authority.

This Prophecy is called _the Revelation_, with respect to _the scripture of
truth_, which _Daniel_ [41] was commanded to _shut up and seal, till the
time of the end_. _Daniel_ sealed it _until the time of the end_; and until
that time comes, the Lamb is opening the seals: and afterwards the two
Witnesses prophesy out of it a long time in sack-cloth, before they ascend
up to heaven in a cloud. All which is as much as to say, that these
Prophecies of _Daniel_ and _John_ should not be understood till the time of
the end: but then some should prophesy out of them in an afflicted and
mournful state for a long time, and that but darkly, so as to convert but
few. But in the very end, the Prophecy should be so far interpreted as to
convince many. _Then_, saith _Daniel, many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be encreased_. For the Gospel must be preached in all
nations before the great tribulation, and end of the world. The
palm-bearing multitude, which come out of this great tribulation, cannot be
innumerable out of all nations, unless they be made so by the preaching of
the Gospel before it comes. There must be a stone cut out of a mountain
without hands, before it can fall upon the toes of the Image, and become a
great mountain and fill the earth. An Angel must fly thro' the midst of
heaven with the everlasting Gospel to preach to all nations, before
_Babylon_ falls, and the Son of man reaps his harvest. The two Prophets
must ascend up to heaven in a cloud, before the kingdoms of this world
become the kingdoms of _Christ_. 'Tis therefore a part of this Prophecy,
that it should not be understood before the last age of the world; and
therefore it makes for the credit of the Prophecy, that it is not yet
understood. But if the last age, the age of opening these things, be now
approaching, as by the great successes of late Interpreters it seems to be,
we have more encouragement than ever to look into these things. If the
general preaching of the Gospel be approaching, it is to us and our
posterity that those words mainly belong: [42] _In the time of the end the
wise shall understand, but none of the wicked shall understand. [43]
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this Prophecy,
and keep those things which are written therein._

The folly of Interpreters has been, to foretel times and things by this
Prophecy, as if God designed to make them Prophets. By this rashness they
have not only exposed themselves, but brought the Prophecy also into
contempt. The design of God was much otherwise. He gave this and the
Prophecies of the Old Testament, not to gratify men's curiosities by
enabling them to foreknow things, but that after they were fulfilled they
might be interpreted by the event, and his own Providence, not the
Interpreters, be then manifested thereby to the world. For the event of
things predicted many ages before, will then be a convincing argument that
the world is governed by providence. For as the few and obscure Prophecies
concerning _Christ_'s first coming were for setting up the _Christian_
religion, which all nations have since corrupted; so the many and clear
Prophecies concerning the things to be done at _Christ_'s second coming,
are not only for predicting but also for effecting a recovery and
re-establishment of the long-lost truth, and setting up a kingdom wherein
dwells righteousness. The event will prove the _Apocalypse_; and this
Prophecy, thus proved and understood, will open the old Prophets, and all
together will make known the true religion, and establish it. For he that
will understand the old Prophets, must begin with this; but the time is not
yet come for understanding them perfectly, because the main revolution
predicted in them is not yet come to pass. _In the days of the voice of the
seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be
finished, as he hath declared to his servants the Prophets_: and then _the
kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his
_Christ_, and he shall reign for ever_, Apoc. x. 7. xi. 15. There is
already so much of the Prophecy fulfilled, that as many as will take pains
in this study, may see sufficient instances of God's providence: but then
the signal revolutions predicted by all the holy Prophets, will at once
both turn mens eyes upon considering the predictions, and plainly interpret
them. Till then we must content ourselves with interpreting what hath been
already fulfilled.

Amongst the Interpreters of the last age there is scarce one of note who
hath not made some discovery worth knowing; and thence I seem to gather
that God is about opening these mysteries. The success of others put me
upon considering it; and if I have done any thing which may be useful to
following writers, I have my design.

Notes to Chap. I.

[1] Dem. Evang. l. 3.

[2] Vid. _Pamelium_ in notis ad _Tertull._ de Præscriptionbus, n. 215 &
_Hieron_ l. 1. contra _Jovinianum_, c. 14. Edit._Erasmi._

[3] Areth. c. 18, 19.

[4] Hist. Eccl. l. 3. c. 23.

[5] Chrysost. ad Theodorum lapsum.

[6] Hieron. in Epist. ad Gal. l. 3. c. 6.

[7] Apud Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 28. Edit. _Valesii_.

[8] Epiphan. Hæres. 28.

[9] Hieron. adv. Lucif.

[10] 1 Pet. i. 7, 13. iv. 13. & v. 1.

[11] Apoc. xiii. 8.

[12] Apoc. xxi.

[13] Apoc. i. 6. & v. 10.

[14] Apoc. xx. 6.

[15] Apoc. xx. 4, 12.

[16] Apoc. xvii.

[17] Dan. viii. 15, 16, 27. & xii. 8, 9.

[18] [Greek: aselgeias], _in many of the best MSS._

[19] Apoc. xiii. 7, 12.

[20] Apoc. xiii. 1, 5, 6.

[21] Apoc. xviii. 12, 13.

[22] Apoc. xix. 20.

[23] Apoc. xxi. 3, 4.

[24] Apoc. ix. 21. _and_ xvii. 2.

[25] Apoc. xiii. 6.

[26] Apoc. xviii. 3, 7, 9.

[27] [Greek: moichalidos].

[28] Apoc. ii. 14.

[29] Apol. ad Antonin. Pium.

[30] Hæres. l. 1. c. 20. Vide etiam Tertullianum, Apol. c. 13.

[31] Euseb. Chron.

[32] Cyril Catech. 6. Philastr. de hæres. cap. 30. Sulp. Hist. l. 2.
Prosper de promiss. dimid. temp. cap. 13. Maximus serm. 5. in Natal. Apost.
Hegesip. l. 2. c. 2.

[33] Lactant de mortib. Persec. c. 2.

[34] Hom. 70. in Matt. c. 22.

[35] Apud Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 25.

[36] Euseb. Hist. l. 2. c. 25.

[37] Arethas in Proæm. comment. in Apoc.

[38] Euseb. Hist. l. 4. cap. 26. Hieron.

[39] Euseb. Hist. l. 4. c. 24.

[40] Hieron.

[41] Dan. x. 21. xii. 4, 9.

[42] Dan. xii. 4, 10.

[43] Apoc. i. 3.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. II.

_Of the relation which the _Apocalypse_ of _John_ hath to the Book of the
Law of _Moses_, and to the worship of God in the Temple_.

The _Apocalypse_ of _John_ is written in the same style and language with
the Prophecies of _Daniel_, and hath the same relation to them which they
have to one another, so that all of them together make but one complete
Prophecy; and in like manner it consists of two parts, an introductory
Prophecy, and an Interpretation thereof.

The Prophecy is distinguish'd into seven successive parts, by the opening
of the seven seals of the book which _Daniel_ was commanded to seal up: and
hence it is called the _Apocalypse_ or _Revelation_ of _Jesus Christ_. The
time of the seventh seal is sub-divided into eight successive parts by the
silence in heaven for half an hour, and the sounding of seven trumpets
successively: and the seventh trumpet sounds to the battle of the great day
of God Almighty, whereby _the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of
the Lord and of his Christ_, and those are destroyed that destroyed the
earth.

The Interpretation begins with the words, _And the temple of God was opened
in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the Ark of his Testament_: and
it continues to the end of the Prophecy. The Temple is the scene of the
visions, and the visions in the Temple relate to the feast of the seventh
month: for the feasts of the _Jews_ were typical of things to come. The
Passover related to the first coming of _Christ_, and the feasts of the
seventh month to his second coming: his first coming being therefore over
before this Prophecy was given, the feasts of the seventh month are here
only alluded unto.

On the first day of that month, in the morning, the High-Priest dressed the
lamps: and in allusion hereunto, this Prophecy begins with a vision of one
like _the Son of man_ in the High-Priest's habit, appearing as it were in
the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, or over against the midst of
them, dressing the lamps, which appeared like a rod of seven stars in his
right hand: and this dressing was perform'd by the sending seven Epistles
to the Angels or Bishops of the seven Churches of _Asia_, which in the
primitive times illuminated the Temple or Church Catholick. These Epistles
contain admonitions against the approaching Apostacy, and therefore relate
to the times when the Apostacy began to work strongly, and before it
prevailed. It began to work in the Apostles days, and was to continue
working _till the man of sin should be revealed_. It began to work in the
disciples of _Simon_, _Menander_, _Carpocrates_, _Cerinthas_, and such
sorts of men as had imbibed the metaphysical philosophy of the _Gentiles_
and _Cabalistical Jews_, and were thence called _Gnosticks_. _John_ calls
them _Antichrists_, saying that in his days there were many _Antichrists_.
But these being condemned by the Apostles, and their immediate disciples,
put the Churches in no danger during the opening of the first four seals.
The visions at the opening of these seals relate only to the civil affairs
of the heathen _Roman_ Empire. So long the Apostolic traditions prevailed,
and preserved the Church in its purity: and therefore the affairs of the
Church do not begin to be considered in this Prophecy before the opening of
the fifth seal. She began then to decline, and to want admonitions; and
therefore is admonished by these Epistles, till the Apostacy prevailed and
took place, which was at the opening of the seventh seal. The admonitions
therefore in these seven Epistles relate to the state of the Church in the
times of the fifth and sixth seals. At the opening of the fifth seal, the
Church is purged from hypocrites by a great persecution. At the opening of
the sixth, that which letted is taken out of the way, namely the heathen
_Roman_ Empire. At the opening of the seventh, the man of sin is revealed.
And to these times the seven Epistles relate.

The seven Angels, to whom these Epistles were written, answer to the seven
_Amarc-holim_, who were Priests and chief Officers of the Temple, and had
jointly the keys of the gates of the Temple, with those of the Treasuries,
and the direction, appointment and oversight of all things in the Temple.

After the lamps were dresed, _John_ saw _the door_ of the Temple _opened_;
and by _the voice as it were of a trumpet_, was called up to the eastern
gate of the great court, to see the visions: and _behold a throne was set_,
viz. the mercy-seat upon the Ark of the Testament, which the _Jews_
respected as _the throne of God between the _Cherubims__, _Exod._ xxv. 2.
_Psal._ xcix. 1. _And he that sat on it was to look upon like _Jasper_ and
_Sardine_ stone_, that is, of an olive colour, the people of _Judea_ being
of that colour. _And_, the Sun being then in the _East, a rainbow was about
the throne_, the emblem of glory. _And round about the throne were four and
twenty seats_; answering to the chambers of the four and twenty Princes of
the Priests, twelve on the south side, and twelve on the north side of the
Priests Court. _And upon the seats were four and twenty Elders sitting,
clothed in white rayment, with crowns on their heads_; representing the
Princes of the four and twenty courses of the Priests clothed in linen.
_And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings, and voices_,
viz. the flashes of the fire upon the Altar at the morning-sacrifice, and
the thundering voices of those that sounded the trumpets, and sung at the
Eastern gate of the Priests Court; for these being between _John_ and the
throne appeared to him as proceeding from the throne. _And there were seven
lamps of fire burning_, in the Temple, _before the throne, which are the
seven spirits of God_, or Angels of the seven Churches, represented in the
beginning of this Prophecy by seven stars. _And before the throne was a sea
of glass clear as chrystal_; the brazen sea between the porch of the Temple
and the Altar, filled with clear water. _And in the midst of the throne,
and round about the throne, were four Beasts full of eyes before and
behind_: that is, one Beast before the throne and one behind it, appearing
to _John_ as in the midst of the throne, and one on either side in the
circle about it, to represent by the multitude of their eyes the people
standing in the four sides of the peoples court. _And the first Beast was
like a lion, and the second was like a calf, and the third had the face of
a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle_. The people of _Israel_ in
the wilderness encamped round about the tabernacle, and on the east side
were three tribes under the standard of _Judah_, on the west were three
tribes under the standard of _Ephraim_, on the south were three tribes
under the standard of _Reuben_, and on the north were three tribes under
the standard of _Dan_, _Numb._ ii. And the standard of _Judah_ was a Lion,
that of _Ephraim_ an Ox, that of _Reuben_ a Man, and that of _Dan_ an
Eagle, as the _Jews_ affirm. Whence were framed the hieroglyphicks of
_Cherubims_ and _Seraphims_, to represent the people of _Israel_. A
_Cherubim_ had one body with four faces, the faces of a Lion, an Ox, a Man
and an Eagle, looking to the four winds of heaven, without turning about,
as in _Ezekiel_'s vision, chap. i. And four _Seraphims_ had the same four
faces with four bodies, one face to every body. The four Beasts are
therefore four _Seraphims_ standing in the four sides of the peoples court;
the first in the eastern side with the head of a Lion, the second in the
western side with the head of an Ox, the third in the southern side with
the head of a Man, the fourth in the northern side with the head of an
Eagle: and all four signify together the twelve tribes of _Israel_, out of
whom the hundred forty and four thousand were sealed, _Apoc._ vii. 4. _And
the four Beasts had each of them six wings_, two to a tribe, in all twenty
and four wings, answering to the twenty and four stations of the people.
_And they were full of eyes within_, or under their wings. _And they rest
not day and night_, or at the morning and evening-sacrifices, _saying,
holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come_.
These animals are therefore the Seraphims, which appeared to _Isaiah_ [1]
in a vision like this of the _Apocalypse_. For there also the Lord sat upon
a throne in the temple; and the Seraphims each with six wings cried, _Holy,
holy, holy Lord God of hosts. And when those animals give glory and honour
and thanks to him that sitteth upon the throne, who liveth for ever and
ever, the four and twenty Elders_ go into the Temple, and there _fall down
before him that sitteth on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all
things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created_. At the morning and
evening-sacrifices, so soon as the sacrifice was laid upon the Altar, and
the drink-offering began to be poured out, the trumpets sounded, and the
_Levites_ sang by course three times; and every time when the trumpets
sounded, the people fell down and worshiped. Three times therefore did the
people worship; to express which number, the Beasts cry _Holy, holy, holy_:
and the song being ended, the people prayed standing, till the solemnity
was finished. In the mean time the Priests went into the Temple, and there
fell down before him that sat upon the throne, and worshiped.

_And _John_ saw, in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne, a book
written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals_, viz. the book
which _Daniel_ was commanded to seal up, and which is here represented by
the prophetic book of the Law laid up on the right side of the Ark, as it
were in the right hand of him that sat on the throne: for the festivals and
ceremonies of the Law prescribed to the people in this book, adumbrated
those things which were predicted in the book of _Daniel_; and the writing
within and on the backside of this book, relates to the synchronal
Prophecies. [2] _And none was found worthy to open the book_ but the Lamb
of God. _And lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four Beasts, and in
the midst of the Elders_, that is, at the foot of the Altar, _stood a lamb
as it had been slain_, the morning-sacrifice; _having seven horns_, which
are the seven Churches, _and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God
sent forth into all the earth. And he came, and took the book out of the
right hand of him that sat upon the throne: And when he had taken the book,
the four Beasts and four and twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb,
having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are
the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to
take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation; and hast made us, unto our God, Kings and Priests, and
we shall reign on the earth._ The Beasts and Elders therefore represent the
primitive _Christians_ of all nations; and the worship of these
_Christians_ in their Churches is here represented under the form of
worshiping God and the Lamb in the Temple: God for his benefaction in
creating all things, and the Lamb for his benefaction in redeeming us with
his blood: God as sitting upon the throne and living for ever, and the Lamb
as exalted above all by the merits of his death. _And I heard_, saith
_John_, _the voice of many Angels round about the throne, and the Beasts
and the Elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and
on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that
are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, honour, glory, and power, be unto
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And
the four Beasts said, _Amen_. And the four and twenty Elders fell down and
worshiped him that liveth for ever and ever._ This was the worship of the
primitive _Christians_.

It was the custom for the High-Priest, seven days before the fast of the
seventh month, to continue constantly in the Temple, and study the book of
the Law, that he might be perfect in it against the day of expiation;
wherein the service, which was various and intricate, was wholly to be
performed by himself; part of which service was reading the Law to the
people: and to promote his studying it, there were certain Priests
appointed by the _Sanhedrim_ to be with him those seven days in one of his
chambers in the Temple, and there to discourse with him about the Law, and
read it to him, and put him in mind of reading and studying it himself.
This his opening and reading the Law those seven days, is alluded unto in
the Lamb's opening the seals. We are to conceive that those seven days
begin in the evening before each day; for the _Jews_ began their day in the
evening, and that the solemnity of the fast begins in the morning of the
seventh day.

The seventh seal was therefore opened on the day of expiation, and then
_there was silence in heaven for half an hour. And an Angel_, the
High-Priest, _stood at the Altar, having a golden Censer; and there was
given him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all
Saints, upon the golden Altar which was before the throne_. The custom was
on other days, for one of the Priests to take fire from the great Altar in
a silver Censer; but on this day, for the High-Priest to take fire from the
great Altar in a golden Censer: and when he was come down from the great
Altar, he took incense from one of the Priests who brought it to him, and
went with it to the golden Altar: and while he offered the incense, the
people prayed without in silence, which is the silence in heaven for half
an hour. When the High-Priest had laid the incense on the Altar, he carried
a Censer of it burning in his hand, into the most holy place before the
Ark. _And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the Saints,
ascended up before God out of the Angel's hand._ On other days there was a
certain measure of incense for the golden Altar: on this day there was a
greater quantity for both the Altar and the most holy Place, and therefore
it is called _much incense_. After this _the Angel took the Censer, and
filled it with fire from the_ great _Altar, and cast it into the earth_;
that is, by the hands of the Priests who belong to his mystical body, he
cast it to the earth without the Temple, for burning the Goat which was the
Lord's lot. _And_ at this and other concomitant sacrifices, until the
evening-sacrifice was ended, _there were voices, and thundrings, and
lightnings, and an earthquake_; that is, the voice of the High-Priest
reading the Law to the people, and other voices and thundrings from the
trumpets and temple-musick at the sacrifices, and lightnings from the fire
of the Altar.

The solemnity of the day of expiation being finished, the seven Angels
found their trumpets at the great sacrifices of the seven days of the feast
of tabernacles; and at the same sacrifices, the seven thunders utter their
voices, which are the musick of the Temple, and singing of the _Levites_,
intermixed with the soundings of the trumpets: and the seven Angels pour
out their vials of wrath, which are the drink-offerings of those
sacrifices.

When six of the seals were opened, _John_ said: [3] _And after these
things_, that is, after the visions of the sixth seal, _I saw four Angels
standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the
earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on
any tree. And I saw another Angel ascending from the _East_, having the
seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four Angels,
to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the
earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our
God in their foreheads._ This sealing alludes to a tradition of the _Jews_,
that upon the day of expiation all the people of _Israel_ are sealed up in
the books of life and death. For the _Jews_ in their _Talmud_ [4] tell us,
that in the beginning of every new year, or first day of the month _Tisri_,
the seventh month of the sacred year, three books are opened in judgment;
the book of life, in which the names of those are written who are perfectly
just; the book of death, in which the names of those are written who are
Atheists or very wicked; and a third book, of those whose judgment is
suspended till the day of expiation, and whose names are not written in the
book of life or death before that day. The first ten days of this month
they call the penitential days; and all these days they fast and pray very
much, and are very devout, that on the tenth day their sins may be
remitted, and their names may be written in the book of life; which day is
therefore called the day of expiation. And upon this tenth day, in
returning home from the Synagogues, they say to one another, _God the
creator seal you to a good year_. For they conceive that the books are now
sealed up, and that the sentence of God remains unchanged henceforward to
the end of the year. The same thing is signified by the two Goats, upon
whose foreheads the High-Priest yearly, on the day of expiation, lays the
two lots inscribed, _For God_ and _For _Azazel__; God's lot signifying the
people who are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads; and the lot
_Azazel_, which was sent into the wilderness, representing those who
receive the mark and name of the Beast, and go into the wilderness with the
great Whore.

The servants of God being therefore sealed in the day of expiation, we may
conceive that this sealing is synchronal to the visions which appear upon
opening the seventh seal; and that when the Lamb had opened six of the
seals and seen the visions relating to the inside of the sixth, he looked
on the backside of the seventh leaf, and then saw _the four Angels holding
the four winds of heaven, and another Angel ascending from the _East_ with
the seal of God_. Conceive also, that the Angels which held the four winds
were the first four of the seven Angels, who upon opening the seventh seal
were seen standing before God; and that upon their holding the winds,
_there was silence in heaven for half an hour_; and that while the servants
of God were sealing, the Angel with the golden Censer offered their prayers
with incense upon the golden Altar, and read the Law: and that so soon as
they were sealed, the winds hurt the earth at the sounding of the first
trumpet, and the sea at the sounding of the second; these winds signifying
the wars, to which the first four trumpets sounded. For as the first four
seals are distinguished from the three last by the appearance of four
horsemen towards the four winds of heaven; so the wars of the first four
trumpets are distinguished from those of the three last, by representing
these by _four winds_, and the others by _three great woes_.

In one of _Ezekiel_'s visions, when the _Babylonian_ captivity was at hand,
_six men_ appeared _with slaughter-weapons_; _and a seventh_, who [5]
appeared _among them clothed in white linen and a writer's ink-horn by his
side_, is commanded to _go thro' the midst of _Jerusalem_, and set a mark
upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations
done in the midst thereof_: and then the six men, like the Angels of the
first six trumpets, are commanded to slay those men who are not marked.
Conceive therefore that the hundred forty and four thousand are sealed, to
preserve them from the plagues of the first six trumpets; and that at
length by the preaching of the everlasting gospel, they grow into _a great
multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and
people and tongues_: and at the sounding of the seventh trumpet come out of
the great tribulation _with Palms in their hands: the kingdoms of this
world_, by the war to which that trumpet sounds, _becoming the kingdoms of
God and his _Christ__. For the solemnity of the great _Hosannah_ was kept
by the _Jews_ upon the seventh or last day of the feast of tabernacles; the
_Jews_ upon that day carrying Palms in their hands, and crying _Hosannah_.

After six of the Angels, answering to the six men with slaughter-weapons,
had sounded their trumpets, the Lamb in the form of _a mighty Angel cane
down from heaven clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, and
his face was as it were the Sun, and his feet as pillars of fire_, the
shape in which _Christ_ appeared in the beginning of this Prophecy; _and he
had in his hand a little book open_, the book which he had newly opened;
for he received but one book from him that sitteth upon the throne, and he
alone was worthy to open and look on this book. _And he set his right foot
upon the sea and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice,
as when a lion roareth_. It was the custom for the High-Priest on the day
of expiation, to stand in an elevated place in the peoples court, at the
Eastern gate of the Priests court, and read the Law to the people, while
the Heifer and the Goat which was the Lord's lot, were burning without the
Temple. We may therefore suppose him standing in such a manner, that his
right foot might appear to _John_ as it were standing on the sea of glass,
and his left foot on the ground of the house; and that he cried with a loud
voice, in reading the Law on the day of expiation. _And when he had cried,
seven thunders uttered their voices_. Thunders are the voice of a cloud,
and a cloud signifies a multitude; and this multitude may be the _Levites_,
who sang with thundering voices, and played with musical instruments at the
great sacrifices, on the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles: at which
times the trumpets also sounded. For the trumpets sounded, and the
_Levites_ sang alternately, three times at every sacrifice. The Prophecy
therefore of the seven thunders is nothing else than a repetition of the
Prophecy of the seven trumpets in another form. _And the Angel which I saw
stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and
sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, that_ after the seven thunders
_there should be time no longer; but in the days of the voice of the
seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be
finished, as he hath declared to his servants the Prophets_. The voices of
the thunders therefore last to the end of this world, and so do those of
the trumpets.

_And the voice which I heard from heaven_, saith _John_, _spake unto me
again and said, Go and take the little book, &c. And I took the little book
out of the Angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as
honey, and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto
me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues,
and kings_. This is an introduction to a new Prophecy, to a repetition of
the Prophecy of the whole book; and alludes to _Ezekiel_'s eating a roll or
book spread open before him, and written within and without, full of
lamentations and mourning and woe, but sweet in his mouth. Eating and
drinking signify acquiring and possessing; and eating the book is becoming
inspired with the Prophecy contained in it. It implies being inspired in a
vigorous and extraordinary manner with the Prophecy of the whole book, and
therefore signifies a lively repetition of the whole Prophecy by way of
interpretation, and begins not till the first Prophecy, that of the seals
and trumpets, is ended. It was sweet in _John_'s mouth, and therefore
begins not with the bitter Prophecy of the _Babylonian_ captivity, and the
_Gentiles_ being in the outward court of the Temple, and treading the holy
city under foot; and the prophesying of the _two Witnesses_ in sackcloth,
and their smiting the earth with all plagues, and being killed by the
Beast; but so soon as the Prophecy of the trumpets is ended, it begins with
the sweet Prophecy of the glorious _Woman in heaven_, and the victory of
_Michael_ over the Dragon; and after that, it is bitter in _John_'s belly,
by a large description of the times of the great Apostacy.

_And the Angel stood_, upon the earth and sea, _saying, Rise and measure
the Temple of God and the Altar, and them that worship therein_, that is,
their courts with the buildings thereon, viz. the square court of the
Temple called the separate place, and the square court of the Altar called
the Priests court, and the court of them that worship in the Temple called
the new court: _but the_ great _court which is without the Temple, leave
out, and measure it not, for it is given to the _Gentiles_, and the holy
city shall they tread under foot forty and two months_. This measuring hath
reference to _Ezekiel_'s measuring the Temple _of Solomon_: there the whole
Temple, including the outward court, was measured, to signify that it
should be rebuilt in the latter days. Here the courts of the Temple and
Altar, and they who worship therein, are only measured, to signify the
building of a second Temple, for those that are sealed out of all the
twelve tribes of _Israel_, and worship in the inward court of sincerity and
truth: but _John_ is commanded to leave out the outward court, or outward
form of religion and Church-government, because it is given to the
_Babylonian Gentiles_. For the glorious woman in heaven, the remnant of
whole seed kept the commandments of God, and had the testimony of _Jesus_,
continued the same woman in outward form after her flight into the
wilderness, whereby she quitted her former sincerity and piety, and became
the great Whore. She lost her chastity, but kept her outward form and
shape. And while the _Gentiles_ tread the holy city underfoot, and worship
in the outward court, the two witnesses, represented perhaps by the two
feet of the Angel standing on the sea and earth, prophesied against them,
and _had power_, like _Elijah_ and _Moses_, _to consume their enemies with
fire proceeding out of their mouth, and to shut heaven that it rain not in
the days of their Prophecy, and to turn the waters into blood, and to smite
the earth with all plagues as often as they will_, that is, with the
plagues of the trumpets and vials of wrath; and at length they are slain,
rise again from the dead, and ascend up to heaven in a cloud; and then the
seventh trumpet sounds to the day of judgment.

The Prophecy being finished, _John_ is inspired anew by the eaten book, and
begins the Interpretation thereof with these words, _And the Temple of God
was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his Temple the Ark of the
Testament_. By the Ark, we may know that this was the first Temple; for the
second Temple had no Ark. _And there were lightnings, and voices, and
thundrings, and an earthquake, and great hail_. These answer to the wars in
the _Roman_ Empire, during the reign of the four horsemen, who appeared
upon opening the first four seals. _And there appeared a great wonder in
heaven, a woman clothed with the Sun_. In the Prophecy, the affairs of the
Church begin to be considered at the opening of the fifth seal; and in the
Interpretation, they begin at the same time with the vision of the Church
in the form of a woman in heaven: there she is persecuted, and here she is
pained in travail. The Interpretation proceeds down first to the sealing of
the servants of God, and marking the rest with the mark of the Beast; and
then to the day of judgment, represented by a harvest and vintage. Then it
returns back to the times of opening the seventh seal, and interprets the
Prophecy of the seven trumpets by the pouring out of seven vials of wrath.
The Angels who pour them out, come out of the _Temple of the Tabernacle_;
that is, out of the second Temple, for the Tabernacle had no outward court.
Then it returns back again to the times of measuring the Temple and Altar,
and of the _Gentiles_ worshiping in the outward court, and of the Beast
killing the witnesses in the streets of the great city; and interprets
these things by the vision of _a woman sitting on the Beast, drunken with
the blood of the Saints_; and proceeds in the interpretation downwards to
the fall of the great city and the day of judgment.

The whole Prophecy of the book, represented by the book of the Law, is
therefore repeated, and interpreted in the visions which follow those of
sounding the seventh trumpet, and begin with that of the Temple of God
opened in heaven. Only the things, which the seven thunders uttered, were
not written down, and therefore not interpreted.

Notes to Chap. II.

[1] Isa. vi.

[2] Apoc. v.

[3] Apoc. vii

[4] Buxtorf in Synogoga Judaica, c. 18, 21.

[5] Ezek. ix.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAP. III.

_Of the relation which the Prophecy of _John_ hath to those of _Daniel_;
and of the Subject of the Prophecy_.

The whole scene of sacred Prophecy is composed of three principal parts:
the regions beyond _Euphrates_, represented by the two first Beasts of
_Daniel_; the Empire of the _Greeks_ on this side of _Euphrates_,
represented by the Leopard and by the He-Goat; and the Empire of the
_Latins_ on this side of _Greece_, represented by the Beast with ten horns.
And to these three parts, the phrases of the _third part of the earth, sea,
rivers, trees, ships, stars, sun, and moon_, relate. I place the body of
the fourth Beast on this side of _Greece_, because the three first of the
four Beasts had their lives prolonged after their dominion was taken away,
and therefore belong not to the body of the fourth. He only stamped them
with his feet.

By the _earth_, the _Jews_ understood the great continent of all _Asia_ and
_Africa_, to which they had access by land: and by the Isles of the _sea_,
they understood the places to which they sailed by sea, particularly all
_Europe_: and hence in this Prophecy, the _earth_ and _sea_ are put for the
nations of the _Greek_ and _Latin_ Empires.

The third and fourth Beasts of _Daniel_ are the same with the Dragon and
ten-horned Beast of _John_, but with this difference: _John_ puts the
Dragon for the whole _Roman_ Empire while it continued entire, because it
was entire when that Prophecy was given; and the Beast he considers not
till the Empire became divided: and then he puts the Dragon for the Empire
of the _Greeks_, and the Beast for the Empire of the _Latins_. Hence it is
that the Dragon and Beast have common heads and common horns: but the
Dragon hath crowns only upon his heads, and the Beast only upon his horns;
because the Beast and his horns reigned not before they were divided from
the Dragon: and when the Dragon gave the Beast his throne, the ten horns
received power as Kings, the same hour with the Beast. The heads are seven
successive Kings. Four of them were the four horsemen which appeared at the
opening of the first four seals. In the latter end of the sixth head, or
seal, considered as present in the visions, it is said, _five_ of the seven
Kings _are fallen, and one is, and another is not yet come; and the Beast
that was and is not_, being wounded to death with a sword, _he is the
eighth, and of the seven_: he was therefore a collateral part of the
seventh. The horns are the same with those of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast,
described above.

The four horsemen which appear at the opening of the first four seals, have
been well explained by Mr. _Mede_; excepting that I had rather continue the
third to the end of the reign of the three _Gordians_ and _Philip_ the
_Arabian_, those being Kings from the _South_, and begin the fourth with
the reign of _Decius_, and continue it till the reign of _Dioclesian_. For
the fourth horseman _sat upon a pale_ horse, _and his name was Death; and
hell followed with him; and power was given them to kill unto the fourth
part of the earth, with the sword, and with famine, and with the plague,
and with the Beasts of the earth_, or armies of invaders and rebels: and as
such were the times during all this interval. Hitherto the _Roman_ Empire
continued in an undivided monarchical form, except rebellions; and such it
is represented by the four horsemen. But _Dioclesian_ divided it between
himself and _Maximianus_, A.C. 285; and it continued in that divided state,
till the victory of _Constantine_ the great over _Licinius_, A.C. 323,
which put an end to the heathen persecutions set on foot by _Dioclesian_
and _Maximianus_, and described at the opening of the fifth seal. But this
division of the Empire was imperfect, the whole being still under one and
the same Senate. The same victory of _Constantine_ over _Licinius_ a
heathen persecutor, began the fall of the heathen Empire, described at the
opening of the sixth seal: and the visions of this seal continue till after
the reign of _Julian_ the Apostate, he being a heathen Emperor, and
reigning over the whole _Roman_ Empire.

The affairs of the Church begin to be considered at the opening of the
fifth seal, as was said above. Then she is represented by _a woman_ in the
Temple of heaven, _clothed with the sun_ of righteousness, _and the moon_
of _Jewish_ ceremonies _under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
stars_ relating to the twelve Apostles and to the twelve tribes of
_Israel_. When she fled from the Temple into the wilderness, she left in
the Temple a _remnant of her seed, who kept the commandments of God, and
had the testimony of Jesus Christ_; and therefore before her flight she
represented the true primitive Church of God, tho afterwards she
degenerated like _Aholah_ and _Aholibah_. In _Diocesian_'s persecution _she
cried, travelling in birth, and pained to be delivered_. And in the end of
that persecution, by the victory of _Constantine_ over _Maxentius_ A.C.
312, _she brought forth a man-child_, such a child as _was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron_, a _Christian_ Empire. _And her child_, by the
victory of _Constantine_ over _Licinius_, A.C. 323, _was caught up unto God
and to his throne. And the woman_, by the division of the _Roman_ Empire
into the _Greek_ and _Latin_ Empires, _fled_ from the first Temple _into
the wilderness_, or spiritually barren Empire of the _Latins_, where she is
found afterwards sitting upon the Beast and upon the seven mountains; and
is called _the great city which reigneth over the Kings of the earth_, that
is, over the ten Kings who give their kingdom to her Beast.

But before her flight there was war in heaven between _Michael_ and the
Dragon, the _Christian_ and the heathen religions; and the Dragon, _that
old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world, was
cast out to the earth, and his Angels were cast out with him_. And _John
heard a voice in heaven, saying, Now is come salvation and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of his _Christ_: for the accuser of
our brethren is cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony. And they loved not their lives unto the
death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe be to
the inhabiters of the earth and sea_, or people of the _Greek_ and _Latin_
Empires, _for the devil is come down amongst you, having great wrath,
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time_.

_And when the Dragon saw that he was cast down_ from the _Roman_ throne,
and the man-child caught up thither, he _persecuted the woman which brought
forth the man-child; and to her_, by the division of the _Roman_ Empire
between the cities of _Rome_ and _Constantinople_ A.C. 330, _were given two
wings of a great eagle_, the symbol of the _Roman_ Empire, _that she might
flee_ from the first Temple _into the wilderness_ of _Arabia, to her place_
at _Babylon_ mystically so called. _And the serpent_, by the division of
the same Empire between the sons of _Constantine_ the great, A.C. 337,
_cast out of his mouth water as a flood_, the _Western_ Empire, _after the
woman; that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. And the
earth_, or _Greek_ Empire, _helped the woman, and the earth opened her
mouth, and swallowed up the flood_, by the victory of _Constantius_ over
_Magnentius_, A.C. 353, and thus the Beast was wounded to death with a
sword. _And the Dragon was wroth with the woman_, in the reign of _Julian_
the Apostate A.C. 361, _and_, by a new division of the Empire between
_Valentinian_ and _Valens_, A.C. 364, _went_ from her into the _Eastern_
Empire _to make war with the remnant of her seed_, which she left behind
her when she fled: and thus the Beast revived. By the next division of the
Empire, which was between _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_ A.C. 379, the _Beast_
with ten horns _rose out of the sea_, and the _Beast_ with two horns _out
of the earth_: and by the last division thereof, which was between the sons
of _Theodosius_, A.C. 395, _the Dragon gave the Beast his power and throne,
and great authority_. And the ten horns _received power as Kings, the same
hour with the Beast_.

At length the woman arrived at her place of temporal as well as spiritual
dominion upon the back of the Beast, where she is nourished _a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent_; not in his kingdom,
but at a distance from him. She is nourished by _the merchants of the
earth_, three times or years and an half, or 42 months, or 1260 days: and
in these Prophecies days are put for years. During all this time the Beast
acted, and _she sat upon him_, that is, reigned over him, and over the ten
Kings _who gave their power and strength_, that is, their kingdom _to the
Beast_; and she was _drunken with the blood of the Saints_. By all these
circumstances she is the eleventh horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, who
reigned with _a look more stout than his fellows_, and was of a different
kind from the rest, and had eyes _and a mouth_ like the woman; _and made
war with the saints, and prevailed against them_, and _wore them out_, and
_thought to change times and laws_, and had them _given into his hand,
until a time, and times, and half a time_. These characters of the woman,
and little horn of the Beast, agree perfectly: in respect of her temporal
dominion, she was a horn of the Beast; in respect of her spiritual
dominion, she rode upon him in the form of a woman, and was his Church, and
committed fornication with the ten Kings.

The second Beast, which _rose up out of the earth_, was the Church of the
_Greek_ Empire: for it _had two horns like those of the Lamb_, and
therefore was a Church; and it _spake as the Dragon_, and therefore was of
his religion; and it _came up out of the earth_, and by consequence in his
kingdom. It is called also _the false Prophet_ who wrought miracles before
the first Beast, by which he deceived them that received his mark, and
worshiped his image. When the Dragon went from the woman to make war with
the remnant of her seed, this Beast arising out of the earth assisted in
that war, and _caused the earth and them which dwell therein to worship_
the authority of _the first Beast, whose mortal wound was healed_, and to
_make an Image to him_, that is, to assemble a body of men like him in
point of religion. He had also _power to give life_ and authority _to the
Image_, so that it could _both speak, and_ by dictating _cause that all_
religious bodies of men, _who would not worship_ the authority of _the
Image, should be_ mystically _killed. And he causeth all men to receive a
mark in their right hand or in their forehead, and that no man might buy or
sell save he that had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of
his name_; all the rest being excommunicated by the Beast with two horns.
His mark is [Cross] [Cross] [Cross], and his name [Greek: LATEINOS], and
the number of his name 666.

Thus the Beast, after he was wounded to death with a sword and revived, was
deified, as the heathens used to deify their Kings after death, and had an
Image erected to him; and his worshipers were initiated in this new
religion, by receiving the mark or name of this new God, or the number of
his name. By killing all that will not worship him and his Image, the first
Temple, illuminated by the lamps of the seven Churches, is demolished, and
a new Temple built for them who will not worship him; and the outward court
of this new Temple, or outward form of a Church, is given to the
_Gentiles_, who worship the Beast and his Image: while they who will not
worship him, are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads, and retire
into the inward court of this new Temple. These are the 144000 sealed out
of all the twelve tribes of _Israel_, and called the _two Witnesses_, as
being derived from the two wings of the woman while she was flying into the
wilderness, and represented by two of the seven candlesticks. These appear
to _John_ in the inward court of the second Temple, standing on mount
_Sion_ with the Lamb, and as it were on the sea of glass. These are _the
Saints of the most High_, and _the host of heaven_, and _the holy people_
spoken of by _Daniel_, as worn out and trampled under foot, and destroyed
in the latter times by the little horns of his fourth Beast and He-Goat.

While the _Gentiles_ tread the holy city under foot, God _gives power to
his two Witnesses, and they prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore
days clothed in sackcloth_. They are called _the two Olive-trees_, with
relation to the two Olive-trees, which in _Zechary_'s vision, chap. iv.
stand on either side of the golden candlestick to supply the lamps with
oil: and Olive-trees, according to the Apostle _Paul_, represent Churches,
_Rom._ xi. They supply the lamps with oil, by maintaining teachers. They
are also called _the two candlesticks_; which in this Prophecy signify
Churches, the seven Churches of _Asia_ being represented by seven
candlesticks. Five of these Churches were found faulty, and threatned if
they did not repent; the other two were without fault, and so their
candlesticks were fit to be placed in the second Temple. These were the
Churches in _Smyrna_ and _Philadelphia_. They were in a state of
tribulation and persecution, and the only two of the seven in such a state:
and so their candlesticks were fit to represent the Churches in affliction
in the times of the second Temple, and the only two of the seven that were
fit. The _two Witnesses_ are not new Churches: they are the posterity of
the primitive Church, the posterity of the two wings of the woman, and so
are fitly represented by two of the primitive candlesticks. We may conceive
therefore, that when the first Temple was destroyed, and a new one built
for them who worship in the inward court, two of the seven candlesticks
were placed in this new Temple.

The affairs of the Church are not considered during the opening of the
first four seals. They begin to be consider'd at the opening of the fifth
seal, as was said above; and are further considered at the opening of the
sixth seal; and the seventh seal contains the times of the great Apostacy.
And therefore I refer the Epistles to the seven Churches unto the times of
the fifth and sixth seals: for they relate to the Church when she began to
decline, and contain admonitions against the great Apostacy then
approaching.

When _Eusebius_ had brought down his _Ecclesiatical History_ to the reign
of _Dioclesian_, he thus describes the state of the Church: _Qualem
quantamque gloriam simul ac libertatem doctrina veræ erga supremum Deum
pietatis à Christo primùm hominibus annunciata, apud omnes Græcos pariter &
barbaros ante persecutionem nostrâ memoriâ excitatam, consecuta sit, nos
certè pro merito explicare non possumus. Argumento esse possit Imperatorum
benignitas erga nostros: quibus regendas etiam provincias committebant,
omni sacrificandi metu eos liberantes ob singularem, qua in religionem
nostram affecti erant, benevolentiam._ And a little after: _Jam vero quis
innumerabilem hominum quotidiè ad fidem Christi confugientium turbam, quis
numerum ecclesiarum in singulis urbibus, quis illustres populorum concursus
in ædibus sacris, cumulatè possit describere? Quo factum est, ut priscis
ædificiis jam non contenti, in singulis urbibus spatiosas ab ipsis
fundamentis exstruerent ecclesias. Atque hæc progressii temporis
increscentia, & quotidiè in majus & melius proficiscentia, nec livor ullus
atterere, nec malignitas dæmonis fascinare, nec hominum insidiæ prohibere
unquam potuerunt, quamdiu omnipotentis Dei dextra populum suum, utpote tali
dignum præsidio, texit atque custodiit. Sed cum ex nimia libertate in
negligentiam ac desidiam prolapsi essemus; cum alter alteri invidere atque
obtrectare cæpisset; cum inter nos quasi bella intestina gereremus, verbis,
tanquam armis quibusdam hastisque, nos mutuò vulnerantes; cum Antistites
adversus Antistites, populi in populos collisi, jurgia ac tumultus
agitarent; denique cum fraus & simulatio ad summum malitiæ culmen
adolevisset: tum divina ultio, levi brachio ut solet, integro adhuc
ecclesiæ statu, & fidelium turbis liberè convenientibus, sensim ac moderatè
in nos cæpit animadvertere; orsà primùm persecutione ab iis qui militabant.
Cum verò sensu omni destituti de placando Dei numine ne cogitaremus quidem;
quin potius instar impiorum quorundam res humanas nullâ providentiâ
gubernari rati, alia quotidiè crimina aliis adjiceremus: cum Pastores
nostri spretâ religionis regulâ, mutuis inter se contentionibus
decertarent, nihil aliud quam jurgia, minas, æmulationem, odia, ac mutuas
inimicitias amplificare studentes; principatum quasi tyrannidem quandam
contentissimè sibi vindicantes: tunc demùm juxta dictum Hieremiæ,
_obscuravit Dominus in ira sua filiam Sion, & dejecit de cælo gloriam
Israel_,--per Ecclesiarum scilicet subversionem_, &c. This was the state of
the Church just before the subversion of the Churches in the beginning of
_Dioclesian_'s persecution: and to this state of the Church agrees the
first of the seven Epistles to the Angel of the seven Churches, [1] that to
the Church in _Ephesus_. _I have something against thee_, saith _Christ_ to
the Angel of that Church, _because thou hast left thy first love. Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works;
or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out
of its place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the
deeds of the _Nicolaitans_, which I also hate_. The _Nicolaitans_ are the
_Continentes_ above described, who placed religion in abstinence from
marriage, abandoning their wives if they had any. They are here called
_Nicolaitans_, from _Nicolas_ one of the seven deacons of the primitive
Church of _Jerusalem_; who having a beautiful wife, and being taxed with
uxoriousness, abandoned her, and permitted her to marry whom she pleased,
saying that we must disuse the flesh; and thenceforward lived a single life
in continency, as his children also. The _Continentes_ afterwards embraced
the doctrine of _Æons_ and Ghosts male and female, and were avoided by the
Churches till the fourth century; and the Church of _Ephesus_ is here
commended for hating their deeds.

The persecution of _Dioclesian_ began in the year of _Christ_ 302, and
lasted ten years in the _Eastern_ Empire and two years in the _Western_. To
this state of the Church the second Epistle, to the Church of _Smyrna_,
agrees. _I know_, saith [2] _Christ_, _thy works, and tribulation, and
poverty, but thou art rich; and I know the blasphemy of them, which say
they are _Jews_ and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of
those things which thou shalt suffer: Behold, the Devil shall call some of
you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life._
The tribulation of ten days can agree to no other persecution than that of
_Dioclesian_, it being the only persecution which lasted ten years. By _the
blasphemy of them which say they are _Jews_ and are not, but are the
synagogue of Satan_, I understand the Idolatry of the _Nicolaitans_, who
falsly said they were _Christians_.

The _Nicolaitans_ are complained of also in [3] the third Epistle, as men
that _held the doctrine of _Balaam_, who taught _Balac_ to cast a
stumbling-block before the children of _Israel_, to eat things sacrificed
to Idols, and [4] to commit_ spiritual _fornication_. For _Balaam_ taught
the _Moabites_ and _Midianites_ to tempt and invite _Israel_ by their women
to commit fornication, and to feast with them at the sacrifices of their
Gods. The Dragon therefore began now to come down among the inhabitants of
the earth and sea.

The _Nicolaitans_ are also complained of in the fourth Epistle, under the
name of the _woman _Jezabel_, who calleth herself a Prophetess, to teach
and to seduce the servants of _Christ_ to commit fornication, and to eat
things sacrificed to Idols_. The woman therefore began now to fly into the
wilderness.

The reign of _Constantine_ the great from the time of his conquering
_Licinius_, was monarchical over the whole _Roman_ Empire. Then the Empire
became divided between the sons of _Constantine_: and afterwards it was
again united under _Constantius_, by his victory over _Magnentius_. To the
affairs of the Church in these three successive periods of time, the third,
fourth, and fifth Epistles, that is, those to the Angels of the Churches in
_Pergamus_, _Thyatira_, and _Sardis_, seem to relate. The next Emperor was
_Julian_ the Apostate.

In the sixth Epistle, [5] to the Angel of the Church in _Philadelphia_,
_Christ_ saith: _Because_ in the reign of the heathen Emperor _Julian_,
_thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the
hour of temptation, which_ by the woman's flying into the wilderness, and
the Dragon's making war with the remnant of her seed, and the killing of
all who will not worship the Image of the Beast, _shall come upon all the
world, to try them that dwell upon the earth_, and to distinguish them by
sealing the one with the name of God in their foreheads, and marking the
other with the mark of the Beast. _Him that overcometh, I will make a
pillar in the Temple of my God; and he shall go no more out_ of it. _And I
will write upon him the name of my God_ in his forehead. So the
_Christians_ of the Church of _Philadelphia_, as many of them as overcome,
are sealed with the seal of God, and placed in the second Temple, and go no
more out. The same is to be understood of the Church in _Smyrna_, which
also kept the word of God's patience, and was without fault. These two
Churches, with their posterity, are therefore the _two Pillars_, and the
_two Candlesticks_, and the _two Witnesses_ in the second Temple.

After the reign of the Emperor _Julian,_ and his successor _Jovian_ who
reigned but five months, the Empire became again divided between
_Valentinian_ and _Valens_. Then the Church Catholick, in the Epistle to
the Angel of the Church of _Laodicea_, is reprehended as _lukewarm_, and
[6] threatned to be _spewed out of _Christ's_ mouth_. She said, that she
was _rich and increased with goods, and had need of nothing_, being in
outward prosperity; _and knew not that she was_ inwardly _wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked_. She is therefore _spewed out of
_Christ's_ mouth_ at the opening of the seventh seal: and this puts an end
to the times of the first Temple.

About one half of the _Roman_ Empire turned _Christians_ in the time of
_Constantine_ the great and his sons. After _Julian_ had opened the
Temples, and restored the worship of the heathens, the Emperors
_Valentinian_ and _Valens_ tolerated it all their reign; and therefore the
Prophecy of the sixth seal was not fully accomplished before the reign of
their successor _Gratian_. It was the custom of the heathen Priests, in the
beginning of the reign of every sovereign Emperor, to offer him the dignity
and habit of the _Pontifex Maximus_. This dignity all Emperors had hitherto
accepted: but _Gratian_ rejected it, threw down the idols, interdicted the
sacrifices, and took away their revenues with the salaries and authority of
the Priests. _Theodosius_ the great followed his example; and heathenism
afterwards recovered itself no more, but decreased so fast, that
_Prudentius_, about ten years after the death of _Theodosius_, called the
heathens, _vix pauca ingenia & pars hominum rarissima_. Whence the affairs
of the sixth seal ended with the reign of _Valens_, or rather with the
beginning of the reign of _Theodosius_, when he, like his predecessor
_Gratian_, rejected the dignity of _Pontifex Maximus_. For the _Romans_
were very much infested by the invasions of foreign nations in the reign of
_Valentinian_ and _Valens_: _Hoc tempore_, saith _Ammianus_, _velut per
universum orbem Romanum bellicum canentibus buccinis, excitæ gentes
sævissimæ limites sibi proximos persultabant: Gallias Rhætiasque simul
Alemanni populabantur: Sarmatæ Pannonias & Quadi: Picti, Saxones, & Scoti &
Attacotti Britannos ærumnis vexavere continuis: Austoriani, Mauricæque aliæ
gentes Africam solito acriùs incursabant: Thracias diripiebant prædatorii
globi Gotthorum: Persarum Rex manus Armeniis injectabat_. And whilst the
Emperors were busy in repelling these enemies, the _Hunns_ and _Alans_ and
_Goths_ came over the _Danube_ in two bodies, overcame and slew _Valens_,
and made so great a slaughter of the _Roman_ army, that _Ammianus_ saith:
_Nec ulla Annalibus præter Cannensem ita ad internecionem res legitur
gesta_. These wars were not fully stopt on all sides till the beginning of
the reign of _Theodosius_, A.C. 379 & 380: but thenceforward the Empire
remained quiet from foreign armies, till his death, A.C. 395. So long the
four winds were held: and so long there was silence in heaven. And the
seventh seal was opened when this silence began.

Mr. _Mede_ hath explained the Prophecy of the first six trumpets not much
amiss: but if he had observed, that the Prophecy of pouring out the vials
of wrath is synchronal to that of sounding the trumpets, his explanation
would have been yet more complete.

The name of _Woes_ is given to the wars to which the three last trumpets
sound, to distinguish them from the wars of the four first. The sacrifices
on the first four days of the feast of Tabernacles, at which the first four
trumpets sound, and the first four vials of wrath are poured out, are
slaughters in four great wars; and these wars are represented by four winds
from the four corners of the earth. The first was an east wind, the second
a west wind, the third a south wind, and the fourth a north wind, with
respect to the city of _Rome_, the metropolis of the old _Roman_ Empire.
These four plagues fell upon _the third part of the Earth, Sea, Rivers,
Sun, Moon and Stars_; that is, upon the Earth, Sea, Rivers, Sun, Moon and
Stars of the third part of the whole scene of these Prophecies of _Daniel_
and _John_.

The plague of the eastern wind [7] at the sounding of the first trumpet,
was to fall upon the _Earth_, that is, upon the nations of the _Greek_
Empire. Accordingly, after the death of _Theodosius_ the great, the
_Goths_, _Sarmatians_, _Hunns_, _Isaurians_, and _Austorian_ Moors invaded
and miserably wasted _Greece_, _Thrace_, _Asia minor_, _Armenia_, _Syria_,
_Egypt_, _Lybia_, and _Illyricum_, for ten or twelve years together.

The plague of the western wind at the sounding of the second trumpet, was
to fall upon the _Sea_, or _Western_ Empire, by means of _a great mountain
burning with fire_ cast into it, and _turning it to blood_. Accordingly in
the year 407, that Empire began to be invaded by the _Visigoths_,
_Vandals_, _Alans_, _Sueves_, _Burgundians_, _Ostrogoths_, _Heruli_,
_Quadi_, _Gepides_; and by these wars it was broken into ten kingdoms, and
miserably wasted: and _Rome_ itself, the burning mountain, was besieged and
taken by the _Ostrogoths_, in the beginning of these miseries.

The plague of the southern wind at the sounding of the third trumpet, was
to cause _a great star, burning as it were a lamp, to fall from heaven upon
the rivers and fountains of waters_, the _Western_ Empire now divided into
many kingdoms, and to turn them to _wormwood_ and _blood_, and make them
_bitter_. Accordingly _Genseric_, the King of the _Vandals_ and _Alans_ in
_Spain_, A.C. 427, enter'd _Africa_ with an army of eighty thousand men;
where he invaded the _Moors_, and made war upon the _Romans_, both there
and on the sea-coasts of _Europe_, for fifty years together, almost without
intermission, taking _Hippo_ A.C. 431, and _Carthage_ the capital of
_Africa_ A.C. 439. In A.C. 455, with a numerous fleet and an army of three
hundred thousand _Vandals_ and _Moors_, he invaded _Italy_, took and
plundered _Rome_, _Naples_, _Capua_, and many other cities; carrying thence
their wealth with the flower of the people into _Africa_: and the next
year, A.C. 456, he rent all _Africa_ from the Empire, totally expelling the
_Romans_. Then the _Vandals_ invaded and took the Islands of the
_Mediterranean_, _Sicily_, _Sardinia_, _Corsica_, _Ebusus_, _Majorca_,
_Minorca_, &c. and _Ricimer_ besieged the Emperer _Anthemius_ in _Rome_,
took the city, and gave his soldiers the plunder, A.C. 472. The _Visigoths_
about the same time drove the _Romans_ out of _Spain_: and now the
_Western_ Emperor, the _great star which fell from heaven, burning as it
were a lamp_, having by all these wars gradually lost almost all his
dominions, was invaded, and conquered in one year by _Odoacer_ King of the
_Heruli_, A.C. 476. After this the _Moors_ revolted A.C. 477, and weakned
the _Vandals_ by several wars, and took _Mauritania_ from them. These wars
continued till the _Vandals_ were conquered by _Belisarius_, A.C. 534. and
by all these wars _Africa_ was almost depopulated, according to
_Procopius_, who reckons that above five millions of men perished in them.
When the _Vandals_ first invaded _Africa_, that country was very populous,
consisting of about 700 bishopricks, more than were in all _France_,
_Spain_ and _Italy_ together: but by the wars between the _Vandals_,
_Romans_ and _Moors_, it was depopulated to that degree, that _Procopius_
tells us, it was next to a miracle for a traveller to see a man.

In pouring out the third vial it is [8] said: _Thou art righteous, O
Lord,--because thou hast judged thus: for they have shed the blood of thy
Saints and Prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are
worthy_. How they shed the blood of Saints, may be understood by the
following Edict of the Emperor _Honorius_, procured by four Bishops sent to
him by a Council of _African_ Bishops, who met at _Carthage_ 14 _June_,
A.C. 410.

_Impp. Honor. &. Theod. AA. Heracliano Com. Afric._

_Oraculo penitus remoto, quo ad ritus suos hæreticæ superstitionis
abrepserant, sciant omnes sanctæ legis inimici, plectendos se poena &
proscriptionis & sanguinis, si ultra convenire per publicum, execrandâ
sceleris sui temeritate temptaverint. Dat. _viii._ Kal. Sept. Varano V.C.
Cons._ A.C. 410.

Which Edict was five years after fortified by the following.

_Impp. Honor. & Theod. AA. Heracliano Com. Afric._

_Sciant cuncti qui ad ritus suos hæresis superstitionibus obrepserant
sacrosanctæ legis inimici, plectendos se poenâ & proscriptionis &
sanguinis, si ultra convenire per publicum exercendi sceleris sui
temeritate temptaverint: ne quâ vera divinaque reverentia contagione
temeretur. Dat. _viii._ Kal. Sept. Honorio _x._ & Theod. _vi._ AA. Coss._
A.C. 415.

These Edicts being directed to the governor of _Africa_, extended only to
the _Africans_. Before these there were many severe ones against the
_Donatists_, but they did not extend to blood. These two were the first
which made their meetings, and the meetings of all dissenters, capital: for
by _hereticks_ in these Edicts are meant all dissenters, as is manifest by
the following against _Euresius_ a _Luciferan_ Bishop.

_Impp. Arcad. & Honor. AA. Aureliano Proc. Africæ._

_Hæreticorum vocabulo continentur, & latis adversus eos sanctionibus debent
succumbere, qui vel levi argumento à judicio Catholicæ religionis & tramite
detecti fuerint deviare: ideoque experientia tua Euresium hæreticum esse
cognoscat. Dat. _iii._ Non. Sept. Constantinop. Olybrio & Probino Coss._
A.C. 395.

The _Greek_ Emperor _Zeno_ adopted _Theoderic_ King of the _Ostrogoths_ to
be his son, made him master of the horse and _Patricius_, and Consul of
_Constantinople_; and recommending to him the _Roman_ people and Senate,
gave him the _Western_ Empire, and sent him into _Italy_ against _Odoacer_
King of the _Heruli_. _Theoderic_ thereupon led his nation into _Italy_,
conquered _Odoacer_, and reigned over _Italy_, _Sicily_, _Rhætia_,
_Noricum_, _Dalmatia_, _Liburnia_, _Istria_, and part of _Suevia_,
_Pannonia_ and _Gallia_. Whence _Ennodius_ said, in a Panegyric to
_Theoderic_: _Ad limitem suum Romana regna remeâsse._ _Theoderic_ reigned
with great prudence, moderation and felicity; treated the _Romans_ with
singular benevolence, governed them by their own laws, and restored their
government under their Senate and Consuls, he himself supplying the place
of Emperor, without assuming the title. _Ita sibi parentibus præfuit_,
saith _Procopius_, _ut vere Imperatori conveniens decus nullum ipsi
abesset: Justitiæ magnus ei cultus, legumque diligens custodia: terras à
vicinis barbaris servavit intactas_, &c. Whence I do not reckon the reign
of this King, amongst the plagues of the four winds.

The plague of the northern wind, at the sounding of the fourth trumpet, was
to cause _the Sun, Moon and Stars_, that is, the King, kingdom and Princes
of the _Western_ Empire, _to be darkned_, and to continue some time in
darkness. Accordingly _Belisarius_, having conquered the _Vandals_, invaded
_Italy_ A.C. 535, and made war upon the _Ostrogoths_ in _Dalmatia_,
_Liburnia_, _Venetia_, _Lombardy_, _Tuscany_, and other regions northward
from _Rome_, twenty years together. In this war many cities were taken and
retaken. In retaking _Millain_ from the _Romans_, the _Ostrogoths_ slew all
the males young and old, amounting, as _Procopius_ reckons, to three
hundred thousand, and sent the women captives to their allies the
_Burgundians_. _Rome_ itself was taken and retaken several times, and
thereby the people were thinned; the old government by a Senate ceased, the
nobles were ruined, and all the glory of the city was extinguish'd: and
A.C. 552, after a war of seventeen years, the kingdom of the _Ostrogoths_
fell; yet the remainder of the _Ostrogoths_, and an army of _Germans_
called in to their assistance, continued the war three or four years
longer. Then ensued the war of the _Heruli_, who, as _Anastasius_ tells us,
_perimebant cunctam Italiam_, slew all _Italy_. This was followed by the
war of the _Lombards_, the fiercest of all the _Barbarians_, which began
A.C. 568, and lasted for thirty eight years together; _factâ tali clade_,
saith _Anastasius_, _qualem à sæculo nullus meminit_; ending at last in the
Papacy of _Sabinian_, A.C. 605, by a peace then made with the _Lombards_.
Three years before this war ended, _Gregory_ the great, then Bishop of
_Rome_, thus speaks of it: _Qualiter enim & quotidianis gladiis & quantis
Longobardorum incursionibus, ecce jam per triginta quinque annorum
longitudinem premimur, nullis explere vocibus suggestionis valemus_: and in
one of his Sermons to the people, he thus expresses the great consumption
of the _Romans_ by these wars: _Ex illa plebe innumerabili quanti
remanseritis aspicitis, & tamen adhuc quotidiè flagella urgent, repentini
casus opprimunt, novæ res & improvisæ clades affligunt_. In another Sermon
he thus describes the desolations: _Destructæ urbes, eversa sunt castra,
depopulati agri, in solitudinem terra redacta est. Nullus in agris incola,
penè nullus in urbibus habitator remansit. Et tamen ipsæ parvæ generis
humani reliquiæ adhuc quotidiè & sine cessatione feriuntur, & finem non
habent flagella coelestis justitiæ. Ipsa autem quæ aliquando mundi Domina
esse videbatur, qualis remansit Roma conspicimus innumeris doloribus
multipliciter attrita, defolatione civium, impressione hostium, frequentiâ
ruinarum.--Ecce jam de illa omnes hujus fæculi potentes ablati sunt.--Ecce
populi defecerunt.--Ubi enim Senatus? Ubi jam populus? Contabuerunt ossa,
consumptæ sunt carnes. Omnis enim sæcularium dignitatum ordo extinctus est,
& tamen ipsos vos paucos qui remansimus, adhuc quotidié gladii, adhuc
quotidié innumeræ tribulationes premunt.--Vacua jam ardet Roma. Quid autem
ista de hominibus dicimus? Cum ruinis crebrescentibus ipsa quoque destrui
ædificia videmus. Postquam defecerunt homines etiam parietes cadunt. Jam
ecce desolata, ecce contrita, ecce gemitibus oppressa est,_ &c. All this
was spoken by _Gregory_ to the people of _Rome_, who were witnesses of the
truth of it. Thus by _the plagues of the four winds_, the Empire of the
_Greeks_ was shaken, and the Empire of the _Latins_ fell; and _Rome_
remained nothing more than the capital of a poor dukedom, subordinate to
_Ravenna_, the seat of the Exarchs.

The fifth trumpet sounded to the wars, which the _King of the_ South, as he
is called by _Daniel_, made _in the time of the end_, in _pushing at the
King who did according to his will_. This plague began with the _opening of
the bottomless pit_, which denotes the letting out of a false religion: the
_smoke which came out of the pit_, signifying the multitude which embraced
that religion; and the _locusts which came out of the smoke_, the armies
which came out of that multitude. This pit was opened, to let out smoke and
locusts into the regions of the four monarchies, or some of them. _The King
of these locusts_ was the _Angel of the bottomless pit_, being chief
governor as well in religious as civil affairs, such as was the Caliph of
the _Saracens_. Swarms of locusts often arise in _Arabia fælix_, and from
thence infest the neighbouring nations: and so are a very fit type of the
numerous armies of _Arabians_ invading the _Romans_. They began to invade
them A.C. 634, and to reign at _Damascus_ A.C. 637. They built _Bagdad_
A.C. 766, and reigned over _Persia_, _Syria_, _Arabia_, _Egypt_, _Africa_
and _Spain_. They afterwards lost _Africa_ to _Mahades_, A.C. 910; _Media_,
_Hircania_, _Chorasan_, and all _Persia_, to the _Dailamites_, between the
years 927 and 935; _Mesopotamia_ and _Miafarekin_ to _Nasiruddaulas_, A.C.
930; _Syria_ and _Egypt_ to _Achsjid_, A.C. 935, and now being in great
distress, the Caliph of _Bagdad_, A.C. 936, surrendred all the rest of his
temporal power to _Mahomet_ the son of _Rajici_, King of _Wasit_ in
_Chaldea_, and made him Emperor of Emperors. But _Mahomet_ within two years
lost _Bagdad_ to the _Turks_; and thenceforward _Bagdad_ was sometimes in
the hands of the _Turks_, and sometimes in the hands of the _Saracens_,
till _Togrul-beig_, called also _Togra_, _Dogrissa_, _Tangrolipix_, and
_Sadoc_, conquered _Chorasan_ and _Persia_; and A.C. 1055, added _Bagdad_
to his Empire, making it the seat thereof. His successors _Olub-Arflan_ and
_Melechschah_, conquered the regions upon _Euphrates_; and these conquests,
after the death of _Melechschah_, brake into the kingdoms of _Armenia_,
_Mesopotamia_, _Syria_, and _Cappadocia_. The whole time that the Caliphs
of the _Saracens_ reigned with a temporal dominion at _Damascus_ and
_Bagdad_ together, was 300 years, viz. from the year 637 to the year 936
inclusive. Now locusts live but five months; and therefore, for the decorum
of the type, these locusts are said to _hurt men five months and five
months_, as if they had lived about five months at _Damascus_, and again
about five months at _Bagdad_; in all ten months, or 300 prophetic days,
which are years.

The sixth trumpet sounded to the wars, which _Daniel_'s King of the _North_
made against the King above-mentioned, _who did according to his will_. In
these wars the King of the _North_, according to _Daniel_, conquered the
Empire of the _Greeks_, and also _Judea_, _Egypt_, _Lybia_, and _Ethiopia_:
and by these conquests the Empire of the _Turks_ was set up, as may be
known by the extent thereof. These wars commenced A.C. 1258, when the four
kingdoms of the _Turks_ seated upon _Euphrates_, that of _Armenia major_
seated at _Miyapharekin_, _Megarkin_ or _Martyropolis_, that of
_Mesopotamia_ seated at _Mosul_, that of all _Syria_ seated at _Aleppo_,
and that of _Cappadocia_ seated at _Iconium_, were invaded by the _Tartars_
under _Hulacu_, and driven into the western parts of _Asia minor_, where
they made war upon the _Greeks_, and began to erect the present Empire of
the _Turks_. Upon the sounding of the sixth trumpet, [9] _John heard a
voice from the four horns of the golden Altar which is before God, saying
to the sixth Angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four Angels which are
bound at the great river _Euphrates_. And the four Angels were loosed,
which were prepared for an hour and a day, and a month and a year, for to
slay the third part of men_. By the four horns of the golden Altar, is
signified the situation of the head cities of the said four kingdoms,
_Miyapharekin_, _Mosul_, _Aleppo_, and _Iconium_, which were in a
quadrangle. They slew the third part of men, when they conquered the
_Greek_ Empire, and took _Constantinople_, A.C. 1453. and they began to be
prepared for this purpose, when _Olub-Arslan_ began to conquer the nations
upon _Euphrates_, A.C. 1063. The interval is called an hour and a day, and
a month and a year, or 391 prophetic days, which are years. In the first
thirty years, _Olub-Arslan_ and _Melechschah_ conquered the nations upon
_Euphrates_, and reigned over the whole. _Melechschah_ died A.C. 1092, and
was succeeded by a little child; and then this kingdom broke into the four
kingdoms above-mentioned.

       *       *       *       *       *

Notes to Chap. III.

[1] Apoc. ii. 4, &c.

[2] Apoc. ii. 9, 10.

[3] Ver. 14.

[4] Numb. xxv. 1, 2, 18, & xxi. 16.

[5] Apoc. iii. 10, 12.

[6] Apoc. iii. 16, 17.

[7] Apoc. viii. 7, &c.

[8] Apoc. xvi. 5, 6.

[9] Apoc. ix. 13, &c.

       *       *       *       *       *

_THE END._

       *       *       *       *       *

_Advertisement._

_The last pages of these Observations having been differently drawn up by
the Author in another copy of his Work; they are here inserted as they
follow in that copy, after the 22d line of the 261st page foregoing._

       *       *       *       *       *

_And none was found worthy to open the book_ till the Lamb of God appeared;
the great High-Priest represented by a lamb slain at the foot of the Altar
in the morning-sacrifice. _And he came, and took the book out of the hand
of him that sat upon the throne._ For the High-Priest, in the feast of the
seventh month, went into the most holy place, and took the book of the law
out of the right side of the Ark, to read it to the people: and in order to
read it well, he studied it seven days, that is, upon the fourth, fifth,
sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth days, being attended by some of the
priests to hear him perform. These seven days are alluded to, by the Lamb's
opening the seven seals successively.

Upon the tenth day of the month, a young bullock was offered for a
sin-offering for the High-Priest, and a goat for a sin-offering for the
people: and lots were cast upon two goats to determine which of them should
be God's lot for the sin-offering; and the other goat was called _Azazel_,
the scape-goat. The High-Priest in his linen garments, took a censer full
of burning coals of fire from the Altar, his hand being full of sweet
incense beaten small; and went into the most holy place within the veil,
and put the incense upon the fire, and sprinkled the blood of the bullock
with his finger upon the mercy-seat and before the mercy-seat seven times;
and then he killed the goat which fell to God's lot, for a sin-offering for
the people, and brought his blood within the veil, and sprinkled it also
seven times upon the mercy-seat and before the mercy-seat. Then he went out
to the Altar, and sprinkled it also seven times with the blood of the
bullock, and as often with the blood of the goat. After this _he laid both
his hands upon the head of the live goat; and confessed over him all the
iniquities of the children of _Israel_, and all their transgressions in all
their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat; and sent him away into
the wilderness by the hands of a fit man: and the goat bore upon him all
their iniquities into a land not inhabited_, Levit. chap. iv. & chap. xvi.
While the High-Priest was doing these things in the most holy place and at
the Altar, the people continued at their devotion quietly and in silence.
Then the High-Priest went into the holy place, put off his linen garments,
and put on other garments; then came out, and sent the bullock and the goat
of the sin-offering to be burnt without the camp, with fire taken in a
censer from the Altar: and as the people returned home from the Temple,
they said to one another, _God seal you to a good new year_.

In allusion to all this, _when he had opened the seventh seal, there was
silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And an Angel stood at
the Altar having a golden Censer, and there was given unto him much
incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints, upon the
golden Altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with
the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angel's hand.
And the Angel took the Censer, and filled it with fire of the Altar, and
cast it to the earth_, suppose without the camp, for sacrificing the goat
which fell to God's lot. For the High-Priest being _Christ_ himself, the
bullock is omitted. At this sacrifice _there were voices and thundrings_,
of the musick of the Temple, _and lightnings_ of the sacred fire, _and an
earthquake_: and synchronal to these things was the sealing of _the 144000
out of all the twelve tribes of the children of _Israel_ with the seal of
God in their foreheads_, while the rest of the twelve tribes received the
mark of the Beast, and the Woman fled from the Temple into the wilderness
to her place upon this Beast. For this sealing and marking was represented
by casting lots upon the two goats, sacrificing God's lot on mount _Sion_,
and sending the scape-goat into the wilderness loaden with the sins of the
people.

Upon the fifteenth day of the month, and the six following days, there were
very great sacrifices. And in allusion to the sounding of trumpets, and
singing with thundring voices, and pouring out drink-offerings at those
sacrifices, _seven trumpets are sounded_, and _seven thunders utter their
voices_, and _seven vials of wrath are poured out_. Wherefore the sounding
of the _seven trumpets_, the voices of the _seven thunders_, and the
pouring out of the _seven vials of wrath_, are synchronal, and relate to
one and the same division of the time of the seventh seal following the
silence, into seven successive parts. The seven days of this feast were
called the feast of Tabernacles; and during these seven days the children
of _Israel_ dwelt in booths, and rejoiced with palm-branches in their
hands. To this alludes _the multitude with palms in their hands_, which
appeared after the sealing of the 144000, and _came out of the great
tribulation_ with triumph at the battle of the great day, to which the
seventh trumpet sounds. The visions therefore of the 144000, and of the
palm-bearing multitude, extend to the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and
therefore are synchronal to the times of the seventh seal.

When the 144000 _are sealed out of all the twelve tribes of _Israel__, and
the rest receive _the mark of the Beast_, and thereby the first temple is
destroyed; _John_ is bidden to _measure the temple and altar_, that is,
their courts, _and them that worship therein_, that is, the 144000 standing
on mount _Sion_ and on the sea of glass: _but the court that is without the
temple_, that is, the peoples court, to _leave out and measure it not,
because it is given to the_ Gentiles, those who receive the mark of the
Beast; _and the holy city they shall tread under foot forty and two
months_, that is, all the time that the Beast acts under the woman
_Babylon_: and _the two witnesses prophesy 1260 days_, that is, all the
same time, _clothed in sackcloth. These have power_, like _Elijah, to shut
heaven that it rain not_, at the sounding of the first trumpet; and, like
_Moses, to turn the waters into blood_ at the sounding of the second; _and
to smite the earth with all plagues_, those of the trumpets, _as often as
they will_. These prophesy at the building of the second temple, like
_Haggai_ and _Zechary_. These are _the two Olive-trees_, or Churches, which
_supplied the lamps with oil_, _Zech._ iv. These are _the two
candlesticks_, or Churches, _standing before the God of the earth_. Five of
the seven Churches of _Asia_, those in prosperity, are found fault with,
and exhorted to repent, and threatned to be _removed out of their places_,
or _spewed out of _Christ's_ mouth_, or _punished with the sword of
_Christ's_ mouth, except they repent_: the other two, the Churches of
_Smyrna_ and _Philadelphia_, which were under persecution, remain in a
state of persecution, to illuminate the second temple. When the primitive
Church catholick, represented by _the woman in heaven_, apostatized, and
became divided into two corrupt Churches, represented by the _whore of
_Babylon__ and the _two-horned Beast_, the 144000 _who were sealed out of
all the twelve tribes_, became the _two Witnesses_, in opposition to those
two false Churches: and the name of _two Witnesses_ once imposed, remains
to the true Church of God in all times and places to the end of the
Prophecy.

In the interpretation of this Prophecy, _the woman in heaven clothed with
the sun_, before she flies into the wilderness, represents the primitive
Church catholick, illuminated with the _seven lamps_ in the _seven golden
candlesticks_, which are the _seven Churches_ of _Asia_. The Dragon
signifies the same Empire with _Daniel_'s He-goat in the reign of his last
horn, that is, the whole _Roman_ Empire, until it became divided into the
_Greek_ and _Latin_ Empires; and all the time of that division it signifies
the _Greek_ Empire alone: and the Beast is _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, that
is, the Empire of the _Latins_. Before the division of the _Roman_ Empire
into the _Greek_ and _Latin_ Empires, the Beast is included in the body of
the Dragon; and from the time of that division, the Beast is the _Latin_
Empire only. Hence the Dragon and Beast have the same heads and horns; but
the heads are crowned upon the Dragon, and the horns upon the Beast. The
horns are ten kingdoms, into which the Beast becomes divided presently
after his separation from the Dragon, as hath been described above. The
heads are seven successive dynasties, or parts, into which the _Roman_
Empire becomes divided by the opening of the seven seals. Before the woman
fled into the wilderness, _she being with child_ of a Christian Empire,
_cried travelling_, viz. in the ten years persecution of _Dioclesian_, _and
pained to be delivered: and the Dragon_, the heathen _Roman_ Empire, _stood
before her, to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought
forth a man child, who_ at length _was to rule all nations with a rod of
iron. And her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne_ in the
Temple, by the victory of _Constantine_ the great over _Maxentius_: _and
the woman fled_ from the Temple _into the wilderness_ of _Arabia_ to
_Babylon_, _where she hath a place_ of riches and honour and dominion, upon
the back of the Beast, _prepared of God, that they should feed her there
1260 days. And there was war in heaven_, between the heathens under
_Maximinus_ and the new Christian Empire; _and the great Dragon was cast
out, that old serpent, which deceiveth the whole world_, the spirit of
heathen idolatry; _he was cast out_ of the throne _into the earth. And they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death_.

_And when the Dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the
woman which brought forth the man child_, stirring up a new persecution
against her in the reign of _Licinius_. _And to the woman_, by the building
of _Constantinople_ and equalling it to _Rome_, _were given two wings of a
great eagle, that she might flee into the wilderness into her place_ upon
the back of her Beast, _where she is nourished for a time, and times, and
half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent_, upon the death
of _Constantine_ the great, _cast out of his mouth water as a flood_, viz.
the _Western_ Empire under _Constantine junior_ and _Constans_, _after the
woman: that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the
earth_, the nations of _Asia_ now under _Constantinople_, _helped the
woman_; and by conquering the _Western_ Empire, now under _Magnentius_,
_swallowed up the flood which the Dragon cast out of his mouth. And the
Dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of
her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of
_Jesus Christ_, which_ in that war _were sealed out of all the twelve
tribes of _Israel__, and remained upon mount _Sion_ with the Lamb, being in
number 144000, and having their father's name written in their foreheads.

When the earth had swallowed up the flood, and the Dragon was gone to make
war with the remnant of the woman's seed, _John stood upon the sand of the
sea, and saw a Beast rise out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the Beast was like unto a Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a
Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion._ _John_ here names _Daniel_'s
four Beasts in order, putting his Beast in the room of _Daniel_'s fourth
Beast, to shew that they are the same. _And the Dragon gave_ this Beast
_his power and his seat and great authority_, by relinquishing the
_Western_ Empire to him. _And one of his heads_, the sixth, was _as it were
wounded to death_, viz. by the sword of the earth, which swallowed up the
waters cast out of the mouth of the Dragon; _and his deadly wound was
healed_, by a new division of the Empire between _Valentinian_ and
_Valens_, _An._ 364. _John_ saw the Beast rise out of the sea, at the
division thereof between _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_, _An._ 379. The Dragon
gave the Beast his power, and his seat and great authority, at the death of
_Theodosius_, when _Theodosius_ gave the _Western_ Empire to his son
_Honorius_. After which the two Empires were no more united: but the
_Western_ Empire became presently divided into ten kingdoms, as above; and
these kingdoms at length united in religion under the woman, and reign with
her _forty and two months_.

_And I beheld_, saith _John_, _another Beast coming up out of the earth._
When the woman fled from the Dragon into the kingdom of the Beast, and
became his Church, this other Beast rose up out of the earth, to represent
the Church of the Dragon. For _he had two horns like the Lamb_, such as
were the bishopricks of _Alexandria_ and _Antioch_: _and he spake as the
Dragon_ in matters of religion: _and he causeth the earth_, or nations of
the Dragon's kingdom, _to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was
healed_, that is, to be of his religion. _And he doth great wonders, so
that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of
men_; that is, he excommunicateth those who differ from him in point of
religion: for in pronouncing their excommunications, they used to swing
down a lighted torch from above. _And he said to them that dwell on the
earth, that they should make an image to the Beast, which had the wound by
a sword, and did live_; that is, that they should call a Council of men of
the religion of this Beast. _And he had power to give life unto 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 killed_, viz.
mystically, by dissolving their Churches. _And he causeth all both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
band or in their foreheads, and that no man might buy or sell, save he that
had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name_; that
is, the mark [Cross], or the name [Greek: LATEINOS], or the number thereof
[Greek: chxs], 666. All others were excommunicated.

When the seven Angels had poured out the seven vials of wrath, and _John_
had described them all in the present time, he is called up from the time
of the seventh vial to the time of the sixth seal, to take a view of the
woman and her Beast, who were to reign in the times of the seventh seal. In
respect of the latter part of time of the sixth seal, then considered as
present, the Angel tells _John_: _The Beast that thou sawest, was and is
not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, and go into perdition_; that is, he
was in the reign of _Constans_ and _Magnentius_, until _Constantius_
conquered _Magnentius_, and re-united the _Western_ Empire to the
_Eastern_. He is not during the reunion, and he shall ascend out of the
abyss or sea at a following division of the Empire. The Angel tells him
further: _Here is the mind which hath wisdom: the seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth_; _Rome_ being built upon seven
hills, and thence called the seven-hilled city. _Also there are seven
Kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when
he cometh, he must continue a short space: and the Beast that was and is
not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition_.
Five are fallen, the times of the five first seals being past; and one is,
the time of the sixth seal being considered as present; and another is not
yet come, and when he cometh, which will be at the opening of the seventh
seal, he must continue a short space: and the Beast that was and is not,
even he is the eighth, by means of the division of the _Roman_ Empire into
two collateral Empires; and is of the seven, being one half of the seventh,
and shall go into perdition. The words, _five are fallen, and one is, and
the other is not yet come_, are usually referred by interpreters to the
time of _John_ the Apostle, when the Prophecy was given: but it is to be
considered, that in this Prophecy many things are spoken of as present,
which were not present when the Prophecy was given, but which would be
present with respect to some future time, considered as present in the
visions. Thus where it is said upon pouring out the seventh vial of wrath,
that _great _Babylon_ came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the
cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath_; this relates not to the
time of _John_ the Apostle, but to the time of pouring out the seventh vial
of wrath. So where it is said, _Babylon is fallen, is fallen_; and _thrust
in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap_; and _the
time of the dead is come, that they should be judged_; and again, _I saw
the dead small and great stand before God_: these sayings relate not to the
days of _John_ the Apostle, but to the latter times considered as present
in the visions. In like manner the words, _five are fallen, and one is, and
the other is not yet come_, and _the Beast that was and is not, he is the
eighth_, are not to be referred to the age of _John_ the Apostle, but
relate to the time when the Beast was to be wounded to death with a sword,
and shew that this wound was to be given him in his sixth head: and without
this reference we are not told in what head the Beast was wounded. _And the
ten horns which thou sawest, are ten Kings, which have received no kingdom
as yet, but receive power as Kings one hour with the Beast. These have one
mind_, being all of the whore's religion, _and shall give their power and
strength unto the Beast. These shall make war with the Lamb_, at the
sounding of the seventh trumpet; _and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he
is Lord of Lords and King of Kings; and they that are with him are called
and chosen and faithful. And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest
where the whore sitteth, are peoples and multitudes and nations and
tongues_, composing her Beast. _And 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_, at the end of the
1260 days. _For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to
agree and give their kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall
be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest, is that great city which
reigneth over the Kings of the earth_, or the great city of the _Latins_,
which reigneth over the ten Kings till the end of those days.

       *       *       *       *       *

_FINIS_.








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