not this the uniform appellation, which she gives them? Upon the fuppofition that the Chriftian church is the church of God, and that real Chriftians are the true worshippers of God, is not this ultimately to blafpheme God himself?

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Verfes 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th. And it was given unto him to make war with the faints, and to overcome them : and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth fhall worship him, whofe names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb flain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity, fhall go into captivity; he that killeth with the fword, must be killed with the fword. Here is the patience and the faith of the faints.

This beaft was permitted to make war with the faints, and to overcome them. Papal Rome hath, for a long time, made war with the faints, in the violent and bloody perfecutions, which the long carried on, and ftill carries on against them, fo far as her power extends. Immediately before the time of the glorious Reformation in the fixteenth century, the faints appeared to be totally overcome by Papal Vol. II. perfecution.

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perfecution. This overcoming of the faints is the fame with the killing of the two witneffes, chap. xi. 7, which hath been fully explained on that place. However much the western empire was divided into diftinct and independent kingdoms and nations, at the time of the rife of the Papal hierarchy, and however different the languages were, which were spoken in thefe kingdoms, Papal Rome, long had the fupreme authority over them, as predicted in verfe 7. In all these kingdoms, the kings and their fubjects were equally obedient to the nod of Rome.

All that dwell upon the earth, that is, all the inhabitants of the western empire, even when divided into the ten kingdoms, fhould worship the Beast and the Papal hierarchy, and obey it from a principle of fuperftition, with the fingle exception of men of one particular character. For they, whofe names are written in the book of life of the Lamb flain from the foundation of the world, though living within the boundaries of the Roman empire, fhould not worship nor ferve the Papal hierarchy.

These perfons, who shall not worship the Beast, are all thofe individual perfons fcattered through the whole empire, during the whole wilderness ftate of the church, who are spiritually alive in Chrift Jefus; who are renewed by the spirit of God in the fpirit of their minds; who walk not after the flesh,

flesh, but after the fpirit; who, though they may not be all known or acknowledged by men to be true Chriftians, are all perfectly known, and shall at last be as certainly acknowledged by Christ, as they could have been, had all their names been written in a book kept by him, as a register of all those who being born again, are alive in Chrift Jefus. These are all real Chriftians, and these are the only perfons, who, during the whole of that period, fhall never submit to Papal fuperftition.

The ninth verfe is a folemn call to all men to attend to, and keep in remembrance, the predictions contained in the following verfe. The meaning of which is, that however great and powerful Papal Rome shall be; however much her domination fhall extend over kindreds, tongues and nations; however much the inhabitants of the empire shall worship her; however many of the faints she shall put to death, or oblige to fly unto banishment; and however much the fhall for a time appear to have overcome the faints of God; fhe herfelf fhall afterwards be led into captivity, the herfelf fhall be killed with the fword and totally overthrown. This prediction refers, in the first place, to the various judgements, particularly of captivity, and bloody deftructions in wars, which have been fulfilled already on the votaries of Papal Rome; as more particularly predicted under vials, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, in chap. xvi. 2.-11. which fhall

be fully explained in the commentary on these verfes. And in the fecond place, to thofe terrible, deftructive, and bloody wars, by which the Papal hierarchy and empire fhall be totally overthrown at laft, in the year 1999, which are particularly predicted in chap. xiv. 20. chap. xvii. 16. 17. and chap. xix. 19.-21. which shall be explained fully on these paffages.

"Here is the patience and the faith of the "faints." All the faints of God believe the prediction of the final overthrow of Papal Rome. Whilft fome men treat thefe predictions with neglect or contempt, and while others regard the church of Rome as the true church of God, every real faint of God believes that the Papal hierarchy fhall be finally overthrown, according to the predictions of facred fcripture. Here too is the pa-. tience of the faints. The faints only are poffeffed of that patience, which fhall qualify them for enduring, without apoftatifing from the faith, all those perfecutions to which they fhall be expofed, from Papal Rome. This period of the power of Papal Rome, is the one in which the faith and patience of the faints fhall be chiefly exercised and confirmed. In the fucceeding period of the church, in which the kingdom of God fhall be triumphant in the world, neither their faith nor their patience fhall be fo much put to the trial.

In chap. xiv. 12. The fame thing is faid of the ptaience

patience and faith of the faints. In that paffage, as connected with the final overthrow of Rome, it fignifies the proof or evidence that their faith and patience have been built on folid grounds, fince what they believed is then in fact come to pafs; and fince they are then, in fact, delivered from thofe trials, and put in poffeffion of thofe bleffings, the termination of the one, and the commencement of the other, which were the grounds of their patience.

Verfe 11th. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he fpake as a dragon.

John, having feen the beaft with feven heads and ten horns, mentioned in verse 1, rife out of the sea, before he left his ftation on the fand of the fea, faw, on the other hand of him, another beaft coming up out of the earth. The firft of these was the temporal government of Rome under its laft form, which rofe after the empire had been diffolved by the Goths and other northern barbarous nations. This fecond beaft rofe out of the earth, that is, out of the Roman empire, when it was again brought to a fettled conftitution and ftate under the laft form of goIt was alfo (Ongior) a beaft of prey. and therefore a civil government, Like the first

vernment.

beaft