fole head, that calls himself the univerfal Bishop, to the end of this monarchy, & the coming ofthe fifth, which is that of J. Christ on the Earth. These two periods are very near of the fame length, viz. 1200 years or a little more. The Lord J. Chrift came into the world Anno V.C. 754. or 752. as Dionyfius the leffer pretends. The Empire was divided into ten Kingdomes about the year of J. Chrift 455. i. e. in the year 1209 or 1207 of the city of Rome; fince that time under the Roman & Gothish Kings the counting ab urbe condita was continued till the time of Dionyfius the leffer a Roman Abbot, a Scythian by nation, who died in the year 540 according to Baronius, & who made his Pafchal cycle in the year 527. Tis about the year 530 that the Chriftian Era began to be in ufe,& the counting by the years of J. Chrift. Then men left off counting ab urbe conditâ after they had used this Epocha about 1280 years. However that be, the period from the building of Rome to the divifion of the Roman Empire among ten Kings is more than 1200 years. The fecond period of the fourth monarchy fince its divifion among ten Kings to the end must be also above 12co years. The Prophecy makes it 1260 prophetical days, i. e. 1260 years. Now we must observe that in the time of St. John. i. e. in the time when he wrote the Revelation, there was above two thirds of the firft period of the fourth monarchy paft & gone. For he wrote about the year 850 after the building of the city. There remain'd ther fore Dan. 7. 7. V. 23. fore but a little more than 350 years of this first period. But he had before him the whole entire fecond period of 1260 years. Wherfore tis not very strange that he enlargeth himself much more on this later part than on the former. So that we fhall not find properly more than two chapters the fixth & the eighth that refpect this first period of the fourth monarchy; and all the reft from the ninth ch. inclufively to the zoth, exclufively contains the events that belong to the period of the 1260 Years, which is the fecond of the fourth Monarchy. To render this truth more plain that the Prophecy of Daniel touching the fourth Monarchy is the Text on which the H. Spirit treats in the Revelation, we muft here view the Prophecy of Daniel & apply it to divers parts of that of St. John. After this I faw in the night visions, & behold a fourth beast dreadful & terrible, & strong exceedingly, it had great iron teeth. It devoured & brake in pieces, & ftamped the refidue with the feet of it, & it was diverfe from all the beafts that were before it, it had ten horns. Daniel having asked the explication of this vifion, the Angel faith to him hereupon; The fourth beat hall be the fourth Kingdom on the Earth, which shall be diverse from all Kingdoms, fhall devour the whole Earth, & tread it down & break it in pieces. This refers to the establishment of this Empire, & its conquests, that were begun under the Confuls & Dictators, & were finifht under the Emperours, of which St. John. had seen apart, & fome followed after after him; under whom alfo the Empire was always enlarged, or at least preserved in its greatness even to the children of Theodofius. It broke in pieces the whole Earth, & ftamped the refidue with the feet of it. For it mortifyed all its neighbours whom it did not Subdue. The 6th. Ch. of the Revel, belongs to this first part of the Prophecy of Daniel. The 8th, Ch. of the Revelation addeth to the Prophecy of Daniel, for it fhews the degrees wherby the Roman Empire was brought to its divifion into ten Kingdoms. 8. It had ten horns, & Iconfidered the horns, & behold there came up among them another little horn before whom three of the first horns werë plucked up by the roots; behold in this horn were Eyes like the Eyes of a Man, & a month Speaking great things. 24.The Angel explaining this place faith,The ten horns out of the Kingdom are ten Kings that Shall arife,& another fhall arife after them,& he Shall be diverfe from the firft, & shall fubdue three Kings. 25. And he fhallfpeak great words against the Most High, & fhall wear out the faints of the Most High, & think to change Times & laws; they fhall be given into his hand untill a time times, the dividing of time. See the divifion of the fourth Monarchy in to ten others, which was made after the year 450. We shall fee afterwards which are these ten Kingdoms. From the midft of these ten comes up a little horn, a Monarch that appears as nothing, a Prieft that infenfibly encreases his power over these ten Kings, fo D far far as to take away the third part of their Demains, Jurifdiction & Power. This is what hath been exactly accomplisht in the Papacy, which hath taken away from the Weftern Kings more than a third part of their Eftate, which is become Church Lands, & dependant on the Church; more than a third of their jurifdiction by the Tribunals of Bishops & Officials, who drew almost all caufes to them, under the pretence, that there was fomething mingled with them that refpected the Church, the Sacraments, or the Confcience; Lastly, more than a third part of their Power, by the Ufurpations of the Popes, who have made Kings their Vaffals a hundred ways. Befides this, the Popes have particularly overthrown these three Kingdoms, that of the Greeks in Italy, that of the Lombards,& that of Germany, which they have made dependant on the Roman Church. This little horn fpeaks words of blafphemy against God, exalts it felf above all that is called God, & against the Kings of the Earth. It deftroys the faints of the most high. That is to fay, it perfecutes them even to blood. It thinks to change the Times & the Law: it makes attempts against the divine laws it deftroys Gods Commands, & difpenfeth with them. It commands the adoration of images & Creatures, which God forbids. It permits crimes which God abominates,& against which he hath made fevere laws. This alfo is the true description of the Pope & the Papacy. To this horn is given a time, & times, the dividing or the half of a time; one year, two two years, half a year; three years & half in all; 360. prophetical days to a year, that is to fay, 1260. years. See the text on which the 11th, 13th, & 17. Ch. of the Revel, are a comment. Ibeheld till the Thrones were caft down, & the Ancient of days did fit, whofe garment was white as fnow, & the hair of his head like the pure wool, his throne was like the fiery flame, &his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream iffued & came forth from before him; thoufand thousands miniftred to him, & ten thousand times ten thousands stood before him; the judgment was fet & the books were open'd. V. 10. Ibeheld then because of the voice of the great v.1. words which the horn fpake; Ibeheld even till the beast was flain, & his body destroyed, & given to the burning flame. In the explication which the Angel gives Daniel we read, But the judgment fhall fit, & they shall take away his dominion, to confume to destroy it unto the end. Andthe Kingdom, & dominion, the great nefs 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 all dominions fhall ferve obey him. The judgment here spoken of is not the laft judgment; God appears fitting on a magnificent throne, not to judg the whole world, but to judg the Empire of the Beaft, the fourth Monarchy in its Antichriftian Period, & to deak D 3 forthy V. 26 4.27. |