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and a look more ftout than his fellows; and he fhall fubdue and pluck up by the roots three of the firft horns or kings; and fhall Speak great words against the most High, and fhall wear out the faints of the most High, and think to change times and laws. Daniel's firft kingdom is the Babylonian, the fecond is the Perfian, the third is the Macedonian or Grecian, and the fourth can be none other than the Roman'; and the Roman empire, upon its diffolution, was divided into ten kings or kingdoms. It is in the western or Latin empire that these ten kings or kingdoms are to be fought and found; for this was properly the body of the fourth beast, the Greek or eastern empire belonged to the body of the third beaft: and out of the western Roman empire, by the incurfions of the northern nations, arofe ten kings or kingdoms; of whom having mentioned the names before, we need not repeat them here. Now who is the little horn that was to fpring up among these or after thefe; who as a politico-ecclefiaftical power differeth from the other ten powers; who hath eye's like the eyes of a man, that is (1) is a feer, as Sir Ifaac Newton fays, EIXOTOS or bishop in the επίσκοπος litteral

(1) Sir Ifaac Newton's Obferv. on Daniel, Chap. 7. p. 75.
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(2) Iren.

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litteral fenfe of the word; who hath a mouth speaking great things, bulls and anathemas, interdicts and excommunications; who hath a look more ftout than his fellows, affuming a fupremacy not only over other bishops, but even a fuperiority over kings and emperors themselves; who hath pluckt up by the roots three of the first borns, the exarchate of Ravenna, the kingdom of the Lombards, and the ftate of Rome, and is diftinguished by the triple crown; who speaketh great words against the most High, fetting up himself above all laws divine as well as human; who weareth out the faints of the most High, by wars and maffacres, inquifitions and perfecutions; who changeth times and laws, inftituting new religions, and teaching for doctrins the commandments of men; are questions which I think cannot admit of much difpute; there is only one person in the world who can fully answer all these characters.

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The blafphemous king defcribed in the 11th Chapter of Daniel, (ver. 36-39.) who fhall do according to his will, and shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall Speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and Shall profper till the indignation be accomplished, who shall not regard the God of his fathers, nor the defire of wives, but in his eftate fhall honor Ma

Mabuzzim, and the defenders of Mabuzzim fhall increafe with glory, and shall caufe them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain; is indeed a more general character comprehending the tyrannical and corrupt power of the eaftern church as well as of the western. But when we confider, how much and how far the Latin hath prevailed above the Greek church; how the fupremacy, which was first claimed by the patriarch of Conftantinople, hath been fully established in the bishop of Rome; how much more abfolute the will of the Roman pontiff hath been than of the Byzantine emperor; how the pope hath exalted himself and magnified himfelf as a God upon earth; how much more the Latins have degenerated from the religion of their fathers than the Greeks; how the defire of fingle life and the worship of the dead, which firft began in the eastern parts, have been carried to the greateft highth in the western empire; how much the jurifdiction and authority, the lands and revenues of the Roman clergy have exceeded thofe of the Greeks; how while the Greek church hath lain oppreffed for feveral centuries, the Roman hath ftill profpered, and in all probability still may profper till God's indignation against the Jews be accomplished; in fhort when we confider, Cc 2

how

how entirely this character agrees with that of the little born, and how much better it agrees with the head of the Roman than with the head of the Greek church, the particular appli-' cation of it to the bishop of Rome may well be juftified, especially fince St. Paul himself hath applied it in the fame manner.

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St. Paul hath drawn the man of fin, the fon of perdition, ( 2 Thef. II.) an exact copy and resemblance of the little horn and the blaf phemous king in Daniel and this man of fin must neceffarily be a Chriftian, and not a Heathen or infidel power, because he is reprefented as God fitting in the temple of God. He is defcribed too as the head of the apoftafy or the falling away from the faith; and this apoftafy is afterwards (1 Tim. IV. 1.) defined by St. Paul to confift in worshipping of demons, angels and deceased faints: and no man furely can have any reafon to doubt, who is the head and leader of this apoftafy, the patron and authorizer of this worship. The apostle had communicated to the Theffalonians what it was that hindered his appearing. (ver. 15, 6.) Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now je know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. What this was the apostle hath no where

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where exprefly informed us; but if tradition may be depended upon in any cafe, it may certainly in this. For it is the conftant and concurrent tradition of the fathers, that what withholdeth is the Roman empire: and therefore the primitive Chriftians: in the public offices of the church prayed for its peace and welfare, as knowing that when the Roman empire fhould be broken into pieces, the empire of the man of fin would be raifed on its ruins. They made no queftion, they were fully perfuaded, that the fucceffor to the Roman emperor in Rome would be the man of fin: and who hath fucceeded to the Roman emperor in Rome, let the world judge and determin.

St. John too hath copied after Daniel, and (Chap. XIII.) exhibits the Roman empire under the fame emblem of a beast with ten horns. It is evident that he defigned the fame as Daniel's fourth or laft beaft, because he reprefents him as a compofition of the three former, with the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. He defcribes him too with the qualities and properties of the little born, fpeaking the fame blafphemies, acting the fame cruelties: and having plainly feen what power was intended by the one, we have the lefs reafon to hefitate about the other. But to 'diftinguith

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