Ionian, the Median and Perfian, and the Grecian, were, in vifion, paffed away. He calls this beast diverfe from all the rest, because of the ecclefiaftical and civil power being interwoven together in the pope, the head of the beaft, and because it had deftroyed all the others. He fees the divifion of the empire into ten kingdoms; hence he fays the beaft had ten horns. Then he fees a little born fpring up among the ten; this is the pope, before whom three horns were plucked up: this alludes to the three countries conquered by Pepin and Charlemain, kings of France, who promoted the pope, and gave him thefe three countries for his patrimony, and on which account the popes of Rome have worn a triple crown ever fince. The greatw ords which this horn fpake, alludes to the doctrine of devils, which the New Teftament applies to him. At the head of this ten-horned beast he fits, and will till the Ancient of days comes, who is defcribed in verfe ninth. This coming of Chrift is not to judge the quick and dead, but to take to himself his great power, and to reign univerfally in a spiritual way. The fiery ftream attending him, will according to the New Teftament, burn the great whore with fire. The thoufands that minifter unto him, are thofe that embrace his truth; and those who stand before him to be judged, are fuch as have killed his faints, and is therefore called judging the great whore, avenging the the blood of his faints, and giving the murderers blood to drink. The books being opened, is intended to fhew that he will proceed according to men's deferts, and execute he vengeance threatened, that his judgments may appear to be both righteous and true, which is what the living faints will applaud. His coming with the clouds of heaven, I understand of the invifible attendance of the ministering angels, together with the cloud of witneffes upon earth, which will attend him. Read, and they heard a great voice from heaven, faying, Come up hither. And they afcended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. Rev. xi. 12. looks till the body of the beaft was flain and given to the burning flame; this is Paul's man of fin, the wicked one, whom the Lord fhall confume with the fpirit of his mouth, and destroy by the brightness of his coming. And when this is done Babylon falls, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God, and of his Chrift; and fo Daniel fays, There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all nations should serve him. Daniel The latter part of the chapter explains the first. These great beafts, which are four, are four kings which fhall arife out of the earth; which are the Babylonian, the Median and Perfian, the Grecian, and the Roman. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beaft, and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that fpake very great things, and whofe looks were more ftout than his fellows. This is the pope; for it follows-1 beheld, and the fame horn made war with the faints, and prevailed against them. Which John describes thus: And when they shall have finished their teftimony, the beaft that afcendeth out of the bottomless pit fall make war against them, and overcome them, and kill them. Rev. xi. 7. And this horn is to continue until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the faints of the Most High; and the time came that the faints posJeffed the kingdom. Dan. vii. 22. This beaft with his ten horns fhall continue till the witneffes fhall be flain; and then the Saviour will appear; and then judgment will be given to the faints; the prayers of the fouls at the foot of the altar will be fully answered-Chrift will avenge their blood on those that dwell on the earth, and reward the great whore as fhe has rewarded the faints, and the cup that the hath given to others fhall be filled to her double. And then fhall come on the universal reign of Chrift.. And fo it follows-Thus he faid, The fourth beaft fhall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which fhall be diverfe from all kingdoms, and fall devour the whole earth, and fhall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that fall arife: and another fhall arife after them ; and he fhall be diverfe from the first, and he shall fubdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Moft High, and fhall wear out the faints of the Moft High, and think to change times and laws; and they fhall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time-which is 1260 years. And that is his time of duration, and the end of that date brings him to ruin; for the judgment shall (then) fit, and they shall take away his dominion, to confume and to destroy it unto the end. Dan. vii. 23-26. And then comes on the fifth kingdom, which is the kingdom of Chrift, and this shall be the greatest empire that ever was in the world; and fo it follows-And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatnefs of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the faints of the Most High, whofe kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions (or rulers) fhall ferve and obey him. is the end of the matter. Dan. vii. 27, 28. ing to this prophecy, this beaft and his ten horns are to continue till the univerfal reign of Chrift. And when he comes, he will firft destroy the beaft, burn the whore with fire, avenge the blood of his faints, destroy them that destroy the earth, and fet up his own kingdom, and all nations fhall ferve and obey him. Ezekiel is very clear upon this-he lived to fee the overthrow of the Babylonian empire, when Belshazzar was flain, and Darius the Medean took the kingdom (Dan. v. 30, 31); and he tells us that there fhall be three more overthrows, and then the rightful Heir of all things and of all kingdoms fhall come. Thus faith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall Hitherto Accord not be the fame: exalt him that is low, and abafe him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn : it and it shall be no more, until he come whofe right Ezek. xxi. 26, 27. word of God, that ten Roman empire when own fpiritual and uni it is; and I will give it him. It appears plain, from the kings will be found in the Christ comes to fet up his verfal kingdom. This may be feen from the whole bock of Daniel-the great image, or monarchal statue, fhewed to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, is plain upon this. The golden head was the Babylonian empire, and Nebuchadnezzar at the head of it; the filver arms and breafts were the Median and Perfian; the belly and thighs of brafs, was the Grecian; the iron legs, the Roman; the ten toes, the ten kings in it. The toes, part of iron and part of clay, fhews that the kingdom fhould be partly ftrong and partly broken; this is to be feen And their mingling the feed of men, is the family compacts; and the intermarriages of one crowned head with another, to ftrengthen alliances; but thefe fhall not cleave together, even as iron is not mixed with miry clay (Dan. ii. 43): this is now fulfilling plain enough, and may be seen between France and Spain, and between us and others. Now obferve, in the next verfe, these ten toes are called kings, and during their reign Chrift comes; for fo it is written-And in the days of these kings fhall the God of heaven fet up a kingdom, which hall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not now. |